Giggles In Heaven

Posted by random olio

On Monday I wrote about the book: “It Sucked and Then I Cried: How I Had a Baby, a Breakdown, and a Much Needed Margarita” by Heather Armstrong in this blog post. The blog I wrote was more on the funny and painful aspects to motherhood. Today I wanted to share the awww moments of motherhood. The parts that make you cling to your spouse with gratitude for this little life you brought into the world.

“The best part of my day was when Jon carried Leta back to the changing table after her bath, and she’d lay there wrapped in the towel, her hand shoved as far as she could get it into the back of her mouth. He’d lean down and pretend to eat her neck, causing her to laugh. And she laughed for him like she laughed for no one else, a full-body laugh that shook her belly and caused her to let go of her hand for a second. Her giggles would fill the house and echo through the baby monitor into the living room and out to the street. I imagined that those echoing giggles were what the background music in heaven sounded like.” Page 159

Aww. Giggles in heaven. I love the laughter and absolute uncontrollable giggle of a baby or toddler. You can continue to repeat what you are doing over and over again to have that same gut laughter continue. It. Is. The. Best. Thing. Ever. And then Heather talks about the love for her spouse, Jon:

“In him I’d found the person whom I knew I would never get tired of, even in the most monotonous of times, even in the routine of being together every single day. I never thought I would find that.” Page 237

This is how I feel about Chris. Even if he is on the iPad dreaming about our future, and I am pounding out my next blog post on my laptop, while watching Michael Phelps swim the last Olympic event of his career, we are hanging out together. We look up and smile at each other and go back to our respective activities, my legs sprawled out on top of him. Aww the life. Can you tell how addicted I am to my husband? We live our life with giggles and laughter and maybe one day we will share those gut deep giggles with a little one. (Can you tell I am thinking very seriously about it!)

Again, I say, read Heather’s book. It is worth it. Okay I am done touting her book. You will not hear another peep about it.

Cheeseburgers and Staples

Posted by random olio

I just finished reading: “It Sucked and Then I Cried: How I Had a Baby, a Breakdown, and a Much Needed Margarita” by Heather Armstrong. I could not stop saying: “Chris, Chris, I have to read this to you.” I might have to write about this book a few times because of just how blunt and hilarious Heather writes. Sometimes it is that potty humor that makes her funny, and sometimes it is in that I-relate-that-would-be-me kind of way.

In her book she takes you from trying to conceive, to her pregnancy, to the first 9 months of her baby girl’s life. She talks about her struggles with staying sane (literally) and what moms go through to not lose it. Maybe I can relate more right now because I am thinking so much about motherhood, but if you are a mother, or are thinking about taking that step, or just want a good laugh, then read on.

“An then, in what was one of the most memorable moments of the pregnancy, the ultrasound technician pointed to an unrecognizable shadow on the monitor and said, “See that cheeseburger? That means it’s a girl.” And then he circled her cheeseburger for emphasis. Jon had been holding my hand to give me strength to hold my pee, but right then he let go and cupped his tear-stained face, “You have a very important job,” he said, looking at me with the eyes I had fallen in love with. “You’re going to have to teach our daughter about her cheeseburger.” Page 39

I love this. It just made me smile. The next excerpt I want to share has to do with breast-feeding and what it feels like for a woman to breast feed. Men, yes please keep reading. I think it is worth it for you to know her explanation. Not that you do not respect women for what they have to go through to breast feed a child, but her description I think will take your respect to a new level.

“The only way to describe it to a man is to suggest that he lay out his naked penis on a chopping block, place a manual stapler on the sacred helmet head, and bang it a couple hundred staples. The first two staples might hurt a little, but after that it just becomes numb, right? And by the eighty-eighth staple you’re like, AREN’T YOU FULL YET? But then the comparison really fails because a man doesn’t have two penises, and after stapling the first boob the baby moves again on to the other boob and the happy stapling begins ALL OVER AGAIN.” Page 83

I have more to share, but I think I will save it for another post. The other ideas are more for the soft side of parenting, but I thought I would first start with cheeseburgers and staples. Go. Read. Her. Book.

Delicious Ambiguity, 4-H, and Aprons

Posted by random olio

I love finishing a good book. It always inspires me of the possibilities of what has not been written. Since each of us have such an individual experience there are infinite outputs to what can be encapsulated in new books. So when I find one that leaves a smile on my face and a bit of inspiration in my life, I have to share!

“Apron Anxiety” by Alyssa Shelasky is a memoir about a woman who falls in and out and in love with food. Her book is not entirely about food, and it is not written in a way that makes you feel like she is a die-hard foodie either. It is perfect for those of us that tread on the perimeter of food and the foodie world. She starts out as many might, timid. She eventually jumps in with her entire soul. What it did for me was make me want to TRY. While I am a confident baker, I am not a confident cook. When I was young I was in 4-H. Yes, the summer program that makes you think of raising cattle and pigs. For me it meant summers learning how to sew and bake. It was just something I did. I do not think I knew whether it was cool or not to be part of 4-H. I rode my bike to a local high school, daily for a few weeks and learned, tried, laughed, and made new friends while exploring an oven and the frustrations of a sewing machine.

