Sorry for the blog vacation...

Sickness is running through our household.  I'll be back online soon... keep checking!

Happy Birthday

Today Mr. Monkey Pants is 7 months olds.  I can't even believe it.  I think at this exact time, 7 months ago, I was just coming out of a drug-induced coma.  I knew I had give birth but it hadn't really sunk in yet.  I still can't believe Mr. Monkey Pants was the baby in my belly (uterus - I'm aware, but the alliteration works better with belly).

Happy Birthday my little man!

Look-Alike Contest

When Monkey was really sick (now he just has residuals from his sickness) his nose would be all red - partly from his cold and partly from his mother using tissues and the bulb to get the snot out.

Brian made a comment that with his little red nose Monkey looked like one of the Puffs tissues characters.  What do you think?

Pediatrician Appointment & The Other Sickie

Monkey went for his 6-month check-up.  The Nurse Practitioner agrees with me, Monkey just had a cold which will need to run its course, no alarm at any of his symptoms.

My big boy is growing up fast:

Weight: 17.5 lbs (61st percentile)
Height: 26.5 in (66th percentile - this did not come from my side)
Head: 18 in (98th percentile - who knew he had such a giant head?)

He got 3 shots today and this is him tonight.  I am one of the luckiest moms in the world... really, I am.

And on to other news.  Brian is still sick.  He keeps thinking he is better and then it comes flooding back.  But, there is one ray of hope.  He says some super funny things when he is sick.

I'm sure he wouldn't appreciate this... but... my husband is rather dramatic when he is sick... and when he is angry... and when he is happy... and when he is watching TV - you get the idea.  Anyway, one of my new favorite websites is: Shit My Dad Says (if you don't like cursing in your humor, then don't go to this site). 

And so I thought I would PG it and make this section:

Stuff Brian Says (when he is sick)

1. I'm dying.  No, seriously, I'm dying.
2. I think we should go to the ER and tell them I'm dying.
3. Ellie, tell me, if it comes to it, are you okay with me letting go?
4. I feel like someone ran me over with a truck, revived me, and then ran me over again.
5. Why am I dying?
6. Will you remarry when I'm gone?
7. Kiss my forehead (apparently this is how his grandmother used to take his temperature).
8. Will you miss me when I'm gone?
9. Don't get rid of Socks (Brian's super bad cat) when I'm gone.

And, just as funny, is how I respond to everything he says (I'm not the most empathetic... in general).  Each number below corresponds to the same number above.

1. You're not dying, you're just sick.
2. I think you are okay enough to drive yourself because that just sounds embarrassing.
3. Yes, by all means, let go.
4. That's pretty funny actually.
5. Because God doesn't like you.
6. I don't know if anyone else can put up with me.
7. No, here is a thermometer.
8. Are you going to be like this until you go?
9. I can't make any promises. Besides you won't know anyway.

And that is all the news for today.

And now for something completely different...

Warning: This post has gratuitous ridiculously cute pictures of a sick baby randomly strewn throughout.

(FYI - my title is a nod to the brilliance of Monty Python's Flying Circus.  If you didn't get that, go and rent some episodes and then thank me later.  If you did get that... well done.)

One of the things I love about motherhood is that there is always something new around the corner.  Like the first time your baby smiles at you, or the fist belly laugh, and my personal favorite the first time he holds his arms out for you to pick him up.  And then there are the not-so-much-fun firsts.  Like the first time he poops on you or the first time your shirt gets unknowingly soaked by urine.  Or, so far my absolute favorite, the first time your baby throws up on you and it is all mucus.

(My two sick boys hanging out together.  The pillow on top of the couch is covering up a hole in the brick wall and any subsequent drafts - classy.)

The very first time was last night.  As I finished feeding monkey he went in o a coughing fit.  A frequent croupy cough victim myself, I was not alarmed.  However, Brian was.  He said, "Is Monkey choking?"  And, with all of my lifeguard knowledge behind me, I said, "As long as he can cough he is fine."  And I turned Evan to face me to let him know he was okay and he threw up all over me, all over the couch, and all over the floor.  It was 85% mucus and 100% disgusting.  I mean, I've dealt with some pretty gross things but this one was the most gross to date (I'm sure something entirely different will trump it).

