Chit Chat Mom

#35. The Next Chapter

Chit Chat Mom — Wed, 31 Mar 2010 14:43:00 +0000

How is it possible that an entire month will fly by (okay, a little more than a month) and suddenly I’ll think to myself… “It’s been awhile since I posted on the blog”? Holy moly time flies by after you have a baby! All I can say is that #35 on my list this year is “The Next Chapter”… and the next chapter, the parenting chapter, is so different from the chapter before. When I started ChitChatMom when I was prego… I blogged EVERY DAY. In fact, there may have been a couple of days where I blogged multiple times in a single day. Now I’m lucky if I blog once a month. Sadly, a lot of my blog posts in the past six months (and there haven’t been many) have been laced with the topic of “I’m back!”. I’m back to blog. I promise to not disappear. I promise to try to share funny stories. I promise to share insightful information. I promise… blah blah blah blah blah. All this promising has got me exhausted… and teething has got me tired enough already.

So here’s what I’m going to do this time… no more promises. I’m gonna post when I can. Not feel guilty when I don’t… and remember that the whole point of this blogging thing was to share my thoughts and interact with other mammas. So that’s my “next chapter”… what’s yours?

Video Review of Tommee Tippee Bottle and Sippy Cup.

Chit Chat Mom — Fri, 19 Feb 2010 00:39:19 +0000

Check out the video above for my review of the Tommee Tippee Closer to Nature 90z Bottle ($7.99 per bottle) and the Tommee Tippee Explora Truly Spill Proof Sippy Cup ($7.99 for a pack of two). Both of these products (as well as a package of 2 Closet to Nature BPA FREE bottle nipples) were sent to me from Tommee Tippee at no cost in exchange for my review of their product.

You can purchase these products (as well as other Tommee Tippee products) exclusively at Babies R Us and www.babiesrus.com. You can also enter yourself into a drawing to win a Babies R Us Gift card by becoming a Tommee Tippee Facebook Fan. Click here for the entry link.

For more information about Tommee Tippee products visit Tommee Tippee online at TommeeTippee.com.

A Mom’s Blogging Map for the Year

Chit Chat Mom — Thu, 11 Feb 2010 19:20:32 +0000

One of my favorite annual activities involves glue sticks, old magazines, poster board and my girlfriends. While it might sound like a kindergarten craft project it is actually an opportunity to put the past away and create a path into the future. Every year we gather at a home with our buckets, bags and boxes of craft supplies to spend several hours creating “Treasure Maps” for our coming year. Using words and photos from the magazines we hoard all year long for this very day, we create poster boards covered in examples of achievements, dreams, hopes and wants that we have for ourselves. Last year when I created my poster board I was almost through my first trimester of pregnancy with Lily and my Treasure Map was covered with phrases like “healthy pregnancy”, “find better sleep”, “live a more creative life” and “family matters”. When it was time to gather together my supplies (and I have a lot of them) for this year’s Treasure Mapping extravaganza I stopped to take a critical look at my 2009 poster. Every single thing on my poster had come true. Okay, maybe “get more organized” hadn’t exactly come to fruition… but everything else had! Last year I had hung my Treasure Map in my closet and every day I had looked at it… and it had come true. It was an incredible realization that the power of positive suggestion really can make a difference. So when I sat down this year to create my 2010 Treasure Map I was anxious to fill it with hopes and goals that I really wanted for myself… and even a few things that might seem a little out-of-reach.

This year I hung my Treasure Map on the wall by my desk in my home office. Then just the other day it hit me like a ton of bricks! I have been struggling to write on my blog on a daily basis… as you may have seen, I’ve found the true reality of motherhood to be messy and all consuming. Which is probably why I was still sitting at my computer at 1 a.m. this morning working. So the realization that hit me as I sat and reflected on my Treasure Mapping masterpiece was that my map could help me write my blog this year. Every little phrase provides the jumping off point for a great post topic. Of course I won’t only write about what’s on my Treasure Map… but maybe when I’m stuck and need to get those creative juices flowing (in between cleaning up the apple juice that is flowing down my desk thanks to curious little hands) I can use my Treasure Map to prompt ideas.

There are 46 weeks left in 2010 and 74 topics on my list… so if I can manage to do one and a half posts every week from here on it I will make it through my list. I don’t plan to write them in order… but I plan to write at least something about every single one.

So here are the phrases from my 2010 Treasure Map… I hope it inspires you to create a map of your own!

