You Likey?

Don't you feel so much better coming to my blog now? I know I do.

Custom blog designs are not cheap. But, in my opinion, they're not overpriced either.

I used to think, "Who would pay that much for a custom blog design?" Just post and publish. Done.

When I first started my blog I said it was to keep family and friends updated on my life with kids. But that was just a cop-out reason because here's the thing about me. I'm not just a blogger. I'm a writer first. I need to write. Writing makes me a better wife, mother and overall person.

But lately my writing has felt, well, a bit dull. Every once in a while I'd sit down and write out a very thoughtful piece. And it was great. But those ideas weren't coming to me as freely anymore.

My mom and Brian's mom were avid cross-stitchers as young mothers. My mom made her own wreaths and she hand-sewed each of our Christmas stockings. ALL of Brian's mom's food was made from scratch. And still, both of our moms read books more often than they drank water.

"How did they find the time?" I once asked Brian.

The lightbulb went on and I quickly answered my own question. There were no home computers back then. And there certainly was no easy access to this thing we call the Internet.

All these things they did, that was their creative outlet. Doing those things made them better wives, better mothers and better well-rounded individuals.

Writing is my creative outlet.

And that boring, green, cookie-cutter design was leaving me uninspired. I needed to get my mojo back.

So I contacted Jo-Lynne over at DCR Design and she came back to me with some lovely ideas that I think fit my personality perfectly. Don't you think? (Jo-Lynne also has a hilarious personal blog and spills the beans on a whole gamut of products over at Reviewsings.)

Here's a little known fact about Jo-Lynne: She can perform sex changes. OK, so they're not the kind that'll get you on Oprah. But she did change that cute little baby character up there from a total boy into a total Lucy girl with just a few swift clicks of her mouse. So cute!

Maybe I'll make some more changes, maybe I won't. For now I'm just going to sit back and breathe in the fresh air that is my new blog design. Won't you join me?

STOP! Don't Change That Website!

I've got some exciting new changes coming to my blog.  Actually one of them is already live.  If you look up in your website address bar you'll see that I've now got my own domain.  How cool, right?  If you go to the old address (mamanash.blogspot.com) you'll be automatically redirected to the new address.  If you've got my blog saved in your favorites or in your RSS feed go ahead and change it to http://www.mamanash.com/.

After blogging regularly for nearly three years I think it's safe to say that I'm  here for the long haul.  I mentioned getting my own domain as well as a customized design to Brian and he, being in the industry of sales & marketing, loved the idea and encouraged me to go for it.

So keep your eyes peeled.  Fun stuff coming!

Fight Night

Written by Brian about The Bachelor - Week 7 & 8

“And now…the moment you’ve all been waiting for….Tyson – Holyfield!”

We’ll get there eventually, but first let’s cover the previous week. Gia didn’t get a rose. Ali begged to come back. I was out of town. We fast-forwarded it in about 10 minutes before watching this week’s episode. I’m not sure if that was even worth it. On to the show!

I’d have to say, there is a lot of crap thrown into the two-hour Woman Tell All episode. Not unlike the previous eight shows we just watched. Like how about the ten minute saga showing previous bachelor and bachelorettes drinking themselves into comas in Vegas? Does anyone really care? Unless there is a fight or Alan shows up trying to get a sig on his beeper, I’m not interested.

Eventually Chris Harrison gets to the part where he starts interviewing the ladies. Michelle showed up wearing a tuxedo and a mechanical arm. No…that was just my imagination. She was actually bald, smoking tea leaves, and holding a picture of Richard Moll. No…just kidding. I’ll stop now.

The interview was pretty boring. This will become a theme. Chris Harrison (Warlord/Sith Lord) asks only the tough questions; girl in “hot seat” denies all allegations.

Chris Harrison, “Michelle, some girls have said that you are crazy, whack, funky. What’s your response?”

Michelle in Joker voice, “No, I’m not.”

And in this corner…the challenger, wearing 10 lbs of silicone and a dress made of men’s souls….Rozlyn! And in the other corner…The Emperor of Disaster, “He lives in America!”…Chris…Harrison! They even show Rozlyn shadow boxing down corridors behind stage. The Bachelor is really helping out my analogy.

I’m wondering how they could have done an 80s training montage before the showdown. Chris Harrison sharpening pencils and writing down questions. Rozlyn modeling. Kenny Loggins blaring in the background.

Before she comes out, Chris Harrison asks the other girls if they saw anything between Rozlyn and the staffer. And they did…a lot.

Chris Harrison gets his initial connecting jabs. “Did you have a physical relationship with the staffer? No relationship? No actual physical contact? Egon? No touchy touchy? Nothing?”

Rozlyn struggling with the lies, “No. Absolutely not. No touchy. Absolutely not.”

