Monday, July 18, 2011

Going through the big D and I do mean Dallas


Well, Henry went on his first trip as an outside baby beyond the OKC metro area.  To Texas.  I'm not proud of the destination of his first excursion, but he had to make a break for it at some point.  I joke.  Dallas is kinda awesome when you've been holed up in the OK for the last nine months (the last time H was in Texas, he was in Austin).  Margaritas were consumed, night swimming took place, pedicures at Bliss were had, the Dallas skyline observed from the rooftop pool of the W, browsing through Neiman happened, lunching at Central Market (without buying $500 worth of groceries - personal victory) and little H learned he loves guitar.  A good time had by all, all being me, H, Lacey, her bro, his wife and their parents.  Thanks to the big D.  Also, I learned that I can travel with a baby.  Well, one that's 17 weeks old (tear, I can't believe he's so grown up) and with three other people to help.  Now, if I could only find a million dollars and we could go on a real vacay... but until then, this weekend was pretty great!

P.S. I am an awesome mom and forgot to take any pictures of our adventure.  Yes.

Monday, July 11, 2011

Zack Harrison Memorial Music Monday: Kidz muzak.

Baby H has been exposed to a lot of music since conception.  A lot.  K and I have music on all the time.  Impromptu Pat Benetar dance parties?  Check.   Blasting Rick Ross at unreasonable volumes in the car while rapping along like insane people?  Check.  Steady diet of all things indie via my old Noho radio station (WRSI - The River) at work?  Check.  Kid friendly music?  Not so much.  So, this weekend, I braved the forums and came up with a couple things that I'll be playing for Hank in the coming weeks.

1) Really Rosie: Not actually something new, but something my elementary school music teacher taught every year.  I love it.  Still.  What could be better than the combo of Carol King and Maurice Sendak?  Nothing.  Also, it's a wonderful story with valuable lessons. Kid music gold.


2)  You Are My Little Bird - Elizabeth Mitchell:  Looks like she's been on the kids music scene for a bit now, with several sweet albums.  I played most of this for H last night and he was absolutely enthralled, especially enjoying "Eliza Jane" - well, as much as a fourth month old (that's right, he's four months/16 weeks today - please make time slow down, please?) can enjoy anything.  So far, thumbs up on this one.


3) Original Friend - Lunch Money: I remembered hearing this group on NPR at some point and decided to give it a download.  Haven't listened all the way through yet, but so far, it's a winner.  Clever, not cloying.  Hip, but not hipster.


We'll see how the bambino likes these as his surely excellent musical taste continues to develop. 

Sunday, July 10, 2011

Welcome to my home*

*Brenda Dickson reference. 

When we learned that little H was on the way, we were obviously unprepared.  I spent the first couple of months (not of my pregnancy, when I learned of my pregnancy, which was four months in - I KNOW!) in shock, unable to really do anything aside from be in constant shock and disbelief in spite of seeing his wiggly little body on the big screen.  Eventually, I got my shit somewhat together and got to think about where the little stinker would reside when he arrived.  We have two extra bedrooms, one just off the living room and one teeny, tiny, itsy bitsy room closer to ours.  We decided to make the wee room for the wee one since it was closer and so that when he was wailing, we could still hang out in the living room.  We're thoughtful like that.

With the decision of where the babe would sleep made, I then turned my focus on how the fuck we would make the room habitable for a tiny dude.  Our nursery budget?  $0.  Seriously.  As previously mentioned, I'm the breadwinner and I don't make much.  So, in an attempt at being responsible for our offspring, I couldn't go balls out when it came to decorating as I normally would.  This actually turned out ok, I think.  See below:

 

We weren't going to paint the walls, that would've just put me over the edge, and I wasn't interested in a babyish theme that would dominate the small space, so instead, I opted for a mish-mash of bright colors that were at once playful and grown up, gender neutral and not matchy matchy.  The little wooden hutch was in my room growing up and was in my closet in my parent's house until I hauled it across town to hold H's little collection of handmade toys and books.  I'm all about home made stuff for the kiddo when I can.  On the shelf, he's got soft blocks (thanks M5K!), a robot pillow, bear made from quilt pieces, wooden toys and then some books, some mushrooms and a pictures frame that remains blank until I get my ass in gear and professionally document the kid.  Cost?  $30 for the robot pillow and mushrooms, everything else was gifted and thrifted. 


