More about Sara

Okay, I thought I'd link to Woody's entry about Sara and football because I think he can write about his wife better than I can. So click here for more about my PROFESSIONAL FOOTBALL PLAYER friend.

Not that I'm name-dropping or bragging or anything.

Warped Judgment?

The first thing Jake announced when he got in the car after school today was, "Mommy, I've got good news and bad news about school today."

I asked for the good news first.

"Well, the good news is I peed in my pants at naptime."

Are you as scared as I was about what the bad news would be after that being the good news about his day???

"The bad news is I got in trouble."

He got in trouble for dancing with a friend when they were supposed to be in group time. Apparently, according to his teacher, the friend convinced Jake to dance even though he said no at first. Not that he put a gun to my son's head or anything. We're really having an issue with this idea Jake has that somebody else can "make me do it."

But anyway, the point of my entry here is not that he got in trouble. The point is...why does he think it's good that he peed at naptime???

A Big Day for My Friends

I think writing "send a shout out to" would sound ridiculous...

So..."Props to" Sara who is the newest member of the Carolina Cardinals. That's right, folks. I'm friends with a professional football player. And she gave me a shirt. I'm very excited about this and plan to go to the home games. Check out the schedule--anyone who wants to come with me is welcome! Yay Sara!

And...Happy Birthday to one of my favorite "peeps" (is that the right usage?), Leslie! Leslie is 31 today, which means she's 31 on 1/31. 31/1/31. There's probably some kind of code in those numbers together like that.

Oh, in family-related news (although Leslie and Sara are practically family), Annie is certifiably born now. In other words, we picked up her certified birth certificate this morning. We're on our way to qualifying her to be an American. In other words, we'll be sending off for the social security number next. Someday she'll owe taxes too...

Career Move For A Ghostbuster

I tell you, I never knew how much I could learn from morning talk shows. (I mean the "news" shows like Today, not Maury Povich...)

For example, did you know that Rick Moranis now has a country music album? And that it was nominated for a Grammy? You know, he's the guy who shrunk his kids and busted ghosts. Click here if you don't believe me. You can listen to the songs and read about his conversion to music. On Today he sang Give Me The News, and while I wouldn't buy his album based on that song, his voice was deeper and stronger than I expected.

And by the way, I love Al Roker. And Katie Couric. Why have I not been watching these people sooner?

(Oh yeah...It's because pre-newborn I had a life in the mornings...)

Even Closer To Home!

Starbucks has opened a new store, just down the street from me! There's already one less than two miles from my house, but this one is closer and has a DRIVE THRU!!!

Yes, these are the things that excite me...

Pulling Your Punches

Today Jake told us that a little boy in his class pushed him several times on the playground. This isn't the same boy we've dealt with before (in fact, it sounds like that little boy may have been helping him get away from the other boy), but a different one who also treats Jake like a little kid. I mean, Jake is a little kid...but no more so than those boys are.

So when we got home, Ike and Jake practiced punching and pushing. This is all foreign territory for me. I grew up thinking that if someone bothered me, I should tell the teacher and that would be it. When my mom married my dad, he taught me the right way to make a fist (and to throw a baseball), but I never actually needed to make a real fist. I never had a bully. Well, I did, but I just ran and told the teacher...

That works just fine for the little shy blonde girl. But for a little boy who may always be small, he needs a better defense.

So he's learning to punch. And wow, he's strong. I may be biased, but I think he could knock down any kid on the playground if push literally comes to shove. It's a strangely comforting thing...My son can take care of himself, even without me or his dad (or the teacher).

And incidentally, I never knew the real meaning of "pulling your punches." Now I do.

We Got Our 10-Pounder After All!

Quick note on Annie's one-month appointment before I get some sleep. First of all, Dr. Sumner thinks she might have reflux. This would explain her "gasping" breaths and her frequent spit-ups and lack of being able to sleep for the past two nights. Of course, those could also be explained by a growth spurt, but he said Zantac won't hurt her either way.

She's now 9lbs, 14oz. Which means she's two ounces away from 10 pounds, which means Dr. Funny was way wrong when he said I'd be birthing a 10-poud baby. She's 21 inches long...and I can't remember her head measurement. This all means at this point she's 75% weight, 50% height, 55% head. But at her age, those measurements don't really mean much.

