Made in Richmond

As JR gets older, we’re starting to notice certain characteristics popping up that can easily be attributed to either Ross or myself. For example…

From him:
Blue, blue (oh, so blue) eyes
A very notable brow
Feet perfectly engineered for flip-flops (i.e. lots of space between the first and second toe)
Giant hands
Sleeping with the body positioned much like the number ’4′
No volume control
Appreciation for bathroom humor

From me:
Fair skin
Long lashes
Chubby cheeks
Big, silly teeth
Hunger-induced rage
Trepidation around strangers
Tendency to produce drool puddles the size of one’s head

I bet you thought I’d grow tired of talking about my skin. FOOLS! Most of you don’t know that I spend most days yammering on about this stuff with numerous friends over gchat. I will never not care about this stuff.

We’re two months(ish) into to the new routine. Since I’m taking a very conservative approach to Project Acne-Be-Gone, things just take a bit longer.

As my dermatologist explained to me, first it will get better, then it will get a little worse. Then a little better than before, than a little worse. And so on and so forth until things get balanced out.

Overall, things are going well. I’ve had some ugly breakouts thanks to my, ahem, “cycle” being all kinds of whacked out, but that’s an different post entirely. I’ve added Neutrogena’s Clear Pore Cleanser (thanks to Allison for that recommendation, by the way) when I need a little extra oomph, which is working out well. But I can’t blame my wack-a-doo hormones for all of it…

I’m VERY angry with Cetaphil Daily Facial Moisturizer with SPF 15, as I think it has been part to blame for the flare ups. Without fail, after I use it, I’m guaranteed to get a couple whoppers on my face. I’ve backed off using that for the last few days (don’t worry, I’ve been applying a layer of tinted moisturizer for the time being) and things are clearing up.

So, I need more of your help! What do you use for facial sun protection? I’ve heard good things about powder sunscreen. Have any of you tried it? Share your wisdom!

I mentioned last week that JR has learned to express his displeasure with situations through the use of the word, “No.”

Well, now he has added a special move. Three special moves actually.

The first: When you try to pick him up to put him in his car seat or stroller and he doesn’t want you to, he plants his feet on the floor, bends slightly at the waist, looks at the floor, and says, “Nooooooooooooooooooooooo.”

The second: When you are holding him (much to his dismay), he folds himself in half as if he’s trying to hurl himself towards the floor, while grunting, “Nooooooooooooooooooo.”

The third: Once you’ve gotten him into the car seat or stroller (which he apparently views as Thrones Of Torture and Doom), he arches his back, scrunches up his face, and shrieks (you guessed it), “Noooooooooooooooooooo.”

It’s as awesome as it sounds.

I’ve been trying to make this place a bigger priority. Seriously! I had ideas! Things to share! Stuff to talk about!

And then this weekend happened.

See, Ross and I had been battling (and losing said battle) a cold for about a week. Luckily, as of press time, JR has yet to suffer from the same cold (although I’m SURE he brought it home from the germfest that is day care) but man, it sure was wreaking havoc with us.

And we were holding it together, trying to blame it on allergies, and generally being very positive.

Until Saturday. When I woke up mute. As in no voice. Nothing. Not a whisper.

You know what is hard to do when you can’t speak? Parent.

Parenting is made even harder when your parenting partner is down for the count.

And we did what any respectable adults would do in this situation. We called my mother.

Luckily, my mother is addicted to JR, so she zoomed over, scooped him up, and kept him overnight so we could recuperate properly.

Despite our unexpected child-free situation, we spent Saturday (the most beautiful day Richmond has had in, oh, EVER) cooped up inside, drowning in our own snot, trying to sleep, ordering pizza (you KNOW Ross was sick if he allowed such things), and watching such stunning cinematic contributions as Confessions of a Shopaholic. And I specifically spent the day not speaking. At all. Do you know how hard it is to boss your husband and dogs around without being able to talk?

We’re doing ok at this point. I still sound like I smoke 4 packs a day, and we both are still spending lots of time with the Neti pot. But, I’d say we’re on the up-and-up.

