Noah is experiencing some sort of Post Traumatic Stress Disorder. 

Who needs toys when you have TRASH!  

Please won't you be my neighbor.

I was excited yesterday when Fedex delivered my second attempt at swimsuit shopping before it was time for us to go to the pool. I was ecstatic when both of the suits fit and therefore I didn’t have to go to the pool worrying about a wardrobe malfunction. Hooray! I wish the retail luck had continued later in the day. Old Navy was awful. I spent over an hour there and couldn’t find a thing. The racks were sparse and my size was non-existent. And as always half of the stock was on hangers that didn’t note the actual clothing size and the other half was on the floor. The store looked like a bomb hit it. I was so frustrated I didn't even feel like waiting in line to buy the outfits I picked out for Noah. Woe is me.

Noah enjoyed the pool a lot more yesterday. He was chattering, smiling, and splashing. He’s still not thrilled with getting water on his face, but maybe he’ll improve with every trip. When we got home I left my suit on and got in the tub with Noah. This was the first time he bathed in the regular tub and not in the infant tub over the sink. He loved it. More than the pool even.

I met a few other mothers at the Rec Center yesterday. Of course by meet I mean exchanged names, baby names and ages with them. It’s so hard to get past the cursory details when conversing with a stranger. I would really like to make some neighborhood mom friends – but so far it’s pretty slow going. I guess that’s to be expected. If I met someone for the first time and they came on too strong I’d figure they were a complete and total desperate weirdo. I do have a play date tomorrow with a stranger – a neighborhood woman named Susan with an eight month old girl named Francesca. I encountered her on a neighborhood bulletin board trying to obtain information on parent groups in the area. I told her that though there is reportedly a mommy group meeting at a local coffee shop on Friday afternoons that I had been hesitating going because everyone else knew each other and the idea of walking in alone gave me ninth grade lunch room flashbacks. She said she felt the same so we made a plan to get together tomorrow afternoon in the park. I hope she and Francesca are fun.

Today we have a play date with Sean and Baby Bella in Lansdale. Noah’s dying to check out Bella’s baby pool. And it’s been far too long since I’ve seen the Milliceccobachs. Bella is probably enrolled in a doctorate program already.

If I had a peanut I'd give you the shell

I took a day off from blogging yesterday. I started a post but never finished it. The in-laws came to visit in the afternoon so once again it was a mad dash to do some cursory cleaning. We went out to dinner – Noah’s third night in a restaurant in a row. He might grow accustomed to this. Martin and Sylvia brought me some samosas, a lovely bouquet of flowers and a gift from Laima, Mark’s 95 year old Grandmother. Laima called me on Monday to wish me a Happy Birthday and it was a phone call that blew me away. She told me she loved me. For the first time! That is huge.

My family has always been very forthcoming with the “love yous.” I use it to end every phone call with my parents, as well as a few other family members. It’s just something I was brought up to do. But Mark’s father’s family is a little more reserved. And I’m certain that Laima doesn’t just throw it around. In fact she followed it up with “I really do” to make sure I understood. It really touched me. It’s hard work just making sure your in-laws know you and LIKE you – and love is more than I even hoped for.

This afternoon Noah and I head back to the swimming hole. I still don't have a bathing suit that fits properly. I hope I don't give the other tots a free show. At any moment my breast might pop out. I hope one of the two other suits shipping to me fits. Tonight I’m trekking to the Old Navy to spend some birthday cash on some clearance summer clothing. We’re going to the beach Sunday through Tuesday to see Mark’s mother’s family and again at the end of August with my mom and I only have one pair of shorts to my name.

Gifts that keep giving

They say it’s my birthday. On Friday my BFF Patrice surprised me with a microwave veggie steamer set. This sort of practical gift is my absolute favorite kind. Some girls might prefer diamonds and perfume – but I’m a sucker for a veggie steamer and a Dustbuster. Mark laments “But that’s for the house,” but getting things for the house makes me happy. Mark and Noah gave me CDs (The Killers, Hot Hot Heat, and more Bollywood Favorites) and two nights next weekend at a Seaside beach motel. Music and memories – divine. And I got some overly generous cash donations from Mom, Mark’s Dad & Sylvia, and Mark’s Grandmother. I can’t wait to buy myself some clothes – these plastic trash sacks are getting a bit tired. And the best birthday gifts are all the warm wishes from friends and family members. I am one very lucky 31 year old to have so many loving people in my life.

Saturday we trucked to Qtown so that we could go out to dinner and leave Mr. Noah with my Mom. Once again she gave us a lovely gift certificate for dinner at the Washington House. The meal was good and so was the company – thank you Mr. Mark. Luckily we survived braving the Hawaiian shirt and lei bedecked crowds attending the Jimmy Buffet inspired Parrot Beach show next door at Sellersville Theater. Good Lord. Sunday we left the monkey with his Grandma again so we could go see Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. The original is one of my favorite movies and though I don’t think the remake necessarily stood up, it was enjoyable and visually stunning. Depp of course was oddly darling. My one big complaint is that the Oompa Loompa songs were dreadful. There were a ton of kids in the theater – many belonging to the family in front of us, who had 7! The 3 year old boy directly in front of us got quite bored after awhile and began entertaining himself by growling, running up and down the row, and throwing a shawl up into the air. Sort of aggravating in a way, but I couldn’t help laughing. In fact he made the movie more enjoyable. All the popcorn, soda and candy we ate held us over until my Dad treated Noah, Mark and I to dinner at Bubba’s Pot Belly Stove. Our meal was good and ENORMOUS – especially after sucking down that piece of delicious Key Lime Pie. Mark looked like he might burst afterwards. Thank God I didn’t get to eat much of my salad – Noah knocked it on the floor with his foot while I handed him over the table to Mark so I could retrieve Noah’s pacifier from under the foot of another restaurant patron. Luckily the restaurant was busy and a bit loud – so people weren’t disturbed by Noah’s loud squeals of excitement at dinner. My Dad said that people don’t mind loud, happy babies – as long as Noah wasn’t crying that he was a model restaurant patron.

It was a fun and filling weekend. Tonight we’ll celebrate the actual day of my birth with a trip to Babies R Us to price gates. Of course much of the weekend was spent marveling at Noah’s crawling. That boy gets around. It’s insane how much has changed in one week. Last Monday – no crawling. This Monday – all crawling, all the time. It’s a whole new world. It is this sort of exciting change that makes the passing of another year feel triumphant rather than sad. In the past year my life has changed drastically, I've learned volumes and received the one thing I've wanted more than anything else in the world - to be a mom. It is a very Happy Birthday indeed. Love to you all.

You really shouldn't have

Let the birthday celebration begin. I turn 31 on Monday, July 18 and I got my first gift today. Mother Nature has decided to return my womanly flow to me after a year and a half of respite. Sly biatch.

He's more of a social eater

Today I took the car to the Saturn dealer to be serviced for regular maintenance. Noah and I waited in the play area. I couldn’t help compare the Noah of today with the little baby I brought with me to the Saturn dealership in February. In February he couldn’t even sit up. While we waited I dangled toys in front of him in his infant carrier and then bounced him around the showroom a bit. Today Noah stared at the other children that were there, played with the bead sorter I sat him in front of, crawled over to a Barbie jet and tried to pull himself inside of it, crawled over to the lego table and pulled himself up on it, and then sat himself back down and started flinging things into the bead sorter. He’s this little playing, traveling man now. It’s insane.

