It's Springtime in DC
How to tell it's Spring in our Nation's capital:
1. The Cherry Blossoms are blooming and you can't find a seat on the Metro for love nor money
2. The Nats are playing, see above about Metro seats
3. The air quality has plummeted, hello pollen
4. Summer clothes are for sale in all the stores
5. You can buy both charcoal for grilling and a new snow shovel in the grocery stores
Sunday, March 30, 2008
Unemployed
Well, I did it. Friday was my last day at work. I went back to my office for two weeks to help clean up anything that wasn't already handed off from my maternity leave. I'm not sure I managed to do anything particularly helpful, but I did at least get some filing done.
Having kids and being able to stay at home with them has always been a kind of pipe dream for me, and now, unbelievably, I get to do exactly that. Not that I won't miss the friends I made at the office, but I would miss Aidan even more. I told them all, I'm so sorry but there's just no comparison.
It will feel a little odd tomorrow not getting up to go to work, but after 10 years of doing something that was never really a passion for me, I think I'll get over it.
Well, I did it. Friday was my last day at work. I went back to my office for two weeks to help clean up anything that wasn't already handed off from my maternity leave. I'm not sure I managed to do anything particularly helpful, but I did at least get some filing done.
Having kids and being able to stay at home with them has always been a kind of pipe dream for me, and now, unbelievably, I get to do exactly that. Not that I won't miss the friends I made at the office, but I would miss Aidan even more. I told them all, I'm so sorry but there's just no comparison.
It will feel a little odd tomorrow not getting up to go to work, but after 10 years of doing something that was never really a passion for me, I think I'll get over it.
Wednesday, March 26, 2008
Easter Traditions
Maryland may technically be south of the Mason-Dixon line, but we certainly aren't a "southern" state. For example, you can only get Pecan Nougat eggs/logs at Easter here. Further south you can find them throughout the year. How do I know? My family's from Tennessee. I've made a few road trips through the land of Dixie.
Since they're a rarity here at home, when the pecan eggs make their appearance at Easter-time I always buy two large ones. Ostensibly (Yes, I used a big word. I'm a reader, get over it), one for Andy and one for me. It's become an Easter tradition.
Last night I caved in to my other annual Easter tradition, asking Andy if he minds if I eat his pecan egg.
I don't think that even once, during the 5 years we dated and the 9 years we've been married, has he ever actually been allowed to eat his Easter pecan egg.
Sorry honey.
Maryland may technically be south of the Mason-Dixon line, but we certainly aren't a "southern" state. For example, you can only get Pecan Nougat eggs/logs at Easter here. Further south you can find them throughout the year. How do I know? My family's from Tennessee. I've made a few road trips through the land of Dixie.
Since they're a rarity here at home, when the pecan eggs make their appearance at Easter-time I always buy two large ones. Ostensibly (Yes, I used a big word. I'm a reader, get over it), one for Andy and one for me. It's become an Easter tradition.
Last night I caved in to my other annual Easter tradition, asking Andy if he minds if I eat his pecan egg.
I don't think that even once, during the 5 years we dated and the 9 years we've been married, has he ever actually been allowed to eat his Easter pecan egg.
Sorry honey.
Tuesday, March 25, 2008
C is for Cookie
These cookies should always be in my pantry. They should in fact exist in a bottomless package and never ever run out.
These cookies should always be in my pantry. They should in fact exist in a bottomless package and never ever run out.
Saturday, March 15, 2008
Concentration
Some days it feels like I'm playing Concentration. You know the game where you have to fit all the little pieces in the board before the timer runs out? And if you don't all the pieces pop out and fly everywhere and you have to start all over again.
It starts if I can get Aidan down for a nap. He's not really a good napper, and until very recently, wouldn't fall asleep or stay asleep during the day anywhere but in my arms. Even then we'd get about 15 solid minutes. Thankfully, that habit has been broken and I can put him down in the crib. But it's still anyone's guess as to whether he'll sleep for 15 minutes or 2 hours.
