Home again, home again

We got home a few hours ago and it’s darn nice to be back on my couch. Christmas was lovely – we spent several days in PA with my family. Spencer was a little overwhelmed I think, but overall enjoyed it all. He was in a weird mood though – I think getting off schedule, sleeping in a strange place, plus being sick all added to his mood.

For 5 days he wouldn’t let anyone but his mommy or daddy touch him (literally – touch him and he screamed like you were prodding him with a hot iron). He sat on Santa’s lap at the mall until he turned around and realized Santa was touching him. Santa’s response was (and I quote) "Well, this ain’t gonna work." Still, we got one photo in which it’s obvious Spencer has no idea where he is or what is going on yet. He’s in an Elmo-enduced daze (the elves used Elmo to get his attention).

There was one exception to the touch me and I scream scenerio – you could bribe him with the stairs and kitty cats. If you helped him up the stairs to visit the kitties, in return, you could touch him for a a few minutes – but just until the cats ran away to hide under the bed.

After 12 exhausting hours of holding, pacifying, and walking with Spencer, he’d finally go to sleep. For like 3 hours. Then wake up screaming right around the time we went to bed. Crazy inconsolable crying. And we were all sleeping in the same room so ignoring it wasn’t an option. And so it was a lovely Christmas, but not a particularly relaxing one.

We drove home Wednesday to unload, organize and see if there was room for us all to sleep with all the new toys. We also took a trip to the doctor to see if some sort of ear or throat infection might be causing Spencer to act all crazy. But, alas, the doctor gave his ears and throat the all clear and told us that he just had an infection and to give him Motrin before bed and come back if he’s still acting strangely in a few days.

And so, with that, we left for Philly and a few days away to live in a hotel room and explore the city. Spencer loved the long hallway to practice his walking (still with assistance, but getting REALLY close) and the Please Touch museum. I loved the shopping, the room service, and the fact that they left us apples instead chocolates at night.  I also must confess to being very tempted by the city as a place of residence – the price of real estate alone makes it an attractive option. But, I really enjoyed the vibe of the city too – it was definitely an East Coast city, but just a  tad bit smaller and friendlier than the big apple.

But, we’re home now. Spencer still seems a little off, but not as bad. Hopefully a day or two at home and back on schedule will help him out. Here are a few pics:

My 12 Days of Christmas

12 days off work

11 cookies before lunch

10 cups of eggnog

9 toys that light up

8:32 wake up

7 hours driving

6 cups of gingerbread coffee

5 days of Spencer puking

4 days of sinusitus

3 gifts opened (thanks hubby!)

2 last minute gifts to buy

1 Holiday Greeting to all my blogger friends — Thanks for all your advice and support this past year. You’ve done your part to make me a saner, happier person and I appreciate it greatly. May you and your family have a joyful, safe holiday and a fantastic 2008!

Bad, bad mommy

This evening as my hubby and I finished our dinner, Spencer started screaming. This isn’t unusual – he’s been a fickle sleeper lately. So, we took our time walking back to his room, stopping on our way through the kitchen to eat some au gratin potatoes out of the pan. Who can resist their milky, buttery yumminess? As we chowed and Spencer cried away, hubby asked, "Are we bad parents for stopping to eat potatoes?". "Nah," I replied, "Only if he’s back there covered in his own puke."

Yea… well, you can guess the punchline…

After changing the sheets and pajamas and giving his favorite bear a "bath", I settled in to finish the geeky project I’ve been working on. This almost makes up for the potato incident. I’ve been spending a few evenings learning how to edit video so I can make some of those cute video montage thingamajigs of my boy before he gets old and I forget these times. So, behold, my first video creation with subtitles, transitions, and music — it’s definitely not perfect, but it’s a heckuva lot more than I knew how to do a week ago.

No, but thanks for asking

Caution: Vent ahead…. Why, why, why is the only thing that people ask about Spencer lately whether he’s walking yet? It’s very similar to those first 3 months when the only question asked was how much sleep we’re getting.