2010, A Very Good Year
Live with Less
I Heart It!
Stay fit. Be Rewarded.
Get Your Pre-Pregnancy Body Back!
Eat Right
Take More Pics
Women Who Shape the World
Health
Just Be
Should You Eat That?
Life’s On… Tune In
Get Girl Time Back
The Many Women Who Shape My World
Pure and Simple
Life Made Easy
Let Your Imagination Run Our…
Purpose
Imagine That
Ranch Cowgirl
It’s a Pretty Great Place
Kids
Oprah Talks to Elizabeth
Relax
Summer… Be Outdoors More
Lifetime Learning Begins
Stroller Strides
It’s Not Fitness. It’s Life.
Stroller Power
Connecting Mom to Mom
Life is Measured in Moments
Make Every Moment Count
New Parents
Baby & Me
The Next Chapter
It’s About Your Kids!
Family Matters
Parenting
More Choices for A Life Well Spent
Nature and Nuture
Get More Ideas
Summer… the Best Time of Your Life
Fly Easy…
Find a Better Summer
The Ability to Master Fresh Challenges is Your New Job Security
It’s All About Focus
Play. Laugh. Grow.
Life is Short, but Childhood is Shorter. Teach them Well.
No Worries
Thinking
Be Creative
Love That!
Discover What You’re Missing
I am Beautiful on the Inside
The Long Way Home
Success
Thanks for Our Future!
Living on a Budget
University of Oregon
Curiosity Never Retires
Giving
Because There is Always More to Learn
Big Return from a Small Investment
Get More
Stop at Nothing
Sleep
Sunny Outlook
Giggle
More Outdoor Life
I Will Win
Joy
Lily Growing
Peace. Peace.
Family

Motherhood is Messy

Chit Chat Mom — Wed, 10 Feb 2010 22:52:06 +0000

So this won’t come as a surprise to any of the mommies out there, but it might to those of you that haven’t yet experienced parenthood… motherhood is messy. Not messy in the “I constantly have an unknown substance on my right shoulder” way, although that’s true too. It’s messy in the “I can’t find anything because it’s buried under this mess” way. I used to consider myself a fairly organized person. Nine months of pregnancy and six months of motherhood have changed all that. Now my desk looks like it was abandoned years ago (you can see the evidence in the picture below) and the thought of organizing it can quite literally bring tears to my eyes.

Motherhood has also made a mess of my wardrobe, hair and makeup. Sometimes walking by a mirror will cause me to stop and do a double take… not because I look so good, but because sometimes I don’t even recognize myself anymore. I can’t remember the last time I actually made a full effort at putting on makeup. My daily wardrobe resembles that of a glorified ragamuffin and I made the mistake of opting for a “mommy friendly” hair cut when Lily was just a month or so old. I sure wish I could go back to that day and stop my hairdresser about half way through my daring pixie cut. The cut I ended up with looks a little more boyish than I was hoping for. But at least when Lily grabs it there’s less of it to grab onto!

I could go on and on about the other “messes” that come with motherhood. Here are just a few that I’ve encountered; mind-messiness (walking in to a room and not remembering what you went in there for, forgetting names, dates and places you’ve known forever, leaving food in the microwave for hours, leaving clothes in the wash machine for days), car-messiness, home-messiness (it’s practically impossible to contain the explosion of toys, clothes, diapering accessories and food that come with babies) and general appearance messiness.

Now don’t get me wrong… I love motherhood. I can’t imagine a more rewarding experience… and my little one is just six months old. The messiness of motherhood on the other-hand is a whole different story.

Just Because It’s Your Policy, It Doesn’t Make it Right

Chit Chat Mom — Fri, 29 Jan 2010 00:47:33 +0000

I received an email from BCBSAZ this week regarding my appeals. They wanted to let me know that after an in-depth review of my case, “Unfortunately, we are unable to provide coverage in this case, as our contracts for individual policies exclude maternity coverage except in very specific circumstances.”

Just because it’s your policy, it doesn’t make it right.

Interestingly enough, it seems that if I’d needed a cesarean section prior to October 1, 2008 it would have been covered. The revision to Blue Cross Blue Shield of Arizona’s definition of “complication of pregnancy” to no longer include cesarean sections “during labor” seems to be a decision driven by the bottom line, not what is best for their patients. If Lily hadn’t been delivered via cesarean it’s a definite possibility that BCBSAZ could be paying for Lily to have physical therapy right now. Hmm… which is better for the patient, a cesarean section to avoid future complications or physical therapy for an infant?

BCBSAZ has offered me a meeting with their Medical Director. That should be interesting.

