Mid-February Already!

Sorry for the lack of presence lately! I can't rationalize it other than being lazy as hell. And the midwinter-nothing-new-really-happening syndrome.

Rose continues to grow like a cute little weed. Tim, Rose and I braved the nasty winter weather on Wednesday to go to her 4 month appointment and she did fabulously well. Height/lengthwise, she's at the 90% percentile and her other features are at the 75th. I'm so hoping she has those nice long, lean Moran genes rather than the McLaughlin thighs I sport around.

Tomorrow I'm meeting the ladies for tea at the new TajBoston, which used to be the Ritz. The sale of the Ritz rocked the city - have you read the Trumpet of the Swan? Ever gone to the swanboats? Any of the traditional Boston action always included the Ritz, so it was a sad event. I guess everything has its price but that one was a shocker.

How exciting that its already mid February! That does mean that spring is coming. Once the flower show opens then you know those crocuses are just around the corner. Last year the deer ate our crocuses after one day so hopefully the beasts will not be back. I've neglected our garden for the past two years so am really looking forward to de-shabifying it this season. And to planting a new strain of hydrangea that allegedly blooms twice a summer. Awesome! We're also going to plant a Rose of Sharon in Rose's honor to watch it grow along with her. Cute.

Crabby?

These are souvenirs from our play day in Maine. Yes, the crab is mine and is proudly perched on a pencil in my office.

You decide if the crab is a commentary on my personality.

This week's adventure: the doctor's office for Rose followed by lunch with Grams & Pops. It was quite a nice day!

Next week's adventure: Rose and my first trip to Ikea. Yay!

Play Day

So today is a play day for the Morans. We're off to the Kittery outlets to sniff out bargains, particularly at the Bass Outlet. For whatever reason, I have recently heard its siren call and must respond. Tim took the day off and Rose is also available, so we shall sally forth after the dryer repair guy comes this morning.

I have gotten the green light to engage a financial planner! Very exciting. I've wanted to do this for a while (OK, years) and was inspired by Lori. I would like to attempt living on one income and saving the other. Draconian, yes. But think of the peace of mind.

Rose is doing fantastically well at daycare. She's getting great care, is very happy at the end of the day, has taken some enormous naps and has even begun to *fill her britches* there. Ah yes, its all worth the price.

Ex-Cocoon

So I returned to work this week, and Rose started at daycare. The good news is we both did well! The bad news is we felt bad leaving her but she will enjoy the kids and have a lot of fun there, particularly once she gets mobile. So if that's our only bad news that's pretty good. Plus I'm not working Wednesdays which makes life at home more manageable (errand day instead of Saturday!) and she only goes to daycare for two-day spurts. We're very happy with that, although I'm scheduled to return to 4 days in April. I need to think about how to negotiate 4 days permanently at that point.

For me, work is work. SSDD. But that's OK for now. I'm looking for a better opportunity, either 3 or 4 days per week, preferably closer to home. I got a great tip from Lily's mom at the daycare (apparently no one remembers the parent's names) about taking the train. I used to take the one from Reading, but that schedule doesn't work for my new hours so I've driven in this week. That is fraught with parking issues in addition to traffic issues. However, if I take the train from Woooooooooooo-burn, the schedule works and there are tons more trains -- who knew? -- so there's a lot more flexibility. I'll try it this week to see how it goes. Sure beats driving and I could actually read a book! Or work, but I'd rather read a book. It's been a long, long time since I did that. Thanks Lily's mom!

Progress!

Its been a while since I did a construction update, which is partially because I forgot and partially because the builders took an unannounced and unplanned hiatus for about 6 weeks. Sigh. So the front entrance & driveway improvement portion of the project won't happen until the spring. However, the deck is coming along nicely now. We just need railings, real treads on the stairs, a gate and the pergola.

