Road trip!

Leaving in five minutes for Pittsburgh and a party at my sister’s house in Columbus — the weather will be”fabwelous” as Owen puts it and we’re going to slip in an early birthday cake for Cormac, too. See you on the flipside, with photos!

May 24, 2008 | Filed Under family unit | 6 Comments

That’s unheard-of in this house.

I’m going to tell you this, but you have to promise you won’t get jealous.

You know how the kids always wake up between 6:09 and 6:15? Usually screaming their fool heads off about something, so that your dreams are pierced by a sound far worse than any clock-radio could produce?

Yeah. This morning I didn’t get out of bed until — and please notice the excited italics here — 7:45 in the a.m. And then only because I figured somebody had to be hungry.

I first awoke at five after seven, which is itself a luxury, of course. What met my ears were not cries of “Ma! I want my cereal!” or “Waaaaaah!” but the hushed giggles of two hooligans in cahoots. I waited patiently, eyes closed, buried nose-deep under the quilt, praying to the Almighty that I could stay there just a little longer. I was certain, because history had evidence to back me up, that it would be a matter of sheer seconds before the wailing set in.

It did not.

The unmistakable thump of the crib hitting the wall issued forth. Springs bounced. The giggles escalated into shrieks of laughter. I peeped one eye open; surely something awful was happening. Perhaps an early-bird intruder, hopped up on some Colombian joe and reeking of McMuffin, had just broken in with kidnapping on his mind. But then: why the giggles? Even a bacon-bearing burglar would surely arouse some sort of suspicion in these kids.

The laughter subsided to whispers and giggles again. I could hear pages turning. Presumably some other stuff happened but I believe I dozed off for half an hour then.

Next thing I know it’s twenty to eight, and I’m still warm and cozy in my bed, and further emanances from the children’s room seemed to indicate their continued safe presence. I realized that the goobers must be starving for their Apple Jacks and YoBaby, so I reluctantly left my nest and opened their door.

Two bright, smiling heads popped up above the crib rail. A more beautiful sight I have never, ever seen. My sons, my two sons, playing together. By themselves. In the morning.

It’s enough to make a girl give up complaining altogether.

May 20, 2008 | Filed Under family unit, kids, motherhood | 10 Comments

Second shift

Much like clockwork, on the nights I work at the office, I can count on:

One or both children waking at 1 or 3 a.m.
One or both children waking at 5 a.m.
One or both children having a leaky diaper/pullup
One or both children having a:
- cow
- conniption or
- fit
my husband wearing an expression of:
- grim determination
- sad contemplation (ships passing, etc)
- bitter resignation or
- defeat

It keeps us in carseats, but never let it be said that this is the easy way to have a two-income household.

March 11, 2008 | Filed Under family unit, motherhood | 4 Comments

With a bullet or two

Containing no preamble but the words ‘containing no preamble’: Wednesday Occurrences.

Cormac was awake and yelling his floppy-eared head off at 5:40
Owen joined the fray at 6 a.m., looking for a few warm bodies to put his cold feet on
I swept up what appeared to be 40 or 50 grams of dust, dirt, hair, and Apple Jacks fragments
We watched Word World and I mused again that Duck sounds exactly like Jon Reep
I made Dinty Moore over egg noodles for lunch and fed some to both kids
I actually answered e-mail in a somewhat timely fashion
Cormac took a two hour afternoon nap
I explored a freaking huge fallen branch in the backyard with Owen
We had tacos for dinner, and all but three shells were broken when we took them out of the package
The boys got a bath and I was able to get Cormac’s hair to dry in a fauxhawk
I googled ‘jobs in Ontario, Canada’
I broke open a two-week-old bag of conversation hearts (Brachs, not Necco) and ate three without partaking in the conversation
My copy of Wired’s TEST issue arrived, in a plain, unmarked envelope, like porn, which it kind of is.

