Go-Go Mommy

The Omnipotent Blogger

Is it just me or does everyone else seem to have an extra 3 hours in their day? Everywhere I look lately, I see fellow mommy bloggers who seem to appear everywhere several times a day: daily (or almost daily) blogging, on Facebook, opening Twitter accounts, blogging at important events, organizing life-saving drives, and even sharing recipes/menues on a weekly basis.

It makes me wonder - what the hell am I doing with all the time I have?! I know I must have some time in my day that I'm not using properly because I'm not on Facebook or on Twitter and I still feel lucky just to get through my day with Poppy and Sweet Pea and be semi-coherent enough to put a few thoughts down into a single post at the end of it.

Or is there some sort of Super Woman button that slows time for them that I am missing? If so, where do I sign up for it? I swear if I follow all these women too closely (which I admit I love to do) I'm going to get a serious inferiority complex.

Don't get me wrong, I absolutely LUV every minute I spend on the computer mostly because I've met some really great women as a result of becoming a member of this crazy and lovable cyberworld. And I'm sure I could expand my network of friends by leaps and bounds if I joined Twitter, but I just can't seem to find the time to get everything done during the day that I would like so I could have time to pursue some of those other interests.

What's the result? Well, I'm deathly afraid that if I do join Facebook, Twitter, and the rest of the networks I feel like I should be on, then I may be found one morning by Poppy (my 4 year old) with my body slumped over our kitchen counter stools, head resting on the computer, and a nice wet pool of saliva (string still attached, of course) ala Ferris Bueller. Scary, I know. Or if not, than maybe I'd find Poppy trying to change Sweet Pea's diaper on her own since I would be stuck in some kind of on-line-social-network time warp for hours; and no one wants to see the results of that one - especially not me!

So sistahs, my question to you is how do you "do it all"? Is there hope for me and others like me? In the meantime, I'll just continue to gaze longingly at you incredible women and be amazed at your non-stop energy. YGGs!

Cross-posted on Silicon Valley Moms Blog.

And so it goes.

We've reached a new milestone at the Go-Go house, Poppy and Sweet Pea are now officially playing together. Sometimes it works out:

Poppy: WEEE, we're playing tug of war! (With each girl on the end of Poppy's favorite/only blanket known as "soft blanket" and running together back and forth.)
Followed by lots of giggling and girlie screaming.
or
Poppy: Come and find me! (The classic game of hide-and-seek.)
Followed by lots of giggling and girlie screaming.

And sometimes it doesn't:

Poppy: No, don't take my teacup.... No, that's not how you play, you use your own bowl.... You've ruined my tea party, I'm very upset with you! (As she storms off into her room.)
Followed by a door slamming.

At least Poppy is using her words!

PSA: Bone Marrow Drive - April 19th!

For all you bloggers and readers here in Silicon Valley, there is a very important event taking place on April 19th: a bone marrow drive sponsored by the Silicon Valley Moms Blog.

It's a call to action and I hope everyone considers being a part of such an important event. You can check out the National Marrow Donor Program here. For those of you wondering how to donate, it's a simple swab of your saliva. So for those of you who fear needles, none will be in sight that day!

Here are the details:

Date: Saturday, April 19, 2008
Location: 95 Crescent Drive, Palo Alto, CA 94301 (right near highway 101)
Time: 9:00am to 3:30pm
To be eligible to donate, you must be between the ages of 18 to 60.

With 6000 children, women, and men searching for donors everyday, you can make a life-saving decision today. Please consider becoming a donor!

A Belated "Thank You"

I finally came up with a plan for Poppy's "Thank You" cards - homemade cross-stich cards! I got the supplies and just started on the project so if you are still waiting for your card, please bear with me! BTW, don't you love the colors Poppy picked?! She is now into moving beyond pink (I think that period lasted from about birth to 2 days ago) and into a variety of bold, bright colors. It's so much fun to watch her taste change!

My idea was to find a very contemporary card and stitch some contemporary/retro dots on "worn" linen. I like the idea of using a traditional medium like cross-stitch and bringing a "twist" to it by modernizing the look of the pattern.

We'll see how successful I am but as you can tell from the photo, I already had to modify one of my cards. When I showed Poppy my first attempt at outlining two cirlcles (which ended up looking like a small circle sitting on a crumpled bag) she said; "Oh, it looks like a purse!" Hence, the shoe and boa were added to complete the first card. One down, 6 more to go! Hopefully I will end up with my "modern circles" somewhere along the way!

