Out With The Old, In With The Toddler Gear

"I hope Mommy and Daddy realize I'm not actual laundry.  They've been busy cleaning and organizing our apartment.  Mommy says we have to make room for all the gifts coming my way next week when I turn 2."  

Day 1 Of Nonstop Boy Party

First Night and Partial Day 1 of Single Parenting:

Around midnight, block front door with baby trike so that if someone breaks into our place they will stumble over that first and give us a fighting chance.  (Lordy, could I be any more dramatic?)

Sleep sporadically throughout the night.  Get up to check Boy from video monitor or actual visit into the room several times.  (Why more often when his father is away I have no idea.)

Wake up to Boy chatting with his toys in his crib at 7:30am.  (And thank the universe above that he slept through the night for the second night in a row.)

Make breakfast, play, change into clothes. (Alright so just a t-shirt and diaper, not full outfit.)

Get instructed by Boy to watch "Woody" and "Buzz."  Turn on Toy Story 3 that I purchased from our cable last night.  (Was it for him to watch or me?  We both enjoyed.)

Get instructed by Boy to stop watching "Woody" and "Buzz" and now to watch "Thomas."  Turn on Thomas video.  (Definitely for Boy's enjoyment, not mine.)

Get instructed by Boy to take walk. (YES!  Finally!  After several attempts to get out and put pants on him I have an opening.)

Discover poop affixed to my child's foot.  From him?  From cat?  WHERE DID THIS COME FROM?  (Still haven't figured that out unfortunately.)

Wander the neighborhood hand in hand.  (My all time favorite activity in life.  Ever.)

Lunch.  (PB and J for the billionth time for him, spicy fake chicken buffalo wings for first time for me.)

Nap.  (For him.  Blogging, reading and zoning out --mostly zoning out-- for me.)

It's only 2pm...  THE AFTERNOON IS OUR OYSTER!!!  (Not really, we're headed to 24 month check up with Dr. later this afternoon, followed by cocktails shortly thereafter I imagine.)

And now, the world is all caught up on the exciting ongoings of Boy and Mama... YOU'RE WELCOME!

Death By Thomas

My son loves Thomas the Train.  So so so so much.  He loves Thomas so much that he took him sledding while we were in Chicago for the holidays.  (Refer to Exhibit A above.)  He also loves his Giki (the giraffe blanket) as you can see above as well.

Now the blanket isn't too much of a bother when we're at home.  He doesn't take him out into the world usually (although we're going to the Dr. tomorrow and Giki will DEFINITELY be joining us).  Thomas the Train and all his train, bus, tractor and other modes of transportation friends, however, are a different story.

I have a love/hate relationship with all them these days.

One the one hand I love them.  They're pretty harmless and make my child extremely happy.  And when he plays with the trains and track set he owns it's no bother to me.

It's the videos that are getting to me.  The Boy is addicted to Thomas videos.  The moment he wakes up he's talking about Thomas videos.  He requests Thomas video viewing.  Moments after finishing up an hour of Thomas he will request to watch more.  We'll watch videos we own, videos we can "On Demand" from the cable for free and videos we can purchase from cable for a day's worth of viewing.  We go to a friends house and we all watch more Thomas.  Up until the time he goes to bed at night he will want to watch Thomas.

His viewing of Thomas and Friends reached such epic proportions that Mr. Jarcy and I found ourselves humming/singing Thomas theme songs throughout the day.  I'm also grappling with existential Thomas questions like, "Who's really in charge--the trains or the drivers?" and "Was Thomas ever a baby?  If so, how did he come to be?" There are all these discrepancies like some buses and boats have faces (and therefore souls?) while others do not.  

I was even waking from sound, deep sleep in the middle of the night with those theme songs affixed to my brain.  They're two, they're four, they're six, they're eight...shunting trucks and hauling freight...red and green and brown and blue...they're The Very Useful Crew...Thomas!  He's the cheeky one...James!  He's vain but lots of fun!...

Once the song takes hold it won't let go.

I'm single parenting this week.  Mr. Jarcy has found work elsewhere leaving me and The Boy alone.  I'm going to get us out as much as I can muster with an active toddler but since The Boy doesn't nap much anymore I'm guessing Thomas videos will be making a strong showing this week.  Maybe Mama can rest her eyes while he watches from time to time (often)...

(Jeez, the fact this post is the longest I've written in ages acts as proof that Thomas has taken over my life.)

Complimentary Productivity

"Mother, Thomas the train and these little people figurines say I need a haircut!"

I've secured a new writing space, which thankfully, does not double as our master bath (although I do come up with creative ideas any time I go in there, it's kinda weird).

The cafe just steps from our apartment closed back in December, leaving me workspaceless and in utter despair.  So where does any person needing a cheap office type space infused with not so cheap beverages head to?

Starbucks, of course.

So far it's going very well.  I've gotten a lot of writing done.  Even more importantly, I've been told I have not only great hair but also great skin by perfect strangers.  I've gabbed with another stranger about her dissertation and overheard the most interesting conversations ever.

In a nutshell, I LOVE it.  And considering there is a steady line for coffee throughout the day--often times practically out the door-- I don't have to worry about my office, er cafe, closing anytime soon.

A Perfect 10 Under Our Belt, Now On To 11

Hello internet!

I took an unintentional hiatus from reporting life as Mrs. Jarcy.  I was too busy living in Chicago for 10 days with Boy and Mr. Jarcy.  We saw lots of our family and not lots of our friends.  Boo!  I'm used to being the one still living at home (Chicago area I mean) and friends couldn't always connect when they came home to visit family.  Now I'm one of them.  Boo!

We enjoyed snow as you can see from above.  We ate a ton.  We managed to fly across the country and back with our sanity relatively intact.  It was really nice.  The best part being Boy got to spend so much time with his doting family members.

Now we're back, the sun is out after days of (more) rain and I have a book to write.  Boo!  I've seen a slew of B-D list celebrities out and about, and life has resumed in L.A. for the Jarcys...

Happy New Year, everyone!  Here's to making 2011 the very best!