April 2006

April 01

garden and grass

so i just finished mowing.  we usually mow at the highest level, but we heard that at the beginning and end of the season you should cut the grass as low as your mower can handle.  so i did the back lawn.  friday jerry was able to come home for the day at lunch, so i went and made the rows in the garden while he had some elijah and daddy time.  we'll plant the garden next weekend!  i'm so excited!
so our little boy is about one inch away from outgrowing his car seat.  so we've decided to get a convertible one...from infant to toddler.  i think this is maybe what we should have done to begin with, but what are you gonna do?  we still can't get elijah to eat from a bottle.  i don't know what we're going to do in the car.  i've left the room, for that matter i've left the house...but he just won't take the bottle...sigh...  maybe as he grows he'll be okay with it...who can say?
that's about it... jerry's going to go grocery shopping and i think elijah and i will chill on the couch with some bad TV...
April 07

another friend for elijah!

So Rachel had her baby!!!!  And what a cutie she is!  Rachel and Erin are home safe and sound with their new one.  She was born on Sunday night and weighed in at 7 pounds 9 ounces and 20 inches long.  It is amazing how small she is compared to Elijah.  Anyway, they are great!  We took dinner over last night and hung out.  Jerry and I realized on the drive back home that it was the latest we had stayed out for quite sometime (9:00).  We were exhausted and I know that Rachel and Erin were as well.
Yesterday during the day was our little lunch group.  I love that we have a a group of women that we can hang out with.  I feel I can talk so candidly to these women and if there is anything I have questions about then I know that I can ask without being judged.  We are all different, yet similar.  Yesterday Angela made us breakfast for lunch....YUMMY!!!  I could eat breakfast for every meal!  It still tickles me that Elijah is the only boy, but who cares?It is so cool to watch babies older than he and realize that in not too much time he's going to be doing some of those things.
We've been through an allergy battle this week.  Stupid pollen.  To top it off on Monday Elijah had a bit of a fever...turns out that he's starting to teethe.  I don't think he'll be cutting teeth anytime soon, but boy is he drooly and chewy and cranky!  But he's a trooper.  He doesn't seem to mind the congestion he is having from the allergy season, so I think we'll make it.  He getting so strong and big!  He can put all his weight on his feet and wants very badly to sit by himself.  Angela took a pic of him yesterday in a Bumbo seat.  Very cute!  We looked for one on e-bay, but they are still 40 bucks!  I'll get Ang to e-mail me the pic and post it sometime...Elijah looks like a little Budda in the seat...very funny!
Well that's all for now.  We are planting our garden this afternoon.  We already planted the marigolds to help keep the rabbits out and they are starting to come up as are the strawberry's I planted on the patio!  I'm so excited about our garden.  Rachel and Erin are planting in the next couple of weeks as well!!  Wahoo for summer veggies!
April 09

ahhhh sweet sleep

last night was jerry's night to keep elijah.  he only brings the boy to me to eat.  last night was one of the best nights we've had lately.  poor elijah has been teething and has what seems to be allergies.  but last night he slept in great intervals and everyone slept....not so the night before...
so when people told me that my hair would fall out after birth, i don't think i really believed them.  after all my hair is so freaking thick that i didn't think i would notice...WHATEVER... so much of my hair has fallen out in the last week that we are going to have to purchase some draino.  i still can't tell.  my hair is still really thick, but every time a brush or wash my hair massive handfuls come out...sigh...
i'm going to have my mom cut 2 inches (just two inches mom....are you practicing two inches?) when we go home.  we are going to try sprinkling this hair around our garden.  supposedly this will keep the deer out...we'll see.  we've planted marigolds to help control the rabbits.
so jerry and i are trying this thing we saw on tv and that margaret from my lunch group told me about.  we are trying to only buy necessities...no going out, no clothes shopping, nothing extraneous...for six months.  if elijah needs clothes we will go to the goodwill or second hand shops (same for us.)  of course, that's probably where we would go for his clothes anyway.  he grows so quick i can't justify buying new clothes for him.  hopefully once our garden comes in our groceries will only consist of meat and dairy products.  i've been making yummy brownies from scratch...who knew it was so freaking easy!  last night i even put some peanut butter in them....yummy! (sorry claire...SB diet doesn't allow these, though you can eat dark chocolate and splenda...so you could make something yummy out of that i'm sure!)  anyway, it will be hard because god knows i love me some dominos pizza and cold stone ice cream...maybe once a month we can make an exception....jerry will probably say no...sigh.  but it's a really good practice.  i bet we'll eat better and save a whole bunch!  so that's good.
well, i need to go make lunch for rachel and erin.  really it's just an excuse to go and see them and their very cute baby.  though they would say that we didn't need to bring anything to see the baby...but it's fun to cook for others....
April 17

