Mama Sippy From Cup Too

I'm starting the day.  I don't really want to.  I'd really like to lay in bed for another 200 hours but that option is not currently available.  What is available is a shower and coffee.  I've been mixing the two--see the thermos?  Yep.  Some folks use these to drink the java while driving to work.  I, however, have incorporated my thermos into home life.  It makes me feel like I have somewhere to go I think.  Well, that and it keeps my coffee safe from little Boy hands (or in this case shampoo).  We both have sippy cups these days.

Floor Nap

Ah, the floor.  A perfect place to nap.  Wait, what?  Floor?  NAP?  This is odd behavior for The Boy.

I don't know what happened.  The Boy was playing, we sat down for a late lunch and then all of a sudden he was conked out on the floor with his blankies.  He's snoring even.  It's louder than blazes in here too.  There's a leaf blower outside growling like crazy, Wilco is on the iPod and 3 grown men along with me talking and eating.  But he's on the floor asleep.  Yet another sign he's leaving baby land in the dust.  I gotta go weep now.  

Grandparents Revenge

"I can be a real pistol if I don't get my way.  You've been warned."

My parents were over the moon when I told them I was expecting a baby.  In some ways I was surprised at how excited they were.  Not once did they pull that, "When are you gonna give us a grandchild" business people seem to experience.  I started to think it wasn't that big of a deal for them to have grand babies to fawn over.  But then I got pregnant and they fell madly in love with my growing belly and now the ever growing Boy.  They have embraced this new role like they were meant to play it their entire lives.  But I'm starting to realize the REAL reason why parents can't wait to become grandparents.

It's payback time.

I was sharing with my parents how The Boy went ballistic a few times and I worried he was sick.  I called them concerned and looking for answers.

"Do you think he's getting a cold?" I asked my father. "Maybe his mouth hurts from all that teething.  I turned my back on him for 5 seconds to grab a toy from under the oven, maybe he hit his head!"  The anxiety in my voice swells.

"Sounds like he was pissed and you just weren't getting it," he replied.  "Not that I have any experience with that, hehe." He remembers my legendary tantrums like they were yesterday.

I moved on to my mother hoping for a more empathetic ear.  "He's also grabbing at the other kids when I take him to the baby gym," I told her.  "I don't know how to get him to stop.  Now I'm paranoid the other mommies are purposely keeping their distance from us."

"Oh god, just wait until he starts biting all of them!" she cried.  "Yes, that was certainly fun.  His mother used to do that, you know."  Oh boy here we go.  She continued, "Everything would be fine and then out of nowhere you'd chomp down on some other poor child's arm and we'd have to leave immediately!  I thought you'd never stop that awful behavior!"  Hmm, the empathetic ear seemed to not be here either.

My parents are beyond helpful and supportive most of the time.  This is not one of those times.  This is a time when they know all too well how challenging a highly opinionated toddler can be and the only words of wisdom they had to share were "HA HA!  Now it's YOUR turn!"

Thank You

See the woman above?  Mr. Jarcy just looked at it and said, "Oh, Mrs. Jarcy, I love it!  You look so free and happy!"

He's right.  It's from a visit to the Santa Monica Pier earlier in the month and the wind was something fierce, hence the hair.  I did feel free and happy when Mr. Jarcy snapped it.  I tilted my head up towards the heavens, breathed in the salty air and felt as if the strong gusts could lift me up off those weathered boards.  If felt great and the woman in the background even seems to notice.

I have been making my way through all my blog posts and labeling them according to subject.  Tonight I finally got to the early days of motherhood.  The Early Mom Months.  And after reading a few all I can think is, Oh that poor woman!  Her newborn is adorable but that poor, poor woman!  Such struggle with a fussy baby after such struggle with a pregnancy...struggle, struggle, struggle!  I hope she makes it out alive!

I did more than make it out alive.  The picture above proves it.  I'm blessed.

