Sometimes being a stay at home mom gets lonely

I was talking to a friend a few days ago, who is a first time mom, and she was telling me about feeling alone. Especially if you are a first time mom and are yet to acquire mommy friends.  I think before I was a mom I pictured my days spent with my babies as being filled with baby giggles, strolls to the park and cuddles in bed.  Never once did it cross my mind that I might want to have a coherent conversation with another adult. I think it struck me a few weeks after brining Penni home.  We lived in LA at the time and I only had 2 friends there, they both lived a ways away and were childless. I welcomed their company when they wanted to come see me, but often single people don't exactly jump at the opportunity to hang out with moms, and I don't blame them.  Can't imagine we are that entertaining, I mean our topics of conversation all of a sudden are poop, breastfeeding, sleep etc. fun! kidding.
So what's a new mom to do?  By the time baby is a few weeks old most of us are ready to go out in public and start to crave some social interaction.   I can go to Target only so many times before it gets boring, or I go bankrupt. Whichever comes first. As a first time mom I didn't belong to any groups yet, can't really go to a play ground with a baby.  Well I could have I suppose, but without a kid old enough to play it seemed like an odd move, so I didn't.  I was the only one in my social circle that was a stay at home mom, and only one other friend had a baby close in age to mine. I saw her maybe once a month. So day to day was just me and Penni hanging out. It gets lonely.
I did find an online group of moms that I connected with, but that only gets you so far.  Honestly I don't think I ever found a solution to the lonely issue. I'm still the only person in our social circle that's a stay at home mom.  Now that Penni is older though I have started getting more involved in some groups and once I have no kids to nanny I plan to become more involved.
I guess my point is there aren't really magical solutions to the loneliness, not for me there hasn't been anyways.  I love when friends are able to come visit on an average day.  Most of the time though it's just me and a herd of kids. And Facebook. Sanity comes in a www….     kidding.
Be extra kind to moms, especially stay at home moms, we appreciate it. I promise!

Penni turns 5

My baby turned 5 years old yesterday, December 4th.  It's crazy how fast it goes, too fast.  Way too fast.  Not very long ago she was a newborn and we spent many days cuddling, kind of like so…

But now she is 5, wow. Thankfully she still likes to cuddle, just on her terms. This was the morning of her birthday, we let her open her presents before daddy left for work.

Later we made cupcakes and she frosted them all by herself, what a piece of art haha.

Her birthday party is on saturday and she hasn't stopped talking about it for weeks! Hopefully she has a blast.
Happy Birthday Penelope, you are a joy and a blessing, mommy and daddy and Cora love you very very much.

Busy month

November is always busy for us, it's David's birthday, then our anniversary, my dad's birthday, and of course Thanksgiving. And usually about a week after it's Penni's birthday. My baby is turning 5, wow. It's going to be emotionally charged week that's for sure.  I'm getting teary just writing about it.  It goes by so fast, too fast.  Having that perspective and experience is making me enjoy Cora's baby hood a bit more.  I of course enjoyed Penni's baby hood, but I think I should have savored it more, made more videos, taken more pictures, cuddled her more.  I can't believe she'll be 5 in a few days.  Today I went black friday shopping and bought her a bunch of new clothes because she seems to have had a recent growth spurt and we put away a bunch of small clothing.  She has long outgrown toddler sizes and now wears a S/M in children's sizes, it's crazy.
P.S. the kids are still sick, 2 months now.  So over this never ending cold or whateveritis.  Following advice from this blog and using some tips she gives for recovering from whooping cough. Not saying that's what the kids had since we never went to the doctor for an official diagnoses, but I figured either way some natural remedies can't hurt.
Gwen's Nest - natural remedies for whooping cough

Buttermilk Pancakes Recipe

Please don't use the pre made box mix! It's so easy to make them from scratch, and just as fast (maybe just a few minutes more) but well worth the effort!
What you'll need, 1 batch probably feeds 3-4 people (adults or children that eat well) I made 2 batches here and it was way too much:
2 Cups buttermilk
1 egg
1.5 Cups flour
Flax meal is optional, I add a few tablespoonfuls.
1 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. salt
2-4 Tbsp sugar, adjust to your preference.
2Tbsp melted butter

Mix the egg and the buttermilk until the egg is incorporated. If you using flax seed meal add it now, and  add the sugar.

Melt the butter and stir it into the wet ingredients.
In a separate bowl mix the flour, salt and baking soda well.

Add dry ingredients to the wet and stir just enough to combine. Small lumps are perfectly fine.

Cook over medium/low heat, make sure to preheat your non-stick griddle or skillet well first. I generally don't grease it, but occasionally will put a small piece of butter on the skillet, just for the first pancake.

Enjoy with some butter and maple syrup, at least that's how we like them.

Bon Appetit!