Wow, what an adventure that I experienced this weekend!! For some reason I was dumb/naive enough to think that it would be an extra-great idea to pack up my handsome little man and make the 4-5 hour voyage up to Chicago to visit one of my roommates from college, Michelle. Upon completion of this trip and now having reached the point of total exhaustion, I have to admit that I had no idea what I was in for.
The drive up there actually went very smoothly. We left promptly after JD's dinner at 5:30 and he was a tired, tired little boy. The problem was that mommy was also very tired, so our first order of business was a 20 oz. Mountain Dew.
Sounds easy enough, doesn't it?? I knew I would need the caffeine to survive the drive... however actually obtaining a Mountain Dew would mean stopping, unstrapping JD, get both of us into the gas station, etc etc. Luckily, I was still in town at this point and Daddy met us at the gas station to say goodbye, so he was able to be on baby duty while I was on Mountain Dew duty.
Fast forward about 2 hours into the trip.... Man, oh man, did I have to pee!!! The problem was that I had a sleeping baby in the back seat and the slightest mis-step could lead to total & complete meltdown. Eventually I noticed an ominous odor eminating from the back seat and realized that we would now stop on JD's terms.
Both of us went into the McDonald's bathroom. I changed his diaper easily enough, but now was the tricky part. How in the world was I going to tinkle when I had a baby in my arms????? This was one of those "take-for-granted" moments that I never thought of ahead of time - I never thought that I would need to take extra precautions to ensure that I would be able to potty on the trip up.
But, alas, I finally wiggled out of my pants while still holding JD, since of course did not want him hanging out on the bathroom floor but let me assure you that this was (a) extremely difficult to maneuver and (b) very time consuming.
We made it back out into the restaurant finally where I gave JD his bottle, but by the end of the bottle, he stunk up his diaper again, so back to the changing table we did go. But, finally, after all of that, we made it back on the road.
Anyway, after a few more hours, a few more malfunctions with his personal DVD player, and without another sip of Mountain Dew for Mommy (out of fear I would have to brave another stop), we made it to Naperville in a cool 5 hours.
We had a GREAT time up there... the highlight of course was seeing Michelle, Ryan, Lucy & Henry, but seeing Kenny Chesney unexpectedly was a close 2nd!!! The show was amazing and I am his new #1 BIGGEST fan... not that I wasn't a fan before but I think I have found true love now. :-)
Anyway, JD was EXHAUSTED after our weekend when it came time to brave the trip home. I thought it was sure going to be smooth sailing since it was likely that JD would pass out when we left...and SURELY sleep all the way through the ride.
However, I did not count on one dumb-ass gas station lady. I stopped for gas reluctantly after I had been on the road for an hour. I swiped my debit card at the pump and quietly began to fill my tank. After all $47.51 worth of gas had filled me up, the gas station lady comes over the load speaker.
"Um, pump 7, it's prepay or debit only."
I think to myself, OK, I DID prepay WITH my debit card. What is the problem? I thought surely this broad was confused, so I considered getting back into my car. Instead, I shouted back into the vast gas station darkness, "But I did prepay."
"Pump Seven. Prepay. Cash or Debit. Only."
Ugh, irritation. I got JD out of his car seat, journeyed into the gas station, only to have the attendant tell me that she confused me with Pump 8 and that my gas was already paid for.
But, the damage was done. To make a long story short, JD pretty much screamed for a small portion of every half hour the entire journey from that point home as he fought sleep and refused to relax. So, I had to stop. Then stop again. Then stop again. Then stop again.
Ugh. All of this when mommy was again very tired plus add a hangover into the mix and you have one very nervewracking car ride for both mommy & baby.
We made it home all in one piece though at about 9:30 only to have Daddy say, "Oh, wow, I'm glad you guys are home. I'm SO TIRED."
Right.....
Monday, June 15, 2009
Saturday, June 6, 2009
Our first swim lesson
Wow! What a day!! JD had his very first swim lesson today and he did GREAT...well...aside from coming alarmingly close to falling asleep while he was on the kickboard, that is. He really loved the water and surprisingly, he did not mind being dunked either. I pulled out my mom suit and it was nice to see that I was not the worst mom body in the room.
