Eat Like an Italian

To say that Italians like to eat would be to say that Hailey just likes her vitamins. No, Italians love to eat, and they take special pleasure in savoring their meals. I know this because I’m Italian, and I’ve eaten enough meals in Italy to know how long it can take to get through a typical dinner. It’s true. Each course is ordered and brought out separately with time to spare in between. Usually there are 4-6 courses, and the whole ordeal (I mean extravaganza) can last 2-4 hours. Of course, the time speeds by because you are enjoying lovely company and the most delicious food you’ve ever had in your whole life.

Hailey eats in a similar manner. For example, she may eat an entire bowl of spaghetti one noodle at a time. If she’s having salad, then each piece of lettuce must be dipped in salad dressing and eaten separately. Cherry tomatoes are quite possibly the most complicated because they require her to pick up the tomato with her hand and place it on the flat part of her fork then balance it there until it reaches her mouth. Should the tomato fall off, the procedure must start over from the beginning. Not surprisingly, peas undergo the same process, but there are obviously more of them, which only adds extra time as she balances each pea separately.

Of course, this whole eating process must be constantly interrupted by stories and anecdotes about anything and everything. The number of times that we must remind her to “keep eating” warrants us keeping a tape recorder at the table. Oh, forget it, Luke’s already building me an iPhone app so that I can just push the “keep eating” button. Or perhaps, I should take a clue from the Italians and enjoy spending that special time with my child every day. Now who is going to make me the delicious Italian food that makes it all worthwhile???

PS: Answer to Chinese Astrology Riddle – Snake = Alisa; Dog = Hailey; Tiger = Luke

The Relative Length of Eight Weeks

Consider this - eight weeks ago we were still eating the remnants of our Halloween candy and stores were packed with the first signs of Christmas. I barely looked pregnant, and Hailey was still talking about her Tinkerbell costume (alright, that’s not a good example because she’s still talking about it to this day). Ok. Hailey had just gotten over the initial excitement of being Tinkerbell for Halloween. The leaves were falling off our two trees and littering our front yard with yellow and brown hues. Fall was just barely upon us here in the South; pumpkins were out, Thanksgiving was near, and all was peaceful in the Hamilton house.

Now, think about this…eight weeks from now, we will have another human being to love and care for. We will have a crying, screaming, fussing infant in the house. We will be sleep deprived. We, as in me, will be back to being a moo-cow milk machine. We will have to manage the needs of two children. We may wonder what we were thinking.

Then again, we will also have another little girl to love. We will have someone to snuggle with who doesn’t push us away and demand her vitamin again. We will have another source of entertainment. We will have the joy of introducing her to our friends and family. We will have someone to use all of those baby clothes and items that we’ve been saving for two years. We will learn to know and love our second little one just as much as the first.

Now, if you’ll excuse me, I need to return to my nesting. However long you think eight weeks is, I’ll tell you that it doesn’t seem like long enough to tackle all of my nesting projects. God help my husband and child who must deal with my neuroses (plural) over the next eight weeks. For them, it must seem like eternity.

Logic Problem

Not to brag, but I’m really good at logic. I know this because on several standard logic tests – GRE Logic Section and my logic class final exam in college – I did quite well. So, I think that I can say that according to adult standards, I’m a logical person (or at least good at stupid logic problems).

Thus, you could imagine my surprise when I came to find out that by two-year-old standards, I’m completely illogical. Here’s how I came to understand how truly illogical I am in Hailey’s eyes:

Hailey wants a princess vitamin every time she sees the bottle sitting on the counter. The fact that I don’t just hide them should have been clue number one that I’m illogical. Still, we have gone through this same conversation at least 5 times a day…

Hailey: “Mommy, I want my vitamin”

Mommy: “No Hailey. You only can have 1 vitamin a day.”

Hailey: “Mommy, I want my vitamin”

Mommy: “You already had your vitamin today. You can have another one tomorrow.”

After having this conversation for 2 weeks, I finally devised a strategy. I would let her use her budding logic skills to figure out that she can’t have a vitamin. Here’s how I revised the conversation this week:

Hailey: “Mommy, I want my vitamin”

Mommy: “Hailey, how many vitamins are you allowed to have every day?”

Hailey: “Five”

Mommy: “No”

Hailey: “Two”

Mommy: “No”

Hailey: “One”

Mommy: “Yes. And how many vitamins have you had today?”

Hailey: “Six”

Mommy: “No”

Hailey: “Three”

Mommy: “No”

Hailey: “One”

Mommy: “Yes. So, how many more vitamins are you allowed to have?”

Hailey: “Three”

Mommy: “No”

Hailey: “Four”

Mommy: “No”

Hailey: “One”

Mommy: “No. You can have zero vitamins now because you’ve already had your one vitamin for the day.”

Here’s where it falls apart for me.

Hailey: “I want my zero vitamin, Mommy”

Nesting - Instinct or Obsession?

I really don’t remember having the nesting instinct as badly with Hailey. Maybe that’s because I was feeding my instinct with frequent trips to consignment sales. This time around I only have three major things that I need to purchase: 1) a white crib and dresser set; 2) a Britax carseat; and 3) a B.O.B. double stroller. Of course, I refuse to purchase any of these things new because that’s why God invented Craig’s List. Plus, the stroller is ridiculously expensive.

However, this brings me to a dilemma because I can’t really nest without having the dresser that I need to put all of Sophia’s little clothes in. Plus, we need major changes in Hailey’s room to accommodate another child and to make it more fun for a toddler. So, instead of actually nesting, I’m just being a fanatical Craig’s List stalker. Soon, I’ll be a consignment sale stalker, not because I actually need to buy anything, but because it might help to scratch the nesting itch. Oh, I’ve got it bad…real bad! I hope that our check book can keep up.