Letters For Lucas

Wonders, Mishaps, Blunders and Joy.. commentary on my life as a mom in the form of letters to my son

Minding My Ps & Qs

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I can swear like a sailor and I know that it is an ugly trait.

For me, cursing has become somewhat of a habit, whether it’s out of anger, frustration or to emphasize a point, sometimes there is just no substitute for a “hell”, “shit” or “damn” (or worse).

And the worst part is that I am so used to using these four letter expletives that I don’t even notice it anymore. Yikes! Well, I suppose the first step is admitting that I have a problem, right?

I have tried (half-heatedly) to temper my use of profanity since becoming a mother, but it isn’t easy and replacement words like “frick” and “darn” just sound ridiculous and aren’t quite as powerful.

I know it won’t be long before you are repeating everything you hear and that’s not going to be pretty. Maybe I should remind myself how awful I am going to feel if I hear this nasty talk coming out of your mouth knowing that you learned it from me, or I could put a dollar in a jar each time a bad word escapes my mouth? Bet that adds up fast! Perhaps learning how to express myself in a more productive and positive manner is the answer. Oh hell, wish me luck!

The best is yet to be.

Day 83/100

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High Chair Help!

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We need a high chair!

Currently, we are using the fabulous Chicco 360 Rotating Hook On Chair and have it attached to our kitchen bar, but with as much as you enjoy dropping food on the floor and with all the yummy summer fruit soon to be available and warmer weather, I’d love to get you outside occasionally for meals. Not to mention my desire/fantasy to have a civilized family dinner around the actual dining table.

I still really like the Boon Flair high chair, but I’m also still not willing to fork over $230 for it.

Like with any of this baby crap, there are TOO MANY CHOICES and I need help!! I visited the Web site Wize, which reports on the best and worst products, but I’m sorry “It matches my kitchen perfectly!” is not a review.

Any suggestions out there?

The best is yet to be.

Day 81/100

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Mr. Friendly

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When we go out to dinner, Lucas likes to hold court from his high chair by waving and smiling at everyone that passes our table. Waiters, beware!

It’s hard to believe and even harder to explain to an 11 month old that not everyone that comes in contact with him is a “baby person”. More often than not, people will stop and say hello, but if they don’t he is bound and determined to get a smile, at the very least.

I love it.

You are our little Mr. Friendly; warm, bubbly and generous. Nothing brings me more joy than people telling us how happy you are. I hope that these are qualities that you always possess.

You were in a particularly good mood last night and picked up dinner for your two doting parents, who are VERY much baby people. 🙂


The best is yet to be.

Day 81/100

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Time Is Of The Essence

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Time and I don’t get along much anymore.

There are just not enough hours in the day and I feel as though I am always trying to beat the clock.

My piles and “To Do” list seem to grow instead of diminish.

I have always prided myself at being good at time management and I have always been acutely aware of how much time it takes to do things. Even more so, now that I am a mom.

During any given day, I feel like I have such few short precious windows of opportunity to get anything accomplished in the way of household tasks or personal things. Simple tasks like: brushing my teeth, scarfing down a sandwich, folding laundry, returning a phone call, paying a bill, catching up on bad TiVo, or my favorite, while you nap activity: BLOGGING. Now you know why I’m posting this at almost 1:30 in the morning!

Most of the household chores can obviously wait, but some of the personal items are downright vital to my well being and sanity and I’ll be damned if it’s nearly impossible some days to squeeze it all in when you DON’T nap. All I can say is Holy Frustration… for both of us!

Sure, I can do some things while you are awake, but you are usually right underfoot wanting (and deserving) my undivided attention and if I’m not giving it to you, I feel extremely guilty. It’s a never-ending struggle because once you go down for the night, I’m running around like a chicken with their head cut off doing things, when I really want to be spending time with your dad or relaxing before it all starts up again tomorrow.

I know I’m not the only mom that feels this way, so I’m curious, how do you balance it all? The meals, laundry, phone calls, grocery shopping, planning, organizing, personal time, heck, even relationships? Especially you moms with more than one child? I’m anxious to hear how you keep on good terms with time.