K's mom graciously offered to purchase the crib for us and suggested a convertible model that would carry H through the years.  In an act surely induced by pregnancy insanity, I gave K the job of selecting the crib.  Know what?  I think he did a really good job.  I registered for the Dwell Studio for Target rockets bedding set, which my grandmother purchased.  I thought it was boyish without hitting you over the head.  It came with a bumper and comforter, but those aren't safe for H yet.  In the crib he's got a group of his very favorite things: sleep sheep, musical glowing seahorse, dinos and ugly doll.  On the wall, I strung up a few things that were colorful and special to me in lieu of expensive prints.  I included an ultrasound pic (this was creepy to me at first, but I ended up being really comforted but his little face in the images), pics of my mom and dad and me when I was a baby, the invite for my shower, my mantra, darling letter prints for K and me, a string of elephants given to me sometime (can't remember) and a tile that was given to me as a gift for an internship I did at Smith.  The mobile is a flensted and the curtains are a work in progress.


The rocking chair was the same that my mom rocked my brother and me in.  The beautiful elephant blanket given to use by some friends.  The airplane lamp was K's when he was a kid.  The nighstand is an old stool.  The prints on the wall I picked up from Zulily for super cheap.  The box fan is integral to H sleeping.  The utility shelves were a last minute Wal-Mart purchase when I realized I was not driving my pregnant ass down to Ikea to get proper shelves and other storage.  But, I think they work great to hold some cheapo basket from Ross that hold H's burp rags, diapers, nursing supplies and other necessities.  We got the changing table from Craigslist one night for $25.  I'd wanted a dresser from Ikea that he could grow with, but this was cheaper and I think we can remove the rails along the top and repaint when he gets older.  Not pictures is the ottoman for the rocker, or rather, a wicker basket I found in our house that had a lid that I covered with a crocheted blanket given to us.  Works just fine.


Like the other side of the wall, I used twine and clothespins to hand a few things to entertain H while on the changing table.  Tiny clothing, sweet cards and pics of K with his dad (who passed away) and me with my mom (who has the same hairstyle today).   This was really the only way to get art up on the walls that I could afford.  Frames are expensive, yo!


Here's H during the photo shoot (you can see the ever present swing - it's seriously the best thing ever invented). He looks like a super chunk in this, but he's still actually kinda normal sized for going on four months.  He's got some thighs and some arms, but they still fit through his clothes, so we're all good for now.

So, there you go. The entire nursery was probably thrown together for less than $200 over the course of five months.  Not to bad with not much.

Friday, July 08, 2011

being and adult is hard and crap

This "blog" often becomes a cesspool of whinery and I'm not proud of that.  The two things I was most often reprimanded for growing up were whining and arguing.  Many a spanking and later groundings were had due to the combo.  But I like them both so very much.  Sometimes, I get so wrapped up in how I'm constantly being wronged, overlooked, left out, judged, ignored that I forget how good things are or that mine is often a common experience.  Being the financially responsible party in my tiny family is super stressful and then some.  I was so relieved to read an account that mirrored a lot of my feelings, the not so nice ones and the eventual optimistic ones.



So, here's to remembering that the present will not necessarily be my future and that the past is not the present.  Or something like that.  Time to stop being such a bitch.  The last thing I need is little H getting in trouble in first grade for excessive use of sarcasm.  Like I did.  My poor mom and dad. 




See, look. I'm already not making fun of this lame-o picture. Go me!

Monday, July 04, 2011

Guess what will happen in one month and a day?

