It all begins again...

The beginning of a new month is upon us... a month that brings many wonderful things that I look forward to every year. Spring, Easter, and my birthday. However, this year with Jon's residency schedule -- a new month also means a new rotation. And this could possibly be the worst rotation yet. UGH! The dreaded GEN MED 2... back to 90-hour work weeks and 30-hour call days every 4th day. This month has been looming over our heads for the entire year. So, it all begins again.

Today was actually the first day of this new rotation and Jon is on-call tonight. Back to single mom-hood. I really do think I'm getting better at this though. I got sick a few days ago and it was all I could do to try to get better before things got crazy again. I was dreading today so much because I didn't feel like I would have the energy to get through it, especially since I had been so spoiled by Jon's schedule in March. But I woke up today feeling energized and ready to tackle the day, even though I was battling a pounding sinus headache, runny nose, and a sore throat. It was a surprisingly good day. I think I'm just feeling much more confident in my mommy abilities these days and it seems to be making a huge difference. (altogethernow... KNOCK ON WOOD!)

Anyway, that doesn't mean that I haven't already started counting down the days until this month is over and we can finally start seeing the light at the end of the tunnel as this evil year of internship finally comes to a close. (June 17th is the day... Hallelujah! Mark it on your calendars!)

Yesterday Jon actually got a bonus day off. (Well he was supposed to be in a child-psych unit but they didn't have any patients, so he gave them his pager # and came home.) We were able to spend most of the afternoon in the park. It was a rejuvenating day and so fun for Noah to spend some quality time with daddy before he soon forgets who he is...


here's some pics:

I know, they're adorable...

Anyway, wish us luck!

Playdates!

I know that I vowed not to mention the weather again in my last post, but ever since that beautiful day we had 2 weeks ago, the weather has gotten significantly crappy. A major snow/ice storm came that weekend and the temperatures really never fully recovered. So, our hybernation has continued and we've had to make the best of it. A few playdates were in order.

Noah has really been into "socializing" lately, especially now that he's mobile. (I also think he just gets completely bored of me and loves any and all attention he gets from anyone else -- sometimes this even comes from his own reflection in the mirror!) He loves to play (steal toys) and interact (growl) with other kids whether or not they are his age (he's a fan of "older women").


Here's a few pics of some recent playdates (Noah and "the girls"):

Lexi and Noah.

(bff)

We were actually at the playground this day because we just had to get out.

Noah and baby Mariah.

(At one point, Noah growled at her and made her cry. I think he was flirting.)

The weather cleared up that afternoon so we ended up taking the kids to the playground after they tore up the apartment.

How cute is that?

Lucy came over to play while her mom went to an appointment.

(she loved playing with "the baby" even though Noah could pretty much devour her!)

Happy Spring to everyone! We're so excited to finally get out of the apartment and enjoy the city.

(oh how I dream of being able to just get in a car and walk around a mall when the weather is bad... I'm sure those days will come eventually and I'll long for my city days!)

weather forecast tomorrow: high 77 degrees... yipee!

Scrapbooking Stress

I have always envied those people who are super creative and organized with preserving their memories. I have such high ambitions for doing those kinds of things but I really don't feel like I'm creative enough and I know I'm just way too obsessive. Even before I had a baby I have always wanted to get our pictures organized and find creative ways to store them. And now after having a baby this desire is even stronger with dreams of scrapbooks and labeled commentary with all kinds of frills and "embellishments" (that's scrapbooking lingo for all of those that didn't know!). So, I started doing what I do so well -- obsessing. I had to find the perfect scrapbook, the perfect paper, the perfect pens, the perfect "embellishments", etc., etc., etc. After acquiring said items and letting them sit under my desk for months and collect dust, I finally realized that my track record with this kind of stuff wasn't going to suddenly change just because I had a baby. It would actually get worse because I have such limited time to get these kinds of projects done now. But my desire to do it has really taken over and I think I've finally found a cure to my scrapbooking stress!

After buying the standard 12 x 12 baby scrapbook and a starter pad of assorted baby scrapbook paper (courtesy of the Provo Craft stock at Michael's) with a few cute "embellishments" that came along with it, I realized that I really didn't know where to go from there. And it took me a few weeks of staring at this pile of supplies to discover that this really wasn't the system that I wanted to use. I really wanted a system that would hold most of Noah's pictures and still give me room to add what little touch of creativity that I do have.

Then this past weekend, I was wandering around Target (something I do best) and I discovered a "photo preservation system" that I thought I could actually do! It was so exciting. It comes with a 3-ring binder (none of that "expandable postbound" stuff) and different options of page refills to choose from. You just buy the refills that fit the kind of pictures you have. There is even an option for a scrapbook page (if I get ambitious) and also various photo sizes on each page. There is also room to add written labels with thoughts and stories into the pages. So, I bought the binder and 2 different sets of page refills. I almost bought more, but then I thought it would probably be a good motivation for me if I waited until I finished what I bought first and then went back for more as a reward!

Anyway, I am thrilled to finally feel good about getting this big project underway. Now I just have to figure out when I'm going find time to do it...

(oh, and pray that Target doesn't discontinue this line of refills before I can get my act together!)

What do you do with all of your pictures?

Am I getting old?