Also insane is the fact that this little man is still reluctant to feed himself. Every day I try new ways to try to entice him to put Gerber Puffs in his own mouth. And occasionally he gets one in there and I celebrate like he parted the Red Sea. But more often he plays with the Puffs for awhile and then drops them, and when I retrieve them he opens his mouth wide to be fed. Tricky bugger. I tried modeling self feeding by feeding myself Puffs very deliberately. I even ate Puffs from his hands so he could see how it was done. He found this hysterical – smiling and laughing. In fact he enjoyed it so much that now when he picks up Puffs he holds them out to me as an offering. Maybe he thinks that it’s much cooler to be fed and therefore I can feed him and he can feed me. And the whole world should just convert to this new more social form of eating. Because if you just feed yourself who will wipe your mouth with your bib and tell you that you’re “all done.”

Some people aren’t into babies. They prefer dogs. I totally get that. Though I find puppies to be super cute I’m not really a dog person. I always figured if I wanted something that dependant on me then I’d have a baby. And so I did. The “Red” leader of the maintenance team at the dealership is obviously a dog person – not really into the whole baby thing. When I was sitting at his desk for ten minutes checking in the car his only response to Noah was to tell me he wanted to buy his dog a pacifier. Which totally amused me. But it gets better. Noah and I were sharing the play area with a woman with a 3 year old girl and 19 month old boy. The mom needed to take her daughter to the bathroom and since we had already been talking she felt comfortable leaving her son with me. Once her son realized his mom had left he headed for the door – so I had to leave Noah playing on the floor in the far corner of the room to sit in the seat blocking the exit. At this moment the “Red” leader came to tell me my car was ready. He then looked at this 19 month old boy and addressed him as if he were my son. I nearly peed myself. Apparently Noah had aged over ten months in 40 minutes. But I have no doubt that guy would have recognized my dog.

And I can't believe Baby Bella is barking already!!! AMAZING.

I will touch EVERYTHING. 

Splish Splash

Noah can swim! Well, not exactly. Or more exactly, not hardly. In actuality Noah didn’t scream in the pool, and he didn’t cry in the pool, but he wasn’t exactly a natural water baby doing laps either. When we first got in the water he was stunned and cold. He was wide eyed and clinging to me for dear life. When I tried to remove him from my bosom he looked panic stricken. We were the first people in the pool, but soon a few other mothers and infants joined us. And once Noah saw them he loosened up. I was then able to bounce, swish and splash him with the occasional smile in response. Most of the time he had his tongue sticking out between his lips and his eyes squinting – but he remained calm. Another mother described him as “peaceful.” In spurts he would get a little excited and start flailing his arms and unfailingly splash himself in the face. This stunned him, made him commence with more squinting and put a damper on the flailing for a couple of minutes. I’m thinking some sort of water goggles might help. All in all I think he enjoyed himself enough to do it again next week.

When we got home we both reeked of chlorine - so we jumped in the shower. Noah's first. He seemed relatively fine while the shower head was mounted, but he kept turning away so as not to get water in his eyes. I detached the shower head so I could better rinse him off - and he was not impressed. He started whining and trying to squirm away from it. For a second I thought maybe it was too hot, but when I turned up the cold he still wanted no parts of it.

It was a wet, watery and eventful afternoon.

A stone to mark the mile?

I hate baby books. They make baby milestones frustrating. Next to “First Tooth” they leave a space for a date. Seems simple, right? Wrong. We felt Noah’s first tooth for two weeks before we could really see it. And once we could see the tiny white glimmer it wasn’t like he had sprouted a full-on tooth. So on what date did he get his “First Tooth?” Beats the hell out of me. And now it’s crawling. Noah has been bobbing back and forth on his hands and knees for weeks. He fully extends himself and shuffles a bit before setting himself down. He even manages to get from one side of the room to the other – in a series of subtle butt shifting movements. But we kept wondering “Is this considered crawling yet?” So Mark and I decided that in order to call it crawling he would have to move his right knee/hand, then left knee/hand, and then right again and then left again. He would have to make repetitive movements and travel a distance. And last night he did it. So I believe my boy is now crawling. That isn’t saying that he took off down the hallway at a full clip or anything – but he’s well on his way to getting the basics down and he’ll use them if he’s feeling energetic and there’s something he really wants out of his reach. As for the teeth – he now has two clearly visible front teeth.

Noah has broken out a few new moves during playtime too. One of his new favorite toys is a kitchen pot I gave him to play with one night while I was making dinner. He loves the weight of it – and just enjoys dragging it back and forth on the floor by the handle. Or turning it upside down and listening to the ear shattering noise it makes as the rough metal edge scrapes against the tile floor. But my favorite is when he uses the pot to launch Roll-Arounds across the room. He’s also recently began handing me things and putting things inside of others. And he loves to try to pull himself up on everything – especially things that can’t hold his weight and are destined to tip over, knocking him in the head.

Today we go to the pool for the first time. The Northern Liberties Recreation Center has a “Tot Swim” from noon to 12:50 on Wednesdays, and we’re going to go check it out. That is if the weather clears up. I’m excited to put him in his little Swimmies diaper and take him in the water. I hope he likes it as much as the tub. And that I don't drop him in the water causing him to drown. No worries here. Of course this will be my first time in a public pool since I went to the Holiday House in high school. And the bathing suit I’m wearing is unbearably ill-fitting - which caused me to place an order for two new suits online in anticipation to our two trips to the shore this summer. The suits I ordered will probably fit poorly when they get here. I bought them because they were on clearance and not because they are the Miracle Suit – but I tried. And when it comes to swimsuits that is all I can do.

U R What U Eat

Grocery shopping. I’ve become obsessed with grocery shopping. Not just with the actual purchasing of food – but with list making and meal planning. I have long considered trying to put together a spread sheet of most oft purchased items so that I could use the computer to generate my grocery lists – listing items in the order in which they appear in the aisles. I know – CRAZY. And the weird thing is that I am not a natural list maker. Once upon a time I went to the store and shopped willy nilly. And then Mark and I moved in together and every time I said “We have to go grocery shopping” he would respond “Do you have a list?” And that is how he turned me into a planning, list-making maniac. I also think a lot about how other people grocery shop. How often do they go? What do they buy? How do they shop? What do they eat every day? So – it is because of my odd obsession with not only the very personal details of others grocery purchasing habits, but also interest in what people eat that has me proposing the following. If you are reading this and have a blog, I want to see your grocery list. I want to know when you go shopping, where you go shopping and how you go shopping. Just the food stuffs are important. So Patrice, Jen, Theresa, Missuz J, Katy, Amanda, Mary, Kellie – if you would humor me by blogging your inner most grocery and meal planning secrets I would ever be indebted to you. Consider it a meme.

And here is my part:
I shop every other week at Super Fresh. It isn’t the closest store to me, but I find the produce and meat there to be more fresh (hence the name) there than at other local stores. We RARELY ever eat out anymore so what I buy at the store is for the most part what we eat for two weeks. I try to keep a running list of necessary occasional purchases on the wipe board in the kitchen. When I make my list I look at both old grocery lists and old register tapes to put together a list of the things I ALWAYS buy – and then add the things on the wipe board. I use coupons – but I try to only clip coupons for things I already purchase. I don’t look at my list while shopping, not until the end when I just run through it to make sure I have everything. I don’t do as much menu planning and recipe using as I think I should. I have in the past done more – but since Noah was born I’ve made boring meals of meat, starch and veggie – with the occasional pasta night.

