It's Ladies Night

Last night, I went out for a mommy night. I very rarely REALLY take a significant amount of time for myself, and recently, I have been spending very little money on myself. So, when I was presented with the idea of a Spa Night, I wasn't sure if I should accept.

I tossed the idea around... and decided to go for it. I had never had a massage, so why not try it (and cross something off my list!)?

I'm soooo glad I did!

It was really a great night! After a day of painting, I literally RUSHED out the door after realizing I was an hour behind the schedule I thought I was on. I cruised through traffic, nearly collided with another driver and then got a little off coarse trying to find the house. But alas, I walked in the door to a relaxing set up. There were candles, soft music, food, and the wine had just been opened up. Perfect!

I was told to wrap up in a robe and relax. My first treatment was a pedicure, which was great. It was just what I needed to turn my hectic day onto the right path. I grabbed a glass of wine and settled in.

There were a few people ahead of me in line for massages, so after my pedicure, we played games, ate, ate some more, played a little and I ate and drank a lot more.

Then was my first massage! It was very nice! Kind of awkward at first... I didn't know rules/etiquette, but it wasn't bad. The oil she used smelled amazing, she did what I guess was an awesome job and I felt so good walking down the steps after it was over.

Afterwards, we did a little more of the game playing and a little more of the drinking before heading home. All in all, it was a great time! For sure, something I'd love to do again.

Happy St. P's Day

Today was BEAUTIFUL!

Jude and I started our day by meeting Katy for lunch and then spent the afternoon in the park. It was great! The weather was amazing!

Katy and walked the park and then we took Jude to the playground to play on the swings and crawl around a bit on the play sets.

We ended the day with a last-minute BBQ.

Newark Moms Playdate

I've recently been spending a little time skimming through the Delaware Online Moms-Like-Me web page. At first, I really couldn't find anything that really interested me about it. I mean I've lurked on my share of chat boards, but personally just never was committed enough to keep up with one.

Then, I saw a feature where you could connect with other mothers in your zip code and thought it was great. I joined the group and introduced myself as a mother with a 9 month old. I really want Jude to spend time with some kids his age (it's not sooo important now, but as he gets older, I feel it will be more and more important), so I asked if there were any mothers with kids int he same age range who wanted to get together. I want him to learn to share, to get the social interaction, not be too shy, etc.

Well, after like a week I had no responses and thought it was a dud of an idea. Then one day, I get a auto-generated e-mail saying there was activity on one of my posts and I got a little excited. Around that time, two mothers with kids close in age said they too were looking for a playgroup, so the wheels were set in motion.

When it was just the two mother and me, we decided to meet for a mall walk with the kids. Really this particular meeting sounded like it was more about the moms than the kids, but I went with it. Before we had a chance to actually set anything up, the group of interested persons grew to about 6 or 7 and that just seemed to be a little too big to go walking through the mall. I asked if anyone else was interested in meeting at the library and got a few interested persons. The library was free, they have a sitting area, toys, etc, so it seemed perfect. We set it up for 10:30 this morning.

I'm not sure when it happened, but at some point in Ryan and I's relationship, I became this socially awkward mess (he has really rubbed off on me). I avoid people I knew from high school at the mall b/c I hate awkward conversation and so meeting these new women was kind of a big deal. I would really be putting myself out there in the world of small talk.

I woke up this morning slightly nervous. I mean I'd be making conversation with women I didn't know.. and based off of the information I had gotten from them, I'd be one of the youngest mothers. But I got Jude ready, grabbed the books we needed to return anyway and headed to the library.

There was already a little boy there who was probably 2 1/2 when I got there. He was with his grandmother and older than any of the kids the women I talked to said they'd be bringing. Right when I showed up, another 2 year old showed up with his grandmother as well... and then a little girl who was probably 4-5 or older... and some more 2ish year olds... but none of the 7-9 month old babies. Bummer.

It wasn't THAT big of a deal. I mean I needed to go to the library to return books anyway, and I ended up talking to a nice Indian woman and her son who was just under 2 years... but all of the other 6+ women never showed up.

So, instead of having other babies Jude's age, there were once again, a bunch of children older than him, with mothers saying "be careful for the baby! share with the baby! don't step on the baby!" instead of people Jude could really interact with. He loves to look at other kids and seems interested in playing with them, so I feel bad for the poor little guy sometimes when they're all putting this protective bubble around him.