I have realized this past week that my whole life completely revolves around the weather. I am totally obsessed with the weather channel and I am constantly checking the forecast to see what the next day's weather will be. I find myself planning things based soley on what kind of day it will be. The following comments inevitably come up in my daily conversations. "This weather has been so crazy lately!", "It's supposed to be 20 degrees on Saturday!", "Can you believe that it's 69 degrees today?", "I am so excited for spring - my life is going to be so much more exciting!", etc., etc., etc. I even asked my friend who lives in another state how the weather was there. I haven't talked to her in months and it was the first thing that came out of my mouth! YIKES!

Am I that boring? Why can't I think of anything more interesting to talk about? Is my life that controlled by the weather, that I have to discuss it with every person I come in contact with? Unfortunately, I have quickly realized that the answers to those questions are: yes, yes.... and yes.

There are several factors that I think attribute to this obsession. One being the fact that I live in NYC and I have to walk everywhere to get around. And another being that my 9 month old baby gets dragged everywhere I go so I have to be super conscious of his needs too. But I feel like it goes even deeper than that and the underlying factor is that I am getting old. Yep, it's a realization that I've been slowly coming to terms with ever since becoming a mother (which easily ages you at least 10 years in the first 3 months). Friday nights at home doing laundry, scheduled dates with my husband, dinner at 6:00pm sitting at the table, asking the neighbors to turn their music down... must I go on? Seriously, I feel like I'm just 2 steps away from the early bird special at Denny's and discount bus tickets! How do I slow this process down and stay young? I guess I could start by not talking about the weather with every person I see.

Wait, just one more time...

It was 68 degrees today in NYC! We spent the afternoon at the playground and had an amazing day. I even got to go running outside. "I'm so excited for spring - my life is going to be so much more exciting!"





(here's the forecast for the next 5 days in NYC, so I don't have to keep talking about it... Ugh! It's supposed to snow this weekend!?!)

9 months old

I always cursed those people that told me to "enjoy every minute because they grow up so fast" right after Noah was born. In my sleep-deprived/don't-know-what-the-heck-I'm-doing/when-will-I-ever-have-time-to-myself-again state, I thought that was the worst advice anyone could ever give me at the time... but I finally think I know what they were talking about.

If I could pause time right now while Noah is 9 months old, I would.

Here are my top 10 favorite things about this age:

1. He is generally in a very good mood (Noah was the definition of a "colicky baby" for the first 4 months of his life).
2. He is super interactive and loves any attention you give him.
3. He is mobile but not to the point where I am constantly chasing him around so he doesn't get into everything. (knock on wood.)
4. He is starting to communicate his needs better (that is... without having meltdowns everytime he's upset).
5. He sleeps through the night (this should actually be #1).
6. He takes 2 great naps -- I can put him in his crib totally awake and he will fall asleep within minutes (a constant battle for the first 7 months of his life).
7. He can feed himself finger foods and is completely entertained while eating. (He will sit in his high chair and eat while I cook dinner, eat, and clean up.)
8. He thinks I am the only person in his world and is devastated when I leave the room. (sometimes this is frustrating, but I secretly love it.)

9. He's "off" the binky.
10. He has a laugh that you could die for.


So, I thought I would post Noah's profile.

name: Noah
age: 9 months
home: NYC
interests: sports, music, cartoons, books, eating
hobbies: crawling, swinging on swings at the playground, cruising in the walker, growling, getting thrown into the air by daddy, eating
favorite song: Biddy Biddy
favorite book: Goodnight Moon
favorite show: Dora the Explorer
favorite movie: Baby Einstein's "Baby Noah"
favorite scripture story: Noah's ark
favorite food: shredded cheese
favorite color: still to be determined

Here are a few 9 month old tricks that he's been up to:

WARNING: 9 minute video... may only be appropriate for grandmas and favorite aunts.

A few more 9 month pics. (courtesy of uncle caulin and his supernice camera)

Happy March!

For the past 3 days, I have been having a major meltdown around 5:00pm. Around 4pm, Noah wakes up from his nap and is generally in a pretty good mood. I feed him his bottle while I watch Oprah and things seem pretty calm -- only a few more hours before bedtime... no problem. But then 5:00pm hits and it seems like there's no way I could possibly provide any more entertainment for a 9-month old. By that point in the day we've played with every toy, read every book twice, sang every song, done dozens of laps in the walker, watched all the Dora and Diego that mommy can stand, and played peek-a-boo until it's just not fun anymore. So, yesterday I was anticipating this 5 o'clock slump and I was determined not to let it get to me -- so we got out and went to the playground to swing on the swings. Earlier that day it was unseasonably warm so I figured that it wouldn't be too cold by then. So, I dressed Noah in just a light jacket and headed out. It was at least 10 degrees colder by that point and he was totally freezing, but there was no turning back -- we needed a change a of scenery. I thought for sure that we would be the only ones at the playground, but we met up with another mom and her 2 kids dealing with the 5 o'clock slump the same way. It turns out that her husband works crazy hours too so we proceded to have this same conversation with each other while we pushed our little popsicle-children on the swings as the sun went down.

Today is March 1st... a new month... which means a new rotation schedule for Jon and no more 5 o'clock slump for me!

Yay for Mon-Fri, 9-5pm!

(Jon was home by 5:05pm today and I was at the gym by 5:30pm -- hooray!)