My Busy Week

This is getting to be a boring topic but two different people asked me if I was pregnant in the past two weeks. Well, one didn’t ask but assumed I was pregnant. This is becoming a trend around a certain time of the month and I admit that my stomach does stick out quite a bit for a week or two out of the month but that doesn’t change the fact that you don’t ask if someone is pregnant until they appear to be 8 months pregnant and even then you don’t say anything!

Looks like I left off at Mother’s Day. It was really a so-so day because it really marked the start of Jack acting like a 2 year old (defiance and independence mixed with some clinginess). On Monday I had lunch with Camille. Camille used to live here and we worked together and then she moved to Seattle to be closer to her family. We really had some fun times. She has two kids about the same ages as mine. Our most memorable night was pre-kids and our husbands were out of town so we went to Barcelona where men bought us drinks all night and we stayed and danced until very late. Boy, those days are over!

On Tuesday night Brian’s sister Heather came into town for a class. She came over for dinner and got to see the kids. Jack had a great time with her. I went to my dance class and let them chat. I ended up coaching all the men through the cha-cha moves. My vacation started on Wednesday. My parents flew in around 11 AM and I took them straight to Pane Bianco’s sandwich shop and the coffee bar next door (Lux). They thought that was good. Afterwards we went to Last Chance where I bought two pairs of Stride Right shoes for Ty for $12 each. That evening, we went to the mall with the kids and ate at Rubio’s. The next day we went to Scottsdale Fashion Square for several hours and ate at La Madeleine’s for lunch. My goal was to find some clothes that didn’t make me look pregnant. I found a pair of pants at Ann Taylor for $16.99. Their sizes run really big and I bought a size 2 and tucked my saggy flabby stomach into the waistband. Ha ha. I got some pants at Banana Republic (size 6—back to reality) and a halter top. I had my volleyball tournament that night. We won the first game and then ended up playing the top seeded team for our second game and they crushed us. That team has one of the top 10 players in Arizona on that team. He is playing as a favor to his wife who is learning to play. He could have crushed us single handedly. But it was still fun. We came in 3rd in the tournament and I had a phenomenal time with this team. So we are going to play together again next season.

On Friday it was my 37th birthday. I got some cards and roses and we went to see the Da Vinci Code at the theater. I almost never see movies in the theater but I really liked this book and it was my birthday so we went. I really liked it. Then we went to dinner at Firebirds. My parents offered to watch the kids while we went to dinner but I wanted to go out for dinner as a family. So we all went out and Jack was just horrible and even Ty who is normally laid back was fussy. It really sucked. I sent my parents to Trader Joe’s with Brian while I got the kids to bed.

On Saturday we went to the Arizona Science Center. Because of money that we contributed to United Way, we got in free and they had a special event with food, and Matt Williams, who was one of my favorite Arizona Diamondbacks baseball players before he retired, was there to sign autographs. We had him sign Ty since he was wearing his Diamondbacks outfit. This is where someone assumed that I was pregnant. Ugh. We played with a lot of the exhibits and went to the Planetarium where Ty, Jack and Dad fell asleep. By now we were all starving so we decided to go to In and Out Burger. After In and Out Burger, Mom said she wanted to go to Goodwill for 30 minutes so Jack and I went in with her since by the time I dropped her off, took Jack home, I would have to turn around and pick her up again. By now Jack was 2 hours past his nap time and coupled with all the random stuff all over Goodwill, it was very stressful since he was getting into everything and then throwing tantrums when I would try to take the breakable figurines or glass bowls away from him. I did manage to snag a couple pairs of shorts and a Ralph Lauren shirt for Jack. By the time we got home, we were all exhausted but the kids were too overtired to nap, so they both crashed early… but then woke up at 4 AM. Ugh! We watched “Memoirs of a Geisha” on pay per view since I had read the book and enjoyed it.

Sunday morning I got to escape our Monster Child and met the girls (Fancy Nancy, Pam, Tracy and Jill) for breakfast. This was such a great treat. When I got home Brian was exhausted from taking care of the kids and left the house to run errands and escape the zoo called our home. After Jack’s nap, I took Jack, Mom and Dad to IKEA where we had an early dinner and then Jack and I spent an hour and half in the kids section. Jack loves playing with all the toys there. After we checked out, we met mom and dad for ice cream and then left. We watched the finale of Desperate Housewives together.

