Open up and say Ahhhhhhhhhhh...

I was a little worried, to say the least, about CR's appointment this morning. Many of my girlfriends who bring their children to the dentist for the first time are horrified by how their little angles turn into absolute monsters once they spy the maneuverable chair - tales of them screaming and crying, biting the doctor's fingers...not a pretty mental image to carry with me as we walked into the exam room.

Well, how did it go, you ask? He was amazing. The dentist took a lighted little camera and looked into his mouth, projecting images on a television screen in front of him. He thought it was his own little show - he loved it.

The dentist was thrilled with his dental hygiene, as well as his overall tooth alignment. B and I always thought his teeth were a little jacked-up. Big spaces, little teeth...he even managed to chip one of his front teeth already. But the dentist explained that the larger spaces allows room for the larger mature teeth to come in, and also, prevent food and bacteria from being trapped between his chompers (in case you were wondering about the reasoning behind the advantage to his smile looking a little like a Jack-o-Lantern).

Look Ma, no cavities!

I want to believe that his good behavior today was based on his overall good nature, but it didn't hurt to have the promise of a toy out of the treasure chest at the end of the appointment. We go back again in six months, and hopefully his enthusiasm for the tooth doctor endures.

The cutting of the tags...

CR is still getting up early (today it was 5:55am), but at least he is napping and going to bed somewhat earlier. Last night at bedtime, B asked him about our deal with Nano and Sup. We already removed the tags from two of the three Nanos, but Sup was the big hurdle. He is the ultimate comfort in CR's eyes, and I was a little reluctant to remove the soothing sucker from Sup in light of how awful CR's sleeping habits have been as of late.

There is reasoning behind our desire to remove the slippery, nasty little tags from his blanket pals beyond the fact that he is three, and that he shouldn't need to depend upon these safety-nets whenever he can't sleep, gets upset, etc. We are also a little worried about his overall dental health (they say pacifiers and bottles should be eliminated at some point in early childhood for the same reason, so shouldn't the same apply to sucking on labels?), not to mention the fact that his buddies smell...like really, really smell...horrible. No matter how often I wash them, they hold this funk that should deter him from even considering putting them in his mouth, but alas, he does it anyway.

So here is a little glimpse from last night of our big boy, and the cutting of the tags...

Waiting for the big crash...

CR has not been sleeping normally over the past few days. Naps have been brief, or thrown to the wayside all together. He has been waking before 6am, and doesn't fall asleep until after 10:30pm.

This funky pattern has resulted in, how shall I phrase it, volatile bouts of energy, giddiness, rebellion, anger, joy...a little hard to put my finger on at any given moment. I am sure this is just a phase, but it is a hard one to nail down. I think he likes his room a little too much, and naptime and bedtime have taken on a new reason to enact playtime...not the room's intention. I am going to have to start removing toys in a systematic manner, so all he will be left with is Nano, Sup, and his Thomas the Train sheets...can't really get into trouble with those, right?

Aaaaannnnndddd, we're back...

In the words of Michael Corleone, "just when I thought [we were] out... they pull [us] back in."

The house that we were interested in went back on the market today. After we missed out the first time, we said to ourselves that it was sad, but a great learning process - that we went through all of the emotions, weighed all the pros and cons, and readied ourselves for the next time we were faced with such a decision. But this was the reality that transpired today after learning that the house was an eligible candidate for our next mailing address:

B: "So the house is back on the market."
J: "I saw that - so what should we do?"
B: "I don't know, what are your thoughts...?"

Not exactly a confident start to this whole process, especially given the whole "learning experience" thing...

At any rate, we went back in, put in a new offer, and within hours, it was accepted. We are back in it and then some. Granted, we still have the appraisal and inspection to go through, so it is far from a done deal, but we got just what we asked for, and after the sinking feeling I had when we lost it the first time, I know this is something we both really want.

If things go smoothly, our place will be on the market in two weeks. Wow. Scary when I see it all typed out in front of me...scary exciting...but damn scary...

Oh, and also, I may be going into labor during our own open house, but that's no biggie, right?

Now we just wait and see if it truly is the little cape that could...

Let them eat cake...

After a couple of weeks of sporadic prep and planning, CR's birthday party was finally here. On the actual day of his birthday, B and I tried to do a few special things with him as a family. We started off the day with banana chocolate chip muffins. CR managed to eat more chips than muffins...

