A love as sweet as a crisp fall Yellow Delicious.  

Goings on and moronic behavior

What have we been up to lately? Well on Friday Susan and Frannie came over for lunch, Janette and Jules came over for dinner, and Mark went out with his friend Jenny to the new music venue at Johnny Brendas. On Saturday we went to Tripp’s second birthday party. As per usual Holly went above and beyond – she rented a hot dog machine, a popcorn machine, a cotton candy machine and an ice cream machine. There were activity tables for the kids – play doh, paints, and masks. There would have been a clown too put the idiot cancelled on her. It was a lot of fun and though I don’t intend on doing anything that elaborate for Noah’s party I do find myself trying to think up any excuse to rent an ice cream machine and make sundaes. Like maybe because it’s Tuesday. On Sunday we drove out to Sellersville to meet my Mom at a fair event that was to be held at Lake Lenape Park. At the last moment they decided the park was too muddy and relocated the event to my former junior high school. And God was it weird walking around that place. Especially since I was really overtired and pissy that day. Noah danced a bit to the old-timey folk band that was playing until he tripped over a crack in the sidewalk and led the charge down to the ground with his face. He’s sporting a lovely brushburn goatee as well as a matching set on his knee and elbow.

Yesterday myself and neighborhood friends Holly, Susan and Morgan gathered up our toddler tots Noah, Tripp, Frannie and Stella as well as infant Finn and headed to Linvilla Orchards to pick apples. It was a nice little field trip for us all. We won’t win any apple picking prizes since most of the time we were too busy chasing toddlers through aisles of trees to pick anything, but the kids really enjoyed the idea of eating apples right off the trees. In fact I swear half the apples we picked didn’t make it to the checkout process. We also picked out pumpkins and had a nice picnic lunch under a shady tree. I really enjoyed the precursor to Fall and also the feeling that we’ve formed our own little happy clique of Moms and kids. I really value that sense of community.

So two major idiotic things happened this week. The first is that at Tripp’s party Susan’s husband gave me an envelope containing a check for $150 for some freelancing we did, a key to our house and the directions for how to feed our cats and deactivate our alarm system. Obviously there was some great concern when we realized we came home without it. And even more concern when we called Holly the day after and she hadn’t seen it when she cleaned up. We were feeling like grade A feck-ups. Luckily however Holly soon found the envelope wedged between the cushions of the sofa we were sitting on. Hooray. The second involved our carpeting estimates. We were blown away when I called Lowes for their estimate and found out it was $1200 less than the neighborhood flooring place we had hoped to use. However last night we went to Lowes to get a print out of the estimate and found out that the quote they gave me over the phone did not include the actual carpeting! Yup – they gave me the price of installation, cushioning, etc but hadn’t added the carpet we picked out. DUH! Talk about service. It’s still a better deal at Lowes but now only infinitesimally so. Now we have to decide to go with the neighborhood place (Buy local!) that has far superior customer service and more accountability or Lowes who has the better price and actually the better looking carpet for our buck.

We’re off to my Dad’s this afternoon.

Uninspired mish mash

I haven’t been feeling bloggy lately. Like I don’t have much to say or the time to waste on it. Like I don’t want to bore anyone with the mundane details of our daily living. I hope that feeling passes soon. Here are some nuts and bolts that I have been thinking about blogging about but haven’t yet.

- We’re loving Franklin Square. A park that for years was used by few other than junkies and homeless because it was cut off from the surrounding areas by highway on ramps is now a lovely green space with a carousel, a golf course and a state of the art fenced in play area. It’s a shame it’s a bit of a hike for us – a forty minute walk – but probably for the best because if Noah lived closer to those neigh neighs we’d go broke paying for them.

- Oh how I’m missing the Philadelphia Fringe festival. Gone are the days of seeing ten performances and here are the days of seeing none. Ho hum. But Monday night Noah and I went to see my friend Janette perform because I knew she wouldn’t be mad at me if Noah got to rowdy and had to be rushed out. I’m happy to report however that Noah was an angel. He listened to his Mama about “watching and listening” and he peacefully observed and ate through a granola bar and a fruit leather during the show. There were only a couple of times I had to remind him to stay quiet when he began asking for music – I had told him there would be dancing and music in the show and he wanted MORE of both.

- Have you seen “Jack’s Big Music Show” on Noggin, the Nickelodeon preschooler channel? Noah LOVES it. I’m so surprised there isn’t any CDs, DVDs or merchandising for the show yet but I guess with the second season soon starting that it’s on the horizon. If you have cable and kids check it out. It’s cute, fun and the music is well done and infectious.

- Noah and I went to the zoo for a few hours on Tuesday afternoon to take advantage of the lovely weather and our membership which expires at the end of the month. It’s been amazing to see how his experience at the zoo has changed over the course of the year. He spent this visit telling all the animals to “Come out” and telling me he wanted to “Hold it.” Of course this meant he was very excited to interact with the goats at the petting zoo. He not only pet and brushed them but also began hugging and kissing them. I didn’t want to deter his affection but tried to gently caution him from kissing goats.

- Oh how I am dreading the cold weather. We’ve been spending a lot of time at the various parks and playgrounds in the area trying to take full advantage of the nice weather and the stress free activities. I know I’ll miss just chasing him around when I’m trying to keep him busy trapped in the house day after day after day.

- I ‘ve been feeling a bit exhausted lately. I’m worried that I should be doing more teaching and activities with Noah during the day and that I’m becoming a bit too tired and short tempered with his constant toddler testing. I feel like I could really use a Mommy break but not sure what would fit the bill. I went to yoga last night but all I could think about during the restorative class was things I need to do or fix. It was hardly relaxing.

- I’ve been contemplating taking a class. I want to learn something new. Something new and cheap. I was fairly serious about taking an adult education sewing class being given at a local charter school until I realized that not only would I have to buy and bring my own sewing machine to the class but also that once I had attained some sewing skills that I would have no time to use them.

- Any TV Mark and I watch is DVR’d – so we only watch what we intend to watch. This is great for the most part however it means I never just catch something new. Someone has to tell me to watch something so I can set it up to tape. And now that I’m out of saved episodes of "30 Days," "Always Sunny in Philadelphia," "Lucky Louie" and "Design Star" – my cupboard is nearly bear. So my question is what new shows are supposed to be worth watching this Fall? What are you looking forward to seeing?

From the ground up

This week flew by and for the life of me I can’t even figure out what we have been up to, so I may have to make some crap up.

Today we had reps from Bell Floor Covering and Lowes come by our place to measure our second floor for carpeting estimates. We hate our despicably heinous carpet and have hesitated replacing it because we can’t really afford to do so. And we still can’t – but we also can’t live like this either. When we moved into our house our carpet was cheap, too light in color, stained and installed poorly. And because we had no regard for it over the years it has gotten progressively worse through a series of house parties, spills, vomiting cats, and Noah’s infancy. My mom gave us a carpet cleaner a couple of years ago and I was so frustrated with how little it actually cleaned of our horrible carpet that I put it in the basement to save it for a carpet that was worth shampooing. We just gave up on this sad carpet to the point that it has become most foul. And now it is time to bid it farewell and to start over with a new carpet that we intend to maintain. We picked out very cheap speckled Berbers and now we have to find out exactly what it’s going to cost to put down about 1000 square feet of it. Pray to the flooring gods for us.

On the baby front we still aren’t pregnant. But I’m very happy to report that we finally have some idea as to why we’re not getting pregnant and we’re on the path to finding out what we can do about it. I won’t go into the intimate details of our situation because that’s a bit too much for me to share on the blog at the moment, but I will say it’s really nice to have some answers finally and not have to listen to people insinuate that either we aren’t doing it right or we’re just over-thinking it.

I have to start dieting again since most of the weight I lost in July came back in August. Blasted! I can blame some of it on my vacation eating and some on the fact that on both of our trips I was not as active as I normally am with Noah at home. What I hate most about gaining weight is that the first place you can see it is in my quickly expanding face and jowls. Nature is cruel. So tomorrow I go back to strictly monitoring all I consume as well as attempting to get some additional exercise. I’ve got a wedding to attend in two weeks and I don’t want to look like a heifer. Of course tonight we BINGE.

Noah is currently at his most cutest and most frustrating. The joy, the words, the learning make being with him so incredibly fulfilling. The cuteness comes out of his mouth at an alarming rate. And the hugging, the kissing, the cuddling – he’s just so affectionate and I’m loving every minute of it. However the battles over nearly every choice made can be so tiring. He wants to do everything his “SELF!” He never wants to stop what he’s doing to do the next thing because he didn’t make that decision on his own. And sometimes he starts crying because he’s asking for two opposing options but doesn’t really want either of them. This afternoon he was “all done!” with his lunch and wanted “down down!” but when I tried to take his tray away so he could get out of his seat he wanted “tray!” and wanted “up!” It kills me. I just felt defeated and whimpered “I can’t play this game with you right now – WHAT do you want?” When he gets upset he often puts his hands over his eyes, puts his head down on the floor and in a forlorn voice says “sad, sad.” It breaks my heart and he knows it. He’s becoming manipulative – on more than one occasion I’ve said “You’re not sad” and he’s picked his head up and smiled at me. Little devil. But oh, the cuteness redeems him every time.

