Birthday Pity Party

As I approach my 30-something-ish Birthday, I realize that I've become that mom.  You know.....that mom that has totally let themselves go post-baby.  Or in the words of a very wise woman (aka Oprah), I've become a Shlumpadinka.  Yup.  That's me.  Showering/bathing has now become a luxury in which I do not always get to partake.  I've got permanent bags beneath my eyes.  Make-up?  What's that!?!?!   I think I've blow dried my hair a handful of times since Elodie was born, and it is currently at a most unfortunate length.  I loved my short style but that particular style A) requires me to actually put forth the effort to wash and dry it every day and B) will most likely end up in me being partially bald as Elodie has discovered how fun it is to yank Mommy's hair.  So I'm trying to grow it out so that I can sport the ever so fashionable "Mommy Ponytail", which requires only a couple spare seconds to pull up before hurrying out the door.  So for now it's rather unruly and unkempt, and tends to either bear a striking resemblance to a bird's nest or is covered up by a not so fashion forward baseball cap.  Shlumpadinka to the max.

And as for fashion these days.  Well, let's just say.....I have none.  Knock on my door anytime of the day and you will be guaranteed to find me in either my black sweats (probably covered in Elodie's breakfast and in desperate need of a wash) or my black yoga pants, which much to my dismay, are just about worn through.  The only jeans that I can fit into are my oh-so-lovely-wide-panel maternity jeans.  The only good thing about those is that they are TOO big and tend to  slide down off of my hips.  (Just trying to find the silver lining in all this.)  Sadly none of my other pants fit.  Not even my former "fat pants".  I swear my hips are wider than they were before too.   Ugh.  And this "mummy tummy"!  What in the hell is that!?!?!  Oh, that's the reward women get for becoming a human incubator for nine months, pushing a watermelon out of you know where and then not sleeping for the the next zillion years.  And it doesn't help that I have friends who have lost all their baby weight (and more!), simply by breastfeeding. As in they ate like horses, didn't exercise and STILL lost weight.  You know who you are!   Grrrrrrrrrr.  So-not-fair. 

I know, I know.  Why don't I just go buy some new clothes right?  Because I get depressed just thinking about having to try on some new jeans that will be two sizes bigger than normal and still not fit right.  I mean, seriously.....who do these designers think they are making these clothes for anyway?! And yes, I need to exercise more (I've been trying!) and eat better (doing that too!), blah, blah, blah.  Easier said than done.  I'm not looking for sympathy or advice.  Just venting.  Okay, rant over.  Pity party done.  Hey, could someone please pass me some cheese to go with my whine?????

Now on to little Miss Elodie.  (Who was totally and absolutely worth all of this by the way!)  We had a wonderful weekend with Uncle Marc and I am kicking myself for not taking any pictures. Maybe Uncle Marc will share his?!?!?!  Elodie was super cute as usual and I think Uncle Marc was pretty smitten with her.  He got to feed her some delicious squapples (squash + apples) and Elodie proudly showed off her new found clapping skills as Uncle Marc was going in with a spoonful.  Gotta' work on those reflexes Uncle Marc!  We didn't do too much over the weekend, as the visit was short and the purpose was mostly for Uncle Marc to have some quality Elodie time.  The boys watched some basketball (would you expect anything less?!?!) , we tried (and hopefully succeeded) to serve him some delicious food (I have to live up to my reputation as a good cook after all!), and Phil schooled us both at Wii bowling.  We can't wait for Aunt Thais-Lyn to be able to join us next time.  Especially so that I have someone to commiserate with while the Sacks men are yelling at the TV and ignoring me.

Elodie is working hard on her pincer grasp these days and we have started to introduce some finger foods.  I finally got the courage to try some of the melt-in-your-mouth "puffs" and now she's obsessed with them.  Pretty sure she would sit there and eat those all day long if I let her. She's still working on her coordination, and sometimes they get stuck on her hands and face, but my gosh.....is it cute to watch.  She's also tried Joe's O's (Trader Joe's version of Cheerios), small pieces of bananas and peas.  I coated the bananas and peas in Joe's O's "dust" so that they were less slippery.  (A trick I learned from the fabulous website WholesomeBabyfood.)  She loved the bananas but the peas didn't fool her one bit.  That's my smart little cookie.  She ate a couple peas but was clearly waiting for me to bring back the puffs.  Or the bananas.  Pretty much anything but the peas.  We've also introduced a few new foods recently.  She'll tolerate carrots but she absolutely LOVES yoghurt.  (Yes, Phil...I spelled it the "weird" way again!  Hmmmmm....that and my love for afternoon tea, scones and clotted cream.   Maybe I was supposed to be born British!?!?!)  I mix plain whole milk yoghurt with pureed fruit or sweet potatoes (and a dash of cinnamon!) and she just devours it.  I seriously can't shovel it in fast enough for her.   I love that she's starting to love food so much and I'm excited to keep trying out new things.  Although I'm not so much looking forward to the big messes that are to come!  Or shall I say, already starting....

 Covered in "dust"

 Crazy coconut!

 Concentrating so very hard.

 Shoveling in the "puffs".  Note the one stuck to her hand.

 Covered in Yogurt.  I mean Yoghurt.

 And just because she's so darn stinkin' cute.

No big B-day plans for me this year.  Kind of hard with the munchkin around to get out and do much.  Plus the Hubs (he likes to refer to me as The Wife....so I'm just returning the favor) is working all day.  So I'll probably go out with Elodie and get some breakfast or something and maybe pick up some yummy dessert at The Flying Star for later that night.  (Yes, I know....not going to help that "mummy tummy"!)  We'll probably go out to eat one night and leave Grandma at home with Elodie, but not sure which night that will be as dear Hubs is also on call all week.  Yay!  Anyhoo, sorry for slacking lately.  Been super lazy but hope people are still enjoying the few times that I do actually post.  Next time you hear from me I'll be a year older.  Hmmmmmm...perhaps a year wiser too?  Nah....probably just a couple pounds heavier.