My son turned two a few weeks ago. Today, as he got out of bed (by that I mean he climbed out of my bed) realized how grown up he looked… Where had my little mushball gone? When did this transformation take place? Then I started thinking about my own transformation. I started thinking about all the things that once seemed do important, that today take a back seat. Don’t get me wrong, there are still things I do for me, however, I have developed a more refined sense of what’s important. And, I’ve learned, that its OK to have your priorities change. It’s ok to not want to go out, to prefer dancing to the Mickey Mouse Clubhouse song than to watch the shows I’ve DVRed.

silly in sunglasses, ready for the sun!

They say your life changes as a mom, and it sure does— in the beginning I had some trouble with that. I missed having control over my life, I missed an inkling of free (=me) time. Now that two years have gone by, and Enzo is a running, talking, tantrum-throwing yet munchkin love fest, I no longer think that I’m missing something, I seize the opportunities I have to spend some quality time with him. Don’t get me wrong, I love the occasional (REALLY OCCASIONAL!!)  mami-pedi, but I think I’ve come to terms that there’s only one of me, there’s 40 hours in the work week, and few hours to try to cram all the stuff I’d like to do in the little time I have! So, in the grand scheme of things, my vanity has gone out the window (holding on by a thread perhaps) me… Who wouldn’t have have been caught dead at a party without a manicure! And, confession, I hadn’t gotten a pedicure in months… I swear my feet were developing personalities of their own. (and my legs…that’s another story— at least it’s not summer yet…) but… who cares? Enzo will love me with chipped nail polish, or undone eyebrows… he would love me no matter what… (luckily so will my husband)

Tragedies like last week’s bombing reminded me that what is truly important (the kind of stuff I imagine flashes through our minds right before we die) are not the things that I used to think were so paramount in life—the little things that I cared so much about, like having perfectly shared eyebrows or a perfect pedicure. What I’ll remember will be those moments like cuddling with my LO, or playing fort, or reading the same stories over and over again… Because I won’t remember how many crappy toenails I had, but I will definitely remember the big smiles, the laughter, hugs and TAMOs* Enzo gave me. (* TE AMO=I love you)

Did you have an aha moment? Were there things that you missed that now you’ve just understood that they’re trivial? 

Please share below, or tweet me! @dianalimongi 

FRIDAY: giving moms the illusion that work is done for the week!

Via someecards created by Diana Limongi, aka LadydeeLG

A few weeks ago I had the opportunity to attend Food Power! MomsRising’s conference on Childhood Obesity. The event was a delightful afternoon with amazing speakers. The room was filled with people who care about the alarming rate at which obesity is affecting our children.  The good news is that childhood obesity trends can be reversed, but everyone has to work together. EVERYONE means parents, teachers, schools, communities, government and even food companies if (God help us) we can get them on board.

We heard two touching testimonies from moms who had realized that the cheapest food, or the way food was cooked, or the way that certain cultures teach us to eat were not the healthiest. Unfortunately, food insecurity and access to good quality, affordable food are concerns. Good quality food is many times not accessible to people who live in poverty, or people who are working hard to make ends meet, like single moms. One of the speakers, Tanya Fields, gave a riveting testimony about her “aha” moment… when after three weeks her kid’s chicken Nuggets had been fossilized in a book bag, but not exactly rotten. This couldn’t be real food, she thought! Today, Tanya runs The Blk Projek…. Check out her bio, she is truly an inspirational speaker!  We also heard from Migdalia, aka MsLatina,  who talked about her “aha” moment, when her 15 year old son was told he had high blood pressure and high cholesterol, this led to a lifestyle change for her and her two boys.

 Next, we had the opportunity to watch “Soul Food Junkies,” by Bryon Hurt. Byron goes on a journey to discover what soul food is, and what impact soul food has on the Black community’s health… but Byron goes beyond that, he discusses the problems of food insecurity and food justice in poor and minority communities— where many times good quality food is inaccessible or too expensive. This documentary is truly a must-see!

I chose to attend the Junk Food in Our Schools with Yoli Ouiya, from the New York Coalition for Healthy School Food, and Elisa Batista, superstar campaigner for Momsrising.org, among others. All breakout sessions sounded so interesting, but to me, this is an urgent matter because schools can have a real impact on educating kids on healthy eating. The access that our children have to junk food in schools is pretty alarming… just a few days ago, in doing research about schools in my area, i came across a school menu that had the following options for purchase: bagels, ice cream, hot dogs, chicken nuggets. I mean… really? These items for purchase? Why do they need to be sold to children? Hot dogs and ice cream should be saved for special occasions, not every week at school! Children don’t really need to be eating these low nutrition, high calorie foods every week!

