Easter!

We had a great Easter around the Callegari household.  I think it was the first holiday where Drew was actually alert and interested in the holiday festivities.  As proof:

We started out our weekend by attending the Good Friday service at Lake Hills Church.  Great service!  The service started at 7 (Drew's bedtime), so the nursery was accepting a lot of sleepy babies that night.  We came back to find the light in the nursery turned out and babies asleep in swings, bouncy chairs, and being held by caregivers in rocking chairs.  But then there was Drew, sitting in the middle of the mat on the floor with a caregiver playing with a toy.  Seriously, the only one still up.  And thus began "The Weekend Drew Decided Not To Sleep."  He went down that night but woke up at 3.  And pretty much was up from them on.

Saturday was a lazy day spent preparing food for Easter.  Mom (who doubles as a preschool music teacher) really wanted to see her grandson participate in Gymboree, so we went to a Level 2 class on Saturday.  Since it was "The Weekend Drew Decided Not To Sleep" he was tired and irritable and spit up on some of the equipment, which I'm sure they just love.

Saturday night mom and dad watched Drew while Rob and I went on a much needed date.  We enjoyed our evening and then our early morning when our son decided that really 4AM was a great time to wake up.

Sunday we woke up and I started working on my pièce de résistance for Easter Dinner- the Pioneer Woman's Cinnamon Rolls.  They were delicious, but QUITE messy. 

Drew opened his basket, and proceeded to attempt to eat the contents, even though none of it was edible.

I set the table and laid out the spread.

 Once I got settled, I turned in to the paparazzi.  Drew did what he does best- put things in his mouth, attempt to rip people's facial features off, and be carted around by doting grandparents.

What fun we had!  Happy Easter from Drew and the rest of us!

Come on, baby boys!

Two of my friends are (patiently) waiting for their little boys, both of which should be here any second now. Come on, Davis and Drew! Thinking about you Allison and Jenny!

Mom Reality #5

Sometimes your sick son may turn his head and spit up down your shirt as you read Peter Rabbit to him.

6 Months!

Precious boy, you are six months old. Half a year. Where has the time gone?!

"Check out my drool"

This has been a very cool month of development. Most notably (and recently), you have had your first battle with sickness. It is still ongoing and WHAT a diva you are about it! I know you don't feel good, but you seem to lay it on extra thick when someone is looking your way!  It seems like you are right on the cusp of teeth, so that is adding to the drooling/coughing/misery factor.  And lastly, you got your 6 month shots, which they say can cause irritability and fever.  Basically, you don't feel good, and for good reason!

Cuddly Sick Baby

You have started solids and have been eating like a champ. You have had butternut squash, bananas, apples, sweet potatoes, pears and peas, and you have liked every one of them. I suddenly have fears of $300/week grocery bills when you are 16. Funny thing is you seem to prefer the veggies over the fruit. Guess you got your dads taste buds, too.

"How does this work?"

You now happily roll from your back to your stomach whenever you are put down. You are quite proud of yourself for this accomplishment, until you remember that you actually don't love being on your stomach.  You have forgotten how to roll from your stomach to you back, so you just start to cry and wait for one of us to come roll you over.  Then you roll back.  You are pushing up higher and higher on your hands and are getting to where you belly is coming off the ground.  You REALLY want to crawl, and seem to be taking all the right steps to get there.  I guess we need to be baby proofing soon.

Roll Mid-Change

After getting the "all clear" from the doc on taking you out around 5 months (between immunity and the end of the "sick season"), we have taken you a ton of places.  You went to visit Bevo and the Longhorn football team at the Spring Jamboree.  You started Gymboree and already advanced to the second level (ok, that may have more to do with age than with intellect, but I still think you were moved up because of your higher-level thinking).  You had a great morning at the Austin Children's Museum that ended in the aforementioned illness (I think).

Most of all, you continue to LOVE your sister Sophie.  I think she may be your favorite thing that lives in our house.  And since Sophie thinks she is a person she is within 3 feet of us all day. It makes for some great pictures!

Keeping Vigil

"Anything you can do, I can do better."

Sophie is hopeful this new guy will play tug.

6 Month Stats:
Weight: 16 lbs, 8 oz (40%)
Height: 27 inches (75%)

Precious boy, we love you.  Can't wait to see what's next!

Apologies

Apparently whenever I post before 6AM without my glasses on, I make sosme serious typos. See this mornings post. I swear I can both type AND spell!

Sight for Sore Eyes

Things are not going well in the Callegari house.  Illness ans/or allergies has taken down all three of us this weekend.

Sweet D had a 102.5 fever on Friday and the doctor said he has a virus.  He is coughing and sneezing and is totally congested.  He is also right on thr brinnk of teeth (I can feel them under the skin!), so he is also drooling like a faucet, has a rash on his face, and is generally irrutable.

I am not sure if Rob and I have some lesser version on what he is dealing with or allergies, but neither of us feel good, either.