Anyway, JD LOVED it. Plus, he was EXHAUSTED at the end of the half hour class. I pulled him out of the pool and we made our way to the changing table in the women's locker room so that I could unwrap the "present" JD had delivered for me in his little swimmers diaper.
While I was changing his diaper, I was talking away to my friend Ashley, and while we were standing there, some mom came up and used this little metal container that was fasted to the wall right next to the changing table. The mom came up, deposited some item into the container, it made a deep wiiirrrr-wiiirrrr-wiiiirrrr noise, and then the mom was done.
I looked at Ashley like "What was that?" and my mind heard "Trash compactor." Ahh... perfect... some sooped-up diaper destroyer that could take my soiled swimmie off my hands.
I deposited the diaper, along with a few wipes into this contraption, waited for the wiiirrr-wiiirrr-wiiirrr, and then look inside to make sure the deed was done, but surprisingly my diaper was still inside. "OK, maybe I didn't wiirr-wiirr long enough." I pressed the lid down again to allow ample time for diaper destruction, but alas.... STILL there!!!!!
I looked at Ashley and asked what was going on with our friend diaper compactor.
"Ummm.... that's for wet suits."
OH. Whoops!!!!
I had been making the YMCA swimsuit dryer contraption spin around a poopy diaper inside for cycle after cycle. What a dummy!!!!!!!! Obviously, I should've investigated the Y more thoroughly before our first swim class. After my blunder, the swim dryer had to be shut down until it could be bleached out and disinfected. Wonderful.
Anyway, word to the wise. At the Y, there is a metal contraption that DRIES SWIMSUITS and then if you look really hard, you will find a diaper genie to take that soiled swimmie off your hands. Good to know. :-)
Anyway, JD LOVED it. Plus, he was EXHAUSTED at the end of the half hour class. I pulled him out of the pool and we made our way to the changing table in the women's locker room so that I could unwrap the "present" JD had delivered for me in his little swimmers diaper.
While I was changing his diaper, I was talking away to my friend Ashley, and while we were standing there, some mom came up and used this little metal container that was fasted to the wall right next to the changing table. The mom came up, deposited some item into the container, it made a deep wiiirrrr-wiiirrrr-wiiiirrrr noise, and then the mom was done.
I looked at Ashley like "What was that?" and my mind heard "Trash compactor." Ahh... perfect... some sooped-up diaper destroyer that could take my soiled swimmie off my hands.
I deposited the diaper, along with a few wipes into this contraption, waited for the wiiirrr-wiiirrr-wiiirrr, and then look inside to make sure the deed was done, but surprisingly my diaper was still inside. "OK, maybe I didn't wiirr-wiirr long enough." I pressed the lid down again to allow ample time for diaper destruction, but alas.... STILL there!!!!!
I looked at Ashley and asked what was going on with our friend diaper compactor.
"Ummm.... that's for wet suits."
OH. Whoops!!!!
I had been making the YMCA swimsuit dryer contraption spin around a poopy diaper inside for cycle after cycle. What a dummy!!!!!!!! Obviously, I should've investigated the Y more thoroughly before our first swim class. After my blunder, the swim dryer had to be shut down until it could be bleached out and disinfected. Wonderful.
Anyway, word to the wise. At the Y, there is a metal contraption that DRIES SWIMSUITS and then if you look really hard, you will find a diaper genie to take that soiled swimmie off your hands. Good to know. :-)
Wednesday, June 3, 2009
Further Education
You know how there are certain times in your life that you can remember just like they were yesterday? Well, I'm doing good to remember the REAL yesterday anymore, but there are still random memories from my younger days that pop into my head from time to time... some good, some bad, and some downright ugly. One of those popped into my head when I was trying to come up with a good name for my blog. After trying about a million names that have already been taken, I remembered my MRS degree.
When I was in high school, I worked at the local animal hospital & all & all, it was a job that I really loved. I'm an animal person, so I got to be around animals all day, plus I got out of school an hour early to go work there senior year, and I was always out of there by 7:30 every night, which meant I didn' thave to leave my social life behind to go work. It was a good gig for a high schooler.
