Tomorrow I'll Make a Peanut Butter Pie for Mikey and Jennifer Perillo

I return to work a week from today. And, I have to admit, I'm ready. I've had a great time home with the boys, but I really miss my job. I'm one of those lucky people who really likes what they do and loves their co-workers. I'm also really fortunate because my mom did full childcare for W up until now. I am constantly thankful for how lucky I am to be a working mom with such a great situation: Awesome job, awesome childcare.

Now that we have two kids, my mom is going down to three days and we've hired a nanny for the other two days. I think she's going to be a great fit. She's spending the day with us tomorrow so she can get to know the boys, and I can show her around the house and walk her to the library and the park.

And then I plan to take some time in the early afternoon to participate in Peanut Butter Pie Friday for Mikey and Jennifer Perillo.

Jennifer Perillo is part of the Yahoo! Motherboard. Her husband passed away suddenly this week. They have two young daughters. Everything about this is heart-breaking and terrible. There are no words. She asked her blogging community to come together and each make his favorite dessert, Creamy Peanut Butter Pie, tomorrow and share it with someone you love. I bought all the ingredients today and plan to see if I can get W to help me tomorrow while the nanny plays with B. He won't last long, which is OK. I could use the time to just bake something and be with myself for a little bit to reflect on the transition we're all about to go through.

Life is quick and it's times like these that I second guess my choice to go back to work, to spend all of that time away from the boys. How can I sacrifice a single day with them? But, I know it's not that simple. It just makes my heart hurt to know that everything can be so fleeting.

I remember meeting Jennifer during the Yahoo! Motherboard Summit last summer. I sat at a table with her and a few other bloggers who are all a much bigger deal than I am and it kind of felt like I was a little kid at the adults table. We chatted about our kids, our husbands, the usual... I remember so clearly what she said about her husband and there was an incredible amount of love there. That conversation, one that she might not remember, has been on my mind all week -- And so has she. So, I'll bake this pie and share it with people I love and once again remind myself to appreciate every moment we have together.

I'm Giddy About Healthy Snacks: A Give Away

How a mom feeds her kids is her choice. And each mom has a different point of view on this one.  I tend to be a little more extreme compared to most moms I know. W has very limited sweets, practically no candy, doesn't drink juice and eats pretty healthy in general. He's pretty much been deprived of what most kids get to eat.

Sometimes I find it difficult to find fast snacks that fit within how I feed my kids. And if I do find them, they’re really expensive or have a limited shelf life. A new product, giddy dip'ems, is hitting select Chicago-area Target stores (see below for list) and fits within everything I look for when choosing snacks for W. It’s compact, easy to transport, but even better, it’s natural and healthy. All in all, I honestly consider it to be a great snack.

Dip'ems are not a stretch for us. I immediately knew it would work for me, but wondered whether it would work for kids who are used to eating more traditional kid snacks. Would it be fun enough, sweet enough, colorful enough to appeal? I decided to share them with one of my closest friends from childhood who has a different point of view on feeding her kids. Her kids eat like kids.

So, I brought them with me to a play date with her boys to see if it would cater to kids who aren’t quite as limited in their snack choices as W has been. I opened up a strawberry and a tropical flavored, handed each boy a couple of the dip sticks and stepped back with my camera….

They approved. And so do I, which can be kind of hard. They’re not an every day snack, but they’re great for taking on a picnic, pack in a lunch, or grab from the cabinet when someone is having a meltdown and you just need a quick snack to make them happy.

I don’t really care how other people choose to feed their kids. Honestly, I don’t. I have my way, you have yours. But, I figure giddy is a good way to meet in the middle. That’s why I’m doing a giveaway of a week’s worth of giddy snacks for two of you. Whether or not you're strict with your kids food, you’ll be happy with these.

Here's how you can enter the giddy giveaway: 

1. Comment on this post about you favorite snack from when you were a kid. Be sure to include an email address if it doesn't connect back to your blog.

2. Extra entries for mentioning this giveaway to your network on Facebook and/or Twitter (one entry for each) by pasting this in your status: I'm giddy! Enter to win a week's supply of giddy snacks at www.hannemaniacs.com. (please let me know in your comment that you have done these)

That's right, three possible entries per person. Contest ends at 9 am Wednesday, August 17th. Enter now!

THIS GIVEAWAY IS NOW CLOSED! The winners were chosen by using RANDOM.ORG and are... Stacey from www.evolvingstacey.com and Julie Mayo! I'll contact you for addresses and the snacks will be sent to you!

Thanks for everyone for participating. I've decided I'll start doing more giveaways, so I'll have another one up soon!

To buy your own box, they retail for $3.99 for a box of four snacks packs and can be found in the lunchbox aisle of the snack section at the following Target locations: Arlington Heights, Chicago South, Chicago South Loop, Chicago South Pulaski, Cicero, Glenview, Rosemont, Shorewood, and Woodridge. After comparing to other high quality kids snacks, I do find it to be a good buy.

Disclosure: I received complimentary giddy dip'ems for this review and giveaway. All opinions expressed are my own.

