Some updates
This is getting exciting! We're moving most of our stuff tomorrow and then we have a special helper (Angie) coming on Sunday to help us with the big stuff. Yea!!
For once in my life, I am ahead of the game regarding birthday presents. Stef's bday is on Tuesday, and I not only have the gift, but it is WRAPPED and I got a card AND I signed it! Yes!
Jack news...
Crawling like a fool. Eating well. Been in a MUCH better mood since he mastered crawling. This is nice for everyone. Still teething. I hope the teeth come in soon.
Wish us luck on our moving ventures. Hope everyone has a great weekend!
Speaking of Man Baby...
Guess who has just now learned how to stand up in his crib, pulling himself up on the rail? A very proud of himself- not sleeping- Man Baby, that's who!
Man Baby
In one day, our little baby has grown up into a MAN.
1. The boy is officially crawling. I mean, crawling across his room, out the door, and into the hall. Mobility!
2. He ate a full meal of pasta, squash, and carrots. A more balanced and nutritious meal than I had during all four years of college.
3. Girlfriend. Some little cutie at the indoor mall playground crawled up to Jack, patted his head, and kissed his cheek. Jack sat there, stunned. Already, the women have come flocking to him. I know he's cute, but sheesh.
Of course, he still poops in his pants, so... MAN or baby? You be the judge.
Tuffems update
Oh, and the "ear infection" has not been a problem today... I think it's his teeth hurting.
Taking some advice
I trust my husband above all others. But... I really don't like taking advice. I mean, I REALLY don't. I strongly prefer to do things the way I want to do them. However, this morning, Keith was leaving for work and I suddenly felt at a loss for what to do with myself and our child for the day. So I asked him what we should do. He immediately answered with, take Jack on a walk in a few minutes because it's not hot yet (it was about 7:15), then take him home, let him take his nap at home and then take him to the Altamonte Mall (this mall being suggested because they have a huge indoor playground and it's a nice change of scenery for both of us).
I almost said, "Nahh... we'll just..." but I had no better ideas and I thought, what the hell, let's try something new. So, Keith left and I put Jack in his stroller and we walked for awhile, having breakfast on the go. Then we came home and a VERY CALM AND HAPPY BABY played by himself while I cleaned the kitchen. Then we practiced crawling at promptly at 9:30 he went down for his nap. Wow. I am humbled and impressed. And a little sheepish. For months, Keith has been subtlely saying, "Jack sure likes to go on walks in the morning" and "I took Jack out this morning and he's been in a good mood ever since...". And I'd think, whatever. I didn't want to take Jack on a walk early because it was too early for me. But changing the pace a little has proven effective today and I will just try to chug a coke or something and get myself dressed a little earlier from now on.
You can bet we're heading to the Altamonte Mall the second that little monkey wakes up. Thanks, Keith.
Ear Infection, Yes?
Where is my magic 8 ball? I need to ask it if Jack has an ear infection. He's cranky (surprise) and pulling at his ear. Yet, there are no cold symptoms or fever. It could just be more good old teething... he did drool about a gallon of saliva today. So, no one knows. Maybe we'll go to the doctor tomorrow. Or maybe I'll just give him all of the baby tylenol and leave it at that.
Other news... still packing and planning to be out of this moldy adobe this weekend!
Life is good!
Hold on to your hats, everyone. I am in a great mood! I don't even really know how it happened, but it did. Here's the lowdown:
~I am not currently tired (thanks to my ice cold Coca Cola Classic).
~My baby had a good day (this includes minimal fussing, eating heartily, laughing often, and even napping!).
~I went to work and had a Mommy Break.
~I love my husband.
~I am excited about moving.
It's such a nice change to feel chipper! Hope everyone else is well!
Sleeping in
I love it when my baby sleeps until 6:30. God, that's great.
If you love me, you'll stop crying.
Is that an irrational thought to have about your nine month old son? I guess it is, but I can't help it. Are you ready for this shocker? It has been another LONG day. Jack had his 9 month old check up this morning, which was fine except he didn't take his morning nap (the one that he takes at 9:30) until 11:15. This was because we were driving him to the dr. (thought he'd sleep in the car, but that didn't happen), and then waiting an hour to be seen, so it's not like he's going to sleep then.
