We came down to Northern Virginia this weekend for my friend Erin’s super awesome wedding. My parents got to watch Baby Evan during the rehearsal dinner AND the wedding and they did a fantastic job. No broken parts and they totally wore him out. He slept for 13 hours last night. I had to go in and poke him to check for signs of life. We’ve decided to come visit much more often – one baby-free date night every 17 months is NOT enough.

The wedding was absolutely gorgeous and the the reception was one of the best parties I’ve ever been to. If you haven’t had the pleasure of seeing E dance you wouldn’t understand why I love wedding receptions so much, but let me tell you – it is EPIC. The drinking made it even better, although he probably won’t be doing THAT again for a while – in his own words, he’s getting way to old for this s***.

Most of my photos are on the computer and I’m writing this from my phone (woot! iPhone shout out!) because we’re on our way in to DC for a few hours, but I will have TONS to share when we get home to CT. My dress totally fit and didn’t even look that bad, although I still changed into a super comfy maternity dress for the dancing and eating portion of the night. It was awesome. Congrats again to my two amazing friends!

Have a safe and wonderful Labor Day!

These were my FAVORITE snack when I was a kid, although I’m using the term “kid” very loosely since I definitely remember asking my mom to bake a batch or two when I was in high school. The wheat germ makes them sweet and nutty and incredibly satisfying and the shape is fast-moving toddler friendly. They aren’t exactly healthy – hellooooo butter and sugar – but they’re definitely better than a store bought snack, if only because you know exactly what’s in them and can avoid preservatives and high fructose corn syrup. It’s also a SUPER easy recipe to adapt – use gluten-free flour, add chopped nuts or dried fruit, substitute the vanilla for almond flavoring or use rolled oats or Grape Nuts instead of the wheat germ.

The original recipe comes from my very well used copy of “Feed Me! I’m Yours” by Vicki Lansky the “New and Revised” edition…published in 1974. Some of the food suggestions seem a little outdated (Chicken Liver Special? Vegetable Egg Yolk Custard?) but the book is charming and the recipes for homemade, healthier versions of everything from brownies to edible paste are great. (As a bonus, it has TONS of other advice on everything from entertaining your child while you’re trying to cook dinner – ice cube in a cup – to the dangers of children’s birthday parties – little girls catching their hair on fire and kids running with straws and lollipops.) It may be worth trying to track down an original copy although the new and revised version from 2004 might be just as charming.

Homemade Cereal Bars
Adapted from Feed Me! I’m Yours 1974 edition

1/2 cup butter
1 cup sugar
2 eggs
1 tsp. vanilla
1 cup whole wheat flour
1 1/4 cup white flour
1/4 tsp baking soda
1/3 cup wheat germ (other options: Grape nuts, granola, rolled oats) plus another 1/3 cup for rolling

Cream butter, sugar, eggs and vanilla in a mixer. Add wheat flour first, then add 1 cup white flour. Mix in baking soda & 1/3 cup wheat germ. Check your dough for stickiness – if it seems too soft add the rest of the white flour, a little more wheat flour or more wheat germ until it’s the right consistence for shaping (you want it just a little less sticky than cookie dough).

Take a small piece of dough and roll it into a snake – if you have anyone around with play dough experience they can definitely help with this part! Then roll the snake in the extra 1/3 cup of wheat germ and place it on a greased cookie sheet.

You can make yours prettier than these if you want - the finger dents show when they're baked.

Bake at 400 degrees for 8-10 minutes, depending on the size of your bars. The edges will be slightly brown.

Give them a minute to cool, pop them off the cookie sheet and enjoy. They keep pretty well in an air-tight container or zip-lock bag for up to a week and will stay edible all day in a snack bag or car seat cup holder.

Baby Evan approved!

A lot of my friends with kids around the same age as Evan have started potty training. Not full-on throw-out-the-diapers potty training, but buy-a-seat-and-start-watching-for-signs-of-readiness potty training. The lazy man’s approach, if you will. Hey, in my book every diaper you DON’T have to change is a good diaper, so I figured I’d get a seat and give it a try too.

