I'm baaaaack

I must admit I've been lurking on my own blog.  I've been visiting often, with intent to write.  I have ideas, I have thoughts, but I have no motivation to actually write.  I want to, but I can't seem to start. 

Spring has arrived, sort of.  I love seeing the flowers and new leaf buds on all the trees.  It's one of the few things I miss about driving into an office for work. . . I miss seeing the trees develop leaves.  They start out as a vibrant green full of shades of yellow and as the season progresses they darken to almost emerald.  I love the brand new color of the spring leaves.  I'm noticing most days are breezy and sunny with temps in the mid 50s which unfortunately is just a smidge too cold for nightly walks.  We've gone out less than a handful of times so far but soon, very soon we'll be out every night enjoying the neighborhoods, monitoring house sales, saying hello to neighbors we haven't seen since fall.  

During one of our walks we opted for ice cream as if it were mid-summer.  We have 3 places that sell ice cream in a reasonable walking distance.  Two are right across the street from each other however, I'm boycotting one (UDF) and the other is fine but only offers soft-serve chocolate & vanilla.  We wanted more options so we strolled past those to the third location, Ollie's.  It has apparently been in town for about 4 years but we only discovered it last summer.  It offers flavors that are neither typical nor unique . . . as in it's no Baskin Robbins with the typical array of options but it's no Jeni's either.  It falls in-between with flavors like Cranberry Gelato and Chai.  With such intriguing flavors one is not certain what the product tastes like.  I mean for every Starbucks I hit I can get a Chai that tastes a little different so how do I know what their frozen version will taste like?  Unfortunately, there is no option to try their ice cream.  

Last year we arrived to see a tiny store covered in signs . . . no strollers, no samples, extra spoons 5 cents, etc.  This year there were no signs so I thought perhaps customer service was making a comeback.  Nope.  I was unable to get a sample of the Cranberry Gelato (or anything else).  Hesitantly I ordered it anyway.  And I wondered - what will I do if I dislike this?  Isn't it worth a tiny sample to ensure I am happy?  Otherwise I will have to hand them back the entire cone if I dislike it and that's a huge waste.  I also suspect that wouldn't go over well.  Sigh.  So now after battling all last summer with ourselves over whether or not to patronize this local, non-chain, mom and pop ice cream shop we have had to decide not to return.  It's not like they woo us with friendliness to compensate for the no samples.  They are generally just not very friendly.  They don't even offer to describe their flavors!  I'm so annoyed.  We visited well over a week ago and I'm still annoyed enough to rant here.  

I think customer service has been disappearing everywhere, but with this economy I expect it to make a comeback.  By expect it to make a comeback, I mean if a place doesn't offer me good customer service I will take my coveted spending elsewhere.

I'll be sure not to rant in the next blog entry!  :)

baby J toddling

Okay, he's not really toddling officially.  He has taken a few steps but much like those first crawling movements I'm not counting these.  I'm not sure he even realizes he is walking - alone.  We kinda trick him by sending him off to mama or dada (we'll get that in a sec) and letting him go.  Sometimes he sits, sometimes he falls into our arms, sometimes though he actually takes a couple steps.  He has not initiated independent walking though.  He'll happily walk holding our hand or his walker or along furniture and walls ('cmon if he can walk along that he can walk - dude!).  It took forever but he is willing to walk just holding a single hand.  That took over a week of him getting quite angry with us for not taking both his hands.  I've been thinking it would happen soon (independent walking) for months so I no longer guess or estimate at what age he'll walk.  Honestly I no longer care - I know it will happen sooner than later.

His last Help Me Grow meeting offered good news on the verbal front.  J is finally babbling consonant chains including nanananan and dadadadad with a little bababa and once or twice even a mamama.  J loves to play a game where he touches his chest and we say his name and then we touch someone else and say their name be it me, D or even the cats.  After about a week of this he even started initiating the game.  It's novelty has worn off so he doesn't do it mu

ch anymore but every so often he will want to play it again. His receptive language skills are awesome.  He knows what we mean when we say everyday things like nap, walk, sippy, bath, kitty, lovey, binky, etc.  It's just his expressive language that's a little behind.  Personally I blame the teeth.  He has 8 teeth.  The first set (by set I mean 4) came in from 6-7months of age.  Once those were done J promptly started crawling.  Then the next 4 teeth arrived at mo

nth 9-10 and nothing much happened developmentally until after that when J started assisted walking and his consonant babbling.  Now he's teething again I think so well see if it affects anything.  I really just think he cannot focus on moving his mouth around to make new noises when it is full of pain.  That's what my gut says.  And really it's not a big deal - he'll walk & talk in his own time.