Confession Friday 2.0

Things I've been known to do lately--

• Forget to brush my teeth in the morning.  
• Complete the quizzes offered on Oprah's website and, on occasion, take them over if I don't like the initial result.
• Pour over my vast collection of cookbooks yet never actually prepare any of the recipes.
• Allow The Boy to watch TV guilt-free.
• Overeat.
• House hunt online even though there is no official search.
• Buy a new car--the first time I've ever had one brand new, never used by someone else.
• Get as giddy about racking up rewards points from Pampers as I used to with travel.
• Complain to Mr. Jarcy I want to get up and walk in the morning but then not do it when the opportunity arises.
• Fill in the year as being 2009 when writing the date.
• Feel sentimental about when The Boy was a newborn even though his fussy/colic phase nearly bought me a one way ticket to Crazyville.  
• Obsess over wanting my hair back to it's former, long self.  

Ooks

The Boy really likes his books.  He likes to read them and on occasion eat them.  I posted wall stickers spelling out the word BOOKS on the wall above his little book corner but the damn B kept falling off.  Now it just spells OOKS.  I keep telling him it spells "books" regardless and now paranoid he'll forever be confused.  

Blogs

I watched "Julie & Julia" tonight and now find myself incapable of writing a decent blog entry.  Why I'm not sure.  It's like I'm in my head over it.  Weird.  Instead I looked back on an abandoned blog I started years ago and enjoyed my little trip down memory lane.  It was all about my cats or rather told from their perspective.  My friend's dogs also make an appearance.

http://fattyandcreepy.blogspot.com.

I also looked back at earlier posts from this blog.  You know, all those Pre-Boy posts.  Before The Boy was even a thought.  Back when I just had cats waking me at 4am and peed without a toddler hovering around my ankles.  I think I wrote some funny stuff!  I'm proud of what I've created over the years and that's not an easy emotion for me to feel.  I'm so proud of those around me for their accomplishments yet rarely afford myself the same treatment.

I don't have a book deal, literary agent or TV show in the works as a result of my blogging like this Julia woman.  There's a good chance I never will (stranger things have happened though right?).  There's an even greater chance I'll never crack open a Julia Child cookbook and prepare a meal for 8 that involves boning a duck.  That sounds more torturous for me than the duck!  But I will keep doing this blog thing mostly because I like it and I like you.   

Oral Fixation

Pacifier is having an affair with Vibrating Teething Ring.  It was lust at first sight.  They're planning a weekend getaway to Palm Springs together.  Don't tell The Boy or The Boy's friend who owns Pacifier.  They have no idea this cheating is going on right under their baby noses.  

(Tend to a toddler full time and you too will find this bit hilarious.)

I'm A Hermit At Heart

The Boy and I went to Franklin Canyon this afternoon.  It's a canyon between Studio City and Beverly Hills.  You drive up the Santa Monica Mountains and then head down into this beautifully, secluded and serene place.

The Boy and I had a lot of fun and sun.  Did I mention it was peaceful?  It was.  The Boy checked out sticks, dandelions, turtles, ducks, ponds and rugged walking terrain.

I basked in the fact it wasn't crowded.  The two of us have been battling colds and another day indoors with a super crabby baby or avoiding others at a playground with a super crabby baby was gonna send me over the edge.  The shift in our routine must have knocked the crabby out of both of us because we both tapped into our inner Zen, thank god.  We needed it.  Unfortunately, I was also on the lookout for snakes after driving over a dead one moments after entering the park.  

Toddler Decor

I did something I didn't think I would do...

I decorated The Boy's room in a sports theme.  AHHHH!!!

What can I say, as a woman pregnant with a BOY I thought of how I could decorate without basketballs, soccer balls and baseball bats.  And for awhile I got away with it.  He had little colorful circles and squares.  Then I had thoughts of ordering Charley Harper prints of animals until I realized I would need to sell off jewelry to do so.  And as The Boy got older it became very obvious that he is an athlete in the making and LOVES his basketball, soccer ball and (plastic) baseball bat.  So I found these wall stickers and to all our delight he loves them.

