Monday

Nakey Baby

I'm not in the best of moods this morning.  Not a lot has gone right in the last week or so.

First my computer died last week.  You press the power button and the power button lights up for 3 seconds, nothing happens and then the light goes off.  Cool.  For someone with a computer/internet addiction, this has been difficult to say the least. 

Then just two days later I woke up, went downstairs, turned the water on to brush my teeth.  A trickle came out and then nothing.  After multiple times turning all of the different faucets on and off, I realized that it was true, we had no water.  This continued for four days.  Four days without running water.  Nothing like no running water for you to realize that constant internet access is not a basic necessity of life.  Running water however, is.  At least there was a lot of snow outside, we melted snow on the stove in our lobster pot and then used that to flush the toilet, give the dogs water, etc. I decided that simple living is not all that it is cracked up to be, at least not for me.  I enjoy taking a shower, having clean clothes and washing my dishes in a dishwasher.  The return of running water after literally shocking the frozen pipe with a pipe defibrillator was a very happy day.


http://www.rohitn.com/images/green/water_faucet.jpg
Today another disastrous thing happened in our life.  I actually think I might rank it almost as high as having no running water.  This is how I was greeted with this sunny Monday morning.

I heard Munchkie awake and calling out so I went into her room. (Background: Because we are not morning people, we have been getting out of bed, handing her a couple books, and going back into our nice warm bed.  She has enjoyed this, reading quietly in her crib for sometimes over an hour.  In fact, the mornings that we have to go somewhere she is usually crying for books as we are getting her ready.)  I hadn't put my glasses on and so couldn't actually see anything.  I walked into her room, grabbed a few books, and turned around to hand them to Munchkie.  In my extremely blurred vision I could tell something wasn't right.  I said "this cannot be happening" and ran into my room to get my glasses.  Munchkie Daddy said "what is going on?"  I replied, "I need my glasses because I don't believe what I think I just saw." 

After rushing back into Munchkie's room I realized that the terrible image I had barely seen was even worse with clear vision.

Munchkie had unzipped and pulled off her pajamas.  She was then working on her diaper and it was only attached on one side.  Apparently this morning Munchkie woke up and decided that she knew how to use a zipper and remove clothes.  How can this be happening to us?

I then was in the kitchen making some breakfast when Munchkie came walking into the kitchen, pjs off to her ankles and dragging behind her.  Diaper off and in her hand.  Unbelievable.  She did this yet another time, this time walking around with nothing but the rice paper liner from her cloth diaper stuck to her leg before I took the nakey baby upstairs and got her dressed for the day. 

What are we going to do now?  I am so fearful that we are now going to wake up to a complete mess every morning.  Because Munchkie's Daddy doesn't like buttons, almost every single pair of pajamas are zippered.  That way it's easier for Munchkie's Daddy to put on, and now easier for Munchkie to pull off.  Fantastic.

Sunday

Homemade Coffee Creamer Part II

I absolutely loved the previous recipes for coffee creamers and can hardly wait to make these. I just thought that I would pass along the newest two from deliciouslyorganic.net. Enjoy!

Homemade Coffee Creamer Part II

I believe you can go back to find the previous creamers as well. Highly recommended!

Monday

A cause close to my heart

I have always been interested in adoption and plan on adopting children one day.  I don't actually know this family, but many of the blogs I subscribe to have mentioned them.  They are trying to raise money to adopt a child from Columbia.  In my very brief research I have seen how extremely expensive it is to adopt and so want to do what I can to help.  These are very cute Valentine's Day cards and you pay a small amount to download the pdf and print them out yourself.  Even if you're not a Valentine's Day person (like myself, I actually despise the holiday) these are pretty cute.


Pulling my hair out!

Me: Munchkie what is this?
Munchkie: Bim bim (Big Bird)
Me: No that is crayon on the wall, that is not ok.
Munchkie: Bim Bim color
Me: You cannot color Big Bird on the wall.  It's not ok to color on walls.  Only on papers.
Munchkie: Color Bim Bim (knodding head).
Me: You can color Big Bird on paper.  Not on walls.  You cannot do this.
Munchkie: Color Bim Bim paper knodding head)
Me: Yes you can only color Big Bird on paper.

