Happy Halloween, y'all

Seven Quick Takes - 10/30/09

1. Today has just been flat out crappy. Which is why I'm writing this at 10:30 pm. The child is insanely cranky/sickly/I don't know what the hell is his problem. I am sickly. Alex is sickly. No one is getting any sleep. But! I went to the gym anyway. I feel as though I totally deserve a cookie for that.

2. I had great plans of taking "My First Halloween" pictures today. But seeing as how I could barely get a smile out of Jack or myself today, it just wasn't happening. But please just envision a precious little red headed baby in a "My 1st Halloween!" onesie with an adorable pumpkin on it. Maybe I can get some shots tomorrow before the big costume reveal. Which I have no doubt will go terribly because it's straight up hot here and Jack's costume is very, very warm. And mister man does not enjoy being warm or hot or slightly elevated in temperature in the least.

3. Alex and I watched Sunshine Cleaning last night and I really enjoyed it. It was sad and happy and ridiculous all at the same time. So be prepared to cry if you watch it. We're currently watching Revolutionary Road and yeah. Nothing like a light little happy movie on a Friday night, huh?

4. I almost puked at the gym.

5. So far, I have managed to successfully complete four out of four days of the 30 Day Shred. I know! I'm just as surprised as you are! Especially since I yelled out to Alex on the first day, "I can't do this!" six minutes into the workout. He yelled back, "Yes you can!" And he was right...sort of. I can't handle the constant jumping jacks and jump ropes. I feel like I'm going to DIE. So I straight up take a 5 second break just like Jillian says you can. Except I take more than one break. In a row.

6. This has got to be the most boring 7 Quick Takes EVER. I'm really sorry but nothing is happening right now. And I hate talking about Jack all the time like this is some kind of Mommy Blog or something. But then again, talking about the 30 Day Shred is hella boring. Maybe I won't do NaBloPoMo this year....

7. I doubt I'm dressing up for Halloween this year. My big idea was to be Sue Sylvester, but I haven't found any track suits to my liking. Which is a shame. It was the easiest Halloween costume ever and yet...no dice. But this is no surprise, since I have trouble getting into Halloween. Dressing up just seems like such a waste of time and money to me. I blame this on the fact that I wasn't allowed to celebrate Halloween as a child. So that kind of ruined the holiday for me. My mom used to make us sit in the house with the lights out and watch TV on mute so no trick or treaters would come to our house. I'm not even kidding about that. I dreaded Halloween every year. And honestly? I don't even REMEMBER Halloween at Ouachita. Did it even happen? I don't know. Point is: never did it and I fail at it every year I try. So I'll settle for forcing my child into a fluffy, ridiculous costume and taking hundreds of pictures of him instead. Sounds good to me.

This and That

- So remember Friday how I mentioned that Jack is not ba ba ba-ing? Well, scratch that. He is now ba ba ba-ing and making all other sorts of crazy sounds. It was like something just clicked in his head last night and Alex and I stared at him in amazement as he babbled his little heart out. Geez, y'all, it's like he's a REAL GROWING PERSON.

- South Beach Diet update! I have lost 9 pounds. Woo! I also started the 30 Day Shred yesterday. I've had that DVD in my posession for months, but I found the Shredhead website last night and these before and after pictures sealed the deal for me. I want some results, y'all. So...we'll see how it goes, eh? I took my very own "before" pictures last night and you will never ever ever see them. But I'm excited to keep going. My weight loss over the last two weeks was the kick start I needed to add working out to the mix.

- NaBloPoMo starts soon and I'm thinking of doing it again. Maybe I'll last longer than 4 days this year. Maybe.

- Bananas seem to be a hit with Jack so far. We bought fancy organic Ecuadorian bananas last night at our local fancy grocery store and I felt sad that I can't personally eat them...fancily. (And they smelled so great after I pureed them and gosh darnit, I want a smoothie.) But uh, anyway, yeah, I think the baby likes bananas. (Related: I can't spell bananas, apparently. Thank you spell check!)

