It’s been too long…

I’m back. I took an unexpected summer hiatus, but don’t worry, everything is fine! In fact, there is nothing wrong that 9 months won’t cure! :-)

Actually, to be more precise, about 5 months. I’m almost 20 weeks pregnant with another boy!

Let me tell you, the first trimester kicked my butt! I’ve never been so sick. I only threw up a few times, but, man, I was constantly nauseated and dizzy and super tired. Emotionally, I was spent. I think that looking after a 16 month old and working while dealing with all-day sickness and fatigue just got to me. Looking at the computer screen made me ill, thinking made me ill. I just couldn’t bring myself to be on the computer except to work (and obsessively read pregnancy message boards).

The good news is that I feel SO much better. Around 16-17 weeks, all my symptoms vanished, except my growing belly and ass, of course.

The Baby is doing great. He’s a walking/running/climbing fool. Poor guy doesn’t know what is about to hit his little world. I kinda feel bad.

Have a great 3-day weekend, if you're celebrating Labor Day!

Holding On

“He’ll get used to it.”
My heart breaks to think he would feel
left out or behind.

I hold him closer
before bed, kiss his soft hair.
It’s just us, for now.

Have a great 3-day weekend, if you're celebrating Labor Day!

I’m back from the beach

As much as I’d like to say that I’m tanned, well-rested and recharged, I am not. I’m pooped. I need the clichéd vacation from my vacation.

It was our first vacation with The Baby, who is just shy of 15 months old. We drove from central PA all the way to Savannah, GA, more specifically, Tybee Island. This was a great little beach community. The water was so warm it was like taking a bath, dolphins could be spotted off the coast (not by me, of course!), and the island was calm and family friendly. Beautiful Savannah was just 20 minutes away. Our friends Angel and Scott were just 15 minutes away. Perfect, right?

We met my husband’s sisters and their families in a kick-ass condo that fit six adults and three children without feeling cramped. The appliances were stainless, the counters were granite, the floors were tiled, our bed was HUGE. Our equally HUGE balcony overlooked the pool and spa, which, of course, were tiled in slate and altogether very spiffy. The beach was about one hundred feet out the front door. Perfect, right?

Our biggest fear before vacation was the drive. What the heck was The Baby going to do for 14 hours? Scream and cry, we feared. I mean, surely he wouldn’t sleep the whole time. Luckily, he did sleep most of the trip on the way there (we left at midnight, so that was the plan). We bought a portable DVD player for his awake time. Our son, who never watches TV, was forced to watch the two Baby Beethoven DVDs that we have on repeat. For what it’s worth, he prefers Mozart to Beethoven, hands down. Anyway, the actual trip was just fine.

I’m not saying there wasn’t pleasant times in our vacation. Watching The Baby run like a fool into the ocean was priceless (the.kid.is.fearless), watching daddy and baby swimming in the pool melted my heart. Seeing The Baby get to know his cousins was equally heart warming. Watching my son and my friend Angel’s son (2 weeks apart in age) consume sand together was very sweet in a get-that-out-of-your-mouth kind of way. Having the fam watch our son so we could have a night out with our friends was awesome.

But it was all a little much for The Baby. He stopped eating anything but cereal, bananas and crackers on day two. He stopped sleeping well on day three. He’d wake up anywhere from 1 a.m. to 3 a.m. and he would stay up for hours. Not just up, but up and crying. He wouldn’t lay between us in bed, he didn’t want to play, he writhed in our arms. Just when you thought he was asleep and put him down, you’d be back at square one. At one point, we took The Baby for a walk at 4 a.m. We didn’t know what else to do with him. On an up note, we saw a drunk guy trying to ride a bike. That was sorta funny.

The Baby’s attitude also changed. He started hitting and biting me and throwing things. He was crabby 80% of the time. He just seemed very frustrated and between the lack of sleep on all of our parts and our frustration and worry, we decided to leave early. The thought of another fight to get him to eat or another sleepless night literally had me in tears.

He’s been sleeping and eating just fine since we've been home. I guess he was just out of his element. Oh, did I mention I got sick on the way home? Like, pukey sick? Then when I got home, I got a cold. Awesome!

Random Photos from Tybee and Savannah.

On vacation

I'm in Savannah, GA, ya'll! See you next week!

Three Year Anniversary

Dear Husband,

Thank you
for three years,
1096 days,
and countless memories.

Most of all,
thank you for being exactly who you are.

I love you.

Hersheypark… indifferent

I still remember my favorite ride at Hersheypark when I was a little girl. It was called The Whip (I called it “the snapper-backer”), because it was an oval track that whipped you around the corners. It no longer exists so it was either A. lame or B. a liability. I’m going with B. I hit my head on the side of the car all the time, but it was such fun!