I may spend the day cuddling in bed with my baby.  After all, it IS his 6 month birthday....

Mom Reality #5

Sometimes the most exciting part of the $100 ExerSaucer is the "Made in China" tag.

Early Bird Gets the Worm

(Alternative Title: Chatty Cathy)

My sweet, darling, precious son has decided that the PERFECT wake up time is sometime between 4 and 5 AM.  He has been testing his new wake up schedule all week, and it must be working for him because he continues to do it.

But because my son is nothing if not aware of his parents need to sleep (ha!), instead of crying when he wakes up he just lays there and TALKS to himself.  One morning Rob and I listened to him talk and squeal for an hour.  He seems perfectly happy to lay there awake and talking.

The logical thing for me would be to say "well, he's not unhappy.  I'll just leave him and go back to sleep."  Problem is I am also a morning person, and once I wake up, I'm up.  So Drew and I are spending a lot of early morning hours together these days.  I'm sure I'll look back and love these moments, just the two of us, together, while it is still dark outside.  But right now I just REALLY need a nap.

Mom Reality #4

Sometimes the baby will spit up all over the dog's face.

(Sorry I don't have a picture- it was quite funny-- but I couldn't find a camera fast enough and Sophie was really annoyed)

Let's Get [a] Physical

This has been a week of big adult things over here in the Callegari household.

The first time I got sick in Austin, I called the closest place and made an appointment with the first doctor with an opening.  I left that appointment really not loving the doctor and thinking I would probably end up with a WORSE illness than I came in with-- the place just reminded me of an ER.

And since I can get pink eye and strep throat faster than any adult in history, I had a need for doctors several other times.  And I kept going back to the same place just because it was easy.

So now that I have a little more time to plan things, I decided to do some research, find a great doc and go visit him/her while I WASN'T sick, so I would have a place to go when I was.  So I did that this week.  Loved the doctor, got a physical, and found out that I'm Vitamin D deficient.  Otherwise, I'm doing good.

I also made an appointment in June to visit at dermatologist and begin yearly skin inspections to watch for melanoma.  (Can anyone tell me why it takes like a week to get into a normal doctor, but for any dermatologist you have to wait like 3 months?  I have NEVER been able to get in to see a dermatologist during the same month I call).

And then last night Rob and I sat down and wrote a will, a Durable Power of Attorney and are working on a Medical Power of Attorney.  It was a depressing conversation to have, but now we know everything will be take care of for Drew and any future kiddos. 

So I guess doing all of these things willingly and proactively makes me a real adult?

Mom Reality #3

Some times you may have to explain to your husband why you came downstairs crying after reading your child a book.

(Obviously the answer is because you read I'll Love You Forever.)

Just you and me, HEB

Of all the domestic chores in the world, I most despise going to the grocery.  I would rather wash, dry, iron and fold the entire 4 season wardrobe of every member of my family daily than go to the grocery store each week. 

When we were DINKS, Rob and I went to the grocery store at the exact same time half world had time to go--- Sunday afternoon.  We would wander through the store with all the other dapper looking families fresh from church. On more than one occasion we had our choice of limp asparagus or slightly-off-colored broccoli.  I would spend a week without cereal because there were approximately 15 families on the cereal aisle debating beteween Life and Cheerios and there was no space for me.  All sorts of fun.

We finally would gather our 24 items and would begin applying our algorithmm to the check out lane tango-- trying to find the fastest looking checker with the shortest line and with the patrons who used the handy dandy labelers in the produce section.  Clearly we needed another algorthm because it never failed that we ended up in line behind the Duggars or the next episode of Extreme Couponing. 

An hour and a half later we were out of there, and I was breathing a sigh of relief knowing I had an entire week before I had to do it again.

Now that Drew is here, I have adjusted my schedule some.  He's not easy to take to the store, so now I go Tuesday nights after he goes to bed and Rob and I eat dinner.  It. Is. Perfect.  At 7:45 the store is close to empty, but there are still people waiting to slice my lunch  meat in the deli (usually two!  Meat and cheese sliced at the same time!) and 4 checkers patiently waiting for something to do.  The food has been re-stocked from the weekend surge and everything is great.  No elbowing people to get close to the broccoli crowns or anything!

So tonight, just as I was ready to downgrade my deep-rooted hatred of HEB to "strong dislike," I took a moment to review my receipt and realized I was charged for 12- TWELVE- cantaloupes.  Has anyone in the history of the world ever purchased that many melons? Better yet, it rang up as "12 CT."  Like they all came wrapped in cellophane.

So tomorrow I have to go BACK to HEB to explain that I came home with one $.76 cantaloupe, and I would like a refund for the other 11 that were not in my cart.

Because clearly, if I wanted a 12 pack of cantaloupes, I would have gone to Costco.



