Sitting pretty

It feels good to be on top, and by on top I mean the favorite parent. This post was actually written in January, discussing my sadness about being ignored by Alex. It went something like this...woe is me. Why won't he laugh at my jokes? When I mimic the same thing dad does I get no response! Why does he only want me to put him to sleep and feed him? How did I fall from his heart?

 In the end I was too distraught to even voice my complaints. My son thought that I was lame, and I didn't want anyone to know, the publish button was never pressed. BUT now I am sitting pretty on the favorite throne. Mr. Patrick and I made a bet six years ago about this same scenario. The favorite parent would win the amount of our first paycheck..yes we are competitive people. Now Mr. Patrick is saying that he technically is the winner since Alex made his preference known earlier... I’m surely not coughing up any mula while the tides have turned. 

Humor aside, I actually love to see Alex and Mr. Patrick bond. It is good to use humor in these types of potentially painful situations. No parent wants to be booted to the bottom. Alex understands that we our both his parents, and we have different personalities to express our love. I hope I haven't done my victory dance too many times in front of Mr. Patrick. One thing is for sure babies seem to be fickle. 

Are you smarter than a fifth grader?

Have you ever felt so dumb you didnt know what to do with yourself? This is how I felt using the Stanley TR45. This staple gun is mind numbing. I had to wait until my anger subsided to describe the hatred that I feel for this product.

I recently moved and could only locate one of my two staple guns. I could not recollect why I had two staple guns, but I remembered that the this one was not my favorite. Too lazy to look for the other one, I decided to make do with what I had. When I opened the back of the gun I could not figure out how to load it. Puzzling...what to do?

Google it. There had to be some other like minded individual out there that could not figure out how to load a simple staple gun. Yes! My results produced a myriad of responses out there from similiar users like myself who perhaps were not as smart as a fifth grader.   One user wrote: If you are asking this questions then perhaps you should't be using it." LOL. This was indeed funny in the first fifteen minutes of my challenge, but not in the last. After reading all of the post my staples still wouldnt load! Frustrated I jammed the staples in manually, but still no luck. Duh.

After failing over and over again, the only thing left was to admit my defeat to Mr. Patrick and ask for help.
I was given the look at first. You know the one that I'm talking about....The Are you SERiously asking me this dumb question? Mr. Patrick removed my jammed staples and then told me that I probably had the wrong size. "Why don't you just buy a new gun?" Nope. Too cheap to invest more and too lazy to look for my other gun. I proceeded to venture to Target to get replacement staples. When I returned the staples still wouldnt load! Frustrated I decided to sleep it off like a bad dream. I questioned my mental capacity. Maybe I still had pregnancy brain. Who knows...anything is possible.

The next day I went to Home Depot for help. The associate gave me the same look I received the night before. He proceeded to show me how to load the gun, and look perfectly satisfied in his achievements once loaded. The staples then flopped in and out and came out of the back end. "This never happens!" he stated. He looked completely humiliated. "There must be a defect in YOUR gun." Right. I happened to glance at the shelf and noticed that this gun was marked at 7.99, about ten dollars cheaper then the other guns. THIS must be why I bought the thing to begin with.

Later on I realized that other people have had this same problem. There is no defect in my gun, this is a common problem. Nex time dont waste your 7.99, because it will cost you more in the long run.  As my mother-in-law always says "Cheap things not good and good things not cheap". I will never learn.

Yes. I DID just spend a perfectly good twenty minutes ranting about a staple gun. Hopefully you wont make the same mistake.

Forever Sleeper

Don't you just love a good hand-me down? They make you wonder what the other baby was doing when they wore them. The baby may outgrow the outfit, but the clothes will live on!  Alex is going through his clothes so quickly so I was super excited when I received a shipment of clothes from my sister. I'm refusing to buy any new clothes for a while. Mr. Patrick however believes I should trade in my shoes to sponsor fresh gear? Hahaha

Here he is Alex wearing him hand-me down and trying to jump in his exersaucer

                                   

Here's my nephew in the same jumper looking sweet as can be... Alex should take notes.

