Double Take

You know when you see something crazy or hear something crazy - you have to stop, look and listen once more - you know - a Double Take.

Lately, since I'm taking on the role working mother, I've been gone from Iz a lot. So the days that I have with her, I really, really cherish.

I never thought I would miss bathtime - but now I do since she's asleep when I get home.

I never thought I would miss seeing her little face covered in lunch/dinner - but now I do since the hubs has now become my Manny - my man Nanny - or the Mother-Father (say this really fast and it sounds like something you shouldn't be saying...)

But, now that I'm gone a lot, I am constantly surprised by her.

Bad surprises AND good surprises.

Bad surprises - like the first time she threw herself down on the tile floor, in a raging fit, and just laid on the ground crying and screaming. Wow - I had never seen that occur. And then the hubs looked at me like I was crazy, laughed and said, "yeah - she does that now when she doesn't get her way."

I pull out her favorite book, sit down on the ground and get ready for my little one to snuggle up in my lap to read. When all of a sudden, she grabs the book from me, sits NOT in my lap but by her Rabbit and Monkey, and she proceeds to read to them. She doesn't want to be read to anymore. But, but, but....this is supposed to be MY time to snuggle. Bad surprise....

Good surprises --

We play in the front room that has now been converted into a pseudo-office/play area (translation: clutter, chaos, ginormous mess). She pulls out her book, sits in her little chair, starting pointing and talking her baby gibberish and all of sudden words I understand come out: "One, two, twee, pive."

Double take - my kid just counted to five...she may have missed the number 4 but really - it's kind of not a real number just like the Kardashian sisters aren't real celebrities.

She continues to play and talk her gibberish and more words come out I understand: "Uno, _____(silence), twess!"

Double take - my kid just counted to three - in Spanish. And yes she misses the "Dos" but I'm pretty sure she's just saving that number for a rainy day.

We are going about our business and she looks up at me and says "Wadder." I look at her and say, "You want some water?" She jumps up and down in excitement (now that I'm reading this it sounds like I deny my kid the basic life necessity of water...).
I hand her the sippy cup, she takes a swig, and tells me "Tank you."

Double take - my kid just said Thank you.

Or when she suddenly appears before me with dangle bracelets up her arm, the biggest grin on her face, and she says "Pitty (translation : Pretty).

Double take...

Where is she learning all of this? Who taught her how to color? How to talk? How to ask for things politely with the sweet sounds of "Pease?"

She's growing up so fast and she's learning at an exponential rate. It dings my heart every time I see or hear her do something that I didn't teach her. Isn't my responsibility as a mother to teach her, do some learnin?

Everyone says it takes a village to raise a child. I guess the village is doing it's job.

People watching

I've been busy with work.

Really busy.

God has been blessing me with so many opportunities. So, I'm going to Praise Him, instead of complain about being so busy and not having time to hang out with my blog peeps.

But, my company, Zen Baking Company, has been busy with the holidays. People love balls.

Ha!

I did my first in-store sampling this weekend at Central Market in Dallas. And I people watched and sampled for 8 hours. You learn a lot about the culture of a city by who shops at the market. Here's my take on the kind of people that sampled:

Surly Sampler - the one who can't find anything positive to say. The one who exclaims, "These are flavorless." But, feels the need to sample two or 3 more times.

Shy Sampler - the one who makes 2-3 laps around the tasting table but doesn't quite have the courage to actually come up to the table to sample. So, I take the bull by the cake-Balls and walk up to him/her and offer them a little nibble.

Sophisticated Sampler - the one who proclaims to have tried every cake ball out there. The one who is a self proclaimed "cake ball snob" and makes a bold challenge "your cake balls better taste good." I accept that challenge...

Surprised Sampler - the one who is shocked at the fact that they taste good...like really good. I kind of wanted to say, "I wouldn't serve something that taste bad..."

Shrieking Sampler - the one who gets their first taste of the Zen Cake Ball and shrieks with excitement and tells everyone around them they have to try them....I like these people...

Sexytime Sampler - the one who flirts with the Sample-er (moi), make small talk about how my day is going, doesn't hear a thing I say about the Zen Cake Ball, but is suddenly stopped short of his advances when I gush about how my husband is Zen's biggest fan.

