Speak Up

Friday, September 6, 2013

Baby Number Two

My world has changed once again, for the better of course!

Wyatt Cartwright Battes was born on July 14th. Erik and I are thrilled to have started this new chapter of our lives. I'm so proud to be a mother of two boys. But it ends there, ladies. Four people is a full house and I'm perfectly content.

Thinking of having children of your own?I don't want to scare anyone, but you really should: Read this first. 



Food is Love,
Hilary


And don't forget to enter my book giveaway here. 

Tuesday, September 3, 2013

Snooze Fest

Let's talk about naps. I get it, I do. These guys work a lot. Anywhere from 5-7 days a week 10-16 hours a day, weekends, holidays, late nights, on their feet-yadda yadda yadda. But as soon as I see Erik hit the couch on Sunday afternoon my eyes roll dramatically- and I know it's in part-jealousy.

In my house I have three boys against one girl, and three nappers against the non-napper, me. The odds are not ever in my favor. The 3 year old, Maverik naps once a day for two hours, the newborn, Wyatt naps about 2 hours each day adding up all those cat naps, but the chef-he chef falls hard. He certainly doesn't nap as much as the babes, but he crashes much quicker. Erik will often lay down with Maverik after lunch on his days off and I hear snoring long before my 3 year old stops wiggling. Where am I in this picture you ask? I'm all over the place doing laundry, paying bills, organizing the junk drawer or grading papers. I just can't sit. I absolutely hate it because I wish I could relax. I wonder if they have an online class for that. Don't get me wrong, when Wyatt was less than a month old, I napped when baby napped- just like the experts said to do, and I had to in order to take care of the two little ones- in order to survive. Erik certainly isn't to blame for napping, he needs it. He also suffers from sleep apnea so even when he is asleep it's not that deep sleep we all so desperately need.

But there is something else that gets me agitated when he take his siesta: time. That precious thing none of us have enough of. As twenty first century people living on Earth we don't have time to exercise, call our parents, or visit with old friends. And as women dating and married to chefs we don't have time to see them. It just doesn't exist. So even though these guys need to make up for lost sleep, I can't help but see it as time lost. I can't help but think, "We could be going on a walk right now, or drinking tea in the backyard."

According to WebMd, napping can boost your memory, cognitive thinking, creativity, and energy. Maybe that's why Erik is always coming up with new dishes. It's the naps! Then again, this is a medical website with an article entitled "9 Secrets to a Good Kiss". Hmm...

Do any of you have chefnappers at home? Does it bother you? Are you a mover and shaker like me finding it difficult to even sit down? I'd love to know how the chef populace is sleeping during the day.

Food is Love,
Hilary