I was working the front counter one evening the summer before I left for college, and one of the doctor's pointed that out my soon-to-begin higher education to one of our clients. He said, "Oh, really? Where are you going?" I replied, "The University of Illinois." He said, "Oh yeah, whatcha studying?" I said, "Oh, I don't know... I haven't really made up my mind just quite yet." He says, "Oh, I'd have figured you were going up there for your MRS degree." Stupid me was a little slow on the pick-up that day. I said, "No, I was thinking either business or vet med."
After he left, I finally figured it out... my M R S degree - going to college to find a man! Hardy, har, har, Mr. Client-with-the-mean-ol-grumpy-dog. I was not that kind of girl... I was going to college to learn, dangit!!
Anyway, I did earn a business degree from U of I, and I guess for all those interested, I guess you could say that I earned a MRS degree as well.... one of them worked out better than the other... I'll let you take a guess on that one. :-)
But, for some reason, that conversation has stuck with me, and over the years I have learned that your MRS degree is not something that can ever be completed... it's kind of like one of those licenses where you always have to take continuing education when you think that you're an expert already.
And, even harder is completing your MRS degree with an emphasis in MOM... and that's what I'm working on these days.
Yours,
Amy Vacca, MRS/MOM
When I was in high school, I worked at the local animal hospital & all & all, it was a job that I really loved. I'm an animal person, so I got to be around animals all day, plus I got out of school an hour early to go work there senior year, and I was always out of there by 7:30 every night, which meant I didn' thave to leave my social life behind to go work. It was a good gig for a high schooler.
I was working the front counter one evening the summer before I left for college, and one of the doctor's pointed that out my soon-to-begin higher education to one of our clients. He said, "Oh, really? Where are you going?" I replied, "The University of Illinois." He said, "Oh yeah, whatcha studying?" I said, "Oh, I don't know... I haven't really made up my mind just quite yet." He says, "Oh, I'd have figured you were going up there for your MRS degree." Stupid me was a little slow on the pick-up that day. I said, "No, I was thinking either business or vet med."
After he left, I finally figured it out... my M R S degree - going to college to find a man! Hardy, har, har, Mr. Client-with-the-mean-ol-grumpy-dog. I was not that kind of girl... I was going to college to learn, dangit!!
Anyway, I did earn a business degree from U of I, and I guess for all those interested, I guess you could say that I earned a MRS degree as well.... one of them worked out better than the other... I'll let you take a guess on that one. :-)
But, for some reason, that conversation has stuck with me, and over the years I have learned that your MRS degree is not something that can ever be completed... it's kind of like one of those licenses where you always have to take continuing education when you think that you're an expert already.
And, even harder is completing your MRS degree with an emphasis in MOM... and that's what I'm working on these days.
Yours,
Amy Vacca, MRS/MOM
Sunday, May 31, 2009
I just threw up a little in my mouth!
Oh. My. Goodness. Seriously, what a day I had yesterday. It was the day of landlording adventures... not close to the absolute disgust-ment that was Jim & Bernice, but the grossness stooped to a whole new level.
Jeremy and I went over to clean/paint/update one of the apartments in the building we own (which...as a sidenote... will someone PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE buy it???), and the day was filled with adventures as usual. We arrived to the apartment to find that on the surface it really wasn't as "bad" as I thought it would be. There had been a single guy in his late 20s ish that had lived there for the past 3 years, so you just know that it could not be good.
The flooring was atrocious and the bathtub was seriously BLACK from all the grime, and the ex-tenant was nice enough to leave his old shower curtain hanging there which had turned a weird shade of bluish gray from all of the soap scum and mildew.
But... while that did make me shudder and swear out loud as I thought about the time that we would have to get this place back up to snuff. It was not the worst.
Oh no, it gets better.
So... yours truly was going around painting the walls in the bedroom. I was preparing to paint and was taping off the walls where they met up with the carpet. All of the sudden I saw something very strange.
At first glance it looked like dried shreds of mozzarella cheese. I sat there puzzled for a minute at what exactly had made my acquaintenance....then....it hit me.... like a ton of bricks.