Ikea Chair Revamp

Spring is here and everyone knows that Mrs. Patrick loves any excuse to redecorate (Phaedra RHOA). I went shopping last weekend in search of a good bar stool, and found a great find at IKEA.
The BOSSE stool leaves a bit to be desired in terms of looks and was almost at the cusp of being overpriced for IKEA at $39.99 (yes there is a limit to how much I will spend at stores where I have to build my own furniture). But it was a great blank slate to redecorate and personalize the stool Patrick style.

The stool is a bland birch wood with a slot in the middle. Is this a piggy bank or a stool? They say that it allows the stool to be moved easily. Either way it doesn't matter because it will be covered up.

First step is to stain the chair to go with my chocolate and cream color scheme. I used water based MINWAX mahogany stain to darken the stools. The stool will absorb most of the first coat, so you will have to probably add three different layers. Here is the second layer:

After three coats the color doesn't really get darker. Here are the stools at three with a polyurethane semi glossy coat

Now to deal with the silly piggy bank top. I used 2 inch foam for the cushion that I got on sale from Hancock Fabrics for $4 with a 40% off coupon. The fabric is from Paradise fabric in Suitland Maryland...this store literally has thousands of fabric choices in one small storefront and extensive west African prints.

Open Wide

Ever since having Alex I see baby teeth differently. I couldn’t understand why children had early childhood caries, but this is not the case anymore. I have true empathy for parents (you know the characteristic that you write on all of your dental school applications, but you don't really have... that's the one). I completely understand the plight of the new parent brushing his/her child’s teeth. Before his teeth erupted it was pretty easy to wipe his gums off after nursing. Now the little boy has teeth, and he will use them! You don’t want to get stuck in the chute.

 I have found that the best way to brush his teeth is by holding him while I brush mine. He is so eager to do whatever mommy and daddy does that he will usually open for his own toothbrush...or just eat it. He interacts with the world by eating everything. Our next battle is the tongue.

The Bully

Alex isnt really a bully, I titled it for the Harvey Weinsteins new documentary, The Bully coming out this Friday and mid April in D.C. Here is Alex trying to bite his dad's head off.

He HAS been using his new athleticism to take control though. How are babies so strong?

Its hard to believe the little guy is now 6 months. His personality has truly blossomed.

6 month checkup:
Height 28 inches, 90%
Weight 17 lbs 8 oz, 50%
Head 17. 75, 90%


This baby goes by a myriad of nicknames: Alexi, Gaby, Bunny, Buns, Pie-Pie, Ale. What were some of your nicknames growing up?

Ferbie I love you

Back when the pacifier was King

Does he sleep through the night? This seems to be the question that every parent LOVES to ask us. "Sometimes"," Almost the whole night for the most part", " Kind of" These are the responses that I hear from fellow parents. I'm not sure why we don't just say no. The length of time your baby sleeps at night even becomes bragging rights. I'm not afraid to come out and say that he does NOT sleep through the night. Well he does, he just wakes up a few times. lol.

We have tried all of the commonly used methods to put him to sleep and have been crossing them off of our list these past sixth months. Our plans are usually thwarted in five minutes, by a suddenly awake baby with no plans of going to sleep.

Soothing method- Singing and rocking baby to sleep.
Alex: Why are the lights suddenly out? Where did everyone go? Wahhhhh

Rocking-rocking baby to sleep in a chair, or walking
Alex: wahhhhh. Rock me the whole night!

Driving down- Drive around until baby falls asleep. When you return home lift baby out of carseat and into crib. (Five minutes later.)
Alex: what's the plan for tonight guys?

Wear down- Feed baby to prevent nighttime nibbling.
Alex:I'm greedy. Didn’t you know this? Wheres my milk woman!