Sitting! On the potty seat!

I think my first mistake was buying a seat/step stool rather than just a potty, since being just a liiiiiittle bit taller is every toddler’s dream (and brings us to a whole new level of childproofing). The lid is also sort of hard to get open so I have some trouble yanking off pants, a diaper and flipping it to the potty part fast enough to accomplish anything.

Even when it is open, I don’t think Evan’s legs are long enough to get his tush centered appropriately. Which means I would still have to be actively involved in all potty time for quite some time.

Eating on the potty: WE'RE JUST THAT CLASSY.

So far, there has been exactly zero potty action on the potty. Just sitting. Mostly fully clothed.

Hey! Squatting! Can we call that progress?

In case you think I’m a crazy person for even thinking about potty training this early, let me tell you that Baby Evan already learned the sign for “toilet” and associates it with pooping. He’s a very conspicuous pooper, so it wasn’t hard for him to get the connection when I signed it every time he’d start grunting and frowning. I also sign it when he’s in the bathroom with me, hoping he’ll understand that’s the place where the pooping is supposed to happen. I think peeing will be our bigger struggle, since he barely seems to care about wet diapers and often doesn’t even stop running around naked long enough to finish a whiz.

Again, I would like to remind you that NO POTTYING has been done in that bowl.

A lesser person would caption this with a comment including the terms "poop" and "head".

Yes, that is a sippy cup in the potty. Maybe he's just trying to cut out the middleman?

Evan’s other sign of readiness is that dirty diapers now seem to bother him. He will sign “yucky” and “diaper” if I ask him about “the stinky” and grab his crotch Michael Jackson-style if I haven’t yet noticed. I’ve heard this is a major step in potty training success so maybe I’ll keep trying, despite my failure with the seat so far.

Now he's just mocking me.

I suppose having the seat doesn’t hurt – we’ll need it EVENTUALLY – but when I get serious about the potty training we’ll need at least two more: one for the upstairs bathroom and one for the car. Anyone have any seat recommendations that aren’t quite so easy to use as hats?

Because this? Will NOT be OK when the seats are in use. No matter what the toddler says.

A hundred years ago, I knew how to relax (Charleston SC August 2006)

Can I say that ANY MORE CLEARLY??

All over the internet (and in real life) I hear moms say “I wish I got a day off” or “I could use a break” or “When do I get a sick day?” or “I can’t wait to go on that vacation”. But those statements are ALWAYS prefaced by this:

“I love my kid, but…”

Without fail.

Usually it’s a lot more than just “I love my kid” too. Sometimes it’s whole paragraphs and posts and speeches about how they are the luckiest women on the planet, with darling, adorable, well-behaved children, super awesome supportive husbands, perfect magazine-cover lives and great hair. They just…need a minute. Maybe two. And a cocktail.

I’m not saying I DON’T love my kid. I am just as guilty as everyone else of worrying people will think I’m a terrible mother if I want him to go away sometimes. He’s exhausting. It’s not so much that feeding and caring for one small child is incredibly strenuous – heck, you can pay a teenager to keep your kid alive for a few hours for less than minimum wage and most of them are happy to do it – but EVERY DAY ALL THE TIME NO STOPPING NO BREAKS will make you crazy.

For the record, here’s what happened when I got my break: There was absolutely no whining. I stayed out late. I called to check in and was happy to hear everything was fine. I was not a sobbing, teary mess at being separated from my kid for a couple days, although when I got back I was actually HAPPY to let him climb all over me instead of wanting to claw my skin off and hide under the covers. It was glorious.

And I’m going to do it again.

I’m not saying if you DO cry when you’re away from your baby there’s something wrong with you – it took me more that a year of NEVER being away from Baby Evan to get to the point where I could even consider leaving for a weekend. But there’s no “Saddest Mommy” medal being handed out to the person with the most tears and guilt. Let it go. Recharge. Have a cocktail. Get away.

TAKE A BREAK.

It might just make you a better mom.