Elisa discussed the power that moms, bloggers and community members can have in getting things to change, especially using social media to express discontent, rally together for a cause.

Does the alarming childhood obesity rate worry you? Are you a concerned parent or community member who believes we shouldn’t allow schools to sell junk to our children? (May be cheap now, but will cost in the long run, with unhealthy adults and rising healthcare costs!) What can you do? First thing, become informed! There are a myriad of great resources online, and you can do something to make a difference! 

• Join Momsrising.org and stay informed of their campaigns tackling important issues such as sick paid leave, childcare, education and childhood obesity.
• Check out Preventobesity.net
• Participate in your child’s PTA, school board, attend district meetings, etc., to stay informed about food quality in your schools!

• I urge all concerned parents and community leaders, everyone—to head over to preventobesity.net or regulations.gov to submit a comment regarding Competitive Foods in Schools (foods that can be sold a la carte, or in vending machines.) before April 9th. Below is a list of ideas you can comment on:

Have other ideas? Does your school provide healthy snack options? I welcome comments below!! Or you can tweet me, @dianalimongi  or visit me on Facebook @ LadydeeLG

I think I’m a pretty good mom. I try to spend as much time as possible with my son. There are things I’m pretty good at too, things that I’m proud of. For example, I’m proud that I breastfed my son for 15 
months, and that I somehow found the time and energy to make his food when he was an infant. And I don’t mean to brag, but we have really awesome dance parties. But, like many moms out there, there are areas i feel inadequate… Or lost… Or helpless. One of those is napping. Lately, sleep in general, really.
Here’s the thing… My husband is the sleep whisperer. I don’t know how he does it, but he gets Baby E down for a nap every time. Me?
I rock, I hum, I sing, in Multiple languages… It doesn’t work. He loves caressing my hair and finds comfort in knowing I’m there, but he won’t go to sleep. He will just stay there,
Quietly, still, but eyes wide open.
Sometimes I just give up, and go outside, or his papa saves the day, and puts him to sleep. I walk out of the room feeling “derrotada” beaten down, worn out, Like I just lost a battle.
The issue has gotten worse ever since he got sick with a cold and I ruined his sleep routine. I can’t decide if it was the cold, the extra rocking he got used to, or the fact that our nature white noise machine’s battery died… Whatever it is, my once perfect bed time routine is no longer that.

It makes me want to cry. And literally, it has made me cry. perhaps he just prefers papa for sleeping. Perhaps it is their special bonding time. Or, perhaps he thinks mom is a pushover and if he fights his sleep long enough, she will give up and take him out of the room…well score is Enzo 5000 - mama 1.

Maybe cosleeping is the way to sleep… Maybe other cultures have it right, and I have it wrong!!

Any tips (or funny stories) for this frustrated mommy would be greatly appreciated!
Signed,
Frustrated mama
Derrotada mommy

1.  10 months into it, I think bedtime routine saved my sanity.

2. It’s great that my LO is repeating everything I say… except when he is trying to repeat the occasional curse words that may make their way out of my mouth.

3. The ability of someone so cute and cuddly to produce such massive amounts of poop baffles me…Why? How? WHY???

4. Baby classes are great for kids- but they are meant to exhaust parents and kids share a lot more than toys (bodily fluids, germs, etc)

5. You know that gut feeling that says “don’t dress him up until you are ready to go out?” and you know how you ignore it?? Well… I’ve learned, you don’t ignore the gut feeling! (never fails, ready to go out… spills/dirt/stains/spit will happen)

6. When all else fails, give a kid any O shaped cereal.

7. I used to think gift cards were impersonal, but now I truly appreciate their worth…so practical have some stashed when LO needs to go shopping!

8. I don’t know what the top Ten or Rihanna’s latest hit is, but I do know all the lyrics to all the Fresh Beat Band songs…

9. and I confess I sing them even when my son is not with me!

10. Everyone talked about the lack of sleep when baby arrives, but no one mentioned the lack of bathroom privacy… SERIOUSLY —- WHAT is up with that??