(A little closer look of the sickies.  Who looks more sick?  The man collapsed on the couch or the smiling baby?)

So we cleaned everything up, and Monkey quickly went to sleep.  My poor little sick baby slept the entire night until 5:15 AM.  He woke up, I used the snot bulb to clear his nose, and fed him his bottle.  He made it about 45 minutes and then he needed to go back to sleep.  I picked him up and walked him back to his bedroom.  I made it until the threshold of his room before he threw up all over me - this time it was 95% mucus.  Just keeps getting better.

(Cutest droopy eyed sick baby ever!)

He hasn't thrown up on me again today, but now I'm prepared with a blanket over my shoulder every time I touch him (which of course means he won't throw up on me at all).

(I want my skin to be that smooth when I'm healthy... never mind when I'm sick.)

Today he seems to be on the mend.  Still full of a lot of mucus (will the pediatrician be able to suck that right out of him - have they invented that tool yet?) but also three quarters of the way full of energy.

As for the big sickie, he too is getting better.  A day of rest does wonders for a body with a cold.  Now let's hope this cold leaves the loft without making a visit to me!

Overprotective

My baby is sick.  For the first time.  He has a cold. 

I don't have any pictures because when he is sitting there, eyes all red-rimmed, snot dripping from his nose, coughing, the last thing I think of is taking a picture.  Instead, I hold him very tight and imagine myself beating up those little mucus guys.

And thanks to the Mucinex commercial, I actually have a visual of who I'm fighting.  How dare they think it's okay to infect my baby?

This weekend Monkey was a little less Monkey - just not as playful and not as hungry, but he seems to be getting back to normal. 

Of course he is still full of smiles which is one of the reasons we didn't end up in the ER this weekend.  I imagine a really sick baby wouldn't smile, like a sick cat doesn't purr (according to our vet in TX, that statement is true). 

Overall, I think I handled his first sickness well... except for the need to pummel the mucus guy, but we are working on that.

As a side note, I saw Precious yesterday.  It really was as good as everyone said it would be.  Brian was making fun of me through some of the movie because there were some parts where I had to hold Monkey, hold him very tightly and tell him again how much I love him.  And then I told him if anyone ever did anything bad to him I'd kill them... immediately.

I think that whole mother lion thing is coming out.

I'm a Slacker

As my mom pointed out, I haven't blogged since Wednesday. I have all kinds of excuses... like: 1) nothing that interesting happened (I know, in my life that is rare), 2) I'm still not back on schedule from NJ and Brian's parents, takes me a little longer as I get older, 3) Monkey hasn't been back on schedule either so we've been trading sleep, 4) I had to bake a pie... seriously, 5) Brian was furloughed on Friday so we were out and about almost the entire day (except for the part of the day where my awesome husband let me sleep).  And they are all good and legitimate excuses, but I probably still could have made time to blog.

The truth is... I'm a slacker.  (Ouch, you're jaw dropping that fast must have hurt.)

It's okay.  I came to terms with this a long time ago, about the same time I came to terms with the fact that I'm clumsy (I know, another big shocker for those who know me).  Being a slacker is simply one of the symptoms of getting bored easily.  I get very excited about things in the beginning, expend all of my energy, end up bored and don't always complete things or complete them well (wow, I should put that on my resume).

I was thinking about my "slacker-dom" early this morning (like 5:30 AM) when I was feeding Monkey and I started a list of all the things I have slacked on in my life:

• Becoming President of the United States (president of 3rd grade was hard enough... besides, I inhaled - sorry mom)
• Writing the great American novel (Didn't Fitzgerald already do that? Aren't there like 12 thousand other people trying to do that right now?)
• Losing those 10 lbs in high school
• Playing soccer through my entire educational career (apparently smoking got in the way of that)
• Going for that "summa cum laude" stuff... I guess I will forever have to be happy with just the "cum laude"
• Losing those 20 lbs in college
• Finishing my Master degree (because the world needed another white girl with a Master in Gender & Ethnic Studies for modern literature)
• Losing those 30 lbs in my mid-20s
• Painting my condo (I mean I did it, but only one coat in each room - after that I decided it looked like a faux finish, something Brian wouldn't let me believe once he moved in)
• Losing those 40 lbs when we moved to Texas
• Hanging pictures in TX - it took 4 years for the first floor, I have no idea how long it would have taken for the second floor

And I'm sure there are others, but that was just off the top of my head. 