We're also practicing signing.  I read that it's good to start when a baby can wave good-bye.  I guess that is when they will pick-up on the signs but we started earlier just to get him used to it.  He knows the words better than the signs but we keep using them so hopefully he'll start to use them.  He'll do "all done" but only after much prompting.  He'd much rather pitch is food & sippy to the floor when he's had enough.  He knows the sign for "more" and "train" but uses neither of course even when prompted.  We're working hard on "eat" right now but so far - nothing.  He is intrigued by "kitty" but again does not use it.  We'll likely get him a baby sign book and/or DVD for his birthday in hopes that will help.  

One of our main debates around here is how much to feed him.  I error on the side of stuffing him figuring he will pitch stuff when he is done.  D thinks I'm going to instill bad habits and he'll become overweight.  I'm not concerned - most babies and kids get baby fat.  I think as long as he is given plenty of opportunity and encouragement to be active then he'll not become part of the childhood obesity problem the US currently has happening.  I always error on the side of feeding too much.  I think it stems from J being born early and small and then having issues with eating and glu

cose levels in the NICU.  I've been programmed to feed him as much as he'll take.  I'm not sure when or if to stop that mentality though.  We'll see what the good doctor says at his 1yr appointment.  

Speaking of food this is the first month I've thought "wow, babies are expensive."  J has moved to finger foods completely now so I'm buying fruit and veggies and all kinds of things.  It makes formula seem cheap.  I'm sure one day - oh about 12 years from now - I'll laugh at the thought of finger foods being expensive as my teenage boy eats us out of house and home.  

I'm also coming to the realization that baby J has too much stuff and we don't have enough room for any of it.  I really really really hope our house sells this spring because we need a better layout.  We need a playroom for J because right now he has his room, the hallway, and the guest room as his own with toys everywhere.  It's mainly the big things like walking toys and ride-on toys that are the issue.  Though I noticed today he has outgrown his exersaucer so that can be disassembled and sold or put in storage.  That will clear up a little space for the Bobles he has coming for his birthday.  Sadly, I also think the jumperoo needs moved into the bathroom permanently (ugh - we are being taken over).  It keeps J safe and out of trouble while I shower though I know he'll be outgrowing that in no time too.  I just hope we can be into a new home by then [fingers crossed].  On the flipside, our first floor is baby free with the exception of the highchair and pack-and-play (the latter we're considering packing up for good though).  

I bought a new baby carrier.  It's a Catbird brand carrier (the pikkolo) and I purchased it locally from Sprout Soup.  I wish I had known about this place last year at this time.  I would have visited there for a carrier rather than buying a pouch and then a Bjorn and now a Catbird (um, can you say expensive?!?!).  The Bjorn was actually a gift and we used it a TON and J loved it.  We walked every night this past summer and J joined us in that until late September when we moved to the jogging stroller (he was just too heavy for that long of a walk).  So why did I buy a new carrier then?  J is too wiggly for a pouch (I tried ours) and too big for the Bjorn (says it goes up to 21lbs but that must be a skinny/tall baby!).  I bought the Catbird because J is a mama's boy and he's not walking yet.  There are times when it's easier to put him in a carrier then a stroller.  When?  Quick trips to the mall (J hates his stroller indoor), festivals (Grapefest comes to mind but also Arts Festival), parties (I thought I'd need this for one a couple weeks ago but J was happy to play on the floor), Filene's Basement (and any other place that does not have carts & the aisles are too small for a stroller).  I do admit that an umbrella stroller could have solved some of these issues but oh well.  We'll save the um

brella stroller for next year.

J has dropped a nap.  He's been working on this for a few weeks when he got a cold and needed/wanted extra sleep.  He was solidly back to 2 naps when Daylight Savings happened.  That must have been just the jolt he needed be

cause he instantly dropped a nap.  It took him a couple days to fully adapt but now he's sleeping for 2-3 hours

 after lunch each day.  Woo-hoo!  I like that he has more playtime but a solid nap still.  He seems happy with it and he's still sleeping through the night which is possibly the most important thing.

