(hopefully) Movin' on out, not up, that's for sure

Dudes. I just posted our house for sale on Craigslist. I figured that Craigslist brought my house to me and now it's going to help me find it's next owner. If you know of anyone interested in a lovely (and adored) single family home in Chicago's North Center neighborhood, let me know.

I'm a little (read: A LOT) stressed out right now due to Money, or Lack Thereof, and the putting of the house, my lovely lovely house, on the market.  This is what I do when I'm stressed:



I organize. I know. Totally crazy. But you know what would be crazier? If they were organized not only by type, but also by color and alphabetically. You're all REALLY lucky I'm now tired and don't have the energy for that. Good thing we have tomorrow, because tomorrow's a brand new day to fill up with The Crazy. Yeehaw.

Changeling

I'm feeling a little sentimental this evening.  Listening to music that reminds me of our honeymoon...music I played for Noah when he was just a wee little fetus kicking me from inside and then again when he was a wee little baby who wouldn't sleep.  When he would curl up on my chest while I walked the hallway between our rooms, bouncing in step to the music, keeping time with my toes.  Swaying with my sweet boy and wishing, waiting, hoping for sleep to come.  And then it would come and my arms would miss him the moment I put him down.   I'm missing my baby these days.  

He may still be a baby, but he wants to be a big boy so badly.  There is no time for cuddling anymore...he refuses to let me rock him to sleep and protests with his lungs and his arms and his feet when I try.  And I try every night, hoping that he will once again curl up on my chest.   And every night I give up and put him to sleep in his crib, to cry out his frustrations and fall asleep alone.  As he likes it.   And every night I spend a little time outside his door, listening to him sigh in his sleep, rustle and kick off his blanket.   He's growing up so fast.  I say that everyday.  I wish I could stop time so I could have him as he is right now, forever.   My sweet, sweet boy.  My boy, always with his fingers in his mouth.

The Super! Sunny! Sunday! Edition

We had our first temper tantrum yesterday.  Flat-out screaming and wailing and fist-pounding on his booster tray.  He even squeezed a hot, angry tear out of his right eye.  Tim and I were just SHOCKED into silence at the sheer noise coming out of such a tiny little thing.  My mind flashed forward to a year from now except I am *mysteriously* in Target (OH!  BIG NEWS.  A new Target is being built WITHIN WALKING DISTANCE.  Be still my heart.  And a big apology in advance to my wallet.) and Noah is on the ground, thrashing around, and screaming about the injustices of his wee life.  And then I buried that possible scenario far back into my brain, hopefully to not unearth it for a looooooong time.  

And I found a new park.  A quiet, non-social park that is PERFECT for my cranky days.  The other park close to our house is like Super Mommy Central and I feel like I need to be all showered and dressed and Presentable.  This one is small, tucked between two houses on a small city lot and rarely has more than a handful of kids at it.  Perfect.

8 Months

Dear Noah,

You are 2/3rds of a year old. My, oh my, how time does fly. This past month has just disappeared in a whirl of laughter and a few tears. Why the tears, you ask? Because now you have learned all about frustration. You want to crawl so badly, so very badly, but you're just not quite there yet. And when I place your toys out of reach to encourage you to move towards them you howl in irritation. It takes all I have not to sweep you up and snuggle you to stop the tears. But I don't because you need to learn how to get to your toys on your own. I suppose this isn't a lesson for you as much as it is a lesson for me...a lesson in restraint. You've figured out that you can mostly roll to get where you need to go. And I've now heard of a number of babies who have gone from rolling to walking, so all is not lost.  I'm patient.  Most of the time.

Noah, you're a good baby. You really are. This past month you took your first plane ride and you rocked it out. You didn't cry once and spent most of the ride playing on my lap and dozing. And even the hour time change AND daylight savings time change didn't faze you too much...so all those things I ever said about you being naughty, I take them back. You loved splashing in the pool and squeezing the sand between your toes. And of course your grandmother made sure you had on SPF 70+ plus a hat, plus a shirt, plus a pair of shorts, plus socks, plus a winter coat (I kid, on those last two at least). We had so much fun spending time with your great-grandmother, grandmother and aunt. You are very loved, little boy.