Toenails.
Yes, TOENAILS!!!
(puke, puke, puke)
And, when I tell you that there were seriously 3 years worth of toenail clippings in a 10-inch radius, I shit you not. Seriously, this guy must've went to the same corner of his room to clip his toenails every single freakin' time and then let them "hang out" on his floor without giving a single thought about cleaning them up.
Seriously... there were SO MANY toenails it was freakin' unbelievable.
Then, I had to vacuum them up (man, Jeremy owes me SO BIG it is not even funny) and it was all clickety-click-click-clickety-click in the vacuum cleaner as they got sucked up....
Absolutely flippin' disgusting. Yes, it is possible that one of our tenants has surpassed Jim & Bernice and taken us to a new low in our rental property adventures.
Or....perhaps maybe not... Jim & Bernice were pretty bad.
Jeremy and I went over to clean/paint/update one of the apartments in the building we own (which...as a sidenote... will someone PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE buy it???), and the day was filled with adventures as usual. We arrived to the apartment to find that on the surface it really wasn't as "bad" as I thought it would be. There had been a single guy in his late 20s ish that had lived there for the past 3 years, so you just know that it could not be good.
The flooring was atrocious and the bathtub was seriously BLACK from all the grime, and the ex-tenant was nice enough to leave his old shower curtain hanging there which had turned a weird shade of bluish gray from all of the soap scum and mildew.
But... while that did make me shudder and swear out loud as I thought about the time that we would have to get this place back up to snuff. It was not the worst.
Oh no, it gets better.
So... yours truly was going around painting the walls in the bedroom. I was preparing to paint and was taping off the walls where they met up with the carpet. All of the sudden I saw something very strange.
At first glance it looked like dried shreds of mozzarella cheese. I sat there puzzled for a minute at what exactly had made my acquaintenance....then....it hit me.... like a ton of bricks.
Toenails.
Yes, TOENAILS!!!
(puke, puke, puke)
And, when I tell you that there were seriously 3 years worth of toenail clippings in a 10-inch radius, I shit you not. Seriously, this guy must've went to the same corner of his room to clip his toenails every single freakin' time and then let them "hang out" on his floor without giving a single thought about cleaning them up.
Seriously... there were SO MANY toenails it was freakin' unbelievable.
Then, I had to vacuum them up (man, Jeremy owes me SO BIG it is not even funny) and it was all clickety-click-click-clickety-click in the vacuum cleaner as they got sucked up....
Absolutely flippin' disgusting. Yes, it is possible that one of our tenants has surpassed Jim & Bernice and taken us to a new low in our rental property adventures.
Or....perhaps maybe not... Jim & Bernice were pretty bad.
Friday, May 29, 2009
What a day!!!
Take a look at what is going on in my backyard today... there's 3 dogs out there, count 'em. But, there's only 11 legs between the 3 of them. Figure that one out! :-)We have been charged with watching my in-laws' dog Buck for the weekend and when Buck is here, look out!! Within the first hour that he was here, he managed to use his sole front leg to dig a hole under the fence and escape our yard. Also within that first hour, 2 of the 3 dogs were covered in mud. Makes for a great start to a fun day. Once Buck was safely re-locked back in the yard, my dog Maverick (the big golden) thought it would be fun to terrorize Buck by chasing him around the yard trying to hump him (yes, my dog Maverick is a homo-dog). Then, Annie joins in the fun by chasing the two of them around the yard, barking at everything she sets her eyes on, and the games have officially begun. Then, I step out to take their picture, and they all manage to look sweet & innocent for a minute... and that's when I snapped this picture. "What? We're being SO good back here, mom. Go back inside." Ugh, the 3 of them... what a disaster!!!
I think one of the most trying things about being a mom is that you are always "on"... you are always in demand, and there is always someone needing your attention. From the second I wake up, which is never on my own and which is always according to JD's schedule, I am "on." Feed, play, diaper, nap, play, feed, diaper, feed, nap. And in between all that, squeeze my "job" at work and my "job" at home. It never ends.