All is healthy and happy with Annie. Oh! And he said that sleeping in the car seat is a fine "temporary" solution to sleepless nights.

If by temporary he means, "until she leaves for college," then he and I are on the same page...

My Name is Becky and I Have a Target Problem

Okay, okay, I admit it. I'm absolutely addicted to Target. Even their stupid commercials with the stupid dog and all the stupid bright colors thrill me. Their commercials make the strangest things look exciting to me...oh hey, look. Target sells dish detergent in really pretty colors. And I can See. Spot. Save.

I love Target, okay? I love it. I could live there...I'd open up one of their nice king-sized pillows, throw down some jersey knit sheets, grab a bestseller and a snack...ohh, like something from the snack bar...

And you know what's bad in combination with loving Target? Loving baby girl clothes.

After school today we went to buy a birthday present for Jake's friend (whose birthday party is tomorrow at Laser Storm. I can't believe my son is old enough for laser tag.). Where did we go? Target, of course. Jake got popcorn and an icee and we were ready to shop.

Present: done. Jake had a good point. He wanted to get his friend something Jake already owns, "so that it's not too exciting." Makes sense to me, now we'll have no problem giving it away instead of keeping it.

Birthday card: done.

Heading to checkout line when...

"Hey, Jake, I think you need new socks. On our way to get your socks, let's stop over here at the baby clothes."

New Valentine's Day outfit for Annie: done. (It's adorable, just wait til you see it.)

Socks for Jake: done.

Ohh, look at the pretty scrapbook: no, Becky, no. You don't know how to scrapbook. (See? I have self-control...)

Is that Dr. Phil in paperback?: no, Becky, no.

Okay, but how about new makeup? New soap? Lotion?: no, Becky, now you're just being ridiculous.

Heading to the checkout line: done.

Whew. Another day at Target gone. But really, you know, I could stop any time I want to. I don't think it's a problem. Everybody's doing it.

SLEEP!!! Part 2

Ahh...precious sleep...at night...

Last night Annie slept from 9-12:30am, from 1:30am-3:30, and from 4am-7:45. She only woke up to eat, then went right back to sleep. If I wasn't addicted to Battlestar Galactica and hadn't insisted on watching it, I could have gone to bed at 10 and gotten tons of sleep. As it is, I'm thrilled that I got 5 and a half hours altogether!

Is it bad for a child to sleep in her carseat her whole life?

I also fell deeper in love with my daughter last night. Not because she slept so well (although I do appreciate that and feel like it's proof that prayers are answered eventually), but because of a moment we shared while nursing. She stared up at me while she ate, looking content, with her little hand resting on me...It doesn't translate well into writing, but it was a beautiful moment. She's a beautiful girl.

So say we all.*

(*That's just a part of my Battlestar Galactica obsession, please ignore it if it doesn't make sense to you.)

Chuck E Cheese: It Takes A Village

Tonight was Chuck E. Cheese night at Jake's school. They do a fundraising night there once a month, but we're usually able to avoid it. Today, however, the school pushed it hard. Jake jumped into the car after school, sporting a huge CEC sticker and listing off all of his friends who were planning to come.

Now Ike had to work late tonight. One would think I'd be wise enough to say, "I'm sorry, Jake. Daddy has to work and Mommy can't keep up with you and watch Annie at the same time. We'll go another night."

Huh. Reading over that, it really does seem wise, doesn't it? Well...I didn't say that. Instead I thought of the birthday party and the Christmas party, both of which he missed because of his new baby sister. I thought I didn't want him to miss yet another thing he was excited about. I thought, "I can make this work."

So I said, "Sure, Jake. We'll go to Chuck E. Cheese tonight."

And then I thought, "What was I thinking??"

Fortunately I was able to find two friends (Sara and Woody) willing to endure the insanity with me. And let me tell you, it truly does take a village to raise two kids. While Sara and I talked (with baby beside us), Woody and Jake played games. When Woody was ready for a break, he and I talked while Sara and Jake played. Jake was thrilled because he thinks our friends are actually his. (In fact, we've even argued over a few of them...) I was thrilled because I got adult conversation even inside Chuck E. Cheese. And Annie was thrilled because...well, Annie was actually just sleeping the whole time, but at least she wasn't screaming.