- I finished The Help last week and my word, it was FANTASTIC. Seriously, it was the best book I have read in a really, really long time. I highly recommend it. It's set in Jackson, Mississippi and focuses on the relationships between the black maids and the white women they work for. It's incredibly well written and so, so thoughtful. I couldn't put it down and read it in 3 or 4 days. So if you can get your hands on a copy, I think you'd really enjoy it. And then after you read it, tell me how much you liked it. K?

ETA: I don't know if any of y'all are Firefly fans or not, but this clip from Castle last night makes me so happy. I love Nathan Fillion. For reals.

Seven Quick Takes - All About Jack - 10/23/09

1. I never did a proper 6 month post. Oops. So here's a Jack-dedicated seven quick takes to try and make up for that. We took him to his check up a few weeks ago and he weighed 18 pounds and was 27.5 inches long. So he's still in the 50th percentile for weight and 90th for height. I have no idea where the height thing is coming from. Enjoy it while it lasts, kid.



2. Jack is wearing 9 month pants which is ridiculous. The overalls he wore yesterday were six month and they looked like high waters on him. I kept pulling them down because I CANNOT STAND IT. I've gone ahead and just started purchasing all of his winter clothes in 9 month size since he grows so darn fast, but I am so so sad about the overalls. At least he still fits into 6 month onesies. (Kohl's was having an awesome sale on a bunch of kid's clothes this week and I stocked up on some super cute onesies, one of which has a MOOSE on it. OOOOH YEAH!)

3. Jack is not crawling yet, but he is wants to get to places, so he does this crazy awkward shimmy to get to his toys. Sometimes he flips over in his determination. Kind of like a turtle who tips over and can't right himself. He looks at me, like, wait, I don't want to flip over. How'd this happen? He is, however, excellent at sitting up on his own now. We put him in the front of shopping carts and use high chairs at restaurants. He's still a little small for both, so he'll slouch down pretty often. We want to get him a shopping cart cover, but alas, Target is only stocking the one we want in pink. And Alex shot down my idea of getting it for him anyway. He has it in his head that pink will "scar" Jack. Whatever. I think he just doesn't want to push around a cart with a pink (AND BROWN. Lots and lots of brown.) shopping cart cover.



4. We think he might officially be teething. He slept like crap a few nights ago and there has been much drool. He's also been more cranky than usual. AND chewing on stuff a lot. Yesterday, I caught him chewing on his overalls while we were at the library. So we believe that teeth might be actually happening. We've thought he was teething since he was 3 months old. Pretty much any time he was unexplainable cranky we were all, he's teething! He's getting a tooth! And every time...no. He usually just needed a nap.

5. We are eating solids twice a day now and loving it. Jack is a really great eater and is not picky at all. Which is not surprising given his parents. So far, we have had sweet peas, sweet potatoes, zucchini, acorn squash, and apples. Surprisingly, the squash seemed to go over really well. I also think he liked the apples a lot. We made them last night and it was hard for me not to eat any. Darn you Phase 1!

Note: These are not apples. I think it's peas?

6. I found a ton of Sandra Boynton books on sale at Marshall's last month and I think Jack is really enjoying them. Usually when I read to him he tries to close the book and turn it upside down, but I'm so excited he's at least showing an interest in physical books. For a while there he wouldn't even look in the general direction of a book. Which is pretty unacceptable for the son of an English major, you know?



7. Jack doesn't really babble, but he has this little squeal that he uses to communicate. He likes to use it when he's happy and it doesn't matter where we are. Restaurants, Target, bathtub. Whenever. Let me squeal for you, Mommy! It's pretty darn adorable. He also makes a bunch of sing-song noises when he is talking. There aren't really a lot consonants going on, but a lot of ooooooaaaaaaooooooooooeeeeeeeee. I'm sure we'll get to the ba ba ba stage soon. Which is fine, I'm really enjoying him singing to me whenever he wants to talk. I pretty much enjoy everything about him.

Wait...it's...Thursday? Quick! Let's look at pictures!

Crap, y'all. It is Thursday. THURSDAY. I meant to post, like, MONDAY. I suck at blogging. I'm sorry. And to make matters worse, I crunched my hand folding up the stroller so I am having to type without my right index finger. That's kind of hard to do.

