It's HallowGlee at my office, yours?

Halloween is one of my favorite holidays. I love it so much that I got married on November 1st (4 years ago...woohoo!) so that my rehearsal dinner would fall on Halloween and all my guests would have to wear costumes (it worked too)! So, in anticipation of Halloween one of my coworkers came up with the idea of dressing up as Glee characters. I have to say that I've enjoyed watching the show when I do because of the dancing, the music and the wide variety of characters. There is definitely something for everyone in this show. With that in mind, it was the perfect theme for our office Halloween theme.

Fast forward to today (a day I have been anxiously awaiting because I love to dress up). Everyone in our office took this very seriously and we have literally recreated the entire cast of Glee. How awesome is that?! Kudos to all my coworkers for going the extra mile and going along with our office Hallow Glee theme. This has definitely put a big smile on everyone's face in the office.

What are you doing at your office or with your kids today? Are you following a theme this year or going with the most inexpensive, easy-to-pull off costume? I want to hear about it.

 My best Santana impression...

 

Puck and his girls...

 

Oh Cheerios!

It's Glee time!

Tighten Up, Mommy!

Now that I'm working hard to get back into shape, all I can think about is fitness and healthy eating. A bit obsessive almost, but with a little one at home it is even more important to lead a healthy, active lifestyle. Anyone else out there agree? 

Another reason for trying to be healthy and active is that I'm unfortunately one of those people who is allergic to everything I breathe and happen to have a weak immune system and find myself sick more often than healthy. I joke with my brothers and sisters-in-law that my husband and I get sick all the time because we are not eating enough preservatives and fast food. I hardly ever meet and unfit person who gets as sick as often as I do. And while I'm not the biggest health nut or organic food follower, I still make it a point to eat healthy and cook healthy alternatives to otherwise very fatty foods (like Hispanic dishes that I love so much). How do you stay healthy? Do you find that eating less processed foods lowers your defenses? 

And what do you do to be active? I recently enrolled in a women's only bootcamp program for the next six months. When I met my husband I was fit and weighed about 108 pounds. Post baby I'm at 120 pounds (my heaviest  and my pre-baby weight). My goal is to go down to between 105 and 108, I have a long way to go. I'm trying my hardest to follow my mean plan and get this weight off but I know it's not going to be easy. What do you do to maintain your weight or lose a few pounds?

A Baby Hand Problem

So I had read that many babies LOVE to fall asleep with their moms' hands on their face or on their back, and the minute the mom moves it away he/she wakes up. In my many adventures in the little time that I've been a mom I hadn't experienced it, until today. My very active baby was finally giving in to his sleep while mommy carried him, shushing around the house and rocking him (oh yeah! it takes most of the 5 S's for my little one to fall asleep and he's 5 months). And when he finally closed his eyes, I held him for five more minutes and then slowly and carefully put my snuggly baby in the playard for a nap. To my surprise, as I undid my arms little by little he didn't seem to mind. But when it came to my hand, he refused to let go. I gently moved his fingers one by one and in an instant almost woke him up.  I left my hand there for a few more seconds and when I was sure that he was sleeping, I made my move. And success, baby was sleeping and mommy can have dinner before his next feeding.

Sounds intricate doesn't it? Has this happened to you? If so, have you had to leave your hand with your baby to let him/her sleep? Or does your baby have another comfort habit?

To pack and play, but where?

I'm a bit late to the pack and play (also known as playard) game since my son is 4 months old and I just got one.  And now that I have one, where do I put it?

The hubby and I decided that it would go in the family room right now since we don't have any other cushioned surface in that area. However, he wanted it in the corner next to a wall so it wouldn't look so obstrusive in our very modern family room. The thing is that the whole purpose of having a pack and play is so that I can be in the kitchen or working while sitting in the family room and being able to see the baby playing from different angles. So after both sides presenting our reasoning and some frustration on my part, the hubby gave in and decided to leave it right smack in the middle of our family room where I originally suggested. Also, it is where I could also see the baby from the kitchen. Note: I have an open kitchen that is right next to my family room.

And now I'm strongly considering buying those padded, colorful mats that you see at daycare centers for my family room so that the baby can play freely (and I'll be with him of course). But after a lot of research, are those things safe?

I went on Amazon when I woke up at around 4:30 a.m. (I was so tired that I fell asleep with all of my clothes and jewelry on at 8:30 p.m.) this morning and lots of reviews said that they smell like those permanent markers and that the colors come off and on some, the removable parts are choking hazards (YIKES!). What are is your experience with them? Would you recommend them? I saw one called the SoftSpot and it looks nice but at $100 for just the mat (cover is another $40), I'm not so sure about it. Do you have one of those and is it a product that you can't live without?

I'm dying to know what other parents do about this. And have you had the discussion as to where the pack and play or other kid gear should go with your hubby and/or significant other? Did you end up with a pros and cons list? How did you decide? Did you get to pick where one went and he chose the other?

How do moms relax?

Every day I seem to find myself running around from one thing to the next and from one place to another nonstop. My morning routine begins at about 6:30 a.m. and I don't sit down to veg out until my baby is sleeping around 8:30 p.m. As for food, I'm lucky if I eat three full meals a day as time seems to go by faster than I can remember.

I'm sure most of you can relate to this and I'm interested in knowing how other moms relax? Do you get a mani/ pedi once a week? Do you go for a run or take a yoga class? Or is it as simple as watching any of The Real Housewives series? Do you have a glass of wine with friends once a week?

Usually my relaxation routine would include going to bootcamp, ideally a kickboxing cardio class to let out all my stress from the week. But since I've been sick, it's been sitting on the couch to watch whatever RHW series is on. Although I may not particularly like all of them, I feel better knowing that I don't have their kind of problems. Other ways to relax can be as low key as drinking my favorite cup of tea right before going to bed and just sinking into my pillow before I doze off.

On the weekends I look forward to my family mornings taking walks in the park with my husband, son and dog. There is something about the fresh morning air that makes me feel so energized. What do you do on the weekends to forget the stressful week?

Daycare Dilema

Every working mom has the option of putting her baby in daycare or hiring a nanny to come to your house and if you're really lucky you have a family member who can take care of your darling. In my case, daycare worked best. And all was going fine until I heard my son's peer at daycare coughing one of these mornings. Surely enough, the next day he had a cold. His little cold turned into a big cold that both mom and dad caught right away.

Fast forward a few days later and now my husband, the baby and I are all on antibiotics. The cold morphed into an upper respiratory infection that has taken over our lives for the past two months. If there was a group for saline mist addicts I think all three of us would be enrolled as its the only thing that is safe and natural and that seems to calm our congested noses. Oh daycare, you're so convenient yet you are making us all so very sick!

With that in mind, what do you think is the best option for working moms? Do you take your child to daycare or did you decide to reprioritize and make mommyhood your career?