A Thong To Remember

For the From Left to Write Book Club we read Anthony Youn's memoir In Stitches , a really human and funny look into the training of a medical doctor who discovers his passion is plastic surgery. This post is inspired by the book.

I have had a lot of rather embarrassing moments with doctors, most of which include med students or residents. We all have them, I know, but since I think that making fun of myself is generally the best way to handle all situations, I like to tell my stories. Most people tend to keep it to themselves.

When it comes to doctor's appointments, I'm pretty open. I'm fine with residents taking part in my care (hey, they have to learn, right?) and I always live by the mantra of "I cannot be the worst they have seen. There is no way I can possibly stand out." But, when I was reading Youn's memoir, my thoughts were shattered when he writes about the patient he saw on his ob-gyn rotation who had six toes. This woman made it into his book.

Back when I was running a ton (around 2005ish), I started to have issues with my knee, so I went to a Sports Medicine doctor to find out what was going on. When I was shown to my room, the nurse turned to ask if I had brought shorts. “Um, no. No one told me to bring shorts,” was my lame reply.

How did I not think of this?!?! I had even considered bringing a pair that morning, I should have known it was protocol. How did I expect them to get a good look at my KNEE in dress PANTS? I brought my running shoes, I brought my exercise diary, I was otherwise prepared. Except for shorts.

Instead, I was handed a backless gown and told to undress. The doctor (an adorable young female doctor) entered the room with a med student (also a good looking woman) in tow. She asked if I'm alright with the student sticking around, to which I agreed. The exam started in a basic enough way... I stood in front of them, on one leg, then the other. All the while, they stared at my knees and legs. Then she asked me to walk toward them. And then away. IN A BACKLESS GOWN. The walk away happened twice, my doctor wanted to be sure to point out my glutes (as in my butt) to the shadowing med student. Mortification is not even the word. Why? I was wearing a thong IN A BACKLESS GOWN. Not a cute thong, or some type of coverage thong, but a string Victoria’s Secret disaster of a thong. Old, cotton, discolored. And let's just say I was not bikini ready, if you know what I mean.

So, after the walking, I was asked to perform squats and lunges. Then back to the standing on one leg and then standing in place as they checked me out from every angle to gage my posture and core strength as they tried to push me over while asking me to stand as straight as possible and resist the pushing... in a thong and backless gown. Then came the fun stuff: "Lay on your back, let’s check your flexibility," she said.

“Wow, you’re flexible!” as my leg was being pushed literally behind my head with my knee bent up and then moved to either side. Then she straightened my leg, one hand on the back of my thigh, the other on my lower leg and pushed. Imagine, if you will, doing the splits while laying on your back... in a thong. The doctor pushing above, the med student looking on amazed at my flexibility. Gripping at my flimsy little gown to cover anything became hopeless.

"This is incredible," they both kept muttering.

“Yup. I've always been really flexible. You know, I really wish I had brought shorts. You don’t have any for the patients, do you? You might want to direct the front desk to work that in when people are making appointments, because I really wish they told me to,” was my pathetic reply as they continued to push my legs in every possible direction.

I am flexible. I'm crazy flexible. It also leads me to be injury prone. I roll my ankle over anything. My knees hyper-extend like a Barbie's. But, being stretched in a thong is never flattering. I just told myself that this doctor would never remember me and I would never see her again, that it was all rather routine. She was really sweet about it, nothing to be ashamed of. I mean, they've seen lady parts. They have them, right? And isn't that part of the whole med school thing?

Flash forward a couple years, I'm at the Gala that I manage. There are 2,000 guests and 400 volunteers and who do I see? Yup, the doctor. We make eye contact and I immediately turn and walk in the other direction. Something tells me a little voice inside of her said, "There is that strangely flexible woman with the terrible thong. Why the hell didn't she bring shorts?"

DISCLOSURE: I received a complimentary copy of In Stitches. To see how other bloggers were inspired by this book, visit From Left To Write.

Rough Morning With a Silver Lining

11:00 pm: Went to sleep.

1:45 am: B wakes up, diaper change, feeding, and unusually long fussy time.

3:45 am: I lay back down.

4:00 am: W is calling me from his room because he has wet through his diaper. This also happened a few days ago and the mattress pad is not on the bed. Wake up Matt to clean up the kid while I strip the sheets and do an internet search for "how to clean urine out of mattress." Clean spot with carpet cleaner, sprinkle with baking soda, and then cover with plastic.

4:30 am: I get back in bed and B starts to fuss. I take him out to calm him down.

4:45 am: Matt's alarm clock goes off and W refuses to go back to sleep. We watch two episodes of Mickey Mouse Clubhouse.

5:30 am: Matt leaves for work. I convince W to lay down with me once B falls asleep.

5:45 am: Diaper explosion from B, explaining his fussiness that bothered him all night.

6:00 am: I give up on sleep. Pour a cup of coffee and decide to write a blog post.

Reality: I'm exhausted and not looking forward to dealing with a very tired W all day.

Silver Lining: I got to write a blog post!