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Our Time-Out Rules

Time-out. That’s a common word around here. Frankly, with a toddler, it’s just the law of the land. I had no idea how to approach “Time-out” when I first started, so after reading up, asking friends and testing out several approaches we finally settled on something that works for us. These are our Time-Out Rues (And please know that it works most of the time…but man oh man, there are days when it all comes crashing down. But all in all, it works).

In preparation for time-outs, you should do two things:

  1. Set your ground rules and have everyone in the house agree and follow them. This includes parents, grandparents, nanny, etc. Once those are set, you have to absolutely stand by them, no exceptions. Example: No jumping on the couch, no hitting, no touching the tv, etc…

  2. Designate a time-out spot. Preferably one where there is no entertainment of any kind. You must be able to supervise too, so don’t make it too secluded. A wall or a corner works just fine. And remember, time-outs exist everywhere, you just have to use your imagination. (ie playground, someone else’s home, etc).

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It’s All Coming Back to Me Now Breastfeeding Parody

Hey!

Soooo, breastfeeding sucked for me the first time around. I mean, like, really really sucked. Three torturous months of no sleep, 2 cases of mastitis, over supply of milk, leak pads, cabbage leaves, carrying breast milk everywhere, shitty bras and SO much pain. So I wrote a parody on the subject since now, I have baby #2 on the way and it’s inevitably “all coming back to me now”.

Here’s the story behind the video, if you’re interested:

My first born, Alfie, was born with tongue tie, a small water bubble under the front of his tongue that didn’t allow for him to latch on to my breast. Because of that, I pumped. The tongue tie disappeared after a week or so, but he was already used to the bottle, so he never latched on after that. No worries, since I was still providing breastmilk.

I kept pumping and pumping and pumping at the suggested intervals and after a month, I was tired. I was ready for all of this to be over. I had already gotten mastitis and the pain and leaking was just intolerable. I hated it. However, because of the mastitis, I couldn’t just drop the whole thing, or take a magic pill and be done with it. I had to wait another two weeks with antibiotics for the mastitis to clear out and then wean out, which would elongate the process further, much to my dismay. So I went with it. Continue reading “It’s All Coming Back to Me Now Breastfeeding Parody”

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Zero Guilt

I’m back home after spending 12 days in France and Spain. Aaaahhh! No Alfie and no husband. Just me, my parents and brothers and friends. We had a blast.

I was freeeee! Free to do what I wanted, when I wanted, how I wanted. No flinging of chicken nuggets, no poop smell, and no nap time logistics. Ah! That’s the life I remember. Yep! It was awesome and I had ZERO guilt. None. Nada. Zip.

Alfie stayed with my mother-in-law back in Puerto Rico while my hubby worked. Of course I missed them both everyday and I probably bored the hell out of everyone on my trip by talking about Alfie’s shenanigans all day, but I didn’t care.

Not bringing Alfie with me was a no brainer, really. Could I have taken him along? Yes I could have and I would have handled it like a pro. But all I wanted to do was take a break and be my pre-baby self again for a while and #EatDrinkSleepRepeat and explore. I wanted to wake up at whatever time I wanted. Drink coffee at a café and watch people pass by. Relax at the beach. Walk through itty bitty streets rich in history. See fields of lavender. Have great conversations in whatever language necessary. Get lost. Eat delicious food (and some not so delicious, gulp!) and share priceless moments with my family and friends. Continue reading “Zero Guilt”

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Mama’s Independence Day

You know that famous speech from President Whitmore (Bill Pullman) on the movie “Independence Day” right? It ends with a captivating and emotional, “Today we celebrate our Independence day!” Well, that’s how I feel and I bet it’s how all moms feel when we got some alone time. You with me? Today I declare this Mama’s Independence Day! Oh yeah!

After a partially disappointing first Mother’s Day, where a waiter was an @$$%^7, our food was a joke, my hubs spilled a glass of water on me while I was attempting to contain what felt like Phoebe’s puppy from “Friends” and the other patrons were looking at us as if we were evil minions, I stand by the movement to make Mother’s day a day OFF for moms all over. We ended up having a good time the rest of the day, but we need our me-time every once in a while and that’s why I’m off for three days this weekend. Woo Hoo!

It was so strange packing for this weekend! You amazing mamas know what I’m talking about… For the past year I’ve been packing diapers, bottles, onesies, noisy toys, monitors, bibs, itty bitty spoons, and occasionally forgetting some of them in which you then have to improvise (moms are improv masters, btw). This time around, there was none of that! Only bathing suits, pjs, and other beach clothes. That’s it! When I walked out of my house with only one bag in hand I felt like the chains were broken. Happy dance.

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10 Months of Alfie

It’ crazy how fast kids grow. Everyone tells you but you don’t really get to grasp it until you see it unfolding right before your very eyes. In the last month alone, my baby has really surprised us with how quickly he’s growing.

A few days before Alfie turned 9 months, he started fully crawling. He would drag himself “boot camp style” all over our floors prior to this. It wasn’t long before he started lifting himself up and walking while supported/assisted. Now at 10 months he’s not far from balancing his little body on his own. He follows us wherever we go and we love hearing those baby hands slapping on the floor making their way around the corner. We crawl under the tables and chairs, we scare each other around every corner of the house and we laugh and laugh. Continue reading “10 Months of Alfie”

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The Day My Life Changed Forever

It’s been about three months since I gave birth to our son. It has been such an emotionally overwhelming, difficult but beautiful experience! So much has happened in the last three months that I could write a whole book about it! It’s crazy how life changes in an instant. I love being a mom and every day brings new challenges. I would like to take this opportunity and share how it all went down the day our baby boy decided to join us. I’m sure you’ll enjoy this story too! Ready for this long post? Here we go…

On Monday June 8th 2015 I headed out to work just like every other day. My thoughts were on my husband, Frankie Frankie “FF”, and the importance of that day for his career. It was the first day of the 2015 MLB Draft. (For more info on the story behind my hubby’s career and how it affects the family you can click on this link here). He had already been in Arizona for two weeks at the Draft Meetings preparing for this big day and this was it. For all the marbles. All he needed were these three more days in Phoenix, AZ to start and finish the official MLB draft. I took a look at my maternity bag on the floor next to my bed but opted not to take it with me this time. (Of course). You think you know where this story is going…?? Read on…

Continue reading “The Day My Life Changed Forever”