So, here is what I was thinking... I feel as if this list is supposed to make me feel bad about myself - like look at all the things I never finished.  But, I don't feel remotely bad about this list.  Instead, I look at the list as items that once interested me but when I tried them I lost interest.  I mean, did anyone actually (I'm using that word in homage to my nieces) think I would be 35 and playing the viola?  It was only ever an interest.  And it's okay for interests to fall by the wayside.  They don't define who I am.

And then I made a list of the things I don't slack on:

• Being a wife (hmmm, maybe I should double check with Brian on this one)
• Being a mother
• Being the most authentic me I can be (who just let Oprah on my blog?)

And I felt okay with this list. 

So far, the blog is not on either list since some weeks I'm highly dedicated and some weeks not so much.  But at least I haven't lost interest... yet.

Clothing

So far, Brian and I have been very lucky that we have had to buy only a few articles of clothing for Evan.  Between showers, grandparents, and random clothing fairies, Evan is pretty solid for a few years.

When his clothes change over (like we just put away all 3-6 month clothing) I always have a moment of sadness that my boy is growing up and that some super cute clothes will no longer fit him.  And while I appreciate all the clothes everyone gives us, of course we always have some favorites.

And there will be one set of clothing I will truly miss when the time comes (probably within the next month).

I like it because it is green and brown, one of my favorite color combinations.

I like it because the pants are striped (not something you see every day).

But most of all, I like it because there is a big smiling monkey on his butt.  How perfect for a Mr. Monkey Pants. 

So, thank you to whoever gave us this outfit and let's hope that Evan doesn't grow... just for a little longer.

Visits End, Fade to Black, Roll Credits

Brian's parents were here this past weekend.  They came up Friday night and left yesterday morning (after a nice stint of babysitting so I could go and get my hair cut for free and further the education of how to cut curly hair).

It was a pretty low key weekend: Babies R Us, checked out East Atlanta Village and found my new favorite eatery (Urban Cannibals - I want to work there someday just to learn the secret behind the tomato bisque soup... yummy yummy), looked at some open houses (now I'm really excited to begin our build... just wish our house in TX would sell and that the house here would be ready yesterday - I'm an impatient gal), and Brian and his parents got to take Monkey to music class while I went to the gym.

I'm still trying to get back in the groove of things after my visit to NJ so this blog post isn't quite what it could be.  Sorry, but we all need some down time... yes, even I do... I am a mere mortal you know... well maybe not "mere", but definitely mortal... who am I kidding, I'm a rock star, but sometimes they even party too hard sometimes and need a break... like rehab, but I'm not that kind of rock star... I guess I'm more like the rock star that just enjoys a good time... not like Whitney Houston, she is a mess... my mom took me to her concert one time... she had more clothing changes than songs, but the girl could sing... and enough.

Sorry, just giving you a glimpse of my thought process...scary huh?  Check back tomorrow to see if I've recuperated.

But while you're waiting, amuse yourself with this:

And think to yourself: "Is my day a wet-paper-towel-eating kind of day or something totally different?"

The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly: Trip to NJ

We got home on Wednesday but yesterday was hectic with laundry, gym, cleaning out the fridge, etc, etc, etc.  Brian's parents are coming in tonight to spend the weekend with Monkey (I know, all this attention is going to make him unbearable) and he is sleeping right now so I want to try and get this post done for your reading enjoyment.

Monkey went to New Jersey this past weekend / week for him to meet all those people up North who are wondering about him. I went because Monkey can't travel alone (I know, can you believe that they won't let a 6 month old travel alone?) and because I wanted to spend some time with the family.