Then, mixed into all this drama, I have a dog named Maverick... who LOVES me. He always wants to be RIGHT next to me, RIGHT in the way of where I'm about to step, RIGHT in between me & whatever I'm trying to grab, RIGHT outside of the bathroom door when I'm in the shower. It's mom mom mom mom mom mom mom all the time.
And, not that I don't love being a mom, not that I don't like being needed, and not that I don't love my dogs, but Good Lord, it can be is EXHAUSTING. Today is one of those days... 1 7 month old baby who is fuss, fuss, fuss today and 3 dogs that are bark, bark, bark today can really drive a girl nuts. Just needed to vent.
Wednesday, May 27, 2009
Losing my mind...
OK, so I realize I've been a blog slacker, but when I logged in to make another post today, I saw I officially have 2 followers!!! Wow, this is so exciting to me!!! Thanks girls!! :-) Hopefully you enjoy my rants.
So, recently I've come to the conclusion that I may be on the brink of losing my mind and losing my sanity... or maybe when I saw "on the brink" I really mean "have totally passed the point of." I don't know for sure, but I think it's close.
One thing that I've noticed about my life as Mommy is that I am constantly "narrating" my day. Whenever JD is in the room with me, I feel as if I need to be in constant contact or constant conversation with him. I don't really like it to be dull or quiet. So, I'm always saying "Time to change JD's diaper" or "Time for Mommy to wash the dishes, what do you think, JD?" or "Time for Mommy's bottle now" as I open my fridge for my bedtime white zin night cap.
Now, I don't really mind being in constant conversation with my son... and I do use the word "conversation" loosely as it is always one-sided although I may get an "Ahhhh!!!" or a dribble of drool in response. But, I think this is an outside sign of my thread of sanity that I am left clinging to.
I took JD with me to the grocery store the other day. This little man LOVES to shop - he loves all the colors and sounds... and well, let's face it. You've all seen his pictures- he is a CHUNK... he just loves the sight of food.
Well, all through the grocery store, I am just chatting along "Hmmm.... do you think Daddy would like it if Mommy bought some broccoli, or do you think he would like some potatoes instead?" (pause) "Broccoli?? Good choice, me too." "What do you think, should we buy 2% or skim milk?" "Mmmm...yummy.... look at those apples!! JD likes apples, don't you, JD?" You get my drift. The sad thing is that I was doing this kind of subconsciously... not really even realizing that I was speaking my "thoughts"... I guess I was in kind of an out-of-the-house-induced trance!
About halfway through the grocery store, I realized that I was doing this when I said, "Gosh, where do they keep the olives in this place? Do you know?" And one of my fellow shoppers actually answered me. "Oh, I think they're in aisle 2, honey!" Whoops.
So, there it is. I am now the crazy lady in the grocery store that talks to strangers. Like I said, I have lost my mind.
So, recently I've come to the conclusion that I may be on the brink of losing my mind and losing my sanity... or maybe when I saw "on the brink" I really mean "have totally passed the point of." I don't know for sure, but I think it's close.
One thing that I've noticed about my life as Mommy is that I am constantly "narrating" my day. Whenever JD is in the room with me, I feel as if I need to be in constant contact or constant conversation with him. I don't really like it to be dull or quiet. So, I'm always saying "Time to change JD's diaper" or "Time for Mommy to wash the dishes, what do you think, JD?" or "Time for Mommy's bottle now" as I open my fridge for my bedtime white zin night cap.
Now, I don't really mind being in constant conversation with my son... and I do use the word "conversation" loosely as it is always one-sided although I may get an "Ahhhh!!!" or a dribble of drool in response. But, I think this is an outside sign of my thread of sanity that I am left clinging to.
I took JD with me to the grocery store the other day. This little man LOVES to shop - he loves all the colors and sounds... and well, let's face it. You've all seen his pictures- he is a CHUNK... he just loves the sight of food.
Well, all through the grocery store, I am just chatting along "Hmmm.... do you think Daddy would like it if Mommy bought some broccoli, or do you think he would like some potatoes instead?" (pause) "Broccoli?? Good choice, me too." "What do you think, should we buy 2% or skim milk?" "Mmmm...yummy.... look at those apples!! JD likes apples, don't you, JD?" You get my drift. The sad thing is that I was doing this kind of subconsciously... not really even realizing that I was speaking my "thoughts"... I guess I was in kind of an out-of-the-house-induced trance!