See the greyness? Feel the dampness? This was our beach week.  

Any words might spoil the cuteness.  

Like a kid at a candy store or like Noah on a neigh neigh.  

Is that state of the art hole craftmanship or what?  

Grey and sandy - with a spattering of smiles

Our Ocean City beach week was sadly lacking a few things necessary for complete enjoyment – the sun being the most obvious. We didn’t have even a flash of sunlight all week long. We made the most of the non-rainy but still overcast days and tried to keep our hopes up that the sun was on its way. We were forsaken. I could detail for you our disappointments, but that doesn’t help you or me. Instead I’d rather dwell on the things that made me happy. Here are some of those.
- Watching Noah cavort in the ocean could raise the spirits of some of the saddest souls. He dances and giggles, running in and out of the water, singing “Ocean! Ocean! Ocean!” He jumps up and down in the waves gleefully exclaiming “It’s a big one!” He runs in circles, prances around the beach flags and throws himself into the sand. It’s a scene of pure joy.
- Mark was out of work for 10 days! TEN glorious days of uninterrupted husband and father. I felt really sad this morning when he went back to work. Unfortunately two stay at home parents certainly doesn’t pay the bills.
- My Mom is happier than I’ve ever seen her. Her new boyfriend is a really nice guy and he’s treats her with the kind of love and respect that she deserves. It’s a really nice change.
- Mark’s Dad and his wife Sylvia came to the beach house for two nights. I’m not saying it’s completely comfortable, because it certainly isn’t, but I do enjoy when our families merge. And I really liked watching Noah run on the boardwalk holding hands with his Grandma and his Nana.
- Of course we enjoyed the choo choos and the neigh neighs – and lots of them. We fed Noah’s fixation heartily. But most exciting is that during the course of the week Noah went from requiring me to sit on the carousel horse with him to riding all by himself.
- Mark and I saw a movie! Hooray. We saw Dead Man’s Chest and really enjoyed it. It’s a beach week movie if I ever saw one. Silly, unadulterated fun.
- Last year at the beach Noah spent a good portion of the week being afraid of Bella. This year they were good pals – sharing toys and running around in circles. SO CUTE. It made me tear up. It was also great to chat with Sean and spend time with Trent.
- I read a book! Sure it was just a book of short stories and I had to finish it when we got home, but I still READ. And I pretended I was hanging out in Hong Kong.
- On Thursday I dug a hole. I got a shovel and set to digging a hole in the sand. No purpose really, and it didn’t accomplish anything either. But I have to say it’s one of the high points of my week. I dug digging that hole.

Well everything is a mess here and I'm behind on everything. It's going to take quite awhile to get things back in order, most especially me. Hope all are well.

Aunt Barbara nearly kidnapped Noah.  

Introducing my adorable nephew Hunter Lee Crego. Couldn't you just EAT him?  

The new proud parents - Elisha and Christopher.  

Cousin Emily is the most serious member of the whole family. She's destined to be a philosophy major.  

Little Maddy is one month younger than Noah and can swim better than I can.  

He's on top of the world looking down on creation and the only explanation is Summer. 

Wise old cousin Sean advised Noah in the ways of the world.  

Noah takes a break from tending to Baby George so he can watch the dogs run at the Daytona dog track.  

Little Mary, Pa Joe, Noah and Aunt Cathy sail the sea in Saint Augustine.  

Snap, snap, snap

It’s been a crazy week. I haven’t had time to blog, post pictures or even read and comment on other blogs. I don't have time to do it now either but that's not stopping me. And tomorrow I’m off and away for another week. It’s a whirlwind.

Here are a few “snapshots” from our Florida trip:

- While my Dad took Barbara’s kids to the NASCAR museum Daytona USA, a very pregnant Elisha, Noah and I hung out at the mall across the street. Noah wanted to run full speed around the mall and grab everything. I spotted two mothers and their toddler daughters who were pushing baby dolls in strollers. It struck me as a genius idea – if I child is pushing a stroller they can't be manhandling all the mall merchandise. I recalled from a few Mommy blogs that boys LOVE doll strollers – it has less to do with the dolls and more to do with the wheels. So off we went to KB Toys where I grabbed a pretty pink stroller and let Noah pick out a baby doll. He selected a black baby doll in a ruffled purple sleeper. I asked him “What's the baby’s name?” Noah thought for a second and said “Hunter.” This of course was the name of his Aunt Elisha’s impending baby so I said “No. Hunter is Aunt Lisey’s baby. What is the name of Noah’s baby?” Noah said something that sounded like “George.” So baby George it was – though I couldn’t for the life of me figure out where the name came from. We don’t even know any Georges. But Baby George was an instant hit. Noah wants to “walk baby” everywhere. He even holds him when he goes to sleep. Earlier this week the naming mystery was solved when I saw Noah pawing at our George Bush refrigerator magnet again and then he asked me where his baby was. So yes – Noah’s black girl baby is named after George Bush. I’m sure the president would be proud.

- I anticipated lots of quiet time on our vacation. Time just sitting in an empty house while Noah napped, with no email and no chores nipping at my heels. So I bought three books of short stories set in exotic locales – since I no longer have the time or attention span for a whole novel. I guess it should be no surprise that I never got the opportunity to open even one of them. We were constantly on the go and naps were either forsaken or Noah slept while I held him while out on the town. I'm taking my books to the beach.

- One night after I put Noah to sleep at an uncommonly early 9:30 pm and was still able to stay awake for a whole hour before wilting, I sat and chatted with Barbara in their Florida room. She put “The Breakfast Club” on the TV but we were too talkative to actually watch it. Soon her husband Ryan came out to join us and while we were in the midst of deep discussion I noticed the movie had ended and the show “Secret Lives of Women” had come on. I didn’t need the sound to realize that the episode was about a woman and her cross dressing husband. So when Ryan noticed what was on the TV and said “WHAT on earth are you watching?” I said “My husband is a cross dresser.” Ryan looked at me with a puzzled look on his face and slowly said “REALLY?” Barbara and I nearly cried laughing as I explained “NO! That’s the name of the show!”

- I’m 32 years old and obviously an adult but I still don’t feel like one. It’s a nice trait in a way because I don’t really feel old. I must have inherited it because at 52 my Mom told me she feels the same way. Every once in awhile I’ll be struck by how grown-up something feels and like I shouldn’t be doing it. The whole time we were in Florida I kept thinking “I’m driving a rental car. How COOL is that?”

- Dad, my stepsister Cathy, her 4 year old daughter Mary, Noah and I went on a sightseeing boat cruise in Saint Augustine. Little Mary is darling and she’s a pistol. She rattles off question after question after question and she’s her own episode of “Kids Say the Darndest Things.” Cathy was grinning ear to ear because I was the one fielding the questions and she got to just sit back and laugh. I kept trying to explain to Mary that we were not in fact going anywhere, just driving the boat around slowly looking at stuff. She wanted to know why we were going so slow, where was the captain, who was talking over the speaker and what were we going to see when we got to our destination. And what is that thing (a buoy), what is it for and how do I know that? At first I thought it was the cutest thing EVER. Half an hour later I wanted to say “Give me a break kid - the information desk is closed.” One afternoon we came over to Cathy’s house and Mary said “Why are you and Noah here AGAIN?” Four – I can’t wait!

- Noah would barely let me play any music other than his Laurie Berkner CD and DVD. By the end of the week every member of our Floridian family knew the words. Elisha was singing them during labor and I couldn’t help but chuckle when I caught my Dad singing “Under a Shady Tree” to himself in the airport security line.

- Barbara’s daughter Summer is ten years old. She’s sweet, smart and a real stunner. It didn’t take long to know Noah was in love. In the beginning he followed her around like a puppy dog but by the end of the week Noah wouldn’t even let the poor girl sit down. He kept demanding she get up to chase or dance with him.

- In Florida Noah slept in a big boy bed. With his Mama. We slept in Barbara’s adorable 8 year old son Sean’s bunk bed – while the top bunk is a standard twin the bottom bunk points forward and is a full. It was ideal because it’s low to the ground and has a rail around it so that I was able to prop up pillows to prevent Noah from rolling out. I was a bit worried the first night that we weren’t going to get any sleep but we slept great in it. If Noah woke up I could just lay in the bed and stroke his back or nurse him and roll him over to his side of the bed when he fell asleep. I guess that is the joy of a family bed. This week sleeping has been erratic. Noah wakes up in the middle of the night and I get him to sleep again but as soon as I lift him up to put him over the crib rail he wakes back up and cries for me. I decided to take the twin bed in his room and put the mattress on the floor so that we could lie down on it together when I just can't get him back to sleep in his crib. We’ve spent quite a bit of time on that mattress this week. We’re going to have some serious sleep training work ahead of us after this beach week.

