I'm hungry

All I can think about is food. And rightly so, because I have so many great food events coming up this week. No, I'm not PMS-ing, just a fattie.

Tonight, my brother is coming over and I am planning on making a recipe that I have been drooling over for weeks. It came from my friend, Sheila's blog. It's basically like two of my favorite foods mashed together into one tasty explosion in your mouth (insert the "thats what she said" jokes), Salt and Vinegar Haddock. Fish, covered in salt and vinegar chips, and baked. DROOLING. I will let you know how it turns out. 

Thursday, Dave and I will celebrating our 2-year anniversary. I have seriously deliberated over what restaurant to go to for weeks, and we finally settled on one last night. Initially, I dreamed of going to the  Melting Pot. I have heard that it is absolutely scrumptious, but highly expensive, so the day when there was a Groupon for it felt like the heavens were answering my prayers. Due to my luck, I log onto Groupon to purchase it and it is sold out. I cried actual tears. 

After this extreme disappointment, I felt like no other dining experience could live up to my dreams of fondue greatness. Then, Dave suggested this cute, little place that has gourmet burgers and wood-fired pizza. I realized that the term, "gourmet burger" is the way to my heart, and agreed that this would be the winner. Plus, my bff Kait (aka. Curls), told me she recently got a mojito when she was out, and I have been craving one ever since. Mojitos and gourmet burgers and I'm one happy girl. 

Saturday will be the culmination of my week of good eats. It is my family's second annual Fakesgiving. My mom always works on Thanksgiving so that she can have Christmas off, so we started doing our own Thanksgiving on a different day so that no one would miss out. Can I just say that having two Thanksgiving meals a year is amazing. Fattening, but amazing. We will eat, drink, and pass Harrison around like a play thing. 

Last year's invitiation/menu. I went all out. Little did I know that all that alcohol I was drinking was going straight to Harrison's embryo. 

I know I said yesterday that I was too afraid to snap a picture of Harrison napping in his crib. Well, I overcame my fear and went for it. 

Hard to tell, but that's his pacifier wedged into his right cheek. 

A rare Monday morning post

I have to tell you that my quality of life has recently improved DRAMATICALLY. Obviously, so dramatically that it needed to be in caps. Long story short- Dave's mom was visiting Friday night, and somehow magically came up with the formula for getting Harrison to nap in his crib. I'm not sure if I'm just an inadequate mother and have no idea about any aspect of motherhood, or if she's just gone through it 3 times before and has an edge up. Probably a combination. She came up with the brilliant idea of stuffing teddy bears around Harrison's body to recreate the feeling of being held. GENIUS. Since Saturday morning, he has taken almost every nap in his crib (with the exception of our first morning nap, where I just nap with him, because cuddling is just so much better than sleeping alone). I wish I could take a picture of the teddy bear engulfment, but I'm too deathly afraid it will wake him up.

Since there's no picture of the teddy bear arrangement, I will supplement with a picture of him AS a teddy bear. 

Ways my quality of life has improved:
1. First and foremost, being able to use the laptop with both hands, thus typing with both hands, thus being able to blog.
2. Getting stuff done. This morning, I was able to pick up the apartment, put laundry away, and even went all out getting ready and put eyeshadow on. This NEVER happens. I had to take advantage of all the extra time I had, you know?
3. Sanity. It really was taking a toll on my psyche that I had no time to myself. Harrison was attached to me literally at all times. A few nights ago, I was screaming in his face telling him to stop crying, thinking that was the preferred method of quieting him down. I had lost it, just a little.
4. Eating a meal that I don't have to shove down my throat in a matter of 14 seconds. This is especially enjoyable, since I love food.

Pretty much

In addition to all that greatness, I am getting my hair did today. So, because all of you know me, you know that my hair is really freaking thick, and often can resemble dreads. I have many a time contemplated just dreading it, to try to prove that dreads can be hot and/or because I just get so sick of it that twisting it into dirty little hair logs and never having to wash it would be preferable. My point is, that my hair takes a LOT of maintenance  and I shouldn't go more than 6-8 weeks without getting it tamed. It has been 4 months since my last cut. See the sacrifices I make for you, Harrison? I am more than excited. Like, have been looking forward to this for an embarrassingly long time.

My obsession with hair is another reason that I get so upset that Harrison is bald. I see other little babies that are born with a full head of hair and become overwhlemed with jealously and rage. Dave and I both have dark, curly hair, so where is Harrison's jew fro? Seriously.

What? My baldness isn't cute??

