I can’t be the only person out there fully capable of convincing themselves that eating oatmeal cookies is just as healthy as eating a bowl of oatmeal.
Now that Sammy’s eating eggs – and refusing most foods that aren’t covered in tomato sauce – I’m excited to venture into the world of baked goods with him. I was in a rain-soaked, head-cold fog when I raced through the grocery store this morning, so I totally blanked on the ingredients for zucchini bread, but I did manage to scrounge up the necessary things for these banana oatmeal cookies. (Of course, Alisa and Jay would probably kick my ass for using olive oil instead of vegetable, but it’s all we had.) They’re actually pretty darn tasty – a tad bit more sugar than I think either of us really wants Sammy to have right now, but this kid needs to eat SOMETHING other than raviolis and cheezits! I’m going to poke around a bit more and see if I can manage up the ingredients for some carrot bread, too. Mmmm… carrot bread.
BANANA OATMEAL COOKIES
1 1/2 c. flour
1 c. white sugar
1 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1/4 tsp. nutmeg
3/4 tsp. cinnamon
1 1/4 c. oil or soft shortening
1 egg
3 lg. bananas, mashed
1/2 c. walnuts
1 3/4 c. uncooked oatmeal
Mix all ingredients together, drop by teaspoonful on ungreased cookie sheet. Bake at 350 degrees until golden. Makes a nice moist cookie.
(It really does!)

So, it looks like there is some truth to all those rumors – I AM a MILF!
Ok, ok, so maybe not a MILF – but three (three! count ‘em!) people think I should be in the running for the Hottest Mommy Blogger! (Thanks, Amy, for the nomination.) Make me feel better and go vote for me, will ya? I promise not to let it go to my head – and I promise especially not to skip any walks this week and treat myself instead to some frothy, foamy calorie-laden Starbucks yumminess. Because really, even though three (three!) people think I am a hot mommy blogger already, it’s amazingly easy to hide this mama-tummy in all those flickr pictures, and I’m tired of hiding the mama-tummy. Of course, there might be a little more swagger in these mama-hips while I head out for that walk…
When I wasn’t looking this week (probably because I was a) chasing after an accident-prone toddler or b) looking at gorgeous handmade Amy Butler bags on ebay), Emily gave me the Thinking Blogger Award. Apparently, I make her think and laugh – quite the compliment, I’d say. Thanks, Emily!
I’m thinking I should probably pass along the award as well, so here it goes:

1. Up On Christian Hill: Renee is everything I’m not – right-wing, pro-abstinence only education, anti-gay-marriage – but she’s articulate about her views and very rarely, if ever, inflammatory for the sake of being inflammatory. She drives me BONKERS – but I insist on reading her because she makes me question my own values and why I believe what I do – which gives me the opportunity to truly justify why I stand behind the things I do. So while half the time (okay, something like 98% of the time), I want to shake some serious sense into her, I appreciate the way she makes me think.

2. On My Way Over the Rainbow: Jouette stumbled on my blog while searching for HLHS babies, because oh yeah – her father is THE Dr. Norwood who pioneered the three-stages of surgery that are the reason Sammy is here today. She is insanely positive about life – she and her husband recently made some pretty major, serious changes to their lives on their path to true happiness, and I really respect that. She makes me think about those leaps we sometimes need to take in order to find our happiness.
3. It’s So Not About You: Statia has been a long-time favorite read of mine. She’s honest, funny, and true to what I imagine she’s like in real life. I’ve watched her transform from this hysterical, sometimes bitchy, no bullshit girl into an amazing mush of an amazingly in-love mother. She makes me think about the little compartments that make up who we are, and that we CAN change and still be the fantastic women we’ve always been – just better.
4. Mom-Blog: I found Gina one night while surfing through blogs written by parents of special-needs children. One of her sweet daughters has Down Syndrome. But what drew me in was the honesty with which Gina writes. She’s done a considerable amount of soul-searching, particularly when it comes to religion and spirituality. I’m fascinated by other people’s faith, and as Gina finds her own path, she makes me think about my own. I appreciate that.

Apparently, I was to write about five blogs that make me think – however, I’ve had a miserable cold all day and I’m so looking forward to that shot of Nyquil that’s calling my name, so these four will have to do. I generally don’t read blogs that don’t make me think in some form, so you’re all winners. Really. Now you can go about your day knowing I think you’re a winner – put THAT swagger in your sweet little hips. (More about the award here.)
Anyway. Smooches, Amy and Emily. You girls made my night. Now, Nyquil is about to make this thought-provoking MILF’s night. Nini!

I am having a good day. It’s the first time I’ve felt at peace in quite some time. I’m not sure why, but I’m not fighting it, either. Please – hope that it lasts. I’ve been in a rough place lately.

1. We made it out of the house before 8am to grab some coffee and head over to the local coop nursery school where my friend brings her son. They were having a HUGE fundraising sale – LOTS of kids’ stuff. We snagged a great GeoTracks set and enough Legos to keep him busy until he’s 20.