He did sleep when it was all over and we were back in the car, on the way to meet an old friend and her new baby. Upon meeting them, I was immediately validated for thinking "I think we have a hard baby" for the past nine months. This little guy (also named Jack) was as mellow as they come. If he were an eighteen year old, I would have thought he'd just smoked a doobie (ha ha I said doobie) or something. It was frustrating to hear about how he started sleeping through the night at five weeks, never cries, etc, etc, but also nice to hear that, yes, in fact, I've been right all along, that's it's not just that I have no patience or tolerance for crying, and that, in fact, Keith and I have a difficult baby.
Sometimes, when you live in a little bubble that mainly consists of you, your husband, and your baby and sometimes includes talking to or seeing your friends that don't have any kids, you start to think, "Maybe all babies are like this. Maybe I just am not good at it. Maybe it's just that I don't like it." Well, I guess that still could be true, but at least now I know that SOME babies are seemingly a piece of cake.
Instead of hating my friend and her laid back jack, I am truly happy for her. I wouldn't wish colic on anyone. Well, maybe Tom Cruise. I don't care much for him.
What should I do?
OK, he's sleeping. Should I eat lunch or try to take a nap, too. I'm too brain dead to use deductive reasoning at this point. Help me!
Ugh... this day... this month... this year..., pick one, they have all been rough.
Frustrations of the day so far:
Jack deciding that he has no use for lunch, so two baby food jars are all but wasted, amongst other little things I tried to give him. Then, I tried what I know he likes, this banana flavored cereal stuff, which he also didn't want to eat. This doesn't sound like such a big deal. Remember that he screams. A lot.
Separation Anxiety. I wish not to elaborate.
Sleep dep. All three of us are victims, thanks to Jack, but he definitely makes the most cranky sleepy person of the three of us.
So, I decided the little boy needed another nap. He now has learned to sit up all by himself (yes! another milestone checked off the list), so he sits up and bounces up and down on the matress instead of sleeping. He is doing this as I type.
If you want to know the truth, it's almost 1:00 and I haven't even gotten dressed yet. I have no car seat today, so I can't drive him anywhere and it's too hot to walk to the mall. Also, he was kind of embarrassing when I had him in there yesterday and he kept screaming at the top of his lungs, just for fun. I wish the weather was cooler and I could take him on a walk.
The plus side of hanging out in your house all day in your underwear is that whenever your baby is intrigued by playing with a measuring cup or remote control, you can pack a box or two. This is good because we needed to start packing but now our apt. is truly disasterous.
I drank cherry coke this morning for breakfast. Yum.
A thought on moving
Moving is a funny thing. It's a pain, but exciting at the same time. Preparing for this move has been a challenge, though, with the little one hanging around. It's also been a little sad. This was Jack's first home, first room, first bath, etc, etc. And already we're packing up and moving on. That makes me a little sad. Crap, he just woke up. So much for that nap. Bye!
Our Story
A little background info... I was born in Ft. Lauderdale, Florida in April of 1977. I lived in South Florida with my mom and brother (and my dad until I was thirteen) until I was eighteen. I graduated high school in 1995 and that summer, my best friend, Stef and I packed up and moved to Orlando to go to UCF.
We had a blast and in 1996, I met my first husband, Chris. He was also going to UCF. We, too, had a blast for awhile. Chris and I dated for three years and got married. I was twenty- two and he was twenty- one. Now I look back and know that I was not old enough to be married (I am choosing not to say that 22 is too young to get married, in the blanket statement sense, because I know that sometimes people get married that young and it works out. That's cool. It just didn't work out for me.) Anyway, Chris and I were married for five years. During this time, I went to graduate school at UCF and got a Masters in Mental Health Counseling. A few years later, at twenty- seven (in 2004) I decided that our marriage was not working anymore and that I was done with trying to make it better. I moved out.
This was a surprise to some, but apparently not to all people. It seems to me that many people that we knew had the impression that things were great... and they weren't totally wrong. Our relationship was not horrible. However, there were many people that responded with a "Oh, I'm not surprised" reaction, which I guess was based on, for one thing, our ages getting married.
I moved in with my brother who was living in Orlando at the time. He was just moving into a condo that he'd just bought, so it was actually pretty fun. We spent the next couple months going out, going to Universal Studios (we had bought passes) and traveling together. I will always be grateful to Joe for letting me stay with him and for making it a fun experience.