So here is a combination of this weeks grocery list as well as a few things I added because I normally buy them but we still had them this week:

Produce
Limes
Bananas
Fresh Green beans
Cucumbers
Garlic
Grapes
Romaine Hearts
Baby Carrots
Onion
Potatoes

Meat
Salmon Fillets
Boneless Pork Chops
Frozen Hamburgers
Chicken Breasts
Dietz & Watson Black Peppered Turkey Lunchmeat

Condiments
Bleu Cheese Dressing
Vinegarette Dressing
Dijon Mustard
Jif Reduced Fat Peanut Butter
Lawrys Marinade
Newmans Marinara

Snacks
Chips Ahoy 100 Calorie Pack
Whole Almonds
Nature Valley Granola Bars – Salty/Sweet Peanut
Wheat Thins
Nutrigrain Breakfast Bars – Apple
Snyders Pretzels
Fig Newtons
Peanut Butter Cracker Lunch Packs

Side Dishes
Yellow Saffron Rice Mix
Couscous
Zatarains Rice Mix
Wheat Pasta
Egg Noodles

Canned
Green Beans
White Shoepeg Corn
Chick Peas
Progresso Soup

Frozen
Bacardi Mixers Margarita Mix
Morning Star Parmasean Ranch Chix Patties
Skinny Cow Ice Cream Sandwiches
Frozen Personal Pizzas
Edys Whole Fruit Popsicles

Drinks
Tropicana OJ with Calcium, No Pulp
Gallon 2% Milk
Tonic Water
Bottled Water
Whole Bean Coffee
Cranberry Ginger Ale

Breads
Arnold Health Nut Bread
Arnold Multigrain Kaiser Rolls
English Muffins

Dairy
String Cheese
American Cheese sliced
Eggs
Yogurt

Now see if you can make your list just as thrilling.

Another weekend blew by

Friday I started writing a long post about grocery shopping. I’ll post it soon. It’s thrilling. And you can’t wait to read it. I swear. I’ll give you a hint – have your register tapes at the ready. PLEASE.

Friday night we visited Casa de Oliver for Pop Culture Trivial Pursuit. It was a long overdue visit to their new pad. Jen was incredibly thoughtful and serenaded Patrice and I with cupcakes alight. And all the kids were incredibly fun and well behaved. Even Jon Oliver. In some sort of miracle that I can only refer to as Mark – our breeder team was victorious. I knew there was a reason we were populating the planet with our progeny.

Saturday was a wash. We didn’t go anywhere or do anything. ‘Cept of course parent our monkey.

Sunday morning Mark scolded me for not taking better care of myself. Despite feeling completely exhausted in the morning and Mark’s offer to take Noah away so I could return to dreamland – I got out of bed. And for a portion of the morning I was a zombie – coming out of my haze merely to be bitchy. Mark had a long talk with me about how if I wasn’t in tip top form that we all suffered and requested that I get better at asking for what I need from him. He’s a smart man.

In the midst of my grouchiness we scanned every room in our house and made lists of all the safety and baby-proofing concerns. The expense and the impossibility of it is what really got me miserable. With all the outlet covers, cabinet locks, furniture anchors, drawer locks, knob locks, faucet restraints and gates we’re expecting to spend about $500. INSANE. Right? And that isn’t even taking into consideration the fact that in order to properly gate our first floor steps we need a carpenter to install a banister. I’m certain that putting Noah in a cushiony hamster ball is a far better solution. More economical, easier to install, and obviously more fun. But what kills me about this baby-proofing stuff is that I can’t imagine I’ll let Noah out of my sight for long enough to even warrant most of it – but I’m paranoid that the one thing we won’t do will result in tragedy.

In the afternoon we visited with Noah’s new pal Ezra and his parents. Ezra is five months older than Noah and lives on the next block. And they both have four letter biblical names so they HAVE to be buddies. It’s written in one of those Testaments – the popular culture edition, I believe. His parents make me feel shameful. They’re former Peace Corp. members who are also artsy political activists and organic-eating, composting urban gardeners. I really admire when people put that sort of idealism into practice – but at the same time they make me feel SO inadequate because I’m obviously too clueless and lazy to be so hip and righteous. Maybe Noah can learn better values from them, especially since they’re Quakers too.

You will OBEY my command.  

Calling London

I love London. More than any other place I've ever been. The history. The culture. The global mix of people. I lived there for several months in the Spring of 94 and was heartbroken to have to return home. The last time Mark and I visited we stayed at the Tavistock Hotel in the financial district - which is where todays bombings were centralized. My heart goes out to the victims, their families and to the people of London who have to endure the fear of just taking the tube. Again.

Two men are better than one

If you don’t know that my charming angel of a son is a hellion when strapped in a car seat then you’ve never read this blog before. Or spoken to me. Or tapped my phone. We planned a trip to Reading to see Mistress Janette and Master Jules this afternoon. With no traffic the trip can take just a bit over an hour. We left at 10:15 am – Noah fell asleep right away because he was overdue for his nap. I got on the Schuylkill Expressway and it was at a crawl. Then a stop. Then a crawl. At 10:45 Noah awoke and after ten minutes of looking around started squawking and straining to get out of the car seat. By 11:15 when the crying started we were still only 15 minutes from our house. And the combination of a tractor trailor accident and construction still had traffic at a standstill for many miles ahead of us. So I called Janette and said we weren’t gonna make it. I got off the Expressway and came back home. Still trying to get over my disappointment and pissiness. Please note that when dealing with a distressed traffic and baby-harried wife – sarcasm is not the best approach.

So now we’re in for a slow day around the house. It’s probably good in a way since the last couple of days have seemed busy. Tuesday morning Mark accompanied Noah and I to Pennsylvania Hospital so I could get my wrist x-rayed. Needlessly. I had an appointment with a specialist on Wednesday for my tendonitis but for some inexplicable reason they required me to get an x-ray for the specialist to see me. Even though tendons don’t show up on x-rays. Anyway, I couldn’t really take Noah into the x-ray room nor pass him off to a receptionist so we had to get it done before Mark went to work. Since Mark’s tyrant boss is out on vacation this week Mark and his predominantly female office were kind enough to babysit Noah on their lunch hour during my specialist appointment yesterday. After freaking out both about any possible implication to nursing and my fear of needles, I got a shot of a low level steroid directly into my wrist to alleviate the pain and inflammation. It has really worked wonders. I’m almost as good as new. And Noah's growing a beard.

Last night I was thrilled to hang out with my friend Gehrett who’s visiting from out of town, as well as the world renowned Olivers. We had pizza and gin & tonics at the house and then went out for a beer. Of course Murphy’s Law states that the enchanting and giggly Noah didn’t want to go to bed at his normal time so that I could leave Mark with a pleasantly snoozing baby. Nope – Noah wanted to hang out with the company some more. “Hey guys! Where we goin’ now?” Alas he stayed home with Dad who despite his occasional inappropriate use of sarcasm is an amazing spouse and father. Since I normally nurse Noah to sleep and obviously Mark doesn’t have that in his bag of tricks, it took him a little while and a few tears shed for him to get the bedbug to zonk out. But I sure did appreciate the hour and a half I had out of the house. Almost as much as I appreciate the two lovely boys I get to come home to.

Hello Lovey!

Noah needs a new lovey. Not familiar with the term? You obviously haven’t been reading all the parenting books and magazines I pay far too much attention to. A lovey is an attachment object that a child uses for comfort – ie. a Linus’ blanket, Knuffle Bunny, or Missuz J’s silky nightgowns. Noah’s lovey is my mouth. Scratch that – any mouth, because he’d probably stick his hands in YOUR mouth. When he’s feeling sleepy or frazzled he sticks his hand in my mouth. He pulls on my lips and scratches at my gums. In fact I’m not sure he could fall asleep without being able to put his hands in my mouth. And when he’s tired but restless at night and it takes awhile to put him to bed he can paw at my mouth for a good half hour – to the point that my lips are sore. This certainly can’t go on forever. So I need to transition him to something else he can pet. I bought this navy blue weird looking rabbit/dog crossbreed at Ikea a few weeks ago and I desperately want Noah to fall in love with it. So far he won’t even court the damn thing. Maybe I need to get him something with a big mouth.

I like this picture Mark took of my Oma and my brother Jim. Happy Birthday Jim!

