bearly_here

On Mothers Day, someone asked me what I was most surprised to find out about motherhood first-hand. I didn't have an answer then but it got me thinking. My answer would be that I didn't realize how much physical pain was involved after the fact (not involved with giving birth).

There's hair-pulling, pinching, head-butts, back-aches from carrying and lifting, pointy toes digging in, sore breasts from being kicked, scratching (from finger and toe nails that should be too small to hurt but aren't), and stiff joints from sitting still with a sleeping baby in my lap or arms. I'm sure I forgot a few more. They're all little things that add up over time and that I notice when I'm particularly tired.

But it's all worth it for the big smiles and the giggles. And presumably it gets better once the word "no" is understood (and hopefully obeyed). Ben is just coming up on 9 months old now and is often a little lamb.

I wish I had time for "sewing" and soldering irons. This book looks like fun. Maybe by Xmas.

Article about book and photos:

http://news.cnet.com/8301-17938_105-10198557-1.html

Due to our current financial situation, I won't be going to the Mother and Baby yoga class that I was hoping to get to. Does anyone have any DVDs (or VHS tapes) to recommend or lend that would be a good substitute? I'm looking for something that shows exercises/stretches that include the baby in the activity.

Ben was crying but did something kind of funny that made me laugh. That made him laugh at me. His going directly from crying to laughing made me laugh harder. That made him snort. Which made me laugh even more. We wound up with him laughing and me having a total meltdown from laughing so hard. I'm in trouble if he learns how to do that on purpose.

I think jtidwell has met her match!

Current Mood: amused

I don't want to post about Ben too often since this is my blog, not his, but I have to say that once he started smiling, laughing, and "talking" life got much easier. Here's looking forward to a great 2009. I hope everyone reading this has as much to look forward to this year!

Current Mood: hopeful

So, we've been discussing whether to tell Ben that Santa comes to visit each year and eventually have to tell him it's a lie, or start off that way and deny him the fun of Santa. We don't want him to ruin the fun for other kids and make other parents upset at us but we don't want him to think we're deceiving him either. _opus_ says this wouldn't even be a question if we didn't have different religions.

What have other parents found? Non-parents' opinions are welcomed too.

I haven't had a filling in 17 years until today. Novacaine doesn't last nearly long enough. And it lasts too long at the same time. It's hard to drink when my lip is still numb.

At his checkup today, Ben weighed in at 11.8 pounds and is 24 inches long. He got his first shot today, too, and boy did he scream. We got flu shots but didn't scream nearly as loudly as he did. Ben's got a sore leg this evening and is rather cranky so I nursed him to sleep and put him in his crib. He's sleeping like a baby now :-) It's gonna be a long night.

We took Ben to his first Halloween party yesterday. We only used two of the three costumes he was given, that fit him this year. His special, custom made costume will have to wait until next year.

( Cute Photos )

This is a continuation of the post _opus_ put up about the birth of our son. His post is more fun and has photos. This one has more details about the next few days after Ben's birth.

( Possible TMI )

Life's gone uphill since then.

No need to repeat ourselves - check out _opus_'s post for today.

Why is it that I can think of plenty to write when I don't have time to spend on LJ, but when I do have time, I have nothing to write about?

Here's a picture of Asimov, our new addition.

( Asimov picture )

Summary: Last weekend was spent in NYC visiting with friends and family, encountering Ellen's Stardust Diner where the waiters and waitresses sing, topped off by a matinee of Spamalot. The only downside was that _opus_ lost his cell phone and it cost a little bit (but no contracts!) to replace it.

Staying up late chatting with uzbradistan and kendellsquare was the high point, followed by Spamalot. The low point had to be getting stuck on the jam-packed subway for 10 mins. and it went downhill from there when they turned off the air and A/C for the next 5 to 10 mins. Running around trying to locate the lost phone wasn't fun, but not as bad as the subway.

A note to those interested in checking out Ellen's Stardust Diner - They do not have Sunday brunch and they only serve breakfast until 11. My Aunt made a reservation for us at 11am, not realizing this. Beyond that it was fun. The waiters and waitresses seem to be aspiring Broadway stars whose repertoires include movie tunes as well as current and old Broadway tunes. Most of them were pretty good at the singing bits. The tv screens around the 50's style diner had similarly dated movies and tv shows playing. It is rather loud so in-depth conversations are difficult. And don't be surprised at the big request for tips for their singing. It was interesting once, I'm not sure I'd go back unless it was with someone really excited about checking it out.

Luckily, the weather was gorgeous and the drives there and back were fairly uneventful. Overall, it was a pretty good b-day weekend.

I hope prices on these bouncy stilts come down in the next few months!

http://blog.scifi.com/tech/archives/2006/09/26/jumping_stilts.html

I can now post in my own journal and LJ believes I'm me.

As much as I'd like to reply to the comments, LJ won't let me. I've sent a request for help. I'll answer as soon as I can.

Six Flags was disappointing this weekend, even with free tickets.

*The water park was closed because it's after Labor Day, even though it was in the mid-80s.

*5 of the 7 rides we went on broke down; one of them broke down twice.

*The staff isn't concerned about line-cutters. At least they weren't until a brawl nearly broke out. Then they escorted the woman out and won't allow her back for 5 years. At least that's the impression they left with the crowd that was watching.

All-in-all, the garlic festival might have been more fun, even if it was tiny.

There's always next year.

Looks like Sun. 10/8 is the date that most can make it. We're planning to go in costume. Care to join us?

Now what?