We had a babyrific crew at our house on Saturday night. After a few hours of eating and toddler rangling we headed to Penn Treaty Park to watch the fireworks over the Delaware.
Monday, July 03, 2006
Wednesday, June 28, 2006
Let Freedom Ring
We live in the birthplace of Liberty, or so they tell us. And Philly takes its Independence Day celebrations quite seriously. It’s when we Welcome America! It’s when “WE WANT YOU to party with us!” It’s when we shine. Or at least glisten in the humidity. (I have to mention that I love those print ads with the dancing people in the Uncle Sam top hat. Hip and clever. So sayeth me.) And every year I try to make the most out of the festivities. I like feeling involved . I like the buzz in the air. And I like free stuff.
On Saturday we went to the Sidewalk Sizzle and Ice Cream Freeze at Reading Terminal Market. We took a carnival train ride around the block and ate like pigs. Today Noah and I had a lovely afternoon when we went with my friend and ex-co-worker Jeff to catch some free music in LOVE Park before stopping back in my old office to make the rounds and show off the boy. And I’m hoping to check out the fair in Rittenhouse Park on Friday, as well as possibly make it to the Fiesta on the Parkway on Monday. Oh, and of course we’ll head over to Penn Treaty Park to have a superb view of the fireworks over the Delaware on Saturday night. It’s big stuff. Check out the event listings.
So what else have we been up to? On Sunday we headed out to Jersey to visit with Mark’s Grandmother, Mark’s Dad and his wife. It was generally a lovely evening though Laima blew my mind. First let me say that I adore Mark’s grandmother Laima. She’s 96 and a matriarch of the first order. She’s sassy, opinionated, educated and colorful. But she’s not really an expert on the small people. In fact she seems downright uncomfortable with them. I think Martin, her only child, was mostly raised by nannies in Latvia where her family where landowning gentry before the Russians forced them out. So I pretty much stood slack jawed when she started telling me what I was doing wrong with Noah. Apparently I need to stop telling Noah what things are and start asking him more questions – which she proceeded to demonstrate by awkwardly asking “What’s that?” repeatedly without ever giving him any answers. She said that until I did that he’d never learn to speak. At first I tried to explain that he was speaking quite well for his age, though his pronunciation was a bit suspect, but soon I gave up and nodded. What else can you do? SHE”S REALLY OLD. And pushy. But later we had an exchange that had me nearly howling with laughter. While I was coloring with Noah she told me she had NEVER colored before. I said “Surely you did some coloring with Mark when he was little?” I flashbacked to coloring, cards and board games with my Oma. To which Laima said she never colored with Mark. And why? “Because it wasn’t fashionable at the time.” Oh RIGHT. The seventies were largely anti-coloring. What was I thinking?
Tomorrow Noah, Mark and I are headed to the zoo to see the new Big Cat Falls. Mark had a use-it or lose-it personal day to take before the end of June so it’s a nice family day extra. And it shouldn’t be as crowded as it would on a Friday or a weekend. I hope the weather is good to us.
Saturday we’ve been trying to tempt some folks to come to our place for burgers and beers for a few hours before jaunting over to the park to watch the fireworks. So far we don’t have any definites, but we’ll be having burgers and beer regardless of our company. Wanna come? Then Sunday we head to Pa Joe’s for a picnic to celebrate our independence and my brother Jim’s birthday. And then Monday and Tuesday are reserved for more Philly fanfare. And probably some bathroom and kitchen cleaning. We’ll have some lovely antibacterial fireworks of our own. Though maybe we should do some of that before we have company?
And what have you got in store for your fourth?
On Saturday we went to the Sidewalk Sizzle and Ice Cream Freeze at Reading Terminal Market. We took a carnival train ride around the block and ate like pigs. Today Noah and I had a lovely afternoon when we went with my friend and ex-co-worker Jeff to catch some free music in LOVE Park before stopping back in my old office to make the rounds and show off the boy. And I’m hoping to check out the fair in Rittenhouse Park on Friday, as well as possibly make it to the Fiesta on the Parkway on Monday. Oh, and of course we’ll head over to Penn Treaty Park to have a superb view of the fireworks over the Delaware on Saturday night. It’s big stuff. Check out the event listings.
So what else have we been up to? On Sunday we headed out to Jersey to visit with Mark’s Grandmother, Mark’s Dad and his wife. It was generally a lovely evening though Laima blew my mind. First let me say that I adore Mark’s grandmother Laima. She’s 96 and a matriarch of the first order. She’s sassy, opinionated, educated and colorful. But she’s not really an expert on the small people. In fact she seems downright uncomfortable with them. I think Martin, her only child, was mostly raised by nannies in Latvia where her family where landowning gentry before the Russians forced them out. So I pretty much stood slack jawed when she started telling me what I was doing wrong with Noah. Apparently I need to stop telling Noah what things are and start asking him more questions – which she proceeded to demonstrate by awkwardly asking “What’s that?” repeatedly without ever giving him any answers. She said that until I did that he’d never learn to speak. At first I tried to explain that he was speaking quite well for his age, though his pronunciation was a bit suspect, but soon I gave up and nodded. What else can you do? SHE”S REALLY OLD. And pushy. But later we had an exchange that had me nearly howling with laughter. While I was coloring with Noah she told me she had NEVER colored before. I said “Surely you did some coloring with Mark when he was little?” I flashbacked to coloring, cards and board games with my Oma. To which Laima said she never colored with Mark. And why? “Because it wasn’t fashionable at the time.” Oh RIGHT. The seventies were largely anti-coloring. What was I thinking?
Tomorrow Noah, Mark and I are headed to the zoo to see the new Big Cat Falls. Mark had a use-it or lose-it personal day to take before the end of June so it’s a nice family day extra. And it shouldn’t be as crowded as it would on a Friday or a weekend. I hope the weather is good to us.
Saturday we’ve been trying to tempt some folks to come to our place for burgers and beers for a few hours before jaunting over to the park to watch the fireworks. So far we don’t have any definites, but we’ll be having burgers and beer regardless of our company. Wanna come? Then Sunday we head to Pa Joe’s for a picnic to celebrate our independence and my brother Jim’s birthday. And then Monday and Tuesday are reserved for more Philly fanfare. And probably some bathroom and kitchen cleaning. We’ll have some lovely antibacterial fireworks of our own. Though maybe we should do some of that before we have company?
And what have you got in store for your fourth?
Tuesday, June 27, 2006
Like a willful weed
First I have to clarify the last post. I have folks contacting me alarmed thinking we aren’t paying our bills and swimming in debt while I continue to buy the boy new hats. Not so. It’s just that we’re going a bit over our monthly budget. We’ve been cushioning that with savings we had set aside from our tax returns, but that money is gone now. And for the first time this month we have to carry a balance on our credit card bill - we’re actually pretty debt free thanks to Mark’s aversion to credit. So if we don’t start bringing in some more cash we’ll just have to cut way back on the niceties – gifts for family and friends, new stuff for the boy (he’s the only one who gets stuff), an occasional meal out, higher quality groceries, etc. I don’t want anyone thinking I’m crying desolate or anything. I’m just saying going forward we could use to make some extra bucks so we can live in the semi-modest way in which we’ve grown accustomed. Relieved now? Good.
So the boy is GI-NORMOUS! I can’t believe how much he’s growing and how fast. It seems like in the last two months he became a real little boy. His vocabulary and understanding have exploded. He went from saying a handful of one word declarations to using nouns and adjectives. Now he can tell you he’s eating “dried apple” and that it is “chewy.” He can say some numbers, colors and letters and tell you he has two feet. (Admittedly though he often counts by saying “Un, two, two, two, nine.”) He repeats part of nearly every sentence he hears. He loves to sing, dance, read books, put together puzzles and draw. But his passion for trains is unsurpassed by anything else. He wants to watch Thomas, play with trains, look at the Thomas website, go to the playground to watch the El ride by and watch train movies on youtube. It’s all trains all the time. It’s INSANITY. I’m so relieved when he wants to do something else like pretending to cook muffins by putting cupcake liners in the toaster oven.
Though he never seems to bore of the same old stuff, I do. I’m having to get more imaginative about what we do together. It’s why I constantly want to buy new (or used) toys – not because he needs them, but because I do. Last week I gathered him up and took him on the subway just to ride the train. We ended up going to Mark’s campus and climbing around on the landscaping until Mark got off work so we could all come home together. I imagine we’ll be doing that a lot more often in the coming months since Noah enjoyed it so thoroughly.
And with maturity comes will and independence. Yes, the tantrums are here. I’m fairly thankful however that they are fairly short lived. SO FAR it doesn’t take too long to reason with him or redirect him. Hopefully that’s his nature and will continue to be the case. Maybe it’s some of the tips we picked up from Happiest Toddler on the Block or because he’s a “textbook child” as sayeth The Baby Whisperer. Whatever it is, I’m thankful. He’s also starting to insist he do things by himself. It was a day after Patrice told me Bella wouldn’t allow her to place her in the booster seat that Noah began insisting on climbing in himself. He’s beginning to push my hands away as I try to help him do anything and to point to himself when he wants to master something on his own. Like he doesn’t need me. Pishaw! I won’t allow it.
One of the things that I am most happy about is how loving Noah is. He likes to list all the important people in his life and say he loves them. He enjoys going to see all his grandparents and talks about their visit for days afterwards. He's a hugger, a kisser and he just loves to be close. He's giving with his toys and gentle with other children. He's sensitive, empathetic and kind. He really is such a sweet little soul.
I’m determined to take some video of Noah soon. My Mom lent us a video camera we never use and Mark assures me that with some sort of wire/card thingamabob that I could post some video. I need to do that because I just can’t do the boy justice. I can’t adequately capture how vivid he is. You just have to see for yourself.
So the boy is GI-NORMOUS! I can’t believe how much he’s growing and how fast. It seems like in the last two months he became a real little boy. His vocabulary and understanding have exploded. He went from saying a handful of one word declarations to using nouns and adjectives. Now he can tell you he’s eating “dried apple” and that it is “chewy.” He can say some numbers, colors and letters and tell you he has two feet. (Admittedly though he often counts by saying “Un, two, two, two, nine.”) He repeats part of nearly every sentence he hears. He loves to sing, dance, read books, put together puzzles and draw. But his passion for trains is unsurpassed by anything else. He wants to watch Thomas, play with trains, look at the Thomas website, go to the playground to watch the El ride by and watch train movies on youtube. It’s all trains all the time. It’s INSANITY. I’m so relieved when he wants to do something else like pretending to cook muffins by putting cupcake liners in the toaster oven.
Though he never seems to bore of the same old stuff, I do. I’m having to get more imaginative about what we do together. It’s why I constantly want to buy new (or used) toys – not because he needs them, but because I do. Last week I gathered him up and took him on the subway just to ride the train. We ended up going to Mark’s campus and climbing around on the landscaping until Mark got off work so we could all come home together. I imagine we’ll be doing that a lot more often in the coming months since Noah enjoyed it so thoroughly.
And with maturity comes will and independence. Yes, the tantrums are here. I’m fairly thankful however that they are fairly short lived. SO FAR it doesn’t take too long to reason with him or redirect him. Hopefully that’s his nature and will continue to be the case. Maybe it’s some of the tips we picked up from Happiest Toddler on the Block or because he’s a “textbook child” as sayeth The Baby Whisperer. Whatever it is, I’m thankful. He’s also starting to insist he do things by himself. It was a day after Patrice told me Bella wouldn’t allow her to place her in the booster seat that Noah began insisting on climbing in himself. He’s beginning to push my hands away as I try to help him do anything and to point to himself when he wants to master something on his own. Like he doesn’t need me. Pishaw! I won’t allow it.
One of the things that I am most happy about is how loving Noah is. He likes to list all the important people in his life and say he loves them. He enjoys going to see all his grandparents and talks about their visit for days afterwards. He's a hugger, a kisser and he just loves to be close. He's giving with his toys and gentle with other children. He's sensitive, empathetic and kind. He really is such a sweet little soul.
I’m determined to take some video of Noah soon. My Mom lent us a video camera we never use and Mark assures me that with some sort of wire/card thingamabob that I could post some video. I need to do that because I just can’t do the boy justice. I can’t adequately capture how vivid he is. You just have to see for yourself.
Monday, June 26, 2006
My mind on my money
Ends aren’t quite meeting. Close, but not quite. We could do with about $500 more a month. And while that isn’t terribly a lot, I’m puzzled and stressed about where it’s going to come from. I need to find a way to make some dough. It’s not enough of a differential for me to compromise my intentions and put Noah in daycare and return to fulltime work, so what I’m working with is either the possibility of getting some sort of part time job outside of the home on nights and weekends, or finding a way to rake in some cash from home. Unfortunately my career path doesn’t offer me any easy solutions. While it'd be great for some freelance writing assignments to fall into my lap that probably won’t happen given my lack of connections or up to date experience. The bulk of my work experience has been in admin, customer service and waitressing - which sucks for someone with a Journalism, PR and Advertising degree. So realistically what I'm looking at is probably getting some typing or document formatting I can do from home, or picking up a gig waiting tables twice a week. But again, my up-to-date experience is nil. And customer service jobs barely pay enough to make it worthwhile. Looking at the classifieds for work from home gigs is a joke. Every ad seems like a total hoax. My current daydream is to suddenly became crazy creative and crafty and make a killing selling something on consignment to local gift stores. I know – what am I smoking? Anyway, it has me in a miserable, desperate tizzy.
To make it worse, Mark could easily get some extra work and bring in some cash – he did freelance editing for years. He’s more employable and would definitely bring in more money by the hour. But he already makes all our money and works outside the home – and I don’t think it’s fair to expect him to bring in that extra income. Plus, it might be good for me to get a paycheck, even if it’s measly and for doing something trite and boring. Guh. Every time I think about it though, it makes me ill. I’ve not had a good employed life. I can honestly say that I’ve only held one position that I both enjoyed and was proud of, and during that time I felt completely out of my league. I was only in it for a few months before I was laid off because of a buy-out, so I never got to the point where I felt like I knew what the hell I was doing or that I had enough experience to make me employable in that field. So looking for something new fills me with trepidation. Especially since it will most likely take time away from the only thing I ever felt was really important to me and I was perfectly suited for – motherhood.
In November, after Noah turns two I’d like to enroll him in a part-time preschool program for learning and socialization. I think two year olds need that. And ideally I’d like him to attend 9 am to noon, Monday through Friday. I hope to take him after breakfast and pick him up before lunch and nap, and have it fit perfectly into our weekday routine. At that time I’ll have more time to do work, but of course I’ll also need to make the $120 dollars a week it’ll cost him to attend school so my earning potential is going to have to increase to make that happen.
