Category Archives: family

family, Monkey, Otter

A life ruled by a 20 pound tyrant, the number 200, and more…

Leave a comment

Well here we are, 200 posts since I moved my Western attitude to the East coast. Thanks for everyone who has read my various and sundry ramblings. I appreciate your time and the connection to the outside world.

My life continues to be ruled by my 20+ pound tyrant. Otter has begun to “talk”, making little vocal stylings at all hours of day and night, trying out his mouth and vocal cords. His talking is quite darling when the sun is out, so long as you are not trying to speak to anyone yourself. However, he has begun to wake up at an ungodly early hour to regale his father and I with tales of wild baby tribes living deep in the jungle and god only knows what else. He now does this almost every day. He is very, very loud.

So I drearily wave goodbye to the sleep I finally began to catch up on. I welcome back the bleary-eyed, leaving my keys in the freezer, sleepless self. I get lots of smiles to make up for the lack of sleep, along with a lot of baby giggles. I am also getting regular lectures on the deplorable treatment of babies in this culture, a loud demand for an increase in snuggle time, and the joy of watching Otter talk to this sister.

We are also nursing nigh constantly now, as opposed to the previous 3 months of slightly less than nigh constant nursing. Has anyone else out there had a Mongo baby? He is over 20 pounds and only 3 and a half months old. He grew out of his 9 months clothes in one week, and is now wearing 12-18 month clothes. I need a support group for moms of amazon babies. I need answers to questions like, “is it realistic to presume I can continue to breast-feed an infant this large without supplementing?” I need a unlimited gift certificate to Baby Gap. I need a massage therapist to deal with my aching back and shoulder muscles. Mostly, I think I need other women to tell me how they handled having huge children.

Lee is doing very well at his job, his career has taken new twists and turns that I don’t fully to understand. He is happy, he is stressed, he rarely programs, but manages large numbers of people programming a large array of projects. He has days when he can’t even sit at his desk to wolf down a sandwich. He is amazing and I am very proud of him.

Monkey is happily engaged in being a big sister. Her brother is completely fascinated by her and watches her all the time. Therefore, she has begun to view his existence as highly positive, instead of dubious. He has done well, knowing which person to kiss up to for extra love and attention. She dotes on him, holds him all the time, and gets many drooly kisses for all her love and hard work. It is really neat, being able to watch their relationship develop. I always felt my brother and I had a little secret world, separate from our parents, and I really hope Monkey and Otter have a similar connection.

My foot is better, I can walk really well on it, but I still can’t stand to have the spot touched. Sigh. I hate adding things to do to my list of things to do, there are already so many things to do! I guess I will try and visit a doctor soon. Feh.

Mom was out here for a wonderful week. We had a perfect day at the beach with Monkey and Otter. Mom and I took turns taking Monkey into the water, where we squealed and splashed. While mom was in the water with her, Otter and I lay down under the umbrella and watched the sky. It was pretty magical. He loved to be there in the little wind-break I made him out of bags and towels. He kept smiling and looking around at all the new sounds. Then mom took over and Monkey and I spent a while getting wet and giggling. She is such fun at the beach, perfectly happy to run in and out of the waves for as long as anyone will let her. I was completely refreshed after the visit.

On the home-front, we finally got the dishwasher and dryer repaired, which is wonderful, though the combination of the repair person and the cable guy having appointments today has rendered my chances at a shower negligible. The repair guy was in and out in less than an hour. However, Scott, the cable guy, well actually the Fios guy, is still here, having had to bring the cables over three telephone poles and across the street. He got here first, and I began to feel pretty bad for him when it hit 1:30 and he was still installing. I decided it was only polite to feed him. After all, they do not have any information warning against the feeding of a cable guy on the website and he had been here working all morning. He seemed happy to sit and enjoy a very sticky peanut butter and jelly sandwich and a cold glass of ice water while basking in our air conditioning. I even stuck a few ginger snaps on his plate.

