No gym until I'm skinny...

Ridiculous, I know. But after two kids and just 5 weeks in this post partum body, I am dealing with body issues which I never knew I had, and trust me, it ain't pretty. My hubby and I have a gym membership which neither of us have used in a year - at least, I had an excuse - I was pregnant for most of that time and was running about 3 miles a day for awhile too - and the money is being deducted from our account, regardless of whether we haul our butts in there or not. So what better incentive to go, right? I get up bright and early and shower and fish out gym clothes that actually fit - no mean feat, I assure thee. I get to the front door and turn right back around. It's too cold, I'm too late for the class, is my membership still active? All lame excuses. Code for "I'm too fat", plus do I really want to join a strip tease exercise class with lithe skinny 20 something year olds with perfect bodies? Any class would be hard enough, but strip tease class? I mean, even if I were fit and trim and didn't have this jelly belly, I would feel ridiculous. Then there's the issue of my grimy workout clothes. So fast forward to me ordering hip (but not too hip - don't want to appear old and desperate), age appropriate, clothes THAT FIT on the Internet. By the time they get here, I would have shed at least another 5 pounds, right? In shape for getting in shape. Gotta love me. :)

Best Baby Gifts Ever

Second kids, if they are the same sex as the first one usually get a raw deal, you know? I bought almost nothing new for monkeyboy, and as for clothes, fuhgetaboutit. But fortunately, I have great people in my life who love me and he got his fair share of cute, adorable stuff. Love you all. Really. But I am a sucker for books, always have been, always will be. Maybe growing up with an academician as a Dad and teacher for a mother, reading was priority. A treat was going to the bookstore on Saturday and picking out any book of your very own. Then we would all lie in our various beds, devour the books and swap with each other. As we all had pretty diverse tastes, I read the whole gamut, from Nick Carters, to Barbara Cartlands to Enid Blytons at a pretty young age. But Nigerian TV sucked, so holding out for age appropriate material never crossed my mind. But I digress. So I got these gorgeous books, titled 'On the night you were born', and "On the Day you were born' respectively, (among many that this person so generously bequeathed to monkeyboy) that are already favorites of Number one son and I'm sure will be for monkeyboy too, in time.

I have also fallen in love with crabtree and evelyn's super gentle and super adorable baby wash and creams. They work so well for monkeyboys sensitive skin and the packaging is SO cute - it's like reading a bedtime story everyday, just looking at it. He broke out in a rash, I think from Johnson and Johnson's and these seem to be calming the rash and working so well. My dear friend gifted this to us courtesy of she and her business Packaged Panache. She makes the most gorgeous gift packages for ANY occasion you can imagine. Yes, she doth rock. lol.

I 'heart' Scott Baio

I have been watching way too much TV since I have all this time on my hands. I mean, I'm a reality TV junkie on any given day, but I'm now into EXTREME midnight reality TV marathons. So I have been watching the most random shows that I can find between 12 and 3 am. 'Scott Baio is 46 and pregnant' (on VH1) has been a favorite these days, along with 'The Salt n Pepa show' and quite a few others. Maybe it's the hormones, but there is something about this middle aged italian-american, former chronic bachelor that I find strangely appealing. He just seems like someone I would have had a crush on in say, grade school. I always went for the quirky types back then. Um, yeah, we'll chalk it down to lack of sleep.

Miracles do happen. I don't care if you believe me or not, but I have to put the word out just in case there's someone out there hoping for one. My darling sister-friend has had huge tumors in her lungs for over a year now and no chemo or radiography treatment was shrinking it so the doctors could not operate. Alot of good people and churches had been praying for and with her for a while, but the situation just never seemed to be getting better in the physical. But two days ago, God showed up. Hello! She went for her checkup and the doctors told her the tumors are rapidly shrinking. The keyword here is RAPIDLY. It's hard to understand if you didn't know her, or have never battled something like this, when modern medicine and treatment seems futile, but I feel like I am speaking to someone reading this today. God hears. God listens. God heals. God answers prayers. Praise God! Yup, I'm testifyin', y'all.

ps I have lost 1 pound. No, I'm not kidding. I need an intervention people!

muuah! pp

Things I can't live without

I can live without chocolate, but I cannot live without our dear nanny - Aunty 'Wida'. And she leaves in about two weeks. What on earth will we do without her? I am barely making it through the day as it is. Even more important, what will I tell my son who thinks the sun rises and sets in her bosom? I truly, truly dread life 'post Rita' and our family will not be the same - at least for a while. Sigh. How do people cope without ANY help? Hats off to all of you. Truly Phenomenal Women that you are.

