Camping- Baby Style!

Ok, I've dillydalleyed enough.  It's my last hour with my work laptop (which, yes, I use for personal use such as facebooking and blogging and whatever else I may need it for), so I don't know when the next chance I'll get to blog away.  Gee Gobblesmom, you can't drag yourself up to the bedroom and use the 6 year old desktop computer to play around on the internets?  No, I cannot.  It runs toooo slooow.

Funny I should be without the internet at my fingertips this weekend because last weekend, out of choice, it was the same thing.  As well as no tv.  And it was liberating.  I haven't been that happy in a long time, just spending lazy hours with my husband and son.  Time just moved slower, it was amazing.  So next time I complain about having no time, please smack me in the face, tell me to turn of the tv and computer, and go outside and jump in a lake!

The weekend started off pretty hectic, as we were without power for over 24 hours leading up to our departure.  But I just wrote about that last week, so onward to camping!  With beautiful weather on the forecast for the weekend, the traffic to the mountains was a bit horrendous.  A typical 90 minute ride turned into about 3 hours, but it was worth it because I ended up installing google maps onto my blackberry and had fun watching it triangulize our location on a little map.  It's the little things.  And I'm a dork. 

Anyway, we made it up before dark and pitched our tent among the tent city our friends had made.  This year, we had to upgrade from a three person to a six person tent, just because of one 20 lb addition!  I'm sure I mentioned this a million times too, but damn to babies need a lot of gear.  I should also disclaim that we weren't exactly roughing it.  There was a small cabin with a working bathroom and kitchen.  Friends' parents get this place for a week every year and invite all of their children's friends to stay, in a tent, just outside the cabin overlooking the lake.  It is beautiful, and we are so grateful to be a part of this little family, even if we only see them once a year.

Gobbles was brimming with excitement because he was going to see his girlfriend for just the second time in his life.  After settling in and grabbing some grub, darkness set in and we all sat around the campfire chitchatting or just staring into it, enjoying the warmth.  It did get a bit chilly that first night, probably down into the fifties - we were up in the mountains after all.  Our tent was closest to the fire, so we put Gobbles down to bed in the pack & play and enjoyed our friends and some toasted hot dogs. When we turned in for the night and disrupted the little man, we just brought him onto the air mattress with us to keep him warm. 

The next morning it was warming up quickly, so we wasted no time getting Gobbles into his swimsuit and out into the lake.  His girlfriend was there waiting for him, and hubs found a couple of swim rings in the cabin, perfect for kids this size.  At first he was a little iffy in the water, but it didn't take long for my little man to start loving his swim.  His daddy took such good care of him walking him out into the calm, warm lake and letting him have fun. 

Hmm. This is interesting...

I love the feel of this stuff... whaddya call it?

Help!  I'm floating away!

Ahh ha ha. My feet are wrinkly

Why hey there pretty lady!  Come here often?

While the lake was pretty much the highlight of the trip for me, we also had good food, good beer (homebrewed by a friend, who will have his own brewery soon enough, mark my words), and an overall relaxing time.  We went for a few walks and played in the annual softball game, which I had to miss out on last year since I was knocked up.  My team won and I managed to contribute with a few hits, runs, and a lot of double plays (2nd base holla!). 

And the biggest thing I learned that weekend has nothing to do with camping, though it has a little to do with nature.  You know the myth about crying babies triggering a mothers' milk?  Um yea, it's true.  See, there was another baby there as well.  A three week old (and you think I'm nuts bringing a 6 monther?).  The newborn crying during our second night there, with the distinct pitch of wehhh wehhh wehh, had my 6 days of no production boobs leaking.  All over.  With clogged ducts that were hard and oh so painful.  I couldn't relieve myself by feeding the little guy because I'd been drinking all day, and my pump was back home.  I managed to find some relief by hand expressing (ouch) and using some warm compresses.   Looking back, it's kind of hilarious but that night I didn't know how I'd make it through.   But alas, I have survived.  I look forward to going back next year hopefully with more next generation campers.  As my friend's dad said - with these little ones comes a whole new era.

Thank you everyone, we had so much fun!

We'll miss you.

I am tired and Mommy's beer is empty.  So until next year!

Settling down

Stressed?  Chew on this.  I've got two if you want one...

Here we go.  24 hours from now I'll be handing in my computer and turning over my platinum Amex (wahhhh).  I wish I could set fire to my rollerboard but my work will not actually be complete when I turn in my badge.  I'll have one last task to complete, testimony (in Houston) for a client's case in which I'm considered an "expert witness". Blech to that, I tried to get out of it, not wanting to travel anymore - or take two days off from my new job - but, the sweet allure of two weeks' worth of pay for two days of my time did me in.  That and the threat of having to deal with being sued as a hostile witness if I didn't comply.  Jeez people, I'll take the cash!

Anyway, enough about work, at least this job.  After three years, one hundred and fifty thousand air miles, two hundred hotel nights, countless cities in three countries, and what feels like thousands of hours sitting in an airport with a glass of wine waiting on plane delays, this is it.  Time to move on.  I can't wait to work with people in the same timezone as me - more so in the same building! 

