Pond Hopper

When Ethan was a baby, I always made is food from scratch. I cooked for him purees and mashed food from the time he was on solid food and then when he started with finger foods, I continued with my healthy meal plans. I never offered cookies or sweets, I gave him only wheat bread (no white) and fresh fruit and veg. He was such a good eater. I swore I'd never be a parent that made separate meals for my child. Then, he turned 2 and his food world turned upside-down. He started refusing more and more food. He became a child of plain pasta (with only butter, salt, pepper & Parmesan cheese), no sauces of any kind, no meat except for chicken, He likes fish but only if it's breaded and he alternates with being picky about his fruit or veg. He always eats it, but is has random refusals of things he used to like. He still only eats wheat bread, but won't drink milk so I have to give him 3 yogurts a day to make up for the lack of milk. For breakfast he'll eat toast, fr...

Before I had Ethan, I was one of those childless people who said things like: 'When I have kids, I'll never let them into my bed', 'I'll never make two separate meals - if they don't like what I make then they won't eat' and 'I'd never put up with THAT sort of behavior (when a child had a meltdown in a supermarket)!' Yes, I was the childless person that parents probably wanted to smack if I said anything even close to those things in their presents. I thought being a mom a bit later in life would be a good thing. I thought I could benefit from other parents mistakes and know exactly what not to do. The thing was that I wasn't a parent and had no idea about the unbelievable love you can have for your child. Now that I am a parent, I have had to go through all the trials and hardships that go with making my own mistakes all for the love of my child. When Ethan was about a year and a half old, we went though a scare where doctors said ...

I'm not the sort of person that get's all warm and fuzzy around babies. I don't offer to hold them or feel all nostalgic for the days of tiny babies. What has done that to me lately has been watching my son play and enjoy himself. Recently, I actually cried while taking a ride on Thomas the Tank Engine with him and watched him bop along to the Thomas music they played. HE makes me want to have another baby. It's when he says 'Mommy, I love you SO much, says the word Ferrari (which is the cutest thing I've ever heard) or when he has a look of pride on his face when he does something he was afraid to do. It's when he climbs on me to cuddle close for a what he calls a 'face hug'(which is a hug with his cheek up against mine) or when I listen to him have a conversation with his Dad. It's all these things that make me want to have another baby and go through it all over again. It started a couple of months ago when my husband and I were sitting on...

When the chips are down it's sometimes surprising what you can end up needing. You can end up needing people you thought you outgrew the need for. Recently, while in crisis mode, I found out that there are some people we never outgrow the need for (you just don't know it until faced with something that triggers it). I've been lucky enough to find comfort and support from someone completely unexpected and I am so grateful for it. Years pass and people come and go. Some leave their mark, some fade as if they were never there and some leave more than just their mark and they stay with you long after they've moved on from your life. You would think approaching someone with a problem after not even hearing their voice in almost a decade, would be awkward, but it wasn't. They could have responded with 'This is unexpected, isn't there someone else you can go to with this?' or simply, 'Why me?' but it wasn't like that. The first response was ...

It's been a while. When I go through difficult times, I tend to go quiet until it passes. I don't blog about highly personal matters and it's hard to find the inspiration to write about the small stuff when other things seems so substantial. We got back from my in-laws last night. It took a grueling 5.5 hours to get back. Without traffic, it takes 3.5 which is tough enough. Ethan was a doll sitting still in traffic for over an hour in an oven of a car. He's always good when it comes to that sort of thing. The trip to my in-law's was different than most. I spent the weekend playing family counselor. It started with my sister-in-law (the same one who was talking about me the last time I saw them). I walked outside to have a cigarette and found her crying with her boyfriend. I went to leave and she said to stay. She told me she was upset because her brother (who she hasn't been on good terms with for 5 years now) refused to come to come because she was ther...

I have spent the last week falling in love with Jackson Brodie, the main character in Kate Atkinson's Case Histories series. I have read all four books by auido book walking around for days with Jason Isaacs sexy voice telling me the stories. Jason Isaacs also plays Jackson Brodie in the BBC series based on the books. I watched the first episode and quickly switched to the books (which I already owned in book form). I chose the auido books not because of Jason Isaacs, but because sometimes when the narrator of a book is Britsh, I have a difficult time finding their voice (for lack of a better word) while reading and I struggle with the story. I tried reading it in book form several times and then looked for the Audio version. I was pleasantly surprised to find out the star of the show would be telling me the stories. I did 4 books in five days and now that I have fallen for Mr Brodie, I look very forward to the next edition (I really hope there are plans for one). Kate Atkin...

Here is what I want to tell you - I turned out OK. I am happily married - really happy.  Most people are not.  I know maybe two couples that are happily married, but most I know don't even like the person they wake up next to every day.  It's sad but true.  We are happy and we are in love.  It's been nearly ten years and I see no change in our behavior or our relationship than when we first started out.  He takes good care of me so you don't have to worry about that. I am a mother. I am finally a mother and I am a good one at that.  This morning I heard him singing in his bed before he got up.  What a wonderful sound!  I went to his door and peeked in.  His head came up to look, I opened the door wider so he could see it was me and his face lit up as he smiled (that kid smiles with his whole face), he jumped up and ran to me with arms wide open.  I got to him just as he reached the edge of the bed and we started the day with the ...