I HAVE A CONFESSION...

My life is not perfect.

Why am I choosing to confess this on a blog where I brag about my life, you ask?  Well, I write this post because I want everyone (and by everyone, I mean the 3 people that actually read this blog) to know that I, like every Mother/Wife face trials and tribulations every single day.  I try really hard to not get into the whole "keeping up with the Joneses" mentality when it comes to Life, but I can't help but notice those people who make everything seem so hunky dory.  How do they do it?  How do they keep it all together?  I ask myself.  Well, I'm pretty sure they don't.  I'm convinced that they are just much better actors than I am.

This made me think about my blog and how it may come across.  I started it because I wanted to keep track of Rome's life and everything GREAT that comes along with parenthood and having babies.  And I have done just that...which is why I write this post.  Of course I want to keep track of all the great things that happen, but it struck me that (for the 3 people that read this thing), I don't want to come across as having a perfect life.  It just isn't so, nor should it be.

I am perfectly happy with my not-so-perfect life.  If everything went my way everyday, I wouldn't be as strong as I am today and I wouldn't have so many life lessons to pass on to my children.  Life isn't perfect, but it is what you make of it, and that is just ONE of many things I have to constantly remind myself of daily.

So, for any of you not having a perfect day, I just wanted you to know that you're not alone...and you never will be.

SPEAKING OF FOOD...

Apparently after turning 30 and carrying and birthing a child, the same rules of food don't apply to me anymore.  Nope.  I now have the metabolism of an 80 year old woman.  I used to eat whatever I wanted, whenever I wanted and (for the most part) not worry too much about weight gain.  I never admitted to being a super model, but who wants those knobby knees anyhow?  I was just comfortable in my skin...and I want that again!

Thanks to my beautiful, wonderful, healthy baby boy (don't get me wrong, I wouldn't change a damn thing), I now have a layer of stomach foreskin that could be mistaken as an extra appendage.  And apparently the old rules of indulging a little and then working it off (when I get around to it) don't apply to me anymore.  I've come to this realization and accepted it and I am starting to change my ways (baby steps).  I guess you could say I'm on my first real diet.  First off, I stopped eating as much as Travis at dinner.  I'm all for an equal marriage, but that doesn't mean our plates have to weigh the same for crying out loud!  Jeez...get a hold of yourself!  I am now eating a light lunch (usually soup or salad), and I've been working out in my new found "free" time.  What's a girl gotta do to lose a pound?!?  Drop 3,500 calories, you say?  Done.  I'm counting my calories on a new fancy app I downloaded, and still nothing.  Ugh.  Okay, okay...so it's only been a couple weeks, but I'm the kind of person that needs to see instant results to feel motivated, but I suppose I'll keep at it.  I'll keep you updated on my progress (that will hold me accountable).  In the meantime, has anyone found any tried and true methods for getting your stomach muscles back in shape after having a baby?  I've tried every sit up in the books a thousand times.  I need some definition before wakeboarding season ;).  Help!

FOODIES

It's really no secret that Travis and I love food.  Travis loves to cook it and I love to eat it.  We're a match made in hog heaven (pun intended)!  It looks like Rome will be no different.  We are already throwing exotic food at him just to see what he does.  And more times than not, he acts like he loves it.  So far at daycare, Rome has tried taco meat, homemade pizza bagels, beef stew, broccoli and more that I can't remember.  At home, he has had roasted cauliflower (with roasted garlic and spices mixed in), broccoli-cheese soup, french onion soup, homemade pesto sauce, crab cakes, cheesy polenta, tons of fruit, beer (ha!  just checking to see if you're still reading ;).  We now try to give him a little of whatever we had the previous night (because we cook dinner after he goes to bed).  I was dead set on not having a picky eater.  I know, there's still plenty of time to eat my words again, but we'll see.  For now, we'll keep giving him taste tests and developing his palate for the finer foods in life.

Rome sucking a mango right down to the core

Funny...we currently chew our food in the same manner (I have to use my front toofers since surgery too)

SWIM CLASS

Being the avid (and competitive) swimmer that I am, I couldn't wait to sign Rome up for his first swim class!  We are taking the class with my friend Cassie and her daughter Vivi, who is 9 months Rome's senior (her age doesn't bother him though...he was showing off for her with all his splish-splashing).  Our first class was Saturday and once again, I was have dosed on pain killers due to my recent wisdom teeth removal.  So, I opted to stay out and take pictures to save myself from getting whacked in the face.  I couldn't help not being a part of the action though, and jumped in for some Row, Row, Row Your Boat and I'm a Little Teapot.

Rome was a trooper.  Travis took him under several times and he didn't make a peep.  His favorite thing was splashing the water.  I think he's gonna be a natural ;).

HE CRAWLS!!!

It's official, we have a crawler on our hands.  We have been waiting for this day for months!  He's been sooo close so many times, but finally, he crawls.  It happened on Thursday night after I had gotten my wisdom teeth taken out.  I was laying on the couch half-conscious watching Rome and Daddy play and all of a sudden he took off.  The next day I had to ask if it was a dream, but it wasn't.  He's on a roll!  It's so crazy how fast it all happens.  One day stationary, the next day mobile.

You can tell he's so proud of his new accomplishment.  I mean, who wouldn't be?  For all this time you've been dependent on someone to take you from one place to another and now you can do it all by yourself.  I'm so proud of you, Rome!  I can't wait to see all of your little (and big) accomplishments in life.  I love seeing you beam as you complete new tasks (most recently crawling and high-fiving)!

NEW DAYCARE

We started Rome at an in-home daycare in January.  We got extremely lucky to find an opening just minutes away from our house with an extraordinary, energetic and nurturing care taker.  This woman has had a daycare in her home for 20 years and has raised 2 grown children of her own.  We hit it off immediately.  The first thing she mentioned over the phone is that one thing that her "little guys" never go a day without is lots and lots of love.  And she means it.  When we went for a visit, it was clear that her "little guys" loved her very much, and she reciprocated the love 110%.  She cares for 4 other kids ages 20 months to 3 years, so Rome gets lots of play time and interaction with the older crowd (I might not like that later in life, but for now it's a good thing).  They go on daily outings in her custom mini-van that seats 6 (yes, 6) kids in car seats.  Don't ask me how she does it, but she does...and she's a pro.  They go to the mall to an indoor playground when it's too cold to play outside and to the library and grocery store and all kinds of places.  We are ecstatic that Rome is getting out and about every day!  She also makes a healthy, home-cooked lunch every day that Rome is already participating in.  Next week they are making "Stone Soup" where everyone brings an ingredient and they all help make it.

All in all, we couldn't be happier and more at peace with this decision.  Choosing who and where your child goes for most of their early life is a hard decision...and one I hope I don't have to make again for a while!

Rome and his daycare friend

  

THESE HANDS

Rome is absolutely in awe of his hands lately.  He loves to look at them and move them around.  He'll look at one side and then turn them over and study the other side.  He waves them from side to side and watches in utter amazement, like "WOW, I'm doing this!"  He picks up his favorite baby maraca and shakes it.  Then he switches hands and shakes it with the other hand.  He picks up blocks and other small toys and moves them from one hand to the other...back and forth, back and forth, all the while looking at his hands as if he's a mad scientist who's just created something magnificent and out-of-this-world.  When he's concentrating real hard, his toes even become part of the spectacle, curling up each toe as he works his magic.  I love how he studies them, and everything he picks up for that matter.  I must say, they are some HUGE baby hands.  My Mom says they look like "Grandpa Boewe hands".  Grandpa Boewe (my great-grandpa) was a farmer and worked with his hands all his life.  I wonder what these hands will do someday???