Parenting Fails. They’re bound to happen.

Charlie lived through a few this weekend! 

First we took him out in the cold without any mittens.  He was bundled up elsewise, but about halfway through the walk his little hands were freezing and red and he was NOT HAPPY.  Not happy at all.  We had to step in the bagel place to warm him up (and while we were there to buy some bagels), and then I walked the rest of the way home holding him inside my jacket.

Later he was pushing around the coffee table (you’ve seen the video on Facebook, yes?), and it got caught on the rug, which jarred him off balance and made him fall… right onto the lower ledge of said coffee table.  Resulting in a CUT on his forehead, right by his eye.    It honestly looks like he got into a boxing match, and y’all – it bled.  We took him out later for a balloon and some new toys, because we aren’t above buying back our kid’s affection (we also bought some mittens, in case you were worried).

And then (yes, there’s more.  we were obviously very busy being bad parents over the long weekend), this morning I set him in his new Charlie-sized chair while I went to make his bottle, and no sooner had I gotten to the kitchen than he’s crying because he has of course fallen out of it.  No broken skin this time, which was a plus, but still.

Vin at least compensated for these mishaps by being an extra good dad and taking Charlie to the Children’s Museum and his gym class, plus waking up with him in the mornings.  I meanwhile spent the weekend studying for my first Organic Chem test tomorrow, and when I wasn’t doing that I was smothering Charlie in hugs and kisses, hoping he won’t remember all the bad parenting I did this weekend. 

I’m told that once C starts walking we can expect a lot more bruising, especially in the face area, so I guess maybe this was a good “practice run” for us.  We haven’t been in much of a hurry for him to start walking (and he shows little interest in doing anything unassisted, even standing), and now I’m really not anxious for it to start.  Crawling is so much safer! 

Reading List: February Edition

I’ve been doing a fair bit of re-reading lately, which means I need book suggestions people. 

The Hunger Games – re-read them for my new book club.  So obsessed.  STOKED for the movie!!  And can I just say, these are so much better than Twilight could ever hope to be. 

The Nanny Diaries – also a re-read; just sort of wanted to go back to it now that I actually have a part-time nanny myself.  Made me feel much better about myself as an employer and a mom, lol.

In Praise of Stay-at-Home Moms – if you are a SAHM, you should read this.  If you are not a SAHM and you don’t particularly want to be, do not read this, because the author is pretty anti-not-staying-at-home (if that makes sense?).  I didn’t read it for the anti-working bit, but I did find all the praise and recognition of how difficult it is being a SAHM pretty validating. 

Unbroken:  A World War II Story of Survival, Resilience, and Redemption – very very good!  But also very intense.  It’s non-fiction but reads like a novel, which makes it easier to read than the standard non-fiction (like Lone Survivor, which I struggled to finish).  Protagonist goes through a LOT; it’s almost shocking that he survives.

To Kill a Mockingbird – re-read for my Knitty City book club.  They’re on a classics kick right now, which I’m only halfway excited about.  I mean it was nice to re-read this now that I’m older (and now that it’s not dreaded “homework”), but I don’t really want to read a classic every month, especially ones that I’ve all read before. 

People of the Book – and yet another re-reading for the new book club (I should really give it a better name to distinguish it…).  Really good book with lots of Jewish history; it follows the path of a very old haggadah as it moves throughout history.  The author also wrote the book March, which is the untold story of the father in Little Women, and which is also really really good.  But she tends to write sad books, so expect to tear up a few times!

Next up is A Visit from the Goon Squad by Jennifer Egan for my new book club.  Not sure about the Knitty City book club; I think we might be reading The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn.  And in the meantime I’ll be doing a lot of reading out a certain Organic Chemistry textbook.  Fascinating!

Mail Call!

So this is the note I’ve come up with for Charlie’s first birthday.  I’m planning on mailing it out to family members, but if you’re not a member of my family and want to participate just let me know!  Otherwise I’ll feel like I’m assigning you homework, ha.  I’m hoping to get them in the mail by the end of this week, and then I’d love to have them back by his birthday (sorry that doesn’t leave you a ton of time, but I figured if I did it too far in advance people might keep putting it off and then eventually forget about it… because that’s probably what I would do). 

Less than a month left!

Charlie’s so hungry he could eat a whale

l don’t know where Vin’s been the last few months**, but last weekend (or the one before, I forget.  they all run together in the end) he made the comment that all he’d seen me do that day was feed Charlie.  And I just looked at him and explained that that’s how it is EVERY DAY.  He’s not even an adolescent yet; where did this appetite come from?? 

And really it’s not so much the quantity (which can be impressive) but the sheer number of times a day he wants to eat.  He wakes up and has a bottle, then a solid breakfast, then morning nap.  Then he’s up and has lunch, later some snacks, and finally a second bottle before his second nap.  He wakes up from his second nap and has a snack, then dinner around 6, then his last bottle right before bedtime.  I’m constantly making, or feeding, or cleaning up, or storing extra food for him.  To be honest I’m sort of running out of ideas, too.  He eats a lot of the standards (Cheerios, fruits, veggies, beans, toast), but we both get tired of those after a while. 