It is incredibly difficult to discipline your child when they are so excited that they drew Big Bird.  Munchkie was so proud of herself and her artwork.  She was so adament that it was Big Bird that I could hardly keep a straight face.  Thank goodness for Magic Erasers!

Sunday

When things go wrong, start cooking

I had a very specific schedule planned out for this morning.  When Munchkie woke up I was going to get her, do my 20 minute exercise DVD with her "assistance," shower and make it to church for Sunday School.  Due to my schedule and our traveling I have not been able to go to our church since the beginning of December.  Isn't that crazy?  We really wanted to start participating more at church and we haven't been able to because I've been working.  When I woke up, went downstairs and started to brush my teeth, the water just stopped.  I turned the faucet off and on and nothing.  Nothing from the kitchen sink either.  Oh boy.  There went all of my perfectly scheduled plans.  No water= not good.  You don't realize how much you use rely on water.  I can't shower, I can't brush my teeth, I can't wash my scrubs (which are all dirty and I have to work tonight), and I feel amazingly dehydrated since I have limited water to drink. 

So when I get frustrated or stressed, I like to cook/bake.  Even though it meant that I would end up with dishes that couldn't be washed I decided to make something for breakfast.  It ended up being tasty.
I chopped up a couple tomatoes, sweet peppers and 4 cloves of garlic.
I sauteed the garlic in 1 teaspoon of olive oil and then added the peppers.  After they got slightly soft I added the tomatoes and about 1/4 cup black beans.  I know this may be weird, but I push the veggies around the outside of the pan and then pour the eggs in the middle to cook for a little bit.  I used 2 whole eggs and 2 egg whites that were scrambled with a dash of milk, chili powder, paprika, cumin and freeze dried cilantro (bad choice, wish I had fresh).

Then I added just a little bit of shredded cheese once everything was cooked.
Munchkie's Daddy had his in a wrap with hot sauce to spice it up more.
I just put mine in a bowl with some more cilantro.  Munchkie and I were supposed to share, but she decided that she didn't want any once we sat down to eat it. 
And so she ended up with a more toddler friendly breakfast.

This ended up being so filling neither one of us could finish it!  Quite yummy I would have to say.  I think it made our lack of water just a little more bearable.  Now the water can decide to start running at any time.  That would be nice.

Saturday

Pink!

It's amazing how everything you do is a lesson when you have kids.  Cutting up an apple for Munchkie I say "this apple is red, how many pieces do you want?  1, 2, 3,4,...."  Putting on clothes is a lesson in colors, driving down the street you count the cars, etc.  After doing this for months, you just wait and hope that what you are doing actually helps.  So when a couple weeks ago when I went to get Munchkie out of her crib in the morning and she pointed to my shirt and said "Pink!"  I literally almost started crying.  I got so excited and said "Yes! Yes! That's right!  Good Job Munchkie!" and she started pointing out all the colors she could see.  Probably to get more praise, but still.
Ever since then if she focuses and doesn't goof off she knows most of her colors.  At least the basic ones.  It was like she woke up that day and decided that she wanted to know her colors.  At first she would point and say the color as a question, but now she says each one with confidence.  It's truly amazing to me and I ask her all the time what color different things are.  Now when we are riding in the car she's say "lellow!" and I'll have to look all over to see where she's pointing. 
It makes me feel like maybe I am doing something right.  Just maybe.  She hasn't hit anyone at daycare (that I know of), she mostly knows her colors, she can count to 3 (sometimes 4 if she feels like it) and she knows the alphabet to D.  I'm really proud of her and hope that I can continue do something right.

