Boobs Are The Best

Even though it should be October every month, in my opinion, we have this one time in particular each year where this great month is recognized as Breast Cancer Awareness Month. In honor of all of the women in my family, my friends and all across the world, I'm going pink for the month of October. Will you join me?

Boobs aren't just neat to look at, they're important!
Breast health is very important, because my breasts are not only an important part of my body, they're an important part of my life. Now, more recently, they're an important part of my family's life since I've been nursing our young son. I don't know what I'd do if I ever lost them, but at times like this, it's comforting to know there is a growing network of people out there who would help me out if I needed it.

I love my boobs and what they mean to me and to everyone else!
They've been through some really tough times, but they've always been with me, leading me, out in front and by my side (well, you know how motherhood changes that a bit). My boobs really know the ups and downs in life. They've been through a lot. They have uplifted me and they have let me down. I've done the same for them in return. They have drawn attention to things that matter most to me in life. When I was a teen, they drew attention to boys — as well as girls. (This goes out to all the chics in the 5th grade who accused me of stuffing my bra and who cornered me in a bathroom stall to prove it. Ha ha on you!) When I became an adult, they showed me that life isn't always fair and sometimes your brain gets overlooked when the boobs get in the way. Sometimes, I swear, these girls have just had minds of their own. They're not easy to hide.

Lucky for me, in all the time that I've been breastfeeding my son, I've never been made to feel like I had to hide in a dark corner while nursing in private or in public, but it's a real shame that hasn't been the case for some women I know. I did have issues (long story for another time) when it came to working and pumping and I have left a job in order to care for my boobs though, because that's how important they are.

Boobs are the best!
Funny how when they're young,
the public can't get enough of 'em;
always wanting to see them squooshed
in bras and bikini tops on magazines pushed
bigger than life on the billboards,
everyone knows they feed the hoards.
Whether it's at a burger joint or a bistro,
Hooters and booties in the YouTube video
from a baby on it's mamma or a bottle from the tap,
there's something for everyone and for that we can all clap!
But when they're not as elastic,
We're compelled to replace 'em with plastic.
And when they are ill and we need to make a choice,
That's when we no longer rejoice
in the lace and the fills
where the cup runneth over till it spills
Let us not forget what is best
Check early, check often and get that test!
Love your self, love your mother
Help support one another
Remember the boobs, save the breast!

You can help for free, encourage awareness and donations. Click on the Go Pink image above or visit these fine links:

Susan G. Komen for the Cure

Pink for October.org

Pink your Twitter

Much thanks to Natalie, designer of the beautiful twitter patterns, for raising my awareness and helping to give me to tools to Go Pink!

I'm passing this on. Now it's your turn!

(Leave a comment if you decide to do this, I'd love to see your blog all decked out in pink.)

The Eyes Have It

Just a quick update on Lucian's eye status. He needs glasses. Not the greatest news, but hey, it could be a whole lot worse. If this is the least of our problems, I'm grateful. The eye doctor said she wants to see him back in another 6 weeks to see how he's responding to this course of treatment for his strabismus.

So now we have to find a pair of glasses suitable for a 2-year old and try not to go bankrupt doing it. He tried on a couple of pair at the "boutique" across from the ophthalmologist's office. (I don't know what else to call it.) Those pair were around $300.00. Yikes!

I called my insurance company and they gave me some alternatives and a discount card I can use. So, I think we'll go with Oma tomorrow or sometime this weekend to pick some out for him.

Until then, here's a little sampling of some pics we took not long ago for your enjoyment.

Here is what he looks like wearing his Daddy's glasses:














And here is his best Elvis impersonation to date:

The Hardest Word

"I'm s-s-s-s-oree-ee da-d-dee," he said with tears streaming down his chin, snot swiped across his cheek, and in the most adorable whimper that nearly broke my heart.


We're trying to teach our very young son about right, wrong, consequences and rewards. It's not fun. Except for the rewards part. Which, right now is picking him up out of the pack-n-play where he's served his time-out, cuddling him and soothing his misery and reexplaining to him just what he did that was wrong and that even when he's bad, Mommy and Daddy still love him no matter what, but that being bad upsets us and the result is a time-out (or a swift smack on the hand if he did something dangerous).

Tonight's bad choice: spilling salt from a salt shaker all over the floor that we had just vacuumed. I don't think he really knew it was such a big deal but he knows now.

Teaching a child at this age to apologize is not easy. He's probably much too young to even comprehend the concept of feeling remorse, but I think it's important to introduce this to him early on. Too many children today, it seems, get to skip this part, but I won't have it.