I understand. Walking is a big deal. I want Spencer to walk. You can bet your booty that the day he starts walking I’ll be on here bragging about his new talent. 70/30 chance you’ll get video of it, too. But, it’s getting so irritating. I know lots (maybe most?) kids are walking at this age. But there’s lots who don’t. The books say not to worry until 18 months. It takes every ounce of willpower I have to believe this and not get upset and worry about his development.

So, today I want to celebrate all the awesome non-walking things that Spencer has learned to do lately:

– He can show you his head. "Head!"
– He tells you what he thinks, specifically "No! No! No!" when you take something away from him. (Always 3 No’s – It’s triply adorable and sometimes usually makes me give in and let him keep the objectionable object.)
– In the bathtub, he sticks his face in the water and gets a bubble mustache.
– He knows how to find things that fall under the couch. And trust me, there are all kind of goodies under our furniture so this is a great skill.
– He pretends to talk on the phone. True, the phone is usually backwards or upside down, but he’s SO talented that he can still talk to his friends despite the technical impossibility of it all.

Wanna see my Christmas bush?

Now that you’ve retrieved your mind from the gutter… Let me explain. This is our tiny, elevated Christmas tree. We saw no way to get a proper tree this year because of you-know-who. You-know-who is actually terrified of our Christmas bush – he touches it then starts screeching and trying frantically to escape from its holiday wrath.

He did enjoy the first snow of the season though…

And taking photos with his mama and her brand spankin’ new haircut…

And lounging in his robe…

But, really enough is enough. Let’s put the camera down and grab some eggnog.

Days Like Tomorrow

I just took a peek at my work calendar for tomorrow and it looks something like this:

Except of course, there are meeting names like "Very Important Meeting" and "Another Important Meeting" that I’ve erased for obvious reasons. My favorite part is that hour from 11-12 when I’m actually supposed to be in two meetings at once. Let me fire up my cloning machine. All this and I haven’t yet scheduled any time for reading emails, checking my Facebook page, or catching up on  blogs. (Sarcasm!)

It’s one thing to feel busy and overscheduled, but then when you see it all laid out for you like that… Well, it’s hard to stomach. It’s a lost day. I’ll be running from thing to thing. Maybe grabbing some lunch in that little window I have at 12:30. And at 6:10, I’ll be running out the door wondering where my day went and why I didn’t get anything done.

On the bright side though, I’m sure my day will fly by.

Paging Stacey and Clinton!

Before I had Spencer I was familiar with the stereotype of the woman who lets herself go after she has kids – mostly from watching What Not To Wear. She gives up on her appearance and loses her identity. I was positive I wouldn’t be one of those women. But, it’s damn hard work not to slide down into the world of mom jeans and exposed roots.

Oprah says I need a haircut. (Did you watch her Great American Haircut show last week?) I have worn my hair in a ponytail for several straight months. Which isn’t as bad as the woman who hadn’t cut her hair since her daughter was born – her daughter is now 19. But, it’s still not good. I think I’m going to go shorter so I don’t have the option of pulling it back anymore. And dare I go for highlights? I haven’t had highlights in years. I’m a little frightened by the upkeep required, but forcing myself to get a haircut every 3-4 months probably isn’t a horrible idea. The Oprah crew would approve – apparently a bob is very fashionable right now because of Posh and Katie. And as you age, you should lighten your hair to maintain your youthful appearance. Who knew?

I’ve also been stockpiling dresses in an attempt to dress up my work wardrobe. Jeans and sweaters are probably not conveying the professional appearance I want to project. Just two issues: I bought 3 VERY similar dresses, not realizing that I was basically buying the same silhouette (and color). (I did the same thing with swing cardigans – what is my problem?) And I need to find a way to ease the dresses into the work week and not draw too much attention to myself. (Pssst! Did you see she’s wearing that dress again – what is up with that? Interviewing? Going through some kind of mid-mommy crisis? Having an affair? Pregnant?))

Stacey? Clinton? Are you out there? This would be much easier with your help (minus the public humiliation, of course).