So I set him down...tick tick tick tick...can I shower, brush my teeth, get the laundry started, the dishes, done, feed the dog and let him out, vacuum, start dinner, and maybe, just maybe go pee????
BUZZZZZZZZ, time's up!!! We're sorry, you only succeeded in getting halfway through that shower, and now your baby is crying!
Some days it feels like I'm playing Concentration. You know the game where you have to fit all the little pieces in the board before the timer runs out? And if you don't all the pieces pop out and fly everywhere and you have to start all over again.
It starts if I can get Aidan down for a nap. He's not really a good napper, and until very recently, wouldn't fall asleep or stay asleep during the day anywhere but in my arms. Even then we'd get about 15 solid minutes. Thankfully, that habit has been broken and I can put him down in the crib. But it's still anyone's guess as to whether he'll sleep for 15 minutes or 2 hours.
So I set him down...tick tick tick tick...can I shower, brush my teeth, get the laundry started, the dishes, done, feed the dog and let him out, vacuum, start dinner, and maybe, just maybe go pee????
BUZZZZZZZZ, time's up!!! We're sorry, you only succeeded in getting halfway through that shower, and now your baby is crying!
Wednesday, March 12, 2008
Yikes!!
On Monday during a diaper change I noticed that something was a little different about Aidan. Being alarmed I called the doctor and took him straight in.
My doc checked him out and said, "He has a hydrocele (No, I'm not explaining, look it up. My poor boy has to grow up and possibly read this some day. Bad enough I've posted about it at all!) and probably a hernia. You need to get him to see a pediatric surgeon tomorrow and work out a plan of attack. In the meantime keep an eye on things and if it turns red, or bluish or he seems to be in pain don't call us just take him straight to the emergency room." Scary enough as is right? Now let's add in the fact that Andy is out of town.
So I spent all morning yesterday playing ring around the rosey with 4 different doctor's offices and finally succeeded in getting an appointment for this afternoon.
The great news is that it is just a hydrocele, which will most likely clear up on it's own and if it doesn't they can do a very minor procedure to correct it when he's 18 months old. If it had been a hernia he would have required surgery and probably pretty quickly, so thank God it was all ok.
Ellen's been staying with me while Andy was away so at least I didn't have to be alone at night. Andy's mom went with me to the appointment and the whole family, both sides, has been sitting at the ready for any eventuality. And Auntie T was ready to hop in at any second too! It's good to be loved I think. Aidan has no idea yet just how lucky he is to have so much wonderful family!
Talk about a fun couple of nights though. Especially when he fussed at all overnight I jumped up to check and make sure everything was ok, which meant turning on the light. Which meant he woke up entirely and we all had to be soothed back to sleep.
Andy gets home in a few hours. I was going to be happy to see him to begin with, I think now I'll absolutely knock him down with happiness.
On Monday during a diaper change I noticed that something was a little different about Aidan. Being alarmed I called the doctor and took him straight in.
My doc checked him out and said, "He has a hydrocele (No, I'm not explaining, look it up. My poor boy has to grow up and possibly read this some day. Bad enough I've posted about it at all!) and probably a hernia. You need to get him to see a pediatric surgeon tomorrow and work out a plan of attack. In the meantime keep an eye on things and if it turns red, or bluish or he seems to be in pain don't call us just take him straight to the emergency room." Scary enough as is right? Now let's add in the fact that Andy is out of town.
So I spent all morning yesterday playing ring around the rosey with 4 different doctor's offices and finally succeeded in getting an appointment for this afternoon.
The great news is that it is just a hydrocele, which will most likely clear up on it's own and if it doesn't they can do a very minor procedure to correct it when he's 18 months old. If it had been a hernia he would have required surgery and probably pretty quickly, so thank God it was all ok.
Ellen's been staying with me while Andy was away so at least I didn't have to be alone at night. Andy's mom went with me to the appointment and the whole family, both sides, has been sitting at the ready for any eventuality. And Auntie T was ready to hop in at any second too! It's good to be loved I think. Aidan has no idea yet just how lucky he is to have so much wonderful family!