Friday

Chocolate Fix

Since I was in elementary school I have been eating yogurt for lunch, snack, whenever.  I may take occasional breaks from it, but I always go back, it's something I never tire of.  It's basically my peanut butter and jelly sandwich.  I haven't made yogurt in a little while and just got a large container of greek yogurt so I could take some to work this week.  It's a food that is quick, easy and filling when there isn't time to sit down and eat at work.  I usually spice it up with some raw honey and then fruit, ground flax, granola, etc.  Mmmmm.  There are many benefits of yogurt including probiotics, calcium and protein so it makes me feel even better about loving it.
When the commercial first came out where all the people talk about eating their favorite desserts and loosing weight, then it ends up being yogurt, I just had to try them.  Those are quite tasty, but it's almost scary what kinds of chemicals they must use to make them taste identical to something like apple pie.  And they do taste exactly like what they are supposed to.  Since we already know that I also love sweets this was a great option for me to get that dessert fix.  I just was kind of uncomfortable with the additives, etc.  When I found this recipe for a little chocolate fix in the issue of SELF magazine that featured Jillian Michaels (another favorite of mine), since it includes yogurt, it was definitely the first one I tried.  I have to say that I didn't have super high expectations at first, but now I'm hooked!  If you want something that's just slightly chocolatey and sweet this is great.  It's not going to taste exactly like a boston cream pie and be around 100 calories, but you'll know exactly what's in it, and it will still be good for you.


1 cup fat free plain Greek yogurt
2 teaspoons honey (preferably raw)
1/2 tablespoon cocoa (the recipe actually calls for 1 teaspoon, but I think it tastes better with more)

Mix together.  Enjoy.

I guess I never paid attention, but I didn't realize that cocoa powder only had 10 calories in a tablespoon, so you can probably add more than half a tablespoon if you wanted it more chocolatey.  Here are the nutrition facts for the above recipe.

Calories 189
Fat 0.3g
Total Carbohydrates 22g
Fiber 0.8g
Sugars 20.6g
Protein 23.5g (Wow!)

If you feel that Greek yogurt is too expensive you can make it with regular fat free plain yogurt, and the nutrition information would be as follows.

Calories 157
Fat 0.3g
Total Carbohydrates 31.9g
Fiber 3.5g
Sugars 27.8g
Protein 11.3g

Thursday

Tears Fall

Tears fall today for another precious child taken to Heaven.  Who knew that such a small body with such a short life could change hearts and lives.  Although we think this life was taken too soon, there are no more owies, no more tubes, no more wires, no more sleepless nights, and no more crying.  How wonderful to have a perfect body, pain free, and to be able to do the things you could never do.  Heaven is a better place for you, precious little baby, but earth is a much sadder place now that you're gone.

Please keep in your thoughts and prayers the parents whose children are taken from them to dance with the angels in heaven.

These are the parts of my job that I don't love.

Wednesday

Winners!

Oh you thought I was kidding about the hat and paper?  Because I wasn't.  I am super impressed with how many people commented.  I thought this was going to be easy and I'd just mail to the one or two people who entered.  Now I feel bad that I actually had to pick!

So congrats to Joy and Mr. Ryals on winning!

Now I am going to bed because I am exhausted.

Monday

MLK Jr. GIVEAWAY!

The cool thing to do when you have a blog is to have giveaways.  I have entered countless giveaways on the blogs I follow and have, sadly, never won anything. Since holidays are for great deals, and I am close to having 2,000 hits on my blog (wow!) I thought I would try out a giveaway on my blog, even though it's not a cool new product.

I had talked earlier about how we made our Christmas presents this year and how much work it had been.  We had made extras because we didn't want to run out after all of the work we had put into them.
I bet you're wondering what exactly are these presents? A cookbook, pure homemade vanilla, a small utensil set (our favorite, we have about 4 sets of these), and all of this is wrapped in a dish towel.
We compiled our favorite recipes from all different sources into a cookbook for our friends and families.  The recipes came from scribbles on scrap papers in a folder, cookbooks, internet searches and our families.  We enjoy cooking and wanted to pass along some tasty recipes to others.
 The recipes are divided into nine different sections including Breakfast, Breadmaker Breads, Soup, Starters and Snacks, Sauces, Sides, Entree, Dessert and Beyond Food.  There are also occasional color photos of the items taken by us.  The recipes range from an amazing blueberry muffin to stinky shoe solution. 
 We also made homemade vanilla.  Many kinds of vanilla have additives, including the dreaded high fructose corn syrup, and aren't really pure vanilla.  Don't worry I opened, scraped and sliced the vanilla beans myself.  This is pure vanilla.  I actually haven't baked since it was finished brewing in my cabinet, but I hear it is very good.