- I’m happy to say there were few stressful moments on our vacation. I can think of only two. The first occurred when the engine light came on in our rental car and I damn near had a panic attack. It turned out that it was just an orange light and merely a warning about the gas quality. The second occurred on our return trip to the Orlando airport. We left Barb’s house at 4 am – and luckily Noah stayed asleep until we stopped for gas. Except for a brief comical moment when Dad and I were quarreling about directions and Noah mumbled “No – THIS WAY” in his sleep. Anyway – back to the stress. I needed to fill the rental car up with gas as close to the airport as humanly possible so there would be no additional charge – but I had no idea where the closest gas station to the airport was and I didn’t want to end up driving past it to get gas. I ended up getting off an exit right before the airport without seeing a gas station but was overjoyed as I saw one immediately after my turn. I pulled up to the pump and ran my card. It said “Pay at Cashier.” I tried it again – same thing. I went up to the store and realized it was locked. The girl inside told me through the glass that she couldn’t let me in because her cash drawer wasn’t working yet and that I had to pay at the pump. I told her the pump wouldn’t allow me. Just as I was starting to panic my tied to vacation constipation gave way and I had to go – REAL BAD. So now I couldn’t get gas, I had gas, I couldn’t use the bathroom and I didn’t know where there was another gas station. The girl disappeared into the back and I waited outside so that I could ask her where else I might go if she ever came back. Finally she reappeared and opened the door – she told me she couldn’t take credit inside and that I had to make a debit transaction. After taking sixty dollars off the card she tried to apply it to the pump and then realized the pumps were off. She had to call the manager – at this time I excused myself to abuse their bathroom. When I returned she said “Well I have to give you sixty dollars cash because I’m not supposed to be open until 6 am.” It was 5:50. So I had to go stand outside for ten minutes and then be let back in so that I could pay for gas. All in all this transaction took about a half an hour – and maybe two years off my Dad’s life since given the option he would be at the airport six hours before a flight. I'm happy to say however that we had plenty of time to do the airport shuffle and then wait around to get on our plane.

- The plane rides were great. We flew on Southwest which has self seating and calls passengers with small children on first. And since noone in their right mind sits next to a toddler on a plane if they can avoid it, the seat between Dad and us was empty both ways. Not only did Noah sleep about an hour and fifteen minutes on the flight there, but on the way home he fell asleep during take off and woke up after we landed. AMAZING.

-I’m sure there are a million more funny moments, but my memory is bad and I’m sure you're tired of reading. More next week after our beach trip.

Tomorrow is my lovely husband Mark’s birthday. I consider myself to be a very fortunate woman and I don’t want for much more than I have – and Mark is the reason. He’s undoubtedly the guy for me and I’m thankful every day that I have him to share my life with. I hope this year Noah and I contribute to making him more satisfied, more happy and more proud than ever.

Have a nice week. I promise to catch up with you all in September.

Such sweet sorrow

We’re BACK. But not for long. We have this week to ready for a week in Ocean City with more friends and family.

But let’s talk about Florida. I will try to spare you a daily rundown and give you the highlights. When we arrived on Sunday morning we were a bit panicked that my sister Elisha was STILL pregnant and nearly a week overdue. And we were really alarmed when she went in for her doc appointment on Monday and they told her that she still wasn’t dilating and they wouldn’t induce her until the following Monday – the day after we left. It was really looking like we were going to go home without seeing this baby. But on Thursday Elisha, her mother Mary, Noah and I went to her next OB appt. Upon doing the ultrasound they told us that Elisha was very low on amniotic fluid and as a result they told us to go right to the hospital for induction. Fourteen hours later Hunter Lee Crego was born shortly after 3 AM. It was a hard birth – they had to break her membrane and pump fluid into the birth canal so that the baby would no longer be resting on the cord- but Elisha was a trooper and able to go twelve whole hours before requesting the epidural. And the end result was a beautiful bouncing baby boy – at 6 pounds 8 ounces. We were all very excited to meet him. After all the worry about Elisha being late, it ended up being a very good thing. Dad, Noah and I were able to spend some quality time with her before she was overtired and overwhelmed.

The week was a flurry of activity – many meals out, hours spent chatting with the adults and playing with the kids, sightseeing and a boat ride in Saint Augustine, an afternoon at the Daytona dog track, a visit to Flagler Beach, and swimming in backyard pools every day. We really had an action-packed week brimming with fun. And it was SO nice to spend a lot of time with family we rarely get to see. Everyone was all teary eyed when it was time to leave. With adults time between visits is sad but doesn’t seem as tragic, when kids are involved the time between visits seems so much more dramatic. Leaving Summer, Sean, Emily, Mary, Madeline and baby Hunter – I just kept thinking how big they might be next time I see them. How much their world will have changed. And how old Noah will be when they see him next. It makes me weepy just thinking about it.

And now we are home and we are BEAT! Maybe I will have enough energy later to recount some vignettes from our trip – more for my memory than for you. And Noah is already asking for all his cousins, his Aunt Lisey, Aunt Barbara and Aunt Cathy. And WHERE Mama is our POOL! It’s going to be a tough week.

I need a nice belt to complete this look.  

Rubadubdub! 

Leavin' on a jet plane

And we’re off. Our flight leaves for Orlando at 8:50 this evening and arrives just before midnight. We’ll collect our rental car and drive two hours north to Palm Coast where we’ll be staying with my ex-stepsister Barbara, her husband Ryan and their two kids Summer and Sean. My Dad will most likely be staying fifteen minutes away with Barbara’s twin sister Cathy, her husband Bo and their daughters Emily, Mary and Madeline. My sister Elisha still has not brought for her first-born so I’m hoping she goes into labor right about NOW. I’m a bit worried we’ll come and go without seeing the little bugger.

So as you’ve gathered my family is more than a bit confusing – what with the halfs, ex-steps and whatnot. But what’s refreshing about it is that we’re all just considered family. Everyone couldn’t be more welcoming and excited for our visit. It’s always tough to stay with people – you have to work around their routine and be more flexible with your own (and I SUCK at that) – but I know that we’re all going to be bending over backward to be accommodating to each other. And I’m certain we’ll have fun. Elisha’s family is CLOSE – I mean constantly together and tripping over each other close. And while that might bring forth a bit of quarreling now and again, it also always feels like a party. At first I think Noah may be a bit overwhelmed with all the people and hubbub, but in no time I’m sure he’ll be running with the pack.

I’m fairly certain no one has internet access in their home (MY GOD! How? Why?), so I’ll be out of the loop until we return next Sunday night. I look forward to hearing about everyone’s blog adventures once we’ve settled in. Keep us in your thoughts as you will certainly be in ours. Aufwiedersehen.

PS - We love you Mark and miss you already. I hope the solitude you'll no doubt enjoy the first few days doesn't become too overwhelming by the end of the week.

Check out my sweet ride.  

Not a care in the world.  

Teaching my boy some important girly stuff

Two nights of craptasticly little sleep, two days of sinus migraines, a grandfather in the hospital, an airplane security alert, and a cranky toddler makes for a slightly stressed Mama. This morning bites actually. But enough about that…

Tuesday night Mark, Noah and I went to see the new home of our friends Jen and Mark. They obviously bought it from one of the most fabulous gay men in the city of brotherly love – he had a penchant for giant chandeliers, tapestries and very dramatic décor. In an effort to make it their own they are on their way to toning down the level of fabulous-ity to superbaliciousness, though I’m happy to report they have decided to keep the leopard print washroom. It’s just too good to paint over. After the tour we walked over to Marra’s for chianti, antipasto and pizza and then back to their mosaic’d backyard for ice cream and cannolis. That’s how they do it in South Philly. It was a lovely evening and Noah has spent the last two days asking about the whereabouts of Jen and Mark. He’ll probably have to wait to see them until their wedding day in mid-September. I hope he's not so excited to see them that he trots up to see them during the ceremony.

Last night we went to the righteously Christian Chikfila for obviously Jesus inspired milkshakes, to the Ikea to buy my soon-to-be nephew (3 days overdue so far) his very own stuffed rat, and then to Super Fresh to buy Mark some easily heat-able food to get him through our long absence. We can’t have him locked in the basement for a week recording music on an empty stomach. Though I’m sure he’ll manage to take himself to get a case of beer after we leave.

And now a few fun bits for your enjoyment:

It’s bad enough I can never go to the bathroom alone. Now when I tell Noah I have to go potty he asks me “Pon?” Yup – he wants to know if I need a tampon. This past month he became obsessed with them and began taking them all out of the box and unwrapping them all. He even sits on his potty fully clothed and says “pee pee this” while holding a tampon between his legs. I think he’s confusing the tampons and the ovulation tests I’ve been using every month for the last year. Oh, and on that – I have my OBGYN checkup tomorrow and will finally request a referral to a fertility specialist. Let the games begin.