Switching to Keith for a moment... Keith was born in Miami in December of 1973. He and his family moved to Orlando when Keith was very young. He grew up in Orlando and went to college in Tampa (USF). Keith graduated and lived and worked in Tampa for awhile, before eventually returning to Orlando for a few years. Keith went to Rollins College in Winter Park and got his Masters in Mental Health Counseling as well. After graduating, Keith moved to Texas for a year, and then returned to Orlando again. Along the way, Keith had a few long term relationships and did some extensive traveling (India, Italy, Switzerland, France, etc.).
When Keith moved back to Orlando from Texas, he got a counseling job at the same place he did his internship at... which was where I happened to be working already for a year. Keith started the job in August of 2003. He and I met on his first day at an employee team building event, where we had to do a Ropes Course. Of course, back in 2003, I was still married to Chris, and we were reasonably happy. I liked Keith right away, and was just excited to have someone on staff that seemed fun and funny.
Over the next couple of months, Keith and I saw each other at staff meetings, but hadn't even really spoken. Our jobs were school counselors, though and in December of 2003, the schools were closed for the winter break. We spent about two weeks together "planning and doing paperwork" at the downtown office. We were really just talking and laughing and goofing around. There were a couple other people on staff that were fun and our age, so we had our own little group of friends. Moving into 2004... I continued to see Keith at staff meetings, where we continued to be friends... and my marriage contined to be crappy. I started going to therapy alone, and Chris and I went as a couple to try to save our marriage. When Spring Break and summer came, Keith and I spent some time at work together, and even went out a few times in a work friend group environment. I realized that I had a crush on Keith, which didn't help my failing marriage. Keith and I talked about our feelings and he told me that he had no intentions of pursuing anything with me. I told him that my first priority was to try to get my marriage on track and while I did like him, had no intention of doing anything. He was in complete agreement and just wanted to be friends. This was sort of frustrating to know that I liked this guy a lot and he liked me, too, but we could never be together.
Keith and I didn't talk much for awhile. My focus was my marriage with Chris and Keith moved on and started dating someone else. The summer went on, as did Chris and I's couples therapy, and in August, I decided that Chris and I were not going to solve our problems after all and that I was done. This brings us up to the point of when I moved in with my brother, Joe.
After a few weeks, I told Keith that I had moved in with my brother. He seemed excited, but careful, and after all, was with another woman now and I was still technically married. We did start spending some time together as friends, but that was all. Nothing romantic happened for several more months. Finally in the fall, we went out, ended up at a club playing 80's alternative music, and we finally kissed. So romantic!
That was pretty much it. The divorce was final and I was free to pursue a relationship without guilt. Keith and the woman he'd been dating were no longer together. We made every attempt to be slow and careful and to take our time... but by then, we were both totally crazy about each other and had already been friends for over a year. I was a little worried we were going to mess things up by getting involved so soon after my divorce, but things just went amazingly well. We were absolutely crazy in love with each other.
So in love, actually, that we both seemed to lose control of our brains and didn't spend much time thinking over the next couple of months. We proceeded to have a complete and total blast, we went out, traveled a little, basically did all the things new couples do. We were so caught up in our "us-ness", that rational thoughts like protection didn't really seem to cross either of our minds. And anyone who knows either of us knows that's not like us! So, logically, it really was no surprise when I became pregnant in January of 2005.
We really shouldn't have been surprised, but we were. We had already talked about marriage and maybe even having kids one day, but we were going to wait for the dust to settle from my divorce first. So much for that idea! We decided to go ahead with the marriage and have the baby.
If I thought I'd shocked some people when I told them I was leaving Chris, that was nothing in comparison to me being pregnant and getting remarried, all within a matter of months! I told my best friend, Stef, while walking down a sidewalk on the way to a restaurant, and she actually had to stop and sit down (on the sidewalk) as the news sunk in. Some people were shocked, some were ecstatic, and some seemed a little worried. But we knew it would all be fine.
The nine months that followed were... crazy. The pregnancy was very typical (some morning sickness, back aches, heartburn... ugh). We got married, with the help of Keith's family, moved to a bigger place, had four baby showers (thanks everyone!), and prepared for the scariest thing that had ever happened to either one of us... parenthood.
