Toddler brain

Most of us know this already: When you become a parent a lot of things will change and life becomes more interesting.

Ah, no kidding, eh?
For example (and I have mentioned this before), most moms experience (suffer from?) some kind of "mommy brain". So do I.
As a consequence us moms have to write everything down or we will forget it. Instantly.

Here is an example:
The local supermarket around the corner from my office is currently running a promotion where you get a free coffee with your purchase. When you pay for your goods the cashier will ask you if you want one, so that she can put it into her system.
Of course I don't say No to that. (I mean it's FREE coffee!)
Too bad that last time, I had already forgotten about my free coffee the second I had put away my credit card. So I grabbed my bag and left the store.
I realized this 2 hours later by the way.

Why is this happening?
- Because there is so much going on in our mommy brains.

Mine basically looks like this:

Yep, there is a lot happening here...

During the day I am basically hopping from one thought to the next. (No wonder I am always so tired at the end of the day.. lol)

That I always have a lot on my plate at work doesn't help either.

So I am always carrying a notepad around wherever I go. That does the trick for me.

Enough said about that though because what I discovered in the past week is that our counterparts have similar "issues" - only they don't really care that much.

What I am talking about is this: Toddler brain.

Since the kiddos don't think about it and have no worries, it must look pretty much like this:

Don't be fooled by the cuteness...

Just imagine it going a 100 miles per hour.
For 12 hours straight.

Of course this gives them plenty of opportunities to come up with crazy ideas on how to entertain themselves.

Ace's new favorite:
Sticking objects into body cavities.
It started with un-eaten pieces of carrot in his ears. Now he has moved on to corn kernels up in his nose.
The latter he tried for the first time on the weekend.
We had microwaved popcorn as a snack while watching TV and he decided to grab the bag to help himself. Suddenly it got quiet and we knew one of two things were happening:
1. He got tired or 2. He was up to something.
Of course it was number 2.
He had grabbed the corn kernels that hadn't popped and stuck one into each nostril.

Great. Exactly what you need on a Sunday night at 11.15 pm.

We started to think about heading to the ER, when we got lucky. One just fell out and the other one Ace was able to dig out himself. Phew.. good for us.
No 3 hour wait at the hospital.

Well, fast forward to last night.
You know how kids always find everything?
Well, of course we didn't give Ace any popcorn bags anymore, but he still managed to find a single corn kernel somewhere... and of course he stuck it up his nose.
No panic on our side here as we had already been through this before, but when an hour passed and the thing still had not come out I got a tiny bit nervous.
It didn't help that Ace didn't want to cooperate and declined to blow his nose. :/
Eventually I ran out of options, so I did what I always do when I don't know anymore:
I ask Google. (Mommy brain's best friend!)
And I was not disappointed cause apparently there is a CPR-like technique you can try before heading frantically to the ER.
(Read here for more info: How to get that thing out of your kid's nose)

Long story short:
I got lucky cause Ace thought this was a game where mommy gives kisses so he had fun and was holding still.
2 min later that damn thing popped out and passed my cheek with lightning speed while I ended up with toddler snot on my face.
But you know what - I could not have been happier in that moment. The kernel was ginormous. No clue how he even managed to get that in.

I can't wait to find out what he will come up with next.... :P

First day of spring

Hello, hello! 

Yes, I am still here... life has just been busy again and didn't really leave me any time to blog. But I am back and I bring good news:

Spring is here.

My fellow readers, we actually made it. 

Winter is officially coming to an end because yesterday was the first day of spring.

Right on St. Patrick's Day, I was wearing my greenest t-shirt and went for a walk around lunch time cause it was just so nice outside. And it actually got better. 

9 pm last night and we had 14 degrees. 14! I was so happy!

I am sure we'll still get some chilly days until I turn 27 (-> May 9th for all of you who don't know or remember - Shame on you! ;)), but for me, spring is officially here now.

I just thought I share this news.. ;)

Don't mess with my Zen

It's no secret: I love books.
Reading is like meditation to me... my mind becomes still and the stories, scenery and characters unfold in front of my inner eye. It's magical. And so relaxing. Usually. 

The last book I read was kind of an exception:

A few weeks ago our friend Theo came back from his vacation to the Dominican Republic and announced that he had been eaten alive by mosquitos and read a book: 

"In the Courts of the Sun" by Brian D'Amato. 

"It's pretty good," he told me. "It deals with time travel and the Maya. You should read it." 

I had just finished the novel I had been reading over the holidays, so I was up for it, but I didn't expect what this book had in store for me.
Don't get me wrong. I don't regret reading it. It was pretty well written and the author seemed to have done his homework with all the Maya stuff. But I had some moments when I wanted to set the book on fire while reading it. That certainly was a first. 

The author lets the main character use words and phrases in foreign languages, including German. And 9 out of 10 times he got it wrong. I got upset when I saw it the first time. 

I told myself to let it go. It's just a book, right? Then it happened again... and again.. and again. By the time I had finished the novel I was so pissed off that I felt I needed to take action. So last night I emailed Brian D'Amato. And this is what I wrote:


Subject:  Issues with the use of German phrases or why I feel like poking my eyes

Hi Brian,

I have just finished reading "In the Courts of the Sun".
In general I enjoyed your book, but there are a few things that I find upsetting.

I get that it is neat to have Jed throw in phrases in foreign languages. But if it's done incorrectly it just sucks.
I am German and since I am also a writer myself I feel like someone stabbed me in the eye each time I see words and phrases used in the wrong way.

There are many examples in your book, but page 421 stood out the most: "So auch auf jener Oberfläche sich noch im krystallinischem Zustand befände."  REALLY??? Is that necessary? I was contemplating to throw the book out of the window the moment I read that, because I was so pissed off.

It just really makes you not look good. Throughout the book you really get the feeling that you did so much research on the Maya, etc... and kudos for that, but why not here? Why not have someone who knows German look over those phrases before you use them?
I'm sure your publicist knows someone if you don't....

Well, and if not.. heck I'll help you with the other 2 novels that are still to come if that's what it takes.

So, anyways... I'll let you get back to writing and I hope my little feedback (rant) was helpful to you in some way.

Kind regards,
Melissa


I don't know if I really expect a response.. but at least I feel better now... my Zen is restored. ;)