To synthesize our visit, I thought I would LOOSELY borrow the concept from a Clint Eastwood western and split the trip into the good parts, the bad parts and the ugly parts.  Since it's New Jersey, think more spaghetti western since there are so many paesans floating around...

The Good

• Let's start with a surprise winner in this category: Philadelphia TSA.  I know, WHAT!!!  But it's the truth.  I know people like to bash Philly (the city of "Brotherly Love") but give it a chance.  People in Philly may make fun of you, they may even be snarky, but they will at least help you.  Like when I got off the plane in Philly and my stroller was already set up.  Or when, on the way home, a kind TSA agent (totally an oxymoron) let me handle Monkey while she took care of the stroller, car seat, and diaper bag.  Thank you Philly TSA for giving me the warm fuzzies and proving all those naysayers wrong (and of course my mom wants to be thanks because she believes all of this is due to her prayers - so... ummm... thanks mom).
• The most obvious good is that Monkey got to meet people who are important in his life (even though he may not have been aware of that):

First he met his Uncle Joe and Miss Joanna (and scored the cutest little stuffed rabbit and the book "Velveteen Rabbit" which his Daddy will have to read to him unless he wants to see his mom become a bumbling crying idiot):

Uncle Joe had to leave the next day to go skiing with Grandpa.  But Grandpa got in some cuddles before he left too.

Of course, Maga was there the whole time.  She kept mumbling about some "pact" she had made with Monkey.  The pact apparently was about Monkey staying in NJ with Maga.  No worries, I've already looked into assisted living because, get this, 6 month olds can't talk and therefore can't make a pact.  I've checked into it.  (Look at his sleepiness, this was right before Monkey fell asleep in Maga's arms.)

He also met my friend for the first time.  By the way, my friend, who looks fabulous, is a mother of 3 (four year old girl, twin two year old boys, goes to nursing school full-time, has another job, and still had a few hours to see me.  Umm... I go to the gym with my non-mobile child.

I think Monkey liked her... and found her super cozy as well.

And of course, Monkey also met my friend's children and LOVED the little people (yes, I know there are only 2 children in this picture, be patient and you will meet the third).  Her kids are adorable and completely entertained Monkey.

Monkey also met 2 of my cousins (and he met their mother too but for some reason I don't have a photo of her with Monkey, I could have sworn I took a picture).  

People who also visited but somehow got away without a picture are my aunt, another cousin, my sister, my brother-in-law, and my sister's kids.  Listen, by the end of the week, I was so tired that I'm not sure I remember I had a camera. 




The Bad

• Monkey's sleeping habits.  For some reason, my son who has NEVER had any problem sleeping (not in Cancun, not in the hotel when we first moved to the ATL, not in the loft) had problems sleeping in NJ.  This just meant that I had problems sleeping in NJ.  Of course, by the last day all the kinks were worked out and... we came home.
• I feel like a broken record but... Atlanta TSA.  Man, they REALLY suck.  In Atlanta, when I went through security a TSA agent literally watched me while I struggled with Monkey, the stroller, his car seat, and my diaper bag.  Thankfully some other passenger stepped forward and helped me.  Then they were all snarky with me that I was "taking too long" putting my stuff together because they wanted to test Monkey's formula.  Seriously, I need to find another airport to drive to and fly out of.
• And this one isn't really bad... it's more on your perspective.  In NJ, Monkey apparently has found his groove because he started to almost sit on his own, get his behind all the way up but still not crawling, and then my sister showed him another way to get around and he commenced moving the tricycle.

I mean, I'm a proud mother and all but I'm okay if he doesn't start crawling until he is 12 months old.












The Ugly

I only have one contender for this category and it's a doozy.  When we lived in Austin I didn't have a full-length mirror so I got used to not looking in one.  Even though we have one here, there are some outfits I hang out in that I'm sure I've never looked in the mirror when I'm wearing them.  Most of them consist of me "borrowing" Brian's clothes.  And, when I started this blog and wrote about my difficulty with getting pregnant, I made a promise to myself I would only censor if someone's feelings would get hurt.  Well, posting an ugly photo of myself won't hurt my feelings so I believe I need to share it because,, apparently wearing my husband's clothes is not a flattering fashion move on my part:

I mean, wow. 