easter

We had a great trip to my folks.  Elijah was fabulous!  He slept the entire way up there and the entire way back.  However, I don't tihnk we will do this trip again without staying longer.  It was good to see everyone, but we are exhausted.
This week it is my goal to try to get Elijah to take naps on his own.  He sleeps about 8 to 9 hours at night (not straight through!) and then will only take a good nap during the day if I am sleeping with him or holding him.  While this is nice, it really puts a limit on what I can get done during the day.  So we're trying to get him to stay in his crib for naps.  I think it will be an up hill battle, but I think it will be worth it if he'll sleep for more than 20 minutes during the day.
So this weekend we had a picnic on Saturday in the park below my parents house.  It was awesome!  Lots of friends and family came.  The kids played in the creek.  I remember being immune to freezing cold water as long as i was having fun!  When did that change?  Anyway, the kids were cute and ended up "skinny diving".  It is really cool to me that they felt comfortable enough to run around playing in the water.  It is also really cool that there was a place for them to do this and fell safe.  The adults kept an eye on the kids and sat around chatting.  There was an easter egg hunt and tons of yummy food.  All in all a success to say the least.
Last week I hosted our little lunch group.  It was really nice.  I am very lucky to have found such a grand group of women.  Rachel will join us soon I am sure.
So it's just three days til my b-day!  I'm turning the big 3-0 this year.  I'm actually pretty excited about it.  I feel like our life is right on track.  we wanted to start trying to have kids after five years of marriage and here we are with a baby!  Jerry has decided to get his masters in chemistry.  So while it will be trying (he will continue to work full time) I think the end result will be well worth it.  He predicts it will take about three and a half years.  The last year and a hlaf should be working on research and what not, so that will be nice.
I guess that's about it.
Oh yeah, in response to Tracey's comment about the six month thing.  Eating out will definitely be missed, but eating out is a bit trying with an infant anyway. Also I think we will try to make a point in having people over or going over to people's houses.  That's just as nice as eating out and it's cheaper.  The thing I will miss most is renting movies or running to the store for something chocolate.  I will have to learn to spread my chocolate out over a week.  Though I have learned to make homemade brownies...super easy and really yummy!  Also since it's getting warmer (90 degrees yesterday  eeekkkk!!!) I can make homemade icee pops too!  Those will be a tasty treat for sure!
Okay, to add pics and then to clean up the house a bit...
April 20

they say it's my birthday!

The big 3-0!!!!  Today has been really nice!  Jerry let me sleep in until 9:00.  It was sooooooo nice!!!!!!  Then he went to work for half a day, came home and took me out for lunch at Red Robin (yummy hamburgers and strawberry lemonade....mmmmmmm), came back home and our friends Rachel and Erin stopped by with gifts!  They got me lots of chocolate and a Mr. Potato Head.  I never had one as a kid.  This one is HUGE.  It's a big plastic Mr. Potato head with three (count them three) potato heads inside with all the gadgets and stuff!  Very nice and exciting.  I guess I'll share with Elijah when he's old enough not to eat all the pieces.  On Saturday we'll have a party.  Though Jerry made me a Boston Creme Pie from scratch (including the custard!)  So we ate on that today.  He said he'll make another (different) cake for Saturday.  Anyway, we'll have some friends over for cake and ice cream. (Speaking of ice cream... Bryers has a new flavor caller Brownie Mud Slide...to die for....) So that will be fun!  My friend Rebecca called last night to wish me a happy b-day.  It was good to talk to her.  It's so weird sometimes to be so far away from my college friends, but it makes talking to them and seeing them that much better.  I also got e-card from Tracey, Katie, Laura, Katrin, and my parents.  I really like e-cards.  It saves paper and stamps and you get throughout the day/week of your birthday.  Whoever (or is it whomever?) started this is very crafty.  Excellent way to communicate!   On Sunday we will travel to Jerry's parents house for the day.  Our nieces are there and it will be the first time to meet Elijah.  I think it will be loads of fun.  I can't wait until they can all run around and play together.  I posted some new pics of the boy.  In two of them he's in his sleep and play with the top two snaps open and I think he looks like a little mafia boy...very funny.  So obviously we have postponed the anti-consumerism thing for my birthday!  But otherwise we are doing really well.  Of course it hasn't been that long, but I am proud of us.  We have had ample opportunity where it would have been easier to go out or run to the grocery store for something other than what we have here.  I think we'll be fine.  Besides, with my figure not returning as quickly as I would like it too, I definitely don't want to buy any new clothes (or used for that matter) it's a bit depressing...BUT enough of that....no depressing thoughts today...because it's my burpday!!!!!!  I couldn't be happier to turn 30.  I feel like I am definitely a grown up now!  Okay, off to eat more cake with a dollop of ice cream!
April 22

