Rob and I have both been feeling a bit cooped up these days. Having a baby means you stay home A LOT. Taking them out places is practically like going on a 3 day trip... you have to pack their bag, load the stroller, grab the toys... did I remember to pack diapers??? I finally understand why new parents are so home-bound. So on Saturday night we decide to ask some friends with kids (or pregnant) to come to our house for take-out and game night.
Now normally we would be thinking "hmmm do we have enough beer? Which wine should we open?" but with one couple pregnant, one couple trying for baby #2 and two breastfeeding mommas alcohol wasn't exactly a priority.. So I set out a nice little tray of nibbles, a few diet cokes, iced tea and water. Of course the husbands could (and would) drink some cocktails, after all they've all been through recently they deserve it.
We decide on a local pizza joint to deliver us some yum yum pizzas and salads... we all sit around in our living room gabbering, honestly the converstation was hilarious... here are some snippets:
"yeah so who's gettin any these days?" asks one daddy... the room goes silent until one daddy admits "well we're trying for #2 so...." and all the other dads go crazy high fiving and such...
"you should see what my baby is doing these days! he can stand up alone!" (this daddy is referring to an 8 week old baby who obviously cannot do such a trick)
"hey Andrea, did you have an episiotomy?" (this question is being asked by a daddy while I'm on the phone ordering pizza) "NO" I respond and then this daddy goes on to say "WOW, really?" (what the heck is that supposed to mean??!)
This was a scene straight from some type of movie yet to be made about the realness of becoming a parent.. it just changes you! You no longer throw back shots of tequila but rather you debate the neccesity of vaccinations or what latest greatest baby toys you'll be purchasing for your lil one this christmas.
Next we move to our dining room for a game of texas hold'em. Just a friendly game of poker between friends. Things start off normal. My baby is napping, another baby eating a bottle, another baby (well she's 22 months) watching tv and the pregnant couple saying their goodbye's because mama is tired. As the game gets started... all hell breaks loose. Babies are crying and whining all over the place! Mommas and Daddas are taking turns handing baby back and forth, operating like well oiled machines "here hold him while I shuffle" "warm up the bottle fast... I'm all in!" Mommas are standing up swaying baby to keep them happy while counting their chips. Daddys are trying to bluff each other while wiping off spit-up from their shoulder... it was classic and chaotic and the most fun I've had in a while. Had we invited anyone without kids, they surely would have made up a reason to leave early. Only us parents could have played a game of texas hold'em poker while managing all our babies. At the end of the night I went "all in" against my own husband all while feeding Adam oatmeal... "more yum yums? open wide!"... I'm quite the multi-tasker these days.
What did I learn after this fun family night? The fun doesn't end once you have kids but its a different type of fun and you find yourself oddly content. As I walked Adam up the stairs to start our night-night time routine, I felt happy and whole... I can have it all, I can play poker AND be a mommy!
oh and by the way...Rob beat me on my all in hand!
Sunday, November 29, 2009
Friday, November 27, 2009
a few firsts..
From the moment I found out I was having a baby I started thinking about all the fun first events baby and I would have... Once I knew his due date I realized his first "holiday" would be Halloween, how exciting! Rob and I are huge halloween fanatics, we dress up every year, spook up our house, go to parties and such.. Heck, last year I was pregnant with little man but didnt know it just yet and we were celebrating first class at a literal castle in Bel Air!
This Halloween naturally was a family event... We took a few trips to the pumpkin patch which was TONS of fun... then we had our first annual pumpkin carving contest. We invited all our neighbors and some friends and it turned out to be such a hit! Kids were busy carving out pumpkin teeth, scooping out the guts and trying to make theirs the "winner". I put on some orange and black tights and a little dark makeup but thats as far as my costume went... I didnt mind one bit because all along I felt the excitement of sharing Halloween with my lil monkey boy. Halloween night we put Adam in his monkey costume and took him trick or treating on our block, he really liked his lil monkey suit! A few friends and grandpa came over... we ate frozen pizzas and played ping pong... such a mellow time but I couldnt ask for more. I can hardly believe that next Halloween Adam will be toddling down our street holding his own candy catching basket...