But, on the not ugly side would be the 3rd child of my friend - he is a cutie patooty.










And, I feel the need to point out that while I am a "big girl" this photo adds way more to me than is already there.

And now I'm back in the ATL and it's raining (surprise) and you, my reader, are shocked that New Jersey didn't make the ugly list (it was actually quite beautiful while I was there).  I'm off to get ready for the gym (especially after that photo) and welcome my in-laws this evening. 

More on Monday.

Monkey Friday

Today, Monkey went to "day care" for the first time today.  I joined the Y last Friday and today was my first coach consultation.  While I was being consulted, Monkey went to Play Care - the babysitting included in my membership (I love the Y).  I was worried.  He had never been watched by a stranger outside of our home.  Would he be okay?  Would he cry?  Would he play with the toys?

Well, ladies and gentleman, he didn't even notice I was gone. Apparently he had a blast.  He played in a new exersaucer, had tummy time, ate his bottle, and then took a nap.  I actually think he wasn't excited when he saw me - there were still other toys to explore.  But he will be back there often as I want to get there at LEAST 3 days a week if not more.

So, if you're a monkey, you have a long week behind you and a weekend of travels (going to NJ) ahead of you... what do you do?

Well, you come home...

Make yourself a bottle...

Put on your slippers and relax.

We'll see you when we get back from visiting family and friends in New Jersey.

I Turned Off the Monitor... And Survived

Recently, Mr. Monkey has been waking up a lot in the middle of the night and so have I.  He hasn't been asking for food, just waking up and then being soothed back to sleep.  Since we are in a loft, I've been getting up a lot quicker than I would in a house so 1) he doesn't wake up Brian who gets up early for work, and 2) he doesn't wake up any neighbors.

One REALLY tired day, I started to wonder why he was doing this in Atlanta but never did this in Cedar Park... he slept through the night for almost a month in CP (and I'm talking 10 - 12 hours, no this weird 5-6 hours that supposedly defines "sleeping through the night"... whose night is that?).  Anyway... I started to wonder if the monitor wasn't the culprit.

I love our monitor.  It's a video monitor and in our house in CP it was perfect - especially for a first time mom.  I could see if Evan was just fussing or really waking up.  It was also helpful here once Monkey started rolling over in bed at night... because I could see if he really needed help or was just complaining.  But, it has some downfalls in the loft (like most things we are finding out):

1. 
   
   There is a lot of metal in the loft... because it's an industrial design.  Due to this, there is a lot of interference in the monitor which leads to REALLY annoying static unless you find the perfect place for it.
2. 
   
   The monitor picks up every little noise.  I can hear Monkey sigh, and I can hear the person next door talking.  The problem is, Monkey's sigh can sounds just as loud as a cry when I'm sleeping.  So I wake up to it all.
3. 
   
   I have a theory that Monkey can hear himself on the monitor when he is crying.  I think he hears the echo and likes the sound - this makes him cry even more.

So, I was complaining about this to my mom and she said: "Turn off the monitor.  We didn't have them when you were a baby.  Promise me, you will still be able to hear him."  Huh, turn off the monitor?  But what would I do?  Could I do it? It was such a revelation that I needed a leap of faith to try it.

And, I tried it.  There was no fuzz anymore so Brian slept better.  I didn't wake up to every sigh so I slept better.  And I did hear when he cried.  Of course, I have no idea if he is still waking up in the middle of the night (which would be around midnight because he still wakes up a 4AM / 5AM daily) since I can't hear the little wake-ups but I've found I don't care.  If he is waking up, he is obviously going back to sleep.

You see, I turned off the monitor and I survived... and so far Mr. Monkey has survived too:

Monkey hanging out on the floor in his bedroom.

Monkey... just being Monkey.

And now for something completely different...

I took Monkey to a Baby Sign Times storytime today (to get us out of the house, around other babies, and because I'm teaching him American Sign Language for babies).  I was "showing off" how he can stand if I hold his little hands.  Everyone was oohing and aahing over his abilities and cuteness and my tired little guy fell to his bottom.  Before I could grab him, he face planted right on the carpet and cried.  I was playing with him a few minutes later (after calming him down) and he had some dried blood around one nostril. But don't worry, my mom assured me he didn't break his nose. 

