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Thursday, February 26, 2009

Haiku Friday #16: Babies!

Haiku Friday


Lately I have had
A lot of weird dreams in which
I'm pregnant again

Ev'ry time I see
A newborn baby, I get
All warm and fuzzy.

Sure, I remember
The nausea, the contractions,
The emergency

C-section... But I
Also got a beautiful
Baby boy to hold.

Yes, there were
Sleepless nights and zombie days,
Spit-up and sore boobs.

But now look what I
Have to show for it all: my
Son, my very own.



I've had some serious baby fever lately. Every time I look at a baby, all I want to do is hold it. We absolutely do not need another baby right now -- we're doing all we can to support our family of three as it is. And while some families manage really well with two children under the age of two, I'm not sure my husband and I are cut out for it.

Still, I can't help but want a new baby again. I'm not ready for two kids yet -- I still haven't accepted the changes my body has gone through seen my first pregnancy (not to mention the surgery, breastfeeding, and weaning). But I miss that feeling of waiting expectantly for something small and wonderful to make its entrance, the bonding between mommy and belly.


For more haiku, or to play along, visit Christina at A Mommy Story.

Wednesday, February 25, 2009

Date Night

On Saturday, my husband and I went out on a date. Because of how tight money has been for the past year, the last real, dinner-and-a-movie-date we went on was for my birthday -- back in August.

My parents had given us some cash and an offer of free babysitting (woot!) for a date night as our Valentine's day gift. We also had a gift card to P. F. Chang's, one of the few Asian restaurants my husband actually likes (he's very particular about Eastern-style foods).

We ordered a "dinner for two" and the lights dimmed just as we got our appetizer. For once, we had an evening that was actually... romantic. (No... wait, yes, we are parents, and we had a romantic evening to ourselves... huh? Does. Not. Compute.) We enjoyed a four-course meal and headed over to the movie theatre to see Coraline in 3-D.

Usually we don't see too many movies in the theatres because of the exorbitant ticket prices, narrow seats with stationary arms (as opposed to the kind that flip up so you can cuddle), cheap-ass food for an arm and a leg and your first born... oh yeah, and did I mention that we saw a movie in 3-D? Which requires those plastic goggles for which they want TWO. EXTRA. DOLLARS. PER. TICKET. My good Lord.

But we had heard from some friends that if we wanted to see Coraline, we should splurge for the 3-D showing. Of course, last weekend was the last opportunity to do so, as the Jonas Brothers are kicking poor Coraline out this coming weekend. Hint: if you are considering shelling out the extra cash to see a flick in 3-D, do yourself a favor and sit in the middle. A seat on either side will do you no good, and, in fact, make you a little dizzy and disoriented.

Movie theatre problems aside, it was even better than I'd hoped. There were plenty of modern Alice in Wonderland parallels, but it also had a bit of a Wizard of Oz, "no place like home" vibe (then again, those two stories are pretty similar themselves) -- but the audience is left a bit unsure of whether Coraline was dreaming or actually awake.

I'd like to keep this fairly spoiler-free, so I'll just say that like both Alice and Dorothy, Coraline gets what she wishes for, realizes it's not really what she wants, and has to use her brain to get back home.

And if you're planning to see it and haven't yet, stay through the credits. The bit at the end is very cool.

It's so nice to get out of the house for once. Spending time alone together isn't too hard when Adam goes to bed before 8 PM, but actually getting out and having a good time is something everybody needs. It really has a way of rejuvenating you.

Friday, February 20, 2009

Haiku Friday #15: Sick (of Winter)

Haiku Friday


My whole family
Is sick: my son has had hives,
Pinkeye, and a cold

All in the last week;
My husband passed a kidney
Stone Monday morning;

While recovering,
He caught pinkeye from my son.
I just have a cold,

But that is enough.
I'm fed up: with being sick;
With the weather, too.

I'm sick of the snow
And temperatures below
Forty-five degrees.

But mostly I hate
The constant changing from one
Extreme to the next.

It's hard to predict
What I should wear or what clothes
To dress my son in.

And ever-changing
Temperatures are good for
Making tornadoes. :(


The downside to a lot of cold, snowy days in late fall this year is that it now feels like winter is dragging on forever. I am so ready for spring right now, it's not even funny. I have cabin fever in the worst way. I want to see some green leaves, smell the blossoms growing on the trees, and hear the birds rejoicing in the warm(er) weather.

Sigh. Why is it still February?

If you'd like to read more Haiku, visit Christina at A Mommy Story.