Cowboys vs. Brits?!

You might have read about my dirty little secret here, but I just can't seem to help myself when it comes to reality tv. And with all of the shows on right now, I feel like there's no better time of year... well, except for Christmas, and Superbowl Sunday, and the holiday College Bowls!

Anyway, with the advent of the DVR, I have found my dream come true. I get to "reward" myself with mindless television after a hard day's work of caring for a Poppy (now 4, which she'll tell you over and over just in case you would like to sing "Happy Birthday" to her) and Sweet Pea (17 months). Since my day with them begins at 5:30am and ends when Poppy goes to bed anywhere from 8:30pm to 9:00pm, I think it's a very good use of my time as I put away dishes, fold clothes, knit, or all of the above.

For instance, want to see how catty girls can be and watch incredible beauty transformations? Just turn on America's Next Top Model! (Okay guys, I know you have your own reasons for watching that one.) Would you rather see a "prequel" to Iron Chef? Then switch on Bravo TV for some Top Chef episodes. And who doesn't love to pretend they can pick out the next big recording artist on American Idol?!

For me, one of my favorite reality shows that I haven't been able to let go of is The Apprentice. I know for most of you this one probably didn't make it past Season 2. I usually don't have any problem letting go of a tv series that has jumped the shark, until now. You might remember my post about this season's "Celebrity Apprentice" and how it had all the makings of great tv. Unfortunately, while the stars where present, the episodes were sooo annoyingly identical this season.

Basically about 90-95% of the tasks boiled down to who had the best "black book" and the most generous friends/donors in order to get big money and "win the task." So what do you do when "the formula" has become a bit rancid and stinky from overuse? You totally ignore fire the really deserving and qualified candidate for the final episode (yes, I'm talking about Carol Alt) and you gain viewership by making it a good vs bad, America vs. Britain, soft-spoken cowboy vs. ruthless talent judge thing.

Now that the season finale is this Thursday, I must say that I am debating over whether or not I will tune in...but I WILL DVR it! I know, I know.... I'm way too sucked in to this madness!

Here we go again!

If there's one topic that every mother out there can write about it's this one: mommy guilt. Whether you work outside of the house, stay at home, or participate in any combination thereof, it's something that is unavoidable. Granted that "guilty" feeling may stay away for a while and lull us moms into a false sense of security, but soon enough it rears its ugly head and there we are, staring at the elephant in the room.

"Am I doing the best I can do for my child? Am I spending enough time with her? Should I be spending more quantity time or more quality time? Are those mutually exclusive? Should I be staying at home with my daughters or is it better for me to work and give them a chance to socialize with other kids? If I stay at home do they get enough socialization at playdates and organized activities? Should I breastfeed? How will I continue to breastfeed if I go back to work? Am I a bad mother if I can't/don't want to breastfeed?...."

The list goes on and (I imagine) only gets longer as new topics are added as the years go by. School, summer camps, dances, dates.... does it E-V-E-R end?! My guess is - no.

The ironic thing is that this "mommy guilt" topic came up at a time when I was just thinking about my "foodie guilt." I'm no stranger to guilt; I'm Catholic (ie: almost an expert), I've written about it before, etc., but I find my realm of guilt is spreading from "caring for my kids" to "caring about what I feed my hubby and kids."

Sounds normal, doesn't it? Here's the catch: now that I stay at home, I do a lot of cooking and love to treat my family to new recipe finds for dinner. Now, however, the mommy guilt enters and it looks like I have to "step it up" for breakfast.

Last week was my turn to bring a hot breakfast food for my mother's group. I headed straight for my handy "Simple and Delicious" magazine (a year subscription was great and really helped get me started on some new recipies) and found a VERY yummy recipe for a hot breakfast dish: "Baked Apple French Toast."

It was a great recipe where you slice fresh bread into a pan, spread apple pie filling over the slices, top it with another slice of bread, and pour an egg mixture (eggs, vanilla, cinnamon, and nutmeg) over it and let it marinate overnight. As if that's not enough, you top it with a chopped pecan and brown sugar "crumb" and toss it in the oven to bake.

Can't you just smell it cooking?! Well, Poppy did. She came out for breakfast that morning like she was in a Folgers/Maxwell House coffee commercial. (Insert your favorite memory here - I think mine is the one where the son came home from college for the holidays and made coffee with his little sis, then the mom woke up to the lovely aroma of coffee served by none other than her son who she probably hadn't seen since September - sob, sob.)