On Monday we went to Costco and then went to Abuello’s for lunch. Then we went to UHaul to buy a box for the cradle swing that we wanted to ship to my sister. We came home and I took a short nap and then we went to FedEx to ship the swing. Mom packed my crib bumper and a bunch of Ty’s baby clothes into the box since my sister is having a boy. The rest of the stuff for my sister included all of Jack and Ty’s baby clothes, the baby sling, mother’s milk lactation tea, breast pads, and various other baby stuff that I no longer need. It really felt good to get rid of all that baby stuff! Mom and Dad watched Jack (Ty was already asleep) for a while and Brian and I went out to Pasty Grimaldi’s for pizza and some wine. Jack did OK with my mom. We were worried because he seems terrified that I am going to leave or abandon him and has been screaming for me a lot. Even though were gone for a little over an hour, it was still nice to get away! I think the thing that bummed me out about my parents trip here was that I envisioned that my parents would spent a lot of time fawning over my kids especially when they saw how sweet, smart and well behaved Jack was. But unfortunately, he was nothing like that when they were here.

On Tuesday my mom packed all the stuff in their suitcases and I sent the infant carrier and two bases with them to take back to my sister. It wasn’t clear if the airline was going to count that as luggage or not but we worked it out. After dropping off my parents at the airport, I did some final shopping for clothes that didn’t make me look pregnant, had lunch at Wildflower and then had a birthday/post-breastfeeding present of a facial and massage. See, if formula costs $1200/year and I breastfed Ty for 11 months, then that means I saved us $1100 and therefore I deserve a massage, right? It was very nice. I went to dance class that night and ended up correcting the instructor on how to do a cha-cha move. It was an honest mistake on the instructor’s part (confusing the man’s part with the woman’s) but it’s pretty obvious that I’m in the wrong class. Still, the people are nice and I feel strongly about following through on commitments and completing classes that I sign up for so it’s not too bad. Today was the first day back at work in a week. Today Ty is 11 months and he refused to breastfeed tonight so he is officially weaned. I don’t really feel sad or even relieved like I thought I would. Kind of ambivalent. I guess we were both ready to end it. Now on to the Extreme Makeover!!!

Grey's Anatomy Was Horrible

Is it just me or did Grey’s Anatomy suck last night? If you haven’t seen it yet, stop reading because this will contain spoilers. First of all, Grey’s is my favorite show on TV. So maybe my high expectations ruined it for me. I was a little skeptical after Sunday night with all the drama with Izzie. On Monday night when I was watching the two hour finale, I kept hitting the TiVo play button to see how much time was left. I had had enough after about 45 minutes.

The whole thing with Izzie and Denny was over the top. It was so melodramatic that it got to the point where I didn’t care if Denny died and I thought she should be fired immediately. If she is not fired next season, I will be disgusted. I had liked the storyline up to the point where Izzie completely lost her mind. And if I were Denny, I would have dumped her for coming up with such an irrational unethical scheme.

I didn’t like Christina getting soft.
I didn’t like Steve getting soft (saying Denny was not Denny anymore and coming to Izzie’s rescue at the end)
The prom was stupid.
I didn’t need to see 5 minutes of putting a dog down.
I am now sympathetic to Addison and think she can do better and should move on
Meredith and McDreamy getting together last night was yucky with Addison and the vet in the other room. I don’t really like them together anymore.
Meredith is pathetic and too scrawny and it’s a little hard for me to believe that these guys are fawning all over her.

Pink Eye and Mother's Day

Am I the only mother who really wants alone time on Mother’s Day? Seems like on Mother’s Day I should want to spend every waking moment enjoying being a mother but the truth is that sometimes it can be hard work and what I really want to do is sit down and watch Veronica Mars or read the paper or go shopping at Stein Mart by myself. In the past two weeks, the reality of having two boys has set in. I don’t know what it’s like to have two girls but I’m guessing that boys tend to be more physical. This means I get kicked, poked, bludgeoned, smacked, and accosted all in the name of love and affection. They want to touch me and be close to me, which I like, but their nature is a little rough. Even Ty, who is only 10 months old, likes lunge at me with full force while giggling and laughing. It’s tempting to turn the third car garage into a room with padded walls and floors where the kids can go throw themselves around with wild abandon. Or perhaps it can be the room where they can put me when I go crazy.

I am happily in the process of weaning Ty. I feel like I should be mourning this but instead I am excited at the thought of being hydrated again. This week I will only feed him in the morning and at night without pumping or feeding him during the day. He has been too distracted to eat on a few occasions so I think the time is right for both of us. I feel some guilt in that I will be cutting him short by about 1 month. I’m sure I will get over it.

