Buddies

We went to a friend's place tonight for pizza before a high school football game (well, my husband and his friend are going, it's too late for Andy so we were abandoned). Andy had a blast playing with their 14-month old. She's pretty darn cute, too. He just loved laughing at her and playing on the floor with her. She seemed a little rough, but he didn't seem to mind. It was really sweet to watch. I would have taken pictures, but my husband had the camera ready for high school football. Heaven forbid take pictures of a kid not even playing sports!

Fraternity of Motherhood

I was out this morning to have coffee with a friend at a coffee shop/restaurant in Old Town when a nice young woman came in with her two kids, aged like 3 and 3 months. She started to head to the bathroom only to realize that the bathroom is all the way down a flight of pretty narrow stairs. I offered to watch the one in the stroller while she ran downstairs. She thought for a second and conceeded that would great. She was gone all of five minutes (probably would have taken her 20 with both kids). Funny how these things work. I guess other mothers generally trust other mothers more than some folks. The fact that I was with my kid and we were both about the same age and white probably didn't hurt, but still. I can't decide if I would have done the same as that lady, but I felt honored that she did trust me with her kid.

Three day weekend

The three day weekend has begun. Andy has been up and played and now is down for an early nap. He's usually exhausted like this duing the week, but we take him to the sitter's about this time so he usually doesn't get a morning nap until about 9:30. Of course, rather than sleeping, he's in his crib talking to his stuffed dog. Earlier, he was so tired he crawled up on me and put his head on my shoulder. That's it, I may melt.

A stand up kind of guy

I was putting Andy to bed and he was fussing a bit tonight. Not unusual really, he usually talks as he goes to bed, sometimes more so than others. But tonight, I heard some real cries so I went in onto to find him standing up! Scared me as I wasn't expecting to find him there. He was scared because he was tired and couldn't think how to get down.

This picture cracks me up. I found a hat that is almost too small and put it on him. It looks more like a yarmulke.

Cleaning people

I'm blessed with being able to afford a cleaning service every three weeks. I would love, love for them to come more often, but that's just not in the cards right now. They normally come Fridays, but my husband agreed to having them come today and didn't mention it until I was already half asleep last night, which meant I spent the morning cleaning for the cleaning people. I know, it always seems stupid to clean before someone else does it, but I have to at least de-clutter somewhat so they can get to the stuff they need to clean. I do like that they take the garbage out of the Diaper Genie thingee. That's very helpful.

Halloween

Sure, it's a full MONTH away, but since I get the pleasure of dressing someone up who doesn't know any better, it's fun to think about. My cousin gave me her son's Tigger costume, which we'll probably use just because it's already bought and most importantly, already in the house. That said, I've been checking out some of the options. My favorite is this Yoda costume. It even comes with a matching dog costume. I don't even have a dog and I want one. My cats would not dare be so accommodating, but boy, it would be fun.

Party boy

Tomorrow I have to go to a wedding shower for some folks in the office. My husband has back-to-school night for his son so Andy and I will be hitting the party together. I feel badly bringing him since he wasn't specifically invited, but it's a right after work thing so I'm sure it's fine. I did ask the person hosting who thought it would be okay. I figure we'll stay long enough to hand over a present, drink a beer and head home.

Payback is hell

Andy got back at me for letting him bonk his head. He managed to wake up three times in the night and needed to be settled back down. I'm beat! And to top it off, I managed to get stung by something on my eyelid so I'm walking around the office with people giving me strange looks.

It's really cool in Washington right now so Andy had to be dressed more warmly today. This is going to be a pain. Last winter, I could just tuck him into his carseat with a blanket since he wasn't going anywhere, but now he'll need to wear long pants, socks, shirt, sweater and a coat (and I guess shoes before too long). Considering how much he complains getting into a onesie, I can only imagine how this is going to go!

Bonk

I am a terrible mother. I have been watching Andy smack and bonk his head - hard - the last few days. I know, I know, it's all part of the process, but I can't help but ache when he cries. Tonight he was in the bathtub and smacked his head on the side of the tub. I was right there, holding on to him while I watched him do it. Nice. Poor chicken cried for a bit (not as bad two nights before when he landed flat on his back). He also had a nice big welt on his temple. He seems to be getting matching bruises on either side of his sort of square forhead. Poor thing. After a minute, it didn't seem to bother him, but it sured bothered me watching it swell.

Ow, ow, ouch

I played indoor soccer last night. I used to play all the time, but I don't really have the time for it as much. Unlike outdoor, there are no seasons. We just have a game every week, rain or shine, from now until eternity, except I write a new check every six weeks or so to keep playing. It's a ton of fun and I like playing, but coordinating my husband to make sure he's home in time is sometimes more trouble than it's worth on a weeknight just to go for an hour. In any event, some friends asked me to sub last night. It was at nine so I figured my husband would be home (he was, just barely). I played pretty well all things considered and we pulled out a 8-7 win in the last seven seconds, but dang, am I sore today.