Then came Thanksgiving. Oh how thankful and grateful I am. We were blessed enough to have our family over to share Thanksgiving dinner. I cooked a ham, turkey breast and some pies, Gramma & Letty brought everything else. I set the table beautifully using my wedding china for the first time. Earlier that day I put Adam in his adorable "My First Thanksgiving" shirt.. he looked so cute! Adam's Uncle Keith was the first to arrive and after they hung out together for a while, Keith helped me cook a bit which was very fun (and a first!). Slowly family came trickling in until the house was full of different voices and lots of food too. His Uncle Andrew came and met him for the first time, I was surprised how confident Uncle Andrew was with him. Everyone was super cute with Adam, wanting to hold him and make him laugh... I smiled in the background realizing this was a memory I never wanted to forget. Like an angel Adam took a nap during dinner so mommy could actually enjoy her hard work... once he woke up I brought him to the dinner table and everyone was talking to him, he was smiling and giggling.. I even gave him a bite of sweet potatoes! (he loved them and I think they made him hyper!!)
These are the memories that I hope stay with me forever... in fact I'm willing to give up some space in my head to make room for these times I never want to forget...
This Halloween naturally was a family event... We took a few trips to the pumpkin patch which was TONS of fun... then we had our first annual pumpkin carving contest. We invited all our neighbors and some friends and it turned out to be such a hit! Kids were busy carving out pumpkin teeth, scooping out the guts and trying to make theirs the "winner". I put on some orange and black tights and a little dark makeup but thats as far as my costume went... I didnt mind one bit because all along I felt the excitement of sharing Halloween with my lil monkey boy. Halloween night we put Adam in his monkey costume and took him trick or treating on our block, he really liked his lil monkey suit! A few friends and grandpa came over... we ate frozen pizzas and played ping pong... such a mellow time but I couldnt ask for more. I can hardly believe that next Halloween Adam will be toddling down our street holding his own candy catching basket...
Then came Thanksgiving. Oh how thankful and grateful I am. We were blessed enough to have our family over to share Thanksgiving dinner. I cooked a ham, turkey breast and some pies, Gramma & Letty brought everything else. I set the table beautifully using my wedding china for the first time. Earlier that day I put Adam in his adorable "My First Thanksgiving" shirt.. he looked so cute! Adam's Uncle Keith was the first to arrive and after they hung out together for a while, Keith helped me cook a bit which was very fun (and a first!). Slowly family came trickling in until the house was full of different voices and lots of food too. His Uncle Andrew came and met him for the first time, I was surprised how confident Uncle Andrew was with him. Everyone was super cute with Adam, wanting to hold him and make him laugh... I smiled in the background realizing this was a memory I never wanted to forget. Like an angel Adam took a nap during dinner so mommy could actually enjoy her hard work... once he woke up I brought him to the dinner table and everyone was talking to him, he was smiling and giggling.. I even gave him a bite of sweet potatoes! (he loved them and I think they made him hyper!!)
These are the memories that I hope stay with me forever... in fact I'm willing to give up some space in my head to make room for these times I never want to forget...
Ashley in costume
us all in our costumes
my perfect lil pumpkin boy
First Thanksgiving pie baking with Godmother
Adam's first thanksgiving beach stroll
My brothers
our feast
Wednesday, November 11, 2009
Cry like a baby.
I decided to start a blog to journal all my new mommy experiences and boy have there already been many! Who knew poopie diapers and snap-crotch onesies could be so fun, that I'd be checking out the strollers parked in front of the local cafe feeling jealous about the number of cup holders it has or the size of its basket below. I used to spend my time at the mall shopping for the latest trends in fashion, now I spend my time trying to find the best educational toys and most absorbant diapers. I used to spend my nights out on the town, dressed to the nines, holding a cocktail and flirting with boys. My nights now are spent in flannel pajamas, holding my baby boy, praying I can get him down to sleep for the night and theres no place I'd rather be. Becoming a mommy has forever changed me in all the right ways.
