Office Bathroom Mirror is NOT My Friend

I hate the flourescent lighting in my otherwise comfortable office building. It's the absolute worst in the bathroom, where the lighting perfectly highlights the growing number of grey hairs sprouting out of my head. I pulled out a bunch last night but I guess I missed most of them, because there they were, glistening in the soft, yellow, artificial light.

Maybe it's time to do something different. Start dying my hair maybe? Any suggestions? I know absolutely nothing about fashion or beauty, so I need someone to school me on the subject of hair color.

I hesitated to write this post because I know someone will throw it back at me and say "See? THIS is why women should stay at home. You can't do both things at once. I was right all along."

I'm less than a month in as a working mom and I've already had two absolutely horrible mornings. Two weeks ago I managed to forget my pump parts and didn't discover the problem until I was about to head to the library for a pumping session. That left me with boobs on the verge of explosion, having to borrow my co-workers SUV to drive to the lactation center at the hospital and invest in a THIRD SET of pump parts, one of which now permanently resides in my office.

Then there was today. It started out ok, prodding a sniffly C along so that we could get ourselves together, get the baby ready, and get out of the house on time. I got out of the shower and found that my hair dryer was fried. Luckily, my crappy hair is just long enough for some pigtails. Unfortunately, with my hair pulled back I look like walking death without makeup, so I had to put some on.

Poor Baby C has a cold, so I had to suck his snot, give him his eye drops, change him, feed him, and get him dressed while C was slower than freaking molasses getting out the door. We were already off to a late start, then we got stuck in a traffic jam because Cincinnati peeps can't drive when it's raining. We get to daycare and I find that he didn't grab the diaper bag like I asked him to on the way out the door, while I'm juggling my stuff for work, pump bag, and baby in his carrier. Too much stuff needs to get out of the house with me every morning.

We need to go home to get the bag with the bottles, but C needs to go to work first, so we drive all the way to the factory. I finally get on the highway to go home and there's a huge pile-up. I make it home, run in to get the diaper bag, and head back to daycare, crossing my fingers that Baby C doesn't wake up, because I know he's hungry by this point. I have bad luck, so he wakes up SCREAMING. By this time I'm on the highway and can't do anything about it.

We finally get to daycare and I stay to feed him, so he doesn't think I'm evil mom. I roll into work at 9:30, two whole hours late. Thankfully, the pres decided to take the week off. Whew!

Because of perfect timing, Baby C is experiencing a growth spurt and hasn't slept through the night in about a week. He was up TWICE last night. What's up with that?

I need a system. Mornings are crazy, our house is a disaster area, and laundry has been folded but not put away since my last weekend of maternity leave. It gets better, right? Thank god it's a 2 day week.

Keeping the Holiday Weight Off (worthless advice)

Every year I read the same articles that tell you how to avoid gaining weight during this festive season. Every year I read the same couple of tips that just stare out at me as being completely unrealistic. I'm going to share my favorites with you. You're so lucky! These were spotlighted on MSNBC.com.

1. Avoid Temptation

Avoid constantly putting yourself in situations that tempt you. For example, don’t walk through the break room at work 10 times a day when you know it's filled with holiday treats and candies. Spend a few minutes in the morning packing a healthy snack (like almonds, a piece of fruit or a yogurt) so you'll have a healthy weight-loss alternative.

And don't place treats on your kitchen counter to stare you in the face or take four desserts off the buffet vowing to take only one bite of each. Remember, EAT before you meet. Have this small meal before you go to any parties: a hardboiled egg, apple, and a thirst quencher (water, seltzer, diet soda, tea).

This is a great idea in theory, but who the hell can actually do this in practice? In reality you know that the almonds, fruit, and yogurt are going to be left to languish in the back of the workroom refrigerator in favor of cookies and other such niceties. As for the second tip, if you eat that small meal before the party you're inevitably going to end up eating the equivalent of two meals by the time all is said and done. So what if you had a hardboiled egg? Are you still going to be passing up chocolate? May as well skip the calories in the egg and apple altogether and just have chocolate for dinner instead.