So! We went to a pumpkin barn this past weekend because I was OBSESSED with getting fall pictures of Jack posing with pumpkins. I think it's because my mom has a picture of me and my very first boyfriend in kindergarten sitting on pumpkins. Our kindergarten teacher was so excited about it and framed a copy of each for both of our moms.

(Side note: That very same boy found me on Facebook and we are FRIENDS now. He lives in Canada and has a beard and seems pretty darn cool.)

(Side note 2: He is a RED HEAD. I showed a preference for them even at a young age. And he married a blonde! It's like we're mirror couples only they're more attractive than us.)

Anyway! On to pumpkin barn pictures.


We went THREE times before Jack woke up. As you can see he was SUPER excited about seeing the pumpkins.


Once he finally woke up, he was in a pretty good mood. He's a little happy worm.


I have nothing to add to this other than...HE'S SO CUTE.


I love this profile shot. He's got a little double chin (Just like Mommy!) and he still looks baby-ish and angelic.


Some of the pumpkins were bigger than him.


He is STILL the spitting image of his father.


I was there too. He looks...nothing like me.


We bought some pumpkins.


And they gave us a tiny baby-sized one for Jack. A pumpkin for our pumpkin.

We wound up having grand old time despite the fact that we drove there three times and then had to stop in the middle to feed him. But he posed for our pictures and made Mommy happy.

I have no good one way to end this, so, um? Yay pumpkins!

Seven Quick Takes – 9/16/09

1. I mentioned briefly that we started the South Beach Diet this week and so far, we have stuck to it. Which is a FREAKING MIRACLE considering how hard it has been this time. This is probably my third or fourth time going on this diet. I hate and love it all at the same time. I hate it because the first two weeks are TOUGH and I can never find anything tasty and satisfying for breakfast. Also, I miss bread. But I love it because it is really effective and healthy. I love eating the fresh veggies and trying new recipes and the fact that I have already lost 3 pounds certainly doesn’t hurt. The main reason I wanted to do it this time around is because it really does make you lose belly fat first and lo, at six months post partum, the belly fat is abundant. I’m super duper close to being my pre-pregnancy weight, but things are just…not the same. (As I’m sure lots of momma have told you and will continue to tell you until the end of time.) So I needed something to help jumpstart my weight loss, because I’d like to be skinnier than I was when I first got pregnant over a year ago. So far, so good. Except that Alex has lost 7 pounds already and I hate him.

2. So here’s the thing. Our baby HATES SLEEPING. At least, he hates sleeping in large chunks of time. We have spent SO MUCH TIME this week just trying to get him to GOBACKTOSLEEPOMG. It’s driving us both a little batty. It has SEVERLY cut into our wind down/clean without the baby/do project/SLEEP time. I cannot handle even the THOUGHT of letting him cry it out, so I found that the library had the No Cry Sleep Solution on the shelf. I sent the link to Alex whose reaction was, “Ok, go get it right now!” Because Alex is a lighter sleeper than I am and ALWAYS wakes up with the baby. (See also: Saint!) In fact, I had to stop typing this entry four times to go tend to him because he was WAILING. Even when Alex was in there with him. (Well, I started this Thursday night and it's now Friday night. I had to quit typing because of the upset baby last night and today has been EXCITING! and NERVE! WRACKING! (see #7))

3. While Jack may hate sleeping, he likes foooooood. Sweet potatoes? Love! We tried zucchini today and shockingly, he seemed to LIKE it. YEAH, I KNOW. I was POSITIVE that he would hate it, but I didn't get a single funny look the entire time. So I guess zucchinis are in. I really want to expose him to lots of veggies before we hit the fruits. Because he is my son and I know that he will love sweet, sweet fruits and will only want to eat those once he discovers its awesomeness. I can pretty much guarantee this. So squash is next and then I think we’ll do bananas. (I hear babies like bananas.) And then maybe I'll throw in green beans to keep him on his veggie loving toes.