2. We came home for breakfast and gave Sammy his first taste of eggs EVER. If you’ve been following, we had a scary, bloody-diaper episode when he was about 4 months old that led to a milk-soy-egg intolerance diagnosis. We introduced soy when he was about 11 months old without a problem, dairy about 5 weeks ago without a problem – and now eggs. He really liked them (of course, they were SATURATED in butter!) – and no reaction yet. Whoo hoo!
3. We went back out and bought Sammy the Neat & Tidy Cottage, which I was INSANELY excited about and which he loves, loves, LOVES. He’s napping now, and I can hardly wait for him to wake up just so I can watch him play with it again.
4. I discovered a local fruit-only CSA. We’re signing right up! I even offered to volunteer, as long as they don’t mind a little munchkin tagging along.
5. I love my mom’s group! It’s so fantastic to be able to hang out with other moms. Our summer is filling up with all sorts of fun things to do.
6. The history teacher, whom I – and staff and students alike – hold in the absolute utmost esteem – has been on my case to come back. There’s nothing to make you feel so worthy as to have someone you truly respect return the feeling. I won’t be back fulltime at least until after Sammy’s next surgery, but it’s so good to feel missed – and respected as a teacher and colleague!
7. The weather turned gorgeous and I opened the windows and cleaned up while Jay ran out to get grillin’ goodies. Our friends Deb & Mark are coming over with the kids, I’ve got pigtails goin’ on and a peach Twisted Tea in my hand.

Good things. Good feelings. Yay!

I’ve devised what I call the “Sammy Leftover” diet. Sammy’s eating mostly normal foods now, and rarely does he eat an entire meal that I’ve fixed. I find I tend to pick and nibble while I make his meals, and then when he’s done eating, I finish up what he hasn’t eaten. And since we’re trying to get him to gain weight, everything is drenched in butter and other full-fat milk products. Of course, if I nibble away at his leftovers, and then prepare something for myself – well, I’ll quickly put back on the pregnancy weight and then some. So, I only eat what he hasn’t – no additional meal for me. And really – even though they’re buttery and full-fat, the meals I make for him are still so much more well-balanced than anything I’d make for myself! (Sure, the carrots are drenched in butter – but they’re still veggies, right? )
I’m thinkin’ it’s working – I’m down three pounds since last week. WOO HOO. Only 8 more to prepregnancy weight, then another 6 to happier-Eka weight. Throw in perfect weather, a slew of outdoor playdates coming up – plus many more opportunities to get out and play – this getting-active thing should definitely be easier than it has been all winter. We did a 2.5 mile walk to the playground this morning, and I’m hoping to get out for another short walk after dinner tonight.
He’s napping, the windows are open and there’s a great, fresh, clean breeze. I’m going to throw in some laundry, make up a cup of tea and watch some Dharma & Greg before mopping and other spring cleaning I’m itching to get to. Yay, spring!

1. It is currently 90° in the shade on our deck. 90! We had a playdate at a favorite local park, so Sammy was able to work off some of his insane energy. He also covered himself in sand – which prompted a trip out to buy this sand and water table. He’s passed out cold right now, but I’m itchin’ for him to wake up so Evan and Nate can come over and break it in with him. I’m also considering getting him the Neat and Tidy Cottage. They had something similar at the store, and I had to physically extract him from it. He’s a huge fan of opening and closing doors. And opening. And closing. And opening. And closing. And opening…

2. Speaking of Sammy (since I so rarely mention him), he can shove seven goldfish in his mouth at once. And keep them there for hours, apparently. Considering all he seems to eat lately is cheese and cheese-flavored crackers, I’m certain he’s had lots of practice… though I’d question how many he’s actually kept in his mouth, as there seem to be bright orange smudges of wet cracker smooshed into every carpet downstairs.
3. I went to the mall last week in search of a pair of See Kai Run shoes for Sammy (I’m liking the Ocean style – especially since it looks like we’ve turned the corner into sandal season). Babystyle was out, so unfortunately, we need to make another trip next week. Also unfortunate – I went during school break and was reminded of how much teenagers annoy me when they’re outside of my classroom (I love ‘em to bits when they’re in class. Most of the time, at least.). Someone please tell me what business three 14 year old girls have walking into Victoria’s Secret? It makes me glad we’ve got a boy.
4. I’m thisclose to calling a real estate agent and getting a general sense of what our house could sell for. The nice weather really makes me want a decent backyard where Sammy can play. We want to move in the next couple of years anyway, though we talked about waiting until after Sammy’s next surgery. I’d love to make the hop across the border into NH, though I’d be happy with some of the outer-outer Boston towns, if we can afford something with some real land. Both cars are paid off in November, which frees up a nice chunk of money to put towards a bit of a bigger mortgage…
5. Ummm. I think that’s it.

In case you haven’t done enough shopping recently:
New York & Company is currently having a 40% off everything sale on their online store. Save an additional 20% off your entire purchase with coupon code 8838. For orders of $50 or more, use code 5987 to save $25. Shipping begins at $4.95 for order amounts of up to $25.
From SlickDeals. Enjoy!
(Edited: Add JJill to that list. You can save either $25 off orders of $50 or more (SP3BBP) or $50 off orders of $100 or more (SP3BB2). They’re having some great sales, so run! ENDS TODAY, 4/15!)