We'll be having the toy gun battle in no time.  

Down Dog Baby

The Boy has been doing his version of Downward Facing Dog yoga position for days now.  Out of nowhere he will plop forward and do it.  His mother, a devoted lover of gymnastics and yoga, is loving his new talent.

Checkin Out

Possible career choices for The Boy when he is older--

• Astronomer
• Taxi driver
• Cook in a late night diner
• Air traffic controller
• Stand-up comic
• A nurse working the 3rd shift
• A factory worker working the 3rd shift
• Any job that has a 3rd shift option

Yes, those are all likely options.

A preference for staying up way past any decent bedtime hour?  Check.

An ability to require less sleep than any other human being on the planet?  Check.  

Woman losing all sense of reality due to her baby's ever changing sleep habits?  Oh yeah, a big ol' Check.

The Skinny

The following is a list of the many reasons why Mrs. Jarcy must drag herself out of bed and resume her recently abandoned workout regimen.

Reason #1:  The stomach region is nothing like it was pre-Boy.

Reason #2:  ...

One reason is enough.

11PM Sunday

It's almost 11PM...do you know where The Boy is?

I'll give you a hint--it's not in bed sleeping.

Nope, he's out and about exploring the apartment.  The CAT is still here, mom and dad!  I must play with her!  Ah, my little night owl.  That's what I get for letting him nap for close to two hours.  I guess?!?  Who really knows with this sleep deal.  I know there are times I'm wide awake when I really should be sleeping as well.  That's what I tell myself at times like these anyway.  It's been a long day of entertaining a baby but lucky for us he's been a lot of fun.  That said, I'd like to go to bed soon so let's all say a prayer that The Boy will succumb to the slightest glimmer of fatigue sometime soon.

Law & Order: Mommy Unit

I feel like all my Law & Order "research" is serving me well as a parent.  I have to know all that has happened during my absence.

Me:  What time did The Boy wake up?

Mr. Jarcy:  Uh, I don't know...

Me:  You don't know?  Okay, what time did you wake up?

Mr. Jarcy:  I guess my alarm went off around 7:30 and I heard him stirring around 7:55?

Me:  You guess?

Mr. Jarcy:  Er, no I don't guess.  That was the time.

Me:  Okay and then what happened?

Mr. Jarcy:  I gave him breakfast.

Me:  Without changing his diaper first?!

Mr. Jarcy:  No, of course I changed his diaper, Mrs. Jarcy!

Me:  Well you didn't say that so how am I to know?

Mr. Jarcy:  Fair enough.

Me:  So then you gave The Boy breakfast.  Tell me about that.  What did you feed him?

Mr. Jarcy:  Oh brother...

Mr. Jarcy plays all the interrogated criminals while I play both good cop and bad cop.

Shake It Baby

We had an earthquake this afternoon.  This is now my third experience with the ground shaking.

One time was in Chicago when Mr. Jarcy and I lived on the fault line from a quake originating from downstate Illinois.  Then a few weeks ago we had tremors in the early AM from an earthquake south of here.  Both of those times I felt them, however, I was also half asleep and just was like, "Ah, we're shaking a bit.  Whatever--snooooooze."

This one was different.

It was at 3:40PM, I was on the phone with my dad and watched as the building began to sway back and forth.  The blinds and dining room table chandelier followed suit.  The building directly across from us seemed to be standing still while I felt like I was on an amusement park ride.  Back and forth, sway, sway.  Dogs outside started barking like crazy.  It was freaky.  Nothing broke or fell and The Boy and I were safe but for a few moments I was worried.  And of course my first thought was, "Man, we should get outta here.  Quick, let's head to the elevator!  Wait, that's wrong, let's just head to a doorway and take it easy."

I think I'll have to brush up on some earthquake preparedness.

Toys Are Really Fun To Buy

The Boy fared very well from my latest Target trip.  Luckily, he loves all of it--even the cans of cat food.    I had no idea how much I would enjoy buying him an endless supply of toys.