Baby Rolling

I have exciting news! Harrison rolled over for the first time yesterday! I'm obviously a very proud mommy right now. Who would have thought that like two years ago, my excitement in life came from dressing up for theme parties on the weekend, and now I'm ranting and raving to anyone who will listen about how amazing my son is.

Anyways, the day started off a little rocky. As evidence:

He has a little mouth infection, so I figured the day was doomed with endless crying and irritability. I had to put my foot down. I pretty much thought I would lose my mind if I stayed home all day with that, so I took matters into my own hands and texted my bff, Melissa, to see if she was not working so I could visit. To my delight, she was off for the day, so I packed Harrison into his carseat, and we went on a little adventure. You know when your "adventures" consist of driving into the city of Rochester, your life is pretty lame.

I had recently read that 3 month old babies need to start spending more time on their tummies, in order to develop neck strength and shit like that. So of course I went a little psychotic on the tummy time front, and decided that it was my new mission. This was like a mere two days ago that I embarked on the belly mission. I wanted him to roll over before the 4 month mark, which is the average rate for babies to roll over according to my pediatrician, so I was amazed when it only took him two days of extra tummy time, and 3 months and 1 week to do it!

I don't know what came over me, but it was as if I knew it was coming, because I told Melissa to film the ordeal with her iphone. Sure enough, we were able to capture the moment. Plus, it helps that Melissa is a connoisseur of iphone documentation.

I had to cut the video a little short to be able to send it to myself to get it on here, but you get the jist.

Did I just put myself up to a standard of having to catch all of his "firsts" on video?? Uh oh.

The poor turkeys

Sooo theres a looming event that I am getting really nervous about, and no, it's not the results of the presidental election (because with that, I don't give a f***. oops, I said it). Theres this turkey farm that I have to drive by almost every day, and those little turkeys are not so little anymore, if you catch my drift. They are rapidly plumping, just in time for a certain holiday where millions of them get slaughtered.

To be clear, I'm all for the turkey consumption on Thanksgiving. What would Thanksgiving be without the bird sacrifice? And let's not forget the stuffing. My mom makes the BEST stuffing. So, okay, the turkey is a necessary part of the day.

There have been a few years in the past where I have forgone my own consumption of turkey in order to take a stand. When there's mashed potatoes, stuffing, squash, pumpkin pie, etc etc, the turkey isn't so missed. Take my word for it.

I have not decided this year if I will be eating turkey or not, but I can tell you that I am seriously dreading the day when there are no turkeys left at the turkey farm. Driving past and getting to see their little selves clucking around and frolicking away really excites me. It is easily my favorite part of the drive. That may sound extremely strange, but as someone whose power animal is a bird, I connect with my fellow bird species.

I even dressed Harrison up as a turkey in respect.

I look ridiculous. 

But for the sake of your blog, I guess I'll smile

haha I lied. I just needed to throw some pictures in here and pretend that they are related.

Excuses

I'm just gonna come out and say that I feel pretty guilty for not blogging in over a week. I'd like to think  I have a good reason for that, but I don't. I'm just full of excuses, so I'll list them off for you to feel sorry for me and sympathize with my blogging inefficiencies (when really I deserve no sympathy).

Excuse #1: Harrison is the world's worst baby. Ok maybe not the WORLD'S worst, but he's up there. It's a weird phenomenon that I love him more than words can say, but I also very seriously accuse him of being a bad baby. I hate when people ask, "Is he a good baby?" and then scoff at me when I say no. It's like, if you didn't want to know the answer, don't ask. Especially if you are planning on judging me if I don't rave about how good my baby is. I'm starting the think the concept of a "good baby" is a myth. Or at least a foreign language in my world.

So why does Harrison's bad behavior mean I can't blog? I've said it before and I will say it again, incase you thought I was exaggerating (which I'm not): Harrison has to be held at all times. The second I even begin the downwards motion to set him down on the floor or on the couch he begins to wail. I allow him to cry only long enough for me to scarf down a sandwich or bowl of cereal, but thats about all I can handle of that dreadful noise. I feel as though the sound of him crying makes my ears bleed. The only reason I've been able to attend to this blog post is because he discovered his feet and is FASCINATED. Videos to come.

Excuse #2: Darcyitis. This was a name my Mom came up with a while ago for the sickness I get like 23 times a year. The symptoms of Darcyitis are sore throat, runny nose, fever aka. a cold. So it's not like I'm contracting leperacy. However, I do tend to get sick more than the average person, so we felt it appropriate to name the sickness after me. I've had Darcyitis the past couple days, so when I wasn't lying helpless on the couch, my only energy was devoted to changing diapers. I had none to spare for blogging.