Long weekend = long post

The weekend went by in a blur.

On Friday our plans to see the Orchestra were rained out. Though a thunderstorm hit early and ended long before the scheduled free performance on the Festival Pier, when we arrived we found out that the show was cancelled because the stage had suffered some storm damage. I suggested we stroll down Delaware Avenue so we could take a walk by the river. We started walking, and walking, and walking, and walking. And while Martin, Sylvia, Mark and Noah seemed to be enjoying themselves I was getting more and more frustrated. I hadn’t realized how far a walk it was between the Festival Pier and Penn’s Landing, and the farther we got from home the more I worried that the long walk back was going to make Noah upset. (Who the hell decided it was a good idea to block off access to the river instead of utilizing it as an attraction? City planning morons.) Also the humidity that had briefly dissipated as a result of the storm came rushing back in. So I was getting hotter and hotter, and frizzier and frizzier. When we got to Penn’s Landing we still couldn’t gain access to the river promenade. The storm had caused some flooding and damage there as well and access was gated off. I got more frustrated. Then I suggested we walk back through Old City, but we couldn’t figure out a way to get over to the other side of Delaware Avenue without scaling a bunch of steps with the stroller. (So the city planners decided to screw the handicapped too. Have I mentioned they’re morons?) Finally we just carried the stroller up the stairs which wasn’t too bad with our new lightweight stroller – just a pain really. By this time sweaty, frizzy me had acid reflux, a huge blister and a hell of an attitude. I don’t know if it was hormones or what – but I was stewing for no good reason. Normally I would shrug off the change of plans and enjoy the walk, but for some reason I was disappointed and pissy while everyone else, including Noah, was pleasant. We ended up walking all over town – with a break for me to nurse Noah in a church courtyard. All in all we walked around for two hours. I wish I would have just chilled out and enjoyed it more.

Saturday morning I was in much better spirits. We got up and out of the house for our Live8 excursion. We got the 15 bus down Girard at 8 am and got off at 24th. We walked to the Art Museum and along the Parkway to City Hall. It was nice to see the Live8 setup in person and feel the excitement of the crowd even if we couldn’t stay for the show. Everyone seemed in good spirits, excited for a historical day. As we walked away from the stage the constant flow of people walking the opposite direction was remarkable. We got on the subway and were home by 9:45am. We started watching the Live8 coverage on MTV – and couldn’t believe how miserable it was. They’d show half of a song and then interview Jimmy Fallon. Show half of another song by another act and then show MTV “personalities” talking about how cool it was to be there. All between about a billion commercials. It was SO frustrating. Luckily Janette called and said she was watching the show on AOLmusic and said the coverage was uninterrupted live feeds. So we headed to the office where we watched the rest of the show on the computer. Not only were there no commercials and no annoying hosts, but you could switch between the different cities to check out the other locations. The added bonus was that for some reason while it’s hard to tear Noah’s attention away from the TV – he pays no mind to the computer monitor. It was a nice afternoon. I was a bit scared there would be some sort of incident that would make the city and the event look bad – but all went well and I’m really proud of Philly for the excellent turn out and the positivity

In the evening we headed to Penn Treaty Park to watch the Two Cities fireworks display over the Ben Franklin Bridge. We kept Noah up way past his typical 7:30 pm bedtime to see the fireworks at 9:30 pm. I was worried that an overtired Noah would be scared by the noise – but once again I worried for naught. (I guess this would be the theme of my blog. Every day.) We were far enough up the river that the sound wasn’t overwhelming, and we couldn’t even get Noah to take much notice of the fireworks despite having a great view. He was too captivated by all the families, turning his head to see adults oohing and children bouncing around in excitement.

Sunday we hit the road at 9:30 am for a quick visit with my mom and then an all day picnic at my Oma and Dad’s place. My brother Jim’s kids kept us all entertained while my Dad barbecued burgers and hot dogs for lunch and pork chops and London broil for dinner. I had anticipated the surprise 35th birthday celebration for Jim, but hadn’t expected Jim’s family to give me two beautiful huge house plants as an early birthday gift. I remain 30 for two more weeks so it was really thoughtful and a nice surprise.

It was a fun afternoon – with highlights courtesy of the four year old twins James and Julius. Jim left the picnic for half an hour to take his daughters back to their mom’s place and because he knew he’d be right back he didn’t say goodbye to the boys. When he returned Julius scolded him. “What if when I got growed up I just left without saying goodbye? How would YOU feel?” But even funnier was when Julius had a bit of a meltdown because he couldn’t get his birthday cake to stand up. Ofelia explained to me that Julius wanted his cake to stand up so that he could put his fork down through it and get some icing and cake in every bite – but because the icing made the cake top-heavy it was laying on it’s side. As a result he was really distressed and refused to eat it. Ofelia was incredible at acknowledging his distress but not over indulging him. Julius is a bit sensitive and overly chatty while James is the king of the pratfall – purposefully tripping over things and throwing himself down on the ground. They’re both endlessly entertaining.

After three crazy busy days, yesterday we rested. Thank goodness. Our 4th celebration consisted of burgers on the grill and a pitcher of Margaritas. Oh- we finally watched Vera Drake after having it from Netflix for a month. I really loved it and totally recommend it. If you aren't good with heavy English accents I suggest watching it with subtitles. And don't forget to put the kettle on.

Noah rocked the house at Live8.  

By 9:00 am the crowd was pretty thick - and the show didn't start for three hours.  

As we left, the people kept coming, and coming, and coming.  

WHAT is that THING?

Holy crap! When Noah and I went downstairs for breakfast this morning we were shocked and taken aback. There’s a large thing monopolizing a large amount of space in the kitchen – the likes of which we’ve never seen in our house. Oh wait… it’s just a proper kitchen table. Hoorah! Our pal Tracey left us a voicemail on Wednesday saying she saw them loading a nice large pine table with six chairs into Uhuru, the used furniture store by her apartment. She then found the listing for the table on Craigs List and sent it our way. It was large, light wood, not overly embellished, in good shape, and selling for less than half what we were originally going to shell out. Bingo! It’s an Ikea set that sold for $800 originally but was selling for $250 – and the money goes to the African Peoples Education and Defense Fund. I called, bought it, and had it delivered last night. And with that the kitchen table saga has ended. So, have I mentioned I need a new coffee table? Ha! Well the one we have has nine bazillion pointy corners and a glass top. Not exactly baby proof. So here’s the dream table – dark brown wood, rectangle, rounded corners, sturdy, less than $100. Tracey – get on that.

So the big holiday weekend is upon us. Mark’s Dad and his wife are coming today at 4pm. Our plans are to go to Silk City Diner for dinner and then over to the Festival Pier at 7pm to see the free Philadelphia Orchestra concert. Of course it’s a scorcher again today and the Festival Pier is all black top. Not sure how that’s going to work out – but we’ll see. Tomorrow AM we plan to see the Live8 site before it gets crazy and then later in the evening see the fireworks over the Delaware from Penn Treaty Park. Sunday is a picnic at my Dad’s place. And I’m not sure if we’ll do a single thing on Monday. Other than drink beer. And celebrate Noah’s 8 month-aversary.

Happy Independence Day to you all! Light a sparkler for us.

Voila! What do you think? 

We can sit at it and eat.  

It's got the Noah stamp of approval. 

Parker tests out the chairs. 

See the tooth? See it? 

Jack the brat.

