Planes and Cabs

I had my usual 7:10am flight to Boise this morning. Yay me, I slept until 4:30am before waking up and feeling those pre-am-airport jitters start up in my stomach (alarm was set for 5am). Previously, the jitters began at like 2am. A whole 2.5 extra hours of sleep is doing wonders to make my day in Boise easier. Glad I'm getting used to this.

I took a cab to the airport this morning because one of our cars is in the shop. The Green Taxi picked me up. This was NOT the Executive Limousine service. Before I even get into the cab, I detected the faint odor of cigarettes. The inside door handle was loose as I closed the door. The seats had the appropriate amount of comfortable sag. The driver was a balding guy with a body that looked like it had not seen running shoes or the inside of a gym for far too long. As we headed to the airport, the car bounced along, inducing simultaneous feelings of terror (oh my god, this car is about to fall apart!) and total comfort (this is totally what cabs are supposed to feel like). I'm looking forward to getting my car back.

Wine Whine

Okay, it sucks when you put a bottle of expensive white wine in the freezer and then forget about it.

Today I opened the freezer and a cork fell to my feet.

If I thaw the wine, will it still be good??

Growing

Wow. Il Tonino is really growing up. He is asking to nurse so much less now, and didn't even ask this morning, despite knowing he can have milk when he wakes up, AND he spent 30 minutes just snuggling in bed, slowly waking up this morning. That was awesome for me! However, I am re-thinking the idea of completely weaning him. If he wants to, I'd be fine with him nursing once a day, even through a pregnancy, and then tandem nursing (I've always been so curious about this!) especially if it would help bond our whole family together better when a baby joins us.

Also, twice now, yesterday and today, he has asked to go and pee in the toilet. This is instead of him holding it in until he either can't hold it anymore and lets out a little pee, at which point we notice and run him to the toilet (because asking him if he wants to go pee was simply met with "NO!") or peeing because he's just stepped into a diaper or the bathtub (yes, eww) or the shower. Yay! This journey towards potty learning has definitely been a 1 step forward, 2 steps back type of thing, but he is now definitely aware of when he needs to poop AND pee, and now it is up to him to decide if he wants to use the toilet or the diaper.

Oh, the things that makes a mama happy :)

Looking back...

Mexico was fun. I am totally bummed that I missed the historic Arctic Blast snowstorm in Portland, but not sorry about not being stuck inside with a toddler for that many days. There was plenty to do in Mexico, and we were at the pool daily (literally! the pool was a few steps away from the living room!) and also most days at the Beach Club (frozen mojitos and pina coladas, yum!) The mega-dose of vitamin D was much needed and appreciated. My family behaved themselves very well, although the eye-rolls when Urban Shaman pulled his new ear plugs out of his stocking were a bummer. He has his new black/white stripe plugs in, and they are hot!!

Getting the luggage more than 3 days into the vacation was a real bummer, although I am so thankful I packed bathing suits for all 3 of us in our carry-on luggage. But having Aunt Flo come visit me day 1 into the trip? A huge bummer. Of course, with frozen mojitos and pina coladas, I totally made do.

And you're going to think I'm totally crazy but one thing I really missed while in Mexico? Cloth wipes.

Second Helping? Not Anymore.

I've almost completely weaned Il Tonino, we're now down to nursing just once, and rarely twice, a day. A big change from just one month ago!

I'm excited to have my boobs back, for the most part. They did a really good job these last 2.5 years :)

The biggest surprise, though? I suddenly can't eat as much as I'm used to. I find myself full way sooner than I expect to be, and am having to adjust my portion sizes so that they are smaller. This is so weird after 3+ years of pregnancy and nursing -- I have completely forgotten what it is like not to eat like a male teenager. It is rather sad -- I enjoy eating and find myself wanting to continue eating because it tastes good, but I simply can't. It is a really good thing that I am running twice a week, so that any extra calories I manage to sneak in don't start accumulating somewhere.

This might not last too long, though! Ha ha!

Who Needs Leno?

Two things my 2.5 year old did today...

1. Imitated mama doing pushups -- Daddy helped lift him up and down. Naked toddler farts multiple times while doing the pushups, with Daddy's face directly above.

2. Sat on the toilet to poop. While pooping, signs "BIG POOP!" 5 times.

Toddlers are really good for laughs :)

Happy 2009!

I'm really excited to start a new year. I think this is going to be a good one. I'm ready to leave 2008 behind -- there were so many ups and downs. Those were good, though, as I learned a lot. I thought I was going to share here some of the things that have been happening in December, but I have no idea where to begin and today I feel better just letting that all go and starting with a clean slate.

A new year wouldn't be complete without a few resolutions. Urban Shaman and I have some goals to achieve as a family, but I have 2 personal goals for myself that I'll share. The first is to continue to eat as sugar-free as possible, with the exception of an occasional glass of wine and dark chocolate (which is totally good for you). Last night I went out with a bang by having a HUGE bowl of dark chocolate coconut bliss ice cream. Hummm.

The second goal is to continue to not accept any shopping bags or tissue paper when I purchase things. I always try to have my own bags on hand. Been doing that for a few months, and I sometimes make a point of explaining why I reject the bag, and many of the store personnel applaud that (the fact that it helps reduce their overhead costs doesn't hurt.) I wish we could be more like Europe where if you want a bag to carry your purchases home, you have to pay for it.

So those 2 resolutions are very do-able but do require a bit of forethought on my part at times. (It wouldn't be a resolution if it was totally easy!)

May you have a wonderful year.