When Noah was just a thought Patrice bought me a play porcelain tea set so I could share my love of tea parties with my offspring. I finally took it out of the closet last week and we’ve been having tea several times a day. Sure half of the set is broken as he’s been dropping piece by piece on our tile kitchen floor, but the fun we’ve had with every cup and plate until they meet their end is priceless.

If I’m feeling insane I’ll let Noah go through my purse and take everything out of my wallet. Last week Noah began taking my credit cards and running them through the keys of the computer keyboard while saying “zip.” It’s just how Mama pays for things at the grocery store.

Two more days until our departure and while I have a thorough list, I still have to do some laundry and pack. Good grief.

I KNOW - it's too long.

Where did last week go? Wednesday morning we visited Tripp, Holly and Finn. Wednesday night we went to the library and for a walk with Roger, Elaine, Ezra and Manzanita. Thursday Tracey came to dinner for Cobb salad and margaritas. Friday was playgroup in the morning and then the rest of the day was jam-packed with excitement.

My birthday was three weeks ago. I was feeling like having a quiet birthday – so I didn’t really remind anyone, and I didn’t blog about it. On the morning of my birthday Mark put a post on the blog telling people to wish me a happy birthday, and as soon as I saw it I removed it. I had a lovely birthday remembered by and celebrated with my family and that was plenty for me this year. It’s not that I was feeling old or even like I’d like to skip the birthday, I just didn’t feel like going into full-on public recognition yahoo mode.

This past Friday Patrice remembered my birthday. I hadn’t been surprised when she forgot because 1) it normally comes up into conversation as a reminder beforehand and it never did and 2) we all know she’s got a lot on her mind. It wasn’t really a big deal. But I guess she felt bad – and as a result she sent out emails strong-arming people to either send me an email or surprise me by showing up to our already planned dinner date for that night. But what she forgot is that I hate surprises – in particular ones that everyone knows about but me and involve making me the center of attention. So when I started getting a million emails, some from people I don’t know I called Mark freaking out. He suggested maybe Patrice put them up to it – and I sent her an email asking her to please make it stop. Not that I didn’t appreciate all the lovely wishes from my blog buddies and those in their circles, it’s just for some reason it made me panic. And when Patrice broke the news that some other people were going to “surprise” me by showing up to dinner that night, I panicked some more. I’m certain it wasn’t the response she was hoping for when she decided to something nice for me and for that I owe her an apology. I just SUCK at surprises.

But of course Friday night ended up being nice. Before dinner I got a shiny new nose ring and used a gift certificate I’ve had since Christmas to buy a new pair of shoes. Then I saw some folks I never get to see, chatted, had a nice meal, and a few drinks. It was an action packed night out on the town – and I need them occasionally.

Saturday Mark dropped off the recycling, I renewed my drivers license, we did some cleaning, had turkey taco salad for dinner and then took the boy to the Hancock Rec playground to run off some steam. As per usual for a Friday/Saturday night (sometimes even a Tuesday) after we put Noah to bed we split a bottle of red wine and watched DVR. We went to bed at midnight and then Noah woke me up at 4 am and I could do nothing to get him back to sleep. I sent Mark back to bed and somehow managed to keep the boy occupied until I put him down for a nap at 9:30 am. Shortly after which Patrice came to our place so that Mark could take her to the airport - she’s now in California for business until Thursday night. After they left I tried to get a quick snooze on the couch but just ended up watching House Hunters until Mark got back and my Mom showed up. Noah woke up from his two hour nap, we fed him lunch at then took him to Liberty Lands Park where we left him with his Grandma so that we could go to the Standard Tap for brunch. As always the food was the best EVER. If you get less than a handful of brunch opportunities a year why would you chance wasting any of them on food at someplace that couldn’t possibly match up? You just can’t. I had an omelet with goat cheese, tomatoes, artichokes and mushrooms served with a cheesy potato casserole and brioche. Obviously accompanied by two very large and spicy Bloody Marys. After we gorged ourselves we collected my Mom and Noah and then headed downtown on the El to Foster’s Urban Homeware so my Mom could use the gift certificate I gave her for Mother’s Day. And then because Mark and I hadn’t yet been complete and total gluttons for the day we went to Franklin Fountain for ice cream sundaes. After Mom left the night was a bit crazy because Noah was EXHAUSTED (as was I) but it was too late to put him down for a nap and not yet late enough for bed. By the time he went to bed he was in full-on meltdown mode, but Mark and I nearly rejoiced to have him in bed by 7:30 pm. An hour later something REALLY weird happened. Noah woke up crying and calling Mama but when I went in and picked him up he started shrieking and squirming out of my hands. For the next fifteen minutes he writhed around on the floor, with his eyes closed, crying as if he was either really frightened or in pain. Mark and I tried to reason with him, tried to find out what was wrong but he didn’t really respond. It was like he was possessed. When he finally snapped out of it he asked to nurse, fell right back to sleep and slept til the morning. Mark and I guess that it was like some sort of weird sleepwalking nightmare sort of reaction – but we don’t really know. I just hope it never happens again. It was seriously frightening.

Today however all is well. It’s going to be a busy week of preparing physically and mentally to leave for Florida this Saturday. Noah, Pa Joe and I are going to be visiting with my still pregnant sister Elisha and her extended family. Elisha’s due date is tomorrow but it seems her son may be waiting until we show up before he makes his stunning debut. We’ll be gone for eight days – without Mark. The thought of being away from Mark for so long makes me sad, but unfortunately he didn’t have the vacation time to make the trip with us. Not only am I a bit nervous because Mark and I are rarely apart, but I’m also worrying about how Noah will feel to be away from his Daddy for so long. I’m planning to have Mark give Noah a little toy to take with him to Florida right before we leave and then use that toy to remind him of Daddy and help him cope with missing him. Any other ideas as to how I can make this separation less hard for all of us?

Waterworld

While I was growing up my Grammy lived just down the street from the Holiday House public pool in Sellersville. On special summer days I’d be dropped off at her house in the morning and able to hang out at the pool in the afternoon. It’s been a million years since I've been there but I remember the pool and the grass as sprawling, the snack bar as well stocked (my fave were the frozen Charleston Chews), the fountains as refreshing and the social scene as both exhilarating and alienating. Taking Noah for a dip in the Northern Liberties Rec Center pool isn’t even in the same ballpark. The pool is tiny, surrounded by a concrete path and setback from the street by only a set of changing bleachers, a chain link fence, and a brick wall. There is no kiddie pool, no grass, and no snack bar. It isn’t even big enough to do laps. And it’s less a social scene and more a dunk tank designed to alleviate city dwellers from the stresses of high temperatures. However it’s free and it’s a lot better than nothing.

However, on Tuesday I took Noah to the Quakertown public pool – and glimpsed a watery nirvana. Not only do they have a huge shallow section for the small children, the floor of it is completely padded and you wade into it like the sea. It’s lined with knee high fountains that the kids can play in as well as a large mushroom fountain in the center. There are like 8 different sectioned off areas to the pool, two diving boards, a water slide, a million swanky beach chairs, lots of grass and a huge shady gazebo. It’s nearly Wild Water Kingdom! And Noah was in LOVE. For a second I worried he’d be too daunted by how crowded it was, but in a heartbeat he was running in and out of the fountains, giggling fiendishly. I doubt he’s ever been that excited by anything in his entire life. And it was so beautiful to watch that I actually teared up. After which I recuperated with a lemonade and a soft pretzel. Mmmm, snackbar.

I’m not saying I’m planning a move to the ‘burbs – there are far too many things that we have easy access to here that I love and look forward to raising Noah in arms reach of – but sometimes I’m flabbergasted by the things that we’re missing. Now I have a little less than a year to find out where the closest equivalent swanky suburban pool is to our home. I’m guessing Jersey.

Time blinks away

We’ve been busy bees. Sleepy, little time for ourselves, busy bees. The hot, hot days pass so quickly.

On Thursday I was able to go out for drinks with Theresa and Todd. When Theresa invited me out I was so pleased that I nearly combusted. It was a LONG time coming and I had a really lovely time catching up. I’m sure I talked too much about Noah, but that’s an occupational hazard that I hope can be easily forgiven. They also gave Noah two really great train books, Trains by Patricia Hubbell became an instant favorite.

We had Friday morning playgroup and lunch – and then while Noah was napping my friend Valentine came by to do a training with a Public Adjuster. They looked at our home insurance policy and made assessments as to whether we should make any claims for recent damage. They came to the conclusion that we might be able to get a nice bit of money to repair the dry wall and floor damage caused by our roof leak. We may file after we make sure that after the deductible, claim surcharge, and loss of the claim-free discount that we’ll come away with anything. I’ll let you know.