Nestling down- Rocking baby to sleep follow by snuggling him in your arms.
Me: Yay he's sleep! ...Wait I am too.

Calming down- Warm bath before bedtime to relax and calm baby before going to sleep.
Alex: I love to play in the water. Playtime! No bedtime for me.


The nurse down
The nurse down worked for a long time. The trouble came when it was time to move him from my arms to his crib. With the change in surroundings he usually woke up and we were back to square one. He also became dependent on being nursed to sleep even when he wasn’t hungry.

Although many of these methods worked to put him to sleep, he did not STAY asleep. Two weeks ago we started the Ferber technique. Don't Judge me, I was desperate. This method really hurts in the beginning. Alex is particularly stubborn and believed that we would eventually pick him up if he cried forever. The first week he cried for atleast thirty minutes.

I was convinced that he would harbor resentment in the morning for not being held, but he was his usual jolly self. Lets cross our fingers that he doesnt outgrow his new sleep technique.

Splash Splash

I love that little drool on the side

How to React to An Ugly Baby

Names and situations have been changed to protect the innocent

I was visiting one of my friends from dental school this weekend and she inquired about Alex. She was not ready for my picture attack of snapshots on my phone, and I certainly was not ready for a rebuttal. Another phone was quickly pulled out with pictures to match mine (the nerve). Somehow the conversation amounted to: "No my son is cuter", "No my nephew is cuter!"

Since she was not the actual parent, I made sure to tell her how I really felt about her nephew. Jabs were thrown back and forth, that I am too ashamed to reveal, and there was no apparent winner announced. What to do? Call it a draw? I think not! An unassuming stranger was sighted and caught in the cross fire.

"Which baby is cuter? Baby One?....or Baby Two?" The lady was stunned and quickly tried to regain her thoughts. After much deliberation she gushed "they are both soooo precious." No winner.

Perhaps the stranger was trying to break is to us, that neither baby was cute. I came home to find this hilarious article on wiki. Maybe Precious equals snuggly?



http://www.wikihow.com/React-to-an-Ugly-Baby

Let's Go for a Ride

Alex is now five months old! He can flip back and forth from his stomach to back and can worm crawl on the floor. His motor skills have improved so much from last month. He loves to eat bananas in the morning and chew on everything within reach. Still no teeth yet... but I’m sure they will come any day now. He enjoys working out in his exersaucer, and spinning the toys from side to side. All the cool parents were buying them, so we jumped on the bandwagon. Its supposed to help improve fine motor skills and tactile development. However his favorite thing to do is....

Taking a ride in his dad's chair. Babies are soo satisfied by the simple things in life. They don't need fancy things to put a smile on their face. Amazing

Did you want the chair back? Not happening!

A Sweet Tooth for the Lovies

1 1/2 cups butter, softened
2 cups white sugar
4 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
5 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
Directions

In a large bowl, cream together butter and sugar until smooth. Beat in eggs and vanilla. Stir in the flour, baking powder, and salt. Cover, and chill dough for at least one hour.
Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Roll out dough on floured surface 1/4 to 1/2 inch thick. Cut into shapes with cookie cutter. Place cookies 1 inch apart on ungreased cookie sheets.
Bake 6 to 8 minutes in preheated oven. Cool completely before frosting.

1 cup of powdered sugar
2 teaspoons milk
2 teaspoons light corn syrup
1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract
Red food coloring

In a small bowl, mix together powder sugar and milk until smooth. Beat in corn syrup and vanilla extract until icing is smooth and glossy. If icing is too thick, add more milk. Add red food coloring to produce pink color. Add icing to cookies with piping bag or the back of a spoon.

Scraps of Love

One of my favorite hobbies is scrap booking. It is almost a necessity to keep my house in order; as I am always a few steps away from being on Hoarders. Im always keeping ridiculous items for their "sentimental" value. Yesterday I found Alex's used band aids from his first shots in a folder. Ewwww..Why do I still have this? (Then carefully tucks back in to drawer) Scrapbooking allows me to combine all of the various papers, cards, ideas and assortment of odds and ends in one place.

