Week 2

I may not need to count the days anymore. Like when you say "my baby is 17 weeks old" or "he's 37 months old" and other people are like, "huh?" It may not be necessary anymore.

Monday - this weather is killing me. Just snow already. Quit this 36 degree raining. That's not fun for anyone.

We did laundry and brought cookies to our neighbors and the main office. Fixed the weather stripping on the back door (so there wouldn't be an icey wind in the kitchen). Good nap. More painting Christmas presents and decorated our tree. Overall a good day, though I'm afraid I'm getting sick. There are no sick days with this job.

Tuesday - Library date with Dan and Eleanor in Westfield. Ro was so excited about it, but when we got there the old Story Time fear showed up and he freaked out. It's so hard because I know he likes it, and once he gets into it it's fine, but there's something really scary about it to him. I thought because Eleanor was there it would be better, but he wanted nothing to do with it. We ended up leaving sort of early because he didn't want to play with any of the toys or the other kids. Home and early lunch (cause *I* was ready for him to take a nap). Unfortunatetly the cat-nap he took the car on the way to the library lead to no nap. I sat and knitted in his doorway so he would at least stay in bed and rest, which he did, which I appreciated. I just feel bad at this today, like I can't get it right today. I think because I finally have to buckle down and get that grown-up stuff done -- I have to get in to see the endocrinologist, but first I did a referral from a Primary Care Physician, so I'm afraid it's going to take forever to get in to see the PCP so she'll refer me to the Endo. And the PCP I chose from the list and called apparently doesn't work at the hospital anymore, so tomorrow we have to start all over again. Blarg. I hate this shit.
More painting Christmas presents (he LOVES painting!!!) and a movie.
Daddy worked late, which I said was fine but probably should have just told him to come home.
Ro got whiny and clingy and I lost my patience and yelled. After a few minutes of screaming (on both sides) we sat in the rocking chair to wait for Daddy.
Then I served everyone raw macaroni and cheese. In my defense, it looks just like baked macaroni and cheese, Chris said it was "good to go" when he called (though he meant all I had to do was bake it, but I didn't hear that part), and really, what's the difference between baking it and take a raw piece and heating it in the microwave? Probably not a lot. Regardless, I had a meltdown and put myself in time out. Took a bath.
Dinner (eventually) and bedtime.
Alone time for Mommy, knitting and watching Buffy.

Wednesday - Finally a sunny day! I mean, it's 18 degrees out, but at least there's sun. Managed to figure out the bus enough to get to the library downtown. It's awesome. It has a giant fish and Fenway Park bleacher seats. No go on story time again, but he didn't force us to leave.
Home and lunch, nap (eventually).

... to be continued

Day 5

TGIF!!! Mostly cause it means I get "takeout" tonight and tomorrow I get some time off from being mom.

Up with a happy kiddo again! And he's been sleeping late (past 7!!!)

Breakfast and TV time (I don't hate Diego as much as I dispise Dora).

Dressed and pack daddy's work books in the car.

Dunkin Donuts for a Friday treat date (this may become our thing). Muffin and bagel!

Visit daddy's office. He announced to the whole office "We are looking for my daddy!"

Walk downtown to find post office and look around (haven't been here since collage)

Home, quick outside with Gipper

Lunch

Nap (reverted back to sitting in his room near the door. Maybe I have to gradually move further out each day until he doesn't need to see me there anymore?

Walk to the grocery store for french fries, milk, and wine ... the essentials.
Friday afternoon is a blur, but I bet there was a walk and a movie involved.
Made cookie dough for our Christmas Cookie Party this weekend. While licking the beaters he announced "I love this part!"

Burger night with daddy!

Bed and a movie for Mom and Dad

Phew! Made it through week one!!! ... this shit is hard. 

Goals for next week ... get out more. Story time at the library, walk around downtown. We never did figure out the bus. Also I'm sure there are scary grown-up things that need to get done, like finding a doctor for me AND him. Oh, and loading up our old apartment and moving MORE stuff here ... and it was just starting to look organized.

Day 4

Ugh. Cold rain does not make for a good day.

We were going to brave the bus to the library again today, but right as we were leaving I double-checked the hours, and the don't open until 1pm on Thursdays. Going to have to print out the hours for the "command center" I'm planning for our "home office".

Up with a very happy kiddo! I think he's not as afraid of the day anymore.