After breakfast, we headed up to the Square to get CR a haircut, and then upon his request, it was straight to the mall to grab some chicken teriyaki for lunch (totally his father's influence). On the way there, he gave his new 'do a little rub.

Once we got home, it was time to start the cake for the party. Granted, I didn't make the actual cakes from scratch (the "Dough Boy" helped in that department - the design I made up took three boxes of mix, equating to two round cakes and two rectangular cakes for cutting and molding), but all ten-plus cups of powdered sugar, three sticks of butter, vanilla and green food-colored buttercream frosting were whipped up with love with my pea-shooter arms...

After licking the bowl and the beaters, it took a few hours for CR's tongue to lose the Oscar-the-Grouch-colored hue...

The next morning, I put the whole vision together...

The muffins from breakfast the day before made perfect wheels...I may have gone a little overboard with making the second sheet cake (it sadly wasn't touched at the party...might have been due to the eight plus pizzas that were devoured before the cake hit the table), but having an additional set of candles to blow out was a big hit with wee-man...

We loved having the party outside on quite possibly one of the most beautiful days we've had so far this year...one drawback is that in some regard, CR acted like it was just another day at his favorite playspace...he "drove" around the park play car for a bit, and sat back and watched all his friends play on the field in the center of it all...

Needless to say, the day tired the little guy out, and naptime was welcomed with open arms...

(Note: B cut the tags off of two out of three "Nanos" already, and "Sup" is next. We told CR that he can hug and kiss his giraffe buddies, but no more sucking...he keeps going back to me saying the ones without tags are "broken"...we shall see what happens when we take down the final "Nano" and "Sup"...I may have to start cutting off his clothing tags as a precaution)

CR managed to stretch out his birthday throughout the entire weekend, capped off with a dinner last night at my "favorite" realm of food poisoning, Bizo...

Happy 3rd, CR, we love you more than life itself. With your little sister on the way, in the interest of timing, I may have to start planning for your 4th birthday in the new quarter...

Happy birthday, bean...

My little man turns three today. Three years of so many changes, smiles, cries, and milestones. I cannot believe that he has gone from this...

To this...

In only three years. It makes me smile, and a little verklempt at the same time. I love you CR.

I'm a sucker...

Wee-man has a way...a way to get his mother to crumble and buy him things that he definitely does not need. I am rendered powerless by his cute actions...he bats his eyelashes, and I open my wallet. We're not talking expensive, bank-breaking, somewhat useful items. No, we're referring to those $8-$10 pieces of crap that I am actually trying to rid my house of at the moment. Seems counter-intuitive, eh? Well it is. But it makes him smile, and that in turn makes me smile.

A few days ago we went to CVS to pick up, yes, you guessed it, some items for CR's party. We walked by the prominently displayed wall o' crap, stacked high with "how did they even decide to make" this, and "only a sucker would buy" that. Going back to CR's obsession with Cars, he eagle-eyed a Mater bubble blowing device. I cringed when he shrieked "Mater, Mater, Mater," and after a few moments, the cashier was asking debit or credit, and CR was walking out the door with Mater in his clutches.

The thing is designed so poorly. If you tip the blower ever so slightly, the soapy solution pours right out of the front. Try telling a 3-year-old to hold a bubble machine steady while he is running around the driveway with it. If I had been armed with this knowledge, it would have served as kryptonite against CR's manipulative ways, but the magic of packaging and vague details about the contents inside pulled the wool right over my eyes.

In this last shot, the expression on CR's face ("WTF??") is in disbelief for how defective the blower is...

The second impractical purchase was made just this afternoon. We traveled to iParty to get more stuff for CR's party (I think I only have one more shopping trip to make tomorrow morning, and we will be all set for Saturday...if the weather holds up...then we have a whole other mess to deal with), and rather than Cars, it was "Austin, Austin, Austin" when we walked into the store (Austin is the "fun-loving" purple kangaroo on the show...more like the annoyance factor of Barney with a marsupial's pouch). I looked at this purchase not as defeat, but rather, a birthday gift one day early...it was justified, right?

We brought Austin home, and CR immediately "introduced" him the family - he "got on the phone" with Ga and Gee, and told them all about his new friend. He "called" Mimi and Pop-pops and did the same. What an imagination that kid has...

So after this weekend, I will not have an excuse to buy him things...his birthday will be behind us, and I will have to do my best to withstand turning to dust when he makes his material requests. I need my nesting instinct to stand tall, and just think about all the extra clutter these purchases add to our home...I think I can, I think I can...

