Not just a hat rack

The Goal: We we going to wake up, make blueberry muffins, get ready and head to the mall where I would find both a dress for an engagement party we're attending tomorrow night and a gift for the couple. These items would both be on sale and the sales clerk would happily gift wrap the perfect present.

The Reality: Bub woke up at 5:45 am. By 6:15 he was cranky. The mall doesn't open until 10:00. Even if I were to find both a dress that fits and is mildly flattering and a gift within an hour, that still had me driving home dangerously close to naptime. And naptime is not something we mess with around here.

The New Plan: Spend relaxing morning at home. Put Bub down for nap on the earlyish side (see 5:45am wakeup.) Head to mall after nap.

Midway through our morning it became clear we needed to get out of the house. Halfway down the driveway on our way for a walk, Bub makes a mad dash for my car and declares, "Bye bye!"

Where should we go? Target? Why didn't I think of that sooner?

Bub thinks about this. Then:

Pak. Sing! (That would be park and swing, respectively.)

The idea that my son can appropriately answer a question like, "Where should we go?" blows my mind.

Intellectually I know that this tiny person is going to grow up into a real person. But knowing something and actually seeing it happen are two very different things.

I've seen this coming for a while. He asks for a wapop (lollipop) anytime he's anywhere near a shopping cart.

Aside: Yes, I'm that mom who gives her kid a lollipop just to get through the store. In my defense it's not every time, only in dire circumstances, like when he starts throwing the orange juice in the direction of the lady wearing white pants. True story. And they're organic. The lollipops, not the pants.

He knows to sit on the stairs and wait for me to put his shoes on when he asks to go outside. He knows which remotes unlock the magical Yo Gabba Gabba box.

But, still.

I can vividly remember the day I came downstairs to hear BD say Come here, listen to this! He's copying me! My tiny baby was repeating the Oooo sounds his daddy was making. That couldn't have been in 2007. It must have been just last week.

I know that as he gets older, starts school, plays sports, goes to college, gets married and one day has his own baby to coo to, his toddler face is the one I'll see. I know some day mama will make way for Mom and later Moooo-oooom!

The idea that my tiny cooing baby and my walking, talking, thinking toddler are the same person is hard to wrap my head around.

But taking a detour from our plans for a morning at the park, that part is easy.

What I Learned This Week: Murphy's Law

We've been attending a few churches lately, trying to find one that feels like home, one where Bub can grow up as part of a community. Each week we've put him in the nursery without incident. BD has a hard time leaving, but Bub doesn't even seem to notice we're gone. He's smiling when we return to pick him up and it's nice for BD and I to enjoy an hour in church without worrying that Bub is feeling abandoned.

Last weekend we went to the third of the churches we had on our unofficial list. We had attended this church before and liked it, but it's the farthest away of the three and we were thought that maybe we would love someplace else that was closer.

This church is by far the largest of the three we've tried and naturally their nursery was more crowded, even on a Saturday night. When we left, they asked if we wanted to be paged immediately if he cried and we said "Yes, please," and then "He'll be fine."

We were issued a number that would be displayed on a screen in church if we were needed. I couldn't keep my eyes off that little screen. Lo and behold, ten minutes into the service Bub's number popped up.

BD followed me back to the nursery and we found our very upset little boy. Granted it was close to bedtime, and there were 16 other toddlers in the room, BUT. Of course this would happen at the church we like best. Of course this would happen the night we're most relaxed about leaving him. Of course this would be the night I'm so sure that everything will be fine I haven't packed my usual bag of distractions.

As we take Bub into the parents room (which by the way, I would like to sit in there EVERY week, with its row of comfy rocking chairs, please) I dig through my bag for things to keep Bub occupied. I come up with a my keys, my wallet, an old Ziploc of animal crackers (oh yes, I did) and one matchbox car. I rotated these items in quick succession to keep him from getting bored and throwing a fit.

Next time I'll be prepared with snacks, toys, crayons, stickers.

Then, of course, I won't need them.

Head on over to Musings of a Housewife to see what others have learned this week.

On my mind

It's Monday, and here's what I'm thinking about.