On Saturday Noah and I made a short visit with Grandma before heading to a baby shower. See if you can follow this – the shower was for my 11 year old (half) sister’s mother who is pregnant with her fourth child. Though we didn’t really know many people, it was really sweet of them to invite us. I think it probably made my little sister feel good to have members of both of her families together. Noah was a bit discombobulated at the shower however because he didn’t understand why Jessica couldn’t just stop and play with him. He mostly followed her around calling “An-Jess? An-Jess?” about 500 times. While Jess was writing the gift list Noah would run up and hand her a stack of cups. Everyone thought it was cute, but I felt kind of sad for him. When we got home Mark, Noah and I headed to Taco Riendo for a lovely dinner of sopes, tacos, and rice and beans.

On Sunday Mark went to Jersey for his Aunt and Uncle’s fiftieth wedding anniversary. He had a really lovely time and I was mighty jealous. They had a good turnout, a tear jerking slide show, excellent food and a swing band. It had all the trappings of a lovely wedding reception – PLUS waffles and ice cream. I was sad to have missed it. Noah and I went to have dinner at Susan’s house. Now that she has returned to work and Frannie is in daycare we don’t get to see much of them. So it was really nice to be invited over for Sunday dinner. The kids had a great time playing and Noah even gave Frannie hugs before we left. We all oohed and ahhed at the sickening cuteness of it.

Sunday night was the not sleeping night from hell. Noah has been having bouts of sleep difficulty lately and we gather it has to do with separation anxiety nightmares that are really common for 19 to 24 months. Apparently at this age they realize that not only is mom separate from them, but there is the chance that she could go away and not come back. Monday morning the only concrete thing we could learn about Noah’s dream was “Mama, Noah, Uh-Oh.” But his dream was bad enough that he was afraid to go back to sleep. I'm not quite sure how to handle the nightmare sleeplessness. Luckily last night was event free, so I guess I hope it just stops.

Yesterday we tried to recuperate from our crappy night. Nothing too spectacular about the day. Except the sheer longness of it. Today we head to Quakertown to see Oma and Pa Joe. I’m considering spending an hour at the Quakertown pool before we head to their place. It’s like 99 degrees today and we could use some refreshing watery time. Hope you all are well.

Nightmarish

A bad dream woke Noah up at 12:40 am this morning. No matter what I tried I couldn't get him back to sleep. He finally collapsed on the floor and fell asleep at 6 am. And then the neighbor's construction woke me up at 8:46 am. It sounded like they were tearing our house down. It's not been a good morning.

I have more to blog about, but no energy with which to do it. Noah just went down for a nap, and I've got the same agenda. More later.

Life and times

On the babysitting tip our Friday outing to the movies went swimmingly. Noah was SO excited to see Nana and Pop Pop that he didn’t care a lick that we left. It helped that we told him several times in the days leading up to their visit that he was going to spend special time with Nana and Pop Pop alone and that Mama and Daddy would be gone for a little bit but would be home in time for bed. He had a great time – and they even brought him a very cool Radio Flyer tricycle. The movie however stunk. Lady in the Water was seriously disappointing. It was overdone, unfocused and convoluted. I could go on, but I’ll spare you. Before Mark’s Dad and his wife went home she repeatedly told us how lucky we were that Noah was such a good boy. At one point I interjected that though we were indeed lucky that I thought we could take a little credit for his behavior. It was probably an unnecessary statement, but I was just feeling like “Hey, I work hard every day to make sure he’s a good boy.” Silly, I guess. But by saying how easy he was to deal with I felt like she was belittling my “job.”

Saturday morning we took Noah to the playground that sits underneath the Market Frankford subway El. From there you can watch the trains pass and thus it’s been dubbed the “choo choo park.” It was drizzling when we left the house, but we decided to go anyway because Noah needed to run off some energy. Needless to say we got stuck in major downpour and soaked to the bone. But Noah had the time of his life. Since we were already wet we let him splash around in all the puddles, at one point even sitting in one. He was lovin every second of it. I wish I could have recorded it. Afterwards we came home, showered up, had lunch and then put the boy down for a nap. I headed to Old Navy and discovered a massive sale – all the clearance stuff was an additional half off. We all scored some badly needed new duds.

We left for Seaside Park on Sunday morning. With no traffic it only took us an hour and half to get there. The weather was grey so we went straight to Mark’s Aunt Jean’s place to have lunch and see family before we checked into our Motel. Over the next two days we got to see and spend some time with 19 members of the extended McCormack clan. Since Mark’s mother Muriel passed away we don’t have a permanent connection to that side of the family, in part because of the distance. This yearly trek to Seaside is the only time of year we get to see some of these folk, and it’s important to us that Noah feel connected to his extended family. Everyone was blown away by how much he had grown. And all the compliments on his behavior and temperament really made me proud. My favorite comment was made by Aunt Maureen. We were watching Noah rejoicing in the sand and the surf, dancing on the edge of the waves with Mark when Maureen said “He sure is a happy soul, isn’t he?” He sure is.

Noah had a love-hate relationship with the ocean. On Sunday I nearly broke my neck preventing him from running directly into the choppy sea. I’d block him from going in too far and he’d run around me laughing manically. I felt like I was playing football – all that tackling and throwing myself sideways. Eventually he took a couple of headers into the water, coming up with a mouth full of water and sand, saying “all done, all done.” On Monday I was a bit sad but grateful that he was feeling less daring. He and the waves played a game of chase, he’d run in and get his feet wet and run back as the waves started to come in. And the sand, that boy loves the sand. He was so covered in it we could have easily lost him. I'd love to post pictures but though we took our digital camera along, we did not however take the damn battery.

So our trip was divine, if too short. Far too short. But certainly better than not having gone at all. It made me hunger for more sand, more surf, and more family time. And luckily August will be filled to the brim with it all.

Yesterday Noah and I went to visit Tripp’s new little brother Finn. Though Noah was excited to see the baby, he was seriously out of sorts during our visit. I blame part of it on the beach trip sleep deficit, and the other part on his clinginess. He really lost it when I held the baby. But I gather that’s a normal reaction. I asked Holly what it was like to have two. She said she’d been so worried about how much hard work a new baby was, but now she realized that having a toddler was FAR harder. Mark’s cousin Stephanie told me at the beach “The older one always demands the most attention.” And thinking of a few other mothers with two, I guess I’d have to agree. I hope to one day be able to decide for myself.

It’s been a busy morning of grocery shopping and Tot swim and I have a bunch of crap I need to cram into this quickly diminishing naptime. Wish me luck.

Oh, a quick Noah bit- Mark and I noticed the other day that he’s started contemplating questions, pausing and saying “Um…” It cracks me up. He also keeps calling Mark by his name, and saying it in the tone of voice I use when I’m calling to Mark from another part of the house. I’ve explained that Mama can call Daddy Mark but Noah calls Daddy Daddy. To which he just repeats “Daddy Daddy” right before pausing, giving a devilish grin and saying loudly “Mark…”

And now for some Noah bits

- Upon opening the car door on a sunny day I often exclaim “Wooo! Hot car!” I guess I do it frequently because not only does Noah now call our wagon the “hot car” he also uses the exclamation any time you exclaim “Wooo.” Which I guess I use frequently. You didn’t know I was a Wooo-er, did you?

- On a daily basis we play the sock game – wherein Noah rifles through his sock drawers to look for “matches.” He’s getting better at actually picking out matching socks, and much better at his colors. Once he has a match we have to put them on one of the stuff animals. I think “New-shee” (Snoopy) looks rather stunning in navy sneaker socks. The bad part of all this is now Noah is never satisfied with the pair of socks that I picked out for his outfit. And though he’s getting better at picking out two blue socks, he’s not so great at coordinating his socks with his outfit. Sigh.

- I have a picnic basket where I keep a stack of greeting cards. Noah has always loved to pull out the cards and the envelopes and run them around the house. Recently he grasped the idea that the cards are to give to someone on their birthday and he now refers to them, and any mail for that matter, as “Happy.” It’s super cute when he hands you a bill with a big smile and a “Happy, happy, Mama.”

- When Noah wants to answer your question in the affirmative he says “Esss.” In fact most often he says it twice – the first time a bit questioningly the second with conviction. “Noah, do you see the boat?” “Esssss? Esssss!” He also loves to play the reverse psychology game wherein I say “No,” he says “Essss,” I say “Yes,” and with a devilish grin he says “No.”

- Noah has always liked to look at books and has a few favorites. I’m certain that many of his favorites have become so because we like them and read them more emphatically. Recently Noah has started to quote some of his books to the point of developing his own little catch phrases. My favorites are “No more monkeys” from “Five Little Monkeys” and an emphatic and exasperated “Let me drive the bus!” from “Don’t Let the Pigeon Drive the Bus.”

