Bubblegum Toothpaste

My return to bubblegum toothpaste can only mean one thing...

..Yes folks, we are expecting again! (hence my recent comeback to the blog)

The little bun in the oven is due early September, and I'm preparing myself for the roller coaster ride.

This time around, the nausea is stronger, the belly is already popping out, and so I couldn't hide it any longer.

The horse pills disguised as my prenatal vitamins have returned and the nightly battle resumes.

And last, my little prince has no idea his world is going to be turned upside down at the end of the summer.

This is going to be a lovely adventure isn't it?

Thank goodness for bubblegum toothpaste.

Out of It

Aside from my attempted "Comeback" (see previous post), I discovered I have been "out of it". I live over in Burbank, and consider myself to be fairly Burbank-Savvy. Then the other night, reality struck and I had a rude awakening.

My sis and family wanted to meet somewhere for dessert the other evening and so I asked her where she wanted to go, and she said "Pinkberry." Perfectly fine with me as I am a big fan, and so my brain was quickly scanning to see where the closest locale would be for all of us to meet at, The Americana at Glendale? Perhaps on Larchmont? or maybe even the Grove? hmmm, then she dropped the bomb. "There's one just down the street from you, across AMC!..." she says.

WHAT! STOP THE PRESSES! There is a Pinkberry just minutes, I mean seconds away from me and I had no clue! Apparently, it's been here for months, along with a whole plethora of other stores, restaurants and even a giant condo complex and new parking structure! All this, right in front of my nose and I never saw it! I was seriously in shock as we pulled into a whole new world. Yes, cue the flying carpet. I felt like a tourist in my own town. A stranger in my own home.

Ok I have a good excuse though. This whole new world is situated right across the big AMC theatre complex here in Burbank, and so suffice it to say, the hubby and I haven't been to the movies in ages. In fact, drumroll please, our last movie was Transformers at the Arclight! That's what happens when you pop out a lil one. Blockbuster Ticket or Netflix become your best buds. So no movies, means no venturing out to the theatres, which further means, no discovering there is a PINKBERRY right down the street from you!

Yup, I've been out of it. And it doesn't look like I'll be getting back into it anytime soon.

My Comeback

So like the New Kids on the Block, I'm attempting a comeback! It's just been pretty busy with a toddler in tow now. Yes, he's 21 months already and keeping me on my toes!

Gosh a whole lot has happened since my last post. Let's see if I can break it down for you - DJ Lance Rock style...

Well I returned to full time work with the Mouse back in May '08, and left the lil one in the care of his grandmas. Leaving the lil one was seriously heartbreaking, and by far the hardest thing I ever had to go through, but then, like my hubby's snoring, you get used to it. It was actually a nice break to return to office life. And that's exactly what it ended up being, a break. Come September '08, I decided to return home to my lil monster and freelance for the timebeing. You just never get this time back, and since I can, I did.

Freelance work has been steady and great, but also really tiring and challenging to try to do it at home. Cue the violin? The grandmas still come part time so I can get some work done. I fit in my work in the wee hours of the morning, typically starting at around 3am and then around 7am I need to start preparing breakfast for my lil tot! He wakes up and it's our morning activities. Then the grandmas come and I hide in my home office to get some more work done. My lil one has wisened up and checks to see if Mommy's car is still here, which it always is, and so he knows where to find me. I'm usually interrupted quite a bit, and then I relieve the grandmas after lunch, and then I put the lil one down for his afternoon nap. And that usually involves 3 takes. Then I go back to my freelance work. Then I try to squeeze in some housework, and then the lil one wakes up, and it's strictly mommy time from then on. Then Daddy finally comes home in the evening and then dinner somehow happens, and then its family time, bath time and then sleepy time. And the cycle continues.

I'm grateful I have the opportunity to balance both being with the little one for most of the day and still have time to be creative and fit in projects to pay the bills. And unlike diamonds, it won't last forever, and I will eventually return to a daily office grind, but until then, I'm trying to make the most of it. Cause like the New Kids, I'm Hanging Tough!

Amusement Park

We're back at home now! And I must say, LEGOLAND put the amusement back into "amusement park", and put the mouse to shame! Sorry Disney, and sorry to my girlfriend who looooves Disney, and ok sorry to the mouse who writes my paycheck, and my hubby's paycheck, but really now, we must all put our hands together for LEGOLAND, yes even Mickey.

LEGOLAND truly put the family in "family-friendly". And the people who work there couldn't have been more accommodating.

P E R F E C T for those with a toddler. Are you ready for this? EVERY single bathroom area has a separate family room, every single one! I can't even begin to explain how useful this is. And they are everywhere. Perfectly and easily situated among all attractions. I never had to trek far to get to a changing table - which is especially comforting with a toddler in tow. Now you know this place is already a winner when the very first thing I bring up is the bathroom.

And the rides...Little one rode 3! They have awesome toddler friendly rides all over the park with minimal wait times, which is ideal since our toddler has the patience of
a jack russell terrier, and can't stay in a line for more than 3 seconds flat.

Our little one also enjoyed all the fun water attractions. They have separate water play areas for toddlers so they don't get trampled on by any big kids!

There are also indoor play areas where kids can build their own lego creations, and of course, they have separate ones for toddlers with the toddler-friendly duplo blocks.

