Posted in February 2008 …

Feb 22 2008
2 Comments
Meme

I’m IT!

CaraMama tagged me on her Six Quirky Things Meme! YAY! I love stuff where you get to know weird things about people!

Here are the rules:

1) Link to the person that tagged you.
2) Post the rules on your blog.
3) Share six non-important things/habits/quirks about yourself.
4) Tag at least 3 people at the end of your post and link to their blogs.
5) Let each person know they have been tagged by leaving a comment on their blog.
6) Let the fun begin!

I’m not sure I know 3 people with blogs to tag that either haven’t already been tagged or have private blogs who probably don’t want to be tagged. But here’s my quirky list anyway:

  1. Since I’m from just outside of Baltimore originally (the dreaded Dundalk area) and my father grew up in the city of Baltimore, I pronounce some words in an odd manner. DH takes opportunity to point them out often. The one he hates the most is “mir”. For everyone who is not a Baltimoron, that’s a MIRROR. Each time I say it, he says “What’s that again?” And I say, “A MIRROOROOROOR!”.

    Another good one is “fridgerator”. You guessed it, that’s a REFRIDGERATOR. He loves that one, too. At least I don’t call sinks “zincs” but I do occasionally “warsh” my clothes (especially if I’ve had a few).

  2. I’m a little OCD about locking things. For instance, the door to our house and car doors. I’m trying to break this habit (especially with the front door because our neighbors probably think I’m nuts). Sometimes, I’ll check it up to three times because if I’m in a real hurry, I won’t remember if I actually locked it.

    With the car doors, I usually click the keyfob twice. With my new car, I actually have a reason to do it because the second click will turn off the headlights if they are on!

  3. I absolutely, positively HATE spiders. Hate them. Don’t like to see them. Don’t want them near me or in my house. However, I don’t like killing them either.

    The other day, Monkey and I took a walk and I’m guessing that’s when this little creature decided to hitch a ride because it came out of nowhere when I threw my coat on the ottoman. I jumped about three feet and of course, Monkey wanted to go right for it. It was HUGE! Huge being about 1 1/2 inches in diameter total, body was probably 3/4 of an inch long. I contemplated how I was going to trap this thing. Usually, I place a glass over them, slide a piece of paper underneath and then chuck them outside. But it moved to the edge of the stairs where it would have been difficult to do that so I ended up just killing it. Sorry! Please don’t send me hate mail for killing the spider!

  4. I love shoes but hate wearing them. As soon as I get in the house (and the houses of friends I’ve known a long time), I take them off. But I still like buying them for when I’m out and about.
  5. Some people think I look like an elf. This was even prior to the Lord of the Rings movies, after which I now get comments that I look like Liv Tyler or Cate Blanchett (not so bad I guess).

    But in 9th grade during my art class, this douche nozzle (can’t remember his name — maybe Jay? — but this name fits) announced to the class that I looked like one of the people from the Dark Crystal because my face “was flat and had no shape”. Douche nozzle.

  6. I really do LOVE Cirque du Soleil. Lame, I know. I’ve only seen 2 different shows (Corteo and O — I saw O, twice!) but I’d love to go back to Vegas to see KA and LOVE. Plus, I’d still like to see Delirium and Wintuk! Maybe I can hitch a ride with DH and crew when they go to CES next year if one of the grandmothers will watch Monkey for a few days … hmmm …

Maybe the name of this post should be “I’m lame” because the only person I’m tagging is Baby-AMZ, but since TWO people run that blog, maybe they could BOTH post their 6 quirky things! Hint, hint. ;)

Feb 21 2008
3 Comments
Media, Parenthood

Book Review: Sippy Cups are not for Chardonnay

As obnoxious as it might sound (or read) as I’m writing this … I like to think of myself as a hip mom with wit, style and well, no, not class. Therefore, the title of this book (and the fact that Molly Shannon from SNL thought it was was good) made it instantly appealing to me. Plus, I like wine.