So, readers- do you have info regarding the perfect money making opportunity for me? Maybe your great aunt wants to pay me to type up her memoirs? Your cousin wants me to help ghost write her book? Your Dad needs someone to handle the customer service email inquiries he’s getting from his small business? Or maybe you know where I can take a cheap sewing class so that I can start hand crafting baby clothes? Perhaps you can suggest a lovely corner from whence I can peddle my wares? I’ll take anything under advisement.
To make it worse, Mark could easily get some extra work and bring in some cash – he did freelance editing for years. He’s more employable and would definitely bring in more money by the hour. But he already makes all our money and works outside the home – and I don’t think it’s fair to expect him to bring in that extra income. Plus, it might be good for me to get a paycheck, even if it’s measly and for doing something trite and boring. Guh. Every time I think about it though, it makes me ill. I’ve not had a good employed life. I can honestly say that I’ve only held one position that I both enjoyed and was proud of, and during that time I felt completely out of my league. I was only in it for a few months before I was laid off because of a buy-out, so I never got to the point where I felt like I knew what the hell I was doing or that I had enough experience to make me employable in that field. So looking for something new fills me with trepidation. Especially since it will most likely take time away from the only thing I ever felt was really important to me and I was perfectly suited for – motherhood.
In November, after Noah turns two I’d like to enroll him in a part-time preschool program for learning and socialization. I think two year olds need that. And ideally I’d like him to attend 9 am to noon, Monday through Friday. I hope to take him after breakfast and pick him up before lunch and nap, and have it fit perfectly into our weekday routine. At that time I’ll have more time to do work, but of course I’ll also need to make the $120 dollars a week it’ll cost him to attend school so my earning potential is going to have to increase to make that happen.
So, readers- do you have info regarding the perfect money making opportunity for me? Maybe your great aunt wants to pay me to type up her memoirs? Your cousin wants me to help ghost write her book? Your Dad needs someone to handle the customer service email inquiries he’s getting from his small business? Or maybe you know where I can take a cheap sewing class so that I can start hand crafting baby clothes? Perhaps you can suggest a lovely corner from whence I can peddle my wares? I’ll take anything under advisement.
Friday, June 23, 2006
HELLO! I've not had much time to blog lately, partially because Noah is sleeping poorly again (for what reason I have NO idea) so I'm often napping when he is and partly because if he's awake and I LOOK in the direction of the computer he wants to look at the Thomas the Tank Engine website. But I have some stuff I'm blogging about in my head - so stay tuned.
Tuesday, June 20, 2006
The long and the long of it
Last night I had a dream I was preparing to go back to London on another study abroad program. I was laboring over what I should pack, scheduling my flights, taking care of all my mail etc. But in addition to that I was worrying about Noah – because I was taking him with me but I hadn’t told the organizers. I figured if I asked them they would say no so I was hoping to just show up with him and everything would be okay. Though I was a tad worried that my roommate would feel put upon.
So the weekend was good, busy and tiring. While Mark worked commencement on Saturday, Noah and I headed for the hills of Qtown. My mom watched Noah for a few hours while I went to Kristen’s baby shower. The shower kind of sucked aside from seeing Patrice. In fact she was the only person I really knew there aside from Kristen, the mother-to-be, who we were both friends with in high school. Patrice and Kristen remain friends while Kristen and I see each other about once a year, and only through Patrice. We were never quite friends unto ourselves. Our relationship reminds me of that episode of Seinfeld when George and Elaine try to hang out without Jerry and it fails miserably. Kristen is nice and all, there just was never a spark. But I’m all about welcoming another sucker into the joys of motherhood, so to the shower I went. I bolted after the gifts were opened and returned to find Noah coated in a thick layer of dust. Seems Grandma had him rolling down dirt piles, playing with a load of stone, climbing into backhoes and running around in the garage. He was exhilarated. It took a thorough cleaning and promises of Pa Joe and chocolate to get him back into the car. On our walk from Pa Joe’s to Applebee’s for a Father’s Day dinner Noah and I stopped in Payless and got him two new pairs of shoes for $12. His toes were just about to spring forth from his size fives. And after “eatin’ good in the neighborhood” we headed back to Dad’s house to let the boy run around until it was dark enough for me to head home. The plan was that the boy would sleep, however he waited until we were ten minutes of our home to do that. Tricky thing. When I got home I made Mark open his Father’s Day gift because I’d been sitting on T-shirts from Threadless for weeks and it was killing me.
Sunday we went to the Aramingo Diner for Father’s Day breakfast, then for a small animal spotting stroll through Petco, a hair trimming for the boy at Haircuttery and then to the Thrift Fair to buy a couple of bags of assorted toys for a dollar each. After lunch and a nap, we went to Ezra’s second birthday party and consumed wine, hummus, samosas, feta and divine chocolate cake. (Kiss my big dieting behind.) We all had a really nice time and Noah was more outgoing and playful with the kids his own age than usual. Though true to form he instantly fell in love with Shelly, the eleven year old girl that was there for half and hour. He’s been listing her in his love proclamations (“I da dub Mama… I da dub Daddy…Ahwee… Pa Joe… Shelly) since Sunday.
Yesterday afternoon Noah and I went to a picnic at Penn Treaty Park. Wierdly enough it was a farewell picnic for a playgroup that we had never attended. I finally got all the information about where and when to attend to then be told that it was ending for the summer. Oops. I look forward to taking Noah to it or something like it in the Fall. Especially after getting a taste of group play and circle time yesterday - I know it’s something from which Noah would definitely benefit.
This morning we headed back to the Thrift Fair because since Sunday I’ve been obsessing about the vintage Fisher Price Family House I didn’t buy. In fact they also had and I wanted the Sesame Street Family House (which I owned when I was a kid) and the A Frame – but I restrained myself and only bought the house today. None of the sets came with any people or furniture unfortunately, so I’ll be on an Ebay hunt real soon. But while at Thrift Fair I also scored a toy kitchen for $3.99 and a cheap plastic train set for my rail enthusiast. Of course both of those were also missing a bunch of pieces in authentic thrift store fashion – but cheapos can’t be choosers.
And now you’re all caught up. A big relief, huh?
So the weekend was good, busy and tiring. While Mark worked commencement on Saturday, Noah and I headed for the hills of Qtown. My mom watched Noah for a few hours while I went to Kristen’s baby shower. The shower kind of sucked aside from seeing Patrice. In fact she was the only person I really knew there aside from Kristen, the mother-to-be, who we were both friends with in high school. Patrice and Kristen remain friends while Kristen and I see each other about once a year, and only through Patrice. We were never quite friends unto ourselves. Our relationship reminds me of that episode of Seinfeld when George and Elaine try to hang out without Jerry and it fails miserably. Kristen is nice and all, there just was never a spark. But I’m all about welcoming another sucker into the joys of motherhood, so to the shower I went. I bolted after the gifts were opened and returned to find Noah coated in a thick layer of dust. Seems Grandma had him rolling down dirt piles, playing with a load of stone, climbing into backhoes and running around in the garage. He was exhilarated. It took a thorough cleaning and promises of Pa Joe and chocolate to get him back into the car. On our walk from Pa Joe’s to Applebee’s for a Father’s Day dinner Noah and I stopped in Payless and got him two new pairs of shoes for $12. His toes were just about to spring forth from his size fives. And after “eatin’ good in the neighborhood” we headed back to Dad’s house to let the boy run around until it was dark enough for me to head home. The plan was that the boy would sleep, however he waited until we were ten minutes of our home to do that. Tricky thing. When I got home I made Mark open his Father’s Day gift because I’d been sitting on T-shirts from Threadless for weeks and it was killing me.
Sunday we went to the Aramingo Diner for Father’s Day breakfast, then for a small animal spotting stroll through Petco, a hair trimming for the boy at Haircuttery and then to the Thrift Fair to buy a couple of bags of assorted toys for a dollar each. After lunch and a nap, we went to Ezra’s second birthday party and consumed wine, hummus, samosas, feta and divine chocolate cake. (Kiss my big dieting behind.) We all had a really nice time and Noah was more outgoing and playful with the kids his own age than usual. Though true to form he instantly fell in love with Shelly, the eleven year old girl that was there for half and hour. He’s been listing her in his love proclamations (“I da dub Mama… I da dub Daddy…Ahwee… Pa Joe… Shelly) since Sunday.
Yesterday afternoon Noah and I went to a picnic at Penn Treaty Park. Wierdly enough it was a farewell picnic for a playgroup that we had never attended. I finally got all the information about where and when to attend to then be told that it was ending for the summer. Oops. I look forward to taking Noah to it or something like it in the Fall. Especially after getting a taste of group play and circle time yesterday - I know it’s something from which Noah would definitely benefit.
This morning we headed back to the Thrift Fair because since Sunday I’ve been obsessing about the vintage Fisher Price Family House I didn’t buy. In fact they also had and I wanted the Sesame Street Family House (which I owned when I was a kid) and the A Frame – but I restrained myself and only bought the house today. None of the sets came with any people or furniture unfortunately, so I’ll be on an Ebay hunt real soon. But while at Thrift Fair I also scored a toy kitchen for $3.99 and a cheap plastic train set for my rail enthusiast. Of course both of those were also missing a bunch of pieces in authentic thrift store fashion – but cheapos can’t be choosers.
And now you’re all caught up. A big relief, huh?
Thursday, June 15, 2006
I choo choo choose to take a nap.
This week seems a million years long. I almost passed out this morning when I came to the realization that it was just Thursday. And once I came to terms with the fact I had to wait one more whole day to share the fulltime parenting load, I remembered that Mark has to work on Saturday. Dagnabit. Damn Drexel commencement. I guess I’m feeling particularly worn out because Mark had a neighborhood association board meeting right after work yesterday, and as a result got home two hours later than usual. That was 12 full hours of solo parenting with a one hour break for a nap. And since Mark will likely be home later tonight and tomorrow too – I feel too knackered to make it to Sunday.
Plus my body still feels like a wrung out dishrag from Tuesday night’s yoga class. YUP – I’ve been to two whole classes. Look at me GO. The class was fantastic. The instructor focused on fine tuning poses in long holds, much like my first and favorite yoga teacher. There were only three negative parts of the class. One – again with the sucky music. The soundtrack to this entire class was Natalie Merchant Unplugged. Yuck. I don’t love or hate her (like Mark does) – but I know I don’t want to listen to her whole album while trying to concentrate on my breathing. Two – no sun salutations. There was no vinyasa movement whatsoever to warm you up or keep you going. Weird. Three – I had to intimately touch a stranger. Ewww. And worse yet – it was a MAN. And even worser – he had to touch me. GROSS. There was one damn guy in the class and he got paired up with me because we were similar in size. YUP. I am man sized. Lovely. I miss the days of Mark coming to class with me. I always had a partner for poses and I didn’t have to worry about my stranger-touching anxiety taking hold.
The dieting is going okay. I eat just about the same thing every day, which is getting a little old, but I also like the structure of knowing what I’m going to eat for lunch since I was never a lunch planner. But I think this weekend I’m going to cheat a bit – not go crazy or anything, but a little. That may be the best way for me to diet. Watch every regulated morsel Monday through Friday and then take a few liberties when in social situations over the weekend. I feel a bit thinner which is really nice – and enough to keep me going for at least one more week. We shall see. I know you are dying to know.
Oh and I have to relay this foot in mouth story from a few weeks ago. Or more like thigh in upper intestine. I was at the park with Noah when I saw a young couple with whom I have spoken to before. They had their two beautiful kids with them. Their oldest son is about three and I remembered that his name was pronounced “E-FAY,” though obviously I have no idea how it’s spelled. And I thought I remembered the infant daughter’s name too. So I said to the mother “She’s getting so big so fast. Her name is Hilton, right?” And the mother paused, pursed her lips slightly and then said “No… her name is Hyatt.” I could have just died. WRONG H hotel! Good God. And then the mother said “People think we named her after a hotel but Hyatt means ‘life’ in Arabic.” I was mortified. I must have turned magenta while I stammered “That’s really beautiful” before shuttling Noah to the other side of the park. Honestly the mom couldn’t have been any nicer about it, but I felt so ignorant and ethnocentric. I wanted Noah to bury me in wood chips.
And suddenly Noah is a full-on choo choo addict. It’s all he wants to talk about. So yesterday I let him watch his first episode of Thomas The Tank Engine. He was hooked immediately and has been asking to watch it on the TV all day. He also enjoys looking at the website. We stopped in a neighbor boy’s house yesterday and they had much of the Thomas wooden train set. Noah coveted it instantly. As we left he kept pleading for Ezra’s choo choos. I don’t think he understands that those wooden train cars cost $20 a piece! I might have to get the extender set for his Ikea train real soon, but if he wants the real deal he better start selling plasma.
Plus my body still feels like a wrung out dishrag from Tuesday night’s yoga class. YUP – I’ve been to two whole classes. Look at me GO. The class was fantastic. The instructor focused on fine tuning poses in long holds, much like my first and favorite yoga teacher. There were only three negative parts of the class. One – again with the sucky music. The soundtrack to this entire class was Natalie Merchant Unplugged. Yuck. I don’t love or hate her (like Mark does) – but I know I don’t want to listen to her whole album while trying to concentrate on my breathing. Two – no sun salutations. There was no vinyasa movement whatsoever to warm you up or keep you going. Weird. Three – I had to intimately touch a stranger. Ewww. And worse yet – it was a MAN. And even worser – he had to touch me. GROSS. There was one damn guy in the class and he got paired up with me because we were similar in size. YUP. I am man sized. Lovely. I miss the days of Mark coming to class with me. I always had a partner for poses and I didn’t have to worry about my stranger-touching anxiety taking hold.
The dieting is going okay. I eat just about the same thing every day, which is getting a little old, but I also like the structure of knowing what I’m going to eat for lunch since I was never a lunch planner. But I think this weekend I’m going to cheat a bit – not go crazy or anything, but a little. That may be the best way for me to diet. Watch every regulated morsel Monday through Friday and then take a few liberties when in social situations over the weekend. I feel a bit thinner which is really nice – and enough to keep me going for at least one more week. We shall see. I know you are dying to know.
Oh and I have to relay this foot in mouth story from a few weeks ago. Or more like thigh in upper intestine. I was at the park with Noah when I saw a young couple with whom I have spoken to before. They had their two beautiful kids with them. Their oldest son is about three and I remembered that his name was pronounced “E-FAY,” though obviously I have no idea how it’s spelled. And I thought I remembered the infant daughter’s name too. So I said to the mother “She’s getting so big so fast. Her name is Hilton, right?” And the mother paused, pursed her lips slightly and then said “No… her name is Hyatt.” I could have just died. WRONG H hotel! Good God. And then the mother said “People think we named her after a hotel but Hyatt means ‘life’ in Arabic.” I was mortified. I must have turned magenta while I stammered “That’s really beautiful” before shuttling Noah to the other side of the park. Honestly the mom couldn’t have been any nicer about it, but I felt so ignorant and ethnocentric. I wanted Noah to bury me in wood chips.
