Ten on Tuesday

After a long weekend with lots of fun with my guys, it's Tuesday again!

So here are this week's questions found on Roots & Rings:

1. What are your thoughts on Valentine’s Day. Do you love it? Hate it?
Well, I like it.  (I mean who doesn't? There is lots of chocolate involved!)

But I am a little sad for all those people that seem to need a specific day to show their love to their significant other. It's always Valentine's Day in our house cause we have so much love to give. Every day.

2. What is your favorite romantic comedy?
Ehm.. no clue. I can't even remember a single one at the moment.
Let me ask Markus and I will check back later...

3. Meg Ryan & John Mellencamp: what’s your first reaction?
John Who? (...running off to consult my friend Google...)
Ah, THAT guy!
Ehm.. good for them?
I guess, I don't really care in this case...

4. All time favorite poem or quote?
Man, that's hard. I am a sucker for quotes.
So I'll have to list my top favorites and not just one:

"...cause it's the heart that really matters in the end."
- Rob Thomas - Little Wonders

"This, too, will pass."

- Eckhart Tolle

(I will have to update this later with more..)

5. What’s the longest amount of time you’ve gone without sleep? (like consecutive hours).
:)

6. What color ink do you prefer to use?
Black.

7. Share with us a blog that you recently found and fell in love with (and link us!)
http://www.starkravingmadmommy.com/
Just read it. She is amazing.

8. If you could be on a reality TV show which one would you choose?
"Survivor". Or "The Amazing Race" with Markus.

9. Mountains or Beach?
Beach!

10. With the Oscars around the corner, what’s your pick for best picture?
"Inception". It blew my mind.

Markus = Leadership

Lately I have been hearing the name "Markus" more than usual.
One of my online mom-friends (-> Facebook group) just had a baby boy and named him Markus.
But the movie/TV industry seems to have picked up that name as well:
On Saturday we celebrated Valentine's Day early and went to the theater to watch "The Eagle". The main character in this movie is Marcus Aquila.
Yesterday we were watching the latest episode of "V" and Anna's second in command, Marcus, was in distress so she was calling his name.

So I turned to Markus and asked if he is not feeling weird hearing his name all the time.

His response: "No. Not at all because all those people are always in key positions. So that name is just appropriate."

Confident men with an appropriate name

The BEST response! Cause who can argue with that? ;)

Ten on Tuesday

After I skipped last week because I had no time to post anything, I am back with answering the Ten on Tuesday questions gathered from Roots & Rings.

This time we have summer theme going on...

1. Any vacations you are looking forward to this summer?
We don't have anything planned yet.
But I would really love to go someplace this year that is at an ocean and has beaches.
It has been a while since we did that...
We went to Dominican Republic in 2007 and Mexico in 2008, and both trips had been so much fun.

2. What is your favorite article of summer clothing (shoes are included)?
Shorter skirts and Flip-Flops.

3. What is your favorite summer drink (alcoholic or non)?
Pina Colada

4. Do you tan or burn?
Burn. I only get a real tan if I use a tanning bed unfortunately.

5. Any goals you are working toward this summer?
Not specifically toward this summer... 

I always have goals I am working toward to.
I feel that is an important thing to have in life.

6. What is your favorite summertime food?
Strawberries with vanilla yogurt

7. What song most says “summer” to you?
Hm... I usually go with the flow... There are always a few songs they are playing in the radio all the time each summer and I usually like a couple of those as well.. Those would mean "summer" to me for that year... 

Other than that I could also name "The Love Committee - United States Of Love". 

It was the hymne to the Love Parade of 2006. 

At that point we were living in Berlin and it was an amazing summer with this party as the finale before we left. Every time I hear this song, I think about the great time we had there..

8. Any home improvement goals planned for this summer?
Nope. We don't own a house..

9. What is one thing you hate to see at the beach?
Trash. It always makes me mad cause it is so inconsiderate to other people trying to enjoy their day. And of course it can be dangerous to kids running around barefoot (-> think of broken pieces of glass, etc).

10. Did you ever go to a summer camp?
Yes. When I was in elementary school the community would offer summer activities for the kids during their summer break. One of them was a daytime summer camp that lasted about 1 week. We would do all kinds of creative, sporty and fun things there.

Not everything goes as planned

When you become a parent you quickly realize that there are tons of decisions you have to make just to get started:

Breastmilk or formula? Scheduled feedings or on cue?