Talk about a fun couple of nights though. Especially when he fussed at all overnight I jumped up to check and make sure everything was ok, which meant turning on the light. Which meant he woke up entirely and we all had to be soothed back to sleep.
Andy gets home in a few hours. I was going to be happy to see him to begin with, I think now I'll absolutely knock him down with happiness.
Thursday, March 06, 2008
Awww...poop - Month 3
Aidan turned three months old this week. It's so hard to believe he's been here 3 months already. Some days it feels like he's always been part of my life, and others it comes as a shock that it's been 3 months already.
Aidan's developed a new habit of pooping in the tub while I give him a bath. It's happened twice already this week, I have to say it's not particularly my favorite. Although the spit-up still wins the award for my least favorite thing to deal with. So given this new habit I thought I'd be smart today and wait until after he pooped to give him a bath. Smart, right? SMRT.
So you know what's coming, don't you? He pooped in the tub. Not once, not even twice, but 4 separate times. Each time I'd get the poop cleaned up and think, ok now, surely we're done, let's be clean, he'd go again. It was almost funny. Well, it'll be funny tomorrow anyway.
It hasn't all been poop, Aidan's been smiling and cooing at us, and he's very close to laughing. That's the best feeling in the world, when I go to pick him up and he gives me that huge gummy grin. Everything about him gets better and better every day, and the first day he got here was a mighty fine day. I can't imagine life without him.
I've also been having a harder time dealing with the loss of Stuart this month. I keep wondering if Stuart would've slept through the night so quickly? Would he have been as colicky? Would he like to nap, unlike his brother? What would his cries, and coos and gurgles have sounded like? Mostly I wonder what he would have been like as a big brother. I can only guess he would have been as calm and gentle as he was when he was here, but surely with me and Andy as his parents he would caused some sort of trouble.
I won't get to find out, but I can thank God every day for Aidan being here. So I think that's what I'll do. Poop and all.
Aidan turned three months old this week. It's so hard to believe he's been here 3 months already. Some days it feels like he's always been part of my life, and others it comes as a shock that it's been 3 months already.
Aidan's developed a new habit of pooping in the tub while I give him a bath. It's happened twice already this week, I have to say it's not particularly my favorite. Although the spit-up still wins the award for my least favorite thing to deal with. So given this new habit I thought I'd be smart today and wait until after he pooped to give him a bath. Smart, right? SMRT.
So you know what's coming, don't you? He pooped in the tub. Not once, not even twice, but 4 separate times. Each time I'd get the poop cleaned up and think, ok now, surely we're done, let's be clean, he'd go again. It was almost funny. Well, it'll be funny tomorrow anyway.
It hasn't all been poop, Aidan's been smiling and cooing at us, and he's very close to laughing. That's the best feeling in the world, when I go to pick him up and he gives me that huge gummy grin. Everything about him gets better and better every day, and the first day he got here was a mighty fine day. I can't imagine life without him.
I've also been having a harder time dealing with the loss of Stuart this month. I keep wondering if Stuart would've slept through the night so quickly? Would he have been as colicky? Would he like to nap, unlike his brother? What would his cries, and coos and gurgles have sounded like? Mostly I wonder what he would have been like as a big brother. I can only guess he would have been as calm and gentle as he was when he was here, but surely with me and Andy as his parents he would caused some sort of trouble.
I won't get to find out, but I can thank God every day for Aidan being here. So I think that's what I'll do. Poop and all.
Thursday, February 21, 2008
Chicco is the best company EVER
My precious, precious dog decided that the best thing in all of the house to chew would be the shoulder strap on Aidan's car seat.
Arrow must've been at it all night, because he got almost all the way through.
The very fine people at Chicco were incredibly nice, Melody is my new best friend. They couldn't send me a new strap and let me replace it sight unseen, unfortunately. But, since their office is in Lancaster and that's where my parents live, they were willing to let my Dad bring the car seat to their offices and supervise/direct the replacement of it.