And suddenly Noah is a full-on choo choo addict. It’s all he wants to talk about. So yesterday I let him watch his first episode of Thomas The Tank Engine. He was hooked immediately and has been asking to watch it on the TV all day. He also enjoys looking at the website. We stopped in a neighbor boy’s house yesterday and they had much of the Thomas wooden train set. Noah coveted it instantly. As we left he kept pleading for Ezra’s choo choos. I don’t think he understands that those wooden train cars cost $20 a piece! I might have to get the extender set for his Ikea train real soon, but if he wants the real deal he better start selling plasma.
Tuesday, June 13, 2006
First the issues, then the weekend
You can skip ahead if you want nothing to do with the issues and skip the end if you don’t give a damn about the weekend.
The issue part of the post
I don’t know how I refrained from mentioning this since I think about it every day, but I’ve been trying to get pregnant again for the last ten months. And I just got my period again. It sucks. Obviously Mark and I aren’t the most fertile couple on the face of the planet since it took seven months for us to conceive Noah. And it was a hard seven months. Every month was an emotional rollercoaster of hopes and disappointments. I was reading up on adoption (and how we couldn’t afford it) and bargaining with the gods when we were finally blessed with Noah. And if it turns out that he’s our one and only then he will have been even more of a miracle for whom I will forever be grateful. But even though the issue isn’t quite as emotional and desperate feeling this time, it still sucks that we’re having problems again. It’s disappointing to me to be planning out our life and then realizing how little control I have over parts of it. And it’s sad to be thinking every new cycle about possibly being pregnant and then finding out I’m not.
One of the big questions is whether Noah’s continued nursing has anything to do with it. For the most part breastfeeding women are inundated with information about the fact that breastfeeding is not a form of birth control. That you CAN get pregnant while nursing – especially after your child is nursing less frequently. And I have had a regular period and been regularly ovulating (ovulation predictor kits) since Noah began eating solid foods at six months old. So I had assumed that it would definitely not impede my getting pregnant. However some sources suggest that breastfeeding hormones in some women can still prevent implantation of a fertilized egg, but I have no idea what percentage of women this affects. I’m thinking it’s low since the bulk of information does not support that as an issue. And I do have two acquaintances that got pregnant while nursing – and one of the women was still nursing a four month old. But who knows.
I called my OBGYN to make an appointment for a checkup and to discuss the fertility issue. I’ve waited this long because last time they told me that a healthy, fertile couple could take up to a year to conceive and they wouldn’t look into it further until that time. I couldn’t get an appointment until August, which is good in that at that time it will have been a year. And I hope, hope, hope that the nature of that appointment changes between now and then, but I’m highly doubtful.
So yes, Noah is still nursing. Approximately three times a day – first thing in the morning, naptime and bedtime. It’s still impossible for him to fall asleep without it and he’s still very vehement about requesting it when he’s tired. And just recently he’s seemed to increase the amount of time during which he nurses. Last night I nursed him for quite awhile and then decided to put him in his crib without him being fully asleep. Two hours of hell ensued. Screaming, hysterics, crying like I’ve never witnessed before. My heart and soul being razored into shreds. And I actually caved an hour in - I was offering him “Bappa” (Boppy – we always use his nursing pillow so that is what he asks for) but he’d say “No.” He was crying “Bappa. Bappa. Bappa.” But he was SO mad at me that he wouldn’t let me pick him up out of the crib. It was ugly. It was awful. And finally he settled down enough for me to nurse him again. Mark was exhausted just listening to it. And Noah is an emotional mess today as a result. But I need to separate the sleeping from the nursing. It’s dire. And once I do that then I can wean, but not until then. But it seems impossible.
The weekend part of the post
What an incredibly lovely weekend we had! Friday night we were able to dress up, go out on the town without the baby, celebrate in the nuptials of Tom & Audrey, hang out with our dear friend Tracey, and drink wine and eat in anti-South Beach abandon. It was a lot of fun. And GOD what an attractive couple. Seriously. Tom is one of my favorite people on the planet and when he told he was finally seeing someone I was prepared to deal with her not measuring up. But Audrey is sweet, beautiful and smart – and they make a dashing pair.
Saturday we headed for the hills of Hershey, Pennsylvania. And though I was a tad concerned about the drive, the length of the day, and Noah’s interest in the rides – it was PERFECT. Seriously. Things couldn’t have worked out better. We left at 10:30, a little later than we had initially intended, but it worked out perfectly because Noah slept the entire one hour section of the turnpike. The weather was sunny, breezy and comfortably cool. And the rides – Noah LOVED them. He went on the kiddie train, the big train (2X), the monorail, the ladybug rollercoaster, convoy, traffic jam, the pedal powered track cars and more. But most importantly we went on the carousel. FIVE TIMES. He loved those “neigh neighs” And on the fourth and fifth time he rode on horses that moved and was blow away by them going “up” and “down.” He keeps talking about it days later. He was also quite awestruck by the roller coasters which he referred to as the “Uh-Oh Choo Choos.” And he was really well behaved – patient in lines and good natured. We were all exhausted by nine delightful hours in the park when we left at 9:30. I don’t know how Mark managed to stay awake to drive us home safely. The only small glitch in the day was that I was feeling a bit nauseated during most of the day. Partially because of a slight wine hangover and partly because of a glut of carbs and sugar in one night after a week of detox – and not as I had been hoping because I was pregnant. But luckily I wasn’t sick enough to impede my enjoyment of the little man enjoying his big adventure in chocolate world.
Sunday was a day of relaxation. Well, not completely. We went grocery shopping, got new cell phones (Noah sucked my old phone into submission so I lost my phone contact info so I have nobody’s numbers), went to the park and prepared some South Beach lunches for the week.
And yesterday we had a play date with Susan and Frannie in the morning and in the evening Noah’s Nana and Pop Pop came, brought him a fun dump truck, chatted with us, and respectfully ate a South Beach friendly dinner without complaint. Oh and then the screaming Bappa incident happened and I got my period before I went to bed. But you heard about that.
The issue part of the post
I don’t know how I refrained from mentioning this since I think about it every day, but I’ve been trying to get pregnant again for the last ten months. And I just got my period again. It sucks. Obviously Mark and I aren’t the most fertile couple on the face of the planet since it took seven months for us to conceive Noah. And it was a hard seven months. Every month was an emotional rollercoaster of hopes and disappointments. I was reading up on adoption (and how we couldn’t afford it) and bargaining with the gods when we were finally blessed with Noah. And if it turns out that he’s our one and only then he will have been even more of a miracle for whom I will forever be grateful. But even though the issue isn’t quite as emotional and desperate feeling this time, it still sucks that we’re having problems again. It’s disappointing to me to be planning out our life and then realizing how little control I have over parts of it. And it’s sad to be thinking every new cycle about possibly being pregnant and then finding out I’m not.
One of the big questions is whether Noah’s continued nursing has anything to do with it. For the most part breastfeeding women are inundated with information about the fact that breastfeeding is not a form of birth control. That you CAN get pregnant while nursing – especially after your child is nursing less frequently. And I have had a regular period and been regularly ovulating (ovulation predictor kits) since Noah began eating solid foods at six months old. So I had assumed that it would definitely not impede my getting pregnant. However some sources suggest that breastfeeding hormones in some women can still prevent implantation of a fertilized egg, but I have no idea what percentage of women this affects. I’m thinking it’s low since the bulk of information does not support that as an issue. And I do have two acquaintances that got pregnant while nursing – and one of the women was still nursing a four month old. But who knows.
I called my OBGYN to make an appointment for a checkup and to discuss the fertility issue. I’ve waited this long because last time they told me that a healthy, fertile couple could take up to a year to conceive and they wouldn’t look into it further until that time. I couldn’t get an appointment until August, which is good in that at that time it will have been a year. And I hope, hope, hope that the nature of that appointment changes between now and then, but I’m highly doubtful.
So yes, Noah is still nursing. Approximately three times a day – first thing in the morning, naptime and bedtime. It’s still impossible for him to fall asleep without it and he’s still very vehement about requesting it when he’s tired. And just recently he’s seemed to increase the amount of time during which he nurses. Last night I nursed him for quite awhile and then decided to put him in his crib without him being fully asleep. Two hours of hell ensued. Screaming, hysterics, crying like I’ve never witnessed before. My heart and soul being razored into shreds. And I actually caved an hour in - I was offering him “Bappa” (Boppy – we always use his nursing pillow so that is what he asks for) but he’d say “No.” He was crying “Bappa. Bappa. Bappa.” But he was SO mad at me that he wouldn’t let me pick him up out of the crib. It was ugly. It was awful. And finally he settled down enough for me to nurse him again. Mark was exhausted just listening to it. And Noah is an emotional mess today as a result. But I need to separate the sleeping from the nursing. It’s dire. And once I do that then I can wean, but not until then. But it seems impossible.
The weekend part of the post
What an incredibly lovely weekend we had! Friday night we were able to dress up, go out on the town without the baby, celebrate in the nuptials of Tom & Audrey, hang out with our dear friend Tracey, and drink wine and eat in anti-South Beach abandon. It was a lot of fun. And GOD what an attractive couple. Seriously. Tom is one of my favorite people on the planet and when he told he was finally seeing someone I was prepared to deal with her not measuring up. But Audrey is sweet, beautiful and smart – and they make a dashing pair.
Saturday we headed for the hills of Hershey, Pennsylvania. And though I was a tad concerned about the drive, the length of the day, and Noah’s interest in the rides – it was PERFECT. Seriously. Things couldn’t have worked out better. We left at 10:30, a little later than we had initially intended, but it worked out perfectly because Noah slept the entire one hour section of the turnpike. The weather was sunny, breezy and comfortably cool. And the rides – Noah LOVED them. He went on the kiddie train, the big train (2X), the monorail, the ladybug rollercoaster, convoy, traffic jam, the pedal powered track cars and more. But most importantly we went on the carousel. FIVE TIMES. He loved those “neigh neighs” And on the fourth and fifth time he rode on horses that moved and was blow away by them going “up” and “down.” He keeps talking about it days later. He was also quite awestruck by the roller coasters which he referred to as the “Uh-Oh Choo Choos.” And he was really well behaved – patient in lines and good natured. We were all exhausted by nine delightful hours in the park when we left at 9:30. I don’t know how Mark managed to stay awake to drive us home safely. The only small glitch in the day was that I was feeling a bit nauseated during most of the day. Partially because of a slight wine hangover and partly because of a glut of carbs and sugar in one night after a week of detox – and not as I had been hoping because I was pregnant. But luckily I wasn’t sick enough to impede my enjoyment of the little man enjoying his big adventure in chocolate world.
Sunday was a day of relaxation. Well, not completely. We went grocery shopping, got new cell phones (Noah sucked my old phone into submission so I lost my phone contact info so I have nobody’s numbers), went to the park and prepared some South Beach lunches for the week.
And yesterday we had a play date with Susan and Frannie in the morning and in the evening Noah’s Nana and Pop Pop came, brought him a fun dump truck, chatted with us, and respectfully ate a South Beach friendly dinner without complaint. Oh and then the screaming Bappa incident happened and I got my period before I went to bed. But you heard about that.
One week after 060606
I met Patrice in ninth grade Executive Council homeroom in the fall of 1988. She was then and always will be cooler than me. Not from trying - she’s just naturally so smart, so singular, so stylish. And while I was wearing vests everyday, matching my lipstick to my nail polish, and listening to Bad English, Patrice was rockin’ Converse and listening to Violent Femmes. She was way out of my style league, but I guess she took pity on me.
Eighteen years later and Patrice is still my best friend. That’s a lot of good times, a lot of bad, a lot of water under the bridge. There were times during each others lives where we lost touch, had tiffs, weren’t there when we should have been – and there were also plenty of times we shared in each other’s extreme happiness and sorrow. She’s been such an integral part of my life for so long that I can’t imagine my life without her – and I don’t want to. She makes me laugh, shares her wisdom and makes me infinitely cooler by association.
Today is Patrice’s 32nd birthday. In the new year of Patrice I hope I’m a better friend to her than I ever have been. That as she successfully pursues her happiness that I’m by her side to cheer her on in the good times and to listen with understanding in the bad. Because a life long friendship doesn’t pop up every day. Especially with someone as cool as Patrice.
I love you, Patrice.
Eighteen years later and Patrice is still my best friend. That’s a lot of good times, a lot of bad, a lot of water under the bridge. There were times during each others lives where we lost touch, had tiffs, weren’t there when we should have been – and there were also plenty of times we shared in each other’s extreme happiness and sorrow. She’s been such an integral part of my life for so long that I can’t imagine my life without her – and I don’t want to. She makes me laugh, shares her wisdom and makes me infinitely cooler by association.
Today is Patrice’s 32nd birthday. In the new year of Patrice I hope I’m a better friend to her than I ever have been. That as she successfully pursues her happiness that I’m by her side to cheer her on in the good times and to listen with understanding in the bad. Because a life long friendship doesn’t pop up every day. Especially with someone as cool as Patrice.
I love you, Patrice.
Friday, June 09, 2006
I did it!
Blogger is sucking. I’ve been having troubles posting, putting up photos and commenting the last two days. I wrote the following post yesterday. Get it together people or I’ll have to stop paying for your free service.
Last night I participated in my first yoga class in over two years. And I am happy to say that not only did I survive but I did a decent job keeping up. This obviously means the class wasn’t overly challenging but also that I’m not as weak as I had anticipated being. So, good stuff. The instructor was a sub though, so I have no idea what sort of hoops the regular instructor will be putting me through. The grapevine has it that she’s tough.
My only problem with last night’s class was the music. She played Madonna, Gorillaz, Air, and Beck. I HATE that. I want to hear ethereal chanting, singing bowls and some sitar for christsakes. Something other worldly. It’s not a freakin’ aerobics class where you feel the burn to the bumpin’ hits of today. Sheesh. Am I the only one who feels this way? Mandy, what do you think?
We have a busy weekend ahead of us. My Mom is coming tomorrow evening to watch the boy while Mark and I go to a wedding. This means not only do I have to shave my legs and paint my nails – I must also make our house look like there is some semblance of order. Ha. As if she doesn’t know already.
On Saturday, weather permitting, Mark, Noah and I are driving two hours to Hershey Park. My Dad gave us his tickets for his work’s company picnic – so it’s free rides and free food once we make the lengthy death drive with our active car-hating toddler. Obviously Mark and I aren’t going to take turns going solo on the Super Dooper Looper, but it will be fun to see what rides the boy will go on. I'm betting that the train and the monorail will be big hits. It'll be our first amusement park experience so wish us well. And South Beach dieting in the “sweetest place on earth”… screw that. We’ll return to the land of the sugar free later.
