"Mommy Brain"

I've had several instances of "mommy brain" since becoming a mother, like Monday when I was checking the expiration date on something and had to get out my phone because I had absolutely no idea what the date was.

Yesterday, however, takes the cake. It was about 4:30 and E and I were chilling on the floor (he was on his playmat) when I heard my phone make its "email received" noise. I don't always check it right away, but for some reason I did. It was regarding a banquet. That night.At 6:30. That I was supposed to go to and had completely forgotten about. Where I was supposed to give some sort of presentation or skit. That I hadn't even started on.

E went right into his crib where he reluctantly settled down for a nap, while I called the office and bought a last-minute ticket. I called Mr. M. to make sure he left work on time. The banquet was for my local Junior League, and I was a committee chair this past year. I was supposed to give a speech, skit or some other representation of my committee. I plunked down at the computer and dashed out a long lyrical poem (pretty darn good for a piece that took 20 minutes). Luckily I had actually showered and put on makeup already, so I just had to throw on a dress and dash out the door. The banquet was fun and my poem well-received, but SHEESH! What a night!

Today E and I ventured to our local YMCA for the first time since he was born. I left him in the nursery, which is FREE with a family membership, and went to do cardio. I love our Y. It is a huge, new-ish complex with an Olympic-sized swimming pool and lots of equipment and classes. My elliptical had a TV screen, and one of the channels was a live look into the nursery so I could watch E while I worked out. It was great! I then took a long hot shower and got ready in a leisurely fashion with no crying baby! I picked him up and we headed to the mall for some Mother's Day shopping. He behaved pretty darn well I thought. I had to sit on a bench in the middle of the mall to feed him since this mall doesn't have a mother's lounge, but since he is formula-fed it wasn't a big deal. Now we're home and he is passed out in his carseat so I am just letting him stay there for awhile.

E has had a cold for a while now, so yesterday I took him to the doctor (they said to bring him in if it persisted for more than two weeks and it has) and they are treating him for a sinus infection. Poor guy. At least he LOVES how his medicine tastes - it's really cute. Between a trip to the gym for a training session (where my trainer carried E around {this was not at the Y - yes I have two gym memberships but it's complicated}), the doctor, a quick stop at the craft store and a long wait at the pharmacy for E's medicine, I think I wore the little guy out! He goes to bed at eight and usually wakes up to be fed by 5 or 6, then goes back down until eight or so, but this morning he slept straight through until 8:30! Poor kid must have been pretty tired. One of his little nostrils was literally crusted OVER with snot, which I had the delightful task of fishing out with my fingernail (there really isn't any other way to do it, folks).

I've had a miserable sinus headache all day along with a really sore back, so I am enjoying the momentary peace and quiet of this house. Think I might try to close my eyes for a bit...

Day One as a SAHM

Hello all.

Sorry for the extremely lame lack of posting over the past few weeks. Between my job treating my like crap, my Grandmother's health scare and myself being diagnosed with bronchitis AND laryngitis, it hasn't been the best of times.

But on to the good news - Grandma does NOT have cancer! Her biopsy came back as just "fibrous tissue." It was the best news I have received in a LONG time. (To be honest, she overreacted just a TEENY bit by telling us all she HAD breast cancer when the letter from the doctor, which I saw, said it was 'suspicious for malignancy.' But she was scared, so I understand.)

My last day of work on the 25th was very bittersweet. I have many fond memories from my job but it was definitely tainted by the awful way they chose to treat me. I have deleted my previous post about it because it is very whiny and negative and it makes me angry all over again, and I am choosing to move past the whole thing and enjoy my new career as a stay-at-home mom.

Even though I wasn't working, I left E in daycare last week and I ABSOLUTELY kicked my house's ass. In four days, I: shampooed carpets, scrubbed the floors Cinderella-style, organized and sanitized the fridge, organized the pantry, organized my closet and donated a ton of clothes, cleaned out our "Hoarders" back bedroom, put shelf paper in all the kitchen shelves, put away Ethan's too-small clothes (sniff), mopped and cleaned the bathrooms, filed away mounds of loose paper in the study, clipped our ferocious rose bushes into submission, potted some colorful flowers, hung hanging baskets, sprayed down the back porch and outdoor furniture, cleaned up the front flower beds and have just done a general dusting and de-cluttering.

And YES, I had a list and YES, it was color-coded. :) It was hard work and it was hard to keep myself going, but I pushed myself and did it. Then on Friday, I celebrated with a boozy lunch with a friend, a massage, some shopping, a pedicure and a girls night out (with more booze).

So today is really my first day as a stay-at-home mom. I'll be honest, I have been nervous about going back to full-time mothering. What if I don't like it? What will we do all day? Will I get bored? What can I do to entertain him all day?

But I know that I will figure it out.

E chose to celebrate my first day at home with a MASSIVE blow-out (we're talking all the way up to the SHOULDERS, people) and while I was cleaning him up the protective extra wipe slipped and he peed in his own face. He screamed like a banshee and it took forEVER to calm him down. We essayed a successful excursion to the grocery store and he got many admiring glances as he gazed about from his Baby Bjorn carrier. My shoulders are killing me now, though.

He just gets more adorable every single day. Over the past few days he has really started talking a LOT. His talking consists of a lot of "growling," which is so darn cute. Instead of crying, most mornings he wakes me up by just talking to himself over the monitor. I keep waiting for him to find his feet.

Well, I must go! He has decided that his nap is over. Wish me luck during my first week!