On September 14, 2005, we went to bed around 10:00pm. Around 11:30, I woke up and thought maybe I was peeing on myself (a little graphic, I know, but it's true). Turns out that my water was breaking. The baby wasn't due until the 27th, so I was surprised, but very happy to go into labor a little early (in case you didn't happen to talk to me during the nine months I was pregnant, I didn't exactly enjoy it). I woke up Keith, who was confused, and I started packing, while he did his hair. He then came out of the bathroom and informed me, "I did my hair." I laughed and kept packing.
We got to the hospital, and only had to wait for a few minutes. Since my water had broken, I didn't have to wait and time contractions or anything, so that was nice. We got set up in a nice big room and waited. Along the way, we called family, I got an epidural (ahh...) and we rested. Thanks to the Epidural, my labor was easy. They also gave me pitocin, so my labor was fast, too. At about 9:30am on September 15, they announced I was ready to push. With Keith and my mom by my side, I pushed that baby out in about 20 minutes.
Jack Isaak Raskin came into the world at 10:01am and was so absolutely beautiful, you'd think he was a model or movie star or something. His arrival started a whole new chapter of our lives. A big, long, scary, emotional chapter.
The three of us went home the next day, and to be honest (sorry Jack) it was complete and total Hell for many months. Jack was healthy, but very colicky and had a bad case of reflux. This meant that he screamed and cried for hours every day and did not want to have any bottles because he was getting indigestion from eating. He would scream and cry when we tried to feed him, he would scream and cry when he wasnt' being fed, and every once in a while, he would sleep for a few hours.
Luckily, this gradually got better, and by about six months, Jack wasn't hardly crying anymore and was sleeping all through the night. Along the way, we discovered that Jack probably has an arachnoid cyst, which doesn't seem to be causing any problems right now. When Jack was three months old, I left my counseling job and took a part time Manager position, which allows me to be home with Jack most of the time and work only two days a week.
It's now June 2006, and Jack is nine months old. We are getting ready to move to St. Cloud where we will be closer to family and to the location where we plan to start a business in the next couple of months.
The past couple of years have been chaotic, but wonderful. I am so happy to be with Keith, he is truly the greatest person I have ever known. He is an amazingly wonderful and supportive husband and father. Jack has become a funny little guy who seems to have no trouble letting us know what he thinks about things. We have no plans to have more children, we are very content with our family of three. We are looking forward to Jack growing up a little and being able to travel with him and take him places.
Well, there you have it. A not so brief history of me, Keith, and Jack and how we all got to be where we are. Thank you everyone for reading the blog and always being supportive and kind to me. I definitely tend to use the blog as a tool for venting, and I'm sure it can get old to read about a whiny baby all the time... so thanks for hanging in there with me and hopefully with time, the subject matters will change to a successful business, a little boy growing up, and a continuing happy marriage.
For the Fathers...
Two years ago, I would not have had much of anything positive to say about Father's day. I would have said, I think my stepdad is a pretty great guy... not much else to share there. Things change, though, and I feel like I have more to say now. So, an homage to the dads:
My Dad, Joe~ I don't see or talk to my dad much, and that's ok. One thing he's been doing lately that I like is ordering a copy of every picture I send him of Jack. No one else has done that. I am glad that he wants to have those pictures.
My Stepdad, Brad~ Brad is a fun, caring, sweet, hardworking man. He has been a great Dad figure to me for the past ten years or so. He's good to my mom, too.
My Father in Law, Richard~ Well, I can start by saying he's a bit of a character and can make just about anyone go a little crazy. However, I have never seen a grandpa be more involved or more attentive to their grandchild. I never expected to fully entrust a man of about fifty- five (sorry, that's not his exact age) with my infant son, but I totally do. I say that because I have never known a man of that age who either seems comfortable or willing to spend a whole day with a baby. But he does! And he does a good job! Richard is loving, caring, playful, etc, when it comes to Jack. Jack is lucky to have a grandpa that drives across town all the time just to take care of him. That's a rare thing.
Last, but not least,
My Husband, Keith~ Anyone who knows me or has read this blog can probably tell that I'm insanely crazy about my husband. I truly appreciate what I have with him and know that there is no one else like him anywhere. Keith is the greatest dad ever. He is wonderful with Jack and is completely involved in Jack's life. There has never been anything regarding Jack that Keith wouldn't do, nothing that has ever been considered Mommy's Job, in fact, Keith is almost always the one to give Jack his bath at night and there is no one else that can seem to get Jack to laugh as hard as Keith does. I love him.