And Sunday we have the windows on our house capped! YEAH. It doesn’t get more exciting than that. Especially after the action packed day of roofing we had today. Yup – we finally got ourselves a brand spankin’ new rubba’ roof.
Five bits of Noah news
- His first sentence is “I did it!” It’s said happily and triumphantly and is typically accompanied by jumping up and down, pumping fists, and his mother falling to the ground from the inability to carry the sheer overwhelming weight of her pride.
- Noah is in love with the wooden train I got him at Ikea. He’s all about the “choo choo chain.” He's even said "choo choo" in his sleep. At the library this week we got more books on trucks and trains and he’s in heaven. An overly motorized heaven.
- When I ask Noah what he wants to eat he says “Breakfast.” Even if it’s dinner time. He’s excellent at thinking out of the box.
- He’s begun copycatting the very stern “No” I use when he’s behaving as well as the sign language “No” that accompanies it. In fact I’m not sure what the cat was doing wrong Noah gave him a firm talking to.
- It took an entire week and a half for his appetite to come back after his stomach flu. All of the sudden it was like someone hit the switch and he was once again an unstoppable eating machine. But he’s definitely getting fussier. There’s a lot of bargaining going on at dinner to make sure he eats “one more piece of fish and then you can have pudding.” Luckily he enjoys a lot of healthy snacks like fruit leather (no sugar added fruit roll ups) and dried cherries. But today after lunch I gave him a dark chocolate chip and almond cookie and he spent a good ten minutes breaking the cookie apart so that he could eat the chocolately goodness all on it’s own. Smart man. And yes- my pathetic South Beach eating self nearly drowned in a pool of drool.
Last night I participated in my first yoga class in over two years. And I am happy to say that not only did I survive but I did a decent job keeping up. This obviously means the class wasn’t overly challenging but also that I’m not as weak as I had anticipated being. So, good stuff. The instructor was a sub though, so I have no idea what sort of hoops the regular instructor will be putting me through. The grapevine has it that she’s tough.
My only problem with last night’s class was the music. She played Madonna, Gorillaz, Air, and Beck. I HATE that. I want to hear ethereal chanting, singing bowls and some sitar for christsakes. Something other worldly. It’s not a freakin’ aerobics class where you feel the burn to the bumpin’ hits of today. Sheesh. Am I the only one who feels this way? Mandy, what do you think?
We have a busy weekend ahead of us. My Mom is coming tomorrow evening to watch the boy while Mark and I go to a wedding. This means not only do I have to shave my legs and paint my nails – I must also make our house look like there is some semblance of order. Ha. As if she doesn’t know already.
On Saturday, weather permitting, Mark, Noah and I are driving two hours to Hershey Park. My Dad gave us his tickets for his work’s company picnic – so it’s free rides and free food once we make the lengthy death drive with our active car-hating toddler. Obviously Mark and I aren’t going to take turns going solo on the Super Dooper Looper, but it will be fun to see what rides the boy will go on. I'm betting that the train and the monorail will be big hits. It'll be our first amusement park experience so wish us well. And South Beach dieting in the “sweetest place on earth”… screw that. We’ll return to the land of the sugar free later.
And Sunday we have the windows on our house capped! YEAH. It doesn’t get more exciting than that. Especially after the action packed day of roofing we had today. Yup – we finally got ourselves a brand spankin’ new rubba’ roof.
Five bits of Noah news
- His first sentence is “I did it!” It’s said happily and triumphantly and is typically accompanied by jumping up and down, pumping fists, and his mother falling to the ground from the inability to carry the sheer overwhelming weight of her pride.
- Noah is in love with the wooden train I got him at Ikea. He’s all about the “choo choo chain.” He's even said "choo choo" in his sleep. At the library this week we got more books on trucks and trains and he’s in heaven. An overly motorized heaven.
- When I ask Noah what he wants to eat he says “Breakfast.” Even if it’s dinner time. He’s excellent at thinking out of the box.
- He’s begun copycatting the very stern “No” I use when he’s behaving as well as the sign language “No” that accompanies it. In fact I’m not sure what the cat was doing wrong Noah gave him a firm talking to.
- It took an entire week and a half for his appetite to come back after his stomach flu. All of the sudden it was like someone hit the switch and he was once again an unstoppable eating machine. But he’s definitely getting fussier. There’s a lot of bargaining going on at dinner to make sure he eats “one more piece of fish and then you can have pudding.” Luckily he enjoys a lot of healthy snacks like fruit leather (no sugar added fruit roll ups) and dried cherries. But today after lunch I gave him a dark chocolate chip and almond cookie and he spent a good ten minutes breaking the cookie apart so that he could eat the chocolately goodness all on it’s own. Smart man. And yes- my pathetic South Beach eating self nearly drowned in a pool of drool.
Tuesday, June 06, 2006
Short and unsweetened
On Saturday we drove out to Reading for Baby Jules’ first birthday party. There were cookies, balloons and babies aplenty. In fact I think the very young may have outnumbered the old. Noah enjoyed playing with Jules’ toys – he has his very own ball pit and a riding train that blows bubbles – and watching the other kids play. He’s quite the voyeur. And the weather rebounded for a few hours so that Mark, Noah and I could take a walk.
On Sunday we did some light cleaning and went to the grocery store. On the way back from the store I bought a plastic ride-in Little Tikes car off the street for $5. It’s in crappy shape – but for five bucks you can’t be picky. On Monday morning we started a diet – blek. I hate the way you need to obsess about food when you are dieting. It’s so freaking counterintuitive. And I’m using artificial sweetener which I’m convinced is poison. No more diet talk. Last night Mark went to his first meeting as an official board member of the Kensington South Neighborhood Action Committee. It was kind of sucky to have him home for only 45 minutes before he left again, but I’m proud of him for getting involved and making our neighborhood better for Noah.
This morning we went to Marita’s house for the boys to hang. Noah was being super clingy for some odd reason and only warmed up as it was time to go. This afternoon we have to return our library books that are due 6-6-6! Devil books.
What’s that you hear in the background? Why it’s Dan Zane, Gnarls Barkley and Arctic Monkeys. I’m dying to get The Raconteurs and mildly interested in The Subways. What new stuff are you folks listening to?
On Sunday we did some light cleaning and went to the grocery store. On the way back from the store I bought a plastic ride-in Little Tikes car off the street for $5. It’s in crappy shape – but for five bucks you can’t be picky. On Monday morning we started a diet – blek. I hate the way you need to obsess about food when you are dieting. It’s so freaking counterintuitive. And I’m using artificial sweetener which I’m convinced is poison. No more diet talk. Last night Mark went to his first meeting as an official board member of the Kensington South Neighborhood Action Committee. It was kind of sucky to have him home for only 45 minutes before he left again, but I’m proud of him for getting involved and making our neighborhood better for Noah.
This morning we went to Marita’s house for the boys to hang. Noah was being super clingy for some odd reason and only warmed up as it was time to go. This afternoon we have to return our library books that are due 6-6-6! Devil books.
What’s that you hear in the background? Why it’s Dan Zane, Gnarls Barkley and Arctic Monkeys. I’m dying to get The Raconteurs and mildly interested in The Subways. What new stuff are you folks listening to?
Friday, June 02, 2006
Rambling post about relationships
On Tuesday night I had the pleasure of meeting my friend Jeff at Good Dog for a couple of hours while Mark and Noah hung out at the homestead. The big news of the evening is that Jeff just ended a thirteen year relationship. And while it was long overdue, he hadn’t been happy in quite a long time, it’s always so disheartening to hear about someone’s breakup. Recently my friend Patty and her beau split up, as did my brother Jim and Ofelia, the mother of his sons. That seems like a lot of breakups hitting close to home in one clump - is there something about this time of year or are the planets in alignment for relationship strife? Either way, that stinks. And it has me thinking about relationships. Hearing that a couple didn’t make it through is defeating to me. Though I know that over 40 percent of marriages end in divorce, I want to believe that good people that love each other can weather the ravages of daily life and cling together for support rather than fall apart. I want that desperately for myself – a marriage that lasts forever. And being a child of divorce whose parents split up when I was five, I don’t think I had a good role model for how a good marriage works. So here I am just winging it as always.
Missuz J refers to marriage as “juggling porcupines” and while Mark and I might toss one into the air on occasion, I think of our relationship in terms of 90/10. Ninety percent of the time I adore him, thank the heavens for him, and know we’ll grow old together. And during that dreaded ten percent he’s treading on my last nerve and I wish he’d just leave me alone.
Since we’ve had Noah marriage undoubtedly seems harder. We’re occasionally stressed, often tired and in need of a never coming break – and that can take a toll on anyone. And you can’t lash out at the baby – so who else gets it but the spouse? On many days I don’t even see another person to lash out at. Plus the fact that we don’t really have time to do so many of things that brought us together as a couple. A large part of what I loved about Mark from the beginning was that he shared my interests in music, movies, books, dining, travel and politics. And now – well FORGET those. We’re lucky to have the opportunity to chat about Lost and Project Runway. So what brought us together, attracts us to each other, and keeps us together has changed. That is a challenge within itself. Luckily one of the other key components of what brought us together as a couple was that we wanted the same things out of life long term and that hasn’t changed. We both wanted a happy marriage, a city life and a family to share it with. And every day I marvel in wonder at Noah, the prime fruit of those dreams.
Marriage (or any equivlanet long term commitment two people make to one another) is work, undoubtedly. We knew it going in – it was a large part of our discussion with the woman who married us and it was the focus of our ceremony. We’d seen marriages gone wrong up close and personal and we wanted to acknowledge from the start that often it’s an uphill battle and that we were ready. So I guess I shouldn’t feel so crushed when I hear that another couple has lost the fight. But I do. Because certainly each of them thought it was all worth the work. So what brought about that change, and can it happen to us?
I can’t be certain but I believe my 90/10 rule to be fairly normal. No matter how much you love each other, no matter how perfectly matched you are, occasionally your mate is going to drive you nuts. Right? The question is that given the sheer amount of time you spend together and responsibilities you tend to, are you sharing your life with a person who drives you the least amount of nuts. And luckily I’m pretty certain that I am, though when I’m stressed and Mark is stomping on the last tender nerve I have to remind myself. So Mark please remember that I love you even when I’m being a downright snappy bitch who doesn’t seem content with all that we have and all that you do for us. I am. I’m just being crabby becauses sometimes I just am. As we all are. Right?
So here is to our getting through it and doing it together. And to you too.
Missuz J refers to marriage as “juggling porcupines” and while Mark and I might toss one into the air on occasion, I think of our relationship in terms of 90/10. Ninety percent of the time I adore him, thank the heavens for him, and know we’ll grow old together. And during that dreaded ten percent he’s treading on my last nerve and I wish he’d just leave me alone.
Since we’ve had Noah marriage undoubtedly seems harder. We’re occasionally stressed, often tired and in need of a never coming break – and that can take a toll on anyone. And you can’t lash out at the baby – so who else gets it but the spouse? On many days I don’t even see another person to lash out at. Plus the fact that we don’t really have time to do so many of things that brought us together as a couple. A large part of what I loved about Mark from the beginning was that he shared my interests in music, movies, books, dining, travel and politics. And now – well FORGET those. We’re lucky to have the opportunity to chat about Lost and Project Runway. So what brought us together, attracts us to each other, and keeps us together has changed. That is a challenge within itself. Luckily one of the other key components of what brought us together as a couple was that we wanted the same things out of life long term and that hasn’t changed. We both wanted a happy marriage, a city life and a family to share it with. And every day I marvel in wonder at Noah, the prime fruit of those dreams.
Marriage (or any equivlanet long term commitment two people make to one another) is work, undoubtedly. We knew it going in – it was a large part of our discussion with the woman who married us and it was the focus of our ceremony. We’d seen marriages gone wrong up close and personal and we wanted to acknowledge from the start that often it’s an uphill battle and that we were ready. So I guess I shouldn’t feel so crushed when I hear that another couple has lost the fight. But I do. Because certainly each of them thought it was all worth the work. So what brought about that change, and can it happen to us?
I can’t be certain but I believe my 90/10 rule to be fairly normal. No matter how much you love each other, no matter how perfectly matched you are, occasionally your mate is going to drive you nuts. Right? The question is that given the sheer amount of time you spend together and responsibilities you tend to, are you sharing your life with a person who drives you the least amount of nuts. And luckily I’m pretty certain that I am, though when I’m stressed and Mark is stomping on the last tender nerve I have to remind myself. So Mark please remember that I love you even when I’m being a downright snappy bitch who doesn’t seem content with all that we have and all that you do for us. I am. I’m just being crabby becauses sometimes I just am. As we all are. Right?
So here is to our getting through it and doing it together. And to you too.
Thursday, June 01, 2006
mrs. self distruct
About five years ago I was seeing a therapist. The issue I wanted to deal with specifically was my self loathing – specifically body image. I really loved my therapist and she helped me work through a lot but not as much as joining Weight Watchers and losing some weight did. Once I dropped some pounds, I discontinued my therapy. I felt good about myself. Better than I ever had. More therapy would have helped more on the long term, but I stopped cringing when I looked in the mirror and that was pretty spectacular for me.
Five years, a baby and 20 pounds later I could use some therapy but cheaper yet some weight loss. Yesterday a friend sent me some photos of myself that made me weep. Looking at them I couldn’t believe I go out in public looking like this. My face, so swollen and chubby, my midsection so flabby and lumpy. And it wasn’t just the weight. My hair is horrendous. My skin dreadful. And my teeth are ghoulishly ridiculous. How can I face people looking like this?
Obviously some things can be fixed and some can’t. I decided last week I needed to start a diet and so far it isn’t going well. Of course a major picnic weekend is not the best one on which to start your weight loss initiative. Especially when you have such poor willpower and a defeatist attitude. While at that toddler birthday party this weekend I thought I was showing some restraint until I began talking to a couple that just finished a two week cleansing fast. For TWO WEEKS they ate no solid foods. TWO WEEKS! I felt like kicking them in the teeth. HOW in the hell did they do that? I WANT to do that – but know I couldn’t last two days.
Last night I planned to go to my first yoga class in two years. I was excited. I needed some forward motion, something to feel like I was fighting my wretched unpresentableness. And then the damn instructor didn’t show up. I wanted to cry. Especially since I didn’t go to the class last week because I got the damn stomach flu. Will the gods please work with me a little? PLEASE. I need something to prevent me from falling down deeper into this self hatred hole.