Here are a few pages

Speaking of organizing ideas. Pinterest allows me to combine all of my interest into a spastic chaotic board. I'm in love! Where have you been my whole life? It lets me organize recipes, fashion, craft ideas; all in a single click. Its a DIY Crack Attack. Instead of starting a thousand projects I can just look at the eye candy. Are you on pinterest? Lets make a board together.

60 Miles

We had the cutest visitors over last week. One was so excited to see us that he kisssed me on my forehead like I was a baby. Muahhhh. Let me see the baby! Unfortunately they made it just in time for his nap.  After everyone left my husband and I talked about how sweet everyone has been for coming to visit us on the Eastern Shore. I'm not sure if I would drive 120 miles round trip to visit anyone for a couple of hours? Or maybe I would if there was no scary bridge to cross.

We are so thankful that we have awesome family and friends. It really makes the difference in our day. 

Here are some pictures from some of our visits.

The Baby Stalker

Future Pediatrician

Newtons Mom

The Bread Makers

4 month Checkup

Alex just went in for his Four month checkup last week. He's growing up so fast! He's in the 90 percentile for height and weight! Fatty, Fatty Boom Boom. His doctor said we could start him out on pureed fruit since he has a good swallow reflex and head control. What a relief! Dinner time was starting to be a little awkward with an angry baby constantly drooling and grabbing at our food.

Height: 26.2 inches
Weight: 15 lbs 12 oz
Head: 17 inches

He's getting too long for his infant carrier. We decided to try him out in the big boy stroller.

Photo Failure

The Eastern Shore has some amazing hiking trails, parks and waterfronts in the area. We decided to check out the Pickering Creek Audubon Center close to Easton one warm Saturday. We didn't quite make it all the way of the creek, but the place was pretty beautiful. When we got home I proudly pulled out my pics from the day.

Look at that picture I shot of the windmill. Bet you couldn't get that shot? Determined to dunce me my husband states "Did you shoot this on Automatic?" Uh NOOO!

The truth is I shoot all my pictures on automatic. I bought my husband the Nikon D90 for his birthday last year. It was one of those gifts that you really want for yourself, but you buy in the hopes that the other person a. will not really want it, b. see though your lame attempts at buying yourself a gift, or c. wait patiently for their hand-me-downs. But my husband did want the camera! He caught me ordering it from Newegg and proceeded to tell me about add ons that would make the camera even hotter. We decided to "share it" equally and learn the ins and outs of photography. He proceeded to learning about ISO's, shutter speed, F stops, Focus, and all types of other things that make my head go blurry. In the end he learned how to shoot actual pictures, and I learned how to click all the buttons to A.

Now that Alex is here my automatic days may be numbered. How am i supposed to catch him in action on automatic?

And for the record. I meant to make my trees blurry. Ehem.

mommy dreams

It seems like the amount of "bad" children multiply when you appear at the OBGYN...they wait to taunt you about what your future entails. At seven months pregnant I made up my mind that I was not having any bad children after seeing a ridiculous spoiled child at the doctors office. The boy had to be at least six, but refused to walk on his own. He demanded that his dad pick him up and could not comprehend that he was destroying his back. Once the father became too tired from holding him, he attempted to stand him back up on the ground. His toes touched the ground, and the boy instantly started wailing. Every parent in the room shook their head in disbelief, and I was stunned. I muttered to my husband "Bad parenting I assume...We're not having any bad kids."

That's when my mommy dream became real. I think every new parent has elaborate ideas of what they will develop into. While some people have dreams of being that soft cuddly best friend. I imagined that I would be a strict disciplinarian. The type of Mom that has toys organized in certain boxes, that could only be taken out at playtime. There would be a tight schedule with outings, activities, bed time, play time because boundaries must be set. No tantrums or crying children allowed in the Patrick household.