My new hand splint is seriously sexy. Black and strappy. I’m wearing it right now. It makes typing odd since I can’t move my left thumb. Aggravating. The appointment at the medical equipment supply office went pretty smoothly. I put Noah on a blanket on the floor of the reception area with some toys to keep him occupied while I filled out forms. He immediately made friends with an older woman waiting to get a new improved cane. She chatted with Noah as he constantly scanned the office, taking in every movement, every sound. “He don’t miss a trick,” she said. Soon she started talking fondly about her son’s infancy. She then revealed that he’s now 25. When she talked about her adult son she certainly wasn’t as taken with him. “I call him Jack the brat,” she said none too fondly. It made me sad. Of course Noah was busy charming another patron, the receptionist and even the doctor. Think they’ll find him as cute at 25?

Then we headed to Target. I bought a lightweight stroller and a few baby outfits on clearance. Oh – and Rollos. I ate an entire roll of Rollos in about two seconds flat. Yum. How’s that for lunch? I wasn’t 100 percent sure of my stroller purchase so in the evening we headed to our local Toys R Us/Babies R Us to see if they had my dream stroller. They didn’t. But we stopped at Rita’s water ice on the way home so the trip was well worthwhile.

I’m already annoyed with the splint. It's constantly in my way. Like gloves. I never wear gloves during the winter because they impair me and they’re too much of a hassle to put on and take off all the time. Annoying.

Made a few phone calls yesterday too. Ms. Janette and her almost one month old Jules are doing well. She seems to be enjoying mommy-hood even in the dreaded first three months. My Dad is planning a picnic on Sunday to celebrate the Fourth and my brother Jim’s birthday. And my Mom sounds awful – she’s horribly sick and sounds like a bullfrog with laryngitis. Hope you feel better Mom! Oh and got a great voice mail from the lovely Tracey who gave me a good lead on a kitchen table. I won’t reveal more until the deal is done. Ciao!

Noah's Independence Day

It’s going to be another brief post today. I have an appointment later this morning to be measured for a spica splint that should help with my tendonitis. And if Noah’s not too tired by the time that’s said and done then we might go look at strollers. Now that Noah is a sitting-up pro we need a lightweight stroller for easier navigation and portability – but something very sturdy with bigger wheels. And I’d like to have it by Friday because we have a big weekend planned – if we aren’t too daunted and bag it.

Independence Day weekend is always huge in Philly. Mark and I have always made it a point to enjoy some of the Welcome America activities in the city that occur in the week leading up to July 4th. This year it’s tougher of course. But on Friday we hope to attend the free concert on the river by the Philadelphia Orchestra – and navigating crowds will be a lot easier with a smaller stroller. Also we’re very excited for Live8. We can’t safely take Noah out in the huge throngs that will be there during the concert from noon to six, but we’re hoping to go to the Parkway around 8 am just to take a look around at the setup and catch some of the vibe so we can say we were there. We’ll have to break Noah’s no TV rule on Saturday because we’ll want to catch some of the coverage. Since it’s music and a historical event I think the rule can be broken. We’ll have to take a photo of him in front of the TV for the record books.

I love Philadelphia. To me the city is always exciting – brimming with so much to do and see. And a holiday weekend when the city is hosting an event that will be shown worldwide is exhilarating. I hope Philly looks good. And I hope we aren’t ever too cautious to take Noah out to experience some of the things that only our city has to offer.

My friend Patti came to visit for a few hours yesterday afternoon. She hadn’t seen Noah in months and could hardly believe what a sturdy fun little boy he had become. I met Patti during the one year I taught first grade in North Philly. She’s a fifth grade teacher now at a nearby middle school that has a reputation for being dangerous, but she really loves it. She lives a few blocks away and she’s off for the summer so hopefully she’ll be by to visit more often.

Noah keeps trying to pull himself up on anything he can get his hands on. And yesterday he was trying to pull open drawers – both on my desk and on his dresser. He is so active already, and SO determined. Let the fun begin.

Well - that wasn't too brief. Gotta go.

Be afraid! For I can stand. Be very, very afraid.  

On cups and cribs

I’m expecting a visitor today, so this’ll be brief.

I finally have a nursing bra I’m happy with. And yes, I’m talking about my breasts again. As you may know I’m well endowed in the mammary area, too well endowed. I hate it. And it’s been worse while breastfeeding. I only went up one cup size from a DD to a DDD – but the problem hasn’t been so much the size as it is the components of a nursing bra. You see- while nursing your breast sizes changes over the course of a day and therefore nursing bras are made to be flexible – which is not overly supportive. The only nursing bras that I’ve seen that purport to be supportive are also riddled with weighty ugly seams that show through clothes and I don’t want any more attention drawn to my unwieldy bust line. But last week my mom got me two new nursing bras that are both supportive and seamless and I’m on cloud nine. The cup size is off by one because they don’t make DDD, but the little bit of run over I’m experiencing is worth ignoring for a little bit of lift. Hallelujah! I feel ALMOST normal. Of course it probably won’t be long until I shrink them so I better enjoy it while it lasts.

Things are still a bit sketchy with the crib. There is too much room in there for Noah’s tossing and turning and therefore he’s waking himself up more often. Last night he was up at 11 pm, 12:30 am, 2:30 am, and 5:00 am. Yawn. Hopefully it’s just going to be a few nights of transition and then he’ll go back to normal. PLEASE!

All right. I’ve got to go pick some things up off the floor so it’s not such a godforsaken mess around here.

Grandma's real impressed with Noah's sweet set of wheels.

When it comes to her birthday party Tyria means business.  

The heats got little Aelan out for blood.  

You're crazy if you think Baby Evan's going to give you his ball.  

Sleep? Say what?

This weekend was exhausting and sleep deprived for us all.

For some odd unexplainable reason Noah would not go to sleep on Friday night. He was exhausted which is what caused me to activate the bedtime sequence, but after I nursed him he just got restless and could not get comfortable. After 45 minutes I was so frustrated I gave up. I brought him down to Mark in the office and we played for almost an hour. I couldn’t stay grumpy because he was being giddy, chatty and brain-splittingly cute. Finally he was plum tuckered and he went to sleep without a lot of commotion.

As I mentioned Saturday we had plans to spend the afternoon in Green Lane Park with my Mom and her family. We had to leave our place a little before noon to get there on time – and since I wanted Noah to nap in the car we kept him up through his normal morning nap. He slept well during the hour drive but of course we got to the park at one and he was still a bit sleep deprived. He was smiling and chatty when we got him out of the car and was playing happily independently on a blanket for awhile but when my cousin Tammy’s 9 month old son Evan started to cry loudly Noah chimed in. From that moment on it was as if Noah was afraid of Evan. He’d start to cry a bit just to look at him. Noah doesn’t cry very often these days so I was a bit flustered about what to do. I got even more flustered when the baby sunscreen we used on him caused his eyes to get red and his nose to break out into a rash. Luckily this dissipated quickly and he cheered up. There was plenty of mesmerizing activity for him to watch, so much in fact that we couldn’t get him to nap despite the fact that he was obviously exhausted. The heat wasn’t too bad because we had shade and a nice breeze, but it was still really sticky and I don’t think that was of much help either. My Mom bounced him diligently for what seemed like an hour – but no nap was to be had. But overall he was a little trooper – relatively good natured for a trying but fun afternoon with family. Mark, Noah and I went back to my Mom’s place to wash up and then go out to dinner. Noah fell asleep in the car ride to Mom’s place so Mark drove in circles for a bit so he could get about twenty minutes of rest. It must have done the trick because he was a champ at Applebees of Qtown. When we left to drive home at 8pm I was certain he would conk right out. WRONG. Not only did he stay awake for the entire hour drive, it took an additional hour to get him to sleep once we got home. Once again the hour before bed he just laughed, babbled and rolled around. Until suddenly at 9:45 he just stopped giggling, closed his eyes and dozed off.