Melody did a fantastic job, I think she could tell how anxious I was to be without a car seat. She called me back to let me know what could be done. She called this morning to work out what we could do about the potential weather problems tomorrow since that's when my Dad was going to stop in. When we rescheduled for today instead, she walked my Dad step by step through replacing the strap. Melody called after Dad left to let me know he had come by and everything was fixed, he had showed her a picture of Aidan and he was cute, etc.
All in all a pretty painless replacement, and I was treated with kindness and respect the entire time. So, now I'm telling everyone, Chicco is the best, buy all their baby products!!!
My precious, precious dog decided that the best thing in all of the house to chew would be the shoulder strap on Aidan's car seat.
Arrow must've been at it all night, because he got almost all the way through.
The very fine people at Chicco were incredibly nice, Melody is my new best friend. They couldn't send me a new strap and let me replace it sight unseen, unfortunately. But, since their office is in Lancaster and that's where my parents live, they were willing to let my Dad bring the car seat to their offices and supervise/direct the replacement of it.
Melody did a fantastic job, I think she could tell how anxious I was to be without a car seat. She called me back to let me know what could be done. She called this morning to work out what we could do about the potential weather problems tomorrow since that's when my Dad was going to stop in. When we rescheduled for today instead, she walked my Dad step by step through replacing the strap. Melody called after Dad left to let me know he had come by and everything was fixed, he had showed her a picture of Aidan and he was cute, etc.
All in all a pretty painless replacement, and I was treated with kindness and respect the entire time. So, now I'm telling everyone, Chicco is the best, buy all their baby products!!!
Monday, February 04, 2008
Month 2
So I haven't written anything Aidan related in a while and I feel like a bit of a bad mom! But, he's usually so awake or fussy during the day, if I have any time free it's spent on catching up around the house.
He had his longest stretch of sleeping through the night ever last night, from 11 PM in his crib (from 10 - 11 he was with me in the rocking chair. I'm not entirely sure when he went to sleep, but 11 is when Andy woke me up and put him in bed), until 4:45 AM! HURRAY for sleep! Then after his breakfast, he went back to sleep without a fight and slept for another 2.5 hours! I'll pay for this later today I'm sure, but for now I'm ready to go!
We have his next doctor's appointment next week, and I'm sort of dreading it. This is the one with several vaccinations. It's not the crying during, it's the crankiness/potential fever afterwards that concerns me. Here's hoping he handles them well.
Aidan's also starting smiling and reacting to us, which has been the most rewarding thing so far. He can follow movement back and forth and LOVES high contrast. All of which are very normal and boring things I'm sure, but it's my baby and it's new to me, ok?
Other than that he's growing like a weed, and I think he's going to be tall, considering how long he is. Day-to-day, we do much the same. Today is supposed to be nice and warm though, so we'll probably take a walk.
So I haven't written anything Aidan related in a while and I feel like a bit of a bad mom! But, he's usually so awake or fussy during the day, if I have any time free it's spent on catching up around the house.
He had his longest stretch of sleeping through the night ever last night, from 11 PM in his crib (from 10 - 11 he was with me in the rocking chair. I'm not entirely sure when he went to sleep, but 11 is when Andy woke me up and put him in bed), until 4:45 AM! HURRAY for sleep! Then after his breakfast, he went back to sleep without a fight and slept for another 2.5 hours! I'll pay for this later today I'm sure, but for now I'm ready to go!
We have his next doctor's appointment next week, and I'm sort of dreading it. This is the one with several vaccinations. It's not the crying during, it's the crankiness/potential fever afterwards that concerns me. Here's hoping he handles them well.
Aidan's also starting smiling and reacting to us, which has been the most rewarding thing so far. He can follow movement back and forth and LOVES high contrast. All of which are very normal and boring things I'm sure, but it's my baby and it's new to me, ok?
Other than that he's growing like a weed, and I think he's going to be tall, considering how long he is. Day-to-day, we do much the same. Today is supposed to be nice and warm though, so we'll probably take a walk.
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