This week J will turn one.  I've begun to feel a little frantic.  I'm getting my freelance work done early, getting the pets ready to be boarded, the house ready for guests, the boy ready to celebrate, etc.  I thought this morning that it's fitting.  I was frantic this time last year too.  Friday was my last day of work.  I left at noon for a doctor's appointment.  My blood pressure was high and I had to have bloodwork done.  I was told that if the bloodwork came back poorly (seems like the wrong word) then I'd be induced the next day.  Regardless I was to schedule an appointment on Monday for a re-check on the bp and I was warned if it was still high there would be no bed rest; I would simply be induced that evening.  I had taken the optional 2 weeks off before my due date so I could do baby shower thank yous and the last bit of buying and nesting.  Instead I spent that weekend running around buying things and cleaning the house and resting as much as possible (but not enough).  Not surprisingly on that Monday (St. Patrick's Day) I still had high bp and I was told to go straight to the hospital to be induced (we were given a few hours reprieve to tend to our dogs first).  And the rest as they say is history.

 

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In the past I have done woe-some posts about "does anyone even read this."  I'm not in a woeful mood today, maybe it's the bright blue sky.  I do wonder who stops by here though.  Are there new readers?  Well, in any case WELCOME to you all.  Please leave me a comment if you read this.  Say hi, I'd like to know you stopped by even if it was just this once.  And yes - I mean you.  You.  Don't think I'm talking about the reader over there or the one over here or the older one or the young one or whatever.  I mean you.    :)   Later.

what is the problem?!?!

I have been trying to blog for weeks now - weeks!  I realize you cannot tell this but I have started and stopped the same entry repeatedly.  It's even an easy topic - baby J.  So instead I'm getting back on the blogging horse with a tried and true entry - a list.  Oh, how I love lists.  In fact I have recently discovered the "sticky note" application on my Mac's dashboard.  I LOVE it.  I use yellow for work, purple for t-shirts, and the brighter colors for deadlines and other must-do items.  I wish they offered some of the day-glo sticky colors but generally I like the muted shades.

Oh were to start?

• Since I'm online I'll start with social networking.  I used to be on MySpace but I've abandoned it for Facebook.  Funny that I joined Facebook bcs my Aussie friend sent me an invite.  I thought 'oh good she's using that and we can stay in touch.'  Well, I think it was an honest attempt but she's just not an online kind of girl so I don't get to stay as much in touch that way as I'd like.  Instead I'm friends with a bunch of people from high school and my former work place.  I must say I hate social networking sites.  They are a huge time suck and they offer little silver lining in their existence.  I have gotten back in touch with people from high school and college that I barely talked to and still barely talk to online.  So I'm not sure of the purpose of the site but yet there I am sending little greenspace plants and taking quizzes.  I've learned 25 random things about a lot of people and more importantly I've allowed my self-esteem to sink a bit at times.  Yep.  At least I have not gotten involved in any interpersonal dramas so that's a plus.  I really just need to delete everything or make a point to only sign on 1x a week (or better yet a month!).  We'll see what I can do.  I cut the cord with MySpace without issue (even before Facebook).
• I love spring.  I'm so excited it's warmer out.  Granted it's only in the mid 40s today and that's probably the average winter low in Dallas, but we had 20s for so much of this winter that I'll gladly take 40s.  Of course I cannot wait for 60s and 70s (dare I dream of days even warmer than that?!?!) and I hope they are just around the corner.
• Speaking of spring which officially starts next week,  baby J becomes toddler J next week a well - he'll be a year!  I can't believe it.  It's gone by fast but also it's just amazing how much growing babies do in the first year.  I heard a newborn baby crying at the pediatrician's office this week and it's such a different cry.  I forgot.  This should really be it's own blog considering I've included no updates at all for way too long.  If nothing else sooner than later there'll be the birthday party pics and blog.  
• So why the Dallas shout out a few lines ago?  Well, we had been considering moving down there.  We're still planning to sell the house - or I should say list the house - in late spring.  I hope we price it right and it sells quickly.  Based on some research D has done it seems like transferring to DFW in a lateral move would not be the best plan.  It could happen but it's not the route D is wanting to take.  So we're going to stay in Ohio but we're not sure how long-term that choice will be.  We want to rent a  house but with our dogs, cats, baby, and budget that just might not happen.  Hence we are prepared to buy, knowing that with the current market that means a commitment to stay a couple years probably.  I'm trying not to focus on selling, moving, renting, buying, TX, OH, blah, blah, blah.  It's too much.  There are so many unknowns and I want to be positive.  The best way for me to do that is not to think about it at all.  I'm taking the Dorrie approach (as in Finding Nemo's Dorrie) . . . "just keep swimming; just keep swimming; just keep swimming."
• Work is happening.  I'm so happy to have a job!  I'm excited that it's a return to photo research which I've been away from for a couple years now.  It's going well.  As with nearly all freelance projects I've ever done there have been moments of frustration, but overall it's going really well.  I just hope there are more jobs available down the road.  In part due to the freelance job and in part due to other issues the t-shirts are not moving as quickly as I would like.  I hope I will still be able to have samples to take with me in May but I worry I'm getting to a point that it's going to be cutting it close.  Yikes!
• Mom's group:  I went to a meeting here for a Mom's group.  It's a branch of an international club so there was cost associated with it.  The cost is not high, but because the group is specific to my town I opted out for now.  If we move even a few towns/suburbs south of here than I would want to join one in that location.  I did send an email out to a big group of women all with kids under the age of two.  I heard back from most everyone but so far there are very few people who have similar availability.  I was giving people a little more time and I wanted to get past J's birthday and Daylight Savings before diving in to planning that.  I would like J to meet more babies and have playtime.  The daycare at the gym normally has a bunch of 3-5yr olds and that's just a little too old for J.  It's free though so while the hourly place would have kids his age I use the gym.  I may just have to take him to the hourly place 1x a week and the gym the other time.  I'm trying to socialize him more for our vacation May in which he'll be staying with his aunt.  He's a mama's boy and I'm super concerned he'll have one huge week-long meltdown.  We'll see.  He could be completely different in a few months!