As much as I dislike this part of the parenting experience, my favorite part is loving him and reassuring him that I love him no matter what. I love to snuggle him and console him. I love the part where he hugs me and says "I love you, Mommy," and then goes back to playing without holding a grudge.

Our son is blossoming and absorbing so much right now. I'm so very proud of him each and every day.

Smooch Gone Awry

That's it! No more dog cartoons for this kid. I suppose he's into the "imitating dogs phase" of toddlerhood because the other night during dinner at Oma & Opa's house he ate his food off his plate by mimicking how "Ooooh" does it. ("Ooooh is his pet name for Joschka, the Siberian Husky) This morning he climbed up to snuggled on the couch with me while watching Clifford and acted like he was going to kiss me. As you can see, I got duped!

Don't Need a DogI don't need a dog, I've got a toddler! I don't know what's up with the licking but I suspect it's this stupid dog cartoon he's been watching.

Apple of My Eye

I've been wanting to post this video clip for some time now. It's one of my favorite memories from our cross-country road trip this past summer. It's a little home movie of us and our visit to the Boylston Street Apple Store in Boston, MA. I hope you enjoy it.


Apple Store Visit from TheMacMommy on Vimeo.

One of the many highlights of our cross-country road trip this summer (July 2008) was a visit to the Apple Store on Boylston Street in Boston, MA. Lucian was just learning how to navigate steps so the glass spiral staircase was a real treat! It was lots of fun watching him play with an iPod Touch. Someday, maybe we'll have one of our own.

P.S.
I swear I did not coach him to say "Apple" but I'm hoping Steve Jobs will find it cute anyhow.



Family Bedhead

Well, we've been back at home for two months now and we're still having sleeping issues. I've been trying really hard to get more sleep and for about a week or two, it was working out pretty well. Lucian was finally starting to sleep in his room, in his bed for an entire night. I finally started accepting that and taking advantage of it. Now he's cutting his second molars and getting up and coming into our room each night – again.

I'm blaming it on the teeth. It makes me feel better.

We've been co-sleeping with him for so long now that most times we just give in and pull him into bed with us. Sometime we even have a little step stool by the foot of the bed that he can use to climb up and tuck himself in so we can sorta still sleep undisturbed...kinda...well a little more than actually having to wake up all the way and pick him up. The step stool is now in the 2nd bathroom (Lucian's bathroom) in front of the toilette and I'm tempted to purchase another just to keep at the side of the bed!

I'm convinced that sleep is for the dead.
Sleep — it's just not for me. Passing out from exhaustion for a few hours, maybe, but sleep...I just can't get it to stick unless medicinally provoked.

Despite how much I joke about loving being high on Benadryl, I really loathe taking pills or having to rely on any type of chemical to make me do what I should be able to do naturally. You know, like normal people. I envy people who can just fall asleep. Just lay their head on the pillow, close their eyes and drift off. I envy people who can breathe with pollen in the air. I envy people who can wear or touch wool. I envy people who can naturally coexist with furry animals and not break out in hives or have an asthma attack. I welcome the sanctuary of my little bubble of existence in front of the computer where most times my mind stays too busy to sneeze or feel miserable. All my problems seem to slip away temporarily. If it weren't for having to tend to a toddler every couple of minutes, I might forget to eat or go to the bathroom! I might actually finish blog posts instead of starting and stopping and forgetting what I originally intended to write about.

So, anyhow, I'm grumpy because when he sleeps in bed with us — he sleeps — we don't. He's a bedhog.

There is a foot in my face, an arm across my neck, another hand tangled in Daddy's hair.

A couple of times now, I've been successful at moving him to the pack-n-play after he's fallen asleep when I can't take it anymore. We've moved the pack-n-play back into our bedroom to get it out of the living room. Normally it's reserved for time outs. He doesn't seem to have a problem sleeping in it with his pillow and blanket because I think he just likes being near us. Sometimes I've even been able to put him back in his own bed, but nothing is consistent.

For as grumpy as I am though, I love this little boy more than words can express. I kiss him and hug him constantly. Which, by the way, is why I don't wear lipstick hardly ever anymore. It always gets kissed off! He lets me snuggle him, but since he's a toddler, you know how they are about their body buffer of space. So, I suppose being tired is the tradeoff for being able to snuggle him more while he's sleeping because he doesn't squirm then.

Every night he sleeps with us, I always hug him and kiss him and tell him what an extremely loved little boy he is and how lucky we all are to be together as a family in the same bed. Afterall, it's only temporary and other people aren't as fortunate.