When I was single and married without kids I hated Mondays (this should not come as a shock to anyone) and LOVED Fridays (again, no shock). The weekends were bliss. Saturdays were for sleeping in, drinking coffee on the porch, reading the Wall Street Journal cover to cover (minus the business section), maybe even reading a book, long walks with the doggie, and studying Hebrew. Sundays were farmers markets, grocery shopping, laundry, errands, and cleaning, the gym and fancy coffee... all done together as a couple.Since the nugget was born, everything changed (again, not a shocker... I know). There are things I really miss about our weekends BN (before nugget) but what I hadn't realized had changed was that I completely approach the week totally differently. It was actually shocking when I realized it. I realized I was starting to dread Fridays and cheer for Mondays. Now, this wasn't instantly and I really noticed the change when I recently lost my job and began doing freelance work from home. No longer were my weeks 60-70 hours long with a dash to get nugget to bed, eat, clean, sleep and do it all over. I had a bit more breathing room. Granted I also had a bit of a crazier schedule than most. I worked 7:30am-5:30pm (because those were the daycare hours) and then I worked at home before bed. But I digress...Now I love Mondays. I take the nugget to school, hug and kiss him, play for a little bit in his room and then dash off to actually drink a cup of coffee... (wait for it...) HOT! I drink hot coffee again, people... I can read the news and catch up on the world while working and no one is crying. I am not trying to beat the clock before someone wakes up from a nap. I can chat with friends on Facebook without miraculously disappearing suddenly for three days because I have no time for myself and who the hell can remember where they left off anyway! And I dread Fridays (a little... not a lot) because I know all weekend will be poopy butts and whiney nuggets and food thrown at/on/to the dog and tiny hands hitting my face and pulling my glasses off 850 times a day.Now, don't get me wrong... I love my son. He is the light of my life. I would never trade him for the world. But I so appreciate his daycare teachers and their patience and that it gives me a break. I have to work and I couldn't work if I had to watch nugget all day. He isn't content to ever sit and my work takes thought and focus.And so we have a new normal. Mondays are exciting and signal some me time while I have to psych myself up for Fridays and the exhaustion that comes with chasing the dog and pushing dining room chairs around the house all day. And I am ok with that. :)
This all came up, by the way, because a friend posted this on Facebook:
People without school aged kids: booooo its monday!People with school aged kids: Mondays here! lets celebrate!#truestory#Ilovemykids#butIneedsomespacesometimes#moneywellspent
I will tell you the first thing that popped in my mind. 
They are comfortable and easy to slip on. Perfect for everyday and come in a ton of colors and fabrics. I've even expanded into some booties and wedges recently. All in all, definitely my favorite thing since I was too pregnant to tie my shoes... :) Check them out and if you 
He just can't get it together. Everyone had suggestions but with a toddler attitude and the traumatic memory around eating (three weeks of vomiting when you eat will do that to you... anyone remember tequila and college? Or Captain Morgan's... omg just thinking of that makes me a little queasy...) we were getting nowhere. He was open to prune pouches but they weren't totally doing the job. A friend and I were talking about sneaking veg into meatballs so I decided... it was time.I looked up a number of recipes and decided on 
Combine all the ingredients in a bowl and mix together with your hands. The recipe I linked to had a really good instruction for this part... don't over mix it, it will make the meatballs tough).Form your meatball and place on the tray. If you are a 'rule follower' you can use a tablespoon scoop or you can make them your own size. I did a bunch of small ones for nugs and some bigger ones for our dinner. The original recipe says you will get 48 but I got less.Put them on the baking sheet (NOT TOUCHING) and bake for 20 minutes.---These were delicious and even my husband enjoyed eating them. It's a great way to sneak in veggies and they freeze/defrost really well.Share your comments, pictures, and variations below! 
I just woke up. It was magical.I never thought I would say that about 7am. I was the kid (adult) who, given the opportunity, could sleep until noon or 1:00. I used to bemoan the loss of the day while feeling super rested. I've forgotten what 'super rested' feels like.
Since the nugget was born, we have had a love/hate relationship with sleep. He slept great in the hospital then tortured us the first night home (he screamed all night... thank you Happiest Baby On The Block DVD for saving our lives). Then he would sleep five hours at a time at night and then for about a month and a half, he woke up every. 30. minutes. all. night. long. It was at that point that we hired a sleep therapist to come help us. She made a world of difference and his sleep has been a lot more normal since then.