Breakfast and TV.

Shower

Almost left for the library, the realized it was closed. Considered going to the store or into town anyway, but then saw it was 35 degrees and raining. I don't think so.

Movie time! (And some knitting for mummy)

Play time: trains, colors, magnets, and yarn.

Quick outside with Gipper (man it was cold out!)

Lunch

Nap disaster ... Last night he went down fine with no one sitting in his room, so I thought I was free to leave him and he'd konk out eventually. Nope. Absolute panic. 45 minutes of screaming later, I held him until he fell asleep. 

By the time he got up it was almost dark! Quick photoshoot for our holiday card and took the recycling out.

Watched Frosty and had a snack - popcorn and oranges!
Daddy home!
Playing, dinner, bubbles, and bedtime

Movie night for mom and dad!

I sometimes wonder what is worse ... Sitting in his room until he falls asleep and potentially getting him hooked on that, or forcing him to sleep alone when he's clearly needing someone there? How do I tell the difference between a real need for comfort and support, and him manipulating me because he doesn't want to go to bed?

On deck for Friday! Visit daddy at work!

Day 3

Up, with no tears!
However, the heat broke and it was 55 in here, which made mummy a little grumpy.


Breakfast
TV Time
No library trip, because we had to wait for the maintenance guy to come fix the heat. Luckily the heat came on so we didn't freeze to death. Down-side, the guy didn't believe me that it was broken, suggesting that I simply didn't understand how the thermostat worked. However he noticed that it wasn't firing correctly, and may have fixed it. We'll see tomorrow.
Free play with trains and books (trying out a "let him play while I'm in the room and maybe he won't need me and I can read a book on my phone" strategy).

Outside time with "physics class", aka Lawn Bowling.

Lunch
Nap - actually slept!!! Woo hoo!!!

UPS man delivered out bathroom shelf, so I put it together with the help of my construction helper! I wish I had gotten a photo of him in his hard hat with his little hammer, but I didn't want to ruin the good mood by going downstairs to get my phone. 

Played with a box for a solid hour while I unpacked the bathroom.

On a personal note, I now realize that putting my toothbrush in a designated spot really makes me feel like I live somewhere. Putting it back in my bathroom travel bag every night really kept me in the "I'm just on vacation" mindset.

Daddy home!

Ro shows daddy our bowling game while I take a break (aka drink some wine)

Dinner, playing, and bedtime.

Long walk with the dog.

More unpacking, since I found the pegs for the bookshelf.

Bed, again asleep immediately.

Not as many steps today, since we really didn't go anywhere. Man does a nap make a big difference! On deck for tomorrow ... maybe try bus and library again?

Day 2

Day 2 did not go as well ...

Up with tears again. I think he just doesn't know what to expect from the day. I guess I can't blame him.

Breakfast with daddy (who had time to make me bacon and eggs because he doesn't have to leave at 6:30am anymore!)

TV time with tears, because I wouldn't let him watch a movie, and then I wouldn't let him watch anything until he stopped whining. I don't have much patience for that noise.

Bye bye daddy

Dora and mommy shower ... a cold shower, in fact. Gotta figure out this water heater.

Dressed

Writing time - thank you notes and a letter to Gramma and Grampy.

Snack time

Adventure to find the post office, to send letters and mail back Time Warner modem. Upside - we found it with little trouble. Down-side, Ro fell asleep in the car.

Michaels for Christmas present supplies.

Outside with Gipper, chat with mail man

Playground.

Lunch

Nap ... and by "nap" I mean he goofed off for an hour and didn't sleep, probably because I was there. But when I tried to leave he would panic and cry. Oh, hello, Rock. Meet Hard Place.
Snack time ... cause that seems to make him happy, and I was running out of patience.
Walk and giant playground. He cried because we didn't want to walk the same direction, but the playground saved the day. It's awesome.

The sun going down at 4 also made for a nice stopping point, since mummy's back and knees were starting to hurt from all the crawling into small jungle gym places.

Wine and probably some sort of TV ... cause I was done.