I guess that's it. There have been a few other male father figure types that have come and gone through my life, but as of right now, these are the dad's I know, I know, these are the dad's I know. (for some Kids in the Hall fun, substitute Dave for Dad and sing the Dave Song!)
Snooze fest
Is it me or has my blog become depressing and boring. It seems like every post lately is some rant about a crying baby. It makes sense... that's what I'm dealing with most of the time... but, sheesh, I don't even want to read it anymore. So... I'm trying to think of some things to do to jazz it up. Bear with me... I'm not very good with computers and I have a very limited time frame to do these things. But I'll do my best.
Early Riser
Despite my very unhappy venty theme on Friday, we actually had a great weekend. However, our son now likes to wake up for the day at 4:30am. Sometimes we get lucky and he sleeps until 5;00. This is very frustrating and tiresome for everyone. Our son has been way crankier and we are super tired. We've tried to lull him back to sleep in his swing or leave him in his crib and neither work. We all end up awake and just taking him out to the living room. Today he took a nap from 7:00 to 8:30, thank goodness. We went back to sleep too and that helped a lot. This has been hard though. Any thoughts from parents on what to do?
Other than that, things are fine. We are getting ready to pack and are excited about getting into our new place. Jack has started pulling himself up to standing all by himself, so that's pretty cool. Not much else to say other than WE ARE TIRED.
Venting
I'm in a bad mood having woken up in a bad mood and having had a very bad morning so far with jack. When is all this supposed to get better? Can I just say that I am SO SICK of teething, whining, crying, and frustration due to still not really having figured out how to crawl?! Ugh. I'd like to say that, "Hey, at least it's Friday and now we'll have the weekend", but who the hell am I kidding? Keith and LJ know how this goes and I can sum it up into two words, "What weekend?" There is no rest. There is no fun. I know I sound pissy but it just gets so old sometimes. Please don't worry that I don't love my son or that I'm going to throw him out the window. It's just that this sucks right now.
This is what I would buy.
A short list of the things I will be only too happy to spend my money on when it is not all being funneled away by the purchases of diapers and formula, paying medical bills, Florida prepaid college, and Chick Fil A.
1. Clothes. Going to the mall at least once a week is a bit masochistic when you cannot afford to buy anything. Last time I was there I spent $3. That was on a cookie and a coke. Not bad. However, I walk by the Limited and look at the pretty things and just sigh. Maybe in a few months, I say to myself. Maybe the business will be thriving and Jack will be off of formula. Maybe...
2. A car for my husband. I need one too, but I have a pretty strong feeling that his will be the first to go. His car is eleven years old and has almost 200 thousand miles on it. To be honest, I have no idea what we're going to do when it dies.
3. Traveling. Duh.
4. Furniture. We're about to move into a nice, big townhouse and we do not have nearly enough stuff to fill it. Not a major issue or anything, but it would be cool to be in a nice, new pretty house with nice, new pretty stuff.
5. Electronic things for my husband. We only have one tv, which I'm actually happy about, but hopefully that gives you an idea of how electronically lacking we are. I don't really even know what an I pod is.
6. A car for me. Mine is small and getting old and I just want a new one.
7. A real magic wand for the Frog Pond Wizard.
And I thought this weekend was rough.
This weekend was rough but this morning has been harder. I have a very fussy cranky teethy baby on my hands who does not want to:
Eat
Sleep
Play
Practice crawling
Watch tv
Ugh. The good thing is I know that he's tired so it's only a matter of time before he falls asleep and he gets some rest and I get some peace.
We found a new place to live
Well, we saw the condo. It was great... it's beautiful, three bedrooms, a townhouse sort of layout. We decided to take it. So... we're moving. I'm excited because this new place is really pretty great, but very sad to leave Orlando. I'll be further away from Stef, which is the suckiest part, further away from work (but I only work 2 days a week usually, so that's really no big deal), and then just further away from downtown and the parks and stuff that we like to go to.
But... we'll find new places and we're really close to the dance studio (like not even ten minutes) so it will be pretty convenient to get over there to work on the business and it will also be easier to get babysitters (since all our babysitters live in Kissimmee). We're moving in a few weeks, our new lease starts July 1, but we're allowed to start moving stuff in on June 15. So, I think we'll be pretty busy packing up and getting ready to move now... just wanted to share our good news!
