Breakfast at Tony's

This morning when I was done getting ready and was going to go downstairs to eat breakfast and feed the dogs, Antonio woke up and was all smiles to see me. So I brought him downstairs and he kept me company while I made and ate breakfast. It was wonderful having him tell me about his dreams, his thoughts, what the dogs were doing and who knows what else this morning. The he later went back to sleep with Julia when I left to ride my bike to work. I hope this is a habit that Antonio starts doing more often. It definitly made my morning special that he decided to wake up and keep me company.
-Andres

march madness

my name is julia and i am addicted to buying baby clothes. i am often teased that antonio is my own personal "barbie" doll, and i get to play fashion show. it is not uncommon for him to go through more than 2 outfits day just because i feel like it. he does have a pretty decent closet. and yes, marisa, i can probably tell you every single thing in it. but how can one resist all the teeny little boy outfits?!

well, i must learn how to resist. you know you have a problem when the UPS man comes twice to your house in the same day, and also the fedex man. i actually dreaded opening the last package yesterday. it was like strega nona's pot of spaghetti except it was teeny madras shorts, white linen pants, and hawaiian shirts. baby boy outfits just kept spewing out.

so believe it or not, i have vowed not to buy antonio any clothes at all for the month of march (well, except for one consignment sale i had planned on going to. and even then, i will go with cash and have a limit). you can stop laughing and rolling your eyes now. i know i can do this. it won't be easy for me, but i know i can do it. i should take advantage of the weather and go outside more, not go to the mall. i don't think antonio will mind wearing the same outfit all day long.

slightly worried

i would not be totally surprised if antonio's first words are "cornflower, no!". poor boy, i'm surprised he doesn't think that's his name.

Eating as a Family

I love that we have now been eating as a family. Yes, it does take longer, as one of us has to feed Antonio while we eat, but it is worth it. I know I love his company at the table, his silly grins and his sweet laughter.
-Andrés

it's like crack

Antonio:Gerber banana puffs AS Julia:Zaxby's tater chips

We have some serious addictions here. I may go into withdrawal whenever we move away from Georgia.

growing up too fast

antonio has gotten his first tooth. and it makes me really sad. more sad than the fact that he's sort of crawling on his belly now. meeting his motor milestones haven't really bothered me this whole time. but there's something about his first tooth. it just makes me sad. no more gummy smiles.

kids, gotta love 'em...

i have turned in my resignation at my current job. the hours, the drive, the caseload. it's been more than i can handle as a wife and mother. in changing jobs, i hope to spend more time at home with antonio.

it took a while to make the decision to quit because i really do love working with the kids. here's one of the reasons why, a conversation i had with P during his aquatic session.

P: when a grape gets all wrinkly it makes a raisin.

miss julia: that's right! do you know what it's called when a plum gets all wrinkly?

P: yes. a super big raisin.


i'm looking forward to the day when i can have such conversations with my own children. and now that i'll be spending more time at home, i'll make sure not to miss it.

seriously?

andres and i are in the process of getting our house ready to put on the market. we definitely need to declutter. there are many things that we can put away and live without for a short time. but there are also many with which we cannot.

i'm sitting here watching a show about getting your house ready to sell. you know, one of those shows where they want your home to look like no-one actually lives there. nothing on the kitchen counter, no photos, no toys, no dog beds, no crucifixes. they even put away a baby's booster seat!

i'm sorry, but i have to live in this house. my husband has to live in this house. my son has to live in this house. even the dogs have to live in this house. i will NOT take down the crucifixes. i will NOT put away antonio's booster seat or exersaucer (as space occupying as it may be). i will NOT eat on paper plates for the next few weeks just to keep the kitchen a little cleaner. and if it means making $500 less on the sale of the house, then too bad. i think it's a small price to pay for being able to live in your own home.

mommy moments

you know you're a mom when...

- you learn the hard way to never wear a white button down shirt to mass on sundays
- you walk around half the morning at work with your shirt on inside out
- you look like you just walked out of coal mine going up to communion on ash wednesday because your son's ashes have rubbed onto your face between his cuddling and squirming
- you SWEAR you know where the YMCA is to sign up for infant swim classes, yet you end up making no less than 4 u-turns along the same road
- you cry when he cries
- you cry when he laughs
- you start to miss him the moment you put him down for bed at night

dear carlos

i really wish my brother would start a blog. he has the most spectacular "stories", for lack of a better word.

for example, one of his latest is the travels of his cell phone all the way to london...

and back...

without him.

so carlos, if you're reading this, think about it. you'd have at least one avid reader here. :)

what's a $1.30?

apparently it's the premium that the grocery store charges to buy scallions pre-sliced.

all i needed as i stopped at the store on my way home was 1 bunch of scallions to put over the top of the jambalaya pasta i was making for dinner (happy mardi gras everyone!). ordinarily 70 cents.

of course when you only need ONE thing at the grocery store, they don't have it. so i thought, oh, i'll just get the pre-sliced ones. i'm sure it's not that much more expensive. wrong. it was TWO DOLLARS!! i may be a little irresponsible when it comes to shopping, but even i am not THAT bad. so i left. andres and i would have to do without the scallions.

i felt further justified as i thought to myself on the way home what $1.30 really is. here's my list so far.

$1.30 can buy each of these separately...

- a dozen eggs
- 3 jars of baby food (which is actually 6 servings for antonio)
- 2 heads of broccoli
- a bunch of bananas
- 12 packages of ramen noodles :)

seriously, have we become so lazy that we will choose to buy pre-sliced green onions (which don't even required peeling i might add) over fresh fruits and vegetables?

a new perspective

the time to babyproof is fast approaching as antonio is slowly figuring out how to wiggle himself forward on his belly. to be prepared, i went to babies r us on friday to get a few basics. a baby gate, outlet covers, etc. however, it is almost impossible to go to babies r us and leave only with what you had planned. i got sucked into the toys section. and naturally, i was convinced that antonio needed a few "educational" toys that taught letters and numbers.

by the time i got home, i was rethinking my toy purchases. did he really need maracas that count? or a drum that says the alphabet? no. so i returned them the next day. i didn't have all the leapfrog toys to help you learn to read by the time you turn 3. but i still learned to read. and i love to read.

i'd rather have antonio use his imagination with simple toys. you can get one simple toy that a child can find a million ways to play with or you can buy a cheap plastic toy that does one thing. what do you think they'll play with longer?

my new realization that simple, preferably natural, toys are the way to go was further confirmed last night. antonio happily played for 30-45 minutes with a plastic duplo container. it gave me such delight watching him figure out that he can bang the sides like a drum, reach for blocks inside it, or make funny sounds by talking and squealing into it. he's already learning how to use his imagination.