« March 2007 | Main | May 2007 »
My sister's husband just started a new photography business. For fun, he set everything up the night before we left Utah to take some pictures for practice. It was pretty late so Madeleine was a little uncooperative but she did let us get a couple of semi-decent pictures of her. However, it's sad when the dog is more well-bahaved than the child.
Someday I want to throw a party in my own home. I want to know what I have to work with in advance. I want to know that if I have to improvise, I can find something with which to do so. I want to be able to get some things ready in advance so last minute things can be left for the last minute as opposed to having to have everything ready to go in advance and not be able to do the big prep work until the very last minute - like the food. That made no sense but I am sure you know what I mean. I also really want to not have to travel across the country to do it again. My baby showers had to be traveled to and the one I just did for my sister required me traveling back as well. Don't get me wrong, I know I didn't have to do it, but I did. Know what I mean? Anyway, next time I hope I can throw one in my own home. Or at least some party. Which sure won't be Madeleine's first birthday party but don't get me started. Despite all that, all my whining and complaining and bitching and moaning, the shower still turned out just fine. And I hope my sister enjoyed and appreciated it because I sure had a great time trying to figure out what the hell to do and how the hell to get it across the country in one piece.
At least United only broke the luggage and not what was inside!
This past weekend Dan went to California for some races. It was the first time I’ve been left alone with the baby overnight since I had her. I was terrified. Not really but the last time he left me alone when I was a little uncomfortable about it – hello, I gave birth! Not that I was worried about that this time. No siree. But living an hour away from the closest people you know is a little scary with an infant. That’s on any given day though, I guess whether he’s gone or not. So, in a nutshell, I’m just a freak – there’s no good reason to freak out about getting left alone with the baby. Maybe I just like being able to dump her in his room so I can walk away for a minute. I think that’s a good enough reason.
So, yeah. He left and had a great ole’ time in freaking California without me. (Yes, I’m dying for a trip to CA. It’s been almost two years and I am having withdrawals.) Meanwhile, I’m at home with the Monster Who Will Not Sleep. From Friday morning until 2 AM last night I maybe had sixteen hours of sleep. She didn’t sleep at night and I’d drudge through, thinking “It’s okay, you can sleep when she takes a nap.” Except? The child wouldn’t take a nap. Well, she would but it was twenty-ish minutes and what good is that going to do me? She wasn’t grouchy though which always makes a world of difference.
Dan flew in last night and instead of driving the hour home just to wait an hour and drive an hour back to pick him up, we hung out at the mall for a good, long forever. Having a baby actually makes that much easier. I’ve tried wasting time waiting at the mall before just to go insane and wish I would have driven home and back. Kids make things take forever.
We went to the airport and picked him up and she didn’t really care when she saw him. “Oh. It’s another person. How nice.” But then he walked away into the bathroom and WOAH! Screaming baby. Then she was his best buddy when he got back out. I guess that whole nonchalant, I won’t let him know that I care he’s home thing didn’t work so well for her.
He’s leaving us again for a whole week next month and after this no-sleep fest, I’m not so sure how I feel about that.
Thoroughly enjoying the gifts lavished upon her at her father’s return.
Since I just love answering questions, I figured I’d play along at my friend, Kim’s site as well. So here are her 5 questions for me and my answers.
1. Do you do dance crazy when no one is looking?
Are you kidding? That’s the only way I dance! I always dance. I love to dance. Now that I have a baby, I dance crazier than ever. She loves it. Soon enough, she’ll be able to dance with me. I am so excited.
2. Do you untie your shoes when you take them off?
I don’t wear shoes that tie. I’m a freak, my feet have high insteps so shoes that cover my entire foot hurt to wear. Good thing I love sandals and slip-ons and fancy schmancy shoes. But on the off day that I do wear a pair of docs or sneakers, no – I try really hard not to untie them when I take them off. Which is silly if you think about it, you have to untie them to put them back on and you always have more time when you’re taking your shoes off than putting them on so why not get it out of the way?
3. What song best describes you when you first wake up in the morning?
“Bitch” – Meredith Brooks
Not really. Though it’s not much of a stretch. Ahhh. I’ve got nothin’ here. Annie Lennox – “Why.” Why the HELL do I have to get up and do this all over again?? Why the hell can’t I just sleep a little bit longer? Why the hell won’t those damn squirrels go away and let me rest already?