By pure coincidence, Gobbles had his last day yesterday at the daycare where he spent the last three months.  The waiting list for our first choice daycare finally opened up for him to start tomorrow.  Of course, now that we've left daycare 1, I feel like we made the wrong decision.  I cried as a lifted him into the car last evening.  He loved his teachers, and they loved him.  Is he going to wonder why he isn't seeing these ladies anymore?  They had signs and notes wishing him farewell, telling to him behave for his Grandmom.  Yes, I lied to the daycare,  I didn't want to tell them he was leaving for another daycare because they were such nice people, so kind and caring to my child.  That could be another reason I feel so crappy about this.

Then why leave, you ask?  Now I'm not really sure.  When we toured the daycares back in the fall, the shiny newness and developmental programs of the first choice place wowed us.  So in our heads, we committed.  Also, first choice place has an exceptional preschool program that is near impossible to get into unless you start out as an infant.  But the second place was like family.  They knew his individual cries, faces, and nuances.  I hope the feeling in the pit of my stomach is just the fear of change and that Gobbles is none the wiser. 

Like I mentioned above, 24 hours and this stress will be quelled.  Work will be done, and he'll have survived his first day of daycare.  Nothing to worry about... right? 

Pllhhhpppt.  I'll be FINE.  Sheesh!  Now go blog about camping - that's what people really want to read about!

powerless

so my plan to blog yesterday about fathers' day weekend and a short trip to the shore and more fun stuff went out the window when the storms blew through my little corner of delco, knocking out power to my home "office" as well as gobbles' daycare a few miles away.  18 hours later, i sit here in my parents' house, child sleeping in the pack and play, making frantic plans with my husband to salvage the meat in our freezer, the beer in our fridge (priorities people), and get our puppies to their weekend destination, our fabulous boarder, the hippie lady.  

oh and at some point pack for camping and make food for the other 30 people who will be there.  camping with a six month old?  we'll see how that turns out when the weekend is over! 

in the meantime, highlights from the last week.

fathers' day:

hubs' first fathers day was anything but typical, as he returned from the bachelor party i mentioned last week with a fresh hangover and word that the strippers were not as laughable as he thought they'd be.  sigh of relief. 

my husband has never been an early riser, and though i have always been a planner, ever since gobbles arrived my life has been last minute this and that.  the fathers' day gift was no exception.  i woke up sunday morning anticipating i would have all day to get this gift together, so imagine my surprise when i got a phone call at 9:30 from hubs saying he was an hour from home. 

yikes.  i rushed gobbles into his cute little too big outfit and out into the 90 degree heat in the backyard.  the trend for a first fathers day gift, as done by just about every new mom on the bump where i'm ashamed to admit i sometimes lurk (h calls it "the crazy birds who have nothing better to do"), was to be a three picture series, spelling out D-A-D.  with little time left, i had to get this done in one take.  with cardboard letters.  yea, a little sloppy.  and, my little boy had other plans, namely, he'd rather be napping.  so, if i did make it in time to printing out these pictures, here's what daddy would have gotten:

Fathers Day Gift = FAIL.  Luckily, hubs is a good sport and was happy with a lovely card and the promise that he can dry age an expensive piece of meat (porterhouse maybe?) in our fridge and have himself a feast when we have a free weekend.  Since we have plans the next couple weeks, this gift was put on hold.  And score one for procrastination because this steak would have been ruined anyway with today's power outage.

next up, the beach:

since giving my notice, i've been doing minimal work, just finishing up a few reports and doing a lot of administrative stuff. therefore, i've taken full advantage of my "working from home" and decided i could "work from the shore house my mom rented to have her week of peace and quiet after school lets out".  have i mention my 60 year old mother teaches first grade?  we bust her chops a lot about it, since she's always complaining about the twenty-five 6 year olds have have no discipline and annoying parents, but i really do think it's admirable that she puts up with all that crap. 

anyway, i decided that a quick overnight to the beach would be just the way to unwind.  but wow do babies require a lot of crap. after like 3 hours of packing (for a 24 hour trip), we were on our way.  after we got there, grandma took care of gobbles while i took care of a few conference calls, then it was off to the beach.  gobbles seemed quite happy to try on his swim trunks and get his sunscreen:

But after getting to the beach (well should i say, lugging child, a blanket, two chairs, toys, diapers, extra sunscreen, towels, a beach tent, and 2 cameras), he decided all he wanted to do was sleep.  again.

seriously lady, enough with the pictures!

After two hours of enjoying a beach snooze, gobbles woke up and we felt obligated to introduce him to the ocean. which was a little too cold for his toesies.  he wasn't even in long enough for a picture.

aww mommy's done torturing you. for now.  ok maybe not.  one more pic from back inside the tent:

Coulndn't you just photoshop me?  I look superimposed on here anyway!

Beach = FAIL.  