4. I am in love with Glee. I realize I'm a little late to the party on this on this one, but I was unimpressed with the pilot. Then Alex and I watched all of the old episodes the other night on Hulu. And now I am hooked. Mostly because of the singing, oh my word, the singing. I love the singing! It fulfills all of my geeky performance art dreams. I was WAY too shy to ever even think about show choir when I was in high school, so it's nice to vicariously live through it on the show. They did Nelly's "Rid Wit Me" this week and I just about died. And next week? They're supposed to "Thong Song." Ha! But! What I HATE about Glee is the stupid, stupid, stupid pregnancy storyline, particularly that they found out this week it was a girl at their 10 week ultrasound and homegirl isn't even SHOWING yet and still running around in her cheerleader uniform. I know it's fake and I need to willingly suspend my disbelief, but COME ON. At least put her in some flowy tops or SOMETHING.

5. So today, I was feeling a little daring and decided to try on my pre-pregnancy jeans. And y'all, I CAN ZIP AND BUTTON THEM. One pair, which was always small, was SUPER DE DUPER TIGHT and I had the biggest muffin top in the known universe. But the other pair (Same Size, Same Style, Same Brand) fit! They were a little tight and a little muffin toppy. But whatevs. Pre-pregnancy jeans fit! HOLLA!

6. In a case of incredibly dumb luck, the library had The Help last night and I am SO.EXCITED. I WAS on the waiting list at a different branch (I was #106 or something on the list) and then there it was, just sitting there, waiting for me to pick it up. I only have 7 days to read it, so I gotta get on that, like, tonight. And! When I checked it out I won a prize! I have always wanted a library mouse pad and pen! Woo!

7. I got the job! So that's great! But that means I will not be able to stay at home with Jack all the time! So that's terrible! We haven't found childcare yet, and it makes me want to vomit thinking about it. I may or may not have cried TWICE just thinking about it. So it's good news...sort of. Does that make sense? I can still back out, right?

Survival of the Sweatiest

I survived my interview. It was not NEARLY as disastrous as my last interview, THANK THE LORD. I was very, VERY concerned that I was a complete and total interview failure after that last train wreck. (At one point in the last interview, I TOTALLY forgot what the question was and just kept blathering on until I couldn't think of anything else, so I just sort of trailed off and ended by saying, "So...." EMBARRASSING.) I managed to remember all of the questions this time around and BS'ed my way through a few of them, because, hi, I don't know any ACTUAL learning strategies. Sheesh.

The main problem was the SWEATING. There was no parking in front of the building, so I had to park in back. Then I mistakenly went to the church next door (it's a Catholic school, so I'm not a TOTAL idiot for getting confused) and had to walk around the building and up along the sidewalk on the main street while my panty hose rode down my butt crack. (Sorry male readers!) I hope lots of people drove by while I tried to adjust THAT in the parking lot. It's pretty difficult to subtly stick your hand down your skirt and pull UP on pantyhose. So by the time I actually entered the building, I was only 5 minutes early and was sweating somewhat heavily. Fortunately, they were running behind? Chatting? Dreading another interview? And were late taking me in so I was not visibly dripping with sweat (at least, I don't THINK I was). But as I sat in there and tried to smile and talk intelligently, I realized that my forehead WAS NOT STOPPING WITH THE SWEATING and I must have looked like a pig in heat, which is EXACTLY the image I want to convey to future employers.

Anyway, I'm cool not getting the job and I'll find out next week when they reject me. In the meantime, I hope you have a great day trying to get the image of panty hose riding down my behind out of your head.

You're welcome.

I love you.

Blergh

Operation: Declutter did not begin today because it was thwarted by Operation: Try Not To Puke On Baby's Head.

(No, I am NOT pregnant.)

Alex came home early and I retreated to our bedroom to lay in misery. I feel better now, but I have no idea what was bothering me. My guess is that it had something to do with coffee and vegetable quiche cups to go. Or maybe too much Balsamic Vinaigrette on my salad? Or not eating enough? Or just a random case of nausea? Who knows? All I do know is...BLAH.

Tomorrow? Should be better. At least tomorrow I'll know that my nausea is caused by nerves for my job interview. (Spoiler alert! I'm going to FAIL!)

IIIIIIKKKKKKEEEEEEAAAAAAAA and Things

We went on our first Ikea trip in months today. I needed to get some things to help us get more organized in general and also because, holy crap, Thanksgiving is in, like, a month, y'all.