Yesterday Noah napped well and went to bed promptly – in his crib for the first time. We moved his crib from his nursery to our bedroom yesterday. Mark and I spent all morning looking for the assembly instructions and turned up squat. So we finally decided to wing it and just took it apart so we could move it upstairs. Luckily it wasn’t too difficult. Not as difficult as the war I’m waging against the ants. Yesterday morning I freaked out when there were ants all over the floor in Noah’s nursery. I soon realized it was I who put them there. Seems a bunch of the ants who’ve been taking over our living room had made their home in the diaper bag I left there the evening before, and when I moved it to the nursery they decided to all come out and explore the new terrain. We can’t really annihilate the damn things with bug spray because the chemicals and fumes aren’t good for Noah – so I’ve been vacuuming up ants as I see them. Of course they’re probably starting their new colony in the vacuum bag which I have yet to empty. And in the midst of my ant-fueled hysteria a giant gross thousand leggery thing came out from nowhere and scared the bejezus out of me. I started shrieking and I swooped down to rescue Noah from the floor. Mark killed it and scolded me for my over-the-top reaction, lest Noah freak out too. I knew exactly what he meant but it was an emotional reaction that I didn’t have time to think about or modify. Not sure I’ll be able to get a handle on that one. Especially if I ever see a roach. Nothing is more disgusting and horrifying to me.

Mark nudged me awake this morning and pointed at Noah lying awake in the crib. I thought he was doing one of those “look at our cute boy” things we do, until I looked at the clock and realized it was 1:20 AM. I guess when Noah started to shuffle about in anticipation of a feeding I didn’t wake up as I usually do because the crib, though right by the bed isn’t right next to the bed. So by the time I scooped him up he was completely awake – which doesn’t usually happen. It took me fifty minutes to feed him, get him back to sleep and put him back in the crib. I hope I quickly get better at hearing him start signaling for a feeding. I don’t want to have to get us both back to sleep every night - that’s one of the reasons we moved the crib.

So the newest super cute thing is that Noah is regularly asking for clarification. He’s constantly making this high pitched “Huh?” sound. Mark and I echo it so we sound like one very confused group of folk.

Noah has more hair than Grandpa Joe.  

Food, folks and fun.

Yesterday I spent quite a bit of time rearranging our bedroom so that we can move Noah’s crib up there. As I mentioned a cajillion times I’m not ready to move Noah to his nursery because he still feeds at least once in the middle of the night and I don’t feel like hiking down the stairs and to the back of the house at 3 am. But we have to get him out the bassinet because he’s started trying to pull himself up. He’s such a big boy now – soon he’ll be the one moving the furniture around. Though decoratively I think I prefer the old setup, the new one makes the room a lot more spacious. So now that there is a designated space for the crib we have to take the thing apart to move it upstairs. I’m not looking forward to that. It was quite an ordeal assembling it to begin with. I hope we all survive.

Tomorrow we are going to Green Lane Park to spend the afternoon with my mom’s family – Mom, Grammy, Aunt Jill, Cousin Tammy and her husband Tom and two kids Aelan and Evan, and my Aunt Donna who is visiting from Ohio with my cousin Tracey’s daughter Tyria. It’s going to be a scorcher tomorrow. I might have to bring a water gun so I can shoot myself. But if we can find some shade it should be a lovely afternoon. We’re getting together for Donna’s visit and also to celebrate Tyria’s fifth birthday. We don’t get to see Tyria often because she lives in Ohio, but it seems that soon we’ll see her even less. My cousin Tracey, her mother, does not have custody and her father is in the military and about to be stationed in Texas. I keep wondering if Tyria will grow up continuing to know this part of her family. It’s a sad thought but one I have because I know from personal experience that with a disjointed family people move in and out of your life. A couple of years ago I was thrilled to spend time with my ex-stepsisters Barbara and Cathy –I hadn’t seen them for over ten years and was quite sad to lose touch with them when my Dad and their mother got divorced and they moved to Florida. But hopefully though we might not see Tyria consistently, she will come to know us some day.

Noah has got a toof! One of his front teeth has erupted from his gum and it’s quite sharp. I want to get a picture of it but it’s still pretty slight and Noah won’t keep his mouth open long enough for me to capture it on … well not film, I guess in megabytes? Today is grocery Friday and I plan to buy him some biting biscuits. If it occurs to him to put them in his own mouth he should enjoy them. Golly that boy can eat. Part of the reason I gained 75 pounds while pregnant with him was because my appetite was insatiable. In fact I felt sick only when I wasn’t eating. And I seriously believe that there is a correlation between my voracious pregnancy appetite and that little ravenous boy. I swear he would eat and nurse every hour on the hour if I would feed him. And he never thinks he’s full. He’ll just keep eating until he starts to spit it back up. Crazy little glutton. Well I better get in gear to finish my grocery list, select the appropriate coupons from my stash, and pack up a bag for any grocery/baby emergency that may occur.

Have a good weekend!

Do the Swedes eat burritos?

News flash. You can go to Ikea and pick up a couple of random knick knacks between $.99 and $4.99 and not spend that much cash. However if you buy 21 things – it adds up. Master Noah and I learned this yesterday during our afternoon outing. We went to Ikea both to check out their kitchen tables and just to get out of the house. I mostly bought storage-y type things. Plastic bins for toys that are scattered all over the house. Laundry hampers. A trash can. Real exciting stuff. When the girl rang me up my mouth fell open. I mean I put back the fewer big ticket items I had considered buying because I didn’t want to spend very much. I didn’t break the bank or anything – I just hadn’t done the math in my head. However I must say it feels really satisfying to come home with some practical things that you have been intending to buy for a long while. And Ikea is always fun for eye candy. I found a kitchen table I liked well enough and I decided we need a white Billy book case for Noah’s room – now I just have to figure out how in hell we are going to get them back to our house. Mark may have to go by himself after removing the car seat from our mini-wagon. Oh – and did you know you can get a bacon, egg and potato breakfast every morning at Ikea for $.99! We were there at lunch and didn't taste test the goods but Mark and I might have to check it out some morning. If you can get out of there without buying anything it would be a killer deal.

Our trip to Ikea was also a trip down memory lane. Ikea was my first solo outing with Noah. He was less than three months old. He was very unhappy being strapped in his infant seat so I took him out and then I couldn’t steer the cart. He cried and we left without accomplishing anything. It went so badly that when I got back home I thought “How in the hell am I ever going to take this kid anywhere by myself?” In comparison yesterday’s trip was a cake walk. A joy in fact. He sat in the floppy seat happily and enjoyed the sights and sounds of Swedish furniture wonderland. The only issue was getting him and my bags to the car since you can’t take the damn cart into the parking lot. I had to leave some things unmanned sitting outside in the loading area and go back to get them. I’m not trusting enough to feel comfortable about that, but it went fine.

Yesterday evening I had a check-up with my GP. I stocked the stroller with Noah and necessities and took the subway to meet Mark at the station near my doctor’s office. He took Noah to Washington Square Park to play while I had my doctor’s visit. I'm happy to say my health is in good order. I got a referral for a wrist specialist and a prescription for a spica splint for my tendonitis – of course after she told me the best thing I could do for my wrist is not carry Noah around so much. To that I laugh. HA! The doctor even made me feel good about my weight – telling me that at 170 I was only 6 pounds over what they considered my regular weight. Sometimes I forget that for 10 years I weighed in the 160s before joining Weight Watchers. The lowest weight I’ve had as an adult was in the 140s but that was for such a brief period of time – yet I keep thinking that I weigh 30 pounds more than I should, when really my average adult weight is less than 10 pounds away. I won’t be a super model or anything but for a 5’ 9” woman with breasts that are too damn big, 170 is not as obese as I sometimes make myself feel. Sure, I’d feel better if I lost 15 pounds, but I need to be a little less harsh on myself for what I weigh right now. And to that end the boys and I followed up my check-up with burritos at El Fuego. Yum. Of course that certainly won’t help me with bathing suit season. One step forward, two steps back.