Poppy: Mmmm, that's smells yummy!

Mommy: Thanks honey. Are you ready for yogurt and toast?

Poppy: Well... I think I'll have that! (Pointing to my bubbling french toast creation in the oven.)

Mommy: Uh, I would love to give that to you but it has to finish baking and then it goes to the mommies today for our meeting.

Poppy: But I want some too!

Mommy: I know. I'm sorry. How about some bagels with the yummy strawberry cream cheese that you love?

Poppy: Well, okay. But mommy, do you think you'll make that for me someday?

(OUCH!)

Welcome mommy guilt - my favorite almost normal state of being!

Cross-posted on Silicon Valley Moms Blog (JB).

Photo Friday! 03.14.08 (Catching a breath!)

Yeah! My laryngitis is gone, Poppy's "morning sleepover" birthday party is over (it was a success but mainly I'm just happy that it's over), and I actually had time to go to the Cantor Museum today with the girls. Thank goodness the gift shop is way in the back because museum gift shops are definitely one of my weaknesses - they always have the coolest stuff!

The weather is shaping up here so I thought we'd check out the Rodin garden and get some info on taking our Parents Group there for one of our monthly outings. Here are some shots I thought you might enjoy.

Hope you take this weekend to catch your own breath! If you do, let me know how you did it - I'm always up for new ideas!

Also, here's the latest "Poppy" story which took place at 6:00AM today:

Poppy: Mommy we need a dog.

Me: If we had a dog you would have to take it outside right now to go potty
and it's freezing outside.

Poppy: No I wouldn't. It could just use our potty.

Me: How in the world would a dog be able to use the potty?

Poppy: I would just hold it over the potty and it could go to the bathroom.

Me: First, dogs aren't made to sit down and go to the bathroom. And second,
the bathroom is only for people.

Poppy: Okay, then I could just put a diaper on it!

--How is it that kids think of everything?

I Got "The Nod!"

I just found out that Amy Sleep from Graco's Blog chose my post on "Banana peels and other ways to lose "cool points"." to receive Graco's "Monthly Nod" for February.

Yipee! My first major award as a blogger! Thank you Amy & Graco!

My 30 days: 30

Well, this is it. The end of my little exercise on capturing "everyday" moments. I wanted to make this last post about something cataclysmic. I wanted to end my soul search for recognizing the beauty in everyday with some incredibly articulate and thought-provoking words and yet, today's everyday moment defiles the very thing I had hoped to achieve.

Tonight, KB and I are watching Airport '79 and all I can say is that if you haven't seen it (or if it's been almost 30 years since you've seen it) it's a MUST rent!

First, you'll love the male chauvinist/1970's "liberated woman" dichotomy as well as the internationally-mixed (Russian and American) couple depicted in the movie. (You'll recognize a lot of old stars, too). But the best part was when the pilot who was flying the Concord opened a window, depressurized the entire plane, got his handgun, pointed it out the window while flying the plane completely upside down, and shot down one of the missles that was headed toward the plane. I am still gasping for air! And to top it off, the big fireside sex scene involves none other than George Kennedy with some actress that had such a "poodle perm" she actually made him look young!

The movie goes on and it's too much to even think about writing more about it.

Suffice it to say, I enjoyed the moments of reflection, poetry, and simple discoveries made by myself as well as the girls. It has been wonderful to look at my family in a new light and approach life in the same way. Cheers to all and here's to new beginnings for all!
(PS: Hope you enjoy the movie! PPS: We fast-forwarded a heck of a lot!)

My 30 days: 29

Sweet Pea is growing up so quickly! Today's moment was watching her go down the slide by herself for the first time.

My 30 days: 28

Poppy is still telling everyone who happens to look our way at stores, music class, ballet class, etc. that she "just turned 4 and had a chocolate cake with pink frosting." She knows that Mommy's birthday is a couple of days after hers and so I'm teaching her that if anyone asks my age, she can just tell them that I'm 25.

Poppy's reply:

Mommy, can we pretend you're 21?

My reply:

Why sure honey, I like that number even better!

My 30 days: 27

Just like every dog has it's day, every girl needs her pedi!

Yesterday was my time to have some girl-time (and extend my birthday celebrations) with my uber cool friend, Xiaolin Mama. Thanks for taking care of the girls KB!