But there are still nights... usually when he is teething... that we struggle. He will wake up at 4am and it's just the perfect, exact time that you don't know what to do with him. Bottle? Advil? Will he go back to sleep? Probably not... Especially not if I bring him into our bed... then it's such an awesome adventure, forget sleep! Ok, what if mom crawls into the crib with you? Now will you sleep? 50/50 shot on that one.I totally get that this is part of babyhood.
But every morning that I open my eyes and the clock says 7am (and not 4am) and the nugget isn't crying, I say thank you. Not to G-d (though I'm sure he had a big part in it), but to the nugget. Thanks, baby, for letting mommy sleep until a normal time.
My little guy is about as brand loyal as one year olds get! When it comes to food, he's pretty much obsessed with the 
The liquid is where I went wrong on the first attempt. I didn't add enough and it was still a bit too thick for nugs. The other recommendation I have is TASTE IT! Try it and see what it needs. Maybe more or less lime, cilantro... maybe toss some salt in. With nugget, he has reflux and so he actually need salt and seasoning to make food taste good to him. Between the burning acid and the medicine that dulls the tastebuds, he prefers seasoned foods but more on that another time!Post below with pics and stories after you try the recipe! I would love to hear it! Does your nugget love a particular brand of food?
You are ONE! I can't believe it's been one year since you came into our lives. It has been a challenging year but also the most amazing year of our lives. Before you were born, your Papa had not held many babies and never one as tiny as you. He wouldn't even hold you right when you were born. He waited a few hours until we were in our room. Then he had a very special first minute alone with you. He fell in love very quickly. I think I fell in love with you while you were squirming in my tummy but you still didn't seem real until I met you on your birth day. You used to have hiccups and rub your heels along my belly. Towards the end, you liked to poke me in the hips. I was SO impatient to meet you.Your birth was hard. Your heart rate dropped along with my blood pressure. We got an infection and both got antibiotics. And 
there was a whole respiratory team in the room when you were born because (ewww) you pooped before you were born! You have always been a good pooper! :) But from the minute you were born, Papa and I were so full of joy. When we got to bring you home, we were so proud of ourselves... you slept the whole day and we thought we had this parenting thing nailed. We put you down to sleep and then you screamed the whole night long. We laid awake trying to soothe you. We lost our minds trying to soothe you. Papa drove to King Soopers at 3am to get gas drops while Mama frantically googled, trying to soothe you. The next morning we took you to Dr. Noah and watched The Happiest Baby On The Block. WOW! What a difference! That started our journey of learning how to be a Mama and a Papa.
Over the next few months you grew and grew. You learned how to smile and coo. You had lunch dates with your JBU friends, you started school with your true love, Ms. Gina. You could hold your head up, sit up, roll over, scootch, army crawl, real crawl, pull up, and now you are cruising all over the room. 
You've slept in 30 minute increments and 12 hours at a time. You've seen a sleep therapist, craniosacral therapist, ER doctor, GI doctor, lactation consultant, had a chest x-ray, ultrasound, IV and visited Children's Hospital. You've nursed, drank formula, water, chicken soup, pedialyte, and now milk. You love food. You've violently thrown up food. You are picky and skeptical about new foods. You hate slimy things. You think sweets are eh but love carbs.
The one enduring thing has been Soba. She never fails to make you laugh. She licks your hands and feet and face. You steal her toys and try to stick your fingers up her nose. If I let her, she would lick your hands clean when you are in your highchair and you love it. Now I have to remind you to be gentle because you want to 'pet' her so bad that you smack her and pull her hair. She's your big sister. It's just a dog and her boy.DMH - You've brought such joy (and struggles, exhaustion, and challenges) into our lives. The past year was not easy (nor cheap, by the way) but it has been the most amazing year of our lives. I cannot imagine our lives without you, our sweet firstborn son. Mazal tov on your first birthday. Papa and I will toast with some cider to 119 more!LOVE,Mama
I am so thankful for my JBU mom friends. We literally guide each other through each step. Breastfeeding, bottle feeding, recovery, rolling over, sleeping (or lack thereof), crawling, walking, first birthdays... but beyond the baby connected topics, these women have become some of my closest friends. We have girls' nights out, I've asked for fashion advice, these are couples that I see staying close with for a long time.While I value my variety of friends, in all stages in their lives, I really appreciate having other mommas who get what I am going through. Who called me up a few weeks after having Nugget and told me to get out of the house and meet them at Nordstrom's, just for lunch, who initiated a weekly mom's lunch during maternity leave...I think there is a real value in mommy friends and I'm super thankful for my mommy friends, both the online ones that I can chat with all day long and my local ones who I can rely on for an awesome night out!