And I’d say that if JR actually does end up getting this, I will punch day care in the face.

JR,

The other morning I came downstairs (after your Dad let me sleep in a bit — take note of such things) to find you puttering around with your toys. You looked up at me, smiled, and said, “Hi, baby!”

That pretty much encapsulates how you are lately: totally and completely adorable.

That’s not to say that you don’t, um, challenge us from time to time. The biggest issue in my mind has to do with food. I pray every day that soon you’ll realize that man cannot live on bananas (now called “mimis”) and pretzels (“pabas”) alone. Occasionally you’ll eat a sandwich or a few bites of eggs or applesauce, but that’s about it at this point. Luckily you still like smoothies, so I cram as much stuff into those that I can.

You had your 15 month check up a couple weeks ago (I waited a bit to take you in since you were recovering from The Ear Infection Of Pain and Woe). I’m a horrible mother and don’t remember at all how tall you are or how much you weigh, but I do remember that the doctor said you are finally on the curve! No more 90th percentile for you! Yup, you’re turning out to be quite the average-sized kid – except for the cheeks. I really think people perceive you as chubbier than you actually are because of those chubbers (and, let’s be honest, the fact that you have a HUGE melon).

The doctor pointed out that you’re very verbal for your age. You’ve got all kinds of words these days: mama, dada, dog, car, key, bowl, ball, Tess (a friend from church), book, Nona (as in “Strega Nona”), cracker (sort of), please, thank you, not to mention your repertoire of animal sounds, both of the barnyard and safari persuasion.

Until recently, you had been letting us know when you needed something by emitting quite the unpleasant sound. It went a little something like this…

“EHHHHHHHHHHHHHNNNNNNNNNNNNN!”

In an effort to save our ears (and sanity), I taught you to say, “Help, Mama.” You’ve turned that into “HAHma!” And you say it to everyone. All day. Every day. Oh well, it’s better than whining.

You’ve also very recently (as in last weekend) learned how to use the word “no.” I’m not going to lie, it’s cute sometimes, particularly when you say it to the dogs, but let’s not repeat Monday morning’s incident of looking at me, shouting “NO!” and hurling your sippy cup across the table, hmmmmmm?

But overall, you really are delightful. You talk, laugh, and hug more than ever. We can play with you now instead of at you or near you, which is just kind of how it goes with babies at first. Anything involving peek-a-boo or tackling usually goes over well with you.

You definitely have favorite activities such as sitting on things, closing the dishwasher, kissing the dogs, messing up people’s hair, looking at books while babbling in a high-pitched voice, and eating off of plates. What can I say? You’re easy to please.

I think I’ll keep you.

Love,

Mama

I cried a lot this morning.

And, no, I’m not pregnant (SHANNON) and I wasn’t watching Parenthood (the show, not the movie, although the movie also makes me weep… openly).

I slept for about 2 hours last night. The night before that? Preeeeetty much the same. Same thing for the night before that and the night before that.

So that’s been awesome.

Although I said things are better with the whole day care/me working out of the home more situation, my feelings this week are not so much in line with that statement.

Work is stressful right now – you know, like sick to your stomach, please just leave me alone stressful. When it gets to be like that, my first response is “I just want to quit and stay home and be with my kid. It’s not worth it.”

But let’s be honest, in that situation, I’m using the stay-at-home option as a way to potentially escape the stress of work*. I’m not ready to give up working. While I love (love, love, love, LOOOOOOOVE) being home with JR, I also love work. However, I don’t so much love my approach to work.

I work constantly, making myself available to other people pretty much nonstop from the moment I wake up until the moment I got to sleep.

That needs to stop. And quick.

I have other (more important) things to think about, to invest my time in. Like my child, my marriage, and, oh yeah, MY SANITY.

So, it’s rule time.

As of today, Fridays (which are supposed to be my day off) are actually going to be my day off. An Out of office message will be set up and I will only use the Internet to read blogs and celebrity news, just as nature intended.

