having a baby is "easy": by amy

When is the last time you had Apple & Eve apple juice on the rocks?  Like, a lot of rocks.  Like, filled to the brim-rocks.  It is my most favorite beverage over the past three months.  It is icy heaven in my mouth that reprieves me from the awful "all-day" sickness that I've endured over the past few weeks.  Yes, I'm pregnant.  Yes, it's worse than the first time.  And you are my witness-- I am not doing this again!  Two and done!  Snip, snip, honey!  Snip, snip!  (Actually, I think it's done in a very quick laser/orthoscopic procedure now...)

OK back to the topic at hand:

Marissa Mayer's been back in the news lately because she recently crushed all other working moms' dreams of easily managing a working mom life by mandating that all employees come into the office EVERY DAY, or else, you can kiss your job goodbye.  No more working from home.  Although a bit extreme, I can understand why she's doing it-- she's doing it for the betterment of Yahoo!  That's why she's CEO.  She wants her employees to be Google-like-- all-in or go-home.  Yahoo! is pretty far behind Google in revenues, so she's trying to increase productivity and weed out anyone who's not all-in.  But it sure does suck for working parents!

Marissa was also in the news last year for announcing her pregnancy right after taking on the CEO position and a few months after giving birth, saying that "The baby's been way easier than everyone made it out to be."  My first reaction was BULLS@&T.  You can catch the interview here: http://tech.fortune.cnn.com/2012/11/28/yahoos-mayer-on-god-family-and-yahoo/

But then, I thought about it.  I'm not trying to be a hater, really.  Maybe it has been "easy" for her.  The woman went back to work after just two weeks.  I remember two weeks with the newborn felt like two months!  So to me, it sounds like she escaped when she could!  Let's make an assumption here that since she's pretty loaded (pretty safe assumption, right?).  With her wealth and responsibilities, she probably has some kind of help at home-- meals for the family are probably taken care of;  her house and laundry are probably more frequently cleaned than the average new-mommy's.  Given that many commercial daycares don't take two-week old babies, let's also assume she has a full-time nanny.  And apparently, she has a nursery next to her office at Yahoo!  (which is...convenient, I guess...?  Seems counter-productive to me).  So, given all of these luxuries, then yes, "the baby's been easy!"  And, if she's not nursing/pumping, then it's even EASIER!  (because I remember that being a turning point for me).  So, good for her-- she's managed to balance her work and mommy lives and make it fun AND easy.  Yeah, I'm kinda jealous.

She's also 37 years old.  Why does that matter?  It just means that she's invested a lot of her life in her career, and once you invest that much time into a career (particularly one that you truly love and perhaps defines you), you are more likely to push off baby-making (btw, there's no "right" time for it) and do what you can/afford to make both work to your satisfaction.  A managing director in my office is proof of it.  She had kids later in life after pursuing her graduate degree and travelling the world.  She makes a ton of money (opportunity cost of staying at home doesn't look too attractive); she loves her job; she still travels the world all the time; she has a full-time nanny;  and she's happy.  I will admit that I don't see her as my working-mom role model, but it works for her, so more power to her.

So back to Marissa.  A lot of women are hating on her because of her "my baby is easy" comment, but you know what?  Maybe she's just really happy with her situation.  Can't hate on that.  I think she could've worked on her delivery, though.  She could've at least tried to justify it by mentioning that it was somewhat hard, tiring, or she had a lot of help, or...something!  Or at least not making it SOUND like it's been really that easy, like she's rubbing it in our faces!  If you don't know what I'm talking about-- watch the interview.

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fast, easy, and tasty 2 ingredient cookies : by jean

As you all may have noticed, Amy is the cook in our relationship.  She's the Amy Ina Stewart Park Chang.  She's great at looking at recipes and coming up with her own things.  I, on the other hand, HATE looking at recipes.  I'm better at picking up the phone and calling Amy or my own umma and asking how to make something.

A few months ago, I got inspired to bake some cookies.  I figured once Miles gets older, I would want to bake some cookies for him.  Besides, Amy has this amazing cookie recipe that she makes occasionally that I love, and I was particularly craving it one weekend (no, I'm not pregnant) so I decided to go for it.

She makes Ina Garten's Chocolate Chunk Cookies.  SO delicious.  There's walnuts it in so it's kinda healthy, right?!