This is What Happens When Daddy is Left in Charge

Chit Chat Mom — Wed, 27 Jan 2010 15:35:49 +0000

So there I was sitting in my office hard at work when I heard a screech of happiness from the kitchen. Shrieks of joy and loud laughter are a common sound in our house these days. Lily has found her voice and is determined to use it. She especially loves to release high pitched squeals while in restaurants… but that’s another post. A few moments after hearing the screech of happiness from the kitchen I heard the phrase “this is what happens when daddy is left in charge” fly from my hubby’s mouth. Uh oh. I wonder what in the world is going on in there. I walked in to find that my husband had decided to let Lily have a little snack using a teething feeder. (A teething feeder if you’re not familiar is this great little invention that allows you to put food inside a little net pouch that baby can then suck on and only get very small amounts of food out of.)

What had caused the screech and the follow up “when daddy is left in charge” came from the fact that Lily was covered in avocado. Instead of putting a more substantial type of food like banana in the teething feeder, my husband had decided to put avocado. Lily loves avocado… I just don’t think it’s the right food for the teething feeder.

The end result was a very happy very messy baby that got a bed time bath from head to foot.

I can only imagine the shenanigans that these two will get in as Lily gets older.

Next Step in My Insurance Fight: A Hearing with the Office of Administration

Chit Chat Mom — Thu, 14 Jan 2010 01:57:51 +0000

My husband and I came home today to receive a letter from the Department of Insurance that stated that the services related to my cesarean section are not covered under the terms of my policy. The Department of Insurance found that the services I received were “not related to a complication of pregnancy as determined by BCBSAZ.” So our next step is to request a hearing with the Office of Administrative Hearings. We have 30 days to request a hearing and the office then must notify us of the hearing date at least 30 days prior to the scheduled hearing.

This is of course not what we had hoped for, but we’re going to press on. In addition to the more than 30 letters I have already sent to my local and state representatives I will now also be writing to Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi and First Lady Michelle Obama. I’m thinking for good measure I should also write to Oprah.

For more information about my fight against Blue Cross Blue Shield of Arizona, please visit www.lilysmom.com.

Lily Loves Bananas

Chit Chat Mom — Fri, 08 Jan 2010 16:00:39 +0000

Cooking with My New Beaba Babycook

Chit Chat Mom — Fri, 08 Jan 2010 00:32:20 +0000

I have never been a great cook. In fact, I really don’t like to cook. I know a lot of peeps find it relaxing and enjoyable. I find it stressful and messy. Perhaps it’s my life long fear of fractions. Ever since 5th grade I’ve had a nauseating reaction to fractions and percentages… so just imagine what reading a recipe does to a person like that!

But times they are a changin’. Lily is now ready (according to her pediatrician) to jump into the fabulous world of eating some solid foods. Okay, not solids technically. We’re talking uber mushy uber messy “solids”. I was so excited that I took myself down to the corner store, okay, I took myself down to Fresh N Easy and bought up a basketful of bananas, sweet potatoes, carrots, banana squash and apples. Upon returning home my husband asked what army I was planning to cook for… hah hah hubby. This is all for baby!

I spent an entire evening cooking, okay well steaming and pureeing, using my new Beaba Babycook machine. It was a gift for Lily for Christmas from Grandma. It’s a great little machine and yes you could do the same thing with a food steamer and a food processor… but it wouldn’t be nearly as fun and nearly as neat. The great thing about the Babycook is that it’s small, easy to store, easy to clean and keeps all the mess in one place. That’s a major plus for someone like me that does not enjoy cooking, and enjoys cleaning up even less.

Lily is definitely on-board with eating solid foods. Although, I really should have listened to our pediatrician and started with veggies. The first food (after rice cereal) that I gave her were bananas… now everything else I give her results in a not so happy reaction!

You can snag a Beaba Babycook online and in stores like William-Sonoma for about $150.

ChitChatMom did not receive a free Beaba Babycook and was not paid for this post.

All I Want for Christmas is for David Goldman to Get His Son Back

Chit Chat Mom — Tue, 22 Dec 2009 02:24:22 +0000

Christmas is just around the corner and I am relieved to know that I don’t have any packages left to wrap, any last minute trips to the mall to find the right gift, no late night online shopping left to do. It’s not because I’ve already done those things, rather it’s because for the second year in a row my husband and I and are families are not exchanging Christmas gifts. Nope… we’re not a bunch of Scrooges. We’re just a bunch of adults that have decided that for us Christmas is not about gift giving and receiving, it’s about being together. The hubby and I have 13 children not including “L” that we buy Christmas gifts for and we continue to buy and give those gifts… and we love it. We love giving gifts to our god children, our nieces and to the other little people that make our life so wonderful. But when it comes to the adults in our life, we kind of all agree that we’ve got enough stuff!

So this year I can honestly say that all I want for Christmas is for David Goldman to get his son Sean back. Hopefully the Brazilian courts will agree.