London Calling

First overnight trip

Last Thursday I took my first overnight trip since Violet was born.  She's just a little over four months old and I wasn't sure how I'd handle it.  I didn't have to travel for the first year of London's life and after the first trip, I realized that it was kind of a nice break.  I was done nursing him, so I didn't have to worry about the same logistical challenges as when I travel now.

Overall, it wasn't bad.  Our ad agency made sure that I had a place to pump twice a day.  I took a nice long bath that night and enjoyed the luxury of an uninterupted breakfast the next morning.  I didn't sleep as well as I'd hoped though.  I kept waking up and wondering if the baby was okay.  Guess that will happen.

The only drama was getting 30+ oz of breast milk through security with my carry on luggage.  One of the TSA reps held up the gallon-sized Ziploc bag that held all of the clear milk storage bags I had filled and said, "Ma'am.  Is this your milk?" from across the security area.  Maybe not as embarrassing as some "other items" that are reviewed in security, but still embarrassing.  Thankfully, I was traveling alone this time. 

When I got home, Violet was alseep and London was just getting out of the tub.  He said, "Mom.  I'm really happy to see you" like I was an associate that he ran into on the street.  While he was spoiled by his grandmother, Barry and I went out for a late dinner at Firkin and a few beers.  It was good to be home.

Saving Maple

I've written quite a bit about our move to Libertyville: what we love, what we hate.  Suddenly, I've been thrown into a more active role in my neighborhood.  The church just one block away is expanding and wants to tear down a historic home -- a home over 100 years old -- to build another parking lot.  I hadn't really paid attention to the issue because I thought it was just silly.  I mean, really, what city council would approve that?  Well, it turns out suburbanites really and truly appreciate a good parking spot and this is a serious issue.  So, rather than walking no more than two city blocks, the church has requested that they be allowed to re-zone part of our residential street to tear down a home AND they want to move the spots closer to the street -- eliminating grassy areas -- to add six additional spots.

Did we move to Mars? 

Now I have to get all Norma Rae and very actively petition the village:  drag the kids out and go door to door, stand in front of Starbucks to talk to neighbors, write lots of letters, launch a new blog (http://www.savingmaple.com) ... and more.  I haven't been this active since college and my "campaign against hunger and homelessness" days when I made all of my roommates sleep on the quad in a cardboard box or when I stalked volunteers for PADS in Oak Park.  I thought I'd have a few quiet years while I focused on the kiddies, but this really is for them because who wants to grow up on a street made up of parking lots?

Beautiful day

The snow has melted and the sun was out for a good part of the day.  The temperature was in the high 50s/low 60s -- just right for getting everyone outside.  The hubby let me "sleep in" until about 8:30.  After breakfast, London & I hopped on my bike & the Burley and went for a ride on the DesPlaines River Trail.  Getting to the trail always makes me nervous because I'm always afraid drivers won't see the trailer, but once we were on the trail, things were good.  It was a little muddy, but not too bad.  I wanted to live within a few blocks of the trail so that we could use it often and I'm glad that we found a house that was so close.  On the way home, we stopped at a park and London got out to run around a bit.

After lunch, the whole crew -- dad, baby, dog, toddler & me -- went for a stroll.  London walked with his tricycle.  (He hasn't mastered using pedals yet.)  Violet was taking in the sights from her stroller and Emily took the opportunity to smell as much as she could along the way.

After naps, Blue made pizza on the grill.  He struggled a bit to find a good crust recipe and had hoped to just by dough from a local pizza place.  I guess that's frowned upon in the burbs and a few different restaurants sent him packing. 

London -- who has been talking even more than normal -- has been following us around to tell us stories.  I've seen a change in him only a week after moving up to the primary classes at Montessori school.  He has more to say and demands an audience.  He also says, "I want to talk to you" or "Hey, I need to talk to daddy."  Yesterday, he came upstairs to tell me that he was frustrated and his pants were too big.  He's 3 and used the word "frustrated."  Not bad.

Now, I need to get him in the tub and in bed so that I can get a little work done.  It's busy time at work & I need to catch up.  I'm afraid that the work-life balance will be out of wack for the next three months.  It was nice to enjoy the day before everything hits the fan at the office.

Childhood memories

Today my mom was asking me about my favorite childhood memories today.  I had a pretty good childhood and there are quite a few memories that still make me smile.  I wonder what my kids will remember as their favorite memories when they get older.  (OK - they probably won't remember anything from this age.)

