Boobs and Poop

... that the "the one in white" lady is pretty bitchy, right?

This somehow insanley relevant image was pulled from this article .  We like to use Air BnB or VRBO in lieu of the traditional hotel room when we travel with the baby. Having a kitchen and a separate-ish sleeping space for the baby is critical, especially for longer trips. We didn't have the option to lodge with family this time and so Air BnB it was. This particular Air BnB experience wasn't so great... This isn't a formal review, as I think some of our experience wasn't about the cabin or the owner - we were just woefully unprepared for the rustic cabin experience with a crawling baby. I also remembered Topanga Canyon being a little more centrally located than it is. I didn't recall the winding canyon roads being so long, or nauseating. We both ought to have known better because we both lived nearby for many years. I, however, was the one who went through the process of booking this accommodation on Air BnB. So I feel responsible for the misery of our poo...

I laugh at myself every time I consider the fact that we live in Diamond Bar . It's not just that it's so suburban, or that we're living this totally boring family-focused life here. In my early twenties, I worked for a British curling iron operation. I worked for the heavily-scrutinized North American division, where under the guidance of an over-eager salesman-turned-CEO I drove to Diamond Bar from Westlake once a month to conduct sales meetings. It was one of those "many hats" situations wherein it mattered not that I was the marketing coordinator, I was convinced that the health of our business depended on my driving 120 miles round trip to deliver a sales presentation to a group of rowdy hairstylists each month. I was too young to question any of this then. Anyhow, each month as my coworker and I made the long trek to Diamond I'd joke about having to travel to "Bumble F**k Egypt" for irrelevant meetings. To my mind, Diamond Bar was not a pla...

... a baby came out of my vagina! She's looking at me right now. She has teeth. She has a voice. She can take a few steps on her own before falling over. She is so awesome. She has completely stolen my heart and my identity. I am not the person I once was, and I have decided to acknowledge that this is a good thing. The person I once was was far unhappier than any one person deserves to be. She has taught me to be happier. She has also flipped my world up-side-down and inside-out. Words do not take on the same meaning... Insecurities run deeper, but my will to overcome is much stronger. I am so grateful I am her mom.

A few weeks ago, we took our (then) 9-month-old baby on her first cross-country trip, complete with a layover. We lost 3 hours heading from west to east and forced her to suffer two separate ear-popping take-offs. To boot, we'd subjected her to an hour-long car ride, remote parking at LAX, a shuttle and airport security before the aerial adventure even commenced. It was a long day for us all, but baby girl was in a great mood anyhow. She smiled, clapped, cooed and made many friends. She was actually impressively well behaved. The day was of course not without incident. During the first flight's departure, my husband was holding the baby. He had her wrapped in a soft, warm blanket and was trying to feed her a bottle to ease the discomfort of ear popping. She didn't seem interested in the bottle, even though she'd not eaten much that morning. So he propped her up, she let out a giggle and then he smelled it. He nudged me. He cautiously moved a corner of the blank...

I joined a virtual book tour as a reviewer, and I've had a blast so far! I'd determined not to do product reviews when I first started the blog (almost a year ago!). The idea of a book review never occurred to me before, but it is definitely something I plan to do again. You can follow the virtual book tour and read other reviews this week too! So, here it is! My first children's book review: THE LIL’ DEFENDERS by Jaimie Hope illustrated by Jose Julian Ramirez Rivas Get it on Amazon ! Brother and sister Hunter and Holly discover they have superhero powers while playing baseball in the park with two friends. The four children are surprised by the discovery and rush from the park to Hunter and Holly’s Aunt Jaimie. Aunt Jaimie asks: “Didn’t your parents ever tell you we’re superhero families?” The children are at first wary but ultimately excited to learn this. Aunt J explains that the children have “suddenly come into [their] powers” because “someone or something mus...

Since I've weaned the baby, my boobs have changed yet again. During the weaning weeks, I had a truly lopsided situation with one boob much larger than the other. As the milk dried up, I hoped that as they returned to their normal, pre-pregnancy size they'd also "bounce back" into place. In short, I was looking forward to the return of a pair of perky boobs I'll actually never see again. I recently described this latest boob situation by saying that my boobs are like soup, like balloons filled with a thick creamy soup. I now have to ladle each boob and deposit it into my bra. This has necessitated purchases of expensive bras - prior to this mommyhood thing, I rarely wore bras. When I did, a training bra might have done the trick. Now I understand the need for underwire and reinforced straps. While I don't have large boobs anymore - I am back to my little A cup size - I have to buy bras with a fervor I'd only ever heard described by my big busted...