Here is what was on our list to purchase:
Picture Frames (3)
Plastic Storage Container
Lamp
Silicone Ice Cube Trays (2)
Boxes (3)

This is what we bought:
Picture Frames (4)
Plastic Storage Container
Lamp
Silicone Ice Cube Trays (2)
Door Mat
Cutting Board
Napkins
Napkin Holder
Dining Room Chairs (2)
Chest of 6 Drawers
Floor Protection Thingies
Light Bulb

So...it was a success? I guess? If you define success as "buying a crap load more than what we planned."

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I've been reading this book in the hopes of finding some solutions to make our house more homey and friendly and inviting. I picked it up at the library after reading that Jennifer at the Conversion Diary is going to read a similar (newer) book by the same author. The library didn't have that new book Jennifer is reading, so this one is going to have to do for now. But that's okay because so far I'm enjoying it.

I feel a strong responsibility to get things in shape around here since I'm, you know, HERE all the time. It was pretty easy to ignore the extra stuff hanging around our house when I wasn't home very often. But now that I am always treading the same few feet of space over and over and over again, I can't help but notice that we have a lot of stuff. Too much stuff. Stuff that needs to go, go, go. And I am nothing if not a sentimental pack rat, so getting rid of things (my precious, precious stuff!) is soul wrenching. But, alas, it must be done. So wish me luck, my friends, for I shall need it. Operation: Declutter begins tomorrow.

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In other news, Phase 1 of the South Beach Diet also starts tomorrow. Clearly, I am a glutton for punishment. If you start reading strange, unintelligible posts then you know what happened. Cleaning out closets with no carbs for fuel killed me.

Eeep.

Seven Quick Takes - 10/9/09

1. Today is the definition of dreary. Cold, rainy, gray. Just BLAH. So I have declared today an official Pajama Day. Which could be problematic considering we are supposed to go to a friend's house later. But seriously? Why get dressed and leave the house when it's so icky out? I'd rather drink hot chocolate and read a book.

2. I haven't done a 6 month post yet because we haven't had time. We were out of town on his actual 6 month "birthday" and then he got shots on Monday, including a WRETCHED FLU SHOT that made him sick and irritable the next day. He's also been sleeping a ton and we normally do photos shoots when Alex is home, so we can get better pictures. But that's tough to do when the child goes to bed before 7. So Alex gets to spend, like, an HOUR with him before it's bedtime and who wants to take pictures when you can cuddle?

Uh, that was very long and boring and TMI. I apologize.

3. Jack has learned how to sit ALL BY HIMSELF. He is such a big boy now. We have photographic evidence of this talent, but sadly, I haven't a clue where the camera cord is. But I promise he can do it. He perfected the art while he spent a week with my parents. Alex is pretty sure he did that to get back at us for leaving him while we skipped the country.

4. I now know why I never buy Halloween candy. I have no self-control AT ALL. Alex and I bought a bag (a BIG bag) on a whim last weekend because that is what you do when you're childless in Cleveland. And y'all, we have eaten almost the ENTIRE bag this week. It was A LOT of chocolate. And it is almost ALL GONE. You'd think THAT would motivate me to get back in the gym...and yet...no. Apparently I am content being fat.

5. We started real, live, honest to God, solid foods this week. I don't know why I kept waiting. I guess the internet and the cook books scared me into waiting until he was OFFICIALLY six months old. First up was green peas and I think he likes them. Maybe. He doesn't HATE them, how about that? I think we'll try sweet potatoes next. Or maybe squash or pumpkin. And pictures will be forthcoming. I think I got some good ones of his "What the...?" face.

6. Did I mention that we're making our own baby food here at the Sand Palace? Because we are. We're big hippie jerks like that. The green peas were pretty easy to make despite the fact that I burned two fingers while steaming them. (Cooking is not my strong suit.) I've checked out about a million gazillion baby food cookbooks from the library and am marking recipes and making lists of foods to try and in what order. I also bought a mini food processor. And! And! It is IMPOSSIBLE to buy silicone ice cube trays in Dayton, OH. Well, I guess not completely impossible, but none of the usual suspects have had them. So I'm out of ideas of where to look for them besides IKEA.

7. So it is no longer a PJ day because someone got some poop on their super cute jammies. Hint: It wasn't me.