The best is yet to be.

Day 80/100

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Lotions & Potions

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We’ve been home over a week and I’m still trying to unpack and put things away and I don’t know why, but this made me giggle today…

Up until our last trip we shared my toiletry bag, but now that you have almost as much bathroom stuff as I do, you require your very own:


The contents are pretty funny too. Butt Paste really is the best diaper cream out there.

The best is yet to be.

Day 79/100

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Me, Versatile?

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Natalie, author of Mommy of a Monster (I Mean Toddler) and Infant Twins honored me this week with the Versatile Award and I am deeply touched.

Natalie is relatively new to the blogging world (as if I’m some old pro!?) and is doing an awesome job of sharing her crazy wonderful world of having three under three with us. If you don’t already follow her, you are missing out!

In order to accept this award, I have a few things to do:

Share seven things about myself with you.

1. If I could change the world, I’d put a little more “please”, “thank you” and “excuse me” into things.

2. Sitting in stop and go traffic makes me want to put my head through the window. It is the ONE and ONLY thing that I DON’T miss about working. I avoid the freeway like the plague during rush hours now.

3. Way before N1H1 and West Nile Virus, I was a compulsive hand washer and now that I’m a mom, it’s almost out of control.

4. I have always had a bad case of wanderlust and I wish I had more time to travel. If I could be anywhere in the world right now, it would be sitting at the Deux Magots cafe in Paris blogging and sipping a Kronenbourg 1664 (it’s okay, it’s almost 9:00 PM in Paris).

5. I have owned seven iPods… don’t ask! Let’s just say that I’m glad my husband and I own stock in Apple.

6. I was married for three years before I met Lucas’ dad. It is so bizarre to think about it now because it seems like eons ago and I don’t know that I’ve ever discussed that in my blog before.

7. I don’t have a clue how to apply eye make-up (a part form mascara, which I couldn’t live without).

For more on me, read: The Joy Of Blogging and I’ve Been Tagged.

Thank the person who gave you this award.

Thank you! Gracias! Merci! Danke! Grazie! Shukriyah! Natalie, you rock. 🙂

Pass the award on to three fellow deserving bloggers:

Leah, who’s not a mommy yet, but is my sister and writes LA ‘n’ LA about her new life and adventures in Los Angeles.

Tara, whose blog, Blondie ‘N’ SC is just too pretty and heartwarming for words. If you are seeking warm fuzzys, visit her page right away!

Coreen, mother of one and expecting Baby #2 any day now writes The Adventures of Captain Fussypants & Caleb the Wonder Dog one of the wittiest bloggers I follow.

Contact the bloggers I’ve picked and let them know about the award.

Thanks, again Natalie and happy blogging, everyone!

The best is yet to be.

Day 79/100

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You Gotta Have Friends

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“Friends are the family we choose for ourselves.” – Edna Buchanan


Baby “Sprinkles” are becoming very popular for second, third and subsequent babies, especially with my group of friends. I now have SIX girlfriends pregnant with their number twos. I love the idea of these low key gatherings; there’s not as much pressure or formality as with full blown Showers and the games are kept to a minimum, thank goodness!

Last night we celebrated two of my mother-to-be-again friends with a joint Sprinkle and it was a lot of fun. I hadn’t seen my friends in several weeks so it was good to catch up and reconnect. I miss them when too much time goes by without seeing their faces.

They say that friendships change once you become a mom because priorities shift and family comes first, but I honestly haven’t felt that with my core group of girlfriends. A part from not having as much one-on-one time with them as I used to, they are as encouraging and supportive as always… both the still single and looking for Mr. Right and the fellow new moms.

Sure, I’m closer to some than others, but whenever possible, I try to make time (sans baby) to spend with all of them in a group setting or a cozy lunch for two and stay guneinuely engaged in their lives and what going on in their worlds as I can via Facebook, texts, e-mails and phone calls.

I have learned over the years that friends are as essential to me as breathing.