- When Noah hears a child crying or sees a forlorn character in his books he’ll point and say “sad.” When you ask him why they’re sad he answers “Bappa” – which is Noah-speak for Boppy, and means the sad soul just wants to be nursed. It’s like a junkie pointing to forlorn folk and suggesting “heroin.” YES Noah’s still nursing about three times a day and shows no interest in letting up. I’d like it to come to a resolution naturally, and on his own time, but I really do hope we can be done breastfeeding by his second birthday. We shall see.

- Our house is a “doot doot” house. For those of you not in the know, “doot doot” is music. I guess not only is music hard to pronounce but I must often follow the word music by singing a little song (“doot doot dee dee doo”). Recent kid music additions are the Laurie Berkner DVD, Philadelphia Chickens and the Backyardigans soundtrack (though he doesn't watch the show.) I have to admit that I both enjoy Laurie Berkner AND have to kill her. The songs are just too catchy. They are ALWAYS in my head. Of course they’re also easy to learn which is why Noah already knows some words to his favorites. He often asks me to sing “Moon, Moon, Moon” and “The Goldfish.” Of course he also digs whatever music has Mama jamming. Which brings me to an issue I have – explicit lyrics. Mark bought me the new The Streets CD because I SO enjoyed the last one, but I’m feeling a bit sheepish about playing it due to the presence of some unsuitable toddler language. You think Noah will pick up on the F bomb in the middle of a song, even when it’s pronounced in a thick Brit accent? I mean… it sounds so charming when you say it like THAT.

Wait a minute... we're fish!

On Tuesday morning while “climbing Mama” Noah accidentally head-butted the bridge of my nose. And damn did it hurt. Still does. I have some slight bruising but luckily no apparent breakage and no black eyes. Shortly after the incident we set out of the house at 9am to beat the heat to the playground. Not possible. It was fine in the shade, but surprisingly enough I couldn’t keep the boy in the shade. He wanted to stand on the black top, soaking in the brain melting rays. To lure him back home I promised to finally take the plastic kiddie pool out of our basement and brave the mosquitoes on our concrete slab. Luckily said slab is in the shade of a neighbors giant weed tree prior to noon. Of course I couldn’t hold Noah off long enough to sweep all the plant detritus from the “yard” so when he got in and out of the pool he brought with him bits of leaf, pollen, and general mucky guckiness. Though he didn’t seem to care, I did, so after awhile I abandoned the pool and my constant attempts to filter it with a sand sifter, and left him to bathe in the watery leafy mess alone. Of course this left him at the mercy of the mosquitoes. My bug repellent plan had been to douse myself with poisonous Off wipes and stay close enough to Noah to transfer my bug repelling power. But after I fled the swampy pool he got a few bites. Despite those nasty blood sucking beasts, Noah had a great time and it was difficult to get him out for lunch. After lunch we both had long naps and then readied ourselves for a trek to West Philly to meet Mark at New Delhi for Indian buffet. YUM.

Wednesday we went to Tot Swim and I was god-fearin’ enough to wear my contact lenses and thus not cause a scene. Noah happily sang “swimming, swimming, swimming” as I floated him around the pool telling him to kick his feet. He really does love being in the water. He also enjoyed climbing up and down the ladder and jumping into my arms. I didn’t get to socialize with the other Moms much, but Noah and I had a lot of fun.

Today we took the wagon in for service. We went to Saturn of Trevose this time instead of Saturn of Jenkintown and I was thankful for the change. The drive was shorter, the staff was friendlier and less skeevy, and the kid area was cleaner and nicer. Of course we still came away poorer. Do you ever take your car in for a check-up and oil change and have them say “Absolutely nothing is wrong with your car. Go on your merry way!” Anyway… we needed it serviced both because it was overdue and because we’re driving to the beach on Sunday morning to see some of Mark’s mother’s family. We’ll spend Sunday and Monday swimming in the surf, playing in the sand, and eating at the insane buffets served up at Aunt Jean’s beach house. In the pre-Noah years we would just crash at their place, but it’s not polite to crash with a toddler so Mark reserved us a room for Sunday night in the same motel we stayed at last year. I’ve been looking forward to it for weeks.

While Noah and I were rough housing in the Saturn play area he tripped over me and fell nose first into the carpet. So now we’re both sporting slightly bruised noses. People might think Mark beats us.

Tomorrow Mark and I are going to THE MOVIES. It will be our first time in a theater in 2006! Mark’s Dad and his wife Sylvia are coming to our place to watch Noah while we go to see “Lady in the Water.” I PRAY I love it. I consider myself an M. Night fan because not only is he local but I loved “Sixth Sense” and “Unbreakable.” I even liked “Signs” up until I saw the alien. But I was VERY disappointed in The Village (I had very wrong notions about the nature of the plot) so I really hope that the new movie blows me (a lady) out of the water. (BAD - I know.)

OH! I just learned something online. Sometimes this internet thing is really useful. I had heard years ago that M. Night was going to direct a film version of one of my favorite books “Life of Pi” by Yann Martel. This was particularly exciting to me because M. Night’s family was from Pondicherry, India which is where the opening scenes of “Life of Pi” are set. Upon looking it up on IMDB just now I see that must have fallen through, which is disappointing. However it seems Jean-Pierre Jeunet (A Very Long Engagement, Amelie, The City of Lost Children) will be directing it – which is also a very cool choice and something to look forward to seeing.

This post is all over the place. I was going to end with some new Noah tidbits, but my mind is too addled. I’ll leave you all to go about the peace of your day.

Master Noah beating the heat in his backyard spa.  

Vroomy vroom vroom. Noah at the wheel.  

Mark asked Noah "What could be better than cookies and Neigh neighs?" and Noah answered "Mama!" I love him so much I could just burst.

At the track and in the heat

We had a super exciting Saturday. We cleaned. It was riveting. Mark went out that night for dinner and drinks with his friends Tim and Jenny. On Sunday we decided to have a picnic at Philadelphia Park Horse Track in Bensalem. We got hoagies from Slacks and sat at an umbrella’d picnic table while watching the horsies. Noah had a fantastic time watching them in the paddock and running the races. We blew some money on a few $2 bets without any big payouts, but we had a really nice day. I was amazed at how family friendly the track is. They have a huge picnic grove and a really nice playground. Plus it was Family Fun day so they also had free moon bounces and pony rides. There were tons of families arriving with full coolers of beer, soda and food. You can even bring your hibachi and grill there while the kids play ball in the grass. It was a really nice afternoon and it certainly won’t be our last visit.

It’s supposed to reach 100 degrees here today. For Philly that’s rare and sickeningly hot, especially when you factor in the thick ass humidity. So it’s a scorcher – the kind where you feel the UV rays burning you and the heat takes your breath away. Keep that in mind as I relay the following story.

This afternoon I took Noah to Ikea both to buy an extension pack for his wooden train set (Thanks Mom!) and to let him run around in a wide open space that was air conditioned. He had a great time and scored himself an art easel too. When we came out of the Ikea I decided we’d walk across the parking lot to Chikfila for lunch since Noah was remarking on the inflatable cow on it’s roof – and because as I’ve mentioned before it’s the most nutritious, cleanest, best tasting fast food place EVA. As we crossed the steaming hot lot, I heard yipping coming from one of the cars. I peeked inside and saw a very small pet carrier on the back seat of a grey Kia Lancer that had it’s windows ever so slightly cracked. I was so appalled I felt sick. HOW could someone leave their pet in the car in this heat? I considered going immediately into Ikea to have the person paged, but I hesitated and told myself that if the car was still there when we came out of Chikfila then I’d act. So after having a leisurely meal I headed back to our car while praying the Kia was gone. But I’m sorry to say that it wasn’t. I went into Ikea and reported the situation – giving them the license plate number and car details to announce over the loud speaker. While I was talking to one staff member another one went outside to get a look at the car. I considered staying to find out what happened but knew they’d probably just tell the person they’d have to move their car. When Noah and I went back out I noticed the car was gone. Then I saw the staff member that had gone out to take a look. I rolled down the window and told him the car had moved and then he said “That’s her over there” as he pointed to the Lancer in a loading spot. A late thirties woman and her eight year old daughter were loading stuff into the car as a very furry Golden Retriever puppy sniffed and circled around their legs. I was struck by how large the puppy was in comparison to the very small size of the carrier they had had him squeezed into and it made me even more mad. I pulled up next to her and had the following exchange:

“Excuse me Miss, but that’s illegal.”
“What?”
“Leaving that puppy in your car for an hour in this kind of heat.”
“I wasn’t in there an hour.”
“YES you were. My son and I saw your car and then went and had lunch while you were in there. It was at least an hour. It’s animal cruelty and you’re lucky he’s not dead.”
“….Thanks” she grumbled before she just decided to ignore me. And then I drove away.

I feel kind of ridiculous yelling at a stranger like I’m there Mom, but I was so incredibly bothered by it I couldn’t help myself. What would you have done?