Someone asked for an update on the ROM machine which by the way, still brings a lot of people to my blog through internet searches. We have had the machine for about 4 months now and clearly it provides incredible results with building muscles for men and toning for women. Brian’s upper body has changed quite drastically and I tease him for flexing his muscles around the house (which he never did before in all the years that I have known him). He looks really, really good. As a previous long distance runner and avid hiker (he can hike the south rim of the Grand Canyon to the North rim and back again!) his lower body hasn’t changed as much. For me my arms are toned and so are my legs and butt. My stomach is still flabby but the real test will be the 2 – 3 months after weaning Ty to see if there is hope there. What I haven’t been able to test out is my cardio and endurance. The best test would be a hike up Camelback Mountain or something like that. So far it’s been a great investment. The best reason to buy something like this is that you have no excuse to not use it when it only takes 4 minutes. Our nanny started to use it last week and it used it every day. It will be interesting to see her results over time.

I wanted to take a moment to write about my number one pet peeve. Maybe I wrote about this before but it’s something that I cannot stand: People cutting their fingernails in public places. It’s the clipping sound that drives me bonkers. You would not believe how many people at work clip their nails at their desks which in a cubicle environment makes me a victim of their misplaced hygiene regimen a couple times a week. I am really good at blocking out other phone conversations but I can hear the drawer open, the hand reaching into the drawer for those clippers and then the 5 minute manicure that follows, and finally the drawer opening and closing. I cannot work during the time the nails are being clipped. I believe in a lot of cases, it is a nervous habit. And I can understand one or two clips when a nail is broken, but to do all 10 is just wrong. DO IT IN THE BATHROOM AT HOME. I don’t give myself bikini waxes in my cube or pluck my eyebrows. Why is it OK to clip your nails? I went to the endocrinologist and in the waiting room, a woman clipped all 10 of her fingernails right there! CLUELESS. And where exactly did those fingernail clippings end up? All over the chair and floor. Disgusting.

This week my sister, Krisy, found out she was having a baby boy. She already has two daughters. She should be prepared to be a punching bag but overall I love having boys so I am excited for her.

I got pink eye this week. What really sucks is that I didn’t get it from my kids! I don’t know where it came from but it came on with a vengeance on Thursday. Fortunately I had antibiotic drops from before and got to start that ASAP. It’s looking better now.

We had book club on Friday night. Tracy and I were the only ones who read the book other than the host. This is beginning to be a trend. So we talked about the book for about a minute. I wonder if this book club should become a movie club instead where we see a movie and then talk about that. Not that we need something particular to talk about—that never seems to be an issue. And now we are planning more happy hour meetings and even a girl’s night out to a club. So we could just be the Moms-With-2 – 4 Kids Party Club. Although the title would have to also include our resident single members who bring us tales of their exciting single lives.

I did have a great Saturday with the boys. We went to the mall and while Brian ran some errands, I spent an hour and half at Pottery Barn Kids. I wonder what the salespeople think about me plopping down in a comfortable chair and letting Jack play with all their toys. Jack and Ty were phenomenally well behaved and I got to sit and relax while they played. I got to see what Jack liked to play with the best and so I bought that before we left (a toy microwave). We ate at Wildflower after that and then everyone took naps when we got home. We had Saigon Po for dinner which if you haven’t eaten there… you must. Where else can you get your dinner for $5? I think it’s great Vietnamese food and Jack even ate the shrimp and rice noodles.

Brian made me eggs benedict for breakfast which was tasty. Now he is at Costco with the boys giving me a break. I feel a nap coming on…

New School and Nanny

After two months of worrying about Jack starting a new school, all went well this week. His new school at the YMCA is going well. They have all the toys out all the time, the rooms are very homey with wood floors and rugs, and the teachers are really nice. Brian couldn’t get Jack to say good-bye when he dropped him off the first day because Jack was so into gluing his glitter on his paper. I was really worried about sending Jack to a school that just opened but they seem to be working out the kinks pretty quickly. It’s nice to pick Jack up and he is not in a big room with 40 other kids (at the end of the day at our old day care, they put all the kids in one room to wait for the parents—I will say that Jack always seemed to be having fun with the older kids in the room or had managed to be sitting on a teacher’s lap). Instead he is snuggled up to the teacher on the couch reading a book or sitting at the table drawing. But the new school only has 25 kids total and it’s not up to capacity yet so Jack is getting a lot of attention.