I have not forgotten those summers. The baking programs I was involved in meant I learned over the course of five summers to make cookies, muffins, cakes, breads and yeast rolls. For sewing, I learned how to hem, make darts, button holes, hook and eyes, zippers, skirts, tops, dresses, etc. While I do not make my clothes, I still remember how. What has stuck with me the most is what I learned baking. “Apron Anxiety” has made me want to try to tread water in the world of cooking. I had a thought last week, that just maybe if I one day am preggers and at home with a little one, that I might want to try my hand at cooking. Here is my setback. I have horrible timing. I can make a lot of things in the kitchen. What I fail at is making them ready at the same time. If I steam broccoli, it is never ready when my entrée is ready. So that is my test. Can I find a way to time things so that I can make the parts of a meal ready to savor at the same time?

Here are two of the quotes in “Apron Anxiety” that really resonated with me:

“I will always meet people who don’t like me, or don’t get me, who think I’m dressed like a high-class hooker or raised by wolves. But as all women I’ve ever admired would say, “At least you’re interesting enough that someone gives a shit.” Which reminds me: There will always be people who think I’m not interesting enough at all.” page 226

“Life is about not knowing, having to change, taking the moment and making the best of it…Delicious ambiguity.” page 236 (a Gilda Radner quote)

I definitely recommend adding “Apron Anxiety” to your list of books to read. It is a fun, light-hearted, and inspiring read! Here is to starting my future delicious ambiguity and to hell with those that do not think I am interesting!

Everybody Farts

Posted by random olio

Thank you, Kim, for posting this on Facebook. It made my day. Usually I will put a recap of the story or experience I am linking to, but for this one, I cannot do it justice, you just have to read the entire story. It is called: “The Fart that Almost Altered My Destiny.”

Not to be gross, but just like the book: “Everybody Poops” – everyone also farts. I had a similar experience with Chris when we were first dating, only maybe I did not find it as mortifying. I think I probably found it fairly funny. I found it funny because at the time we met (well and now too) I was at a point in my life where I was who I was and I was not embarrassed about it. So breaking that barrier at the beginning of our dating time was not anything that would worry me. I think if I remember correctly I figured if he wanted to run the other way, then maybe it was not meant to be.

I think that we should be completely and utterly raw, our absolute selves. Then those that love us see us for who we really are, without the make-up, or the put together outfit, or on our crankiest day. Sometimes this also means that they are capable of taking care of us when our bodily functions (from either end) do not obey us. I have had many situations when driving to the airport or other excursions where I yell: “Drive very, very fast!” He is used to it, he gets me, and he goes fast. That my friend, is what you call love.

My favorite line of her article was: “Well, thank you boobs. You saved us. You saved our destiny.” I guess you will have to read the above link to know what that means.

Happy Day to you!

Are You “Drop Dead Healthy?”

Posted by random olio

I just finished reading the book: “Drop Dead Healthy: One Man’s Humble Quest for Bodily Perfection” by Esquire editor, A.J. Jacobs. I was intrigued about the book when I read a quick soundbite from A.J himself in Shelf Awareness about his new book. He takes two years to make his body healthy, one body part at a time. Here is the soundbite from Shelf Awareness:

“Writing at .7 MPH

I predict that this essay will take a bit less than a mile and a bit more than 90 calories to write.

To explain: I’m writing this piece while strolling on my treadmill. As part of my new book, Drop Dead Healthy, which chronicles my quest to be as healthy as humanly possible, I joined the small but growing club of treadmill desk devotees. I perch my laptop (a bit precariously, I must admit) on top of my treadmill’s display panel, and tap tap tap away as I walk at a molasses-like .7 miles per hour.

I do this because of the alarming number of studies that say that extended sitting is terrible for your heart. As in eating-Paula-Deen-bacon-doughnuts terrible. At first, I thought treadmill writing would be distracting. But it’s actually easy (and believe me, I am far from coordinated). It’s also strangely energizing: walking raises your brain’s serotonin level, which helps with focus. I can’t yet tell if my walking is affecting my writing. Do these sentences feel more kinetic? I’ll leave that for you to judge.”

For those of you that work from home or telecommute, let me know if you rig a treadmill desk and if it makes you feel more focused, that you accomplish more and if it was worth the effort. One excerpt from his book (again broken down with each chapter on a different body part), was on his nose, he talks about snoring and how it is taking over marriages. For many snoring can be because of your nasal passages, your weight, and multiple other issues. I found this quote to be interesting information:

“A couple of months ago, The New York Times ran an article about separate-at-night couples. We’re part of the trend. A survey by the National Association of Home Builders says 60 percent of custom homes will have dual master bedrooms by 2015.” page 259

Who knew snoring had such an effect on families that it is changing the way homes are being built! You will find many more interesting details on health in his book. He does not side with the über organics or the sugar fiends. He tries it all and finds what feels right for him. A.J. Jacobs has written a few books and he does not just write them. He lives them. In his book: “A Year of Living Biblically,” he spent a year attempting to live every rule in the Bible literally. Another book called: “The Know-It-All” where he takes a year to read the Encyclopedia from A-Z. You can read more about his books on his website.

I highly recommend “Drop Dead Healthy.” It is a quick read, sprinkled with witty humor, and contains interesting information about health that you might want to look into for yourself.