So, I am going to offer two of these to two people who read my blog.  I don't have any neat computer program that will randomly select a winner, so I will have to do it the old-fashioned-pick-a-name-out-of-a-hat way.  In order to enter this giveaway leave a comment here on my blog with your email address. To have a second entry, become a follower of this blog and leave a comment saying that you are a follower. I will put all of the email addresses into a hat and draw from there. 

This giveaway will end Wednesday January 19th at 8:00am.  (Mostly because that's when I'll get home from work to see who entered.)  If you are a winner, I will email you and ask for your mailing address.

Good luck!

Sunday

I heart sweets and Jillian Michaels

My huge downfall is sweets.  I just really love about any form of desert.  I found this a while ago when I heard about how great coconut milk is (initially from Jillian Michaels's book).  I tried it and loved it.  I do love coconut, and this has just a hint of coconut, so if you aren't a coconut fan, you might not like it.





It's also not that bad for you. Only 150 calories for 1/2 cup, and 6 grams of fiber.  I also appreciate the list of ingredients, you can actually pronounce each ingredient.  See- INGREDIENTS: ORGANIC COCONUT MILK, ORGANIC AGAVE SYRUP, CHICORY ROOT EXTRACT, CAROB BEAN GUM, GUAR GUM, VANILLA EXTRACT, NATURAL FLAVOR, VANILLA BEAN SPECKS.  It's pretty light, not the rich creaminess of something like Hagan Das or Ben and Jerry's but when you just need something sweet, a little bit is just enough.

A friend of mine got me hooked on the Biggest Looser several years ago and so began my love for Jillian Michaels.  I read her book "Master your Metabolism" about a year ago and really appreciated her scientifically based explanations for how different foods effect your body. 
Having hypothyroidism myself, it really helped to know how different foods/chemicals manipulate your hormones and how we can eat to balance our bodies.  When I ate from her food plan I felt so much better.  You don't realize how much you feel like crap until you feel really good.  Munchkie's Daddy even liked her recipes, they were full of real, organic ingredients and tons of flavor.  Sometimes he even makes some of her recipes just for himself.   Jillian was on the cover of Self magazine for January and inside are more meal ideas/recipes that I am excited to try out.  I can definitely handle eating her recipes such as the Southwestern Slam in which you cook together 1/2 cup corn, 1/4 cup canned black beans, 1/2 cup chopped red bell pepper, 1/4 cup chopped red onion, 1/4 tsp cumin, pinch of cayenne, 1 whole egg, 1 egg white, 2 tsp cilantro, and then serve with 2 cups cubed papaya. Mmmmm!









A few months ago Munchkie's Daddy and I did a juice detox together and I wanted to start the year off with a detox.  I felt more energy and overall well being after the detox, and found that I was able to eat much smaller portions without feeling hungry afterwords, as well as not having any cravings for sweets.  When I tried to start the year off with a detox I could not get the juices down, I would bring it to my lips and immediately start gagging because I remembered how horrible they tasted before.  I realized if I could not get the vegetables down than it was not really worth it to just drink fruit juices.  I will give it one more shot on my next stretch of days off, but then it's back to Jillian for me in my quest for better health in 2011.


I have been doing better in exercising and started Jillian's 30 Day Shred yesterday before work.  I think it's called a shred because your muscles feel like shredded cheese when you're finished.  I did it before work yesterday and could hardly move for the entire shift.  I still can hardly move, and I know that's a good thing.
Tomorrow I am going to measure myself as suggested on ehow in this article and see how I do in the 30 days.  I am hoping that between this healthier option for my sweet tooth, Jillian Michael's diet concepts and her 30 Day Shred, I will feel like a new person by Valentine's day. 