I can't live without my babysling. It is supercute in this funky camoflauge design and so user friendly - none of the bells, whistles and manuals that that come with the baby bjorn. IDon't get me wrong, I LOVED my baby bjorn, that is until I heard that it was bad for your back - both mom and baby's - unless ofcourse you buy the even more expensive one, which costs like a trillion dollars. So I invested in a sling from www.slinglings.com for baby number two and I'm happy to say ,he sleeps snug as a bug in there with not a peep out of the little guy.

My adorable crane humidifier. Well, it's monkeyboy's actually and since he's been battling the sniffles, it's become his new 'bff'. Moms out there can attest to this - when little babies have colds, it's torture for EVERYONE. But this cool mist humidifier works so well and is cute to boot. It also comes in almost every animal imaginable, but I am partial to the penguin. It has been vetted by both my boys and found to be awesome. Plus the customer reviews do say it works the best. Target ROCKS!

I also refuse to live without Fage (pronounced fah-yeh) 2% greek yogurt - Ijust add a teaspoon of honey to sweeten it. It is a dieting girls' best friend - so good for you yet it feels 'tres' decadent. And it's all about how something makes you feel, you know what I mean?

I'm outie, PP

I'm Baaack! (and I'm still HOT!)

Yeah, it's me, as modest as ever (please excuse my messy closet) I am still wondering what the statistics are on the survival rate and quality of life of moms (especially working moms) with two or more kids under three is. I mean, this is ridiculous - there are not enough hours in the day for ANYTHING, and I literally mean, anything. Even say, a load of laundry. And I am fortunate enough to have a live in nanny and my number one son does preschool, monday through friday, but I still am overwhelmed. Jesus take the wheel, cos my driving these days sure does suck, if you know what I mean.

So on thursday, just as I was about to start pulling my hair out, I (wisely) opted for professional services instead and had it cut into a short, slightly angled bob, which is, I hate to admit, slightly a la Katie Holmes. Nothing against Katie, but I consider myself an original. Please allow me my delusions. I am inching my way gradually to cutting it really short, like how I had it some five years ago, but my face is still too fat. So the bob, which is like four, five inches shorter than my previous bob will have to suffice for now. I have lost 21 pounds in three weeks post partum, so I am proud of myself. What sucks is the fact that I still have 23 more to go. I am wearing those Au bon pain bagels and starbucks lattes I had during my pregnancy on my belly, butt and thighs. I have got to get my workout on. Like yesterday. I mean, don't get me wrong, I'm still hot. Just grossly fat. :(

ttyl, PP

He's soooo.... 'interesting looking!' ??????

So you always wonder, do parents of homely babies, know that they are, you know... not that cute? (Anyone remember that Seinfeld' episode' with Elaine and the 'snuggly' baby?). Or maybe you wonder if you will be able to tell as a parent, if your baby looks like say, Yoda. No offense, star wars fans. The answer is an emphatic, "Ofocurse!". Meaning, yes, you will know. And no, it won't matter cause somehow, you'll think they're cute inspite of whatever their flaw is. For example, your baby has martian like ears, you will find yourself thinking, "His ears are so weird, but so CUTE on him!" And gushgushgush all day long. This is nature's way of making we do not as humans eat our young or schedule them for plastic surgery at week two post birth. The reason I bring this up is because monkeyboy definitely looks like a monkey. And I know this and I'm okay with this, but I could STILL just eat him up! I'm still waiting for the "his feet are SO precious" comments. Cause that's when you truly know that you have a 'homely one' on your hands. People come up with all kinds of 'creative' compliments/comments. It's okay. Really. Just say nothing. Because Mama knows. And no, Mama doesn't care. Because everyone knows that guys have it easy. Just speak halfway decent, dress and smell nice and you're good. Besides, look at my track record (by way of my number one son.) - hehehe. But MonkeyBoy does have the cutest toes though. :) giggle.

PP