My mom said that she wished that we had gone to the zoo more or to museums.  Honestly, those weren't the best of my memories.  The best times were spent in the back yard or playing board games or going for bike rides.  Making Christmas cookies or singing along to The Sound of Music or just being silly.  When I worry about getting London -- and soon Violet -- to the next organized "thing," I'll have to remember that my favorite memories were from the most normal and every day and wonderful things.

We can call it a "wog"

It was beautiful outside this weekend and I took the opportunity to go for a run while the kiddies were sleeping.  The goal was to run as much of a 2 1/2 mile loop as I could with walk breaks.  Kind of like Gallaway training only really short.  I think I ended up running about a mile and a half of it, but in all honesty, we can't call it a run.  It was more of a jog mixed with walking, so a "wog."

Sadly, my legs were pretty sore on Monday.  Hoping for more wogging this week.

Hot dog!

Sundays are supposed to be my morning to "sleep in."  That definition has changed over the years and now sleeping in is 8 a.m. instead of noon.  This past Sunday as I lay in bed I felt like someone was staring at me.  That's not unusual.  Most nights at one point or another I open my eyes and find a toddler staring back at me.  But this was the first time that I opened my eyes to find a package of hot dogs staring back at me.  London, with Emily close behind, was trying to find a grown up to open the hot dogs.  Where was dad?  Sleeping on the couch with the remote in hand.  He's on auto-pilot and can turn on a new Little Einsteins without even opening his eyes.

Baby Weight

It was a happy day at W2.  I'm down 50 lbs since going into labor and 18 since returning to work.  So, we're getting really close.  (That sounds like a lot!)  5 more lbs to be pre-Violet weight and another 10 to be pre-London.  Still, everything is mushy and in different places.  Thanks to Spanx, life is a little easier. 

Getting used to a new normal

It took almost 16 weeks, but I finally feel pretty comfortable flying solo with the two kids at bedtime.  Every time that I thought we were getting a system going, one of them would mess things up.  Violet just started sleeping earlier in the evening and London is a little jealous and really freaking loud.  I never realized the volume on that kid. 

I also am getting used to the idea that chaos will happen.  Bedtime is somewhere between 7:30 and 8:30 for London.  If baths are skipped, life will go on.  One book or two books or three.  London will probably use a binky until he's in college and Violet will sleep in her swing until I can figure out a way to get London to be quiet -- so college.  I can give Violet a bath if I turn on Little Einsteins and then set the house alarm -- but have to remember to turn off the motion control -- so that I know if London walks out the door or if he let's out the dog.

Best, I learned that if I'm really tired and London is playing in his room, I can take a little nap in his toddler bed.

Whatever it takes to get the job done

A friend emailed me earlier this week asking for the title of a book I had recommended earlier.  (Happiest Baby on the Block.)  He and his wife were having a tough time getting little Josephine (I love that name) to sleep.  They'd read so many contradictory suggestions that they decided to rely on the experience of friends over "experts." 

I remember hearing, "do what you have to do" quite a few times from friends.  Nobody wants to recommend something that is risky, but we most of us do things that are considered no-nos.  Our no-no list is huge.  We used to rig blankets around London's chest/neck to keep the binky in place.  At one point, he'd only sleep with a blanket over his head.  I was sure that he would suffocate.  Barry had this great idea -- after he realized that taping the binky to London's head wasn't something he should do -- to make a baby ski mask out of a breathable fabric that would hold the binky in place.  Since I'm horrible at sewing, we never moved on the idea.  The baby binky mask and the doggie diaper bag (designed for the dog to carry) could have made us millions if we weren't too sleep deprived to move on them.

Our kids slept in swings for the first 4-5 months of thier lives.  London has experienced a few near misses while I jogged with him in the city.  He's taken airplane flights and train and taxi rides without a car seat.  He's fallen out of the bed a few times in hotel rooms and he'll probably sleep with a binky until he goes to college.

So far, so good.  The kids are happy, healthy and so are their parents.

She snores

Little Violet snores.  She snores so loudly that I can easily hear her breathe through the monitor.  It scares me sometimes & I need to remember to tell the doctor at her next visit.  Still, I love the sound of her snores. 

And I love her big ears.  They are so big -- not big, but they stick out so much that they fold over and stick to the side of her head.  She doesn't seem to mind when her ears are folded over -- it doesn't hurt her or anything.  I'm sure that she'll grow into them. She inherited them from her dad -- not that my ears are small.  He eventually grew into his ears, but they were pretty "out there" when he was a kid.