She may not have a room, but she has a drawer

Ga and Gee were my superheroes today. I was able to get to Target (God, I hate that place) to pick up things for CR's party, and upon returning home, I went through another bin of my own clothes to donate.

As many of you know, I definitely suffer from a condition...one that demands that my floors are always clean, and that clutter is removed from my immediate presence. Tonight, for instance, while cleaning up after dinner, I was putting away Sriracha in the 'fridge when I noticed that the shelves on the door were nasty. Instead of shrugging, shutting the door, and grabbing my evening pint of ice cream, I took out every condiment and wiped down the bins that housed them without skipping a beat. The nesting instinct has magnified this anal state of mind (I know, many of you probably can't imagine how it could be worse than it is already, but believe me, the power of this hormone-driven demand is amazing), so please bear with me if I seem extra focused on cleaning and purging my home of crap.

After bagging up sweaters that I haven't worn in years, I went out to our storage space above the garage and grabbed a plastic box with CR's 0-3 month clothes in it. Many of the items are blue, rendering them unusable by societal standards (I don't think my parents adhered to this creed, as I vividly remember being dressed in Star Wars tee-shirts and brown straight-legged cords with worn-out knees as a child, all handed down to me from my brother J), but I was able to pull out some white or green onesies, hats, and swaddling cloths for baby girl when she arrives.

Now where to put these items? B suggested using one of the drawers underneath CR's bed for her, so I started her wardrobe today with the assorted second-hand goods once worn by her big brother.

It was a bit scary, looking down at the little drawer. We have received a few pink outfits as gifts, so there they lay, next to the size 1 Pampers and the new pink little pacifiers I picked up earlier today. The wrap shirts are so tiny, and I feel like I am going to have to verse myself all over again on how to take care of an infant. I am so used to throwing a shirt over CR''s head, and having him ritualistically put his arms through the sleeves. But a baby? They are useless for the first 3 months (I say that with the most endearing tone, but it's true). They poop, eat, sleep and cry. I am not sure I am ready for this, and all of these thoughts flooded through my mind as I sat on CR's floor earlier today, staring blankly at the only space our little girl will have to really call her own.

B and I joke around, saying that we could have her set-up shop in our closet if we can't find a new house...check back in with me in a couple of months, and see how close we are to making that quip a reality...

It'll be a piece of cake...

Friday is CR's 3rd birthday, and Saturday, we are throwing him a party with an estimated 24+ adults and 18+ children in a park near our house (notice me crossing my fingers, toes and strands of hair that we have good weather - otherwise Mantown will be brimming with energized children, hopped up on sugary treats).

My wonderful parents are driving all the way to Boston tomorrow to hang with CR while I get some work done, as well as go out and grab some items for the fete (school is closed this week, so I am calling in the troops to help out with covering the unmanned bases while I fly solo during the day; it takes a village, right?). When I asked wee-man what type of cake he wanted, without hesitation he said "a recycling truck cake." Well, gee, that will be easy....

So I am in cake-planning mode. Since our baking supplies are limited to say the least (I am confined to a pie plate and a 9" x 13" baking dish) I borrowed some pans from our neighbor, and started mapping out how I will execute this highly specified request.

Is it too late to take back the question and just tell him that he is going to get a fabulous rectangular cake with extra icing? I'm screwed...

A night away from it all...

• The pregnancy
• The birth anxiety
• The house hunt
• Wrapping up work
• The nesting instinct
  

B and J's response?

Let's get away...

We were in CT this weekend for a family gathering at T and P's house - we rolled into town (after listening to Jason Mraz's 'I'm Yours' on repeat for the entire length of the trip, mandated by CR...aka drive from Hell) and spent the afternoon at Ga and Gee's house before heading to the party. Despite some cold rainy weather, everyone had a great time - Aunt P always throws a great bash.

Since we were in CT, and Mimi and Pop-pops offered to take CR for a night, B and I extended our stay by a day and decided to take a night away, just the two of us.

As a joke, I text-messaged my girlfriend S telling her that B and I were fed up with it all, and were heading to St. Thomas for three nights - she believed us...I guess B and I are that crazy...maybe a plan in the future...

We originally thought about heading to NYC for the night. The last time we were down there for a little get-away, we were beckoned back home after CR woke up with a fever. We Pricelined a room and were able to book one in midtown for $125, so after saying goodbye to wee-man and Mimi and Pop-pops, we hit the road. Once we were alone in the tranquility of the car, we thought more about what we wanted to do for the next 24 hours. NYC is a blast – we know that. But it is a lot more fun to go when we can both drink, eat sushi at some great restaurants, and shop for clothes or décor for our house.