Thursday

Daycare day #1 = success

We are very sad that our babysitter that has been watching Munchkie for several months has returned to Brazil.  Munchkie was miraculously accepted into the daycare where we've been on the waiting list for almost a year and a half.  When I called they just had an opening for her and so I jumped on the chance.  The daycare is right across the street from the children's hospital where I work and is very highly ranked.  We joke that she's getting an early start on her ivy league education.  The daycare has a transition period  of five days where the parents slowly spend less and less time, transitioning to the child spending the whole day.  Today was our first day, Munchkie and I went for two hours to get a feel of how things go.

Munchkie ran right into the classroom, completely oblivious that I was even coming with her.  She went right to play with another girl.  Due to the snow storm yesterday there were only two other kids in the classroom, so there was one girl, ten months older than Munchkie and a seven month old baby.  Munchkie was so excited to play with other kids.  She was watching the little girl and doing everything the little girl did.  The little girl played the tambourine, so did Munchkie.  The little girl sat and read a book, so did Munchkie. When the little girl tilted her head back during snack time, so did Munchkie.  I can already see new habits coming home, the good and the bad.

I don't even think that Munchkie needs the transition time.  She could have cared less if I was there.  I know it's probably comforting just to have me in the room, but she definitely didn't cling or cry.  While I am so proud of her for showing her independence, it makes me a little sad that she is fine without me.  I think being one on one with the babysitter was a good transition to leaving us.  Now she needs to transition to being around other kids.

My huge fear is that she is going to hit or hurt someone because she's so used to rough handling the dogs.  I don't want to have the child who the other parents hate because she hits when someone wants to play with a toy.  I know the teachers are trained and have had many children come through so they are used to all kinds of kids, but it still makes me nervous.  It's completely different being the only child, never sharing to playing with other kids where everything is shared.  There are little things, like teaching Munchkie not to color on other people's paper and waiting your turn for hand washing, that she has to learn.  Hopefully she's a fast learner and I don't get bad notes home.

Tomorrow we go longer and I leave her there for a little while.  I'm sure it will be fine, but you just never know.

Sunday

Pas-sa

Now that I have an opinionated and decisive toddler on my hands the option to just put food in front of her is completely gone.  She has to have input in what she eats.  Then she has to help make it.  Lately when I say "Munchkie what do you want to eat?" her answers are "Pas-sa! Pas-sa!" (pasta) or "Rice! Rice!"  These are the two foods I can always count on her to eat, besides insane amounts of fruit.  However, by pas-sa she means that she wants Annie's Organic White Chedder and Shells out of a box.  When I try to give her pasta with red sauce, or anything else, she looks at me like "What in the world do you think this is? I asked for pasta."   Tomorrow I think my plan of attack is going to be a recipe I found a while ago.  Last year she ate cans and cans of organic pumpkin during the winter.  She looooved it.

I found this recipe during her pumpkin stage and she loved this as well.  It's called "Super Mac and Cheese" and to be honest I thought it sounded disgusting.  I made it for Munchkie and as with all of her food, just tried it to see what I was giving her.  And really, it wasn't that bad.  Here is the recipe.  I will be adding some broccoli to it tomorrow I think for a little added vegetable.
This isn't the Super Mac, but it's Munchkie enjoying some pasta about a year ago.  I couldn't pass it up because she's just so cute!