So there you go.
Bad pizza at Chuck E. Cheese: $25
Tokens: 25 for free
Bringing grown-ups in with you: Priceless

Thanks for the company, guys.

Squeezably Soft Daddy

Tonight Ike, Jake and I were "camping" on Jake's bedroom floor. After having "s'mores," Jake turned off his bedroom light and stood up on his bed to try to turn his fishtank light off. The following conversation started.

Me: Jake, don't stand on the end of your bed like that, you could fall off.
Jake: What if I do?
Me: Remember that trip to the hospital we've talked about? That could happen.
Jake: (looking down at Ike on the floor) But I could land on Daddy. And Daddy's belly is fluffy like a cloud.
Me: (lots of laughter while making an effort not to laugh)
Me: (more laughter)
Me: I have to go write on my blog.

And Tonight Jake Said...

It's been awhile since I've written anything funny from the mouth of Jake. Tonight he said two things that must be recorded...

During "Family Fun Time" (something Ike started so we all have a chance to play each night) tonight, we were playing Batman. Jake was Batman, I was Batgirl, Ike was the Joker. We were playing rather loudly (it's hard to be quiet when you're being attacked by the Joker) and woke the baby up. When I brought Annie into the room with us, Jake said, "Okay, now we've changed it. I'm Batman, Daddy's Robin, Mommy's Batgirl, and Annie is Spit Up Girl." It's true, he's right. She really is.

During the same Batman game, Jake (aka Batman) was throwing "batarings" (also known as Dora UNO cards) at the Joker. He pooted during his attack. In true "He's his Daddy's son" fashion, Jake continued his attack, saying casually, "Yeah, I farted, I know."

Ike and I lost it, of course. It's a terrible thing for a 4-year-old to say, but come on. It was way too cute. And now that he's in school, we can blame words like that on his friends.

SLEEP!!

Ok, it's no more exciting than talking about poop, but it makes me happy. Annie let me sleep FIVE HOURS IN A ROW!! In fact, I'm the one who woke up first...

Of course, those five hours were 6am this morning until 11am, so we're still not sleeping at night. But there's hope! And I feel like a new person. It's amazing what sleep can do.

Thanks to Ike for giving her a bottle last night so I could sleep a little and for taking Jake to school and for cleaning the living room this morning and for the breakfast you left me in the fridge. Thanks for offering to stay up with her all night despite having to go to work. Thanks for watching tv with me late into the night while the baby does her marathon feedings.

Thanks for being the dad and the husband in this family. You're the best.

Duller Than Dirt

On the way to Granny & Papa's last night as I rambled on about Annie's first full bath (her nasty umbilical cord thing came off yesterday, so we're free to dunk her in real water now instead of just sponging off the spit up) and her sleep patterns and her clothes and her spit up frequency, it hit me. I am Boring (with a capital B).

I think back on conversations with friends and family over the past three weeks (not including those conversations in the hospital while I was apparently having drug-induced conversations with myself). My conversations have all centered around this baby's habits. And how exciting can those habits possibly be to other people (with the exception of Granny, Nana, and Aunt Jane, who really seem interested) (and Ike who has to be interested)? She fusses, eats, sleeps, poops & pees, fusses, eats, then sleeps again. Pretty much in that order all day with the occasional 15 minutes or so of "awake time," where she...(drumroll, please)...looks at stuff.

And even my blog has been dull. I'm boring myself to tears here, people. But please stick with me. Something funny is bound to happen eventually.

Oh, and by the way. For anyone who doesn't yet have a little girl, consider this a warning: they most certainly CAN pee straight up and out. And they apparently do it more often during diaper changes than baby boys do.

Picking Up Men

Okay, really I was just picking up a little boy. My own, I mean.

This morning Jake asked me to carry him from the bed to the table for breakfast. I started to say I couldn't lift him yet, then I realized, "The baby is three weeks old now. Surely I can pick up my son by now." I'm feeling like a wimp after talking to a friend at playgroup yesterday who said she was driving right after having a c-section and almost drove home from the hospital...

So I carried him to the table. And you know what? I'm fine, of course (otherwise this would have been a much different post), but I cannot believe how much Jake has grown in three weeks! Here I've been posting and fretting about how big Annie has gotten, while Jake has been silently growing right under my nose!