As I said, there was one woman who's son loved "the baby". He held Jude's hand and played with him and shared his toys with him. Jude was standing up against one toy and the kid thought it was so neat. They laughed with each other and it was oh-so-cute. All of this made it not be a huge waste of a trip.

Maybe it was just a bad time for the others... maybe a bad location... who knows. I figured I'd give it one more go before giving up on it 100%.

My Nature Baby

This past weekend, I met a few mothers at White Clay Creek's Nature Baby Program!

This was mentioned a few months back and I actually had pretty much forgotten about it - so I'm glad it was brought to my attention again!

Basically it's a program through Delaware State Parks for kids 2 and under to come out and learn about nature. It was a really relaxed program and the instructor did her thing while the babies moved around, played with things and just took it all in.

Jude was probably one of (if not the youngest) baby there, so he probably didn't get as much from it as most of the others, but either way it was fun. I'm sure we'll go back for another class and he will continue to be more capable of understanding what is going on.

Friday Evening...

As in most families, I'm sure, since Jude came along, Buddy has taken a back seat. The bathroom that was once his bathing room was ripped apart and never put back together. He has been reduced to taking very infrequent showers in our bathroom (which actually proves to be much easier). He doesn't see the vet quite as often as he should. His nails are always just a little too long, doesn't have enough toys and we often are scraping the bottom of his food tub for a meal. It's pathetic and he is starting to let us know.

We are beginning to find little Buddy droppings in the dining room, he is taking up more and more space in the bed and he is in your face any chance he can. Lately, he's been growing really antsy. This is not just because of Jude, but because of the weather too. So, we decided to take him to the dog park. We've been saying we need to, and tonight, we just did. We made the decision in a matter of like 2 minutes. Hoping into the car, you could tell Buddy was thrilled to be going somewhere... anywhere!

When we pulled into the park, he was pulling on his leash with excitement and marking his way all the way into the fence. When we let him off his leash, he just took off. He could care less about Ryan, Jude and I. He was free! He was free to run! To make friends! To yelp (embarrassingly) at the little dog on the other side of the fence! It made me both happy and sad to see him having such a great time! Happy, because he deserved it... Sad, that we don't do it more often.

After a few minutes, Jude was losing his patience, so I took him over to the jungle gym while Ryan made sure Buddy was well behaved. For the first time, I put Jude in a swing (one of those round rubber onces with the legs cut out) and pushed. HE LOVED IT! He had this look on his face that just screamed to me "this is so much better than that baby swing you tried to get me into". He giggled. He laughed. He threw his head back as he weightlessly fell back and forth with each push. Then of course, as with all things, he began to lose interest just as Buddy was also running out of energy.

We loaded up our boys and headed home. I look forward to this Spring and hope that as the weather warms up I'll take some afternoons to not only get Jude out and about, but also to let Buddy get some exercise.

Following the dog park, I was thrilled when Ryan told me he was going to start some work on the house. A couple months back, we had bought a lot of the things we needed to re-wire the house. Once all the wire is run and holes are patched, I can finally begin doing some of the things to make the house 'pretty', so this is huge for me! After we got home, Ryan cut all the holes for the new receptacles, figured out placement for lights and basically mapped out his plan for tomorrow.

Last but not least... I got to spend some much needed time with my Feghan love. When I was working full time, Meghan and I's schedules constantly conflicted. She worked mostly nights and weekends while I worked during the day. As luck would have it, as I made the transition to night and weekend hours, she got a job working during the day - in addition to some pretty demanding evening hours. We don't see each other nearly as much as we should, so we got to catch up and go out for a nice dinner together. I left Ryan on baby duty and had an oh-so-wonderful time...

The weekend has only just begun and it's already a great start.

Ugly Sweater Party!

I did get around to posting this before, but Ryan and I went to an Ugly Sweater Party this past weekend at our friend John's house in Lancaster.

This is something I've wanted to do for a few years now and it just never happened...

We got the invite awhile back and for some reason never got around to buying sweaters. At the last minute I decided I'd go without and ugly sweater... and Ryan got a plain black sweater and bedazzled it.

The night turned out to be a long one... first, Jude went to bed later than expected. We had hoped to get on the road around 7 when he usually goes to bed, but he never got to bed until 8:30... and had an hour and a half drive. By the time we got there, the party was well under way. With over and hour ride home, we weren't able to stay long. Even though we weren't there very long, it was an enjoyable evening and I loved seeing John and Jade's lovely home.