Thank you simplebites.net for the recipe.  
Click the link above for original blog post with recipe.
  • 1 box (8 oz.) whole wheat macaroni pasta
  • 2 Tablespoon unsalted butter
  • 2 Tablespoon All-Purpose Flour
  • 1 1/2 cups milk, warmed
  • ½ cup canned pumpkin*
  • 1 cup grated mild cheddar cheese
  • Pinch freshly grated nutmeg (optional)
Cook the pasta in large pot of boiling water according to package instructions, about 8-9 minutes. Drain and set aside in large bowl.
Begin making the cheese sauce by melting butter over medium-low heat in a saucepan.  Once completely melted, add the flour little by little and mix with a whisk to prevent lumps.  Cook flour and butter mixture for about 3 minutes, but do not let brown. Remove from heat and slowly add milk; mix with whisk until well combined. Return to medium-low heat and cook for about 5 minutes until the sauce is thick and coats the back of a spoon. Add nutmeg and pumpkin. Remove from heat and add grated cheese; stir until cheese is completely melted and sauce is smooth.
In a large bowl, pour cheese sauce over cooked pasta.  Mix sauce and pasta until well combined.  The mixture may appear a bit soupy but the pasta will absorb more of the cheese sauce as it sits. Once cooled, chop slightly in food processor for small babies or keep whole for toddlers.
*Can substitute pumpkin with puréed sweet potato or butternut squash.

Truly Amazing

I get a couple emails each week with several links that are favorites of other bloggers.  I was truly touched by this and wanted to pass it along.  What an amazing story of the generosity of people.  People from all backgrounds.  There is good in this world we live in.

I can't figure out how to repost this, so I'll just have to give you the link.

Photo from www.debretts.com

http://thebloggess.com/2010/12/my-heart-grew-three-sizes-and-now-i-have-an-enlarged-heart-worth-it/

Saturday

Waiting........

A few years ago for my birthday my brother and I went and got tattoos together.  I knew if one of us was going to, we both had to, because our parents couldn't disown both of us.  This past year a friend and I went for our birthdays and I added to my tattoo.  I have thought of a Bible verse many times throughout my life and it has brought me much comfort.  Psalm 30:11 "You have turned my wailing into dancing, you removed my sackcloth and clothed me in joy."

This verse gave me hope.  No matter what happens, there is a happy ending.  No matter how much pain and suffering we endure, there is always an end to it.  I had a tattoo of a dancing angel to remind me that in the end there will be dancing, dancing for joy.  This past year I added to the tattoo this verse, and wanted it to look like one of the coptic tattoos I had seen in a library book.  I went for a consult and they sketched out the tattoo, I thought it looked good, they permanently inked it into my skin and then I went home.  It was covered with a gauze dressing and so just before I went to bed, I uncovered it and had Munchkie's Daddy take a picture so I could see how it looked.  When I looked at the tattoo, I realized how one little line can change the entire meaning of something.

When I got home I realized that my permanently permanent tattoo said "You turned my waiting into dancing"
 Little did I know how much waiting I would be doing.  Munchkie's Daddy has a life plan that includes getting his PHd.  He did not get into the programs he applied to last year due to an unfortunate situation, so this year he has reapplied.  He has now submitted his application to eleven different schools.  And now we're waiting.  Do you know how hard it is to just wait?

There's nothing we can do.  Nothing we can plan.  Nothing we can count on.  All we can do is wait.  Wait to hear from these schools.  We don't know when we are going to hear back from these schools, could be the end of January, could be middle of March. We are just waiting to see what the next five years of our lives will entail.  I can hardly handle waiting in the drive-thru line at Starbucks and now I have to wait for the rest of my life to be determined by people I have never met. 

And so now, my tattoo makes a lot more sense to me.  While it may not have been exactly what I had in mind, it gives my life a little more meaning.  My waiting will be turned into dancing.  I don't know when, and I don't know what I will be dancing about.  But it seems that there will be a good ending to my waiting.  I will hold onto this when I get scared and panicked about what the future holds for us.  So here I am, waiting.  Waiting to see how my life will be changed.

Thursday

You know you're a mom when.....

With the reflecting and remembering we've been doing lately I've been thinking about years past.  It's amazing how much your life changes in just a short amount of time.  The changes I see in Munchkie are astounding, but how she's changed my life is really even more incredible.  And so I have been thinking, man I am really a mom now.  A real, wear jeans that don't fit and go out without makeup kind of mom.  It make me think about all of the other things in my life that have changed.  Oh how things change.....