4. What is your favorite book you read as a child?
5. What is your all time favorite joke?
I can’t remember but the punchline is “Tank. Tank. Tank.” It was a joke a friend of mine in high school told. It was a dumb joke (but that’s my humor). I laughed longer and harder than I’ve ever laughed at a joke. I still giggle thinking about it and I don’t even remember the whole joke.
So there you have it. I love answering questions. You have one you wanna ask? Go right ahead. I’ll answer. I’m friendly like that.
Every month as days go by, I tell myself, “write that down so you don’t forget it come monthly post time.” Every month. Do I do it? Have I ever done it? No. “I’m not going to forget THAT. There’s no way!” Come post time, I don’t have a damn clue what to include. What happened this month? When? Wasn’t that last month? I can’t keep track. And this month? This has been the craziest, most to report on month yet. And what do I remember? Uhhh….. Let’s work on that...
Teeth. Scooting. Crawling. Eating (or not eating, rather). Tantrums. Playing. Sleeping. I know there are more. I know it. And since I never write anything down, they’re lost. In the abyss that is my brain. Never to be found again.
But of the things I do remember, or at least think I do... We'll cover them briefly because of course I don’t remember details. What a great start to this whole Mom thing, huh?
Teeth. She’s got ‘em. She uses ‘em. They’re sharp. They hurt. She had her two bottom front teeth come in at the exact same time. I was terrified of the teething process. I just knew she would be unbearable. That’s just my luck. Everyone warned me of teething. I had all sorts of plans on how to make it less painful for her, I was ready. But. Wait. What? They’re here already?? But there was no warning! There was no fussing! There was nothing but two little spots to tell me she was getting teeth. And they lasted barely two days until POP! Two little teethies poked right up. While she was getting them she would not let you see in her mouth. The girl’s jaw has a grip. She loves to have them brushed though. I think she just loves the toothpaste. Might as well be giving her candy.
Scooting & Crawling. This happened too fast. Last month it took all the effort she had to move around. Not that she wouldn’t do it, but she was kind of like a little turtle. Slow but determined. Then she got a little quicker. She’d scoot anywhere and everywhere. Then? Oh. Oh dear. About two weeks ago she just up and crawled. I cried. Not because “oh, my baby’s growin’ up.” Not because it’s an important milestone. Not because I was so happy that I got to see her crawl for the first time since I was home with her since day care was closed. No. None of those reasons. I cried because oh shit – what am I supposed to do now? She’s mobile. She can move from place to place. By herself. Without my help. Or worse – without my approval. I can’t just leave her in one room anymore and walk to the other room for a minute. She follows me! It’s really kind of creepy. Tiny little creature crawling up to you, grabbing your legs. You kinda just want to cringe away. They’re not supposed to do that. They’re supposed to be helpless and still and whine and cry when they want to be moved. I know, what rock am I living under? It is very cute. She was very slow and hesitant at first. She wasn’t really sure of what she was doing and what moves when and what goes where. But now she’s a little turbo-baby. And she’s learned to run (well… you know what I mean) away. The joys that’s going to bring.
Eating. If it’s baby food consistency, she’s not interested. We’re back to bribing her with her own spoon to get her mouth open enough to shove food in it. She’s great if she can feed herself, she loves the solid foods. You know what she loves even more than that? Baby crack. She shovels those things down like you wouldn’t believe. I try not to give her too many of them, I know they give her plenty of them at day care. And really, if it’s anything she can put in her mouth herself, she’s fine. Pieces of cheese, chunks of toast, pieces of mushy fruit. It’s just the liquid food she’s not so fond of anymore. I mean, come on – it’s for babies. I’m glad that she can eat a wider variety of food as she gets older. I can’t wait until nothing is off limits and I can just let her go crazy. I do think I am more paranoid and careful than I really need to be. I feel like I am holding her back in the food tastes and experiences she could probably have at this point. But with all the “don’ts” out there, it’s hard to keep track and know what truly is a “do not feed this to your child. Period.” So I err on the side of caution and am a wuss. Poor, food-enjoyment-neglected kid. I’ll work on that one though.