He has also been steadfastly refusing purees of any sort.  He went through another phase like this a while ago, and I just kept trying and trying, and after a while he started eating them again.  But this time I’m running out of motivation…  Because each time I make him a puree that he won’t eat, that’s an extra dish I have to wash.  For no reason. 

Any ideas or inspiration or encouragement appreciated!  Who’d have thought it would be so hard to feed an 11-month old??

**Vin is totally an active and involved dad.  And he had actually been traveling a lot.  I think it’s just one of those things where it happens gradually and then all of a sudden you’re like “My God, did he just eat an entire bucket of wings plus sides by himself?!?”  Or, you know, the 11-month old equivalent of that.

New Year’s DIY Resolution: January

So this is January’s DIY gift.  I clearly went SUPER easy.  No point starting out too strong, right??  Not to mention that I just finished them yesterday, i.e. the last day of January.  I did do a few other crafts during January, though, just because I for some reason felt pretty motivated and had some extra time what with school being out. 

My main craft was a set of bowling pins for Charlie.  This pic isn’t really the “finished” pic because they’re taking FOREVER to dry, but it’s good enough right?  I also still need to find a ball for it.  Hopefully I’ll find a black one, but really any ball will do. 

*the one on the far right is my fav!  I didn’t have orange paint so I just squeezed in some red and yellow and it ended up with a sort of marbled look.  I tried it with other colors, but they didn’t all turn out so pretty.  The blue/purple stayed a tad marbled, but the light green/dark green and the black/white all faded together into a middle green and a gray (respectively).

Sideline crafts were this canvas photo transfer, a new scarf for me (disregard tired mom eyes), a playhouse built out of diapers.com boxes, and a “C” sign for Charlie’s room using nails and embroidery thread. 

I had actually made the same scarf for Annie a while back, and at first I wanted to keep instead of send it to her.  BUT I’m a good friend, so I simply made a second one to keep for myself (you know, 12 months later).  And then I sewed the ends together to make an infinity scarf.  I thought of knitting it in the round, but I really wanted the sort-of-ribbing lines to go long-wise on the scarf, and knitting it in the round would have made them go across short-wise (if that makes sense?).  The pattern was super simple – k, k, p, all the way across, plus a selvage stitch at either end (so make sure you cast on a multiple of 3 plus 2). 

I’ve bought the stuff for 2 more DIY’s already, and supplies for a 3rd are being shipped now.  PLUS I have some store-bought ideas to follow through on, so hopefully I’m set for the next few months.  Yay 2012!

First Birthday Plans?

I’m so torn on Charlie’s first birthday plans.  Well, not really “torn” because I know what we’re going to do for it.  More “a bit bummed” about it. 

The big party is going to be with my moms’ group.  We’re all getting together (10 babies and their parents) to celebrate with food, drinks, and a singer for the kids.  It’s going to be a blast!  Gifts are going to be Secret Santa-style, and we’re mostly keeping it low key (i.e. food will be potluck, venue is another mom’s apartment).

But then there’s the “family party,” except it doesn’t seem like much of a family party when there’s not much family there.   Boo hoo!  Such a pity party over here right now.  I’ll stop.  (For now.)

I am, however, trying to think of ways to still involve my family in Texas even though they can’t be here for it.  So far my only idea is to have each member write Charlie a letter for his first birthday that I’ll include in some sort of first b-day book.  What do you think?  I figure I can even create a template for those who really want to half-ass it (you know, stuff like “what do you think Charlie will be when he grows up?  what’s your favorite story about Charlie so far?” etc.). 

I have 6 weeks to figure it out, whatever I decide to do.  RIDICULOUS.  How will he even be a whole year old in 6 short weeks??? 

Now I’m back to enjoying my last week off before school starts.  And by “enjoying,” I mean going to put away laundry, pick up the kitchen, and drop off our wedding book to be mailed BACK to the photographer because they spelled our last name wrong the first go-around (no lie.  the book came and it said “Vin and Amanda DiRobertis.” despite the fact that they twice confirmed that it was “DeRobertis.” oh well). 

So much to do, so little time!

There is SO MUCH I need to do today.  Baby-proof the apartment, cook meals for Charlie, buy food for dinner, write thank you notes, touch up the paint on some walls, etc. etc. ETC.  The work never ends.  Good thing I love it.

On the bright side, my mom came for a visit before tax season last week, and we had lots and lots of fun while she was here!  Went to the opera (saw Tosca), to Charlie’s gym class, a couple playdates, trip to The Container Store, and she very kindly watched Charlie Saturday night so we could go out for Vin’s birthday (happy birthday Winnie!). 

Enjoy the pics, and don’t even try to tell me that’s not the sweetest baby belly you’ve ever seen.