Then Chris starts with the uppercuts. “Girls, tell her about all the crap you saw.”

They don’t mess around at this point. Rozlyn is visibly shaken. Chris Harrison starts talking about how the staffer lost his job, they were friends, and it was all her fault. Gut shot! Gut shot!

We’re at the breaking point. This is where you think she finally might admit it. But she doesn’t. Tyson doesn’t go down, he goes nuts. “Yeah, that’s news to him. Especially when you hit on his wife in New Zealand. He thought that was crazy.”

She bites Chris Harrison’s ear off. You’re right Roz, that was crazy. Totally random. Tyson. It happened. No jokes necessary.

Chris Harrison’s eyes turn red like the scene in Teenwolf when MJ Fox asks for a keg of beer. He says he won’t dignify that comment with a response. That was the end of the show. I really have to admit, that was entertaining. I need a shower. That is all.

Week 1

Week 2

Week 3

Week 4

Week 5

Week 6

Is It Summer Yet?

I know green grass and spring flowers are a long way's off but there's no such thing as being too prepared, right?

And if anyone out there knows of an Elton John look-a-like contest please inform Lucy.  She'd like to enter.

Under the Table and Dreaming

I just love that my kids are beginning to reach the age when they can start to play together.  Lucy is old enough to move around and understand simple games.  And William is mature enough to know he shouldn't take advantage of the fact that he's older and bigger than his little sister.  Well, most of the time at least.  What would a big brother be without a few blows to the head, right?

Better Than Granola Bars

My mother-in-law has been making carob balls for us for as long as I've known her.  Do you know what carob is?  Neither do I.  Best I can tell it's some sort of healthy alternative to chocolate.

Whatever the case these balls are delicious.  They are healthier and easier than making your own granola too.  My kids eat 'em up.  Shhhh...don't tell my pediatrician my almost-10-month-old is in love with peanut butter.  Oh crap.  And honey too.

Carob Balls

1 stick of butter, melted

2 teaspoons vanilla
2 tablespoons carob powder
1 cup peanut butter

1/2 cup honey
1/2 cup dry powdered milk
1/4 cup wheat germ
1/2 cup Rice Krispies
2 1/2 cups old-fashioned oats

Directions:
Mix all ingredients together in a large bowl.  Form into balls and place on a cookie sheet.  Let balls sit in refrigerator for 30 minutes to one hour to firm up.  Enjoy!

If you have a hard time finding carob powder try looking in the bulk bins in the healthy and organic section of your grocery store.  And if you still can't find I'm sure you could substitute cocoa powder.

I should note that I LOVE nuts so ideally this recipe would include almonds or walnuts.  But since I've already broken so many rules with my Lucy girl, I've left them out.  But if you enjoy nuts throw in a half cup or so!

Head Strong

Tuesday marked three months since Lucy's surgery.

I think it's fair to say that Lucy is officially recovered. She was noticeably back to her old self two or three weeks post-op but her incision took longer to heal than I would have thought. Her stitches had all fallen out (thanks to a little encouragement from mama) by Christmas. But some of the scabs remained through the end of January.

It's just now that I'm starting to feel comfortable running a comb through her hair. And she needs it! My little Chia Pet come to life.

When family and friends see her they all make the same two comments:

1. "I can't believe how different she looks!" (In a good way, of course.)

2. "You can't even tell she had surgery!"

I would agree with both. Of course I'm the mama and every mom knows every bump, mole and marking on their child better than they know the back of their own hand. So I still notice the faint line where her hair parts from the scar. But I realize that the general population does not see this the way I do and in time, as her hair continues to grow, I probably won't notice it anymore either.

Today our Lucy is a joyful, curious little thing. She's so happy and trusting to be around other people. She exhibits no sign of stranger anxiety. Sometimes I feel guilty taking advantage of how easy it is to leave the room, hand her off to a friend for a minute, etc.

It's those thoughts that still make me wonder how I was able to hand over this smiling little girl to the doctors and nurses knowing that when I would see her again she would be in excruciating pain. We did it. But not without the help of family, friends, kind strangers and, not least of all, God.

It taught me the true strength of the human spirit. Scratch that. It taught me the true strength of a mother's spirit. We never know how capable we really are until we're on the other side of the mountain. Then we can finally say, "Wow, did I really do that?"

I took some head shots of Lucy this morning for comparison's sake. The sun was shining brilliantly into the kitchen so I sat her up on the kitchen counter and started snapping away. The sun did not make it easy to portray her head shape but it did illustrate what beautiful, sunny little girl she is.

Previous Head Shots:

Before Surgery

5 Days Post Surgery

Three Weeks Post Surgery

Today's Head Shots: