I'm no Edmund Hillary

In less than a week Mark will be back at work and I will be home alone with the dangerous duo. Honestly I’m quaking in my boots. The dreaded double crying jags fill me with fear. It’s those moments that make me feel like my head will explode and my first inclination is to join them rather than soothe them. One cryer – no problem. Two – insanity. I can’t hear myself think and I feel useless to pacify either of them. The other major obstacle is exits. Getting everyone dressed, packing a bag and getting out of the house with both boys in a timely manner seems akin to climbing Mount Everest. Clearly some people have done it before – but how I can’t even imagine. Sure, it won’t be long before all of this is old hat and I’ll be a pro – but NOW – I’m one nervous Nelly.

So what have we been up to? I can barely recall. I’ll try to recap the highlights – even if it’s for noone else’s benefit but my own.

We had a lovely visit last week from the Juliloquy family. They brought us some divine Thai food that was outshined only by their company. It’s so amazing to me to have met such smart, interesting, friendly people via blogging and to have translated it into a real budding friendship between our families. We can’t wait to meet their little Polly.

We went to see the Cole Brother’s circus in the Northeast. It was sort of a sad, poor man’s circus experience but we got the tickets free for making a donation to the FOP and Noah did really enjoy the performance. But surprisingly he hasn’t been acting it out as much as I anticipated. He’s been hung up on a few different scenarios that repeat themselves almost daily. The pregnant Mama/new baby/big brother drama is ever present. He’s the Mama and Mark and/or I are normally the older sibling. Birthday parties are another recurring theme. His trains and cars are constantly celebrating. He’s also gearing up for school starting in September by sending his Little People off for some learning. And for a week Noah was making us act out word for word an episode of Berenstain Bears wherein Sister Bear was ostracized by Hillary, the new girl at school. Oh and the new popular story line involves vomit, but I guess I didn’t mention that yet.

Sunday was Mark’s birthday. I’ve been too out of it to plan a damn thing so when my Mom asked if we wanted to head to her neck of the woods and have brunch with her and her fiancé at The Washington House we jumped at the offer. On the way to Mark’s birthday celebration Noah got sick in the car. In fact he vomited all over himself. At that moment we thought he could have a stomach bug but it turned out he was just motion sick from intently staring at a pop-up Pinocchio (Pokey-nose) book in the car. Anyway we didn’t make it to the restaurant. After a cursory cleaning job and a change of Noah’s clothes in the parking lot of a Wawa we went straight to my Mom’s place even though they still went out to brunch. Of course they were thoughtful enough to read us the menu over the phone and bring us back food. And Mark spent quite a bit of time on his birthday trying to un-vomit the car. Happy Birthday to YOU, Mr. Family Man.

Oh on Saturday we went into the heart of central Jersey to the second birthday party of one of Mark’s cousin’s daughters. They went all out – kiddie pools, slip-n-slide, moon bounce, coloring table, and hired help to do a sand art/spin art table. And then there was the food – fried chicken, salads, chips, gumbo, crabs, corn, Rice Krispies treats, and an ice cream cake. It was an insanely hot day but we spent almost all of it outside. Ray slept while I chatted and snacked. And Mark trailed Noah who had a BLAST. I think he would have considered marrying to acquire that slip-n-slide.

On Monday we went to the Zoo with my cousin Tammy and her two kids. We had a really great time. Again – Ray slept and Noah cavorted. It’s really heartwarming to see how comfortable Noah is with his cousins. They were chasing each other around, making faces and laughing together. So sweet.

This week is a crazy blur of appointments. I had my six week postnatal OB appointment on Tuesday. Fun, fun. Today Noah and I had dentist appointments – his first and shamefully my first in almost four years. As I had anticipated he did exceptionally well. Both the dentist and the hygienist were floored by how cooperative and sweet he was. He always makes me so proud. I was not so proud about my dental check-up. Though miraculously she didn’t see any cavities (though the X-rays will tell for sure) she did say I needed a rather rigorous cleaning that would require I be numbed so she can mercilessly scrape all the crap off my teeth. So I have that to look forward to. Mark stayed in the lobby with Ray – who slept. Tomorrow after a playdate with one of the kids who’s going to be in Noah’s class when his school starts (Sept 17) we have a lunch date with Patrice and then hair appointments all around.

Um… what else? Oh, Ray is now on Zantac. It makes a HUGE difference. Though already his dosage needs to be increased. We’ve been giving it to him every twelve hours and it’s obviously wearing off around ten. The result is two hours of miserable discomfort for him. It sucks watching him suffer while his stomach tortures him. And the sad whimpering is far more gut wrenching than the full volume caterwauling. And potty training is still going splendidly. In fact I consider us done, really. At the end of this week when Noah finishes his last sticker chart he will have a Potty Party and a certificate declaring him an official big boy potty-user. It’s the only thing I could think of to put an end to the reward system so I don’t have to give him stickers and cars and trains forever.

So it really has been nice having Mark home. He’s become really close with Noah during his extra time at home and I hope that doesn’t suffer too much when he goes back to work. I know in the past Noah has in certain ways held it against Mark that he wasn’t here all the time. But I think Mark’s ready to head back to the office. Not that he doesn’t really enjoy being with his family, because he does, but I think some quiet office time might be nice for him. Even if that means dealing with his boss. I’ve asked him to write a “What I learned on my summer vacation” posting so hopefully we’ll have that insight some time in the next week.

And that’s where we’re at.