a good night's sleep

yesterday our little one had a low grade fever and slept most of the day.  when he was awake he seemed fine (i think teething).  but last night when it was time for sleep, he was, of course, awake.  he finally fell asleep at midnight.  i went to bed thinking it was going to be a long night of the baby waking up constantly...but he slept for 7 and half hours straight!  i woke up at 6:30 (i can't believe i slept that long!) totally soaked and engorged...ouch!   but at least i was well rested.  so i woke up and pumped and then went back to sleep for an hour-ish.  it's funny that this happened.  our friends bonnie and dean came over last night.  they are expecting in less than a month.  and i was just telling her that even if dean was up with the baby and giving the baby a bottle through the night, she would still need to pump...then i go and sleep six and half hours straight...  of course, i will probably spend the next few says trying to re-regulate my milk flow...oh well...it'll is worth it!
i went to bed last night with wet hair and the below is a pic of what i woke up with...honest, i did absolutely nothing to my hair... my hair has gotten crazy curly since the baby came.  did this happen to you claire?  i mean my hair has always been curly, but this is almost ridiculous.  mom cut between 2 and 3 inches off when we went home, and it does usually;;y get surlier the shorter it is, but honestly it looks like i got 5 inches cut off... not that i'm complaining.  i know that people pay big money to get their hair to look like this...it's just weird.  not to mention the ton that is still falling out...you wouldn't know would you?
we're having a  small party today!  i'm excited...that means more cake and ice cream!!!!!  jerry has to run in to work this morning, so i am off to be a mom!
(the other pics are of my cake and the potato heads....)



April 23

day trip

we went to see jerry's folks today.  his sister and her girls were there.  it was the first time for the cousins to meet.  elijah was a little cranky and tired, but once he settled down, it was good to see them all together.  i think it'll be really fun once they can all play together.  we think that elijah and the youngest niece will be thick as thieves together.
anyway, we had a very nice visit.  it's nice they live so close to us.  it makes day trips really easy.  i am glad that we have good relationships with each others parents.  jerry and i lived with my parents before we got married.  so he got to know them really well and visa versa.  jerry's family has always been welcoming to me as well.  i just wouldn't be as happy if there was a lot of tension like some families i know.
so jerry bought me a really nice rose bush for my birthday.  it's a blue lady.  i can't wait to plant it.  the flowers are a sort of blue/lavender and are supposed to be really fragrant.  i can't wait for it to bloom!
we have corn and sunflowers coming up in our garden.  very exciting. tomorrow we will buy the tomato and pepper plants (since we didn't start some early enough) and hopefully get them in the ground.
okay that's all for now.  i believe i am needed to rock the baby...who, by the way, rolled over onto his side by himself yesterday!!!!  (he's done this before but on the bed and i was accused of cheating since i creating an incline...this time he was on the floor!)
April 30

sunday sunday

We had a good week.  Thursday Angela hosted our lunch and we had really yummy pita pizzas.  This has become my new favorite dish.  They are sooooo easy!  Carmen was supposed to host, but her flight out of NY was canceled.  We have missed her.
Yesterday Dana let us borrow her truck, trailer, and husband to drive to Jerry's parents and we picked up a riding lawn mower.  This makes me feel incredibly lazy, but I think I'll be okay with it...especially in the middle of the summer.  When we got back Dana made us a very yummy lunch.  I just couldn't get over how generous they were to do this!  They have a very comfy truck too.
Today we will probably get some yard work done.  We have lots of stuff coming up in our garden.  Maybe this week I'll go out and take pics so we can chart the progress.  I need to go out and scatter my hair around because the deer are already trampling through the garden.... sigh....
I love the weekends when Jerry doesn't work at the office at all.  It's so nice.  He gets to have baby time and it helps me to be able to hand Elijah off and get stuff done.  Last night our neighbors had a rather loud party.  Thankfully they were quiet by 11:00 but we had to put Elijah down in our bedroom because it was he quietest.  He slept really well.  He woke up when we moved him, but I feed him back to sleep and then he slept from midnight to 6:30!  He even went back to sleep after that until 8:30-ish.  It was really nice.  I got up and made pancakes (from scratch), eggs, and bacon for breakfast and garnished it all with some fresh strawberries (I wish I could say that they were ones we grew, but alas....not yet.)
My good friends Laura will be down next weekend!!!  We are so excited.  I haven't seen since Christmas of 2004!  I can't wait!
That's about all.  There are new pics of the baby.  I can't believe he's going to be four months old in 13 days!  He's so amazing!