Five years, a baby and 20 pounds later I could use some therapy but cheaper yet some weight loss. Yesterday a friend sent me some photos of myself that made me weep. Looking at them I couldn’t believe I go out in public looking like this. My face, so swollen and chubby, my midsection so flabby and lumpy. And it wasn’t just the weight. My hair is horrendous. My skin dreadful. And my teeth are ghoulishly ridiculous. How can I face people looking like this?
Obviously some things can be fixed and some can’t. I decided last week I needed to start a diet and so far it isn’t going well. Of course a major picnic weekend is not the best one on which to start your weight loss initiative. Especially when you have such poor willpower and a defeatist attitude. While at that toddler birthday party this weekend I thought I was showing some restraint until I began talking to a couple that just finished a two week cleansing fast. For TWO WEEKS they ate no solid foods. TWO WEEKS! I felt like kicking them in the teeth. HOW in the hell did they do that? I WANT to do that – but know I couldn’t last two days.
Last night I planned to go to my first yoga class in two years. I was excited. I needed some forward motion, something to feel like I was fighting my wretched unpresentableness. And then the damn instructor didn’t show up. I wanted to cry. Especially since I didn’t go to the class last week because I got the damn stomach flu. Will the gods please work with me a little? PLEASE. I need something to prevent me from falling down deeper into this self hatred hole.
Tuesday, May 30, 2006
Grown woman stuck in play tube
I was feeling like a super bitch all weekend and the only thing I have to pin my moodiness on is that damn stomach flu. Unfortunately Noah was still suffering a bit from diarrhea, low energy, suppressed appetite, and sleep difficulties and as a result of all of those issues a less than cheerful disposition. The biggest problem was that he was just discontent. He wanted something, but didn’t want it. He was sleepy but wouldn’t sleep. He wanted to take a walk but wanted to be carried. He wanted constant attention but was unhappy getting it. Nothing was quite good enough and the result was a lot of whining and some tears. And after a week his mood was weighing heavily on me. The result was a lot of whining and some tears. I just get so distraught when he’s not happy. But luckily yesterday and today we both seem on the upswing so I hope we’re on our way back to normal.
Yesterday we went to a picnic at Pa Joe and Oma’s place. It was great to see my brother Jim and his kids, especially since we hadn’t seen them since Thanksgiving. The scorching hot weather kept us indoors for the most part, but it was nice to have my Dad back behind the grill. Despite having had an atrocious night of sleep (partying from 1 am to 5:30 am) Noah was good natured and warmed quickly to his cousins. He got a bit emotional when the kids were spraying each other with the hose (“UH OH!”) but all in all he had a great time. And it was gut wrenchingly sweet and sad to watch him run around and make comparisons to memories of how tiny he was at last year’s picnic.
This morning I took Noah to Ikea for awhile to run around in the air conditioning. (Though I finally caved and turned ours on.) Amazingly I got out of there spending less than $50, but just a tad less. It’s a damn expensive playground. I got (or should I say Noah got) some plastic storage boxes for toys and art supplies, a set of little metal play pans and a wooden train set. Then we went to the Chikfila to play in the toddler fun zone. Noah is just a tad too small to go alone up the tube ladder to the slide, but since there were no other kids in there I squeezed my fat ass in the tube to help him out. We’re all very lucky I’m not still stuck in there.
Yesterday we went to a picnic at Pa Joe and Oma’s place. It was great to see my brother Jim and his kids, especially since we hadn’t seen them since Thanksgiving. The scorching hot weather kept us indoors for the most part, but it was nice to have my Dad back behind the grill. Despite having had an atrocious night of sleep (partying from 1 am to 5:30 am) Noah was good natured and warmed quickly to his cousins. He got a bit emotional when the kids were spraying each other with the hose (“UH OH!”) but all in all he had a great time. And it was gut wrenchingly sweet and sad to watch him run around and make comparisons to memories of how tiny he was at last year’s picnic.
This morning I took Noah to Ikea for awhile to run around in the air conditioning. (Though I finally caved and turned ours on.) Amazingly I got out of there spending less than $50, but just a tad less. It’s a damn expensive playground. I got (or should I say Noah got) some plastic storage boxes for toys and art supplies, a set of little metal play pans and a wooden train set. Then we went to the Chikfila to play in the toddler fun zone. Noah is just a tad too small to go alone up the tube ladder to the slide, but since there were no other kids in there I squeezed my fat ass in the tube to help him out. We’re all very lucky I’m not still stuck in there.
Saturday, May 27, 2006
Neigh neigh
Today we took a break from our low energy schlumping, recovery and cleaning to attend the second birthday party of Noah’s neighborhood friend Louis. His parents held a lovely barbecue and their garden was awash in little people. It was nice to socialize and baby watch. But one of this afternoons events will live forever in infamy. Today was the episode with the “neigh neigh.”
Shortly after the party started Louis’s mom hung a piñata. Noah smiled and pointed. “neigh neigh” he exclaimed happily. Before it was time to cut the cake Louis’s mom fetched an aluminum broom handle so the kids could have a go at the piñata – but after just one swing Louis told his Mama to do it. Mark held Noah up to watch as she whacked at the piñata until the head broke off and candy spilled to the floor. “Neigh neigh!” Noah shrieked in a panic. “Neigh neigh!” he cried having watched a horsey being beaten with a stick. “Neigh neigh…neigh neigh” he said in mournful confusion. We all assured him it was okay. “The horse isn’t real,” we said. “It’s a game,” we said. “Have some candy,” we said. But as I took him over to show him the paper horse he started to shake. My sensitive sweet boy. After about 15 minutes we got him to spend a few moments focusing on something other than the “neigh neigh” even if only briefly, and he even had a piece of candy. But I know he’ll be fixated on this “neigh neigh” incident for quite some time and I just hope he doesn’t wake in the night crying about it. I can’t adequately relate how badly I felt for him in that moment. He was SO upset about the horse. His concern was so overwhelming. But I also can’t adequately relate how proud I am to be raising such an empathetic little man. Our world is dreadfully lacking in empathy and I hope as parents we are able to preserve Noah’s willingness to identify with the emotions of another, even if it is just a paper horse.
Shortly after the party started Louis’s mom hung a piñata. Noah smiled and pointed. “neigh neigh” he exclaimed happily. Before it was time to cut the cake Louis’s mom fetched an aluminum broom handle so the kids could have a go at the piñata – but after just one swing Louis told his Mama to do it. Mark held Noah up to watch as she whacked at the piñata until the head broke off and candy spilled to the floor. “Neigh neigh!” Noah shrieked in a panic. “Neigh neigh!” he cried having watched a horsey being beaten with a stick. “Neigh neigh…neigh neigh” he said in mournful confusion. We all assured him it was okay. “The horse isn’t real,” we said. “It’s a game,” we said. “Have some candy,” we said. But as I took him over to show him the paper horse he started to shake. My sensitive sweet boy. After about 15 minutes we got him to spend a few moments focusing on something other than the “neigh neigh” even if only briefly, and he even had a piece of candy. But I know he’ll be fixated on this “neigh neigh” incident for quite some time and I just hope he doesn’t wake in the night crying about it. I can’t adequately relate how badly I felt for him in that moment. He was SO upset about the horse. His concern was so overwhelming. But I also can’t adequately relate how proud I am to be raising such an empathetic little man. Our world is dreadfully lacking in empathy and I hope as parents we are able to preserve Noah’s willingness to identify with the emotions of another, even if it is just a paper horse.
Friday, May 26, 2006
Very sick indeed
And now with all the gory details. Please avert your eyes if, like me, you are adverse to details of the bathroom nature.
After complaining for a few hours of feeling queasy and me telling him he was just being paranoid, Mark threw up at 11 pm on Tuesday night. Shortly afterwards I started feeling queasy and we went to bed. At 1 am Noah woke up crying. As soon as I got up to get him I felt sick. When I got to his room I heard Mark running to the bathroom to sit on the toilet and discovered that Noah had soiled himself beyond the reaches of his diaper. Instantly I realized I was going to vomit, so I put Noah back in his crib much to his dismay and ran to the other bathroom. Between heaves I yelled out to Mark to get Noah, of course Mark was up to his own bathroom business so for a few minutes Noah was crying and unattended. When Mark finally made it down to Noah I switched positions from kneeling in front of the toilet to sitting – and then finally gathered myself and went back to Noah’s room. Mark had begun changing Noah and as soon as I got there he went running back to the bathroom to vomit. And this folks, was just the beginning. It was a long night and though the following days weren’t as flush-tastic, the dehydration took its toll and we’ve been lying around on the floors recalling what it was like to have a smidgeon of energy. I know Mark would say the vomiting was the suckiest, but for me the overall sluggish, hurting, achiness of Wednesday was far worse. And here I am on Friday still feeling like a rung out dishrag. Noah still has diarrhea and sluggishness, but the pediatrician assures me that its normal and soon enough he’ll be right as rain.
It’s a three day holiday weekend – and top on our agenda is recuperation, rest, and sanitization. Hope your plans are more exciting.
After complaining for a few hours of feeling queasy and me telling him he was just being paranoid, Mark threw up at 11 pm on Tuesday night. Shortly afterwards I started feeling queasy and we went to bed. At 1 am Noah woke up crying. As soon as I got up to get him I felt sick. When I got to his room I heard Mark running to the bathroom to sit on the toilet and discovered that Noah had soiled himself beyond the reaches of his diaper. Instantly I realized I was going to vomit, so I put Noah back in his crib much to his dismay and ran to the other bathroom. Between heaves I yelled out to Mark to get Noah, of course Mark was up to his own bathroom business so for a few minutes Noah was crying and unattended. When Mark finally made it down to Noah I switched positions from kneeling in front of the toilet to sitting – and then finally gathered myself and went back to Noah’s room. Mark had begun changing Noah and as soon as I got there he went running back to the bathroom to vomit. And this folks, was just the beginning. It was a long night and though the following days weren’t as flush-tastic, the dehydration took its toll and we’ve been lying around on the floors recalling what it was like to have a smidgeon of energy. I know Mark would say the vomiting was the suckiest, but for me the overall sluggish, hurting, achiness of Wednesday was far worse. And here I am on Friday still feeling like a rung out dishrag. Noah still has diarrhea and sluggishness, but the pediatrician assures me that its normal and soon enough he’ll be right as rain.
It’s a three day holiday weekend – and top on our agenda is recuperation, rest, and sanitization. Hope your plans are more exciting.
Tuesday, May 23, 2006
Chillin and illin
So it seems Noah caught some sort of stomach virus, though from whence it came I have no idea. Possibly from our short trip to the Please Touch (and Infect Me) Museum on Thursday. Yesterday I got vomit on me three times and poop once. Note to parents – when your child has a stomach virus that normally coincides with gastrointestinal discomfort, do NOT let him sit on your lap without a diaper on.
The craziest thing about Noah’s throwing up is that he seems most concerned with the mess. He’d point to his clothes and cry “Uh Oh,” then to my shirt “Uh Oh” and then to the floor “Uh Oh.” I’d say “It’s okay. We’ll get it all cleaned up. Do you want me to get you in clean clothes?” and he’d shake his head vigorously. “Uh Oh” he said to Mark when he got home to let his Daddy know he’d gotten sick. He even said once in his sleep last night. After his first vomitous attack I thought maybe his pizza just disagreed with him, he had no fever and his energy seemed to spring right back after he got all settled down and cleaned off. But when I went to put him in his booster seat for dinner he started to wretch and we were off to the races again. Sad little sicky.
But early this morning was the worst. He woke up at 1:30 crying and screaming inconsolably while writhing around for about 30 minutes. Mark and I didn’t know what to do – Noah was in such obvious agony. He kept crying for the Boppy but wouldn’t lay down on it. I felt so helpless and it was horrible to watch. After having some incredibly loud diaper action he settled enough to get excited about a Pedialyte popsicle and a promise of Sesame Street. He layed on my lap listlessly sucking down icy electrolytes and occasionally exclaiming “Telly… Bird… Bert.” Nothing beats Sesame Street at 2 am.
Today thankfully we haven’t had any more vomiting, but he’s still got diaper issues. He’s tired, listless and barely eating. He just wants to hang on me – which is more than fine. I like to snuggle. I had plans to go out with my friend Jeff for a few hours tonight, but he was incredibly understanding when I postponed. I’m sure Mark could handle Noah while I went out, but he’s so clingy with me today that I don’t want to upset him by leaving.
The craziest thing about Noah’s throwing up is that he seems most concerned with the mess. He’d point to his clothes and cry “Uh Oh,” then to my shirt “Uh Oh” and then to the floor “Uh Oh.” I’d say “It’s okay. We’ll get it all cleaned up. Do you want me to get you in clean clothes?” and he’d shake his head vigorously. “Uh Oh” he said to Mark when he got home to let his Daddy know he’d gotten sick. He even said once in his sleep last night. After his first vomitous attack I thought maybe his pizza just disagreed with him, he had no fever and his energy seemed to spring right back after he got all settled down and cleaned off. But when I went to put him in his booster seat for dinner he started to wretch and we were off to the races again. Sad little sicky.
But early this morning was the worst. He woke up at 1:30 crying and screaming inconsolably while writhing around for about 30 minutes. Mark and I didn’t know what to do – Noah was in such obvious agony. He kept crying for the Boppy but wouldn’t lay down on it. I felt so helpless and it was horrible to watch. After having some incredibly loud diaper action he settled enough to get excited about a Pedialyte popsicle and a promise of Sesame Street. He layed on my lap listlessly sucking down icy electrolytes and occasionally exclaiming “Telly… Bird… Bert.” Nothing beats Sesame Street at 2 am.
Today thankfully we haven’t had any more vomiting, but he’s still got diaper issues. He’s tired, listless and barely eating. He just wants to hang on me – which is more than fine. I like to snuggle. I had plans to go out with my friend Jeff for a few hours tonight, but he was incredibly understanding when I postponed. I’m sure Mark could handle Noah while I went out, but he’s so clingy with me today that I don’t want to upset him by leaving.
Monday, May 22, 2006
So much for status quo
Noah awoke from his nap and vomitted. And he's gotten sick twice since then. Poor little man.
An empty house
“Daddy? Daddy? An-Jess? An-Jess? Ah-wee?” This morning’s soundtrack has been a chorus of Noah inquiring about the whereabouts of others. With Mark home all last week with a lame eye Noah began thinking he was a permanent all day everyday fixture. And after reveling in the constant doting attention of his 11 year old Aunt Jess over the weekend, he was sadly disappointed that she wasn’t here to greet him this morning. And just a few hours of Grandma yesterday was a mere teaser. So he’s stuck with me – boring every day Mama. I took him to the park and out for pizza to alleviate some of his frustration with our population decline, but as soon as we headed home the calls for his departed comrades returned.