I so do NOT win the good parent award today.

The Wedding CD (Kind of About Evan)

Recently I’ve started to introduce Evan to grown-up music because, let’s face it, I can’t do nursery rhymes all day long because… I’m a grown-up. Before we moved, Brian and I did a purge of our CDs to get it down to what we really listen to.

I’m amazed how I apparently only listen to 10 bands / singers but how I have all their CDs, and I’m even more amazed that Brian decided to keep “All New WWF Superstar Themes that Rock”… I kid you not. Somehow that CD survived the purge.









Anyway, I came across our wedding CD, the one that we handed out as a favor at our wedding. Why yes, we did get married in 2004 when everyone else was doing the same thing – thanks for asking. I played two songs on the CD for Evan today before he fell asleep for what will hopefully be a very long nap. And I was struck by two things: 1) Good love songs are just about love and can translate to my son as easily as my husband, and 2) Someday Evan is going to ask me why we chose the songs we did on this CD and I will not be able to remember (since little slices of my memory disappear every day).

So, this post is for Evan, someday. I’m going to attempt to explain why the songs are on the CD (from my point of view – then maybe I’ll ask Brian to guest post from his point of view).

Songs:

1. First Time Ever I saw Your Face – Roberta Flack

You may or may not know, Brian and I met online (Match.com). We emailed back and forth for a bit, then talked on the phone incessantly, and then finally decided to meet. We admitted to each other, much later, that as long as we found the other person attractive (I think I actually said as long as Brian wasn’t grotesque) then we knew we would get married.

So, I fell in love the first time I saw his face (gag – apparently I was much more romantic then).

2. Anything You Can Do I Can Do Better – Ethel Merman

To explain this one, I’m going to tell you a little story. Our friends were driving around after our wedding and playing this CD in their car. When this song came on, the husband-friend said, “Why did Brian and Ellen pick this song?” to which his daughter replied, “Hello, have you met them?” I think that is all that needs to be said here.

3. Let’s Call the Whole Thing Off – Louis Armstrong

I know, huh? How could this song fit in? Well, I fought against this song until Brian made me sit down and actually listen to the lyrics. It’s about two people who have small differences (because how you pronounce “tomato” really is small), who realize their lives would be “easier” if they called it off but know they can’t because of how much they love each other. As you can see, the song made the cut.

4. I Think I Love You – David Cassidy

Okay, on this one my memory may be a little faulty in the details but I can give you the big picture. For some context, Brian and I had our first date (face to face meeting) on October 25 and we were engaged on December 24 of the same year. You can probably surmise that we said “I love you” relatively early to each other. I won’t go into the long story about how we said it to each other (nothing dirty, just too long for this brief explanation) but at one point someone (Brian maybe?) referenced this song so I bought him the CD for Christmas (yes, it survived the purge) and so it made it here.

5. Uptown Girl – Billy Joel

When Brian and I met, Sex and the City was still running and highly popular. He always said I was “Miranda” to his “Steve the bartender.” For those of you who don’t get that reference – he felt I was his uptown girl and he was the downtown guy.

6. Theme to the Odd Couple

Really I could just repeat the story for the second song. In some ways Brian and I are perfect for each other and in others (like he is actually pretty politically conservative and I’m a communist… and now I’m on some government watch list somewhere – wave at the cameras) it’s a miracle we ever made it to the altar.

7. Just the Way You Are – Billy Joel

I don’t recall any specific reason for this song other than the fact that I love Billy Joel and Brian liked this song.

8. Love Theme from The Godfather

So, I know it’s a shocker, but Brian and I are Italian (with some Irish and German thrown in). As an Italian woman, I cook. As an Italian man, Brian watches all mafia movies. For our wedding, as a joke, when we were announced as man and wife at the reception we walked in to this song, made a loop around the room, then had our first dance. We felt it would be perfect to include in the CD.

