Non-mom things. It's tough.

The other day while talking to another mom with a baby a few weeks older than Maren, I asked her what her baby's name was. A mere three minutes later, I asked her what her baby's name was. Again. Because I had completely forgotten that we had discussed it only three minutes earlier. My social skills rock. The older I get the worse they get. I blame it on the fact that I spend so much of my day talking to a toddler, that when I do finally get out, I don't really remember how to talk like a human.

Also, sometimes I worry that I don't know how to talk about non-mom things anymore. Am I the only mom out there that worries that they talk about mom stuff too much? I mean, I spend all day every day with my girls—what else is left to talk about?

Various Mom stuff that I'm good at talking about or that I've recently thought about while nursing:

• The "Healthy Sleep Habits" book is like my newborn-go-to-Bible. Thanks a thousand times over, Shelly. And thanks to Mitzi and Tracy, who recommended "Love and Logic." Because of it I tell Clara she can choose to go cry in her room or choose to remain friendly out by me about a billion times a day. (Sometimes I round up.)
• I never realized before becoming a mom how often I would be called upon to impersonate animal noises. I really wish I would have prepared more. However, elephant impersonations? I own 'em. Tom's impersonation of an elephant is like amateur night in Dixie.

• What's with toys automatically resetting to the loudest volume setting when you turn them on? Clearly, the smarter move would be to have them reset to the lowest volume setting when you turn them on. Toymakers! Get a clue.

• Extracting boogers is straight-up a full time job—another tidbit that I never realized before becoming a mother. But I take it—my job—really seriously. I can remember once when I was little my mom tackled me to the floor (don't try to deny it, Mom) to pull out a loose tooth that was dangling by a single thread. That's pretty much how it goes down when I try to clean out Clara's nose.

• According to Tom, who is in the know about such things—apparently, there's a large adult following of the My Little Pony TV series. Even a lot of men, apparently. (There are even blogs!) Could someone fill me in on what on earth I am missing?

Various other things that I'm good at talking about besides mom stuff:
• TV shows—like Fringe, for one. I'm super hooked. At least up through the 3rd season. In order to watch the 4th season, we'd have to pay 40 bucks. But I wouldn't say the chapter's closed completely on that one—once when Tom and I were dating we made a desperate trip to Best Buy only 10 minutes before it closed in order to buy one of the seasons of LOST because we were dying to know what happened. So I'm just saying that we may or may not break down with the $40.
• Also—Parks and Recreation. Andy is my favorite. What a hoot and holler, that guy. Sometimes Tom and I will sit around spouting off quotes from P&R, giggling and jiggling away.
• Also? Sherlock. Does it seem like we watch a lot of TV? Netflix is a wonderful thing once the girls are in bed, I tell you. Anyway, it's pretty good. I'm eager to find out how Sherlock got himself out of his predicament (I won't spoil it for you non-watchers-soon-to-be-watchers thanks to this inspiring post) that they left us with at the end of the second season.
• Children's literature. I've read a gaggle of Newbery winners and honors. Plus, I took a class on it in college. So, you know what that means. I'm nearly a professional on the topic. (I consider this a non-mom topic because I was into children's literature long before I actually had children.)
• Online shopping. For most things, I prefer online shopping over actually going to a store. Probably because I'm a hermit and I don't like talking to people and I'm a jerk and I don't like to shower.
• I hate the pins on Pinterest that say "Pin now—read later." Or, "I'll be glad I pinned this someday." I can't even really explain why this irritates me. But whatever the reason, I figured I better get it out in the open before I let it build up inside of me, resulting in an embarrassing outburst of pent up Pinterest frustration.
• Old school Disney voice repeats—I'm totally in the know. Like, you know, Little John is also Baloo and Thomas O'Mally from Aristocrats. And Merryweather is also Lady from Lady and the Tramp and Kanga and the little church mouse and the mother rabbit from Robin Hood. And Maleficent is also the wicked stepmother in Cinderella. And the old Winnie the Pooh—Sterling Holloway? Shoot, his voice shows up all over the place. And then there's Bagheera from The Jungle Book who is also the narrator on Winnie The Pooh and Wart's dad on Sword in the Stone. And I've gotten carried away, haven't I?
• And uh, design things. Like InDesign. Super exciting stuff there. And typography? If anyone else out there doesn't think the world of Helvetica, come sit by me.

Things that I am not good at talking about:
• Everything else not on this list.