Ryan and John's friend Tom (Ryan really likes this guy a lot):

Fire pit/Kid Friendly

This past weekend, Ryan and I invited a few people over for a little firepit.

Ryan got his firepit, I think before he even moved into our old house. It has always been a backdrop to us and our drunken friends acting like idiots. This time though, it took a turn to 'family friendly'. Ryan invited our friend Matt, his fiance and kids and his niece and nephew and the W Family. With all the kids, it was a pretty good turn out.

Being prepared for the kids, we got an abundance of hotdogs, ingredients for s'mores and juice boxes. I'd say aside from only having one roasting skewer, we were pretty set. They all seemed to enjoy themselves! Jude only lasted for so long... but he too was mesmerized by the glow of the fire.

Matthew and Jacob:

Trent liked his hot dog...

Jude and Matt

Joey:

Kennedy and her hot chocolate:

A Lovely Bash

This past weekend Jude and I went to a Birthday party for a lovely little lady: Ava Noelle.

I met Ava and her mother through Barbie. Barbie knows a group of mothers who all have kids around the same age and I was lucky enough to be 'accepted' into their November-Baby group.

The party was held in Nicole's house and it was a sweet little party. It felt like there were kids EVERYWHERE in the house. They were all rolling and crawling and walking (and in one case practically running) around the living room.

Jude with his new found mobility kept to himself but was getting around pretty well.

Playdates and Alcohol

We have been known to get together with some friends here and there and have a few drinks on the weekends. There's always a responsible person who's staying sober (or only having a drink or two) in case Jude wakes up. Typically it's me and typically I will only sip on a beverage because I'd rather nurse him back to sleep than having to prepare a bottle. I personally think this is fine.

Obviously if the two of us were getting wasted at dinner and driving home with Jude in the backseat, or being so irresponsible that we have no idea what's going on, it'd be a different story.

I recently came across an article in my Parents (yes, I get that magazine. no, I did not order it myself. yes, I enjoy flipping through it) magazine about this very issues and it really got me wondering.

Basically in the article it discusses how more and more mothers are "raising a glass to parenting". It mentions how mothers are having a glass or two of wine and driving home from play dates with kids in tow. Likewise, parents are getting sloshed after their children go to bed, thinking that just because they're asleep, they're fine. Finally it added at the end that the safest route is to "get a babysitter - it's more fun for everyone".

All of this made me think. How much is too much? Is having a glass of wine (a beer, a margarita, whatever) OK if you know you'll be driving your son or daughter home? What about while you're out to dinner? Is it irresponsible for both parents to have a drink with dinner? What image does this pose to older children who are aware it's going on? Perhaps having a drink or two encourages responsible drinking as opposed to binge drinking? Doesn't getting a babysitter present the same problems as drinking after the child is asleep? I mean she'll eventually be going home...

Then there's the issue of drinking while pregnant or breastfeeding? Is one ok and not the other? I have lots of people who say to me "well, you can't drink because you're BFing right"? As if it gets in your milk and it never comes out. Personally I feel one drink is fine and I've done it a good handful of times. If Jude's out for the night and I know I won't be feeding him any more, I may put back a couple (and if he wakes up giving him a bottle). And then there's pregnancy - women used to drink all the time while they were pregnant - I believe it was more recently that they really started to advocate NOT drinking (or eating lunch meat, etc). I personally didn't drink during pregnancy (that's a lie - I had a little bit of Ryan's glass of wine while we were on vacation) - but I don't think I'd look down on someone who's having a few sips of beer, a glass of wine or a shot (kidding about the shot!) every now and then. In fact (and I say this now, but who knows what I'd actually do) I think I'd be more comfortable the second time around having a glass of wine with dinner.

It was just a really interesting topic that has this fine undetermined line somewhere. It's the line that you as a parent need to draw and hope you're right.

At the time this picture was taken, Ryan was drinking. You can already see how he's neglecting our son...

I'd love to hear what other people have to say on the topic...

Company Get-together

This past Saturday was Ryan's company picnic.

This is always a pretty good time! Ryan has been with his company for quite a few years now and so he's pretty friendly with a lot of the people at work. In addition to the guys that all work in Newark, the down-state team heads up for the picnic, so he has a chance to catch up with more old friends (and I get to catch up with some of their wives).