The nanny also went well this week. The nanny, Holly, has a daughter Gracie who comes with her. Gracie is almost 2 years old. Brian and I spent some time writing out expectations and Holly did great with them. One day she did the kids’ laundry and put it away and ran the dishwasher and unloaded it. She takes out the trash and always leaves the kitchen spotless and picks up the kids’ toys. I worked from home twice during the week. I was worried about doing that but working in the office with the door shut seems to work fine. I like seeing Ty throughout the day. Holly also babysat for us Saturday night because she is trying to make some extra money. That was nice for us because Jack knows her really well and didn’t see to care that we were leaving him.

I guess I missed writing about last weekend’s activities, so I have two weekends to catch up on. On the last Friday in April, we had some new neighbors over. The guy, Stan, works with me and Brian and he moved into our neighborhood. Stan and his wife have a 6 year old daughter and a 4 year old son who is autistic. Stan and Pam are very dedicated to their son and are learning techniques to help their son integrate into the world a little better. Pam is pregnant with their third child and I don’t know how she does it. It takes a lot of time, dedication and energy with kids to begin with and then on top of that… well, it’s a lot. She doesn’t believe in immunizations which to me is interesting because my parents never had us immunized. This never presented a problem until I was a junior in high school and contracted the measles. I looked like the Elephant Man—it swelled up my head. It’s hard for me to decide if the measles was the worst illness I ever had or if it was mononucleosis when I was 19 (quote from the doctor: I’ve never seen such a high level of the virus in anyone’s blood before!!) but the measles was bad enough for me to drive myself to the health department and ask them to immunize me. Well, there really isn’t a standard process for immunizing adults and they were a little baffled at what to do. So they gave me a German measles shot. That’s it. So when I read about a mumps outbreak in the mid-west, I’m a little nervous. Of course, I went to the Far East six times before someone mentioned that I should be immunized. So I went to some clinic and got a Hep A shot and maybe even polio but I never did the boosters or follow up injections. I’m kind of in vaccination limbo. After living through this, I decided that I would immunize my children. But now I have a friend who is going to space out her MMR shots for her daughter and I read about how a lot of kids in Britain are not getting their shots because of fear of what the shots do (which obviously isn’t anything new because my mother felt the same way in the 1960’s!) It’s all very confusing.

I met my friend Sarah at IKEA for their $1.99 breakfast on Saturday. I bought a new office chair and a few other things. I am so grateful that we have an IKEA here. On Sunday we spent all day getting ready for Jack’s new school and for the nanny. She showed up at 7 AM on Monday and we went through everything. Because I knew her from Jack’s school and felt really comfortable with her, I didn’t have any problems worrying about Ty throughout the day.
I met Jill B for lunch at Abuello’s on Tuesday. There is something decadent about meeting a friend for lunch during the week without the kids. I feel like I’m really getting away with something. On Wednesday I worked from home with the nanny in the house. I was worried about the noise level mostly but fortunately it went fine with the door shut. This is Liz’s last week here before she moves to the east coast so I had lunch with her on Wednesday. It’s so unusual for me to go to lunch at all, let alone 2 times in one week. But I was able to say good-bye to yet another friend who is moving away. So then on Friday a couple co-workers asked if I wanted to each lunch out with them and I thought, Why not? Four of us met at the Cheesecake Factory and talked shop.

The naturopath called me back on Friday and we talked about why I am so tired. She thinks my adrenal system is in overload, so she is going to send me some stuff to sort that out.

Jill M (now 8 months pregnant) and her son Connor came over to play with Jack on Saturday morning. I hope everyone is used to seeing my son run around with his pants off but that is the only way he will go on the potty without being prompted. Even underwear doesn’t prevent him from having accidents. But bottomless, he jumps up and runs to the potty. So Connor played with our naked Jack. Holly came over Saturday night and Brian and I went to Fleming’s, a well respected steak house. It is a chain like Ruth Chris’s and I’m always skeptical of chains. However, the steaks were excellent and I got the beef Wellington, one of my all time favorite meals. They had a big wine selection too. It was quite expensive though. Cinco de Mayo is the anniversary of when we first met in 1998 so we were celebrating. We met a big Cinco de Mayo party in Queen Creek.

On Sunday, our friend Mindy came over for dinner. She was amused by watching us interact with two very active boys. After she left and the chores were done, I watched both Grey’s Anatomy and Desperate Housewives. I like both of those shows but The Office is quickly becoming one my favorite shows. It makes me laugh out loud. This week I will start the weaning process. I expect it will take about a month which will put me a couple weeks shy of my goal of 1 year but that’s pretty darn close. I’m ready to quit because I think it’s contributing to my being tired a lot. And I’m tired of being tired!