Typos

Pre-baby, I was a typo fiend. I used to get completely outraged at them. I still do, but now I find I make more than my share of them now. Gah. I'm slipping. Thanks to my sister for pointing out one on this blog. I corrected the one she pointed out. There are probably more. Now while I have my own occasional typo, that doesn't mean I've forgiven Target for selling VCR's. I wonder how it will be when Andy finally gets to school. Will the English grammar police finally abandon the apostrophe due to misuse?

Good morning to you

Another good night for Andy. It's amazing how much his sleep can dictate how my day is going to go. He was precious this morning. He has discovered himself in the mirror which is really funny to watch. The only downside is we have a standing mirror that just leans against the wall so someone has to stand there to make sure he doesn't topple it on himself. I may venture to Target later on to find clips or something. It's not an expensive mirror nor particularly slimming so I may see if I can find something else and give this one to my stepson.

Last night was a tough one. He's pulling up now, which means he can also wipe out. He pulled up on a so-called "walking toy" meaning he can push around this little thing and it helps him walk. Unfortunately, the base of it isn't balanced so he pulled the whole thing on top of himself and promptly smacked the back of his head on the floor. It was terrible. He cried and cried. He even had that awful pause in crying because he's REALLY crying hard and needed to catch his breath to really belt it out.

Feed me

It's so amazing to see that he can feed himself now. Well, by feed himself I mean he can grab cherrios and put them into his mouth and actually chew (gum) them. Sometimes his whole fist just about gets in the way, but eventually the cheerio or veggie puff makes its way in there.

Party time

We went out last night to a friend's cookout. And while a cookout for me would be burgers and dogs, this involved roast beef and homemade sauces. Rather tasty actually. Most impressive. Andy was a very good sport about getting passed around and smiling at strangers. There were several older kids, aged like 2 1/2 to 10. They were playing games like Red Rover and others that I haven't heard mentioned in years. I can't wait for that. How fun!

Dalahest cookies

The urge came over me the last couple of days that I wanted to make cookies. And not just cookies, cookies that use cookie cutters. I bought some cute ones at a Swedish bazaar a couple of years ago that have lanquished in my kitchen since then, but today I got the suckers out. It really wasn't hard making cookies. Time consuming, but not hard. I'm not a cook in any stretch of the imagination. I consider it cooking to boil pasta and mix it together with sauce so cookies from scratch is impressive for me.

To the right is what a dalahest looks like. This picture cracks me up. They sell the wooden horses everywhere, but never that big. I downloaded it off a Web site, appropriately titled "Dalahest is the shit." I imagine that's what the caption says, but I'm not sure. The joke is probably on me, but that's funny, too.

Football mania

Andy went to his first football game last night. He was more interested in the flags and lights than the game, but he was generally a very good sport. We stuck around through the first quarter and then left as it was getting late and the game was boring. I know, I know, I should want to have a really good local team and I'm glad we do, but at the same time, winning 68-14 every week isn't that exciting.

Using what you got

In a feeble attempt to keep the house clean (er), I've been trying to put away the vast array of toys. I came up with a brilliant idea today. I emptied about that cool picnic basket we never use and put toys in it. It looks nice enough, has a cover and it's hideous to look at. Plus, it's easy enough to open that Andy can get it in himself and even help put things back (if we ever get to this stage). The one I have is ancient, but it's kind of like this one.

Friday, Friday, Friday

With my husband back in town and in the groove again, we're getting back to our regular routines. I had no idea I was such a creature of habit, but it turns out what having Andy makes that even more important as far as scheduling naps, baths and bedtimes. I loathe it when he cries when it's bedtime so I try my best to keep the routine so he's no overtired or not tired at all at bedtime.

Turns out, though, Thursdays SUCK. No good must see TV anymore. Joey? What a stupid show. The O.C.? Just plain not interesting anymore. I've become quite a Washington Nationals fan as I like watching the games because they're usually on around Andy's bedtime. There are only a few more games left though. I guess I could read or something crazy, but usually after chasing an 8 1/2 month old around and finally putting him in bed, I'm ready to just chill for a minute.

Today is our day off together. We'll go to playgroup in the morning and then I think I'll do some grocery shopping in the afternoon. I know, I know, exciting stuff. I know you're jealous.