• I'm all fired up about my phone bill. Two months ago we called and made some changes to our phone/cable/internet bundle. These changes yielded a much lower bill but some upgrades. Don't ask me how it worked, but I said YES. Last month our bill was higher than it had ever been. I called and was assured that this higher bill was a result of prorated charges and that next month's bill would reflect the new amount. Except it doesn't. In fact, it's even HIGHER than last month. I called and they have NO RECORD of any changes to my account. None. Their exact words were, "I have no idea where you got that number. No combination of these charges yield that number." Except that I have that number written down in two places after two conversations with AT&T employees. And they had nothing to say to that. It took 25 minutes for them to be completely unhelpful and I was starting to come unhinged. Then Bub started his pre-nap meltdown and I hung up. BD is going to flip his lid when he comes home so I'll have to call back, and that is NOT going to be awesome. If you work in customer service for AT&T you might want to take a break around 6pm pacific time.
  
• On a happier note, I went to Target this morning to kill time. I found these super cute notebooks on clearance and bought them with the possibility of using them for my future job. The job that I don't have and haven't even interviewed for? Yes, that one.
• Speaking of the job interview, um. I returned a message saying she wanted to set up a phone interview. The only problem being that she didn't suggest a day or time. So I left her a message saying I would love to interview but I haven't heard back. That was last Thursday. Do I call her back?
• And finally, this gem. It's sideways, but still classic. Clearly someone was trying to take video in "portrait" mode. Unfortunately video cameras don't work that way. If your kid lives on a daily dose of DJ Lance and the gang, you'll recognize these two.
  
  
  

Yikes

They called.

I have a phone interview next week.

She sounded very nice and easy going over the phone, so I'm not nervous yet. It helps that I don't need this job, but with the California budget hanging by a thread and BD's job in education uncertain, it might help. And, at the risk of sounding like a broken record, it might be nice.

I haven't had an interview in years, but I'm excited.

Whee!

Pampers Monopoly

Listen, I get that there are just some things I have to suck it up and fork over the money for. But I'm wondering if I have to be run over by a dump truck as I'm opening my wallet.

Take diapers for example.

It would appear that diaper packages are shrinking, yet AGAIN.

As if it's not already enough of an injustice that a larger size diaper means a smaller size package. I understand that bigger diapers take up more space. I may have had to take Algebra in summer school but that math computes. What I don't get is why as the diapers get larger, the packages get smaller. The size 1 package is TWICE the size of the size 6 package and holds more than double the number of diapers.

Yes, sure we're using fewer diapers now than during the newborn stage so I suppose it all evens out in the end. But, come on.

Then, of course, there's the day you send your husband to the store to buy diapers because you're down to exactly two in the whole house (including those stashed in diaper bags.) Then, he'll spend $18 on a package containing 26 diapers. I'm not doing the per unit cost on these, but do I really need to?

A smart person would take this rage and turn it into something productive, like a decision to start cloth diapering. I'm pretty sure the cloth diapering ship has sailed at this point, but I will strongly consider it for the next child. Really, I will.

I don't have to actually wash any diapers in the considering phase, do I?

I Confess

Since having breakfast this morning, all I've had to eat is pumpkin chocolate chip cookies. And cookie is really a misnomer as they are more like small pumpkin chocolate chip cakes. I've had six of them.

BD has a work thing tonight so I was on my own all day. I know I only have one kid. I KNOW being alone for one day is NOTHING compared to what some moms do. I know. Nonetheless, I always dread days like this. Much to my surprise, today was easy. We had enough going on to keep us busy, but not so much that I'm worn out. However. When BD walks in the door I fully intend to play the pity card and sing a different tune. Hey, I'm not proud of this, but I'm laying it all on the table here.

I found the blog of someone I once met. And by "found" I mean clicked through when a friend sent me a link saying READ THIS NOW. I feel a teensy bit of guilt reading this blog which is so clearly meant for her family and friends, but it's on the INTERNET. I wonder if she thinks it's private? Or if she doesn't care? I may or may not have it in my reader. Go ahead and judge me.

Okay, it was seven cakes cookies.

Listen up

To the loud-breather, open-mouthed popcorn eater with a laugh like a kazoo sitting precariously close to me in the movie theater last night:

ZOMG, Seriously?!

Testing the waters

Timewise I feel lost. In my mind it's February and June all at once. I blame unemployment motherhood.

Not that I regret one moment of being a stay at home parent. Not ever. I am so thankful every day that I don't HAVE to work, that I have a husband who is supportive of our family. Sometimes though, I'm not sure what day it is unless I look at a calendar. And really, the only reason I have to do that is to see if it's a day that BD is home or working.