Tuesday, February 17, 2009

New York, New York

Last weekend (February 6-8, not Valentine's Day) we had our seconnd-ever family vacation. Well, sort of.

Our first-ever family vacation was more of a long weekend. We were still living in Boston, my son was about 6 weeks old, and my aunt-in-law Krystie, who lives in New York, wanted to see the baby us before we moved back to Ohio. She bought us Amtrak tickets there and back, and we took the very pleasant 4-hour train ride to Manhattan.

Adam slept much of the time while on the train and while in the city. We went to an art gallery and saw a glass blower, had dinner in a few very nice restaurants (between my husband's 22-dollar lobster platter -- which included an entire lobster, several mussels, shrimp, scallops, and clams over pasta -- and his uncle's cooking, we ate very well). Krystie took me shopping, and Brandon and I had our first post-baby date at a Mexican restaurant where they made the guacamole right there in front of you.

This time was another long weekend, and it wasn't exactly a vacation for my husband. Our friend writes for MovieWeb, and they wanted him to attend the New York Comic Convention. He needed someone to film the interviews, so my husband obliged. It worked out for all of us: Brandon got to go to the convention, Aaron got free lodging with us at Krystie's (and half the price of gas), and Adam and I got a vacation.

We drove up on Thursday with the help of the TomTom. Apparently there's a difference between 17th Street and East 17th Street, and we ended up lost in Brooklyn at 1:30 AM. Overall, though, we made pretty good time and the baby slept most of the way there.

Friday the guys went to the convention. Krystie was working, and Dan (her fiance -- the "uncle" I mentioned before) was running errands, so it was just Adam and me all day Friday. And he decided to take a four-hour nap -- he was exhausted from the trip. So I got Friday afternoon all to myself, to watch a movie, take a nap . . . and paint. My. NAILS!!! I haven't done that in about 2 years. Every time I find myself with free time at home, I use it to clean or read other blogs. With no such distractions in NY, I spent four hours pampering myself.

Saturday we took the baby to the library, where they had a children's play area. A five-year-old boy played hide-and-seek with him, and brought him blocks to stack. Then we went for a walk, saw a film crew, and Krystie and I had lunch while Adam fell asleep in his stroller.

That night my husband came back from the convention around 9 o'clock, so Krystie took me out to meet her coworkers at a birthday party. We went to a really nice bar, where I had the best chocolate martini of my life and a great time chatting, dancing, and playing terrible pool.

Sunday we drove home, and Aaron gave Adam a stuffed Venom doll he had bought at the convention. He giggled and immediately started chewing on it. It's the cutest little scary thing you've ever seen.

Really, though -- one of these times, we're going to have to go to New York when it's not winter (although it was actually quite pleasant last weekend) and actually stay for a week or so, and, oh, I don't know, maybe even do a little sightseeing.

Where did you go on your last family vacation? Ever been to New York? Feel free to comment.

Saturday, February 14, 2009

Haiku Friday #14: Babysteps

Haiku Friday


Remember this? Yeah,
Forget I said that. Or, you
Could hold me to it --

Starting with today.
I am trying my best to
Take it in small steps.

One day at a time.
Babysteps. Speaking of which,
Someone else is, too.

Taking "baby steps,"
That is. My son is cruising,
Pulling himself up.

Walking with my help.
He thinks he can stand alone,
But has no balance.

But as soon as I
Try to help, he gets annoyed,
And wants to sit down.


Sorry this is a day late, folks. Blogger's finally working for me now, though. Hopefully I won't have anymore internet problems this week....

You remember how I said my son is not interested in crawling, pulling himself up to standing, or walking? Well, apparently he is interested, providing I'm not expecting anything from him.

He got some new toys for Christmas, a few of which are about as big as he is. He'd been trying to pull himself up on them and getting stuck about halfway to standing. Now he's pulling himself up, and cruising a little too (only a few steps -- enough to get from the toy to the couch, or if he puts too much weight on the toy, scooting it across the floor a bit, enough to catch up and stand up straight again).

And the other day, I went in to get him out of bed and he was sitting up in his crib. This morning I found him the same way. Looks like the large muscle toys at the day care are paying off.

I've borrowed the word babysteps and the accompanying concept from the FLYLady. I joined her site in late December, and I think I'm starting to get the hang of it. It's the hardest thing in the world to just tell yourself not to worry about everything, to just take it one day at a time.

To learn more about her system for organizing your home and your life once and for all, visit FLYLady's site here.

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