Tantrums. Oh yes. These are fun. Why didn’t anyone tell me they started this young?? We had our first How DARE you take that away from me! fit a few weeks ago. And the But I don’t WANT to do that right now! fits. She’s a diva as it is. Now that she can throw deliberate fits? I’m so screwed.
She loves playing with her toys when she’s in a good mood. Which, really is pretty often. I know I make her sound like an evil monster but she really is a well-mannered baby. She’s quite independent and will happily play by herself when she wants to. Her favorite toy right now is her Pack ‘n Play. “Put me in. Take me out. Put me in. Take me out.” But more than that, she LOVES to push against the mesh sides. And loves it even more when you push back at her. She thinks it’s hilarious. She is getting very playful herself. She loves to play with people and loves it even more when they play back. Now that she’s mobile, she makes a game out of that as well.
She’s sleeping a little bit better but that’s not why I mentioned it. It’s how she sleeps that let it make the list. Her new thing is to sleep on her belly with her legs up underneath her with her butt up in the air. It doesn’t matter how you put her to sleep, that’s how she ends up. It’s very funny.
Oh! And the screeching!!! We thought it was bad before. She’s always had a loud, high pitched squeal that she’s done forever. It has just evolved with her. Now it’s an ear-piercing, loud as can be screech that she does whenever she feels like it. Which usually happens to be when we’re out in public in a semi-quiet place surrounded by strangers. She thinks she’s a hoot. Especially when the strangers around her start smiling and laughing at her. That just adds fuel to her fire. And they get louder and longer and higher and more and more painful. (The sound AND the embarrassment factor.) It really is kind of funny but I don’t want to add fuel to her fire so I refuse to entertain it. Though it does no good when everyone else around thinks it’s the most adorable thing ever and has to tell her so. Hmph.
This month I would say has been one of the most fun so far. Granted, it’s the month she’s done the most growing up and it’s freaking me out that I don’t have a “baby” anymore. But she’s growing up and learning and figuring things out and it’s so much fun to watch that.
Random Things I’ve Learned During the Tenth Month:
- Nothing makes you move faster than your baby choking. (I know, what a way to start a list, huh?)
- Do NOT tease with the puffs. It’s not a joke.
- Bath time can be the most productive time of the day if everything is portable.
- Walks outside in the nice weather can save your sanity.
- So can walks around the house in the stroller. (??? Makes no difference to her)
- Cuddly babies = best babies ever
- Independent, do things for themselves babies = also best babies ever
I have a number of very favorite blogs. The ones I check obsessively a million times a day. Of those, one quickly shot to the top of the list as soon as I found it. The girl just kills me. Not only does she have the shiniest hair and glossiest lips, but she’s smart and funny too. And on top of all that, she’s a rock star mommy to the cutest little boy! So when she did the 5 questions thing, I just had to jump on board. Here are the 5 questions she asked and my attempt at decent responses.
1. What is the last thing you do before getting into bed at night?
That depends on the night. If my husband is up playing loud games, I usually turn on the TV to block out his sounds so I can get to sleep. Don’t ask but somehow the noises down the hall keep me up so much more than the noise by my head. Go figure. Otherwise, I skip that step and just kiss my little baby on the head and then hope I pass out before she has the chance to wake up again.
2. Do you like beer? If so, what is your favorite kind?
In a word – no. It’s not for lack of trying. I have. Again and again and again. I want to like beer. I can drink everything else – hard liquor, bring it on yum! But something about beer just doesn’t sit right in my mouth. I’ll keep looking for that one beer, the beer I know that’s out there somewhere that just doesn’t taste like, well, beer. Until then, I’ll stay a martini girl.
3. If you had to move to Europe, what country would you live in and why?
I should say France. I want to say France. I dream of going to Paris someday. But something in me is saying Switzerland. I know! HUH?? There’s something from my childhood that just ties me to Switzerland and I have no idea what it is. I don’t think we went there when I lived in Germany as a kid. Maybe? I know every picture I’ve ever seen from there takes my breath away (of course I’ve only seen the pretty pictures, shut up). But maybe it’s the cheese. Or the chocolate. Oh who am I kidding? It’s gotta be the scenery.