Social Work

The responses to my less than complete satisfaction with Noah’s playgroup lead me to a topic I’ve been meaning to blog about for sometime – the work of Mommy socializing. As a SAHM I consider it part of my job to seek out and maintain friendships with other SAHM’s and their children, both for my benefit and Noah’s. I’m a fairly social lass and in contemplating staying home with kids I always feared I wouldn’t be able to do it because I’d be too lonely. When Mark worked from home I repeatedly said I’d never be able to do it because I NEED the social interaction of the regular workplace. And yet here I am “working” from home, and actually enjoying it more than I ever thought possible. But part of what keeps me sane is socializing with other mothers who are also at home with their kids every day. They are my “work” friends. In the workplace I’ve always become friendly with people who were different then me – they had different viewpoints, different interests, different ways of being than myself. But we had work as common ground – both the location and the ins and outs of the work we did and the people with whom we dealt. And it’s those people who always got me to work every day, who made the drudgery of my job fun. As a SAHM I can’t merely peer over my cubicle wall to meet a new friend, I have to seek them. And I won’t just run into them every day in the same office, I have to make play dates and arrange playgroups. And though some of the Moms I’ve become friendly with wouldn’t exactly fit in with my longstanding pre-Noah friends at a party, they are vital to my happiness.

And of course Noah’s need for socialization is also key. Sure he might sometimes be cautious, passive, sensitive and downright uncomfortable in social situations with kids his own age, but that is all the more reason I have to keep up with the play dates. It won’t ever become manageable for him if he never has to do it. However that being said I also want to say that I don’t believe the reason for Noah’s shyness is because he’s home with me – it seems obvious to me that it’s an inherent part of his personality. Despite seeing some kids regularly for almost a year he’s just warming up to them. Of course if Noah was regularly in a preschool situation he would have to adapt a way of dealing with his shyness or at the very least adapt to the specific children he encountered at school because he'd have no other option. But I don’t think school is a magic pill to cure his sensitivity, caution and passiveness. And thank God. Because though I feel for him when he’s obviously a bit scared in a new situation, I’m also proud of how observant, thoughtful and sensitive he is. I’m glad he’s the boy giving up his toy rather than the one grabbing it out of another child’s hand.

Part of the reason I feel that Noah will most likely remain a bit anxious socially is because that’s how Mark is. I have a perfect example. In two weeks Mark’s aunt and uncle are having a fiftieth wedding anniversary party. And because Noah isn’t permitted to attend and the driving distance and timing involved, Mark has to go to the party solo while I stay home with the boy. And while I’m disappointed I can’t attend, Mark is more so. He’s anxious about having to socialize at a party without me there to help him. And it’s his FAMILY! Of course he’ll go and he’ll have a good time chatting with his aunts, uncles and cousins, but that fear of not having me there to lean on is exactly what I believe Noah experiences. And Mark hasn’t overcome that after many, many years of schooling. He even interacts with people other than me EVERY DAY!

So an occasional bad playgroup session is nothing to sweat. It won’t have me packing my bags and locking myself and the boy back in the house for the day. And if a Mommy friend can be a bit overbearing on occasion, I try hard to overlook it. (As I hope they and you will do for me.) I need those "work" friends desperately, even when I'm annoyed. (That doesn’t however mean I won’t bitch about it sporadically.)

Time to sit back and unwind

I took Noah to tot swim at the Rec Center pool on Wednesday afternoon. Since then he’s repeatedly asked to go swimming. He LOVED it so much. I’m wary of taking him to all-swim because it’ll be more crowded and more rowdy - and thus less enjoyable for both him and me. Months ago we bought him a small plastic pool that I have yet to put in the “yard” and fill it with water because outside our house is like mosquito heaven. They are so bad out there that we’ve spent zero time going out back. I’m thinking the mosquito problem is created by the abandoned building next door to our home – the one with the caved in roof and the probable inches of standing water contained within. And not too much I can do about that. I have bug spray and Off coils, but I'm wary of using them with Noah because of the possible toxins. Am I being nuts? Are there more natural ways to shoo those pesky biting bugs?

Oh – I almost forgot about the scene I caused at the pool. Without thinking I wore my glasses and after Noah and I were in the water for about ten minutes a lifeguard told me I had to take them off. He didn’t elaborate on the reasons but I’m guessing that the possibility of broken glass in the water is a safety hazard and since it’s a small pool and can get crowded and quite rowdy with teens and whatnot they have a lot of seemingly silly and very restrictive rules. I apologized for having worn them and said I wouldn’t let it happen again but that I would prefer not having to take them off because I need them to see. And since there were only like five parents and their infants in the pool, and I obviously wasn’t going to put my head under water with Noah in my arms, could they let me go this time. Eventually, after talking to four different people they did. But first the 16 yo lifeguard said to me “Well I can’t see without my glasses but I’m not allowed to wear them either.” Ahem. Yes… the lifeguard can’t see. Certainly reassuring. And another employee yelled at me from the other side of the gate “Well YOU PEOPLE made the rules.” To which a father in the pool angrily shouted “YOU PEOPLE? Who is this YOU PEOPLE?” And then she muttered something about the neighbors. Ah… so much excitement when you use free city services.

Yesterday Noah and I drove out to Reading to spend some time with Ms. Janette and Baby Jules. We drove over 3 hours to be there for 2 and a half. I can’t stand her living so far away. It kills me that we’re both home alone all day, every week day with our kids and could use the company but we barely see each other. And it isn’t just the distance, it’s the damn traffic. The Schuylkill is ALWAYS a mess and a drive that should take an hour is at least an hour and a half on a GOOD day. But we had a nice afternoon of chatting, baby wrangling and Chinese food. If only there were more of them.

Today we went to our typical Friday morning playgroup. There were more mothers and kids there than usual and it was particularly hot and chaotic. Kids not sharing, peeing on the ground, screaming and crying. I left needing a nap. Though I look forward to seeing other moms and having Noah interact with the other kids, the group is getting almost too stressful. Some of the parental styles are starting to clash – as some Mom’s are very hands on (um… me) and some are completely hands off while their children run amok. And the personalities of some of the kids are borderline aggressive. I’m stuck monitoring other people’s kids and trying to encourage Noah to have fun without pushing him, while making sure that other kids don’t take every toy out of his hands or clobber him for no reason. This week Noah clung to me even more than usual and actually asked me several times to go home. I hope it was just an off week for us both.

We have a few recreational possibilities for this weekend but our humid heat wave might squash them all. Exciting outdoor activities in breezeless scorching misery are not so fun. I wish for you a lovely lazy weekend full of popsicles, water fun and cool breezes.

After the banging

After Friday’s brief foray into the world of demolition, we here at the House of Eggerts are on the mend. Luckily the only repercussion, aside from the complete loss of the door to our office, seems to be Noah occasionally referencing his Mama’s “banging, banging, banging.” We’ve been over the story a hundred times already. “Why was Mama banging?” “Noah.” “Where was Noah?” “Office.” “Noah was locked in the office. Could he get out?” “No.” “So Mama broke the door to get him out of the office?” “Yes.” “Was it scary?” “Yes.” “Mama was scared too. But Noah is okay now?” “Yes.” He no longer seems distressed about the incident, but it certainly seems like a notable occurence. Thankfully I'm pretty resilient too.

Post office break-in, Noah had a long cuddle, a long nap and then we headed to the National Model Train Show at the Convention Center. My neighborhood friend Holly and her son Tripp were good enough to join us. Holly is due with her second child any minute, so she drove us rather than taking the El. Though Noah is still a bit cautious of the overly gregarious Tripp, the two now seem to be forming a good bond. Meanwhile Noah is downright infatuated with Holly. I can hardly blame him. I think she might be the most bubbly overly positive person I have met in my entire life. I don’t think she has complained once about her pregnancy despite being pregnant while chasing a rambunctious toddler – not even one little comment about being tired. When it comes down to the nitty gritty of common interests, Holly and I aren’t really a match – but she’s just so sweet and refreshing that I look forward to spending time with her. Anyway- TRAINS. Hundreds of tiny trains on tiny tracks, surrounded by tiny buildings. Noah was AMAZED. And they also had a play area with nine different wooden train tables set up on which the kids could play. He loved it.

To me, the most stunning thing at the train show was the LUG displays. What is a LUG you ask? It’s a LEGO Users Group. Yes- organizations of Lego devotees who design and build large scale LEGO worlds. At the show they had these enormous LEGO city and country scapes with LEGO trains running through them. The time, the money, the energy these people put into their hobby is just dumbfounding to me. And the patience! WHO is that patient? HOW?

On Saturday Noah, Mark and I went to the Northern Liberties Music Festival. We put down a blanket and some toys, bought some Yards beer and hung out for four hours watching the bands and the people. I was pleasantly surprised how long Noah could just sit and hang out with us. He really enjoyed listening to the music and watching the people perform. It was a really lovely afternoon.