I will turn old balls.  Or 30.  Yes, after bitching about it for years, it's actually happening.  Fortunately, I can cross one of my before 30 life goals off the list, being an unmarried single mother.  Woot!  I did want to have a baby when it was probably healthier for me, so I'm glad I got babe #1 knocked out before the big 3-0.  Other than that...  well, I have an adult job.  For now.  And adult debt.  So there's that.  And now, for the gifties.  Again, K is not a holiday/birthday person, so I won't be getting anything from him and I think when you're 30 and have your own offspring your parents can cut you off and since I'm poor, this will be a lean, mean (read nonexistent) dirty 30.  But that's ok.  Instead, I will daydream aloud...

Dyson vacuum - yes, when you get old, you want boring shit for your house.

Duvet cover - same one, but now $49!  I might actually go for this...


Tom's coral canvas wedges - don't know why, but I'm digging these.  I imagine them with striped shirts, skinny jeans and statement necklaces, none of which I should be wearing.


New pillows for the eyesore of a sectional that lives in my living room - I can't get rid of the couch due to budget restraints (more accurately, K loves the thing), but I could replace the sad pillows from years ago with brighter ones that make more sense with my undecor.

Nursing friendly dress - I don't foresee the pumping ending anytime soon, so my wardrobe has been severely altered.  This little number would conceal the lopsided boobage and allow for access.

A night in luxury - silly, as this is fleeting, but the idea of a well appointed bed, room service potential, within walking distance of an excellent bar that serves well mixed Hendricks and tonics... heaven.  The problem is I'd still have to pump all night and/or miss H too much to actually enjoy.  (They have cribs!)


Lululemon Groove pants - yup, I still want them.  And also the Bliss tank.  Could hold in the girls and cover the flab.  Win.

Jo Malone Orange Blossom Cologne - I'm obsessed with smelling good, but I kind of always smell bad.  Perfume just doesn't stick to me.  Also, now I smell like maple syrup thanks to the fenugreek I guzzle by the handful to boost milk supply.  Marry me!

Ittikid wardrobe for H-man - love.these.prints.  H needs them all. Especially the elephants.

KitchenAid Pro Mixer - yeah, I still need this.

Aveda spa treatments - nothing really removes the telltale sign of being a new mom (stringy, clumpy hair; sad, sunken eyes; terrible wardrobe choices; wan, sallow skin; I could go on), but getting some help from professionals would be nice.

So, there's my super selfish, completely unrealistic wishlist for the beginning of my downhill slide.  But really, I've got my healthy tiny buddy, my needy stinky puppy, my partner in crime (sometimes literally), my fam and friends, so, it's all good.

Sunday, July 03, 2011

Oh, hey there.

Guess what.  It's been over a month since I last posted.  That's what happens when you spend all of your free time trying to devise a way to escape your baby's farts.  But seriously, he has the farts of a frat bro who ponged it up on Natty for 48 hours straight.  No, but seriously, I have zero energy to do anything but complain about H's farts and occasionally tend to him so blogging is not at the top of my list.

Actually, H man is doing great, growing like crazy (way too fast), pre-laughing, holding his head up longer and longer, grasping, batting, sleeping through every third night or so, it's pretty great!  What's not great is that I'm not adjusting to work well (it's super hard to concentrate when all I want to do is spend my time with the bambino and when I try to concentrate, my brain breaks down because it's been functioning on maybe two three to four hours spurts of sleep going on four months) and breastfeeding is fricking ruling my life (taking herbs, drinking tea, eating oatmeal, pumping every three hours, suffering boobs that are two completely different sizes, thus really restricting my wardrobe because I'll be damned if someone points out my exaggerated lopsidedness). 

Things that are making me happy include, but are not limited to the following:

Henry



watermelon
Pabst
Pinterest - 100% addicted
mom blog All things Alishan (she writes my brain)
our new, old car (2000 white Subaru Outback - holla!)
my new Frye sandals I found for suuuuuper cheap



Saturday mornings at the farmers' market with H
Hopefully what are the closing argument for the Casey Anthony trial.  Get off my tv.
Reliving awesome 90s music - behold:



And you better believe I tried to recreate those outfits. Puffy shirts and all.