There were lots of other fun times this month. We had a couple of nice days that we spent at the park with our new friends, playing on the swings. You're enamored with older children and especially the "big boys" at the park. My guess is they're not a day over three but you find them so intriguing. You'll stare at them with big eyes and your mouth wide open. It's adorable to watch. Soon enough you'll be a big boy. You're already on your way and far too quickly for my taste.

(I AM wearing a bathing suit.)

You're fully into solid foods and loving everything you're offered. I think you even had a little taste of frosting off your papaw's birthday cake...and I think I know who the culprit is on that one :) You'll be trying meats soon so get ready! A whole world of taste is on the horizon. And you will eat beef...no matter what your father says. I cannot let you go through life without knowing the beauty of a well made hamburger. But we'll start easy with chicken and turkey.

You're doing such a great job putting weight on your legs again.  For a couple of weeks, I was worried that your leg wasn't healing from the break but it seems that you're getting your footing (ha!).  The break did put you a little behind in your development but I'm not worried.  We're taking a swim class to 1) get you familiar with water and 2) give your leg a good workout.  I think I'm more scared in the water than you...at our class this week you took your head and splashed your face right into the water!  I pulled you up not even a second after and you were sputtering and smiling and gasping for breath.  And then you tried to do it again but I was much faster than you.  Soon enough you can be a little fish but for now, can you please just follow the teacher's instructions and work on kicking your legs?  And stop giving me a heartattack.  

You're an amazing little boy, Noah.  Thank you so much for being you and coming into our lives.  It is all just so much sweeter.   Happy 8 Months, my love.

Love, 

Mama

Distraction

Look! It's a baby! A cute baby! A cute baby that is quickly changing into a little boy! How did this happen?!?

Said cute baby has decided that he does not need to learn how to crawl to get around.  Rolling gets him around just fine thankyouverymuch.  He must take after his mother in the laziness department.  

And the swings!  Noah loves the swings.  Like starts to hyperventilate when he spots the park kind of love and kicks his little legs the entire time he's swinging.  I kind of think it's the best thing ever and one of things I will miss the most IF I have to go back to work (nothankyounothankyounothankyou).

Today was near 80 and sunny.  Tomorrow's forecast: 49 and rainy.  Screw you, Chicago.  I'll be back soon with some actual content.  I hope.

Lazy, not busy

Oh, hi there. Sorry I took a little while getting back to this ol' blog. I don't have a pictorial of our short vacation to Florida because I forgot to put the battery back in the camera and ended up taking pictures with my sister's camera which is with her back at school and sigh. I know you're waiting with bated breath for the stunning photos of me in a bathing suit...oh no? You want photos of Noah swimming in the pool? Or maybe dipping his toes into the sand? Or just being super duper awesome on the plane and falling right asleep during take off? All those will be coming soon, I promise.

In the meantime, let's discuss the fact that I am thinking about going back to work. I am heading in to speak with my former employer next week, and although the premise is just a visit with Noah, I am going to see if they would be interested in taking me back. Basically, I am going to throw myself on the ground at their feet and beg for my job back PLUS more money. Any suggestions on how I can do that effectively? This is NOT what I WANT to do. I WANT to stay home with Noah. I WANT to plan weekday playdates and go to the park and play on the swings and be there with him all day. But, times? They are tough. And I cannot expect Tim to shoulder all of the burden of providing for our little family. He's been working harder than any person should. So, I think I HAVE to go back to work. We'll see what happens next week.

You so know the next post will be about how expensive good child care is, right?

Swingtown

It was beautiful outside today...a balmy 55 degrees and slices of sunshine here and there.  We took advantage of the weather and hit up our local park for a little swing action.  This was Noah's first time on the swings and he loved it, as evidenced below:

Noah and I are off to Florida for the weekend with my mom and sister to visit my grandmother for her 45th birthday. Or maybe it's her 35th. Either way, she's young and spunky and we're looking forward to seeing her. It's also Noah's first plane ride so I am SURE I will have more to write about when we get back. Wish me luck.