For the love of loving

Back home after a day spent in Qtown paying visits to both my Mom, and my Dad & Oma. Mom works at home on Tuesdays so we went to her place for lunch before picking up Dad from work and heading to Oma’s. It was a belated Father’s Day visit and also a chance to give Dad a few more computer pointers. We gave him “Internet for Dummies” and “The Beginners Guide to Computer Basics” for Father’s Day and hopefully they’ll be of some help. Dad is doing a really good job of just fooling around with the computer and not getting too discouraged.

When Noah and I were saying goodbye to both my Mom and Dad they both said “Thank you for bringing Noah to see me.” It really does touch me how much they both appreciate the chance to spend time with him. Not everybody loves babies, even those who have had kids – but when your parents actually enjoy getting down on the floor and playing with your infant it’s really moving. They both get SO excited to see all the new things he can do and hear about how he’s doing. We’re very lucky in that way. And seeing the way my parents are with Noah reminds me that it was their interest, involvement and love of me at all ages that made me who I am today. We’ve all got our issues with ourselves and the circumstances of our childhood, but I always felt very loved as a kid and I think that fact alone made me a relatively happy well-adjusted individual. So I have to remind myself that though Mark and I will make mistakes and not everything will go as we planned or even be perceived as we hope, if Noah feels, sees and knows how much he’s loved that it will have the greatest lasting impression on his personality.

GAH! Teething and crawling suck! 

Hola Padre!

Sunday was Mark’s very first Father’s Day. A holiday that never before applied to him and will now always pertain to him. Noah and I got him the new Spoon CD, “The Wasp Factory” - a book off his Amazon wishlist, “Kite Flyer” - a fictional novel set in contemporary Afghanistan, and The Beatles song book. He seemed pleased enough. We’re a book and CD giving sort. Then we went to breakfast at Silk City Diner. At 7 am. You heard me – 7 am. Since Silk City Diner is open 24 hours on weekends we have been there very early in the morning many times, but only after being out all night long. Silk is real busy til 4 am and again after 10 am – but at 7 it's pretty empty. We had a lovely meal and were home by 8. In the afternoon we headed to Central Jersey to spend time with Mark’s Grandmother, his Dad, and his Dad’s wife Sylvia. Once again Sylvia made about 20 different things to eat and I felt sick from overeating the whole rest of the afternoon. I feel compelled to take just a little of everything which results in eating an insane amount of food. Sylvia spent some time showing me a bunch of saris that her daughter had brought from Canada – Sylvia is half English and half Pakistani, raised in Pakistan but lived in Toronto for many years before moving to Jersey to live with Mark’s Dad. The detail work on many of the saris was incredibly beautiful. I wish I had a reason to wear one. Grandma Laima spent a great deal of time telling me how much it sucks to be 95 – everything hurts apparently. But she still has her wits and whip-smart attitude. We gave Mark’s Dad a lovely photo of Mark and Noah as well as a movie theater gift certificate so he can take poor Sylvia out of their apartment. They really need to get out more often. And of course Noah played contentedly and basked in the attention of the crowd.

I knew Mark was going to be an amazing father. He’s so thoughtful, sweet and caring. I knew he’d want to be an equal partner in raising a family and I knew he’d have so much he wanted to show and teach a child. What I had not anticipated was how silly he could be. Mark is funny – but it’s his intelligence, wit and sarcasm that make him so. So it’s a surprise to see him make Noah smile with goofy faces and funny dances. But it’s even more surprising and heartwarming when he’s not ashamed to do it in front of others.

Mark – it’s only been seven months but I’ve got to tell you that you’re already doing an exceptional job. I couldn’t have picked a better father for my children. Thank you for all that you do for us.

Noah got his Daddy a Beatles song book for Father's Day. So now Daddy can play some of the tunes that Mom likes to butcher with her really awful singing voice.  

At 6:47 am I scratch my butt.

So this weekend my friends mocked my schedule. They were just joking around I’m sure, and certainly meant no offense but I have to say that I keep thinking about it. You see I take Noah’s schedule seriously because it really seems to work for both him and me and because the childcare books talk about how important it is that a child have a schedule, a routine. That isn’t to say that I don’t vary the schedule when I have things to do – like go visiting. And it doesn’t mean that Noah is a mess when I do vary the schedule, in fact I think he’s more flexible because of the calming effect that the normal predictability gives to him. What it does mean is that the schedule helps me anticipate his needs -he gets sleepy and hungry around the same time every day and takes pretty long consistent naps.

I’m certain not all babies like schedules – since you can’t make a generalization about baby preferences because their personalities are as different as adults. And not every family can maintain a schedule as easily as we can because I’m home. Even our weekends are highly variable because there are constantly things to do and people to see. And just having Mark in the mix all day changes things because he’s an extra set of hands and he can play with Noah while I take a longer shower etc. But Noah seems to do well with his schedule and I know I do. It alleviates some of the feelings of “What am I going to do with him next?” and gives me a framework for which I can try to get some things done. I’ve even been thinking of scheduling my free time while he’s napping so that I’ll try to read a book, do the laundry, straighten up on the same day of the week or at the same time. This sounds a bit crazy even to me because I’ve never been a very organized regimented person with my own time. But I think it might alleviate the feeling that I should always be doing something else but I’m not sure what. I’ll let you know if I end up doing that – and you can be sure to mock me on that too. Because even I think it sounds lame.

Anyway – here is Noah’s schedule. It’s not thrilling reading, but it’s helpful for me to jot it down. The one thing I could really use help with is Noah’s playtimes. I’m always trying to think of new and fun things to do with him, more for my need for variation than his own. If you have some ideas, I’d love to hear them.

5:30/6:30 am – Noah awakes – he’s changed and fed and the three of us play and talk in the bed until it’s time for Mark to get in the shower. I keep Noah occupied with toys and tickling until Mark gets out of the shower and then Noah just enjoys watching Mark get ready for work. He especially loves watching Mark put on his tie.
7:20 am – Mark leaves for work. I put Noah in the Hop n’ Pop while I shower. Then he plays on the bed while I dress. And then he sits in his old car seat while I dry my hair.
8:00 am – Breakfast. Noah and I head to the kitchen. He has either baby yogurt with cereal and apple puree or oatmeal with prunes. Then hr plays with toys or jumps in the jumperoo while I have coffee. If I’m super exhausted I skip the coffee so I can take the morning nap with him. After we have both had breakfast, I change Noah’s clothes and then we head to the office and play on the floor until he starts getting visibly tired.
9:00/9:30 am– Morning nap
10:30/11:00 am – Playtime. Either in the office or in the nursery. We read books. Pass a ball back and forth. Crash cars. Rattle things. Roll around on the floor. Sing. Dance. Jump. You get the idea.
12:00 pm – Lunch. Noah has a jar of vegetables and half a jar of fruit.
12:30 – 2:00 pm Free time. This is the most variable time of day. What we do depends on the weather, Noah’s mood, errands that might need to be done. Sometimes he’s just content to play independently so I’ll read email and blogs while he plays on the office floor – or we might go out, for a walk or just sit in the yard or on the front stoop.
2:00 pm – Afternoon nap
3:00/4:00 pm – More playtime. What else do you do with a baby? It’s not like I can send him to work at the mines.
5:00 pm – We go to the kitchen to get ready for dinner. Noah will Jumperoo or play in the Pack n’ Play while I make something to eat.
5:30 pm – Mark comes home. He feeds Noah a jar of meat and half a jar of fruit and we eat dinner.
6:30 pm – Noah has a bath if it’s a bath day. Then the three of us go to the nursery. Mark typically plays with Noah on the floor while I watch or get something done. He often plays guitar for him.
7:00/8:00 pm – Noah goes to bed. Mark and I have adult time – often TV or movie time until about 10:00/11:00 pm. Then we go to bed exhausted knowing we may well be up at 5:30 am.