The next morning, I finally finally got to use my jogging stroller as intended.  To jog!  With my boobs finally down to a sports bra-fitting E cup, I ran for the first time, and it was glorious.  It was a little awkward with the stroller, not pumping my arms, so I opted to push with one hand and swing my other.  This made for a nice arm workout too trying to keep the stroller in a straight line.  Granted, I only made it a mile an a half (and it took about 15 minutes, lordy!), but it felt fantastic.  I can't wait to make this part of my routine now.  And I think Gobbles actually enjoyed the ride.  A first for this blog post :)

They are people too...

This blog is a little out of my topic area, but thinking back to a conversation I had with hubs last night, I can't help but laugh at myself  now.

So hubs has a bachelor party to go to this weekend.  The party is in his hometown, a boondocks town where everyone knows everybody else.  He mentioned that he was having an email conversation about the "toothless, redneck strippers" that would be at the party, and started laughing.

A strange feeling of terror-like worry came over me, bringing me almost to tears.

My husband immediately stopped laughing and looked at me, shocked because in our ten years together I have never emitted any kind of jealousy towards this kind of thing.  I trust him completely and am secure enough in our relationship that he can see strippers anytime he wants.  What's wrong? he asked me, starting to look worried himself.

My voice was shaking.  Please sweets, promise me you won't laugh at them.  You didn't laugh at them the last bachelor party you had at that bar did you?

His relief became apparent and he resumed his laughter.  Only one of them, but man she was brutal.

Again for some odd reason I was brought near tears.  Promise me!  These girls are people too, they probably have Daddy issues and they probably have no self esteem.  If people start laughing promise me you'll tell them they're pretty and give them some dollar bills.

Ok - I'll do it.  I'll make it rain and tell them it's with love from my wife.

What the hell is wrong with me??  Where in the postpartum manual does it say I'll develop a compassion for strippers while my hormones are adjusting to a lowered breastmilk supply??  I've got to finish this weaning thing and return to my cynical, judgemental old self.

Back to normal Gobblestime next time, I swear!

martha stewart? nah. but a girl can dream.

I am no domestic goddess.  Anyone who has been to my house has seen the clutter in the closets, dust in the corner, or peeling paint.  I tend to concentrate more on the functionality of things rather than the appearance.  Most of my furniture is mis-matched hand-me-downs that I swear I'll replace when I win the lottery and purchase my mcmansion.  I hate cleaning more than anything, find nothing therapeutic about it, and our guest bed is piled with two months worth of clean laundry, half still waiting to be folded.  Don't get me started on the endless supply of dog hair from our lil shepherd mix.  And of late the entire place smells of sour milk.  Thanks breastfeeding.

But, once in awhile, I like to pretend.  I love to host get-togethers, mostly because I just love seeing people, and appreciate them wanting to spend time hanging out with me. me!  Those are the times I wonder how I got so lucky to have the people I love surrounding me.  Since Gobbles was born, I've had friends over maybe twice.  Finding time to make the house somewhat acceptable-looking has gone out the window.

So, when the week rolled around for my sister-in-law's bridal shower (to be held at a restuarant in her hometown), it was the perfect moment to unleash my inner hostess without having to clean my house.  I am not the greatest cook in the world - I can make chicken picatta, thanksgiving turkey, and egg white sammys, that's about it - but I looooove to bake.  Probably because I loooooove to eat sweets.  Anyway, mother-in-law requested my usual Christmas cookie-tray assortment, as well as some funfetti cupcakes (yep, sis-in-law's fav cupcakes come out of a box).  Maid of honor reminded me that the theme was "tiffany blue", so I tried to adjust the goodies to match. 

I got to work, made all the cookies from scratch, and fancied up the funfettis to go with the shower theme.  I think I did ok, by the time I got back to fill my goodie box at the shower, my cookie trays were empty!  There were still plenty of goodies as provided by the five other bridesmaids, but I couldn't help feeling somewhat smug that mine had gone.  Just hoping the bride was able to grab some before they disappeared.  But if not, here's a glimpse at what the guests had:

Butter Cookies (old family recipe) with a Sugar Glaze (my own, combination of an Internet recipe and what I already had in my kitchen).  I found a "lips" cookie cutter in my bin, so I figured what the heck, that's what the middle ones are supposed to be:

Jelly Cookies (another family recipe); Chocolate chip (my own, after years of trying, tweaking, and combining pieces from a few different recipes, I came up with a mix that works best for me):

Shortbread Cookies (internet recipe).  I did have fun making colored sugar to top them... Didn't realize how easy it was and I'll never pay for colored sugar again!

Funfetti cupcakes, at least those that survived the bouncy two hour car ride, (from a box.  Icing from a can, mixed with a little food coloring and topped with sparkly sugar)

And finally, I made a towel cake. Not edible, but fun and easy! 

Besides the food of course, the shower was a great time, and the mother of the bride and the maid-of-honor did a great job in organizing the rest of us.   The bride looked beautiful as always with her dress color coordinated perfectly with the rest of the shower - only she would have that planned out so fittingly - love her for that!  I can't wait until the wedding, I know it will be a great time.

Next shower - two months, so far away!  I think maybe I'll have to host a party in between...