And then Alex came. He started out sweet like a little teddy bear. At the hospital he was stuck by various needles and never shed a single tear. "Maybe he doesn't know how to cry" I stated. We were blessed to have such a calm easy going baby that took long naps and only asked to be fed. He eventually learned how to cry, and it came as a relief to know that he was in fact normal. What baby doesn't cry? The crying slowly increased to a tolerable level until about three months. Now Alexander Gabriel-Akanni Zaid Patrick is destroying my mommy dream. He is cutting my inner control freak, and refusing to take naps during the day. If he could talk Im sure he would say "let me play or else I will cry." All he wants to do is play, play, play. The truth is I'm afraid of his tears, and he knows it; He's milking me for all that Im worth. He usually plays until he reaches a play induced coma, and then passes out. Each day I see my dreams slipping away. Help!

I will not go to sleep!

Fluffiest Pancakes Ever

One of my favorite things to do is to make Sunday breakfast! Its a great time to regroup from the hectic week and sit down for some great family time. Lately we have been slacking with a Bob Evans located close by, but its never too late to get back to the norm. Plus these pancakes give Bob Evans some competition. Make sure you sift the flour. It makes all the difference.

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
3 teaspoons baking powder
1 1/2 tablespoon white sugar

1 1/4 cups milk
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 egg
3 tablespoons room temperature butter diced

Directions


Sift together the flour, baking powder, salt and sugar. Sifting is the most important step! Make a well in the center and pour in the milk, egg, vanilla and butter. Mix all of the ingredients until smooth and uniform.

Heat a pan of griddle on the stove over medium heat. Pour the batter into the pan, using about 1/3 cup for each pancake. Lightly brown both sides until bater is fully cooked.

*For thinner pancakes add 1/4 cup more of milk

Movie Time

In the past year I have been known to sleep through a movie or two...or maybe three. I'm the first one to say "Lets watch a movie!." Usually the only aspects of the movie that I am able to catch is the intro and the rolling credits at the end (if I'm lucky). Im sure Netflix is loving our wasted membership. I finally finished my first movie in a long time! This one was definitely worth staying up for.

Jerusalema

Jerusalema is the story of Lucky Kunene, a boy who grew up in the slums and eventually rose to be a powerful crime boss. He took over apartment buildings in Johannesburg, South Africa one building at a time. Throughout the film they reference this amazing architectural building that reminds me of the Seattle needle; and is found in the center of Hillbrow, a melting pot neighborhood of immigrants. Lucky Kunene is the King of Hillbrow, or the "representative of the Hillbrow People’s Housing Trust." Lucky is a complex character that has major guts and charisma. I don't want to spoil the movie for anyone who has it listed under their queue, but I love Lucky's almost self hatred; he is both the protagonist and the antagonist in the movie. He goes up against other criminals in the film and refuses to make partnerships with their dealings. Its as though he does not realize that his actions are immoral as well?

A Drooly Holiday

The drool has taken over our lives! Its everywhere from our shoulders to our toes. Hopefully these teeth will come in soon. When will you be make your appearance P and O?

Alex slobbing up his Aunties

We're Legal Baby

A co-worker of mine asked me today if I knew it was legal to breastfeed at work. Yes I did know! But always good to pass on the info. Heres a snipet of the good stuff:

Employers are required to provide “reasonable break time for an employee to express breast milk for her nursing child for 1 year after the child’s birth each time such employee has need to express the milk.” Employers are also required to provide “a place, other than a bathroom, that is shielded from view and free from intrusion from coworkers and the public, which may be used by an employee to express breast milk.”

The FLSA requirement of break time for nursing mothers to express breast milk does not preempt State laws that provide greater protections to employees (for example, providing compensated break time, providing break time for exempt employees, or providing break time beyond 1 year after the child’s birth).

Taken from: http://www.ncsl.org/default.aspx?tabid=14389