Also (and this is huge/terrifying for me), I will not be checking email after 9:30pm. This might sound not at all nuts for some people, but trust me, it’s kind of giving me chest pains. One of my jobs requires a lot of communication with freelancers who, incidentally, often do their work at night. But I’ll make it work. It needs to work.

Regardless of the potential wrenches these rules might throw into things, they have to happen. For my kid, my husband, and for me.

(Hold me, I’m scared.)

*I don’t want to imply that people who choose to stay home are doing so to escape the stresses of work. Being a stay-at-home parent comes with its own set of very real and very hard challenges. I just mean that for me, when/if I come to the decision to stay home, I want it to come from a positive place, not from one of stress and frustration with my current situation.

I…uh…eesh, I really have no excuse for the lack of posting other than OH MAH GAH I’m busy and tired. So! I presenteth bullets…eths.

• JR is being kind of butthead about food lately. Meaning he only wants to eat bananas and pretzels. I also found out that he only eats at day care if one of the teachers sits with him and chats him up during lunch. So that’s awesome. And by “awesome” I mean “not at all awesome.”
• I’m loving how the UK version of The Office is on Hulu now.
• My skin is in another funk — normal I hear when you’re on an antibiotic (it goes in waves as things get balanced out), but damn if it isn’t annoying.
• I went to a baby shower on Sunday, and my ovaries *might* have jumped when I saw all those WIDDLE CLOTHES AND SOCKS. ACK!
• JR now says “Ohhhhhhhh no!” but as an expression of excitement. I wondered where he got it from until at the aforementioned shower I said the same thing when the Mama pulled out the cutest little dress and bloomer set. Mystery solved.
• I cried four times today.
• My hair has gotten so long that people who haven’t seen me for a while actually do not recognize me. At all.
• The funny thing is, I still picture myself with really short hair.
• Amalah makes life a better place.
• Ross and I watched “The Hangover” the other day. I totally do not see what the fuss is about.
• But! We also watched “I Love You, Man” and laughed hysterically probably 78% of the time. That seen where he’s saying “Slapping the bass”? Yeah, that’s our marriage.
• My inbox is appalling.
• JR’s class has a color each week, and sometimes they ask parents to bring in a snack representing that week’s color. This week’s color is green. Because Ross hates fake food, he is now in the kitchen making crackers colored green by peas.
• Even if it doesn’t work, I respect the effort because I was totally all, “Let’s just make green Rice Krispie Treats or slap some green icing on animal crackers.”
• (If I did the cooking, we would all weigh 742 pounds.)
• Anyone else in love with Penelope Cruz?

Yup. That’s about how it is inside my brain today. Care to share what’s rattling around in yours?

We’re a month into JR’s new routine of going to day care and my new routine of being in the office 3 1/2 (give or take) days a week.

I must say, things are going swimmingly. Aside from that whole missing an entire week due to a cold/ear infection that caused a ruptured ear drum. Details, details.

While some days I hate (hate, hate, hate, haaaaate) dropping him off, overall, we are handling things well. He typically cries when we leave, but I can hear him stop as soon as the door shuts. He also cries when we go to pick him up, but on a few occasions I’ve been able to sneak in without him seeing me, so I know that he waits to turn the waterworks on until he realizes that we’re there. I think he just forgets that he misses us, what with all of the learning and playing and fun-having he’s doing.

I do ok most days. His day care center is within walking distance of our office — something that is both good and bad. Good in that I can get there in 2 minutes if I need to, but bad in that… well, I can get there in 2 minutes if I need to. The building is just sitting there, taunting me all day long.

But the absolute best outcome of our new situation is that I no longer spend the time we are together feeling pulled in two directions. I feel much less guilty about making myself unavailable to work-related tasks in the evening because I’ve been able to invest quite a reasonable chunk of time to those during the day. I’m a better worker, and a better mother because I don’t feel like those two roles are constantly in conflict.

Plus, that “Mama, Mama, Mama, Mama!” I get when I go pick him up is pretty awesome.