Launch pad

How cute is that picture? Andy just adores his older brother. It's really funny to watch them together. Of course, moments before I was trying to catch this pose and Andy launched at the camera and nearly wiped out off the bed. Fortunately, Mark was there to catch him or we would have had a very sad baby. It is amazing how they can so quickly get themselves into trouble. It's seconds. I know everyone says that, but it's even stranger how fast that is when it's your life and your kid. And of course, that it would be my fault if he got hurt.

Blah, blah, blah

Well, operation anti-pacifier went okay for night one. I didn't take the pacifiers out of the crib, but I didn't offer them up either. He seemed to finally go to sleep without it, which was good. He did wake up about 5:30 a.m. though. Cute as a button, we could hear him just talking to himself. I decided not to go in since it was early and I didn't want him to get in the habit of getting up and playing before dawn. Usually, if I leave him alone, he's fine talking to himself as long as he doesn't hear us. He stayed in there until about 7 a.m. I think he had gone back to sleep off and on. Precious angel. The weekend starts tonight. Jubilee!

Spot check?

Well, the spot check plan failed in that my husband didn't get there early after all. He doesn't get the urgency I do to check on things. He just thinks it's all fine if Andy's not dead. I think he's just kidding when he says that, but still...

The last few nights Andy has gotten up and needed his pacifier so I put him down tonight without one in the hopes that he won't wake up and need it. We'll see. I have a feeling it will take more training that one night.

Blog this

Interesting...I can just hit "Blog this" and I can say something. How handy, being at work and all, that I can blog quicker than I can write a semi-witty e-mail to my obnoxious friend in Brazil?

My husband is back in town now. I've asked him to try to pick up Andy at the sitter's early to do a "spot check" on things. It's an awkward thing to spot check. I don't want to see like I don't trust her, but I always try to mix things up a little to get a glimpse of what it's like when I'm not there. I'm glad he'll be picking up. I need to work a little late and at least give the appearance I'm committed by staying after once in a while. This is our busy season so that's important. It's weird since I'm now only working four days a week and usually leaving on time. I've always been a stay late kind of person so I have to better structure my day. I am still getting things done, mostly, so I'm wondering what has changed except I'm slightly more efficient (currently blogging aside).

Shopping

You know, I really hate clothes shopping. For myself, that is. I loathe how all different stores have slightly different sizes and being short, lengths are an issue, too. But do I mind shopping for baby clothes? No way! So much fun! Plus, I can get a ton of stuff for what a pair of jeans would cost me. I had a $10 off coupon for Children's Place. Not much of a coupon person pre-baby, but now I tote those suckers around with me. So I managed to get $35 worth of cute baby clothes for winter for $25. Not a bad deal. Plus, look how cute? Those pants were $7. They even come with cute cargo pockets, you know, for keys, his wallet and crack pipe.

Working from home?

Man, trying to work from home with an active eight month old is for the pits. Fortunately, I'm passively listening in on a media tour we're doing on Prostate Cancer Awareness Month (the message -- get examined and if you do have cancer, talk to several specialists before deciding on a treatment). My doctor is great, he's articulate and conveying the message as well as plugging the hell our of our new patient Web site. But in the background, I've got Andy who needs to be fed and entertained. Not an easy task without something distracting me. Fortunately, we're on an hour break now and only two interviews left. Jubilee!

The blushing bridegroom

With the diaper rash problem, I was letting him roam around in his towel before getting him dressed for bed. It was cracking me up, especially this picture. He looked almost like a bride with a big veil except you can see his little foot poking out.

One more day to go

Yesterday really went about as well as could be expected with my husband gone. Work was fine, Andy was great, but it's always more stressful not having a good backup in case...just in case. Andy has developed a pretty nasty diaper rash. It looks pretty painful, especially since it's right near the rectum...yikes. He slept well though, getting up only once about 5:30 and going back to sleep.

Now I'm working from home today. It's always pretty stressful trying to coordinate baby and work, but I guess I'll just see what I can do. And keep my fingers crossed.

Precious darling angel baby

With my husband out of town, I was nervous about how well Andy would sleep. He missed his afternoon nap as he was at my soccer game being entertained by his older sister so he was really tired in the afternoon. I was trying to keep him up until at least eight to get him back on schedule. He was so tired around seven he was just giddy with laughter (better than crying, that's for sure). It was a total blast although a lot of energy rolling around, picking him up, lifting him above my head (the upshot is I have fab arm muscles now). I put him down at eight and he pretty much rolled over and went to sleep with only a couple of peeps.

Fearful he would be up in the night, I forced myself to go to bed around 9:30 (missing the Emmys no less) and then he slept through until about 7, only waking once his older brother got himself dressed and out the door for school.