Laugh if you must. But it really helps my madness to have some method.

The depilatory you use must be better.

Thankfully Patrice came home last night. YAY! I can’t wait to hear about her trip. It certainly will be more exciting than my post since I haven’t even left the state. Though we do have an exciting trip to Jersey planned for Sunday. Who can beat that with a stick?

We were lucky enough to have a visit from Sean and Baby Bella yesterday. They decided to make a rest stop at our house on the way to pick up Patrice from the airport – that way they could avoid some of the rush hour traffic. I’m sure you already know this but I have to say that Baby Bella is like liquid sunshine – so happy, so sweet, so good-natured. Noah stared at her most of the time she was here. Especially when they were trying to play with the same toy. It seems that they’re already at the stage where what someone else has often looks more exciting than what you’ve got – until you get it and think “this ain’t so great” and then you see them with something else that is OBVIOUSLY better. The squishy bath book is always greener in someone else’s hands apparently. Unfortunately that never changes – and it is one of life’s most important lessons in my opinion. I want to use my energy to enjoy the toy I got instead of focusing on what else I could have instead. It’s a constant struggle in a consumerist society that programs us to always want MORE. I know – off the soapbox. Anyway, the kids were super adorable.

As you know I cancelled my table and I also cancelled the shindig I was planning for tomorrow. Soo many people couldn’t come. It’s hard to schedule things during the summer months – and a lot of people were going away for Father’s Day and whatnot. I’m hoping to still have Patrice, Sean, Bella and a few folks over in the afternoon – mostly because I am lonely dammit. Noah is tired of being my main source of social interaction – and he can’t even talk to me about what a sham it was that Irene Cara won “Hit Me Baby One More Time.” He’s super cute and all, but his knowledge of pop culture stinks.

So now to more important topics – shaving my legs. I don’t have the time or energy most mornings. Noah will only hang out in the Hop n’ Pop while I shower for so long before he loses patience. I’m considering Nair. Anyone still use this stuff?

"What is his deal?"  

It could have been so beautiful.

Who waited six weeks to have their new damn kitchen table delivered and decided a week before the scheduled delivery date that they didn’t want it? Um… that would be the always brilliant me.

I don’t often have buyers remorse. I’m normally a make a decision and stick with it kind of girl – but this table has been bothering me since I ordered it. The day I picked out the table I went to four furniture stores to compare tables and prices. I was looking for a sturdy wood table that was large enough that it would’nt look preposterous in our large kitchen. Our cabinets are light wood, so though I personally prefer dark woods I was looking for something to match the cabinets. But I really fell in love with the table I ordered – it was a large square table with simple lines and not a lot of ornamentation, and at the sale price I couldn’t find anything comparable. But there were three problems with it. 1) It was ginger – and I wasn’t sure it was exactly the right color for the kitchen. However between the cabinets, baseboards, and back door there are three different colors of wood in our kitchen and the ginger did match with one of them so I decided to overlook this. 2) It was technically a dining room table. Of course I was having a hard time finding any tables designated as a “kitchen table.” Do people not eat in their kitchens any more? Or is any room you dine in a dining room? I decided to overlook this because I figured if I put it in the kitchen then it was a kitchen table. Nuff said. 3) The height. One of the things I loved about the table is that it was at “gathering” height. This means that the chairs and tables are at about counter top height. It looked really sharp and I figured it would be a great benefit to my lanky 6’ 4” husband who normally has to have his knees up around his shoulders. However a tall table doesn’t seem the best idea for a family. In fact for a couple with one infant and hopes to have at least one other child a tall table seems like an extraordinarily stupid idea. Not only would the kids have to be ten before they could get in and out of the seats themselves, if they fall its a longer drop. But I told myself that it wouldn’t be a problem because I really liked the taller height.

So I ordered the table and the saleswoman told me it would be on backorder for 3-4 weeks. Immediately after ordering it I began questioning my decision. It’s now six weeks later and I decided this morning to cancel. To me the long wait was an omen – the fates were trying to tell me that the table wasn’t right for us. Of course the long wait also shows that JC Penney sucks. I bought that table on the first day of their highly publicized Home Sale – so you would think they might have a few of them in stock and not have to have customers wait to have them shipped from China. Oh well. Now I’m feeling grumpy because we’ve been eating on TV tables in the middle of our kitchen for a month and a half and we’re back at square one. At least now I can try to get a more practical table that children can actually sit at. I’m such an idiot.

Crap. This is sort of a Noah free post – isn’t it? And this is the Noah blog. So hmmmm… Noah is anxiously awaiting future furniture shopping. Today when I was glancing at an Ikea catalog trying to convince myself that their tables weren’t SO rickety that a child could pull them on top of himself Noah started ripping the catalog to shreds. Is that an omen too?

This is the set - though not in the ginger. Lovely, isn't it? What could have been...  

Parker is apparently so desperate for love that he's willing to have Noah gouge his eyes out.  

Milestones inches away.

Big things are happening at Casa de Eggerts. Noah’s first two teeth are eagerly anticipated and expected any day now. You can see his swollen red gums straining to keep the teeth in their midst – and you can feel the sharp pointy fangs with your fingers. We’ve had the poor boy dosed up on Ibuprofen because he’s obviously in pain. The Orajel and homeopathic teething tablets weren’t cutting it. Of course my breasts aren’t too eager to meet Noah’s teeth. I’m already doing research on how you can prevent an infant from biting you when nursing. Ouch! As soon as we can get this kid to drink from a bottle regularly I might have to start the weening process.

Locomotion also seems on Noah’s horizon. He has recently been getting into a crawling ready position. Any day the boy might take off. And no – we haven’t yet baby-proofed. We’re waiting for Noah’s first attempt to throw himself down the stairs. That will be an excellent sign that it is in fact time to get it done.

Mark is home this afternoon. He had a comp day coming for working graduation. Tonight he and his best friend Ed are attending a retirement dinner for their high school drama teacher. This means I'm seriously considering going to bed at 8 pm. Especially since I was up with Noah and his tooth pain from 3:30 to 5 am. Have I mentioned teething sucks? And this is only the first set!

On your mark, get set, STOP!!! 

Straight from the Parisian Runway

Though yesterday was lovely, and we had a nice visit with Janette and baby Jules – the morning started poorly. We were up at 5:30 am and I was beat. Trying to get out the door was a comedy of errors. I kept running willy nilly around the house trying to pack diaper and toy bags, dress Noah and get us out the door. I couldn’t put Noah down because he was getting over-tired and ready for a nap – in preparation for the car ride. So I had him in one arm while trying to think of everything I needed and gather it all up. Of course this meant I went from the third floor to the first – then realized I needed something else on the third, then back on the first, then the third again, etc. I was in the home stretch when Noah reached for my coffee cup and to keep it out of his reach I dumped it on my jeans, the floor, his bed, and the outfit I was planning to dress him in. I was already running late so I merely dropped a towel on the floor and didn’t even consider changing my now soaked pants. I had a hard time trying to pick out a new outfit for Noah because of the heat, my needing to do laundry, and how he now fits best in a 3-6 month shirt and 6-9 month bottom. Finally he was dressed and I was stacking everything for the trip by the door. URP – Noah did his best Linda Blair and spit up everywhere. It splashed on the floor, my other pant leg, and my flip-flopped foot. Sheesh! When I finally got in the car and pulled away from the house I realized that not only were my jeans obviously stained with coffee but I also smelled distinctly of regurgitated yogurt. Thus is motherhood.