Tuesday, March 31, 2009

How to Survive Day Nine of My Eleven Day Stint as a Single Parent

Have Rosa and Dave bring Jack's Prime over for dinner. I get to spend all day looking forward to burgers and sweet potato fries, and Samson gets to fall all over himself showing off for company. Dave is no longer a person, he is now a Samson-flipping-over machine.

It helped IMMENSELY that today was a nanny-share day (one of the last--sob!). And this amazing weather has given us lots of time to spend at the park, taking toys from unsuspecting kids and insisting on going down the big boy slide. Adorable as always, Samson has taken to running around the park yelling "Nooooooooo!" at the top of his lungs. For no reason. Hilarious. Also, it turns out he's a close talker.

Monday, March 30, 2009

Where the Wild Things Are (My House)

Day eight of my eleven-day stint as a single mom is finally coming to a close. We knew when we had Samson that Max would have to travel some of the time for work, but this trip is really getting tough to handle. I don't mean to hit below the belt--Max really doesn't travel all that much, and he works so hard for our family, and it's important that I remember this when Samson is chasing the cat, wielding an ice cream scoop, he only napped for 45 minutes, and the cavalry's not coming for three more days.

Sigh.

As with every other stage of his development that come and gone int he last 17 months, I will miss this curly-haired demon, this emptier or kitchen drawers and chaser of house pets. He's discovering how fast and far his feet can take him, and his most urgent business is to find out what is inside of each and every drawer/box/closet/cupboard. It is imperative that he taste every kitchen utensil, and find out how each toy sounds as he drops it down the stairs. Being 17 months old is serious business.

That said, SWEET LORD I need a break. Lucky for me, I have a group of super awesome girlfriends and we've scheduled a trip to Palm Springs in May. A swimming pool, a fridge full of booze and BBQ. trust me, I'm counting the days. Hell, I'm counting the minutes.

Doggie update: Nanna had a down day, but she's still doing OK. But the real news is my new found doggie freedom. Ozzy, AKA the dog who can't be alone, has finally learned to be alone. I've been leaving him the backyard while I run errands and what not for the last week or so, and it's been working out really well. It's strange, but it almost feels as though I have a normal dog. Huh.

Wednesday, March 25, 2009

I'm Simultaneously Horrified and Fascinated

Good lord, that child is exhausting.

EX. AUST. ING.

In other news, Hamlet 2 is the best movie ever. Don't believe me? Go on, have a taste.

Yes, that's Elizabeth Shue in the audience. COMIC GOLD.

Friday, March 20, 2009

Correction

Before I start getting emails from hostile grandparents about my previous post, let me add the following words:

-buh bye (he's destined to be a stewardess)
-da da (diaper)

And there are probably a dozen more that I am blanking on. Plus, he woke up this morning asking for an apple. And I know matos (hebrew for airplane) is right around the corner.

Thursday, March 19, 2009

For shame

What a sad sack lack of blogging. I have no excuse.

Updates:

Nanna is doing so well! For a few days last week, she was getting worse and worse. After lots and lots of soul searching and some talks with a few close friends, we decided to put her down this week. She must have over heard me, because almost over night she began eating more, playing more, and just felling better in general. The lungs are definitely suffering, but she's still loving life so we're just taking it one week at a time. BIG THAKS to everyone for your emails, thoughts, and support. This whole thing still sucks, but it's a little better than it was a week ago.

Samson is some kind of jibber jabber machine. He's not speaking any language that I know, well, not much anyway. It rare for him to not be going on and on about something, and he seems very knowledgeable and full of conviction about whatever it is he's saying. Hmmm.

Current verified word list in real languages spoken by other people besides him:

-feesh (fish)
-shoosh (shoes and/or socks)
-jeesh (cheese)
-yo yah (yogurt)
-wuff (dog)
-at (cat)
-nook (book)
-milk (milk)
-agua (water in spanish)
-ba ba (dad, or aba in hebrew)
-ma ma (snack, and/or possibly mom)
-blehleb (banana--real language factor is questionable, but it's a very consistent blehleb)
-bup (up)
-alp (help)

Also, he has started picking my nose. So proud.

In other news, a friend got me to go to Jazzercise with her last night. I hurt all over, and I've got a aural Rhianna floaters. Imagine my embarrassment when I learned that you don't have to wear a leotard. Ahem.

Saturday, March 14, 2009

Weekend Warriors

Another single mom weekend for me; it's boys' weekend in Tahoe. I learned from the last one (the rain, teething, and a crummy mood made for not so much fun), and have made all sorts of plans to keep both Samson and myself busy as freaking BEES.

Today we met a gaggle of lady friends and babies at Golden Gate Park for some tea and pastries and incredibly brazen squirrels. Then we had lunch at Park Chalet. The weather laughed in our faces, but we persevered. And Samson--holy crap, what a well behaved child. No nap, more confinement than he prefers, his first taste of crab salad, and still he had a smile on his face the whole time. Big ups to Ash for playing entertainer, and to all the gals for spending a Saturday with a ticking toddler time bomb.

Tomorrow, we host playgroup here at home. I hope the other mommies like Nilla Wafers and raisins.

Friday, March 13, 2009

I used to have a blog...

A beautiful week of sunshine means more outside time and preventing Samson from eating eucalyptus pods and less time blogging. Hooray!

Monday, March 09, 2009

DST is RAD

So even though it's still pretty light out, Samson goes to bed in his normal 6:30-7 ish time frame with no problems thanks to my genius weekend project and skillful installation techniques. He wakes up a few times between 8 and midnight, thanks to a couple of new teeth that are trying to free themselves from their gummy prison. And then, my awesome little boy who is still awesome even when he wakes up at his normal time of 6:30 am, was extra awesome and slept. until. 8:15.

I love room darkening roller blinds, I love daylight savings time, and I love getting to sleep and extra hour and 45 minutes on Monday morning.

Friday, March 06, 2009

Oh, hey, I forgot to ask...

Hey, hormones? It's been 16 months now since I gave birth. Do you you think you could let me get through one hospital drama, sex crime drama, or dog food commercial without crying? That would be awesome. Thanks. A lot.

Walkin' the dogs

Shhh. Don't tell anyone, but it's been dry for a couple of days now. And it's supposed to stay dry for a few more days. Let's not talk about it anymore so we don't jinx it.

When I'm out walking the dogs, I'm used to being stopped by people who want to know about Ozzy; what sort of dog he is, why does he make that funny moo-ing noise, etc. But people must be able to sense that Nanna is sick--I was stopped three times this morning by people asking about her, saying how pretty and sweet she is, so shocked to learn that she's 13 this year. And I think she really liked the attention. Poor, skinny, sleepy girl.

Wednesday, March 04, 2009

Fasten Your Seatbelts

So. That whole "back to more regular posting next week" didn't seem to go too well. Man, you guys are really bad at finger crossing.

Anxiety countdown: 51 days until we fly to New York for my brother's wedding. That's 51 days to accomplish the following tasks:

1. Find a really cute dress to wear to the wedding.

2. Loose weight so I can fit in the really cute dress.

3. Find an adorable outfit for Samson, preferably one that involves and argyle sweater vest.

4. Figure out HOW THE HELL we're going to survive a flight to New York with my demon child. WHAT WERE WE THINKING? If anyone here is planning to fly to New York in April, avoid row 12. Like the freaking plague.

5. Learn how to stop referring to the boy as "Doofus." I may think it's endearing, but the outsiders no likey.