Shopping Sampler - the one who takes a taste of the Zen Cake Ball, tells me they are great, and proceeds to buy 10 boxes....I LOVE these people.

Fun times people. Eight hours of feeding the masses and giving them a bit of Zen.
I think I made the world a better place during those 8 hours.

Your, Welcome world.

You're welcome...

Neglected

My faithful blog readers (all 2 of you).

My hair did - trust me - these 3 inch roots are not a fashion statement.

My house. I am tempted to put up a "For Sale" sign that states - sold as is...just so I don't have to clean it and just start fresh elsewhere.

My insides. Junk food and caffeine are NOT sustainable food.

My friends. Yoohoo...ladies...I miss hanging out at Jamba Juice and sushi nights.

My kid. Who all of a sudden is a KID and not a baby.

My hubs. Who can now focus his attention on things other than the game of baseball.

What's going on? Why are suddenly some very important things getting the back burner in my life?

Well...remember back a few months ago when I talked a little thing I was doing. Just a little sumthin sumthin on the side.

You know...a little thing called a business.

Like a real business. With a website and everything. (ahem...www.zenbakingcompany.com)

Anyhoo...we've been pretty busy.

God heard my prayers awhile back when I asked Him to please help our business grow if it was in His will for my life.

Yuppers friends...God listens and God moves.

So, here we are.

Zen Baking Company.

My other child.

We were on T.V. Kind of cool, huh? I don't think it's a really big deal. But, it's kind of neat to see me on a The Cooking Channel. I mean - I LIVE and LOVE - watching cooking shows. It's my thing.

We were on a show called "FoodCrafters" on the Cooking Channel. Our episode was called "Treats." It was a 12 hour day of filming for an 6 minutes spot...wowzers.

My sister (business partner) and I had a watching party in Dallas for it's debut. Some - most - of my favorite people came out to support me. I wanted to cry - I was so happy to have them there ...but I didn't think it was very Hollywood... and let's face it. I'm a reality T.V. star now. Move over Snookie...

And then our cake balls - oh yeah - that's what we do. We make gourmet cake balls at Zen Baking Company - got picked up in 4 major gourmet grocers in Dallas.

Central Market is like the Barney's of grocery stores. High end grocery shopping. My kind of place. And they wanted us in their stores. So, we squealed, jumped up and down, and started baking.

YIPPEE.

BUT...

That meant busy days. Busy nights.

Neglected blogs.

Neglected hair, neglected body...

Oh yeah...Body Back. I didn't finish. I wish I could. But my days in the kitchen were starting at 5:30 AM (yes..I know...there's one of those in the morning too...crazy, huh).

But, here are my final stats.

I lost 5.5 lbs in 8 weeks. Not sure of my measurements but I am smaller.

I am stronger. Which means my days on my feet are less painful.

I miss the days of playdates with my friends and evenings out. As much as I want this business to succeed, a part of me wishes it wasn't so much work. I mean come on...why does building an empire take so much EFFORT. But, my friends have been rockstars. Coming out to support me, sending me encouraging texts, voicemails, emails, FB messages.

My kid is neglected. I leave her 3 1/2 days a week. I try to work early, early morning (think 3:30 AM so I can be home by 10AM) or late in the evening (think after bedtime to midnight) so that I can spend time with her during the day. I'm worried she's going to forget me.

My husband is neglected but supportive. He works from home some days so I can go in early to the kitchen. He gets dinner on the table (pizza and Manwich...meals of men). He is so great about telling me that all this hard work will pay off. He's really just hoping we get really big and make a sh!t ton of money so he can quit his job and lead a life of leisure...and pursue HIS passion...being my trophy husband. Ok not really...but he loves me daggummit...

And my camera broke.

So you've been neglected of pictures too.

Pictures from baseball games, birthday parties, watching parties, Halloween.

I'm going to try and get it fixed so you can see my life and not just read about it.

I miss you blog readers. I miss writing about my days and my life.

But, I'll be back. It's my list of things to stop neglecting.

I promise.