40 Weeks Meetup

Tomorrow will be the first time moms, dads and babies from 40 Weeks will be meeting up since the premiere of the documentary. I am so excited to host this event! I am currently making strawberry cupcakes and snacks for tomorrow. When 40 Weeks premiered at the Angelika in Manhattan I felt a connection with the other moms from the documentary and a few of us got to bond at the after party. We friended each other on Facebook, send encouraging text messages, and are planning for road trips already! Being a parent gives people such a strong bond. Our lives have changed and I am so lucky to have made so many friends along the way. Each journey is different but being a parent unifies us. 

I have to confess that being a second time parent has been difficult. There is no “me” time anymore just “Ethan time” or “Dex time” or “Ethan AND Dex time.” I love being a mom but between breastfeeding, crafting DIY enriching activities, changing diapers, train track building, eating well balanced, natural, organic meals (or trying to) and bath time; there is no time in between. Now times that all by two and on top of all that I have started working. For example, our five year anniversary is coming up and I have been trying to lose some of this baby weight I’ve gained between the two pregnancies. The only time I have to even attempt to work out is after both boys are asleep which is after 9pm. By that time I am pooped. Laundry, dishes, the whole house still needs to be cleaned. So what do I do? Do one thing at a time but working out seems to take the back burner. I hope cleaning will count as my work out. Just waiting till the boys get older and it is warmer outside. Maybe I can start jogging with them. Yes, wishful thinking 🙂 

Can’t wait to see the 40 Weeks crew!
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Lazy Sunday

We had plans today. Church in the morning, swimming at the youth center and then a quick stop at Whole Foods to grab a few fresh fruits and vegetables for the week. What did we end up doing? Nada. It was a ugly, cold, rainy day in New York City. We did not have the motivation to leave our warm, cozy apartment. I spent last night cleaning after the boys went to sleep and I patted myself on the back and went to sleep. Dexter woke up twice and there went my night sleep. I was tired waking up – zombie-like tired as we ate cereal in the morning. Luckily Ethan was easily distracted by Cars, his favorite cartoon, and Dex took a nice, long morning nap (most likely since he didn’t sleep the night before) So we took a nap in the living room and felt bliss and guilt at the same time. We didn’t go out. We didn’t do anything we had initially planned. So we needed a plan B after the nap. What did we do? Ethan’s favorite – finger painting! This time around we made it educational. Here is the result after a messing start on our kitchen table.

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We mixed primary colors to make new ones. Red, blue and yellow… Ethan had a blast and he didn’t get too messy – he wore his IKEA paint cover, which I recommend buying since it is so cheap and easy to clean. Thankfully finger paint is also easy to clean from surfaces, hands, faces, etc and Ethan did a great job at helping me. Dexter got to watch so hopefully he got some education stimulus too. SO did I wish we could do more every day? Yup, but I think we did okay today because both boys were in bed at 830pm – bathed and happily dreaming of tomorrow’s adventures. Happy boys – check, clean home – ummmmmmm half check…

New Year resolutions

2015 came so quickly and now I have two beautiful boys. There are few things that I must try to do better this year. 

First, BLOGGING. I definitely dropped the ball last year with my blogging and always think I should have documented this vital part of my life. I do have to thank the crew at 40 weeks though since we did more video blogging than ever so I got to capture memories this way. Still writing is so intimate and you can share so much. My goal is to blog and capture all those life events and my feelings as much as possible. 

Second, organic/natural/free products. We have been doing well with this last year but need more of a boost in 2015. We have started using Seventh Generation products in most of all avenues of our lives. Seventh Generation diapers, bath soap, laundry detergents, cleaning products and even dabble into SG wipes. We also have like Honesty products from Jessica Alba especially her bath soap for babies. The scent is amazing. My boys both have sensitive skin so I have always tried to research different products and stayed natural and free for their beautiful skin and hair. Now I just need to make sure our food and diet can reflect that too. Of note, here are my favorite products:
1. Seventh Generation and Honest Co. diapers – smooth and natural on a babies bottom
2. Huggies Natural wipes – bigger and stronger than other brands 
3. Seventh Generation cleaning products – Safe for babies and really cleans
4. Honest Co. bath soap – mild and fragrant without drying babies’ sensitive skin 

Third, saving money. This is the resolution I need the most help with. Graduating from my Ob/Gyn residency is great but then I went on maternity leave which meant no more income (though residency income is laughable). The problem is the loan money is now due. On top of that, babies are expensive. Ethan, my 3rd year old, has school fees, extracurricular activities, new clothes (he is growing like a weed) and babysitting and more… Dexter, my lil baby of 4 months, DIAPERS, DIAPERS, WIPES, DIAPERS, and more diapers… In between all that Min and I have not had a date night since Dex has been born and really barely any since Ethan was born. I need more money saving solutions. I have started working but then it seems all my money disappears as soon as I get my paycheck. Help please? 

I will return to this post at the end of the year and hopefully will check each thing off. Happy New Year! 

P.S. Here is a photo of the boys