And then I came upon this 2 ingredient cookie recipe. TWO.  It seemed too good to be true so I tried it out just now!  I can't remember who's blog I was on when they cited this recipe, but thank goodness I bookmarked it.

I present to you, 2 ingredient cookies.

Bananas & quick oats.  That's it!

If you want to add chocolate, cinnamon, nuts, you can, but you don't have to.  The best thing is, it's not only easy to make but healthy enough for your kids!

I made 2 different kinds for my first batch.  One small row of just plain bananas and oats, and then the rest made up of bananas, oats, chocolate, and walnuts.

pre baking

post baking

They are pretty good!  I'm hoping Miles will like them as well.  Since these are just bananas and oats (plus whatever extras), you can even have cookies for breakfast!

how many kiddos? : by amy

Sometimes, I feel SUPER inadequate.  (BTW, I'm not writing this as a pity-post, asking for your encouragement, so please don't bother!)  I look at moms of multiples, and I honestly think that God blessed them a bigger "loving-capacity" than others.  Two kids--okay, I think I can manage.  Three kids?  Serenity now!  4+ kids??  You are blessed with a heart of gold.  One of my co-workers is a Mormon, and he wants like 5 or 6 kids.  God bless his stay-at-home wife! 

Maybe it's because I grew up as an only-child, so I'm not used to having the commotion of a large family.  Maybe it's because I live on the east coast, and my perspective is a little more rigid (and my living costs are far higher!).  Whatever my excuse is, I'm thinking I'll be satisifed with a nuclear family of 4.  At one point, I did want three kids due to my only-child-loneliness as a kid, but now that I have one, I'm feeling the physical, emotional and mental toll, and I'm thinking two is probably good...

In all honesty, I wish I could sort of be like one of those moms who just absolutely looooooves their babies and wants to be with them 24/7.  Sometimes, I wonder, "Why don't I feel that way?  Is something "wrong" with me?  Was I really meant to be a mother?"  I think I was meant to be a mother...of one...or maybe two kids.  The sad fact is that I just love myself a bit too much :(.  That sounds horrible, doesn't it?  But, I think God is helping me define my limits.  And OK, seriously, I really don't want a minivan.  I'm only half-joking. :)

buga-boo-hoo : by jean

we were able to buy an almost-brand-new used bugaboo cameleon from a good friend of ours when i was pregnant.  a few weeks ago, my beloved sister went to pick up miles at the daycare for me.  she was fiddling with the brake since the button you push to release the brake sometimes gets a little stuck.  well, in the end, she broke the latch off.

she felt really bad.  the roommie and i think she's really strong.

broken break latch thingie

undercarriage sold for $299.95

so now we are researching how to fix this.  it's only the brake part so i don't want to have to buy a whole new frame , or as they call it, the "undercarriage" for $299.95 (!!!!).   yes, my sister is very sorry.  i can see why they won't JUST sell the latch part since there's a cable that has to be attached to it and all, but it seems rather simple.

a lot of forums say to try taking it to a bike shop.  BRILLIANT!  i mean, they fix bikes all the time, tighten the wheels, brakes, all that good stuff right?

they also said even if the warranty had expired, to try calling the the bugaboo company itself because they provide very excellent customer service.

so that's what i did first.  i called bugaboo, and they said to call their authorized repair shop, the stroller spa!  funny enough, they were 2nd on my list to call if bugaboo couldn't help me.  they came up in my google search while researching how to fix this.  they are the official service provider for bugaboo, BOB/Britax, mountain buggy, phil&teds, Peg Perego and Uppa Baby.

http://www.strollerspa.com

the great thing about stroller spa is that it started out with one mom who wanted to personalize her stroller and evolved into other moms wanting to personalize and troubleshoot their strollers.  they not only do repairs, but they also do cleaning and detailing of strollers and car seats, just like a car!  the moms (and dads) learn to fix, clean, and detail car seats and strollers.  it's a great service especially if you are using your equipment for multiple children, and want your equipment to last.

i made my appointment at the staten island location since i was passing through on my way to jersey.  because it was fairly an easy fix, i was able to drive around for about 30-45 mins while they fixed my brake.  before i even made my appointment, they were able to confirm the part that they needed (older parts are harder to find) and had it ready at the staten island location before my appointment.  they also offer pick up and drop off services at a little extra cost which is always helpful for us busy moms!

left: broken latch break. right: good as new!

so, if you are in need of a thorough cleaning or repair for your car seat or stroller, check out stroller spa!