Sunday we headed out to Qtown for a picnic at my Mom’s place. We were introduced to some family members of my Mom’s new beau. So far everyone seems very nice. Of course no one invites cousin Hitler to the first barbecue. My Mom has also been doing quite a bit of home improvement – painting, tile, and hardscaping, so it was cool to see the progress. Over the years that place has become unrecognizable as the place I lived in when I was going to high school. Have I ever mentioned to you that my former bedroom is now my Mom’s closet? It still kills me.

After the picnic we sent Mark home on the regional rail and Noah and I spent the night so we could spend Monday with my Mom. We drove out to New Hope where we rode an old steam engine, had lunch at Wildflowers, and did a bit of window shopping before heading back home. Of course Noah dug the train. Are you sensing this trend yet? Chugga chugga choo choo! I’m figuring that by my feeding his interest in trains he’ll either tire of them quickly or he’ll become some sort of a nut. What do you think is the likely outcome? Am I overdoing it?

Heeeeree's Mommy!

Holy crap. You won’t believe what just happened here. I don’t even know where to begin for dramatic effect. I guess I’ll cut right to it. I just had to bash a hole in our office door with a hammer. While Noah was shrieking in complete panic on the other side of the locked door. A door I didn’t even know locked. For which we have no key.

I had been sitting in the hallway playing with him when he went into the office and closed the door on me. And I guess the lock had been pushed at some point – though I’m not sure how. So then he was locked in the office – and I was locked out, and he couldn’t turn the knob. He started screaming in complete panic. I called Mark while starting to cry and freak out. He told me to take the door off – but there were no hinges or screws on my side. I hung up on him and called 911 and then went to the basement to grab a tool box. I tried to break the lock but it wasn’t happening. And I couldn’t exactly calmly contemplate the best strategy – so I told Noah repeatedly to go sit on the couch away from the door, and then I started bashing a hole in our thankfully cheap door with a hammer. This of course caused Noah more panic but I kept telling him it was only me trying to get the door open and to stay away from the door. Once I got the hammer completely through the door I reached my hand through and opened the lock. For like ten minutes Noah just clung to me sniffling. I told him it was okay, that I was sorry he was so scared, that I was scared too. And I explained to him what happened. Then we went downstairs to await the police arrival. The female officer said she was probably going to do the same thing to our door. She said has a two year old too. I was thankful she acted like it was par for the course and that I wasn’t a complete moron. That was very kind of her. Well – Noah is napping now and I have to clean up bits of splintered door from the floor. Bye.

The Big Uh Oh

Two years ago my friend Tracey bought me a dress up George Bush magnet set for my birthday. In paper doll style you can dress Bush as Napolean, Chiquita Banana or a Rastafarian. And without the gear our fearless leader is wearing nothing but a strategically placed cutout of the Lone Star State. It’s lighthearted liberal fun at it’s best.

Noah has spent quite a bit of time moving fridge magnets around, but for the first time yesterday he really seemed to take note of President Bush. While sitting at the dinner table last night he pointed at the fridge and said “Uh Oh.” It took Mark and I a minute to realize he was concerned about George’s nudity. When Mark realized Noah was uh-ohing Bush he responded by saying “Yeah… George Bush, he’s a BIG Uh Oh.” And from thence on Noah chanted a repetitive mantra of “The man… George Bush… Big Uh Oh.”

And if that weren’t enough comic fodder to last you, it got better this afternoon. While the HVAC guy was here checking out the AC, Noah headed upstairs. I called up to him to persuade him to return to my line of sight. I asked him what he was doing. He came running out of his room with the Bush magnet in his hand saying “The man… diaper.” Yup – he took our president upstairs to diaper him. And then he put him on the potty, carried him around and read him a couple of books. Seems Noah has found a new best friend.

And what is with our AC you ask? Well, you want the good news or the bad ? The good news is that the water on the ground was condensation leaking out of our unit because there was a clog in the PVC condensate drainage line – and all that had to be done to alleviate the short term problem was to wash out the build up in the PVC tube with a hose in the back yard. And better news yet is that we didn’t pay a dime for it because luckily we realized yesterday afternoon that it should be covered by the maintenance plan Mark bought from PGW. The bad news however is that according to the HVAC guy there is a larger problem with our central air unit. Apparently it should have been installed on a slight pitch with the right side of the unit slightly elevated so that the water sitting in the condensation pan would be aided by gravity in draining out the PVC tube – and said tube should also be on a downward angle as to move water smoothly out of the unit. Unfortunately our unit was most likely installed half-ass by the do-it-yourselfer former owner of our home and as with many other things in our place, not done quite right. As a result water is sitting in the pan to long, causing rust, which is then catching in the tube. The big solution would be to have it ripped all apart and resituated by a proper installation expert. But you know what we’re gonna do? Since this is the first time we’ve had this issue in five years of owning this home we are gonna just monitor the drainage tube for blockage and hope the water doesn’t back up again. Oh yes, a lot of hoping. And now your HVAC lesson is complete.

Tomorrow afternoon I may take Noah to see the National Train Show at the Convention Center. I think he’ll really dig it if he can overcome his interest in touching all the model trains. We shall see. If we don’t go tomorrow we'll go on Saturday morning before the Northern Liberties Music Festival (if it’s not rained out for a third time.)

Oh. And I’ve been meaning to ask – WHAT are you guys watching on TV? If we’re lucky Mark and I get to watch a little less than two hours of drool inducing television each evening after Noah goes to bed. But there is next to NOTHING on. Summer TV sucks. I’ve been very grateful for the HBO shows (“Deadwood,” “Entourage” and “Lucky Louie”) and sort of enjoying “Treasure Hunters” - the poorly done “Amazing Race” ripoff, but I can only watch SO many episodes of “House Hunters” before I start insisting we buy a tacky condo in Fort Worth. Please HELP! What will get me through the next week until the new episodes of “Project Runway?”

His name is Noah

It seems overnight Noah has gone from never saying his own name to saying it constantly. Before when we were trying to prompt him to say his name and he’d just point. We knew he could say it, but he was just refusing. Now it’s always on the tip of his tongue. Especially when demanding that you give way to his newfound independence. How dare you think of assisting him. “Noah” he states to tell you who will be the master of this task.

Yesterday he ambled up into the desk chair and started pounding on the keyboard. “Choo choo!” he said as he moved the mouse. Mark came to his aid and said “You want to see the trains?” And the boy said “Noah,” before commencing banging on the keyboard. Then he looked at Mark with a confused look and said “Choo choo.” But once again rebuffed Mark’s assistance with “Noah.” He must have been thinking “I pushed these buttons and moved that thing around – why are there no choo choos?”

And this has been the way of the world here at our house. This morning after I got him some clementines off the counter he demanded he get his own. Then he wanted to pick out his clothes and put on his own socks. It’s all very cute and exciting but also aggravating as all get out.

The holiday weekend was festive, busy and fun – as you can gather from my little photo essay. I won't bother to repeat the goings on covered in the spread - so we'll spring to Monday. On Monday we decided to forego the “Fiesta on the Parkway” and instead have our own little adventure. We took the 57 bus down to South Street, went to Pad Thai for dinner and then walked over to the river, and along the Delaware from South to Market where we took the El back home. It was nice just to be out and about and Noah very much enjoyed the walk and taking various forms of mass transportation.

Unfortunately yesterday was not so pleasant. It began at 4 am when Noah awoke and could not be returned to sleep, despite being absolutely exhausted. I’m guessing (as always) that it’s those damned incisors. And it continued when we went down to the kitchen to find water all over the floor by the utility closet. It seems we have a water drainage leak in our air conditioner. So we’re currently without our central AC and need to call in an HVAC person to charge us an arm and a leg for a problem that seems rather small. That put quite a damper on our collective mood for the Fourth, that and our incredible sleepiness. We were able to rally enough to have a nice dinner, but were too beat to fulfill our original plans to watch the Art Museum fireworks from the 30th Street bridge. It’s a good thing too – they didn’t set them off until 11 pm, by which time I was already asleep on the sofa.

Today I planned to take Noah to the Tot Swim at the Rec Center, but it’s grey and rainy. Damnable weather. Not sure what the rest of the week holds in store for us, but I’m already looking forward to the weekend.

You oughta be in pictures

The following is a quick photo essay on our weekend thus far. Hope you are enjoying your holiday!

Pa Joe played host to a surly gang of his parents, 2 of his kids, 5 friends, 6 boys and Mark. We ate so much that food came out of our ears. While the afternoon was like a neverending water fight between the older boys, Noah very much enjoyed spending a great deal of time playing in the ice chest. Ah, the fun of water sports on a very hot day.  

Uncle Jim attempts to teach Noah the finer points of Super Mario Brothers. We wish a very happy 36th Birthday to Jim today!  

Noah's cousin Julius spent some time studying the chess board.  

Noah had such a fantastic time playing and watching the older boys on Sunday. He particularly loved playing with his cousin James.