March 5, 2008 | Filed Under daily grind, family unit, nablopomo | 3 Comments

family selfportrait

This is my new favorite picture of all of us. Cormac is asleep — see his wee little face? — but otherwise this is each of us, quintessentially: me, shaggy and laughing; Iain, trying not to smile; and Owen way up in the business end.

February 19, 2008 | Filed Under family unit, pix | 7 Comments

Storm troopers and tummy time

Dear [your name here],

Hi! What’s the haps?

Everything is fine here. Mac got his shots Monday and has spent the last two days attached to my boobs, even moreso than usual. He weighs 13 lbs 10 oz and is 25.5 inches long and is composed of 97% drool. Owen has been building castles with his blocks and being a Storm Trooper and asking to watch “Mon-sters In-cor-por-a-ted.” Iain has been following Steelers football. And I am learning to knit actual sweaters, like a nerd.

Wish you were here!

Love, supa

October 10, 2007 | Filed Under daily grind, family unit | 5 Comments

‘pix or it didn’t happen’

Kids these days. (To appease Katie)

September 5, 2007 | Filed Under family unit, sappy crap | 3 Comments

da brudders

In their matching Supa Man shirts! God. So cute. I’m sorry.

People ask me all the time how Owen likes his new little brother. They ask him all the time, too, actually. And the answer is, he likes him just fine. Was pissed at me for about two and a half months, but likes his brother just fine. Gets all up in his face with kisses, keeps his chin free of drool, pushes him in his baby swing and informs me of his slightest peep.

In fact, “Mac’s wakin’ up!” is one of the top five most-heard phrases out of Owen’s mouth, right next to “I’ma roar you!” and “Please can I have some Nemo fruit snacks.”

I’m glad he likes his little brudder. And I keep watching Cormac intently to see how he reacts to this little person who takes care of him, as opposed to us, the two big lumbering people who trade him off like tag team wrestlers. He watches Owen as intently as I watch him. I’m waiting for that bond to form, the one I know is inevitable, when instead of all for one and one for all it becomes Us against Them, the brothers against their clueless parents. Call me crazy (and you should) but I’m looking forward to it, just a tiny bit.

August 30, 2007 | Filed Under baby, family unit, kids, sappy crap, toddler | 6 Comments

Last day of maternity leave

I go back to work tomorrow night, second shift. It’s weird; this feels like the rest of our lives starts tomorrow. We had our Summer of Love, all four of us at home learning to enjoy each other, with no work to interfere and plenty of time to travel. But tomorrow Iain will be back at school and I will be starting my new gig as a part-time working mother of two.

It’s the best of both worlds, and the worst, this gig.

On the one hand, I get to stay home with my children. Hurray! No mommy guilt at “having someone else raise my child”. No high daycare tuition to pay. No morning rush. Hours and hours during which I can gaze lovingly at my offspring and bake brownies. I also get to keep working, keep my hand in the cookie jar or whatever the hell the expression is. Keep one foot in the door of the working world. I have a reason to put on mascara and will get to leave the house without children hanging off of me. I will work together with other adults in producing a something useful.

On the other hand, though, there are definite downsides. This schedule means that I will wake at the crack of dawn, pull Mommy duty for almost 10 hours straight, and then work another 8 at my regular job, getting home after midnight only to nurse my baby every few hours until dawn breaks again. Staying at home during the day means there are no day care teachers keeping an educated eye on the children’s development. There are no specially designed activities. There are no other small children here to help socialize my kids. And (let’s be honest) there’s not going to be much schedule to the day. Also, as far as work goes, I’ll be working at night, when more than half the staff has gone home and the temptation to roll in wearing flip-flops will be very strong. Much if not most of the hustle and bustle happens during the day, and I’ll only hear about it.

But back to the plus side. Fewer people and a quieter office. Comfortable clothing. And part-time means I only have to work such crazy hours two nights a week.

Here’s the kicker: Five day weekend! Nothing can be so bad if you’re looking down the barrel at a five-day weekend.

August 19, 2007 | Filed Under family unit, motherhood | 8 Comments