Cloth diapers or disposables? What brand?

Stroller or baby wearing?

Vaccinations? All of them? Some of them? Delayed or on schedule?

Your general parenting style? Traditional or Attachment Parenting?

And those are just a few...

Some were no-brainers. 

There was no question that I would breastfeed and that Ace would wear Pampers. Being a working mom, I was more than happy to hook myself up to a pump every day at work to collect food for my baby, but I was absolutely unwilling to deal with soiled cloth diapers when I came back home. Especially since we didn't have a washing machine, but were laundromat customers... 

Other decisions certainly took a bit of time and relied on trial and error. And adjustments were necessary as time went by. 

For example we bought a running stroller, but Ace was too small to sit in there. 

But guess what, his infant car seat fit perfectly in it, so we would just use that combination to go out.

Or we bought a Snugli baby carrier, but in the beginning again he was too small for it.
So I got a baby pouch sling to carry him around for the first couple of months. 

(By the way that also solved the problem with noisy strangers trying to touch him. People often thought it was just a hand bag... lol)
And eventually when he was over a year old and had gotten a bit too heavy for the Snugli, I bought a sling wrap so that I could hip carry him.

Of course then there was also the sleeping situation...

While I was pregnant I thought I had it all figured out: I had insisted on buying a bassinet, so we got one and had it set up next to our bed. 

My idea was: I am close to the baby when he needs me, but he is still sleeping in his own bed. This will make it easier to transition to a crib later when he sleeps through the night.

Yeah, it didn't quite happen that way.. *cough*

Once he was born the midwife gave him to me and told me to keep him close since he would need my body heat to stay warm and so that we could bond as well. So for the next couple of days I would hold him (except when Markus had him, of course) at day and night time and by the time I was ready to let him sleep in his bassinet, Ace wasn't having it anymore. 

He would be fussing and was just so unhappy in the bassinet that we continued to take him with us to bed. And before you knew it, the Laibachers had become a co-sleeping family.

Something I had not really planned on, but I might have been the one benefiting the most from it since it turns out that breastfeeding while co-sleeping is so much easier than having to get up in the middle of the night in order to feed your baby. ;)

Fast forward to today. 

Ace is 20 months now but our sleeping arrangements haven't changed. 

For a while we tried to get him used to sleeping in the PNP but the results were just so so and eventually we just let it go. And it's not like that we aren't enjoying it. It's really nice to be able to be there for your child the second he needs you... and all the cuddle time we get because of it is just wonderful. Also our bed is king-size with plenty of room for all of us, even now that Ace has grown so much. That is: Usually. 

Cause there are the days when even a king-size bed doesn't seem to be enough - especially when you have a child that hates blankets, but loves to steal your pillow:

Oh, the things we don't mind doing for our kids... ;)

Ten on Tuesday

I'm still amazed by how fast every week goes by.. and before you know it, it's Tuesday again!

Here are the questions Chelsea from Roots & Rings asked today:

1. What is your favorite childhood memory?

Watching the birth of a litter of kittens.

2. What is your favorite quality about yourself?

My honesty and empathy.

3. What is your favorite thing that your child does?

I love that he is so cuddly and attached. But he also makes me laugh with his humor. I think once he starts speaking in full sentences we will have a lot of funny moments ahead of us.

4. What is your favorite thing to do to relax?

A hot bath is nice. But these days it's rarely in peace and quiet since Ace wants to climb into the tub too. 

I find reading very relaxing. Especially with a nice glass of wine.

But I guess my favorite way of relaxing is to cuddle with Markus. :)

5. What is your favorite restaurant? And what is your favorite thing on the menu?

I don't have a favorite restaurant cause I like a variety of different foods.

But to give a couple of examples: I am a big fan of the General Tao Chicken at the Imperial Buffet and I was very happy about the Spicy Vegetarian Maki I ate at New Generation Sushi while I was pregnant with Ace.

6. What is your favorite piece of jewelry (besides your wedding ring)?

The heart necklace Markus gave me as a gift last year.

7. What is your favorite night of the week M-TH? And why?

Thursday. Because it means I only have 1 more day to work before the weekend.

8. What is your favorite dessert?

Cheesecake.

9. What is your favorite item in your make-up bag?

My foundation. BareMinerals by Bare Escentuals.

10. What is your favorite smell?

That salty-fresh smell you can only experience at an ocean.