Rob and I met in December 2002 at the bar Towne. I was 24 and he was 32. I had never dated anyone over 25 so right off the bat I kind of pushed him off thinking 32 was just a little too old for me. But this was just an excuse... truly I was suffering from a recent heart-break and I just wasnt quite ready for a "new" love. Yes a boy had broken my heart but deeper was the pain I felt from losing my own mommy. Her death was still quite fresh, just 3 years she had been gone... losing my mommy consumed my life. Everyday I saw her in the mirror looking back at me. I thought of her constantly whether I wanted to or not. When I woke up each morning, usually with a terrible hangover, I would think "shes still gone" and out the tears would flow, I'd bury them in my pillow, bury them in boyfriends, bury them with a glass of wine, just as I had buried her into the ground.
Everyday I was reminded that she was gone, she wasnt coming back and it ripped and tore my heart apart. I really felt in those moments I could never love again... that the loss of her had forever changed my ability to love, be loved, to feel loved... it was a pain so intense it made me feel sick, it caused me to roll myself up in a ball and bawl. When you lose your mommy, you cry like a baby...
As I left Towne that night, I took a final look over my shoulder and saw the back of Rob heading home. I knew there was something special about him. Our conversation that night was one I never want to forget, so deep and real. I wanted to give him a chance and I wanted him to give me the same. He gave me his card but would I call? I didn't know if I could. Two weeks later I did call. This December we are celebrating our 7 year anniversary... I'm soooo glad I went to Towne that night...
What I've learned since losing my mommy is that it has not prevented me from loving or feeling loved... its made me love stronger. The moment I held my baby boy love surged through my veins, I was forever changed by him... losing her made my love for Adam real. In that moment I realized how she must have loved me. And I also realized how much Adam loved me, his mommy...
Mommy & Adam, 1 day old
Rob and I met in December 2002 at the bar Towne. I was 24 and he was 32. I had never dated anyone over 25 so right off the bat I kind of pushed him off thinking 32 was just a little too old for me. But this was just an excuse... truly I was suffering from a recent heart-break and I just wasnt quite ready for a "new" love. Yes a boy had broken my heart but deeper was the pain I felt from losing my own mommy. Her death was still quite fresh, just 3 years she had been gone... losing my mommy consumed my life. Everyday I saw her in the mirror looking back at me. I thought of her constantly whether I wanted to or not. When I woke up each morning, usually with a terrible hangover, I would think "shes still gone" and out the tears would flow, I'd bury them in my pillow, bury them in boyfriends, bury them with a glass of wine, just as I had buried her into the ground.
Everyday I was reminded that she was gone, she wasnt coming back and it ripped and tore my heart apart. I really felt in those moments I could never love again... that the loss of her had forever changed my ability to love, be loved, to feel loved... it was a pain so intense it made me feel sick, it caused me to roll myself up in a ball and bawl. When you lose your mommy, you cry like a baby...
As I left Towne that night, I took a final look over my shoulder and saw the back of Rob heading home. I knew there was something special about him. Our conversation that night was one I never want to forget, so deep and real. I wanted to give him a chance and I wanted him to give me the same. He gave me his card but would I call? I didn't know if I could. Two weeks later I did call. This December we are celebrating our 7 year anniversary... I'm soooo glad I went to Towne that night...
What I've learned since losing my mommy is that it has not prevented me from loving or feeling loved... its made me love stronger. The moment I held my baby boy love surged through my veins, I was forever changed by him... losing her made my love for Adam real. In that moment I realized how she must have loved me. And I also realized how much Adam loved me, his mommy...
Mommy & Adam, 1 day old
My mommy Cheri Ann
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