Apparently, You're a parent.

I recently ordered a book that was recommended to me by a friend, another new mom. Amazon.com has really great deals on used books. The best part is that you can turn around and resell the book on the same site when you are done. It also serves as motivation to actually use a bookmark, rather than commit the bookophile sin of folding down the corner of the page.
Anyway, the book is called "Parenting From the Inside Out." I am really looking forward to receiving it. The premise is that in order to become the best parents we can, we must heal our own issues, which come up once we become parents. Or something close to that. I think there is definitely something to it. Being a parent forces you to think about "who is the person I want to present to this child." To some of us it is the most intimidating, frightening challenge we have ever faced. It's a time when you can really set high and often unrealistic expectations for yourself, comparable with joining the military and knowing you will probably be deployed. As a parent you are deployed, and you are going to have to become completely accountable for every aspect of your personality. For many people of my generation (the aging gen-xer's) accountability is something we only flirted with through most of our twenties.

Mercury Retrograde

On March 20th, Mercury went retrograde. Now if you believe in that sort of stuff, it can have an impact in your life. I tend to believe that astrology should be used as a very vague predictor of the universal temperament. Kind of like looking at a thermometer outside your window. Anyway, I had forgotten about the Mercury retrograde thing, until Hubby's car wouldn't shift into gear this morning. Mercury retrograde is notorious for car problems, computer crashes, and general communication mix-ups.
This car thing is not very good news, considering we recently spent a lot of money to make a dozen or so repairs to his car. I am trying to remain calm about it so that I don't add to his stress. He went to the doctor to get a physical yesterday and found out he has high blood pressure. It was 150 over 100. Hopefully, this news will motivate him to make some minor adjustments to his lifestyle (like giving up french fries and drinking more water and less Diet Coke). I think that having a daughter has made him think a bit more about his own mortality.
I'm beginning to think that Nova may be getting ready to try some solid foods. There is a checklist for starting solids and I noticed that now whenever I am eating she starts to look at me with this curious "Hey what's that stuff you're shoveling in there?" expression. I have also noticed recently that her milk demands seem to be increasing.
Of course, like so many baby topics, there is an opposite school of thought that says you should delay introducing solids for as long as possible. Really it's getting ridiculous how much information there is out there for new parents to navigate through. Here is a picture of Nova as she starts thinking "Hey, It's the Milk Lady!".

Life Branches

Life branches out and takes us all in so many different directions. I reconnected with an old friend today. It was really wonderful! We talked for three hours on the telephone. Although we live thousands of miles apart it was a joyful reunion. The best part is that she also has children. It's amazing to me how some people reappear in your life at significant times. Other people disappear to never be seen again. Some people change and end up becoming the farthest thing from your mind. Others somehow fulfill the intuitive expections that you've always had about them. It just goes to show you that you never know what the future holds. Truly, anything is possible in this life. That is a belief that I struggle with everyday. It's easy to forget when you are juggling the everyday tasks of taking care of baby, paying bills, grocery shopping, etc. We have to look for the small miracles in life to remind us of infinite possibilities, like a reunion with an old friend we haven't spoken with in over a decade.

A Tough Day

This was a tough day. Even though it was a Saturday, it seems that all we did was work all day. The baby woke up at 4:30 this morning. The husband was kind enough to get up with her and let me sleep a few extra hours. He had to be at the workplace at 8am to meet some guys who were dropping off cameras. He was home by 9:30 am, but then we experienced a maintenance emergency at the apartment complex we manage. We barely had time to go out and have an enjoyable lunch. We would normally be out hitting the yard sales this morning but it was another unlucky rainy Saturday here in California.
After lunch we returned home to face the remainder of the maintenance emergency. Hubby also decided to fix the toilet float in our bathroom, and while in the process the toilet overflowed. Fortunately, it was clear water and no yucky toilet stuff. In the process of soaking up the water, we started snapping at each other and then the baby started crying. I am certain that she could sense our tension. It made me feel so bad!
Being a parent is such a trip. Even after four months, it still amazes me that they can send you home with one of those things and no instructions. Shouldn't everyone who has a kid have to take some sort of state-board exam or get a "good parent" license or something? No wonder there are so many messed up people in the world!
She is so pure and innocent that it breaks my heart. Babies are the loudest lobbyists for miracles that exist in the world. If something so wonderfully bright can exist in this world which is composed of so much suffering, then there will always be hope. Is that too much pressure for all the little babes of the world to live under?

To Blog or Not to Blog

I've been lurking around these Blogs since 02 and I'm really surprised at the rise in popularity. One part of me thinks they are really self-serving and egocentric. Why would anyone think that it is interesting to read about the mundane happenings in the lives of random strangers? I guess it is the "Reality TV" world we are living in. I think that someday there will just be thousands of cable channels with thousands of personal "reality shows". I guess now that I have a new baby girl to brag about I can justify my own private Blog. I am also hoping that it will inspire me to get in the flow of writing more on a daily basis. We'll see about that!

At Home with SparkleMom

Happy St. Patty's Day! I did not wear any green today. In fact, I did not even get dressed today. I wore the same blue, fuzzy bathrobe all day long.