(Disclaimers: There is nothing wrong with bringing all 22 members of your immediate family to the grocery store or using $178 in coupons, unless I am standing behind you.  Also, I am well aware I may be one of the 15 families on the cereal aisle one day soon.)

Mom Reality #2

Once you decide not to purchase any more winter clothes in the next larger size and put away what you do have, there will be a late season cold snap leaving your child woefully underdressed.

New series: Mom Reality #1

Your child will become a ray of sunshine or fall blissfully asleep right about the time your husband makes it home after you place the "please come home soon, I need a break" phone call, leaving you looking totally crazy.

Mommy Milestone

While Drew has been doing great hitting his milestones, mom hasn't been doing so well with hers.  Until late last month Rob and I hadn't left Drew with anyone who wasn't a blood relative.

It wasn't an overwhelming fear of leaving him with someone that wasn't a grandparent, but I don't KNOW anyone in Austin.  He is still young enough that I would prefer someone stay with him who isn't in high school, so that makes it even harder.  I've gotten the names of several nannies, but the ones I have talked to (who nanny 40 hours a week) don't have any interest in babysitting in the evenings.  So Rob and I had just been taking turns staying home with him, and/or asking our parents to watch him when we needed to go someplace together.

But it was time.  Last Sunday, March 27th, Rob and I showed up at church 20 minutes early to figure out how to leave our baby in the nursery.  After giving them basic information and getting a sticker for EVERYTHING and EVERYONE (Sticker to identify him, sticker to identify his bag, stickers for both Rob and I to tie us to him), we handed him over the 1/2 door and walked away.

And then I ran back to tell the ladies that he had a pacifier in his diaper bag if he needed it.

And then I really left.

And when we came back an hour later, he was perfectly happy (if not tired, since I think he spent the entire hour watching the other babies).

So we tempted fate and tried it again this weekend.

AND HE WAS FINE.

So ok.  It's only been 2 hours total and it wasn't one on one and it wasn't some hot date, but hey-- I don't ask my son to walk before he crawls, so I think my baby steps are just fine, thankyouverymuch.

Here is the little man on his way to church. Too bad I didn't check the weather before I left. It was way too cold for the shorts.  Whoops.

The Greatest Aprils Fools "Joke" That Almost Was

By way of background, before I quit my job I worked on one lawsuit with a team of 5 other people.  Our boss was a lady with a college-aged son.  I had one female coworker.  Otherwise, my coworkers were male and we were all under the age of 40.  We all had a great relationship (and still do).

I was about 5 weeks pregnant when I was sitting in my female co-worker's (henceforth known as E) office.  I felt like the cat that swallowed the canary with my "news."  I was sure anyone who paid half a seconds worth of attention would know something was different. 

E: So, I'm pregnant.

Lindsey's Mind: Woah.  Cool!  Woah.  This is NOT going to be good for the team.  O.M.G. 

Lindsey:  When are you due?

Lindsey's Mind: Dude, say congratulations!

Lindsey: Congrats, by the way!

E: Late October

Lindsey's Mind: Calculating.... calculating.... OH NO.  She's due like 2 weeks ahead of me!

Lindsey: Have you told the team?

E: No, I want to wait a little longer.  I'm only 7 weeks along and ....... (blah blah blah)

Lindsey's Mind: Do I tell her?  I mean, I'm dying to tell SOMEone.  Plus, how do I come back later and say "yeah, remember when you said you were pregnant?  Haha!  Me too!  Sorry I didn't say anything at the time."

Lindsey: Me too.

E: What?

Lindsey: I'm pregnant too.

E: #$%*%  But congrats, by the way!

As you can tell, it took us about .3 seconds each to realize while this was infinitely fun news for us, it was not going to be ideal for a team of 6 who were going to lose two people for maternity leave at EXACTLY the same time.

We stayed hush about it for a couple of weeks, with many a closed-door session about doctors appointments and sharing saltine crackers.

Early on I had decided that we needed to spill the beans to our boss and our co-workers at the same time. My worst nightmare was for E to tell the team and have them spend two weeks figuring out what to do while she was out, only to have me speak up two weeks later.  E agreed that was the right plan.

Cue April Fool's Day.  I came in with the fabulous idea that we should tell our co-workers that day.  It seems like a well planned April Fool's joke, doesn't it?  The perfect "joke" because it was true!  Ultimately we decided that since it was going to have a serious impact on the team we should probably treat the reveal with a little more respect.

We ended up telling everyone a day or two after April Fool's Day.  My favorite reaction came from H.  We told him over lunch.  He slowly put his sandwich down and looked from one of us to the other.  Then he says "I just want you two to know I realize April Fool's Day was earlier this week.  I realize this could be a great joke, but I also realize it could be completely real.  So don't you DARE start laughing at me if I believe you and it's some sort of twisted joke.  So, congrats, by the way."

Thoughts from 3:38 AM- Present

1. Seriously, again?
2. Today may be a venti Starbucks day....