2. Liquid calories count

Holidays are notorious for tempting us with drinks we wouldn't normally consume. Alcohol offers no nutrients — just empty calories, and we often forget to count them. Eggnog coffee drinks with whipped cream, hot toddies, spiced rum, these drinks can have as many calories as a personal pan pizza! Limit your consumption and order sparkling water with a splash of cranberry juice instead. It'll look festive and save calories. If you want to go for the alcohol, alternate alcoholic drinks with diet-friendly, calorie-free sparkling water.

This is all true, but what they're forgetting here is that "sparkling water with a splash of cranberry juice" isn't going to help us deal with those difficult people in our lives that come out of the woodwork around the holiday season. It also won't help you handle hosting a holiday with grace, or ensure that you're relaxed enough to keep you from grinding your teeth down to nothing while you clench your jaw to avoid saying something in the heat of a discussion that you might regret later (please see previous post entitled "If you can't say anything nice..."). Please understand that I'm not in any way shape or form saying that alcohol is necessary to make it through the holiday season, just that it can go a long way in maintaining quality family relations.


3. Save it for something special

Indulge only in new, interesting foods; have one taste of each. Avoid feeling deprived and distracted by food all evening long — allow yourself one dessert or holiday truffle per event. When you’re done, destroy the plate. If you've had enough to eat but others are still picking, dump salt over any food you have left.

Sure, I'll just have one bite of chocolate. Like I said above, I would just make that the whole meal. That's my personal issue though, instead of giving up on the dessert part I just won't eat any "real food" to make up for it. I do that during work potluck lunches pretty regularly. Who needs chili, soup, or appetizers? Pass the dessert, please.

I do like the salt idea, but I suffer from "leftovers guilt" and can't bear to throw away food. This is why at any given time you will find a random collection of neatly packed tupperware containers stacked in our fridge. What's in there right now? Leftover calzone filling? Check. Leftover corn tortilla strips? Check. A tea bag that I can reuse because the flavor is so strong? Check. Half of a green pepper that I know I have little intention of actually finishing? Check.


** edit -- I was just informed by a co-worker that there are oatmeal raisin cookies available at her desk. You bet your ass that a cookie will be taking the place of my apple as my afternoon snack. **

Mastitis

really really sucks. I had to waste a personal day yesterday because by the time I got to work I thought I was going to die. My OB couldn't see me until 11, so I locked myself in the library at work and slept. I have horse-pill antibiotics that make me feel like I'm going to puke, which probably doesn't really matter because I can't eat anything anyway. My right boob and arm hurt like hell and I can't even pick up Baby Charlie :(

Luckily my fever is gone today so I came to work. I'm trying to force down a bowl of cheerios and strawberries, but it's slow going and now they're a little soggy.

If you don't have anything nice to say....

Then please just STFU. I don't understand why people have to be so judgemental and can't stop pick, pick, picking at the same tired old issue. Yes, Baby Charlie goes to daycare. Yes, he seems to like it there. He smiles and plays and is always in a good mood. No, they don't just stick him in his crib and leave him there all day, and no, I don't feel like I'm "letting someone else raise my child."

We Did It!!

I feel somewhat better about being stuck in Ohio now that it's a blue state.

What an exciting moment in history! I'm so glad I was able to be a part of it. I was so anxious all day yesterday, then tortured myself by watching the coverage all evening long. It was pins and needles all the way! I was so overcome with emotion when they declared Obama the winner, more so than I thought I would be. McCain gave a fantastic concession speech - it definitely restored some of the respect that I had lost for him since 2000, when I actually liked him. Obama's speech was truly inspiring and brought me to tears. It's amazing to see how far our society has come in such a short period of time. I'm beyond excited for what this development means for our country.

Unfortunately, it was evident in other places that we still have a long way to go, as a few states passed amendments that ban gay marriage and one even passed a law that bans gay couples from adopting. Because that's all we need, fewer opportunities for children with no place to go.

Hopefully the closed-mindedness that we're still seeing will continue to disappear in the coming years. Yay for everyone who supported Obama, and yay for everyone who didn't. I'm sure you'll see great, positive changes during the next four years. I just hope everyone who supported the "other side" can remove the blinders and give the new administration a fair chance.

Election Day

Baby Charlie says get out and vote!



Unless you're voting for McCain, in which case you can just stay home :)

Just kidding!

(kind of)