COCKTAILS ANYONE?

- Shari Sonta, Contributing Writer

In celebration of health and wellness (Tastybaby.com's theme this month), I’d like to discuss our mental wellness.  I’ve officially reached a breaking point that all working or busy moms hit at some point, where sudden demands of work, family and basic necessities far exceed the human capacity.  All the cute “Warning, sleep deprived mom” tchotches in the Hallmark store don’t even begin to describe how worn out I am.

Actually, Liane iterated it perfectly in a previous blog: Tastybaby was gaining ground and she was also juggling her family, then the fires hit Malibu and she was required to evacuate the house during the wee hours of the AM.  She described how she felt as having “no more elasticity to give to anyone.”  I reached that elastus maximus myself. 

I won’t go into the gory details of how I reached my snapping point, but I’ll give the condensed version of having the flu, dad in hospital, sick husband, no flexibility in a rigid full time work schedule, job in jeopardy, unexpected financial worries, 9-month-old who still doesn’t sleep through the night and having to be a mom and manage the household.    When enduring so much trouble, there is only one short term, quick fix: a girly cocktail.  Normally, I am a beer-drinker.  I love microbrewed, hoppy beers that are so bitter you’ll want to spit it out.  Yum.  But when I’m having woes, martinis are my medicine. 

So, when I went home on Friday evening after ranting and raving to my car’s steering wheel about being a rubber band, I made a B-line to our mini bar and gathered the ingredients for a pink, feminine sweet cosmopolitan.  I got the Belvedere, shaker and martini glass,  then went to the fridge for the rest of the components.  Then, I discovered we were out of cranberry juice. My options were calcium fortified orange juice and Juicy Juice.   At this point I was in no position to get back into the car, so I opted for making the Juicy Juice and Belevedere Martini.  Actually, it wasn’t so bad.  Since Motherhood has become so fashionable, I think I discovered its new signature drink. 

I will take a moment to complain that I do know what I need to make my life more bearable.  I need to exercise, breathe deeply and maybe apply a bit of makeup to my face so I don’t see such a tired person staring back at me.  I could also use a hot fudge sundae because I lost so much weight from the stress and the stomach flu that my size 0 clothes are starting to hang off me.  But I can’t take care of myself because any spare moment I have first needs to go to my job, baby, husband or family because everyone needs me. 

But we all have those hellish weeks when everything hits at once, and we must dig even deeper to stretch even farther.  I am convinced that moms are superhuman beings.  We gain our strength from our babies’ smiles -- and once in a while, our Juicy Juice Martinis.  I think about all the times my mom had go into overload to take care of my crises while I was growing up, when she put her needs aside for when I and others needed her most.  Now I am experiencing the “insane” side of motherhood which my mother survived. And therefore, so will I. 

Here's a recipe for Shari's "Signature Motherhood Drink", the Juicy Juice Martini:

Ice cubes
1 1/2 fluid ounces Belevedere vodka
1 fluid ounce Cointreau
1 fluid ounce whatever flavor Juicy Juice happens to be in your fridge at the time
2 teaspoons freshly squeezed lime juice
Long thin piece orange zest (only if you feel like being really fancy)

Fill a cocktail shaker with ice. Add the vodka, Cointreau, Juicy Juice and lime juices. Cover and shake vigorously to combine and chill. Strain the cosmopolitan into a chilled martini glass. Twist the orange zest over the drink and serve.  Drink while leaning over the counter with your hand holding your head up, until your head starts to feel a little lighter.  Enjoy.