Saturday was a big day for us. It was The Baby’s first trip to Hersheypark. We were very excited. My husband even printed out a list of all the Hershey Miniature (under 36” tall) rides. Unfortunately, we only got on two of them: Express Train and Ladybug. The Baby’s expression didn’t change once through either ride. It could best be described as chilly indifference—even when his dad and two kind strangers were doing everything in their power to get him to smile… he was stony. See below. Also, I thought my husband was going to hurl on the Ladybug, which was sort of funny. :-)






Hersheypark as an adult with a toddler is a completely different experience.

Instead of riding this:

We rode this:

Hey, the monorail had stroller parking and no line! We were very excited. Very. *hanging head in shame* Then we walked through the zoo. Nobody walks through the zoo if they only have a one-day pass, unless their parents make them. Or unless they are the parents of a ride-rejecting toddler. Actually, the zoo was pretty neat. It put The Baby right to sleep. Bonus.

Of course, he would not lay back in his stroller, so he nodded off / jerked awake / nodded off while my husband and I tried to locate the lunch pavilion. This took a billion years since apparently neither one of us can read a map. The frustration of being hungry, hot AND lost was alleviated a bit by all the awwwww-him’s-so-sleepy looks and coos that The Baby earned while we walked in circles.

After lunch, we went to the water park. The Baby LOVES pools and splashing in water. We were pretty psyched. I agreed to stroller sit, while my husband and son stood in line to get into one of the kiddie splash and play areas. Wouldn’t you know it, 15 minutes later, while they were still in line, the water attractions were closed due to the possibility of storms. But all was not lost. My husband said that The Baby did get to splash in a small puddle in line and even got down on his hands and knees and tried to take a lick. All I have to say is that I hope that puddle was water.

All in all, it was a good day. It was hosted by my husband’s company, so we didn’t have to pay. Woot! Would I have paid $110 (14 month olds aren’t charged for admission) for the three of us to park and get into the park for four hours? No. Not when The Baby had just as much fun when we got home jumping through the sprinkler with daddy.

Even if The Baby doesn't remember a thing, it was still a day of memories for us.

Hair Ku: two cuties

Quick buzz for summer.
The clippers must tickle him.
He smiled the whole time.

His new big-boy cut.
Now he looks more like daddy.
I’m a lucky girl.

Have a great weekend!

All of a sudden I feel boring

I’ve been tagged for a meme by Vanessa. :-)

Honestly, I would love to just make stuff up. What was I doing 10 years ago... driving across the US with my friend Judy, getting ready to move to NYC, working at the beach for the summer and being a bum... Oh, wait a minute, those are all things I was going to do, but never did. It's true, youth is wasted on the young! Thank goodness I'm happy where I am at in most aspects of my life!

Anyway, back to the meme!

What was I doing 10 years ago?
Ten years ago I was on the verge of turning 25. I had just quit a job as a magazine assistant to move to a more creative position as a marketing coordinator with a larger, more stable company. Career-wise things couldn’t have been better. Otherwise, they stunk. I’d broken off a relatively short, but serious relationship with someone and was having a difficult time getting over the loneliness that follows a breakup. Plus, my best friend at the time was getting ready to move 13 hours away with a guy she didn’t even like that much. Socially, my life sucked! Aside from my job, which I poured myself into, it was a pretty depressing time in my life. Luckily, my late 20s were great!

5 things on my to do list today:
1 write three ads
2 revise one ad
3 Anxiously awaiting a call from my husband, who is at the doctors' office as I write, telling me why The Baby has a rash all over his body.
4 read blogs (shhhhhh… I’m working, really!) Hey, did you see my blog roll? If you are on my Google Reader, you are on my blog roll.
5 Make dinner. Frozen ravioli and doctored up pasta sauce. Should be easy!

Snacks I enjoy:
Cheese and crackers, pretzels and mustard, ice cream, cottage cheese and grapes or peaches, Cheetos, Doritos, Nutty Buddy ice cream cones, corn nuts (but only when I am traveling), chicken wings (is that a meal or snack?)... I could go on and on.

Things I would do if I were a billionaire:
Move to a house in my neighborhood with a garage and bigger closets. Quit my job. Take creative writing classes and work on creative projects as a part-time job. Spend more time with my kiddo. Buy a home in a Caribbean island. Give money to charity. Try to keep it a secret. Try not to change.

Places I have lived:
My parents’, one apartment, and my current home. Pretty boring, huh? I commuted to college, so I didn’t even live in a dorm.