So, these are things that I've noticed lately that make me kind of crack up thinking about the changes in my life.

You know you're a mom when.....
  • You step into the shower and aren't even phased by the 3 ducks and a dolphin, mindlessly pushing them aside with your feet and continuing your shower.
  • You almost consider your new bathroom accessory matching, the Elmo on the potty seat kind of matches the red rugs and towels.....
  • You find yourself saying "yummies" in public.  When your child isn't with you.
  • You have to spell out loud half of your conversation.
  • You hear Elmo's voice every time you trip over something. 
  • Not having milk in the fridge literally is the end of the world.
  • You have to sing the cleanup song whenever something is on the ground.
  • When you go grocery shopping, you hesitate with each item in your hand and think "how big of a mess can this possibly make?"  and then put the item back if the cleanup makes you cringe.
  • You can't get into some of your cabinets because the child proof lock is too confusing.
  • Going out to eat is way more of a hassle than actually cooking the food at home.
  • You can fall asleep anywhere, but don't know the last time you slept through the night without waking to some kind of noise.
  • The camera is sitting out at all times, ready for action.
  • There are designated hours of the day that you are trapped in your house, they are called naptime, and bedtime.
  • Your social life is going to Target, and you're on a first name basis with the Starbucks girl.
  • jj;m;.m.m.mxfvfzhyug78u8nhn9; hgyn8 hyjkj;[l[=l\l=lnmj JKI hdhy, u8tj
  • You walk away from your computer for a minute and whatever you are doing gets altered slightly, because buttons are just too fun to not push.
  • The words "No you have already brushed your teeth enough times today, you do not need to brush them again" come out of your mouth.
  • You have to teach about sharing, sharing toys with other kids, or not sharing food with the dogs.
  • There are 23 episodes of Sesame Street on your DVR.  And you know what each one is about.
  • You don't need an alarm clock because about the same time each day you hear "Mooooommmmmmyyyyyyy" coming from the other room.
There are a lot more, but these are the ones I can think of now.  

Wednesday

Where oh where has my hair gone???

I have always had ridiculously thick hair.  So much hair that every single stylist who has cut my hair makes comments and I have to request more time for my appointments.  On my honeymoon I chopped 11+ inches off my hair and the poor girl in the hotel who cut my hair took over 2 hours to cut, thin and style my hair.  I have tried all kinds of products, straightners, blowdryers, brushes and tricks to make my hair smooth, straight and not so big.   
Holy big hair! And I thought this was a tamed down day!
Lately I have noticed a huge difference in my hair.  At first I was pretty happy that my hair was becoming thinner.  That's what I have spent years of my life trying to obtain.  I started loosing it some after Munchkie was born, but only slightly more than usual.  However, the last several months it has become scary.  When I wash my hair, I literally have hand fulls of hair on my hands.  I have to pull the hair from my hands several times just to be able to shampoo my hair.  I cleaned my shower drain out last week (and by I, I mean Munchkie's Daddy because I gag and can't do it myself) and today when I was showering, by the end, there were several inches of water in the tub.  My shower drain is already clogged up again.  After one week.

I wore my hair in a pony tail yesterday for the first time in a while and noticed how small my ponytail was.  It was only a couple years ago that I would go through several hair bands just trying to pull my hair back.  My hair would be so thick that they would just snap, sometimes at random times throughout the day.  Now my ponytail is about a third of what it used to be.
I'm starting to get pretty nervous now.  Why is my hair falling out?  Does stress cause this?  Is it a delayed response to having a baby?  Is it because my hair is also turning ridiculously gray as well?  Am I going to have no hair soon?

I know this is a very superficial and vain thing to be concerned about, but I am nervous that hair doesn't just fall out for no reason.  Because I believe that every aspect of our bodies are intertwined and what we put in our bodies greatly affects even the smallest things, I am concerned that there is something causing my recent hair loss.  I just don't know what it is.

I need to do some research, but I'm nervous to even type the words into Google for fear of all the ridiculous results and "treatments" I will get.  I hope that I can figure something out soon, before I have no hair left.