December 18

Rose is growing by leaps and bounds, and is now chatting up a storm. Its very cute, especially when punctuated by that big toothless smile. It's just so amazing to see delight cross her face when we have a conversation. Tim is loving her and really enjoys spending time with her. She's now grabbing and swatting at things, which is a new feat this week. She's slept through the night five times in December, so that's encouraging. Especially when you get a night like last night where she woke every three hours for something to eat. She's definitely in a little growth spurt right now as she was really sleepy today too.

I'm staring down the face of my return to work, but now I'm thinking it will actually be OK. Although it will lend structure and routine to our lives, it will definitely take some getting used to.

A Preview

I had to go to a work event this week, which certainly gave me a preview of what lies ahead once I return to work. Specifically. a very early wake-up. And a pretty scheduled morning (and I guess evening too) routine, none of which is all that appealing. I'm trying to work out a four day week for as long as possible, but I know my boss will be a weasel in the end. He's already started and I still have four weeks before I go back. Sigh. I really need to change jobs, which I had naively thought I could accomplish while on my maternity leave. I'm lucky if I get laundry from the washer to the dryer at 0this point. What was I thinking/smoking/sniffing?

However, those are all worries for another time. I trust that things will work out in the long run. I do think that getting back to work will be good for my mental health - feeling competent rather than this long learning curve I'm currently on will be a nice experience.

To sleep, perchance to dream...

Oy. Just when you think you might get a nice li'l uninterrupted stretch of 6 hours of sleep, Rose pulls out her whammy gun and instead you get up every two and a half hours. Not just one night, but two in a row. Needless to say the dark circles are back under my eyes. However, the good news is she's sleeping much better during the day this week. As I say, baby steps. Pun intended.

We will be making the big move upstairs from our guest room/bassinet arrangment to OUR OWN BED (!!!!) and Rose to her crib. Hooray! I think it will either be tomorrow or Friday night. I'm so excited, I can't believe it. I haven't spent a night up there since October 1. Tim had two nights there while I was in the hospital, lucky guy. We've basically only used the room for a closet since Rose came home. It will be nice to get that slice-o-normal back, when so much is not normal anymore...I have to learn to embrace the new normal. Its the new black.

Little Bits

So while we adjust to having Rose as part of our happy little trio of Tim, Maxwell and I, its nice to see that there are snippets of our old life surfacing every now and then. Like last night. Tim stopped at Barnes & Noble on his way home (good!) and brought me a present (better!). Its the current Rolling Stone with Jon Stewart & Steven Colbert on the cover (best!). We heartily enjoy both of them, as does most of America I imagine.

Rose had her first photo shoot today. OK, so it was at Target, but it was still a photo shoot. She did remarkably well and is so cute. Once the pictures arrive, I'll post one here for all to admire.

So one of the first days that we were home with Rose, Ellen DeGeneres had a hip-hop guy on her show. His name is Chingy. Unexplicably, that has become our nickname for Rose. Its kinda catchy and she doesn't seem to mind. I think she thinks it gives her cred.

Progress on our deck project has screeched to a halt. Its literally been a month since the team has been here to do any work on it. Aggravating. Just freakin' finish it for the lovvagawd. We have approval from the Conservation Commission to do the front entrance project, but I fear that they'll start that and never finish it either and we'll be stuck hiking through snow & darkness with Chingy in tow to the back door for the whole f-in winter. I will not be a happy camper, needless to say.

Surfacing...

It's been a long time since September 30, Rose's official due date. However, she didn't arrive until October 6. For four days we were at the hospital being induced, induced and induced. She finally burst onto the scene at 12:44am on 10/6, and I do mean burst. The labor nurse was panicked as she didn't do delivery, and the med student said he'd never seen anything like it. The good news is she's just so cute, healthy and happy. Love that! We're getting on well for week 3, and are anticipating the growth of her little tummy to hold enough food to tide her overnight. Allegedly that happens around 10 lbs, and she was 8.2 last Wednesday, so hopefully she's continuing to grow like a little weed and we'll get there!