So our weekend was Jess-tastic. We drove out to Montgomery County on Friday night to see Jess perform a choreographed dance with four of her friends at her elementary school variety show. She was really energetic, knew her moves and was super cute. I was glad we went, but was a bit blindsided that the whole show took over two hours. Mark had to take Noah outside to use the playground equipment for awhile and then after they returned I violated the MCs request that people remain in their seats by chasing Noah and a ball back and forth in the rear of the cafeteria. Oh well. A happy toddler is much less disturbing and distracting than a screaming, upset toddler. For me especially.
On Saturday Jess, Noah and I went to Target and grocery shopping and after Noah’s nap we all went downtown to stroll around Rittenhouse Square and have dinner at More Than Just Ice Cream. After the boy hit bed, Jess and I were beat by Mark in a painfully prolonged round of Phase 10. On Sunday Jess and I went to Trader Joe’s and in the afternoon we all went to my cousin Tammy’s Masters Degree graduation party. Having Jess here was like a mini Mama vacation because Noah would much rather play with her than me and I just got to sit back and watch them have fun. I can’t even express to you how much I enjoy watching them bond. I get all super gushy inside.
My Mom brought a date to Tammy’s graduation party. My Mom has felt a bit worried about people perceiving her as dating “too early” after my stepfather’s death, but I’ve assured her that anyone who really knows her knows how lonely she’s been over the last five plus years and could be nothing but excited for her. After tending to my (sadly ungrateful) stepfather during his prolonged battle against terminal cancer, it’s great to see her having fun and spending time with someone who seems to think the world of her. It’s what she deserves – what we ALL deserve. In our brief interactions with her date he seemed friendly, funny and good natured – even when the wind grabbed a full plate of food off the table and threw it down his shirt. Which by the way is a slightly cruel but hysterical thing to do a person meeting the family – and an excellent way to see someone’s true colors. I recommend it to all of you interviewing the dates of your family members.
So we’re sort of back to status quo around here and it will take some time to adjust. I hope we get our routine back together before we’re hauled off screaming by the dustbunnies.
So our weekend was Jess-tastic. We drove out to Montgomery County on Friday night to see Jess perform a choreographed dance with four of her friends at her elementary school variety show. She was really energetic, knew her moves and was super cute. I was glad we went, but was a bit blindsided that the whole show took over two hours. Mark had to take Noah outside to use the playground equipment for awhile and then after they returned I violated the MCs request that people remain in their seats by chasing Noah and a ball back and forth in the rear of the cafeteria. Oh well. A happy toddler is much less disturbing and distracting than a screaming, upset toddler. For me especially.
On Saturday Jess, Noah and I went to Target and grocery shopping and after Noah’s nap we all went downtown to stroll around Rittenhouse Square and have dinner at More Than Just Ice Cream. After the boy hit bed, Jess and I were beat by Mark in a painfully prolonged round of Phase 10. On Sunday Jess and I went to Trader Joe’s and in the afternoon we all went to my cousin Tammy’s Masters Degree graduation party. Having Jess here was like a mini Mama vacation because Noah would much rather play with her than me and I just got to sit back and watch them have fun. I can’t even express to you how much I enjoy watching them bond. I get all super gushy inside.
My Mom brought a date to Tammy’s graduation party. My Mom has felt a bit worried about people perceiving her as dating “too early” after my stepfather’s death, but I’ve assured her that anyone who really knows her knows how lonely she’s been over the last five plus years and could be nothing but excited for her. After tending to my (sadly ungrateful) stepfather during his prolonged battle against terminal cancer, it’s great to see her having fun and spending time with someone who seems to think the world of her. It’s what she deserves – what we ALL deserve. In our brief interactions with her date he seemed friendly, funny and good natured – even when the wind grabbed a full plate of food off the table and threw it down his shirt. Which by the way is a slightly cruel but hysterical thing to do a person meeting the family – and an excellent way to see someone’s true colors. I recommend it to all of you interviewing the dates of your family members.
So we’re sort of back to status quo around here and it will take some time to adjust. I hope we get our routine back together before we’re hauled off screaming by the dustbunnies.
Thursday, May 18, 2006
My issue
I haven't had much time to blog this week and I've been having issues posting photos via Hello, so I couldn't even give you some silly eye candy. Sorry.
I went out for two hours with friends on Tuesday night. I went to Azure for dinner while Mark watched Noah with one eye. The food was good and it was nice to get out briefly. I enjoyed seeing my former teaching coworkers and catching up with what they were doing. Unfortunately I came home sort of disgruntled that I didn't feel like they asked me many questions about what was up with me. Maybe because they think they know? Or because my life is fairly status quo while they are buying houses and having relationship issues? It's true I don't have a TON to say, but I might have something. This has been my pet peeve lately - having long conversations with people in which I ask them all sorts of questions about themselves and then walking away feeling like they didn't ask me anything and didn't really want to know. I'm sure it's probably my issue.
Mark can get around now thankfully so we went to the Please Touch Museum for an hour with Noah yesterday. Mark had never been. He SO enjoyed pushing those little grocery carts. He loves nothing more than grocery shopping. (Italics denotes sarcasm.) For the next two days Mark gets to accompany us on our playdates. Lucky man.
I've been trying to book plane tickets for my trip to Florida to see my sister Elisha and her new baby in August. I found a really great rate at the appropriate times on Monday but by the time all the parites involved got around to getting back to me (Elisha - though she's moving and pregnant so I understand she's busy) the fares were no good on the good flights. So now it's either wait for another discount fare (they have to get cheap, NOONE wants to fly to Orlando in August, right?) or book the crappy times. What do you think? I'm tired of spinning my wheels. I need help.
What we need help most with is housework, but no more help is coming. We best go get to it now that we have four functioning eyes and a napping baby.
I went out for two hours with friends on Tuesday night. I went to Azure for dinner while Mark watched Noah with one eye. The food was good and it was nice to get out briefly. I enjoyed seeing my former teaching coworkers and catching up with what they were doing. Unfortunately I came home sort of disgruntled that I didn't feel like they asked me many questions about what was up with me. Maybe because they think they know? Or because my life is fairly status quo while they are buying houses and having relationship issues? It's true I don't have a TON to say, but I might have something. This has been my pet peeve lately - having long conversations with people in which I ask them all sorts of questions about themselves and then walking away feeling like they didn't ask me anything and didn't really want to know. I'm sure it's probably my issue.
Mark can get around now thankfully so we went to the Please Touch Museum for an hour with Noah yesterday. Mark had never been. He SO enjoyed pushing those little grocery carts. He loves nothing more than grocery shopping. (Italics denotes sarcasm.) For the next two days Mark gets to accompany us on our playdates. Lucky man.
I've been trying to book plane tickets for my trip to Florida to see my sister Elisha and her new baby in August. I found a really great rate at the appropriate times on Monday but by the time all the parites involved got around to getting back to me (Elisha - though she's moving and pregnant so I understand she's busy) the fares were no good on the good flights. So now it's either wait for another discount fare (they have to get cheap, NOONE wants to fly to Orlando in August, right?) or book the crappy times. What do you think? I'm tired of spinning my wheels. I need help.
What we need help most with is housework, but no more help is coming. We best go get to it now that we have four functioning eyes and a napping baby.
Tuesday, May 16, 2006
It's hard to get a picture that properly represents the bruised, puffy, goopyness that is Mark's eye after almost three days of healing. The good news is that his good eye is doing a bit better and he can open it to navigate and do some basic tasks. The bad news is he's nowhere near being able to sit in front of a computer for a few hours at work. And sadly he isn't allowed to enjoy the experience of wearinga badass pirate patch. Apparently they breed infection. But luckily he can wear his sunglasses at night.
Monday, May 15, 2006
About mothers and children
This post by Very Mom made me cry. And this essay by Anna Quindlen touched me too.
FYeye
Crazy weekend. I’ll cut to the big dramatic event and then go back and fill in the good parts.
Saturday night I was making cookies for a Mother’s Day Picnic at my Aunt Jill’s house. While sampling a taste of the first batch, Noah was sitting on Mark’s lap while bopping away to the music on the stereo. He threw his hands in the air, threw them up like he just didn’t care – and he poked Mark in the eye. REAL HARD. Long story short – Mark went to the Emergency room at Will’s Eye Hospital and was diagnosed with a deep corneal abrasion. He can’t open his eye, the eyelid is swollen and bruised and he is in constant pain. And unfortunately the other eye isn’t dealing great with the strain either. So he’s been basically blinded temporarily. It should heal in a couple of days but in the meantime he’s out of work and hurting. He probably can’t go back to work until Thursday – which really sucks for his coworkers since they are super busy preparing for commencement – but there isn’t really anything he can do for them other than man the phone to answer questions.
As a result of Mark’s injury I decided to postpone my personal celebration of Mother’s Day for another day – on a day when I can do a little less mothering. Noah and I went to the picnic at Aunt Jill’s place while Mark laid around in the dark at home. It seemed the best thing I could do for him was to get the boy and vacate so he could get some rest. Though honestly watching Noah nurse his ailing father was so amazingly cute. He gave him kisses, held his hand and was feeding him his snack. Adorable. Almost as adorable as watching Noah dance and hug with his 3 year old cousin Aelan last night. I think he fell in love with her yesterday. Anyway – the picnic was nice and fun but sadly lacking Mark.
Back to the start of the weekend. Friday night we had friends over. I laughed. And laughed. And laughed some more. Good times. I didn’t go to bed until 1 AM! My God. Saturday Mark’s cousin Coleen and her husband Atsushi came down from Central Jersey to meet Noah for the first time. They brought him the Little People Floaty Boat for the bath tub and he loves it. I didn’t know what to make them for lunch because I don’t know them well enough to know their likes and dislikes, so I made a salad assortment – a pasta salad, a tomato salad, a bean salad and a fruit salad – served with cheese, sliced meat, and rolls. It turned out really well and is now my new entertaining recommendation. After they left, we all napped and then went to the rec center playground. We had a run in with a crazy belligerent drunk neighbor, came home and then Noah poked Mark in the eye. So there you have our weekend. We had lots of laughter and quite a few tears.
Today I took Noah to the pediatrician about that weird bug bite. They didn’t quite explain what the deal with it was – but they said it was not, as I had started worrying, some weird parasite growing in his hand. Just a bit infected I guess. They gave me prescriptions for a topical cream and antibiotics. Because it’s looking a bit better today then yesterday I’m thinking I might use the topical cream for 24 hours and examine the results before I put Noah on another round of antibiotics. I’m wierded out about antibiotic overuse and since he was just on his first round of antibiotics three weeks ago for his tonsillitis, I want to make sure he needs them before I put him through that again. What do you folks think?
Saturday night I was making cookies for a Mother’s Day Picnic at my Aunt Jill’s house. While sampling a taste of the first batch, Noah was sitting on Mark’s lap while bopping away to the music on the stereo. He threw his hands in the air, threw them up like he just didn’t care – and he poked Mark in the eye. REAL HARD. Long story short – Mark went to the Emergency room at Will’s Eye Hospital and was diagnosed with a deep corneal abrasion. He can’t open his eye, the eyelid is swollen and bruised and he is in constant pain. And unfortunately the other eye isn’t dealing great with the strain either. So he’s been basically blinded temporarily. It should heal in a couple of days but in the meantime he’s out of work and hurting. He probably can’t go back to work until Thursday – which really sucks for his coworkers since they are super busy preparing for commencement – but there isn’t really anything he can do for them other than man the phone to answer questions.
As a result of Mark’s injury I decided to postpone my personal celebration of Mother’s Day for another day – on a day when I can do a little less mothering. Noah and I went to the picnic at Aunt Jill’s place while Mark laid around in the dark at home. It seemed the best thing I could do for him was to get the boy and vacate so he could get some rest. Though honestly watching Noah nurse his ailing father was so amazingly cute. He gave him kisses, held his hand and was feeding him his snack. Adorable. Almost as adorable as watching Noah dance and hug with his 3 year old cousin Aelan last night. I think he fell in love with her yesterday. Anyway – the picnic was nice and fun but sadly lacking Mark.
Back to the start of the weekend. Friday night we had friends over. I laughed. And laughed. And laughed some more. Good times. I didn’t go to bed until 1 AM! My God. Saturday Mark’s cousin Coleen and her husband Atsushi came down from Central Jersey to meet Noah for the first time. They brought him the Little People Floaty Boat for the bath tub and he loves it. I didn’t know what to make them for lunch because I don’t know them well enough to know their likes and dislikes, so I made a salad assortment – a pasta salad, a tomato salad, a bean salad and a fruit salad – served with cheese, sliced meat, and rolls. It turned out really well and is now my new entertaining recommendation. After they left, we all napped and then went to the rec center playground. We had a run in with a crazy belligerent drunk neighbor, came home and then Noah poked Mark in the eye. So there you have our weekend. We had lots of laughter and quite a few tears.
Today I took Noah to the pediatrician about that weird bug bite. They didn’t quite explain what the deal with it was – but they said it was not, as I had started worrying, some weird parasite growing in his hand. Just a bit infected I guess. They gave me prescriptions for a topical cream and antibiotics. Because it’s looking a bit better today then yesterday I’m thinking I might use the topical cream for 24 hours and examine the results before I put Noah on another round of antibiotics. I’m wierded out about antibiotic overuse and since he was just on his first round of antibiotics three weeks ago for his tonsillitis, I want to make sure he needs them before I put him through that again. What do you folks think?
Friday, May 12, 2006
Mother by Anonymous
Your Love is like an island
In life's ocean, vast and wide,
A peaceful quiet shelter
From the wind and rain and tide.
Above it like a beacon light
Shone faith and truth and care;
And through the changing scenes of life,
I find a haven there.
In life's ocean, vast and wide,
A peaceful quiet shelter
From the wind and rain and tide.
Above it like a beacon light
Shone faith and truth and care;
And through the changing scenes of life,
I find a haven there.
Thursday, May 11, 2006
May Buddha forgive us
Yesterday we spent the afternoon with Noah’s “Da-Doe” (Pa Joe) and “Moo-Moo” (Oma). We took a walk, ate Chinese buffet and cavorted toddler style. It was a really nice visit. Da-Doe, Noah and I are planning our trip to Florida to visit my sister Elisha after she has her baby boy in early August. I’m excited to meet my new baby nephew and to have Noah spend some time with Elisha’s family (her Mom’s side – my ex- step sisters). But I’ll be sad to leave Mr. Mark behind. I don’t think I’ve spent a week away from him in 8 years. Plus isn’t the weather in Orlando area Florida absolutely deadly in August? Elisha should really be giving birth in October.
This afternoon Ms. Frannie will be spending a few hours with us while her Mom does some work for an event. Noah’s looking forward to seeing “Nee-Nee.” We’ve actually just started a busy two week period – good busy, mostly socializing and fun. Which of course means though I might have some more interesting stuff to blog about, I might not have the time to do it. And so it goes.