Torture

See what I mean about parents and the clothes they put their kids in? I bought this cute outfit last week not realizing at the time it came with a hat. I can't decide what the hat is supposed to be exactly. A baret of sorts? Really I think he looks like a monk of some kind in this. Shouldn't he be praying? It sort of looks like he's waving to the crowd in this picture although what I really think he was doing it pointing at the cat.

Yawn

After being a completely perfect angel with great naps and everything yesterday, today has just been all over the map. With my husband gone, I'm hoping he sleeps well tonight as I'm still exhausted from the last week still. I need to remember it's so much better than it was just a few months ago when he was tiny and not sleeping at all, but now I'm spoiled. Sigh.

Had my third soccer game of the season today. The ref was crazy. For women's rec leage soccer, he was calling weird stuff like yellow carding their player who went off the field with an injury, but didn't ask the ref before she came back on. Considering our refs are usually stoned (especially indoor soccer), we should be grateful he cared to actually call the game, but it was somewhat annoying. And for all that, he didn't call lots of pushing and missed about a dozen bad throw ins. Next week's game is early, 8:30 a.m. I'll be up, of course.

Early riser

Well, I suppose I got my wish. Guess who woke up at 5:30 this morning, wide awake and ready to play? I tucked him back in and he was quiet another half hour so at least he lasted until 6 am until his father picked him up and fed him. I tried to go back to sleep, but I just wasn't having it. And to make matters worse, I woke up to find my newly beloved Washington Nationals BLEW a four run lead in the 9th to go into extra innings and lose. And I was hoping we'd not only have a new team, but a team in the playoffs as well. I guess that's really too much to ask for.

My husband leaves for his business trip today so I've got both my stepkids coming to my soccer game to watch Andy while I play. I haven't tried this before. It should be interesting.

Naked superman

Andy was just so damn cute tonight. After his bath, I've taken to letting him roam around briefly without clothes or a diaper. No incidents...yet. I'm sure it's just a matter of time. Tonight, he even kept his cute towel on his head while crawling around. It was pretty damn cute. I took this picture as he raced towards me (raced is a relative term, plodded is probably more accurate) attempting to attack the camera.

You know, there are sometimes when he's awake (and cranky, usually) when I just wish he would take a nap. But then there are times like this that he was so beautiful and fun to be with that I almost want to wake him up. Almost, I said. I'm not crazy enough to actually do it. Besides, I have laundry to do. We're going out with friends tomorrow and I have to make sure he has something cute that properly accentuates his cuteness. It's all about accentuating what you got. At least that's what those useless articles in People magazine always tell me about style and fashion.

Party time

Last weekend I took my sister and 10 month old niece to a party. Poor Megan was recovering from an ear infection, but that didn't stop us from getting her dolled up in her precious (yet ridiculous and useless) swimsuit. I swear girl clothes are more interesting -- lots of cute ruffles and things. Many more options for total humiliation when your kid turns 13. Then again, some of the boy clothes are pretty cute and will be properly embarassing when he turns older. The naked pictures will also add to the humiliation. I've decided that payback for the babies keep us up all the time is the photographic evidence of what we forced them to wear before they had the reasoning to say no. Of course, I guess I have the toddler years when they will insist on wearing a Santa outfit to church. I am still harassed about the cleats I wore with my dress to church.

A new day

Friday is our day off together and it was really a nice day. Andy took good naps and was playful when he was awake. He seems to be getting over the cold that bothered him earlier in the week. Hopefully. Unfortunately, his father has come down with a stomach bug and has been less helpful of late. And with him going out of town for work Sunday through Wednesday, I'm a little more nervous than I was before. Sigh. I'm sure it will be fine, but it's stressful none the less. I swear, I have no idea how women with several kids cope. I can barely keep up with one and from most accounts, his a pretty easy baby.

Phew

Yesterday was exhausting. Between work, traffic and getting Andy home, I was exhausted and had a big headache. My husband was late coming home - again - and he was as tired as I was after helping his mother move into her new place. He finally got home about 8, just in time for me to scarf down some dinner (I was oddly very hungry) and then get Andy ready for bed. Andy was so happy to see his father though. Just precious to see him cackle and play. And just as fun to see his father so happy about the situtation. They must have played pretty hard together because when I finally put Andy in bed around 8:30, he just about closed his eyes as I laid him in bed and went straight to sleep. That doesn't happen every day. And then he slept. All night. Through to 7:45! That's late.

Who knew a year ago that my life would now be all about how much my kid slept (and conversely, how much I slept). Sigh. Part of that makes me sad I'm not more interesting. Part of me thinks it's all pretty amazing.

Sleep Deprived - Again

I've been spoiled. Andy has been a very good sleeper for the past few weeks and months. Then out of the blue, he's been up and down all night the past few nights. Now that I've been offered a taste of sleep again, I can't go back.