My friends are my life line to sanity, fun, growth and understanding and provide love and support through good times and bad. We celebrate each others successes and mourn with each other over our losses. I am blessed to have such wonderful, smart, beautiful women in my life and I hope that we always stay close.

The best is yet to be.

Day 78/100

By the way, your eyes aren’t playing tricks on you, I am trying out a larger font size… Whatdaya think?

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Drama King

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On the plane from New Caledonia to Sydney (a three hour flight, for which I was with you solo) you started throwing your head back, wailing and arching your body when I tried to keep you from hitting the tray table in front of us. Needless to say, you were M.A.D. and downright pissed off that I wouldn’t let you do what you wanted. Luckily the back of the plane was virtually empty, so before things got too out of hand, we moved.

As you banged away I thought to myself, I’m usually not one to “give in” that easily, but I was on my own and hadn’t experienced this type of outrage from you before and at 30,000 feet, I know better than to argue with a toddler.

Since that first episode, you have become quite the little pro at what I can only label as The Temper Tantrum, or The Ultimate Meltdown. When you want something, you want it NOW!!

Oh joy….

Is this how these episodes begin?? I (naively) thought that these outbursts debuted during the infamous Terrible Twos? Could they be a whole year early, and how long do I have to put up with them if they are?

I get it… I think. Toddlers seem to understand WAY more than they can express. I can’t even imagine not being able to communicate your needs, wants or desires. Even if hitting the tray table in front of you is completely out of the question. As your language skills improve, is it safe to assume that these tantrums will decrease? Please offer me some hope before I have a kicking, screaming, back arching fit of my own.

I found this interesting blurb in the April 2010 issue of Parenting magazine:

Apparently, caving to a tantrum-throwing toddler is in our DNA. In a study conducted by scientists from London’s Roehampton University, mother rhesus monkeys gave in to their shrieking infants only 39% of the time when pair was alone, but a whopping 81% of the time when strangers were listening.

Uh, yeah, is all I have to say about that. When your child acts out and you appear out of control, it’s completely embarrassing. Let’s just say, I’ve done a lot more deep breathing andcounting to 10 since I became a mother.

The best is yet to be.

Day 77/100

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Turn That Thing Off!

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I have a serious question that I doubt anyone can answer, but I’m going to throw it out there anyway:

What is the deal with the volume level on children’s toys?

Most of the ones we have mercifully have a high and low volume setting, but not all, which are set to the permanent **OBNOXIOUS** setting. I mean, c’mon!! Really? Some of them are just too annoying for words.

And why are the voices coming out of these brightly colored pieces of plastic always women? And wining women at that? Men’s voices can be cheery and delightful too.

Granted, sometimes the jingles are fun and even catchy and a great way for munchkins to learn nursery rhymes, colors, shapes, letters and numbers, but why do they have to be so LOUD?

I can’t help but wonder, if they are so disturbing for us, what damage could they possibly be causing sensitive little ears?

The best is yet to be.

Day 76/100

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My First Mother’s Day

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Today was my first Mother’s Day.

That still sounds weird.

I bought a card for my Mommy & Me friend, Jenn and it sums up this crazy ride very well:

The pay is short. The hours are long. It’s a 24/7 kind of job. Training is learn-as-you-go. Patience and wisdom required from day one. Retirement isn’t an option. Being a mom is a lifetime job and nobody does it better than you!

I love to bitch about my job, but I really do love it and today was especially perfect.

It started off with a nice long hot shower followed by scrambled eggs, waffles, crispy bacon and orange juice, and then a couple of much needed hours at the nail salon getting the full treatment while I read blissfully.

I haven’t even gotten to the perfect part yet…

Spending the afternoon with my two favorite men.

An early dinner at one of my favorite local bistros.

Not even 7:00 and we are all jammied up… my favorite time of the day!

Cocktail napkins from your dad… talk about perfect and he obviously reads the blog!!

I hope every Mother’s Day is just like today.

The best is yet to be.

Day 75/100

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