9. You’re My Home – Billy Joel

This is one of the most beautiful and underrated songs of Billy Joel. It is on his Piano Man and Songs in the Attic CD. It was important to me to include this song on our CD because I wanted Brian to know that the only thing that mattered to me was him. I didn’t need commercial items, I just needed him.

10. The Power Of Two – Indigo Girls

This is without a doubt one of my most favorite songs of all time (and I am aware of how poorly that sentence is written, but I’m willing to overlook that because that is how much I love this song). I love this song for lots of reasons, but there are two lines in it that sing to my soul: “If we ever leave a legacy / it’s that we loved each other well.” There is just something so incredibly beautiful about that sentiment.

I wanted this to be our first dance song but Brian didn’t want it because I had picked it out before I met him so he felt it was more of an “insert man here” sort of decision rather than a couple’s decision. Point taken… and please refer back to the reasoning for song #3.

11. The Way You Look Tonight – Frank Sinatra

My husband is a lot about equality. You see, I hate Frank Sinatra, but he claims to hate The Indigo Girls. So, if I got an Indigo Girls song, then he got a Frank Sinatra song. See, we worked it out.

12. Song for My Son

Brian’s song for the dance with his mother. She got to pick this one out.

13. Wind Beneath My Wings – Bette Midler

My song for the dance with my father. I gave him the choice of picking something but he didn’t know where to start. He ixnayed my first choice of “I Hope You Dance” because he didn’t think he could dance to country music. Incidentally, I had to count the entire time we danced so that I could let him lead. You can see it in the video – true story.

14. When I Fall in Love – Nat King Cole

This was the song we FINALLY chose as our first dance. Brian spent a lot of time trying to find the perfect song. I decided that “The Power of Two” was the perfect song a long time ago so I wasn’t very helpful. Of course, there was no song that talked about people meeting on the Internet, falling in love, getting engaged in 2 months but married 17 months later, co-owning cats and a house before marriage, navigating the combination of our lives, so we just picked one we could both agree on.

Oddly, this was also my sister’s first dance song.



And here we are, almost 6 years later. I still love listening to this CD.

Monkey Milestones

Last Friday, Monkey hit the 6 month mark (I know, I teared a little, he is growing up WAY too fast) so I thought this would be a good time to check out his milestones: 1) Where he's at (syntax purposely done as a nod to my Jersey roots, and if that sentence doesn't look weird to you then you are probably from New Jersey), 2) The ones I think he will skip, and 3) Where I hope he is going next.

Let's remember where we started:

Where He is At (or what he can do so far):

• Rolls over to his right side
• Hangs out on his stomach
• Can lift his entire torso off the ground
• Makes grown women swoon
• Smiles... a lot
• Belly laughs when Daddy throws him high in to the air (and when Mommy pretends to eat his belly)
• Can grab things with his fingers (according to Brian this is a milestone, I had no idea)
• Knows that objects still exist even though they have left his line of sight
• Can track things - specifically can track 4 cats as they attempt to walk around him in this very small loft
• Grabs Mommy's glasses and hair
• Babbles incessantly
• Has two bottom teeth poking through (with many more on the way)
• Eats solid food and grabs the spoon to "do it himself"
• Holds his bottle (not well, but he holds up)
• Sits up with minimal assistance
• Has the loudest, most piercing scream
• Used to sleep through the night... a long long time ago
• Champion pooper (true story, I have the ribbon to prove it)
• Wants to crawl badly
• Attention span is now up to 5 minutes
• Stand with minimal assistance and lots of wobbliness (so not a word)

And here is where we are now:

Things I Think He Will Skip:

• Unless turning to his left is going to get him to crawl, he isn't going to do it. There is no benefit to the situation for him. He is way too smart to just do something because.
• While he has, once or twice, rolled completely over it has always been by accident and has never been purposely repeated. In Evan's mind, you crawl on your stomach so why roll over.
• Stranger danger - the only strangers Evan doesn't like are those that don't pay attention to him... seriously he gets very annoyed with those people.
• Doing his own laundry or cooking his own meals. Come on, he is the first Italian son of a partially Italian momma... what do you think is going to happen?