Sleepy Saturday

We had a lovely visit today from my brother, Drew, his wife Suzanne and their little guy, Liam. Liam is all of three weeks and three days old. I'm amazed at how much they've all learned about each other in that short time. The initial oh-my-God-he's-crying response has been morphed into knowing what the cries mean (9 out of 10 times anyway) and knowing pretty much how to resolve the issue of the moment. They also have a calm demeanor about them, which I'm sure helps keep Liam calm too. I'm hoping we make as much progress in three weeks as those three have.

Today was a rainy day, which is always a good time to cook something good. We roasted a turkey this afternoon, and it was ready for pickin' around 4:00. Simply stuffed with fresh parsley, cracked garlic cloves and a chopped up onion, then rubbed on the outside with world-famous Bell's poultry seasoning from the cute cardboard box with the turkey on it. It was amazingly aromatic after only about 10 minutes in the oven, and tasted sweet and juicy. Nice. Paired with the amazingly delish chocolate biscotti recipe I have stashed away, it was a yummy little combo for whatever people wanted to nibble upon.

Progress...one step at a time

Our contractor for the home improvement project came by tonight with a sample of the deck flooring and with the plans for the driveway drainage system. Woo hoo! Although he only brought the tan floor sample and wants us to choose it...I don't call that a choice. Tomorrow he drops off the grey. We nixed the faux redwood and the pale beige, but I'd like to see the grey. Its what we have now, the foundation of the house is grey, and it flows nicely. I'm not sure about the introduction of a third color into the palette.

The good news is he thinks he'll have his guys here next week (although he told us that 10 days ago about this week...) and it should take them 3 days to frame the deck. The race is on...will they still be here when TPTBNL arrives? Let's hope not. I'll be one cranky petoot if they keep me up during those scant moments when Li'l Junior sleeps. If Mama ain't happy ain't no one happy. They'd best remember that.

Late Bloomer

So I missed the whole Sex and the City buzz for all those seasons it was on HBO. We didn't subscribe, and I figured why get hooked on a TV show, blah, blah, blah. Well, I have found out now what I was missing then! The cleaned-up versions are shown a couple of times a week and I just can't get enough! The situations are so real and the writing is very clever. However, I have to say that I don't like Charlotte at all. She's too uptight and I find it hard to believe that the others would be friends with her in real life. I can only imagine how good the show is with all its original language. Something tells me I'll be renting the DVDs this fall...

The Pleasure of a Pedicure

OK, so its been at least 10 days since I had my latest pedicure, but it still looks great and I'm still loving this color. Its called La Paz-itively Pink. Usually I go with a red or a brownish but something spoke to me of hot pink and this was the hottest pink I could find.

My previous pedi was in May and I had a French finish, which I did like but really, can delicately pale pink compete with La Paz? I didn't think so.

Ahhh Saturday...

We had hoped to do a late-afternoon beach outing today, complete with li'l picnic but the weather isn't expected to cooperate. Oh well. Instead we're meeting our ex-pat pal Jimmie for lunch which will be fun. He's home from London to get his house ready for rental and then he's back across the pond tomorrow. Two years in London sounds lovely to me. My travel for work consists of an occasional visit to the Back Bay. Where is the glamour?

The home improvement project carries on - now we have cement footings in the backyard. Ever watched cement dry? Its a lot like watching paint dry, but with less action since most of it happens underground inside a cardboard tube. I'm looking forward to the good stuff - demo of the existing porch, installation of the door out of Tim's office, etc.

Tim is recovering from Korean jet lag slowly but surely. He returned late Wednesday night, then had to work the next day and got home at 9:30pm. How lovely. On Friday he was up and ready to go to work and thought he'd sit in the comfy chair for a minute, and the next thing you now it was 12:30. Oops. Oh well. Luckily most of his group travels widely for work so they know that stuff happens.

Let the digging begin!

So what to my wondering eyes did appear but a miniature backhoe in the yard when I got home today. Looks like construction on the deck project is getting ready to roll. I called the contractor to be sure he had parked this lovely item in the right yard, and he assured me that he had. Alrighty then! When I asked about the teeny little restriction in the permit from the conservation commission lady that said we can't have any equipment go over the lawn, he said he'd take care of her. Alrighty then again! Call me crazy for (a) wanting to be law abiding and (b) not wanting to piss her off. Mostly (b).