Daddy came home! Mummy needed a break so I took Gip fora  long walk. Tears ... his, not mine
Ro acted out by hitting and throwing things. Almost didn't get dinner, since he refused to pick it up until the last minute. It's easy looking back on it that he was tired and overwhelmed, but it's so hard when you're in the middle of it.
Dinner, and another tantrum because 1) he had to wait for us to finish eating, and 2) I wouldn't pick him up while I was eating.
In an attempt not to throttle him, I put myself in time out. Bad idea, because both he AND the dog thought I had left them forever and tried breaking down the door. Tears all around.
Bedtime and more tears. Daddy sat with him this time because for Christ's sake, I was on call all day and he can parent for a hot minute ... said my over-tired, overwhelmed, slightly resentful brain.
Wine and The Office, and falling asleep immediately.


Ok, it was really just the lack of nap that ruined everything. Everything else was fine. Note to self, no car-rides in the morning maybe.

On deck for day 3 ... brave the bus (R44, baby!) and find the library in time for story hour?

All day with this child ... Day 1

Remember when Ro was born and I used to post every day, because everything he did was so ground-breaking and novel, like "we went to the store!!! or "I got dressed today!"? Well, prepare yourselves, cause it may be back. Today is Day 1 of being home with this child ALL DAY!!!!

Back story, cause I realize I haven't posted here since, um, July. 

Beginning of October, Chris comes home with "a plan". A job had opened up at a company in Northampton, Massachusetts. "Wait," you're probably thinking. "Don't you live in New York City?" Yup, we did. In the past two months, Chris interviewed for this job, got it (of course), we bought a car, found an apartment in MA, put our apartment on the market, packed it, moved all our crap, and quit our jobs. Chris starts at his new job today, and so do I, I guess. My new boss is 2.75 years old, and quite demanding. Oh, and you know how obnoxious it is when your boss is stressed about a project or a deadline or something? Now imagine your boss is two and you've just taken him away from all his friends and his house and now he has to sleep in a strange place but magically all of his stuff is there? Yeah, it's a little draining. 

Oh, and add to that *I* am terrified I'm going to suck at this and he won't be smart anymore, cause it was probably all daycare's doing. And all our stuff is still in boxes, not to mention that some of stuff is actually still in New York. A word of advice ... Just get the bigger truck). Chris keeps asking me annoying things like "Where is the garbage can?" or "Didn't we have rolled oats?" or "Where are the passports?" and I'm all, "Anything you probably really need is still in New York, because my awesome moving system worked great for all the not-important things in our life."

I have a lot of ideas of how I am going to handle this (thank you Pinterest). The one I'm most excited about is the Day Planner. I saw this one

and just loved it. I designed my own and had chris print it out at work really big.

It has a place for the date, the weather, how he's feeling that day, and what our daily chore is (I'm super excited that I won't have to shove a week's worth of chores into a Sunday afternoon anymore). Then I have strips of paper with all sorts of things we can do: errands, activities, etc. A lot of them are things we "have to" do, like lunch and nap, so while it looks busy, it's just a few additional things on top of a normal routine. And I have a spot for our "chore time" so that will remind us to do it. 

But anyway ... Day 1. 

Up with tears, because "WHERE THE HELL AM I?!?!?!?!" is not a fun way to wake up. 

Breakfast and more tears because I wouldn't let him watch TV while eating, even though he was clever and asked for no milk in his cereal (so he could sit on the couch).  

TV (Garfield Christmas) and bye-bye daddy

Dressed

Coloring and shopping list

Trains and Christmas music

Snack

Walk to store for fruit and snacks

Run around backyard (guys, we totally have a back yard!!!) with Gipper (who is also a little freaked out)

Lunch and Dora

Nap (with mommy sitting next to the bed, the trade-off for him actually sleeping in his own bed)

A visit from gramma and Grampy, dropping of Chris's bag that he left at their house after thanksgiving (so great to have them close enough to do this!!!)

Play outside with Gipper

Laundry and playground (in between wash and dry) where Ro invented an obstacle course involving puddles and a "mountain" of dirt.

Inside and a movie while mom made dinner

Daddy comes home!!!

Dinner

Put up Christmas lights and help daddy out away laundry

Bedtime (again, with mommy sitting next to the bed, but hey, at least he's in bed ... And I brought my wine)

Feet up ;)

So I survived day 1. The planner totally helped keep the day manageable, and he was excited to show gramma and daddy all the things he did that day. I got 8,400 steps on my pedometer, which is more than I would normally get with a day at the office, and we really didn't go anywhere except the store.

I didn't drink enough water, so I'm going to have to watch that.

On deck for day 2 ... We have to find the post office!