And barely under my nose at that. I suspect he's at least tall enough to be up to my chin by now. I'm just not standing close enough to find out...(it's depressing to think my 4-year-old might outgrow me before his fifth birthday)

First Day Out Alone

Well, today was the first day I ventured out to drive just with the baby and me. I'm sure I could have driven sooner, but with my mom here last week, there was no need. Nothing to report on the driving--everything still works the same way--but we did have a moment (okay, 20 minutes worth of a moment) of panic when I realized Annie could no longer fit in the straps of her car seat. It took me quite some time, a lot of fussing from Annie, a lot of cussing from me, and two phone calls to Ike for me to figure out how to loosen those straps.

But it worked. And we made it to Jake's school ten minutes before he got out. We then went to the park with our playgroup and had a good afternoon. Oh, and the best part for me? Annie got to wear a new outfit that she finally fits in, including these teeny tiny little shoes. I took pictures of the shoes on her feet, but the pictures didn't turn out right. Ike took pictures tonight, so those will be posted after he downloads them.

Is it weird that I'm so excited about baby shoes??

Too Big For Her Britches

In the past couple of days, Annie has outgrown her home-from-the-hospital outfit (I could've cried...it's my favorite thing she's been wearing) and newborn diapers. We're in this weird inbetween world, where size one diapers are practically big enough to be diaper and bib at the same time, but newborn diapers just can't cover her little bottom.

I am not implying that my newborn baby girl has a large rear end. I'm just saying she's growing. And I don't like what that means. It means she's almost 4, which means she's practically graduated from college. I've been dealing with this with Jake, do I have to deal with it with her, too??

On a side note that seems to be of interest to more of you than anything else I've ever written...Ike and I took Annie back to Target yesterday. Nary a peep escaped her sweet I-love-Target-like-Mommy-does lips, although I swear I heard a little intake of excited breath when we walked past the girl clothes.

Oh. Maybe that was me.

Maybe she's not mine after all...

Today Annie took her first trip to Target with my mom, Jake, and me. Ten minutes into it, while Jake, my mom and I were contemplating curtains for his room, Annie threw a fit. She wouldn't stop until I took her out of Target and back to the car.

No child of mine should dislike Target...

Personal note to Sara & Woody: don't say no. I'll bring lunch Saturday.

A New Year's Party To Remember

Happy New Year, everyone! I know I'm a little behind in writing that, but this is the nature of how things go around here right now. Our conversations, our movements, our thoughts...they're all just a tad slower than normal.

Annie is now sleeping through the night!

Well...that is, in SOME time zone, she's sleeping through the night. Here on the East Coast, she's sleeping 3am-ish til 9am-ish. Well, except for the part where she gets up to eat around 4:00. And again at 6:00. And then she's trying to sleep all day to gear up for her late night. It suddenly makes sense to me why I craved vampire books while I was pregnant. The kid keeps vampire hours...and feeds off her mama...

Who would have thought that a family with a 4 (and a half) year old and a newborn could have a New Year's Eve party? Well, Ike thought it, and he planned the best New Year's party that we've ever been to. While Sara and Woody were visiting (THANK YOU for dinner, the company, and the movies--we've watched "Firefly" every night this week while we're up with the vampire baby), Ike ran out to the grocery store for the things we needed. He also picked up quite a spread for a party...

So while I was feeding the baby and putting her down "for the night" (that actually meant putting her down for 30 minutes...), Ike was in the kitchen. By the time I emerged from the baby's room around 11:30, he had several plates of snacks on the table and champagne (okay, sparkling grape juice) on the table. He woke up Jake to invite him to the party. Jake said, "I didn't know it was New Year's!" And of course he jumped out of bed when Ike said we had cookies at the party...

Annie woke up ten minutes before the ball dropped. Our new family of four sat on the couch, munching on food and drinking "champagne." I cried when Dick Clark spoke, we cuddled together and ate, and we counted down to the New Year. We each gave a toast (except Annie), with Jake toasting "lots of fun and jokes" for 2006. And then we all told really bad jokes until Jake went back to bed.

While it might have been fun a few years ago to drink until midnight, then feel terrible all day on the 1st, I think that I'll remember this party as the best ever. Thanks for throwing it, Ike.