By now you know that Noah is a fairly sensitive boy. Small things often make big impacts on him. I have a few more examples:
Our house is being systematically monitored by an angry bird. Over the weekend some whack bird started periodically squawking at our house like she’d gone off her meds. If I didn’t know better I’d assume we’d ransacked her nest and stolen her babies. When our cat Parker is staring out the window she takes pleasure in taunting him – flying straight toward the window and daring him to take a flying leap. As a result of her crazy antics Mark and I kept talking about the “angry bird.” It was no time before Noah started imitating her squawking and referencing the “angry… bird… angry… bird.”
The other day Noah was playing with a small plastic Buddha figurine we had on a book case in the living room. It’s the kind of thing you get in Chinatown for two bucks and because it’s hard plastic I thought it was indestructible. Wrong. Noah flung it to the floor and the head fell off. And despite both Mark and I assuring Noah that it was okay – he was really distressed. He whimpered, whined and kept saying “Buddha” and gesturing at his head. Possibly fifty times during the course of the evening. And a handful more every day for the last three days. I guess he’s a tad sheepish about causing injury to the enlightened one.
On Tuesday night I went out for a few hours and a few beers with Patrice and Jen Mc. I left when Mark got home and had to be back before Noah’s bedtime. It was short but sweet. While I was out the boys were living it up testosterone style. Shortly before I got home Mark was “sitting” on Noah’s plastic riding car, legs akimbo when he pretended to fall off, landing with a big “UH-OH.” Noah cried. Mark had to reassure him that all was well, he wasn’t hurt. Noah was SO worried about Mark’s fall. When I got home and repeatedly since he’s said “Daddy… car… Uh Oh.”
Oh- and the bug bite. The doc said that I should keep Neosporin on it and as long as it didn’t grow bigger or get pussy that all was well. Later gators.
This afternoon Ms. Frannie will be spending a few hours with us while her Mom does some work for an event. Noah’s looking forward to seeing “Nee-Nee.” We’ve actually just started a busy two week period – good busy, mostly socializing and fun. Which of course means though I might have some more interesting stuff to blog about, I might not have the time to do it. And so it goes.
By now you know that Noah is a fairly sensitive boy. Small things often make big impacts on him. I have a few more examples:
Our house is being systematically monitored by an angry bird. Over the weekend some whack bird started periodically squawking at our house like she’d gone off her meds. If I didn’t know better I’d assume we’d ransacked her nest and stolen her babies. When our cat Parker is staring out the window she takes pleasure in taunting him – flying straight toward the window and daring him to take a flying leap. As a result of her crazy antics Mark and I kept talking about the “angry bird.” It was no time before Noah started imitating her squawking and referencing the “angry… bird… angry… bird.”
The other day Noah was playing with a small plastic Buddha figurine we had on a book case in the living room. It’s the kind of thing you get in Chinatown for two bucks and because it’s hard plastic I thought it was indestructible. Wrong. Noah flung it to the floor and the head fell off. And despite both Mark and I assuring Noah that it was okay – he was really distressed. He whimpered, whined and kept saying “Buddha” and gesturing at his head. Possibly fifty times during the course of the evening. And a handful more every day for the last three days. I guess he’s a tad sheepish about causing injury to the enlightened one.
On Tuesday night I went out for a few hours and a few beers with Patrice and Jen Mc. I left when Mark got home and had to be back before Noah’s bedtime. It was short but sweet. While I was out the boys were living it up testosterone style. Shortly before I got home Mark was “sitting” on Noah’s plastic riding car, legs akimbo when he pretended to fall off, landing with a big “UH-OH.” Noah cried. Mark had to reassure him that all was well, he wasn’t hurt. Noah was SO worried about Mark’s fall. When I got home and repeatedly since he’s said “Daddy… car… Uh Oh.”
Oh- and the bug bite. The doc said that I should keep Neosporin on it and as long as it didn’t grow bigger or get pussy that all was well. Later gators.
Tuesday, May 09, 2006
Monday, May 08, 2006
Whistle while you work
It was a workhorse weekend. We originally had plans to have my sister Jessica spend the weekend with us, but that was postponed at the last minute. As a result we had time on our hands and a lot of chores waiting to eat it up. Luckily the weather was beautiful and we were able to spend some time outside so it made the work feel invigorating and not so tedious.
On Friday night I was wiped out after watching both Noah and his little friend Frannie most of the day. On Saturday Mark, Noah and I went to the Hancock Recreation Center so that I could help move dirt around in the Children’s Garden being organized by our friend Marita, the president of our Kensington South neighborhood organization. Mark chased Noah around the playground until it was time for him to drop off our recycling. When we got home we set up Noah’s new sandbox, Mark swept out our “yard” (concrete slab), and I cleaned the kitchen. The excitement continued on Sunday as Mark cleaned the bathroom and vacuumed while I straightened the first floor and put the finishing touches on the kitchen (a day later and it’s already a mess). My Mom came by in the afternoon and she, Noah and Mark went for a walk while I made dinner. You still reading this scintillating account of our weekend? I know it sounds pedestrian and boring but it was in fact a nice weekend and it felt good to have a few productive days for a change.
Random Noah tidbits:
- He’s LOVING the sandbox. Particularly burying things and then having us unearth them with the sifting pan.
- For some odd reason he’s pronouncing Grandma as “Ah-wee.” Don’t know why, but it makes me chuckle.
- He’s been having Grandma withdrawal since our vacation. He’s probably wondering why she no longer lives next door. Every morning as I get him dressed after breakfast he asks “Daddy?” and I tell him Mark went to work and then “Ah-wee?” and I explain she’s at home with her doggies.
- He’s gotten really good at holding hands while taking a walk – and he ALWAYS wants to take a walk. He also wants to climb up the steps in front of every house.
- As is our custom, one afternoon at the resort I was running behind Noah saying “Chase! Chase!” when a keenly observant guest said “No wonder you named him Chase.”
- The other night I assured Noah his bath water wasn’t hot, that it was in fact “nice.” Now everything is “NICE.” He said it today when I was hugging him and it almost made me cry.
- Almost two weeks after our vacation Noah still has the bug bites he got in Jamaica. In fact the one on his hand has me worried – it’s all bubbly, puffy and pink. I’m considering having his doctor look at it. Can bug bites get infected?
- He loves to climb in and out of his stroller. He could easily spend a half an hour doing it.
- Today I retired his high chair. My giant boy sits in his booster seat now.
On Friday night I was wiped out after watching both Noah and his little friend Frannie most of the day. On Saturday Mark, Noah and I went to the Hancock Recreation Center so that I could help move dirt around in the Children’s Garden being organized by our friend Marita, the president of our Kensington South neighborhood organization. Mark chased Noah around the playground until it was time for him to drop off our recycling. When we got home we set up Noah’s new sandbox, Mark swept out our “yard” (concrete slab), and I cleaned the kitchen. The excitement continued on Sunday as Mark cleaned the bathroom and vacuumed while I straightened the first floor and put the finishing touches on the kitchen (a day later and it’s already a mess). My Mom came by in the afternoon and she, Noah and Mark went for a walk while I made dinner. You still reading this scintillating account of our weekend? I know it sounds pedestrian and boring but it was in fact a nice weekend and it felt good to have a few productive days for a change.
Random Noah tidbits:
- He’s LOVING the sandbox. Particularly burying things and then having us unearth them with the sifting pan.
- For some odd reason he’s pronouncing Grandma as “Ah-wee.” Don’t know why, but it makes me chuckle.
- He’s been having Grandma withdrawal since our vacation. He’s probably wondering why she no longer lives next door. Every morning as I get him dressed after breakfast he asks “Daddy?” and I tell him Mark went to work and then “Ah-wee?” and I explain she’s at home with her doggies.
- He’s gotten really good at holding hands while taking a walk – and he ALWAYS wants to take a walk. He also wants to climb up the steps in front of every house.
- As is our custom, one afternoon at the resort I was running behind Noah saying “Chase! Chase!” when a keenly observant guest said “No wonder you named him Chase.”
- The other night I assured Noah his bath water wasn’t hot, that it was in fact “nice.” Now everything is “NICE.” He said it today when I was hugging him and it almost made me cry.
- Almost two weeks after our vacation Noah still has the bug bites he got in Jamaica. In fact the one on his hand has me worried – it’s all bubbly, puffy and pink. I’m considering having his doctor look at it. Can bug bites get infected?
- He loves to climb in and out of his stroller. He could easily spend a half an hour doing it.
- Today I retired his high chair. My giant boy sits in his booster seat now.
Thursday, May 04, 2006
Like sand in the hour glass
Last night Mark, Noah and I went to Toys R’ Us. I’ve been meaning to get Noah a good booster seat for over a month now, but I was putting it off because I knew if I went to Toys R’ Us I’d spend a bunch of money we didn’t have on things we didn’t really need. Last night I suggested we go to the toy store to buy a sandbox. Amazingly we came home with out the full wooden train table that Noah fell in love with but we did end up with a pool, a car ramp, some new Playdoh, a small helicopter, sand, a sandbox and some sand toys – but NO booster seat. Moron. Add to that the fact that the car ramp we got doesn’t fit Noah’s Matchbox cars because we bought it in the Toddler toys section rather than in the Matchbox section – and I feel like a major brainiac. Luckily he’s still enjoying playing with it using the two little cars that came with it and doesn’t seem too concerned when the Matchbox cars get stuck.
Noah had his 18 month checkup this morning. After his screaming and writhing at the doctor’s office in Jamaica I was a tad concerned how he was going to do at his checkup. It turns out I had nothing to worry about though because he was an angel. Doc Bidi was impressed with his behavior as she said most 18 month olds hate the doctor. But I must confess that I had a little help with his behavior. On Monday afternoon I made a doc appointment because I’ve been having sore, itchy ears. Five years ago I woke up one morning unable to move due to an inner ear infection and horrible vertigo and as a result I now take my ears very seriously. The short story on the appointment is that I have allergies. Who knew? I’ve never had many issues with them in the past, but I’ve been told it’s a really bad year for them. Or maybe they’re just Noah’s fault. Since his birth I’ve become a chocoholic who gets motion sickness – neither of which were an issue before. Anywho – I had to take Noah with me to the doctor and he watched me get weighed, and have my ears, eyes, temperature, blood pressure and throat checked. I made sure he saw me being a good patient and told him that’s how we act at the doctor’s office. After the appointment he kept saying “Mama…. Doctor… Ears.” And this morning he was even looking forward to his appointment - he nodded happily when I reminded him that today the doctor would check his ears. So modeling… it works.
Noah measures up at 24 pounds and 33.5 inches – so 25% for weight and 85% for height. Doc Bidi said he was “perfect” - good health and on track developmentally. When I told her he’s just about to start using two words together (at the park he kept talking about the “broke… swing… broke… swing) she said that was great because they don’t expect that until two years – which means as well as being amazingly adorable, Bella is a linguistic genius.
Noah had his 18 month checkup this morning. After his screaming and writhing at the doctor’s office in Jamaica I was a tad concerned how he was going to do at his checkup. It turns out I had nothing to worry about though because he was an angel. Doc Bidi was impressed with his behavior as she said most 18 month olds hate the doctor. But I must confess that I had a little help with his behavior. On Monday afternoon I made a doc appointment because I’ve been having sore, itchy ears. Five years ago I woke up one morning unable to move due to an inner ear infection and horrible vertigo and as a result I now take my ears very seriously. The short story on the appointment is that I have allergies. Who knew? I’ve never had many issues with them in the past, but I’ve been told it’s a really bad year for them. Or maybe they’re just Noah’s fault. Since his birth I’ve become a chocoholic who gets motion sickness – neither of which were an issue before. Anywho – I had to take Noah with me to the doctor and he watched me get weighed, and have my ears, eyes, temperature, blood pressure and throat checked. I made sure he saw me being a good patient and told him that’s how we act at the doctor’s office. After the appointment he kept saying “Mama…. Doctor… Ears.” And this morning he was even looking forward to his appointment - he nodded happily when I reminded him that today the doctor would check his ears. So modeling… it works.
Noah measures up at 24 pounds and 33.5 inches – so 25% for weight and 85% for height. Doc Bidi said he was “perfect” - good health and on track developmentally. When I told her he’s just about to start using two words together (at the park he kept talking about the “broke… swing… broke… swing) she said that was great because they don’t expect that until two years – which means as well as being amazingly adorable, Bella is a linguistic genius.
Wednesday, May 03, 2006
Sunny day
Illness aside there were many moments of Noah joy in Jamaica and I’d like to share a few of them with you.
Half the time I think Noah thought he was on Walkabout. Even when he was feeling miserably ill, he’d want to amble around the resort walkways and bridges with us in tow. But it wasn’t enough just to wander around. Undoubtedly the excursion would result in him creating some sort of pattern whereby he would walk up two steps, across a platform, down two steps, step on a drain, squat, and then go back up the steps – and then repeat. But not alone. No – if you were with him you’d have to do the exact same thing. He’d say “Mama” and point to the step to let me know it was my turn to follow. And if I stopped or didn’t squat on that drain he’d let me know about it. On more than one occasion Mark, my Mom and I were all following his orders. It must have been quite a picture to see the three of us following him around, stopping to squat on that drain.
The Beaches resort we went to in Negril is especially for families. They have a water park, X box rooms, and family friendly entertainment as well as nannies and a Kids Kamp to keep the kiddies busy if the parents want to hang out at the pool bar. The setup is ideal for families with older kids than Noah or at least for mothers who are less clingy than my co-dependent ass. They also have a deal with Sesame Street whereby they not only do some shows featuring the characters but also have meet and greet moments with the kids – Baking with Cookie Monster, Dancing with Zoe, the Letter of the Day with Bert, etc. Though Noah has a Hokey Pokey Elmo and had seen a few passing moments of Sesame Street, it wasn’t really his thing so I was unsure how interested in it he would be. In our first few moments at the resort I was walking around carrying Noah when Cookie Monster was headed right for us, on his way to a cooking demonstration. Noah squealed, pointed and smiled. Not because he recognized him but because there was this fuzzy, happy blue monster headed our way. But then Cookie Monster touched Noah – to say Hello (they don’t speak unless they play a recorded soundtrack) and Noah began crying. I kept walking while trying to pacify him and before he even stopped crying he was signing for “more.” Cookie Monster had him overwhelmed and hungering for more. When we got back to Mom and Mark, Noah was pointing emphatically at the spot on his arm where Cookie Monster touched him. I explained “Cookie Monster touched his arm.” In those first moments I had no idea how many times we’d have that interaction. It became the running joke of our vacation as Noah pointed to his arm about 50 times a day to recount the story – and then just as a way to sign Cookie Monster. It’s how he asked me to watch Sesame Street just this morning – because of course now he’s a big fan. Though a love of Cookie Monster is a dangerous thing – the poor guy doesn’t get much air time these days. Noah can sign for him up to wazoo – but I can barely find a glimpse of him. The sick Noah picture I posted below captures the sign, and I think I’ll post another one just so you get the full effect.