Preparations...

So Tim jets off to Korea for work tomorrow morning. The car arrives at 4am to get him to Logan for his 6:45 flight. Yeesh. He's so not an early riser, although he's quite chipper once he gets out of bed.

We went for our individualized birth class on Monday morning, and we both did much better than I thought we would. Chalk it up to a Powerpoint presentation instead of videos or pictures. And Alma, the awesome nurse who has been my rock since day one. I can't say the same about the breastfeeding class. I endured that one alone, two videos and a stuffed-animal-style demonstration boob to boot. I didn't anticipate feeling as grossed out by the end of the class as I was. I think it was the close-up of the earth mamas doing various things to prepare themselves for nursing. TMI.

The timing was finally right for Tim to feel the baby kicking last night! Usually whenever the Player to be Named Later would start soccer practice, Tim would rest his hand on me and then TPTBNL would get benched, so I was psyched he got to experience it. Tim announced that he now believes that I'm really pregnant and not just faking it. I've been pretty sure for a while, but its nice to have the vote of confidence.

One Step Closer

While Max bathed and then snoozed, Tim and I just assembled the glider for The Player To Be Names Later's room. It only took four screws, but the last one sure was a doozy.

NYC

We went to Manhattan last weekend for Tim's birthday. I'm so glad - he's always wanted to walk the Brooklyn Bridge and we did! We even found it by subway, which made me very proud of us (he looks a lot like his brother, Mike, in this photo but its really Tim). The views from the bridge are just amazing. A highly recommended activity should you ever get the chance.

Other highlights included a very lovely lunch at the cafe at St. Bart's Cathedral on Park Avenue. Another very highly recommended spot. We dined al fresco amid a few raindrops, and I understand that the party moves inside for the colder months. We also tracked down Moby's little tearoom, Teany, in the lower East Side. The tea was really good (90+ varieties!) but the service was surly and the teapots were chipped. And Moby wasn't there, nor did they have any of his music playing at the time. Not really worth tracking down. However, should you want a fix, bottled Teany iced tea is available at Whole Foods in the city. Our last recommendation is Havana in the Village. Cuban food at pretty much its very best. We stayed at the Roger Smith Hotel on Lexington, which was a very welcome oasis.

We had a great getaway, but you know the old saying...travel east, travel west, after all home is best.

Catching up

Wow, I really need to be more disciplined in updating this site! Luckily I have a couple of good snippets right now...first of all, the scorecard. Max is now up to 2 mice, 6 chipmunks, 4 snakes and 5 frogs. And he ate three of the frogs. Apparently, they taste like chicken. He is such a sweet little guy...its scary to know that within that cute little exterior truly beats the heart of a killer. And it does. He's actually lurking in the backyard right now, but between the heat and his reputation there isn't much around to hunt. Or catch. (Editor's note: during the course of this writing he has caught but not snacked on another frog thanks to Tim's heroics. Make that 6.)

On a brighter note, on Sunday we went to the wonderful wedding of my wonderful bookgroup pal, Karen. Karen and Chris met a long, long time ago and have a really special connection. The ceremony was on the lawn by a small grove of trees at the Sherborn Inn, and was followed by a very lovely brunch. Karen's sister, Chrissy, was the justice of the peace for the day, and the ceremony was beautiful. Very personalized. Right down to editing one of Maya Angelou's poems to better suit the tone. Other readings were from The Prophet by Kahlil Gibran, Garrison Keillor and the Apache blessing. A lovely medley. A lovely day.

We're off to the Big Apple this weekend to celebrate Tim's birthday. We're staying at the Roger Smith Hotel on Lexington, and when I called today to confirm our reservation the very warm and helpful lady upgraded us to a junior suite for no good reason at all other than she and I had a very nice conversation. Suite! We're taking Amtrak to the big cit-ay so won't have to worry about anything more than how grungy the bathrooms are and whether they run out of decent snacks in the club car.