Happily, I can now do dishes with minimum hassle, and I will be able to dry my clothes too. Yay! I can take down the temporary clothesline I created in our sitting room! Now all I need is a Wife, and my domestic life will be complete.

family

Firsts…

1 Comment

This week was my Father’s first visit out to see us in New Jersey, the first time Otter met his Grandfather, Monkey’s first school field trip. and my first solo stint with two children.
Daddy got here Tuesday, and we enjoyed his visit so much. Otter was a little uncertain about the usefulness of another “boob-less” person in the house, but Dad won him over by Thursday with songs and snuggles. He even got a few “ear to ear jobs” as Dad calls baby grins.
Otter sleeping on Da:
Da singing to Otter:

Monkey played a number of rousing games of “Go-Fish” with her Da, and he actually won a few of them. (She is quite the card shark and never forgets a card someone has asked for.) Da also chaperoned her field trip to the Staten Island Zoo. He was a very brave man to volunteer to ride an hour or so on a bus with 20 chattering kindergarteners. They had a nice time, and Monkey was able so show her Da off to her classmates.
Da and Monkey off to the field trip:

Monkey excited about her field trip:
Monkey has had a hard time with Otter taking some of her thunder, and my Dad went a long way to reminding her that she is a sweet and special little girl, and that she is still a star, albeit one who has to share the spotlight from time to time.

Bella, our dog, got to snuggle in the guest bed with Dad at night, while Andy, our other dog, tried to win me over by staying in the bedroom.(It’s didn’t work, she is still not allowed to eat off the kitchen counter.)

Lee left for his conference on Thursday morning. Otter and I dropped him at the train station at 4:30 am. Ugh. Once he was gone a strange thing occured, I began waking up covered in cats. All three of them crept onto the bed and slept there, Rue above the baby, Chloe at my feet, and Hazel at my side.

As for me, I got to have several days of daddy hugs, and conversation over a shared beer or cup of coffee. He and I used to have coffee about once a week on his way to work, and I was really missing the chance to build castles in the air with him. It was great to have a chance for leisurely conversation, even if we had to sneak it in between the needs of the kiddos.

Of course today we had to take him to the airport, and we cried like babies all the way home, except for the baby, who slept. Monkey said “Nama and Da are just so special to me, and now they live there and we live here, it’s not fair! I can’t wait to live there again!”
Oh honey, how very much I agree with you.

family, health, Otter

Agoo or poo…

2 Comments


(Apple hat courtesy of Ariel Benjamin, Thanks Ariel!! It’s so cute on him!)

Agoo or Poo?

Yes, the language and facial displays of babies can be decieving. Otter has been working very hard to express himself lately, both verbally, and physically. When he tried to talk, he will often scrunch up his face, turn red, and say “agoo”. When he poops he will often scrunch up his face and turn red as well, leaving the family to guess at his intentions… Agoo or Poo?

Mom goes home tomorrow, and we will miss her dearly. Oh how I want to move back home, into my parents house too. I keep asking Lee how he would feel about rooming with the ‘rents for a while, but he is less than enthusiastic about the idea. “We need more space” he says. Space shmace, I want my mom and dad!

It has been wonderful having her here, she has helped me organize the house, catch up on laundry, and shower on a regular basis. It is truly a gift to have had her with me. I can’t be too sad about her going though, her dogs need her, my dad needs her, and I get to have my dad out here in another week. I am spoiled!!

As for other news, I developed a breast infection day before yesterday. I have never had a higher fever in my life, I was up in the 105 range, with chills that would not die and delirium to match. Luckily I got to the doctor right away and the antibiotics are helping the fever go away. I still have a teeny one, but I am no longer freezing and shaking. Ugh. Oddly I learned that cabbage leaves tucked between your breast and bra will help draw out the milk from the plugged duct. Who knew? Cabbage, it’s not just for salad anymore.