Okay, it's not much of a list but it's a lot of words!  

another list

I'm well aware that I have not blogged.  I've been busy but that's not why.  I just haven't had a desire to write anything.  I'm not concerned about whether or not anyone is reading.  I'm not worried about saying too much or not enough or anything like that.  I just have no interest in saying anything.

But here I am.

Today, I guess I feel chatty. . . 

I was trying to blog about my freewill horoscopes but a few were a little too personal to discuss.  What he wrote may not have been but the cord it hit was.  I do feel like anything I write here I should be willing to scream into a room of strangers.  Other weeks the horoscopes were just stupid (or stupider depending on your point of view).  

Of course I try to blog about J regularly to keep people updated.  However, I'm not sure anyone is out there reading and I talk to enough folks that I think the people who want to know what's going on with him do know.

So here are a few updates . . . . 

Baby J is sick.  [Oh and he's only "baby J" on here because "J" sounds like my dog.]  He has his first cold.  Snot is everywhere.  Both my nasal aspirators are broken (dog ate one & the other split in half around the center of the bulb) so CVS here we come!  I'm happy that he did not get sick until now, but I had been hoping to get him to his first birthday which would coincide nicely with the start of spring and the beginning of the end of sick season.  But no, the combination of meeting other babies, daycare at the gym, and using up all his frozen anti-body laden breastmilk created the perfect storm.  Poor little guy - he's in good company though.  Seems like everyone is sick around here, including his dad.  So far I'm staying healthy.

My t-shirts are causing me stress.  I'm currently getting feedback from people on my first drafts.  I may have to branch out and get even more feedback though.  Today's feedback from non-STJ visitors contradicts the initial feedback from my group of STJ junkies.  Hmmmm.  The issue I'm fretting over is which designs to keep and which to dump . . . and how many if any new designs I should add.  Do I do a cohesive line or the original hodgepodge I'd created?  Ugh.  Too much to consider.  I'm new to all of this so finding a printer was causing enough stress before adding the need to focus (or re-focus I guess).  So if you want to be part of my focus test let me know.

My other job is going better.  It's pretty straight-forward.  I'm happy to have it and I like it.  Not much more to say about that.

We had a real estate agent come by last week.  He'd been here about 4 years ago when we'd considered selling.  So now we're back to that and he's back.  He did a walk through to see our upgrades.  He plans to go over some local sales data and get back to us on a listing price.  

Average days on the market here is over 4 months!  Ugh.  

I'm really nervous.  Mainly because we don't know where we want to live or where we can live.  The plan is that if the house sells fast we'll just rent until we figure things out.  Ugh.  We have 3 cats and 2 dogs and I don't want to live in some dump because of that.  Finding a rental is really making me skittish.  

I'm trying to remain positive but it's hard.  That's not my go-to emotion.  Anyway, we plan to list in late spring.  We'll see what happens.  

More about J . . . he's quickly approaching the big ONE.  We work daily on walking and words.  And I'm working on figuring out what to feed him.  He's sort of in-between right now.  He can't chew a lot but he's not so interested in pureed mush.  He's also really taking to feeding himself.  So now I need a whole new batch of ideas on what to feed him for a few weeks until he's ready to just eat what we're eating.  If you have ideas by all means share!