Two of the nights we were at the resort the nightly entertainment featured a short Sesame Street Live presentation followed by some Baby Disco type action. And Noah was in HEAVEN. Not only did he see Cookie Monster sing “The Itsty Bitsy Spider” but afterwards he got to DANCE. And he was a dancing machine. Our shy boy kept going out in the middle of an empty dance floor and strutting his stuff, and he even got on stage.
And Noah is indeed shy. On a daily basis people would attempt to interact with Noah – waving, smiling, saying “Hello,” asking him questions, and in some instances staff members just scooped him up in their arms. And every time Noah stared wide eyed and didn’t utter a peep. If they were lucky (and a woman) they might get a smile and a wave after they walked away. I found myself explaining countless times “He’s a little shy with strangers.” On one hand I’m a little sad that the rest of the world doesn’t see our chatty, smiling, exuberant boy – but on the other I feel like we’re privy to a hidden treasure. Of course I feel that way about his Dad too.
Noah not only did really well with the traveling, he really seemed to enjoy it. He was excited to be on the bus and ride in the plane. “Fly! Fly!” He’d say. He had no problems with take off or landing, and he slept on both flights. He really was a model little passenger with one brief exception. On the way home he had a bad 40 minutes where he was trying to nurse to sleep but was too overstimulated, warm and cramped to relax and he let out a few cries. I panicked when people started shooting me looks while my giant son was crying and demanding to nurse. As I sat there trying to calm Noah my Mom started talking to me calmly and reassuringly and actually started petting my head. And my over-agitated response was to snip “MOM – I’M NOT A BABY.” But I know now as a mother that’s not true. I’ll always be her baby as Noah will always be mine. I just hope he’s not demanding to nurse when he’s 31.
Half the time I think Noah thought he was on Walkabout. Even when he was feeling miserably ill, he’d want to amble around the resort walkways and bridges with us in tow. But it wasn’t enough just to wander around. Undoubtedly the excursion would result in him creating some sort of pattern whereby he would walk up two steps, across a platform, down two steps, step on a drain, squat, and then go back up the steps – and then repeat. But not alone. No – if you were with him you’d have to do the exact same thing. He’d say “Mama” and point to the step to let me know it was my turn to follow. And if I stopped or didn’t squat on that drain he’d let me know about it. On more than one occasion Mark, my Mom and I were all following his orders. It must have been quite a picture to see the three of us following him around, stopping to squat on that drain.
The Beaches resort we went to in Negril is especially for families. They have a water park, X box rooms, and family friendly entertainment as well as nannies and a Kids Kamp to keep the kiddies busy if the parents want to hang out at the pool bar. The setup is ideal for families with older kids than Noah or at least for mothers who are less clingy than my co-dependent ass. They also have a deal with Sesame Street whereby they not only do some shows featuring the characters but also have meet and greet moments with the kids – Baking with Cookie Monster, Dancing with Zoe, the Letter of the Day with Bert, etc. Though Noah has a Hokey Pokey Elmo and had seen a few passing moments of Sesame Street, it wasn’t really his thing so I was unsure how interested in it he would be. In our first few moments at the resort I was walking around carrying Noah when Cookie Monster was headed right for us, on his way to a cooking demonstration. Noah squealed, pointed and smiled. Not because he recognized him but because there was this fuzzy, happy blue monster headed our way. But then Cookie Monster touched Noah – to say Hello (they don’t speak unless they play a recorded soundtrack) and Noah began crying. I kept walking while trying to pacify him and before he even stopped crying he was signing for “more.” Cookie Monster had him overwhelmed and hungering for more. When we got back to Mom and Mark, Noah was pointing emphatically at the spot on his arm where Cookie Monster touched him. I explained “Cookie Monster touched his arm.” In those first moments I had no idea how many times we’d have that interaction. It became the running joke of our vacation as Noah pointed to his arm about 50 times a day to recount the story – and then just as a way to sign Cookie Monster. It’s how he asked me to watch Sesame Street just this morning – because of course now he’s a big fan. Though a love of Cookie Monster is a dangerous thing – the poor guy doesn’t get much air time these days. Noah can sign for him up to wazoo – but I can barely find a glimpse of him. The sick Noah picture I posted below captures the sign, and I think I’ll post another one just so you get the full effect.
Two of the nights we were at the resort the nightly entertainment featured a short Sesame Street Live presentation followed by some Baby Disco type action. And Noah was in HEAVEN. Not only did he see Cookie Monster sing “The Itsty Bitsy Spider” but afterwards he got to DANCE. And he was a dancing machine. Our shy boy kept going out in the middle of an empty dance floor and strutting his stuff, and he even got on stage.
And Noah is indeed shy. On a daily basis people would attempt to interact with Noah – waving, smiling, saying “Hello,” asking him questions, and in some instances staff members just scooped him up in their arms. And every time Noah stared wide eyed and didn’t utter a peep. If they were lucky (and a woman) they might get a smile and a wave after they walked away. I found myself explaining countless times “He’s a little shy with strangers.” On one hand I’m a little sad that the rest of the world doesn’t see our chatty, smiling, exuberant boy – but on the other I feel like we’re privy to a hidden treasure. Of course I feel that way about his Dad too.
Noah not only did really well with the traveling, he really seemed to enjoy it. He was excited to be on the bus and ride in the plane. “Fly! Fly!” He’d say. He had no problems with take off or landing, and he slept on both flights. He really was a model little passenger with one brief exception. On the way home he had a bad 40 minutes where he was trying to nurse to sleep but was too overstimulated, warm and cramped to relax and he let out a few cries. I panicked when people started shooting me looks while my giant son was crying and demanding to nurse. As I sat there trying to calm Noah my Mom started talking to me calmly and reassuringly and actually started petting my head. And my over-agitated response was to snip “MOM – I’M NOT A BABY.” But I know now as a mother that’s not true. I’ll always be her baby as Noah will always be mine. I just hope he’s not demanding to nurse when he’s 31.
Monday, May 01, 2006
Sometimes I'm a Jamaican Jerk
We returned late Friday night from a week in Negril, Jamaica. The weather was sunny and beautiful. The sand was fine and white. The ocean was crystalline blue, calm and warm. The pools had bars, water slides and a lazy river. The food was overflowing and without end. All of these are ingredients for quite a luxurious and relaxing tropical beach week – and while we did enjoy these elements I’m very sorry to say that there is more to tell about our trip and the details aren’t that sweet.
Despite it taking 11 hours for us to get from our home to our hotel in Jamaica, Noah was a prince. He enjoyed the walkways in the airport, had no problems with take off or landing, happily stayed seated drawing and playing during the flight and took two naps (one on the plane, one on the bus). Once we arrived at the resort we ate, walked around, spent some time in the water and went to bed exhausted at 8:30 pm because of our 4 am start time that morning. At 3:30 am on Sunday morning Noah woke up on fire. He had a fever and it was a scorcher. You could feel the heat emanating from his little feet. We took him to nurse Lillymay in the morning and while we pinned down our distraught and screaming little man she said Noah had a fever of a 103.3 and she called in the doctor. The polish doctor diagnosed him with the beginnings of an ear infection and acute tonsillitis and prescribed him antibiotics. He said the runny nose and drooling Noah had for a few days prior to the vacation were early symptoms of his cold and sore throat – though we’d blamed them both on teething. Noah had never been on antibiotics and never even been to the doctor for a sick visit so it was really rotten luck to have his first real illness while on vacation. On Sunday, Monday and Tuesday Noah was pretty ill. He was lethargic, grumpy and sad. Even when the ibuprofen would break his fever for a few hours his energy and mood were too low for him to be adventurous. He didn’t want to be in the pool, on the sand, in the ocean. The only things he seemed to enjoy were exploring the resort by walking in circles, looking for lizards, spotting an occasional Sesame Street character, and the attentions of his doting Grandmother. Oh and nursing. Endless, endless nursing. And since our eternal eater wasn’t eating any solid foods and barely drinking any juicy water, I obliged when he asked until I couldn’t do it any more and then he screamed and cried. Between my putting premature ends on his intended three hour nursing sessions and us having to pin him down for the doctor and to take his medicine, he was more than happy to turn his attentions to Grandma. And that of course was one of her reasons for the trip – so Noah and Grandma quality time were indeed a success.
And because Noah felt poorly, I felt poorly. I was so distraught about him not feeling well, about him not enjoying the vacation, about feeling sad while we were in tropical paradise that I was pretty miserable to deal with. I was just as moody and teary as Noah. Though it isn’t necessarily in my nature to be optimistic, I make a constant effort to always look on the bright side and to put any small discomforts or concerns I have in check with the dark reality that others have to face. And when I’m having a low patch and I’m not able to keep my focus on the positive, I get pretty disgusted with myself. Which of course doesn’t do much to alleviate the situation. I kept thinking “Yes my boy’s a little sick, but it’s nothing very serious, and I’m in JAMAICA for God’s sake! Stop whining!” And I’d put it aside for a little while and then Noah would have a teary episode and I’d be depressed again. I owe both my Mom and Mark a big apology and thank you for their tolerance and support. I can say with certainty that as sad as I was at seeing Noah not feeling well – it made my Mom and Mark sad to see me not feeling well. We all took part in a love-induced sadness downward spiral.
But then there was Wednesday! Noah felt good. He was eating. He was happy. We played in the sand, in the surf, in the pool. We smiled and cheered. Wednesday was a dreamy, perfect vacation day. Thursday was some more of the same, though honestly the sleep deprivation of the earlier part of the week had caught up with me and I felt like I was barely capable of dragging myself around. Plus we knew it was our last day and were disappointed that we’d just begun really enjoying ourselves. And Friday we headed home.
So illness, tiredness, sad bouts aside – there were some really great, memorable moments to share. And I’ll be sharing them this week as I have time to recount them. Mark and I have to send out a huge thanks to my Mom for taking us to Jamaica. I’m so very sorry that the trip didn’t turn out exactly as she had hoped, but I’m pretty sure she enjoyed spending lots of time with Noah despite his sickness. And I know he enjoyed spending the time with her – he’s been asking for her endlessly and seems confused that she’s no longer living in the room next door.
Hope everyone had a good week in the blogosphere. It’s going to take me a while to catch up on reading and commenting, but please bear with me. I’ll post a few pictures from our trip now, but then I have to get ready to go to the doctor’s office. I’m sorry to say that my throat and ears are bothering me. Keep your fingers crossed that I’m just a paranoid, hypochondriac freak.
Despite it taking 11 hours for us to get from our home to our hotel in Jamaica, Noah was a prince. He enjoyed the walkways in the airport, had no problems with take off or landing, happily stayed seated drawing and playing during the flight and took two naps (one on the plane, one on the bus). Once we arrived at the resort we ate, walked around, spent some time in the water and went to bed exhausted at 8:30 pm because of our 4 am start time that morning. At 3:30 am on Sunday morning Noah woke up on fire. He had a fever and it was a scorcher. You could feel the heat emanating from his little feet. We took him to nurse Lillymay in the morning and while we pinned down our distraught and screaming little man she said Noah had a fever of a 103.3 and she called in the doctor. The polish doctor diagnosed him with the beginnings of an ear infection and acute tonsillitis and prescribed him antibiotics. He said the runny nose and drooling Noah had for a few days prior to the vacation were early symptoms of his cold and sore throat – though we’d blamed them both on teething. Noah had never been on antibiotics and never even been to the doctor for a sick visit so it was really rotten luck to have his first real illness while on vacation. On Sunday, Monday and Tuesday Noah was pretty ill. He was lethargic, grumpy and sad. Even when the ibuprofen would break his fever for a few hours his energy and mood were too low for him to be adventurous. He didn’t want to be in the pool, on the sand, in the ocean. The only things he seemed to enjoy were exploring the resort by walking in circles, looking for lizards, spotting an occasional Sesame Street character, and the attentions of his doting Grandmother. Oh and nursing. Endless, endless nursing. And since our eternal eater wasn’t eating any solid foods and barely drinking any juicy water, I obliged when he asked until I couldn’t do it any more and then he screamed and cried. Between my putting premature ends on his intended three hour nursing sessions and us having to pin him down for the doctor and to take his medicine, he was more than happy to turn his attentions to Grandma. And that of course was one of her reasons for the trip – so Noah and Grandma quality time were indeed a success.
And because Noah felt poorly, I felt poorly. I was so distraught about him not feeling well, about him not enjoying the vacation, about feeling sad while we were in tropical paradise that I was pretty miserable to deal with. I was just as moody and teary as Noah. Though it isn’t necessarily in my nature to be optimistic, I make a constant effort to always look on the bright side and to put any small discomforts or concerns I have in check with the dark reality that others have to face. And when I’m having a low patch and I’m not able to keep my focus on the positive, I get pretty disgusted with myself. Which of course doesn’t do much to alleviate the situation. I kept thinking “Yes my boy’s a little sick, but it’s nothing very serious, and I’m in JAMAICA for God’s sake! Stop whining!” And I’d put it aside for a little while and then Noah would have a teary episode and I’d be depressed again. I owe both my Mom and Mark a big apology and thank you for their tolerance and support. I can say with certainty that as sad as I was at seeing Noah not feeling well – it made my Mom and Mark sad to see me not feeling well. We all took part in a love-induced sadness downward spiral.
But then there was Wednesday! Noah felt good. He was eating. He was happy. We played in the sand, in the surf, in the pool. We smiled and cheered. Wednesday was a dreamy, perfect vacation day. Thursday was some more of the same, though honestly the sleep deprivation of the earlier part of the week had caught up with me and I felt like I was barely capable of dragging myself around. Plus we knew it was our last day and were disappointed that we’d just begun really enjoying ourselves. And Friday we headed home.
So illness, tiredness, sad bouts aside – there were some really great, memorable moments to share. And I’ll be sharing them this week as I have time to recount them. Mark and I have to send out a huge thanks to my Mom for taking us to Jamaica. I’m so very sorry that the trip didn’t turn out exactly as she had hoped, but I’m pretty sure she enjoyed spending lots of time with Noah despite his sickness. And I know he enjoyed spending the time with her – he’s been asking for her endlessly and seems confused that she’s no longer living in the room next door.
Hope everyone had a good week in the blogosphere. It’s going to take me a while to catch up on reading and commenting, but please bear with me. I’ll post a few pictures from our trip now, but then I have to get ready to go to the doctor’s office. I’m sorry to say that my throat and ears are bothering me. Keep your fingers crossed that I’m just a paranoid, hypochondriac freak.
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