The landscaping is beautiful, the different LEGO creations throughout the park and in their Miniland are awesome, and their famous granny apple fries are the icing on the cake!

With a toddler in tow now, I just really appreciate those who take the time to cater to and accommodate those with little ones. So that a trip to the amusement park is time more spent on actual amusement, rather than park-ing around, waiting.

Thank you LEGOLAND!

See World

So it was exactly 2 years ago on this day that a little piece of miraculous plastic changed our lives!

Yup at 4 something in the AM, I got the positive signs on my oh so many preggo tests and that started our big adventure.

Now two years later, we have a beautiful, healthy and crazy 16 month old and so we're celebrating by getting out of town!

We are celebrating with a loooong 4th of July weekend trip to San Diego to take the little one to Sea World and Lego Land. (And with the price of gas lately, and everything else, the cost of this lil road trip is pretty much equivalent to our last escape to Italy - go figure!)

Little one is having so much fun. From exploring our hotel room, to strolling through the Gas Lamp District and Horton Plaza, to meeting Shamu, and being able to eat junk! ( A welcome escape from all my organic and whole grain diet regiments!)

The main attraction so far was Sea World, and he looved the new Sesame Street Bay of Play. I mean, never mind that there is a huge, gigantic, killer whale among us who can do tricks, all little one wanted to do is jump around with Elmo. Maybe next year the big whale will get more attention.

Today we're headed to Lego Land and it will be a first visit for us all. I'm sure there is much fun to be had.

Before our little one came along, I wondered how much I would miss being able to travel. And by travel, I mean travel to different places where it's not all about chicken strips, fries, water attractions and amusement park rides. Like going to distant places where they speak a different language, eat different foods, where I can adopt a different culture. Basically traveling to see the world.

Now that our little one is here. I don't miss it at all. Don't get me wrong, I definitely look forward to the days when we can venture out again, but for now, these trips are perfectly fine and fun with me.

We're going to distant places where my son speaks his own little language, where there are no distinct words just yet - but you can hear the joy and excitement through all the babble! And we're still trying different foods - who knew there are a 101 different ways to make mac n cheese and chicken strips! And we're all adopting a new culture, the hubby and I never knew how important this phrase was - "kid-friendly".

So even though we just went to Sea World, it was so much more than that. We're going to places so we can all See World a bit differently.

...and boy is it more fun through his eyes!

Grand Parents

I'm going back. Back to work that is. Isn't that grand? No, not really.

One minute I'm real excited, and the next, I want to just cry and weep. Damn this "mommyhood" thing, the guilt just never ends. I already asked the hubby for his patience with me during the next few weeks, since I am painfully preparing and adjusting to a new chapter...leaving baby.

I've been going crazy. I mean obsessive and neurotic! I don't even want to spend time with me lately.

Fortunately, the hubby and I have finally figured out our childcare plans since we're still on the waitlists for our choice daycare centers in the area. Both Grandmas are stepping up to the plate. Thank goodness for them. I really don't know what we would do without them.

I drafted and delivered an extremely detailed document outlining baby's schedule, useful tips and tricks, listing anything and everything one needs to know to take care of baby...The Grandparents read it.

I've been trying to tie up all loose ends and run errands that I actually had over a year to do, and am only doing now since my time is running out...The Grandparents babysat.

I've been supervising and scheduling full-day dress rehearsals with my mom and mom-in-law, transitioning baby, so he gets used to them and they get used to him...The Grandmas did it.

I've been arranging playdates with baby's pals and my fellow stay-at-home mom pals since I'll soon be leaving their brood and become a working-mom again...The Grandmas helped out.

I've been busy making each and every minute with baby count even more, since I will no longer be here with him every second of the day, ugh this is heartbreaking...The Grandmas gave me my space.

I've been having endless, sleepless nights worrying about everything that can go wrong without me here with baby...Can the Grandmas handle it?

I know both of our moms have done this before...clearly, they are great parents.

But great isn't enough for me...I need them to be GRAND Parents.

Baby deserves nothing less.

I'm Hip!

So I try to be a cool mom. You know...keep up with the latest trends, fashion, news and perez hilton headlines...So I'd like to think of myself as pretty hip.

But lately, with the tides of summer fast approaching, I'm afraid I've realized that despite my efforts to be as phat and fabulous as Kimora, I've discovered that even though I'm hip, I'm actually also still...all hip.

You see, even though I've lost my preggo weight, my body is just not the same. And I must face the fact that it never will be. Cause now...I've got hips. I believe they call it child-bearing hips. An annoying lingering friend from my preggo days. Geez, had I known this, I would've flaunted my pre-preggo stomach and waist like no one's business! Cause nowadays, they are on the downlow, much like Beyonce and Jay Z's nuptials.

I've hidden them pretty well, but with swim season coming, it's going to be tough. Today, I went looking for a rash guard. I figure, they're cute, surfer girly and ideal to cover up my post preggo tummy and my new child-bearing hips! But when I tried them on, I still need to get used to my new curves. Cause quite frankly, I didn't have any before, and I sure liked it that way. But as they say...Real women have curves...So I guess I am "real" now.

So bring on the surf - I'm ready, I'm real, and I'm hip!