4. Doughnuts or pancakes?
Neither. Both. Yes, another example of the walking contradiction that is me. Sometimes I really like doughnuts and they’re so yummy. Other times the idea of them makes me want to find the nearest garbage can. Same with pancakes. Who knew you could have such a love-hate relationship with food. Today? EW! To both.
5. Who is your favorite artist and/or musician? Why?
This is such a difficult question right now. Can I say I’m between favorites? I’m taking a short break from committing to just one? I’m on hiatus from the ones I love to re-evaluate my state of affection? Oh fine. Since I know it will be the same when I come out of this ridiculous funk I’m in, I’ll just keep the answer I know it was and will be…. Mmmmmm Dave Grohl. Yeah. Foo Fighters. I know, it’s not singular, it’s technically “band” not musician (I did note the lack of s). But it’s the Foo Fighters. Exceptions are allowed. And to answer why… They’re the Foo Fighters. That in itself is reason enough. More need not be said. They simply just ROCK!
So there you have it. My 5 answers to Whoorl’s 5 questions.
You want to play along?
1. Leave me a comment saying so.
2. I’ll respond by emailing you five questions. I get to pick the questions.
3. Update your blog with the answers to the questions.
4. Include this explanation and an offer to interview someone else in the same post.
5. When others comment asking to be interviewed, you will ask them five questions.
I am secretly a very sappy, sentimental, emotional, highly sensitive person. Okay, so maybe it isn’t the best kept secret, but no one really knows the extent of it. But that’s not the point! The point is…
Dan and I have been watching Planet Earth on the Discovery Channel. It is an amazing show. The shots they were able to get, the animals they were able to capture (on film, duh!), the activities they documented are nothing short of impressive and some of the scenes they have are breathtaking. (One in particular, if they sold stills of, I would buy and theme my whole house around it.)
However, it is nothing short of heartbreaking at the same time. We watched an episode the other night in which a defeated polar bear had to just lie down and die because he was wounded and couldn’t get any food. I cried. I cannot imagine being the people taking the footage of these scenes. To watch it happen and not be able to interfere, how hard that must be.
There was one piece that was in the first or second episode, so about three weeks ago, that still just kills me to think about. Don’t get me wrong, I get the whole “circle of life,” “some must die so others can live” stuff. I do. But to have a creature created as such that if it gives birth to more than one offspring, it has to allow one to die simply because the diet they live off barely sustains themselves let alone their young – I can’t even deal with that. I get how the wolf has to eat the cute little baby gazelle or the shark has to eat the cute little seal or the lion thinks it has to attack and eat the elephant. I get all that. But the panda? Well that’s just not fair.
(See. I’m not completely cold and heartless.)
And I’m still alive. And she’s still alive. And I still have all my hair. And, in truth, I’ve been avoiding this because it’s not so easy. I hate admitting to wanting things I know I can never have. But staying home with her last week, even being tied to the computer and not really able to leave the house on a whim? I loved it. Granted, I liked having the occasional distraction that was work and it may have been because I knew there was an end in sight but I really enjoyed getting so much extra time with her. We had all sorts of fun and did actually get out to do a few fun things. Had I not been tied to the computer, well, it’s probably very good that I was or we’d never be seen again. Too many places to go and things to see and activities to do. Who knew having kids would be so fun?? And – being home with her for a whole week – well, all the more time to torture her…
But I think I could get used to this.
Day Care is closed all week so I am working from home. I know it's only Monday and we did get off to a bit of a bumpy start but I think I could like it. Though I am terrified and 100% certain I will be more than ready to go back to work next week.
(...As she's sitting in her swing, hidden behind the arm of the couch, spraying her bottle everywhere... Yeah, ask me again on Friday)
Watching “milestones” pass by has been a little sad though not devastating like I think I had expected. Sure I’ve felt a little bummed having to put old clothes away or give them away once she grows out of them. Or when we’ve stopped using different things because she’s grown out of them. Or knowing with every new thing, something else goes away never to be seen again because she’s growin’ up. Kids grow up, that’s what they do. But nothing could have prepared me for the basketcase I’d be over moving her from her infant bath to the bathtub. That one hurt. She absolutely loves it though. More water for her to play with and a lot more room for a lot more toys. Glad she likes this growing up stuff….