Things I'll forget 11/5

It was so cold this morning I made to wear his mittens, scarf, winter coat, and hat. He was so excited about his mittens. He kept saying "I look like a snowman!!!"

Things I'll forget

Tonight at dinner, I was asking everyone about their day.
I turned to the dog.

Me: "And Gipper, how was your day today?"
Ro: "Mummy, Gih-Gih can't talk.)

Summer Vacation!

We spent 10 GREAT days away tooling around the Northeast like a regular ol' family. Here are some of the highlights.

Day 1

Birthday cake for daddy at Gramma and Grampa's house.

Fourth of July party at the May's (we left before the fireworks, but apparently there were a lot).
Ro even played in the pool!
New Discovery of the day ... bubbles are awesome, and Ro doesn't like playing with other children. Go figure.
New Word: Gwamma (as apposed to "Gwa-Gwa").


Day 2

Car trip up to New Hampshire - Ro was SO GOOD in the car! Slept most of the way and played with his trains the rest of the way.
Ro was excited to get in the water with Grampy!
Momma got to put her feet up with a book! I can't remember the last time that happened ... probably last summer.
Discovery of the Day ... Hamlet's car carrier makes an awesome fort.


Day 3







Trekked up to Sandwich, NH for their 250th anniversary fair, complete with Antique Tractor Pull, hotdogs, and ice cream!
Then back for more swimming!
Discovery of the Day ... Bugs are attracted by cheese and crackers.


Day 4

Left R with Gramma and Grampy and headed up to Maine! Wine, Fish n Chips, and a great big bed with no toddler's in it!


Day 5





Tooled around Portland while R was (apparently) an angel with Gramma and Grampy.
Alagash Brewery, Portland Dive Bar, Portland Nautical Observatory


Day 6

Back to New Hampshire for some rainy day fun.

Discovery of the day ... Mom and Dad don't know how to play Old Maid.
New Words ... Kayak, Canoe, Go Fish, Pappa Loon


Day 7

Story Time at the local library (with only a small amount of panic).

More swimming (with lots of jumping!)
Sunset, and s'mores.
Discovery of the Day ... Red Light/Green Light is a pretty kick-ass game.


Day 8

Mummy's camera phone wasn't working well, so there aren't many pictures of this day ;(

Left New Hampshire and made our way down to visit Nana. Lunch at Friendly's!
Went shopping and saw Auntie Jess!
Had dinner with Gramma and Grampa.
And after a mildly panicky bedtime, Mom and Dad actually got to go out AGAIN! Beers with Auntie Megan and Randy.
Discovery of the Day ... Balloons make pretty good punching bags.


Day 9


 

  


Visited with Daddy's Uncle Gary at Gramma and Grampa's House.
Headed home and slept the WHOLE WAY!!!
Arrived home to discover nearly all our plants were dead. :( The Basil and Tomatoes were the only things to survive.
Mummy and Rowan headed to the store because our fridge was empty!


Day 10

We spent the day unloading the car, cooking, and gradually getting back into a routine. Back to reality tomorrow!

Thursday, July 11 ... 2 yr, 3mo

I'm going to be honest. I'm writing the June and July posts the same day. And it's practically August. But I'm a big liar and I set the blog date as the 11th on each of them. So anyone reading this, including Future Mollie, will think that I am totally on top of this motherhood thing, keeping a beautifully-organized account of my child's life. Joke's on them ...

Here we are! Well into the Twos, and boy is he TWO!

Father's day was the 16th, and we tried to make Daddy feel special!

We spent a week away on vacation, so that's where the bulk of this month's fun stuff happened!


New Favorite Words ..
Inside
Under
Latte 

(yes, I'm raising a yuppy)
"3, 4, 5, Jump!"

I'm sure there are more. But I'm the bad mom who can't remember.

In other news, the Supreme Court struck down the Defense of Marriage Act on June 26. This photo was taken that morning, with my son and I wearing support colors. Some people may say I'm "indoctrinating" him, teaching him my own personal biases. I say we're being the change. He's going to marry whoever he wants, and even better, he's going to grow up in a country where that's not a strange notion.

Things ill forget, Lollypops

Today we stopped at the bank for cash and Ro got a lolly pop for being so good.

He held it and liked it the whole way home. It was like something out of a commercial. Just smiling and licking his lolly, holding my hand.