This year it was extra nice for me to see the people who I - up until about a month or two ago - was communicating with on a daily basis.

This year, the picnic was a huge success! J-romy from the service department catered the event and in my opinion, the food was delicious! I seriously stuffed my face!



Also, they had it at a new pavilion, had Jungle Jim there making balloon animals, showing off reptiles, a new moon bounce/slide, tug-o-war, and a softball match (service vs. commercial). It really was a great time!

Service Team:

Ryan and bat

Real men play sports.

In addition to all the above changes, it was fun to be there not only as a couple - but a family! Jude obviously wasn't old enough to enjoy all of the perks they had set up for the kids, but next year, I'm sure he'll be all over it! This year though, he at least got a little time in the grass:

And practiced his sitting:

And I layed him on the moon bounce and some kind little boy "jumped lightly". Jude was giggling.

B and K's E-Party

This past Saturday was Bryan and Katy's engagement party. I'm thinking they had an early September party in mind before the ring even went on, so they've had lots of time to plan. As with most things b-and-k, they wanted something relaxed and laid back.

It was a lovely time. They had a bbq at their house. There was more food then anyone knew what to do with, the most adorable cupcake display,picnic-style games and more.

Everyone really seemed to enjoy themselves!!

Yea for more festivities to follow through the next year!

and on with the photos...

The Lovely Couple:

My g-mom and great g-mom (aka nana)

my handsome little guy...

They had tables set up in the side yard for their guests...

And oh-so-much food!

And some fun/festive cupcakes.

Jude with grandpop/pop-pop/whatever he'll be calling him

Barbie giving two a whirl...

Del. City Day

Every year on the 3rd Saturday in July is Delaware City Day. This year was no different. We began preparations earlier in the week to get food, beer and whatever else ready. Some how I became the person responsible for all food, so last Friday night I spent the evening baking, cooking and marinading.

It was Jude's first DCD - pop-pop was happy to have him:

He slept through his share of the day.


Everyone just hanging out. Every year the people invited expands. Here is Ryan Creed, his sister, Katy, Bryan and Katy's sister.


Bryan and Katy bought some of the toys down at the carnival and they tried to scare Jude with it. I bet this money looked like a blue king kong to him.

A Hidden Gem

Last night Ryan and a couple of guys got together for a very small game of baseball. Basically it was three guys (including Ryan) - one at bat, one pitching and one 'playing the field'. In the past most of Ryan's catches have taken place around our neighborhood in the front yard or our itty bitty park. Sometimes I go, other times I stay home and tell Ryan to make sure he's home before the street lights come on (kidding...).

Well, anyway - last night they played at Salem Woods park. I spent a pretty significant chunk of my childhood in Aspen Woods. When my mom and dad got divorced, after a little bit of bouncing around from one temporary home to another with my dad, he finally bought a town home in Aspen Woods and we lived there basically until he and Mary decided to have a second child of their own - at which point we would have out grown the town home. ANYWAY - that basically means I was there from about the age of 6 or 7ish until my freshman year of high school. Aspen Woods is connected to Salem Woods and so we spent many summer afternoons at the park.

It had been years since I had been there (at least since the time I moved), but it really is a pretty nice park! They have a number of basketball, soccer, street hockey, baseball and tennis courts. Not to mention a large walking/fitness trail weaving all around, a couple of play sets for kids and a pavilion for BBQ's. While Ryan was playing baseball, I took Jude for a little stroll around. I must say I won't mind Ryan's frequent batting practice if I tag along and have an enjoyable place to get some exercise myself.

Strawberry Fields Forever

1 Month (and check up)

June 5th Jude was one month! It's crazy how quickly time is flying by and how big he's getting!

Today we went to the doctor for his one month visit. He got one shot and in general just got checked out. He was 10 lbs 3.5 ounces and 22 inches long. When he was born, he was in the 25th percential and today he was weighing in the 50th. So, he's growing well.

What was interesting to me is that the nurse prac. told me that Jude should be on vitamins. I mentioned that he's exclusively breast fed, and should be getting everything he needs. Apparently though, the one thing breast milk doesn't provide is vitamin D.