11. you know that ONE time when you think you won’t need your big diaper bag that has everything you could possibly need? So you leave with a couple of diapers and wipes in your purse, acting all confident?  THAT is the day when your kid decides to spit up, or has a poopy diaper explosion, or makes a mess on his shirt… that day when you don’t have a change of clothes, that is when it happens, not all the other 364 days when you are overly prepared.

12. When you hear a screaming baby or toddler in a public place—don’t judge. That might be you one day… or maybe that was you before. Just smile sympathetically and walk away. (or offer to buy me a drink)

13. If you don’t have a baby and really love your friend who has a cute baby at home, offer to babysit, you will score like a gazillion good karma points.

14. Babies are smart—they will try to outsmart you… it’s a parent’s job to not let that cute smile and adorable face to get away with murder…even if that means they cry their little eyes out… they will eventually forget you said no… and…

15. It is OK to say no.

16. Some things do get easier—I remember I missed my first doctor’s appointment because it was taking me FOREVER to get ready. I was A HOT MESS! Now, I still go back to my apt at least twice to get something I forgot before I leave the house, but hey, at least I don’t miss my appointments.  (Celebrate the small wins!)

17. Those stairs in the subway in those elevator-less stations?? They were so daunting at first; I wouldn’t dare go alone with baby and stroller… now? No problem! (I would still prefer if the elevator was available… despite the stink inside—I just learned to hold my breath for a bit, and don’t let baby E touch anything, eeewww)

18. That being said, yes some things do get easier… some things just DON’T. It’s motherhood, instructions not included.

I don’t know how they do it. I live in awe of these women. These working moms that come home and make dinner and manage to eat at a reasonable time… And they really make dinner, not something out of a can or a frozen tv dinner. When my mom worked, I remember we all ate as a family, and there was always a home cooked meal every night, consisting of rice, some type of meat, and salad or some other side dish, never from a can!

Me? I get home at 615 on a good day, later if something is up and much later if I have class. Even if i am home at a decent time, one of the last things I want to do is make dinner. The delicious home cooked meals we have are usually prepared by my hubby (yes he’s the chef in my chateau) but we usually eat Wayy later than we would like… 9 or 930. And if he gets home late, then we end up caving and just ordering in. (or eating junk food! )

When I was younger (and childless) I didn’t understand people who ordered in all the time… But now I Get it!! I mean, really? Do I want to cook eat and then have to clean up everything before going up bed? (just thinking about it makes me tired!) maybe I’m just being lazy. I’m lacking motivation.

I am sure it’s a lot about organization and planning. And I am probably just taking the easy way out… Ordering in or eating pasta with Parmesan cheese. (for the record, I do make my son delicious veggies and compotes and stuff!)
So back to working moms who cook— how do you do it? Really? I really want up know!! How do you have the energy to make a meal and eat together as a family?

It is very important for me to instill in my son the importance of meal time, and that he enjoy food (after all he is part French, would be a crime if he didn’t enjoy and love food!!) but I am not sure how home cooking and family meals fit into my schedule and day! (baby E eats alone and earlier than mama & papa).

I really want to hear from moms, whether you feel the same way I do (overwhelmed, tired, cranky after work-last thing you wanna do is cook!) or, if you love cooking when you get home because it relaxes you, and you’ve mastered the art of cooking delicious healthy meals after a long day’s work.

Tell me what your secrets are! Or, let me know you feel the same way I do! What tips do you have??
Leave a message below, or on twitter, @dianalimongi
Thanks!!

thanks for reminding me of all the great stuff i can’t do with my kid. Sincerely,
#pissedoffmommy

Via someecards

As I wrote in an earlier blog post, I began eating organic food when I was pregnant, because I wanted to know what I was putting in my body. At that time I switched to organic milk and eggs and some fruits and vegetables. Last week, Roger Cohen, of the NY Times, wrote a piece entitled “The Organic Fable” that pretty much said those of us who believed in eating organic are among other things, upper middle class, narcisstic and elitist. I don’t consider myself any of those things, and I know many people who are trying to figure out how to eat healthy, good, nutritious food without breaking the bank. Wanting to give your children good food DOES NOT make you elitist or narcisstic. 

source: Environmental Working Group 

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thecynicalcrayon:

It is easier to build strong children than to repair broken men 

it happened to me— i didn’t spill six… but i did spill SOME and it SOO makes you want to cry.

i got this via Milkmakers on Facebook.