WonderBoy (as I’ve now decided to call him) gracefully landed face-first into the table this morning. The large blue line above his eye, surrounded by the eggplant purple bruise that’s developing, will likely draw stares at the bank when we swing by later. He’s also clearly lost all crawling skills since he began walking, as he managed to do a faceplant while excitedly racing away from us on all fours (and into the dining room where he doesn’t belong), resulting in his first nosebleed. If I hadn’t been in “Holy shit, my kid is bleeding!” mode, I might have stopped long enough to put my hands on my hips and say something ridiculously mother-like, such as, “That’s what you get for trying to race into the dining room!” or “That’s what you get for not listening to Mom and Dad!”
Oy.
We have a playdate at an indoor gym this afternoon. Wish us all luck – between WonderBoy’s (man, I love the sound of that) love for tackling the other kids, the massive “I swear I don’t abuse my child!” lump on his forehead and his new “I’m not nearly as steady on my feet as I like to think I am!” run across the room should prove for an interesting day out.
Seriously – I’m surprised as many of us made it to adulthood as we have. This toddlerhood thing is dangerous!

He’s not eating, not sleeping, teething like crazy, gagging on and puking up the one thing he WILL eat (graham crackers) and he just toddled around the corner – past the dishwasher into SAMMY!-GETBACKHERE!- forbidden land – and into the bathroom. There are slimy crumbs ground into the couch cushions and my socks stick to the kitchen floor. Clearly, my days of sleeping, eating a meal that consists of something other than Sammy’s leftovers, maintaining a relatively clean house – and oh yeah, peeing in peace – are over. (Though he’s never slept through the night, I could really do without the whole “Wheee! It’s one in the morning and I can WALK now! Let’s GO!” routine.)
I think I’d be able to cope a bit better if I didn’t have “Wave Your Arms Like Henry” Wiggles-style playing over and over as the soundtrack du jour in my brain. I’m having fantasies of taking those octopus-arms and choking all four Wiggles with them.
Please pray that this child takes his morning nap. Please. So I can mop the floor. So I can rest. So I can take two seconds to regain some semblance of control. And most importantly – so I can figure out where that cheese stick disappeared to.
I beg of you – for all our sakes.

He’s walking about 50% of the time and absolutely refusing to nap. I’ve given up fighting with him over it. Clearly, his little body is full of walking-energy and he can’t settle down. Instead, I’m employing the, “Wipe him out with crazy amounts of high-energy fun and then we’ll both crash and just give daddy that look when he comes home and the house is covered with toys, graham cracker crumbs and empty juice boxes, you know, the look that says both I-gave-up and give-me-wine-NOW and oh-yeah-you’re-putting-him-to-bed-tonight” tactic.
So we’re playing “head, shoulders, knees and toes” or see-saw, he’s putting everything on my head, his head, the cat’s head and saying, “hat!”, we’re dancing insanely around the room to the likes of SexyBack and tickle-wrestling and falling over in very loud squeals.
Which leads me to my question for the day: how is it, when wrestling with a 13-month-old, I’m the one who walks away with the fat lip?
Not that I would ever intentionally give my son a fat lip, but I’m like five times longer and eight times heavier than him, and I’m the one who looks like she just did five rounds with Mike Tyson!
And for the record, the remote is missing again. Score – Sammy, 2. Mama, 0.
(Edited: I just came downstairs to grab a different remote, went back up – and he was OUT. Score – Sammy, 2. Mama, 1. I am SO putting on something mindless and curling up in bed. Talk about one toddler absolutely kicking my ass today.)

So he’s taken to calmly and confidently letting go of things and simply walking to wherever he wants to be. It doesn’t seem to faze him, though we both do that whole, “Shhhhh….come here! Quick!” wave of the hand to the other whenever he decides to just go.
Lots of Jessie girl-time this weekend. Lots of shopping time, good Southeast Asian food (twice!), my first taste of the oh.my.god that is Coldstone Creamery Cake Batter ice cream, an egg hunt with Jessie, Nate and Emily, lots of little kids running and crawling in the fresh spring air, my first attempt at a cartwheel in at least five years, lunch where we actually got to order real food off the menu for Sammy (this dairy thing ROCKS), and then more Jessie-shopping time while Jay, Sammy, Nate & Emily did the grocery shopping. Really. Jessie has photographic proof. The boys took the babies food shopping while Jessie and I browsed cute bags, baby shower invites and other “we don’t care what we’re browsing, we’re doing it without saying things like, ‘Stop throwing that out of your stroller!”” things.
Oh yeah, and I spent some time this afternoon doing a search for “what the hell is a collard peckory?”, thanks to the same damned Go, Diego, Go! episode we’ve been forced to watch for the past two weeks. It is, in fact, a collared peccary, and it is the only wild, native, pig-like animal found in the United States. In case you were wondering, of course. Thanks to Diego, I can say things like, “ayudar me!”, know that chinchillas can’t swim and apparently, llamas like to hum.
The sheer knowledge I would have missed out on had I not had a child. Amazing.