Again, this isn't to say that my life isn't fulfilled. I've made some incredible mom friends. I get to be with Bub from the moment he wakes up until the moment he wakes up again. And, in addition to having a hard working husband, I have a husband who is more than willing to spend one on one time with his son so mommy can have a break.

I'm lucky, I KNOW this.

Still, the grass is always greener, isn't it?

I've had a job every day of my life since I was sixteen years old. Well, there was the dark period after grad school where I had the daytime television schedule memorized and an endless stash of powdered donuts and Dr. Pepper. But even then I scoured the internet for job postings, threw myself into volunteering, just to feel like I was contributing something.

Over the weekend a friend emailed me about a job within the company she works for. She had already asked if the job could be work at home friendly and the employer is flexible.

BD and I talked and talked about it and on Sunday afternoon I emailed my resume.

There are a lot of questions to be answered and steps to be followed before this means anything, to be sure. But I had to give myself the opportunity to ask the questions and take the steps.

Even in the event of a job offer, I'm still not sure how I feel. And maybe the idea of being accountable to someone other than my very forgiving toddler will be too overwhelming for now.

Or maybe it won't.

What I Learned this Week: Birthday Party Edition

This weekend we attended a birthday party that almost didn't happen. The party was postponed by a day in the hopes of better weather. Ten minutes before we had to leave the house it was still pouring down rain. Things were not looking good.

I shouldn't have worried.

Even though it poured rain the entire drive over, and even though Bub insisted on kicking the cute out of my gift wrapping, the party was an incredible success.

The rain stopped moments after the party started. And while the darkest of clouds hung ominously above, nary a drop fell.

Above and beyond the lesson of expect the unexpected, there were many other lessons learned.

Lesson #1: Just because he's never seen a pinata, doesn't mean he won't know what to do with it.

Lesson #2: You don't have to bounce to enjoy a "bounce" house.

Lesson #3: A toy that he won't come near at home, he's sure to be inseparable from elsewhere.

Lesson #4: Even though I will find his request to "hold baby" unbearably cute, I won't be moved to make a decision about another baby of our own.

Also, I learned that while I love the fact that the zoom lens on my new camera will lose the background in a photo, it's not always the best lens to use if I want to be able to get more than one person in the picture without having to stand in a different county. And? That I should probably read the manual for said camera rather than bugging a friend's husband for advice every five minutes.

I'm participaing in the What I Learned This Week blog carnival hosted by Musings of a Housewife.

Leaving on a Jet Plane

Okay, not today or even anytime relatively soon. But in the forseeable future. And hopefully twice.

We booked plane tickets to New York for a short vacation this summer. Bub will stay with his grandparents and we have the following things planned: Mets game, Phillies game (along with a full day in Philadelphia) and a show. I'm shooting for The Little Mermaid, but BD isn't on board yet.

Yes, we're going in July. Yes, I know it will be miserably hot and humid. And yes, we will miss our son. BUT, it will be awesome. And he will be spoiled beyond comprehension by his grandparents. Don't feel bad for him.

I love the planning for the vacation almost more than the vacation itself, so I'm imagining shopping for flowy dresses and cute sandals, getting a well timed pedicure and maybe splurging on an iPod touch to keep my hyperactive self busy on two long flights.

Oh, AND, I'm on the hunt for a TV series to download for the flights and other downtime. Suggestions are welcome!

Lest you think we're terrible parents for leaving our child behind as we jet off for some adult fun, we're also planning a family vacation. On a whim we bought a time share property a few years ago so we'll be phoning in our exchange request this week. If this works out I'll take back every bad thing I've said about said vacation property. (Seriously, what good is being able to give my time share to my kid when I die if I have to book a year in advance to go anywhere desirable?)

Waving my white flag

I admit it. I've been out manuevered by a one year old.

Every. Single. Time. I give him a sippy cup with ANYTHING in it, he SPITS it on the floor. Not in an "Ew, what's this?" sort of way, but rather in a sloooow drooly way that allows for maximum splashing and outfit ruining.

We had tried firmly telling him no and taking the cup away. I've put him in the high chair for all drinking occasions. It took about five minutes before he realized that he can just drool OVER the side of the chair. I've tried calmly ignoring it away, not saying anything simply taking the cup from his hands and putting it out of reach.

Nothing works.

He must be PARCHED.

I give, kid. You win. You've pushed mommy over the edge.