Well, as I approach 35 weeks gestation, I can’t drink, sushi is off the menu, clothing shopping is downright depressing, and since we lost out on the house, buying things for our current place is just plain silly – nesting entails ridding your home of items, not adding to them. So,we decided to head to Saybrook Point Inn and Spa in Old Saybrook, CT.

What a perfect decision.

• Leisurely lunch at Penny Lane Pub with great conversation - better than average bar food
• Spa - massage for B and a brow and lip wax for me - not delicate and sexy, but so needed
• Gym workout without interruption
• Fantastic seafood dinner at Liv's - highly recommend it if you are visiting the seaside town
• In bed by 10:30pm, and slept in until 8am (of course I did not sleep well, but at least I was physically in bed for over nine hours)
  

Our chosen activities counteracted all levels of stress while we were down there. Of course, once we picked CR up from Mimi and Pop-pops and headed back to Boston, his incessant whining for this, that, and the other sadly brought me back to square one, but being away sure was fun while it lasted...

(image from here)

Skunked...

And just like that, we didn't get the house. I keep telling myself it is for the best, or that there is something drastically wrong with the place that would make us regret even getting ourselves into the bidding game if we did in fact get it.

We went in this morning, put our best foot forward with our best and final offer, and we were out-bid. I seriously had no idea how I would feel if it went either way - I expected to feel excited and scared if we got it, and sort of relieved if we didn't, but it didn't happen like that exactly...

B called me an hour and a half after we put in our bid, and said four little words that made my stomach drop..."we didn't get it." I guess I wanted it a little more than I led myself to believe. I am happy that we have a little more time in Boston, and that it takes a little pressure off to get our house ready to go on the market...but will there be anything else out there like the sweet little cape house we saw and loved? Will we walk into another place and feel instantly like we are home? Again, only time will tell...

(image from here)

Be vewy vewy quiet....we're hunting w'ealestate

First off, happy birthday, B - I love you!

The amount of sleep lost over the past 6 days is piling up. As if getting up every hour to pee due to my estimated 5-pound daughter "resting" on my bladder wasn't enough, the emotional stress of deciding what to do over a house we saw last week is taking it's toll. B and I saw a fantastic home. It reminds us so much of where we live now - the large amount of natural light, hardwood floors throughout, aesthetically pleasing paint color selection (okay, so we only painted one wall in our current house a contrast color upon the advice of our creative architect friend CA, but if we had the energy and, well, just the energy, we would choose a similar color palette that we saw used in the sought-after property for our current abode), new kitchen, finished basement, slated breezeway/mudroom...it is the perfect place for our next move...well, almost...

The drawbacks? First off, it only has three bedrooms...there goes the idea that our parents and any other visitors could have a room to call their own when they came to stay with us. It only has 1.5 baths, and it does not have the desired "Great Room" that we would like for entertaining. The heating system is radiator heat, and the cooling system, as they call it, consists of AC units on rolling wheels that you can pull out of the closets (oh, the closet space is limited, and by limited, I mean if the AC unit is in a bedroom closet, you had better have a large dresser, because your clothes would not have a place to live) and hook up to a "vent" (read: hole cut into the walls by current owner, covered with a make-shift plastic disk).

So basically we would need to add central air if I ever wanted to hear the end of how hot it is in the house in the summer...B loves to throw out an exact temperature reading for the house whenever it is not to his liking...thanks to my brother J and his Christmas gift from a few years back, B is able to look at the indoor/outdoor digital temp readout mounted prominently on the wall for affirmation for how his skin feels...

The positives? A fenced-in back yard. A driveway with a garage and two parking spots outside. A fantastic neighborhood. Close proximity to J, D, AW and AM, as well as a slew of other friends. Easy access to the highway (B's commute to work), and a short trip to the center of town. Close to the commuter rail. A third bedroom (better than what we have now). The price is right.

This is such a hard decision. B and I love the spring/summer in Boston. After battling through a crappy winter, I feel like we are owed all of the wonders that living so close to the city has to offer. Access to the Charles for walks and runs, a walk to Fenway Park for games, impromptu weeknight playdates with our close friends S and T and their kids W and L who live right down the street...those plusses alone make me want to bypass this option to buy and suck up loving in a two-bedroom for at least the summer, if not for the next year. But in the same breath, the desired house is the first we've seen that we really could imagine ourselves living in, and it wouldn't force us to eat hotdogs in the process. We could easily get our place on the market, and head out to the 'burbs if we can come to an agreement on price with the current owners of the "new" place.