Now a little forewarning before going any further in this post. This book is not for the Sanctimommies out there. Those who are not comfortable with cursing might not want to read this book either. The author, Stefanie Wilder-Taylor, doesn’t curse a whole lot but it’s enough that some might be offended. Also, she touches on subjects some might not wish to address (such as sex) and is really BLUNT about other things. I plan on posting a few tidbits from this book, so beware!

Wilder-Taylor covers typical mommy topics such as going to mommy groups, dealing with the Alpha Mom and sex after baby from her point of view. Although in some instances she’s giving advice, this book isn’t a reference book by any means and she’s clearly kidding in some parts.

Below are a few bits I found very amusing (I won’t post too many so not to spoil the fun should you read it!):

ON BABY MONITORS –

“Some people get the video monitors so they can keep an eye on their baby, as though they’re working the night shift at 7-eleven and their baby’s a potential shoplifter.”

ON BABY EINSTEIN –

“I have to say, watching a puppet in a raspberry beret speak with a bad French accent is downright frightening — unless you’re buzzed, then’ it’s hilarious … “

ON PACKING A DIAPER BAG –

“I know a lot of women still stuff steamer trunks like they’re going on the Gilligan’s Island ‘three hour cruise,’ secretly thinking they might be stuck somewhere with their baby for eight seasons.”

Overall, the book was a delightful read. But there were a few instances when the comedic timing was a little redundant for me. I’m obviously not a comedian but have been to enough comedy shows and followed enough comedians to know a little bit about what makes funny, funny. As I was reading, I’d sometimes, hear the ol’ “Ba Da Dum” drum roll after her punchlines in my head and that was the first clue maybe the comedic timing was getting a little old. HOWEVER, don’t let this turn you away from this book (if you can put up with the aforementioned cursing and bluntness anyway). It’s really funny and I seriously LOLed more than a dozen times. Once was while flying to Florida. I had my headphones on while reading and didn’t quite realize how loud the laugh really was. That was embarrassing! The book also made me realize that I have a lot in common with yet another mom on this planet (which always feels good) and she made me think about some things in a different light (for instance, why going to Mommy and Me groups can be beneficial).

If you do buy this book, I hope you enjoy it as much as I did!

BTW, IF you read this book and you know me personally, I’d like to know which type of mommy you think I am. I think I lie somewhere between the dreaded Alpha Mom, Drama Mama and Freshman Mom (if that’s possible).

Feb 21 2008
3 Comments
For better or for worse, Happy Thoughts, Parenthood

Is this meant to be?!

As many of you know or have gathered from my previous posts, I’ve been having a little difficulty managing my work schedule and well, the rest of my life. Here’s a quick recap, in case you’re new to Cirque du Bebe or haven’t visited us in a while. We’ve decided that getting someone to come to the house is not only a little scary (because DH doesn’t want to leave lil’ Monkey alone with them) but also a major pain since we’d be in charge of payroll and taxes for this new employee. Then I decided that maybe putting together an exact schedule in Excel would help me focus on a proper schedule and strive harder to get Monkey to stick to one. This plan blew up within a day.

So as I was scanning through one of the freebie local newspapers that litter our mailbox twice a week (looking for houses, in vain), I noticed the Child Care section and the ads within it. There were several ads but one in particular caught my attention.

The lady tends the nursery at her church, she is state certified and licensed and has, most importantly, an opening for P/T care (most want your kid there F/T). Without thinking, I called her late this afternoon at what was probably the most inconvenient time for her — around the time parents would be picking up their kids. I didn’t mean to call at a bad time but she handled it well, took my information and asked if she could call me back in the evening. I gave her my information and anxiously waited for her to call later. I just had a feeling about this one and desperately hoping I was right.

She called at 6:35 which on a normal Wednesday night would have been a nightmare for me since it’s raid night for DH and he usually gets home just in time to give Monkey his bath and then head off for the game. But for some reason, DH got home early (could it have been my comment yesterday? probably.) and he was taking care of Monkey’s solids and finishing up dinner. Perfect! I could talk on the phone with the lady and not have too many interruptions!