 
Where I Hope He is Going Next (conveniently split in to time frames for your pleasure):

Within 1 week:

• All teeth are in
• Sleeps through the night (at least 12 hours straight)

Within 2 weeks:

• Crawls and baby proofs the house himself
• Finds his "inside voice"

Within 3 weeks:

• Talks and tells me what the heck is going on inside his brain
• Potty trained (or changes his own diaper, I'll take either)

Within 4 weeks:

• Makes his own bottles and solid food
• Feeds himself
• Scoops litter

PS - So I literally posted this like 10 minutes ago, and just to prove me wrong, I put Monkey on the ground and he immediately turned to his left.  I want a bumper sticker that says "Motherhood... At least it's never boring".

The Truth (According to Me)

Due to some bad reality TV that I watched last night, I'm just not in the mood today.  I'm not in the mood for pontifications, for poetry, or anything else that flows and has pretty colors attached to it.  Instead, I'm in the mood for the truth.

And so, lucky for you, I've decided to share my truth with you all... about motherhood so far.  Here are my thoughts - feel free to add some of your own in the comments section (if you need help posting, click here).

Motherhood is...

1. Cleaning up poop. I spend a lot of time cleaning the toilets, diapers, and the litter boxes of 4 cats.  There is a lot of poop in my life.  This was not disclosed to me before I became a mother.

2. Cramming your entire day into nap time.  I may get 10 minutes here to load the dishwasher, and 10 minutes there to pick up laundry, but anything I really need to do is delegated to the moments when Evan is asleep.  He gets to nap and I go at warp speed.

3. Being an interpreter.  This cry means hungry, that cry means tired, this cry means he laments the state of the country and the lack of socialized health care (yes... I just used the "s" word) - well, you know what I mean.

4. Oh yeah, and getting the interpretations wrong - a lot.  Turns out that cry really meant "Get me my freakin' pacifier woman, I have teeth shoving through my gums."  Oops, lesson learned.

5. Doing the same thing, over and over again, a lot.  This covers feeding (and all the aspects of feeding), diaper changing, playing with the same 10 toys, singing the same song so many times that you start to dream about them, and completing the same chores every day / week (if you're new to this, buy 50 burp cloths... trust me).

6. Amazing yourself.   For instance, I amazed myself that the day that Evan threw up on me, peed in a giant arc on me, and then literally pooped in my hand I laughed.  Yup, I laughed - and then I cleaned it all up.  I've even heard stories of mom's catching throw-up with their bare hands.  You just won't believe what you will be able to do and what your reaction to it will be.

7. Making deals with someone who doesn't understand the concept. I find myself, saying to my 6-month old: "Just give mommy 5 minutes, and then I'll play on the floor with you". Typically his response is to scream until I get on the floor because, well, he is 6-months old and has no clue what I'm saying.  Or I ask Evan, through the baby monitor, to just play in his bed for 10 minutes while I sleep.  Yeah, he doesn't usually hear that one either.  How odd.

8. Watching cartoons, and even enjoying some.  And let me tell you something, these aren't our cartoons.  Even the ones I should recognize, like Scooby Doo or Casper, look completely different from what I remember.  And, I hope I'm not giving anything away here, but Sesame Street has changed its theme song (apparently to be more hip to today's youth, unlike my youth which was far from hip - it was the 70s).  Thankfully, there is still Mr. Hooper's grocery or the whole thing would just confuse me.  And just don't try and understand Yo Gabba Gabba - you may hurt your brain.

9. Sitting on the floor. Everyone talks about making sure you are in shape to get pregnant and to be able to carry around those extra 40 20 pounds.  What they don't tell you is you should also be stretching because you will be spending time on the floor.  You will lie down and sit down, but either way you will probably be in positions you haven't tried for a few years - and your body will remind you that it has been a few years.

10. Saying "I love you" a bazillion times a day. And being amazed that you actually mean it that many times.  But beware of this one, because you might just have a husband who says things like: "Why don't you tell me you love me all the time?", or "If only you treated me as well as you treat the baby."  You know, the non-jealous things that you might be surprised that fathers say.