Where does that leave us? We haven't seen anything on the market that compares to this place at anywhere near this price. Do we keep in hot, flaming pursuit of this opportunity, or do we stop, drop and roll away?

Sigh. Even after venting on "paper," I am no closer to a decision than I was before. My mind is flooded with thoughts around just welcoming our second child into our home, but where will that home be? Only time will tell.

(image from here)

Picture Pages...

Today was CR's class picture day at preschool. It was precious, albeit chaotic. It started off with CR's individual glamor shot, and then it was time to take a picture of all the little monsters together.

The whole arrangement process took some time to pull together, so some of the subjects got a little restless.

One of CR's classmates tried to help him get into position...

As kids went from sitting, to standing, to throwing leaves, to just plain zoning out, CR kept his attention on me, looking for affirmation as to what he was supposed to be doing...

CR: Mommy, are we done yet?
Mommy: No, not yet, stay put...
CR: (looking at the photographer) Cheeeese!
CR: Mommy, all done?
Mommy: No, not yet, stay there and smile...
CR: (looking at the photographer) Cheeeese!
CR: Mommy, are we done yet?
Mommy: No, not yet, look at the camera, for god's sake!
CR: (looking at the photographer) Cheeeese!

You get the point. I look forward to getting the actual prints to see if CR stands out as "that guy" in the shot - in all the class pictures taken throughout my educational lifespan, there was always that one kid who was doing the opposite of what they were supposed to be doing...there is a good chance CR will hold that title...

He will be a part of many class photos in the years to come, so we have time to make up for any mishaps from his photographic maiden voyage.

Not your typical source of entertainment...

We went to the Museum of Science this past weekend, and CR decided that rather than checking out the animated aquarium on the far wall of an exhibit, he would rather pause for a moment and sit in on a lecture covering the creation of a Hadron Collider...

What can we say, he takes after his grandfather Gee. I have to admit, B and I were mighty impressed by how the topic held his attention...and B and I learned something too.

We brought a bottle of wine...they brought a full-blown Jumpy House...

J and D had a fantastic cookout on Sunday afternoon. Lots of great food, sunny weather, and kiddos galore. I took CR upstairs to change his Pull-up (yes, he still refuses to poop on the potty...B even sat in the bathroom with him repeatedly, reading the Comics section to him while he waited for "things" to happen, but nothing...nothing...but put cotton next to his bum, and it's game time...ugh), and by the time I got back downstairs, I thought the circus had come to town. One of J and D's colleagues brought a full-on blow-up Bouncy House with them...for real.

After being able to dine without interruption by a little person, I thanked the guest profusely for bringing the air-filled babysitter. It provided so many services at once..

1) First off, fun for the kids
2) Grown-up party feel without leaving your child with a sitter at home - once the blow-up castle went up, children became an afterthought for adult attendees
3) A perfect late afternoon activity for wee-man - it tired the ever-living H*ll out of him so bedtime was not disputed in the least bit
4) Gave J, D, B and me a great idea for a future gift from Mimi for the kids for CT...kidding, Mimi, seriously, we're kidding...

So thank you, again, J and D, and also, an additional huge thanks to your guest. He was bigger than Santa for the kids, and bigger than landing a free spin with Pat and Vanna for the adults.

My conflicted little boy...

Today my girlfriend's son had a fever (I hope you are feeling better little FD!!), so we had to quickly change our plans (that is, we needed to come up with some...rain + child + 5 hours until naptime = possible breakdown for tired, pregnant Mommy).

Library it is. We packed up and went to the Main branch. This particular book-loaning space is far superior to others in our town - even though renovations are still under way, the updated space is bright, clean, and open. We started off strong - CR chose a few books, and we found a little nook to snuggle in and read...shortly thereafter, CR went off on a mission to scour the Children's section for a baby doll to play with...

After finding a suitable candidate, he streamed to the opposite end of the long room, and excitedly discovered that the construction vehicles down below were "waking up" from their lunchtime slumber.

So there he sat, baby safely cradled in his arms, while enthralled with the diggers and lifts moving the earth in front of him. If this scene is any indication of how his temperament and overall manner will be as he grows older, something tells me he will be tough, but will have a "touchy/feely" side to him as well...sort of like his Daddy...not a bad thing.