As we talked, everything she said was great. Certified CPR/First Aid. Check. State license whereby the state checks in every 3 months. Check. Opening on Wednesdays so I can attend the tech meetings at work. Check.

NOW HERE’S THE GOOD PART! As we were talking, she said “Do you know the NAME OMITTED Family Dentistry?”

I think my heart actually stopped, “Yes!” I replied, “They’re OUR dentist!”

She said, “Oh then you know Greg? I babysit his kids for him.” WOW. MY DENTIST takes his kids there! I mean, what more could you want?! I have to think that this was MEANT TO BE!

Monkey and I are going to meet her on Friday to see the house and see how he reacts and stuff. I’m hoping everything works out with this. I’m so excited!

Keep your fingers crossed and say a prayer for us that this is a good fit for us! YAY!

Feb 17 2008
4 Comments
For better or for worse, SWF

SWF — Something Worth Forwarding

In effort to throw a bit of water on any flames I might have started with my Incendiary Viral Crap post, I’d like to start a new email phenomenon. I’m calling it Something Worth Forwarding (SWF).

Here are the rules for SWFs:

  1. Each time you get an IVC, hit reply all and send SOMETHING WORTH FORWARDING to all of them with the acronym SWF at the beginning of the email. For instance, if you get an IVC, hit the reply button, enter some text containing USEFUL information (for our example, it’s about junk emails), then change the subject to read “SWF: remove junk mail from your inbox”.

  2. It CANNOT contain anything relating to “Pass this onto 10 friends or … ” — that is unless you’re completely kidding and making fun of those types of emails.

  3. It CANNOT be a petition of any kind.

  4. It MUST contain helpful information that people can actually use in their lives. The information should be something every person, regardless of religious or political beliefs, can act on or participate in. I realize this is subjective but give it some serious thought as to whether you’d truly find the information useful.

  5. When forwarding a SWF, click the forward button but before pressing send, please delete the addresses of everyone it was forwarded to previously which show up in the body of the message.

Occasionally, I will be posting SWFs here that I have forwarded onto those sending IVCs so you can have some fodder for your next SWF!

Feb 17 2008
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Deep Thoughts, Parenthood

Please don’t grow up

I went to lunch with a friend today and it was good to get out of the house to converse with her. Both being mothers, the majority of our conversation was about our children and parenthood. We touched on the subject of what age we like or think we will like the most during our children’s lives.

I can’t say I know exactly what age I will treasure most or feel is the best age group, but I can say that the first 2-3 months were torture for me after lil’ Monkey was born. The adjustment to our lifestyle changing, not knowing what I was doing as a mother, learning how to breastfeed, getting him on a schedule, etc. were just trying on DH and I. Plus, I think all of the struggle didn’t seem *gasp* worth it since he wasn’t really doing anything at that point.

When started showing us his first social smile and recognizing us, my attitude and outlook on life with child changed a little. Each day became a quest to make him smile. Then when he started giggling, the quest changed to find stuff to make him laugh (which BTW, his father is so much better at than I am and I’m SO jealous).

With each new milestone now comes new challenges in babyproofing and lil’ Monkey is just growing so quickly that you can now see the little boy about to emerge and less of the baby. As I checked in on him tonight, shortly after he went to sleep, he was lying there in his crib with one of his favorite bedfellows, the hammer. He was sleeping on his side with his arms stretched out in front of him, grasping it with both hands. He’s so cute in that position; one we’ve seen a lot lately. I wish I could somehow put a silencer on our camera and take that shot without waking him.

It’s at these moments I wish I could freeze time just for a bit and enjoy this tiny baby boy for a little while longer. I love you lil’ Monkey and no matter how big you get, you’ll still be my lil’ Monkey. (But I promise I’ll stop calling you that by high school … maybe.)

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