However, she said that 'when' he's on formula he won't need vitamins. She assumed when I went back to work I'd be switching to formula. I mentioned I planned to pump and she just shrugged and continued. I asked if I should then supplement with one bottle of formula a day and she said he should be fine with just the vitamins. (anyone out there giving their infant vitamins??)

He had a hard time sitting up in the middle of the chair:

So we went with the side of the chair instead:

A New Cousin

Last week - June 3rd - my brother Kevin's wife had her baby. Jude now has his first cousin: Olivia. I believe she was about 6 lbs 4 ounces. Later this month we plan to make a trip down to NC. Originally it was for Jude to visit his mom-mom and pop-pop, but it looks like we'll be letting the kiddies meet.

A Party at Uncle Bryan's

This past weekend we went to a party at Bryan and Katy's house. Party was complete with moonbounce, slip n' slide and more!

Hypospadias Update

Today was a busy doctor day. We started early this morning with a visit to A.I. for Jude's hypospadias. Just yesterday I saw the last little piece of stitches fall off so was hopeful that he'd be able to check out was going on a little better.

Once all stripped down, he checked him out and said he does NOT have a hypospadias (insert confused 'why are we here' look)! I asked why they put him through the semi-circ, stitches and two doctor's visits if he doesn't have a hypospadias and he said it's not uncommon. Apparently sometimes the foreskin is so tight that when they pull back the skin it makes the hole look slightly off center. I wasn't entirely convinced, but was relieved that he was not going to need the surgery!

Then I was advised that in order to continue with the circumcision he'd need to be put under because of his age. I told Ryan it was his decision whether we were going to leave him uncircumsized or go through with the 'surgery' (circumcision) this November. His immediate response was 'go for it', but the thought of putting Jude under is just too much for me to make it that easy of a decision.

Our Final Decision on Vaccines

As you probably determined from the section above, we went forward with part two of the Hep B vaccine today. Basically I did some research on which vaccines are required for school and we will be getting those - without a doubt. Some I may be delaying, but obviously I'll need to get them. Since the Hep B was the only one scheduled for today we went with that one on time - I figured it made sense, since he was already 1/3 of the way there.

Some of the others, I've read, it's possible to spread out over a longer period of time and so over the next month I plan to research the shots on track for next month and determine if I'll postpone any.

Pretty much, as with almost anything else, there are a list of side effects for each vaccine. According to Dr Sear's book, spreading some of these out can reduce side effects which is something we're considering. I'm really wishing I had looked into this all BEFORE I had a child instead of making it up as I go.

Strawberry Picking (another 101 down!)

Today I went Strawberry picking with Katy and Bryan. Jude of course slept through the whole event. It was on my list of things to do so I recently went online to farm that offered pick your own. We went to Filasky's Produce in Middletown. It seemed to be a little early in the season, so there weren't A LOT to chose from, but we ended up with a decent bag full.

Uncle Bryan - Getting Married??

As I may or may not have mentioned, Bryan and Katy have been tossing around the "m" word a lot lately. Ideally I think they're looking for a 2010 fall wedding with a rustic edge and just a casual laid back good time. Originally Katy said she could really see them getting married at Milburn orchard. They hold weddings and it would fit their Fall decor ideas.

While looking around online one day I found the "figure 8 barn". Katy and Bryan seemed to think it was the perfect location and so they set up an appointment to go look at it. They asked me to go and I of course said yes!

I must say it's a pretty cool property!! It's not at all your typical wedding venue, but I'm sure with the ideas that Bryan and Katy are throwing out it could be an awesome spot for sure!!

Work Around the House:

Now that Ryan is done at Lowes, we have the opportunity to do some work around the house. This past Sunday I decided to fix up our front yard a little. I didn't want to put a lot of money into it and just wanted to clean up some of the over growth.

I mentioned to my brother that I wanted to pull up the azalea bushes across the front of the house and his face light up. He asked if he could do it and I said he was more than welcome to. I found out the reason he wanted to do it is because he wasn't going to just dig it out or cut them down, he wanted to pull them out by the root. How you might ask did he want to do that?? With Ryan's jeep of course.

While we were busy out front Ryan did a little work on the bathroom - wrapping up some electricity. There are so many projects in the works right now, but I'm excited that we're getting back at 'em.

Before:

Flower bed in the front yard:

Front of the house with all 4 bushes:

After:

Slightly manicured flower bed (I didn't want to get into flowers, just make it look a little more well-kept)

One bush gone, 3 to go.