Karen

Connor Claire is seven weeks old now, and she’s doing more and more cute baby things as the days go by.

Now when she wakes up and sees me, she smiles, and it melts my heart into a pile of warm, sticky goo. She also coos and gurgles and makes all sorts of adorable baby sounds that’ll make your ovaries flutter.

And she’s growing! A few of her clothes no longer fit anymore. She has these snap-up shirts that fit now like scandalous crop tops from Urban Outfitters.

Would you believe that my 6-pound teacup baby is almost 10 pounds now? It’s only a matter of time until she hits double digits.

Seeing her get bigger is bittersweet, too… Part of me wishes I could press “pause” and have her stay this age a little longer.

But the other part of me can’t wait to see her personality blossom and bloom, because from what I know of her so far, she’s a sweet, gentle and happy baby. I fall deeper and deeper in love with her every day.

Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,

Karen

You might be wondering, “So what in tarnation is this Monday Poll thing anyway!?”

Well, it isn’t exactly a poll. It’s more of a constantly evolving (devolving?), somewhat random list of questions I’ve been putting out to readers every Monday morning for the past eight (!) years. (It’s like a kickstart for your brain.) I’ve always enjoyed reading your answers in the comments, and I hope you enjoy reading mine.

1. What’s the next beauty product you’d like to try?
   I’m counting down the minutes (nay, the seconds!) until I shower this morning, just so I can try Laura Mercier’s new Tea Menthe Citron Gel Body Moisture body moisturizer.

   Remember Laura’s Gel Moisturizer from last year? The lemon verbena one?

   Ahhh! Beyond good. My heart broke a little when I finished the big 8-ounce jar…

   Anyway, she has this new one out (it just arrived on counters), and it smells like citrusy, minty black tea.

   Yum!

   I’m hoping it’ll be just as moisturizing and absorb just as quickly (none of that icky, sticky skin you get with some gels) as the O.G. version.

2. Is there anything missing in your life?
   You mean other than sleep? Well, yeah…for sure. Nothing material, although some new living room furniture (and hardwood floors) would be nice.

   But right now what I’m missing most are steady emotions — my emotions being not so up and down. More “even.”

   I know it’s because of post-baby hormones and that “this too shall pass,” but I’m just over it, you know? One day things will be easy and even, and the next day I’ll be crying at the drop of a hat because of something completely dumb. Man!

   Like the other day I cried watching Gilmore Girls (I’m re-watching the first season). It was the episode where Rory has two sixteenth birthday parties, in the scene where Lorelei wakes Rory up early in the morning on her birthday and talks about the day she was born, and I totally burst into tears because one day my baby will turn 16, waaah!

   See? Totally can’t handle it right meow.

3. When was the last time you had pizza? What kind?
   Caturday night. El Hub made his famous (well, famous in our house!) ultra thin crust pizza. 🙂

   He gets the pre-made thin crusts from Target, then adds pizza sauce, mozarella, pepperoni, brocolli, tomato, fresh garlic, chopped olives and drizzles it all with olive oil. NOM!

4. Moderation or excess?
   I know myself waaaay too well. When I do things to excess (food, exercise, shopping, what have you), it always, ALWAYS comes back to bite me in the @ss.

   So, moderation FTW.

5. What’s the next book you want to read?
   Ah! So many. There are two in the number one spot — Beautiful Ruins by Jess Walter and Where’d You Go, Bernadette? by Maria Semple. Both have been on my reading list forever!

Your turn. 🙂 Just copy and paste the following questions into a comment with your answers. I look forward to reading ’em!

1. What’s the next beauty product you’d like to try?
2. Is there anything missing in your life?
3. When was the last time you had pizza? What kind?
4. Moderation or excess?
5. What’s the next book you want to read?

Kinda, sorta related to the last question, but I’m thinking about signing up for a speed reading class through the Novato adult learning program.

It’s supposed to teach you how to read challenging material faster, like textbooks (twice as fast) and magazines (three times faster!).

Are you thinking about taking any classes this summer? If you could, what would you take?

Happy Monday, babe!

Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,

Karen

I noticed that I started doing this recently, and I’m 100% sure that it’s linked to Mommy Land, ’cause now, whenever I eat, I eat hella fast, shoveling every bite into my mouth like someone is about to take my food away. Because I’m always waiting…always listening…for Connor Claire to start huffing and fussing.

She has some kind of special radar. “Ooooh, Mom wants to eat a hot meal? OK, time to turn on Fussy Baby Mode!”

LOL.

And I don’t just eat quickly. I pay bills quickly, do laundry quickly, shower quickly, use the potty quickly (Haha! It’s true though…) — I move like the Flash during those precious minutes of quiet time when Connor’s napping.

I’ve been wondering (worrying) how I’m going to get stuff done with an infant at home when I go back to blogging full time, and I was talking to a friend (Hi, Steph!) about this the other day, and she said that it is hard to work from home with a baby, but still entirely possible.

Because right now it seems impossible.

She said that the keys are 1) to have routines, 2) to work as fast as you can while the baby sleeps, 3) to be flexible with yourself and 4) to regularly ask for help.

So, um…help?

Anybody else have any good tips? I could sure use some ideas (and a little reassurance).

Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,

Karen

You might be wondering, “So what in tarnation is this Monday Poll thing anyway!?”

Well, it isn’t exactly a poll. It’s more of a constantly evolving (devolving?), somewhat random list of questions I’ve been putting out to readers every Monday morning for the past eight (!) years. (It’s like a kickstart for your brain.) I’ve always enjoyed reading your answers in the comments, and I hope you enjoy reading mine.

1. I want a new ______.
   Car.

   Not that I need one, because I’m happy with my Mazda 3 (zoom, zoom!). It runs reliably… I’m one of those boring car people who’s all about reliability

   Oh, and it’s paid for. BIG PLUS!

   But if I could get a new car, like, if I won the lottery or something, I’d get a car with power locks, ideally a Volvo, because my Mazda doesn’t have them, and it’s a four door, and ever since the baby came along I’m always forgetting to lock the back door after we take her out of her car seat, so I’ve been basically rollin’ around for the last month or so with my car open…

2. Camping or hotel?
   Oh, hello, do you know me at all?

   Hotel, ALL THE WAY, since homegirl does not do camping.

3. What do you want to postpone?
   Ugh, tax day. Make it stop.
4. Three words that describe your current social life?
   Temporary baby jail
5. What lipstick shades have you worn down to the nub?
   There have been quite a few over the years, like my old school ’90s love, MAC Paramount. I can’t even begin to tell you how many tubes of Paramount I went through back in the day.

   More recently, let’s see… Ah! MAC Viva Glam V.

Your turn. 🙂 Just copy and paste the following questions into a comment with your answers. I look forward to reading ’em!

1. I want a new ______.
2. Camping or hotel?
3. What do you want to postpone?
4. Three words that describe your current social life:
5. What lipstick shades have you worn down to the nub?

Good morning, glory! 🙂 How did you sleep last night? Did you have any dreams that you can still remember?

I slept pretty well, actually. No dreams that I can remember, but Connor was good about going back to sleep between feedings.

What are you up to this week?

Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,

Karen