About halfway through the grocery store, I realized that I was doing this when I said, "Gosh, where do they keep the olives in this place? Do you know?" And one of my fellow shoppers actually answered me. "Oh, I think they're in aisle 2, honey!" Whoops.
So, there it is. I am now the crazy lady in the grocery store that talks to strangers. Like I said, I have lost my mind.
Wednesday, May 6, 2009
Mother's Day
Here we are, on the brink of my first official Mother's Day. I remember last Mother's Day... I went to church with my in-laws and when they asked all the mothers to stand, my mother in law insisted that I stand because I was preggo with my little peanut. I did get a flower at that service, too, so I guess I semi have celebrated Mother's Day before.
But, this mother's day is a HECK of a lot different. I was a pseudo mom before, but now I am a real-life, full-fledge one! So, I expect it to go a little differently. Just in case my husband is reading, I would like to add a list of things that I would like for Mother's Day:
- My husband to do laundry - ALL 27 loads that need to be done on the weekends after our family gets done with a week's worth of clothes. All of the clothes folded, put away & hung in a timely manner.
- My husband to make me dinner. Good dinner served on the dinner table, not on the T.V. trays and a nice bottle of wine with dinner. The wine that I like, not the wine that he likes.
- My husband to prepare all bottles & bowls of baby food for my son. Feeding him a meal or 2 would be a plus, but as a mommy, I don't mind giving those snuggly little bottles at the end of the day.
- My husband to wake up whenever my son wakes up and be the first line of contact for him in the morning, regardless of how early it is. I would like to sleep in - undisturbed - until at least 9 am. Wouldn't that be something????
- Oh yeah, and I don't really need a gift, just my little son is gift enough, but it would be nice to use my spa gift certificate that has been sitting around unused in my drawer since JD was 2 weeks old. Maybe somehow my husband can finangle that as well.
So, in short, I would like my husband to be me for a day... and in turn... I get to spend a day as him. That's the gift I want - spend a day as my husband. What a wonderful life he leads! So, I guess if you think about it, every day for him is "Father's Day." That for sure means I should be off the hook for him this year!!!! :-) I guess that's why I say a woman's work is never done... yet... oddly enough, a man's work never seems to begin!
HAPPY MOTHER'S DAY TO ALL YOU MOMMIES OUT THERE!!!!!
But, this mother's day is a HECK of a lot different. I was a pseudo mom before, but now I am a real-life, full-fledge one! So, I expect it to go a little differently. Just in case my husband is reading, I would like to add a list of things that I would like for Mother's Day:
- My husband to do laundry - ALL 27 loads that need to be done on the weekends after our family gets done with a week's worth of clothes. All of the clothes folded, put away & hung in a timely manner.
- My husband to make me dinner. Good dinner served on the dinner table, not on the T.V. trays and a nice bottle of wine with dinner. The wine that I like, not the wine that he likes.
- My husband to prepare all bottles & bowls of baby food for my son. Feeding him a meal or 2 would be a plus, but as a mommy, I don't mind giving those snuggly little bottles at the end of the day.
- My husband to wake up whenever my son wakes up and be the first line of contact for him in the morning, regardless of how early it is. I would like to sleep in - undisturbed - until at least 9 am. Wouldn't that be something????
- Oh yeah, and I don't really need a gift, just my little son is gift enough, but it would be nice to use my spa gift certificate that has been sitting around unused in my drawer since JD was 2 weeks old. Maybe somehow my husband can finangle that as well.
So, in short, I would like my husband to be me for a day... and in turn... I get to spend a day as him. That's the gift I want - spend a day as my husband. What a wonderful life he leads! So, I guess if you think about it, every day for him is "Father's Day." That for sure means I should be off the hook for him this year!!!! :-) I guess that's why I say a woman's work is never done... yet... oddly enough, a man's work never seems to begin!
HAPPY MOTHER'S DAY TO ALL YOU MOMMIES OUT THERE!!!!!
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