Now that I'm better, I knew one of my first goals was to complete a blog post. I have to say, I went to dinner with some of my girlfriends the other night, and one of them told me that she is an avid reader, and really nothing excites me more. Thanks, Emily!

Last night was Halloween, so revealing Harrison's costume was another motivator for me to post. Not to toot my own horn, but I think I made one good looking baby. The picture of his costume on Facebook got 90 likes. I'm also not a huge proponent of Facebook, like, the last time I actually posted a status was about two years ago when I thought people actually cared about when I was showering and getting ready to go out. News flash: no one does. But anyways, the fact that the picture got so many likes was not exciting to me on a Facebook popularity level, but rather on a my kid is so darn cute level.

We decided to go with the cow costume after the disappointing realization that both the lion and elephant costumes I was waffling between were both sold out. Sorry for subjecting you to a pointless poll. I'm sure I've mentioned before that Dave's family are dairy farmers, so a cow was the next best option.

I look ridiculous and refuse to smile 

This Saturday is Harrison's 3 month birthday! It does not feel like 3 months have gone by. We had to shoot his 3 month picture a couple days early, becuase my stepdad and mom are on their way to Baltimore to visit my sister and brother-in-law. Lucky you, I'm posting it early. 

Touching his peepee already. I'm screwed. 

I am extremely jealous that my parents get to visit my sister and Eric in the wonderful land of Baltimore. Baltimore got hit pretty hard by the bitch, Sandy, so we are thankful that Alyssa and Eric got out unscathed. We were also very lucky that the storm didn't ravage us, but we were left with one souvenir in it's aftermath:

Wall Boob

That's right: a wall boob. I bet you're jealous you don't have one. 

finally some excitement

Ok, I cannot tell you how happy I am that my life finally had something exciting enough to write about. This past weekend was pretty much fantastic. Friday, I can't remember what we did. That's mommy brain for you. Saturday was my college roommates reunion sleepover night! The last time the four of us were all together was when I was still pregnant, so this was way overdue. 

kewl self-timer photo

I had them over to our apartment, because Harrison is far too high maintenance to go anywhere else. I had my concerns about how Harrison would behave, and/or if I would end up getting any sleep when you combine staying up til the wee hours of the morning chatting with the girls, and Harrison waking up on the reg. I was in some serious 12-5 withdrawal though, so I decided one night of even less sleep than usual wouldn't kill me. Plus, he had been sleeping pretty decently leading up to this... key word is had. 

Dave was nice enough to watch Harrison while we went out to dinner, and needless to say we all pigged out and drank wine. I can't even lie and pretend that I'm a wreck when I leave Harrison's side, its pretty freaking great actually. Somehow, it is relaxing and freeing and much needed, yet I need to hug him the second I walk in the door and ask him how much he missed me. Call me a hypocrite. 

When we got back, is pretty much when shit hit the fan. We accidentally woke him up, and let's just say he was not happy. The next few hours consisted of a lot of crying, inbetween brief lapses of sleep. I guess it was too good to be true to think that he would just magically go to sleep at his bedtime and stay asleep to allow me to hang out with the ladies stress-free. Once we finally got him to sleep, we had a great time drinking (more) wine, playing games, and obviously reminiscing about our crazy ways in the 'Seo. 

Sunday, we braved our way to Letchworth State Park. I say braved because it was a little over an hour away, so that in itself is a hefty mission to take on, since Harrison has become the only baby in history to dislike carrides. The park itself requires a lot of hiking, so we decided to try out the baby carrier for real. This was also concerning, as any time I've attempted to put him in that thing has not gone swimmingly. Much to our delight, he was pretty content being carried around all day (who wouldn't be?) and even fell asleep for a short period. Plus, being anywhere close to Geneseo and/or doing anything that reminds me of Geneseo is a win. 

ghetto baby

the boys. Harrison looks THRILLED

I would have appreciated this family portrait a lot more if my hair wasn't sticking up like Alfafa. 

selfiesss

Heaven? No, just the magical land of Letchworth

This weekend is Halloween weekend and probably for the first time in my life, I'm not dressing up. Can't say I'm upset about that. Harrison is taking one for the team. Stay tuned for the reveal of his costume!!

ramblings

In lieu of Harrison's horrible sleeping habits, I got desperate and did something I never thought I would do: ordered a self-help book. I guess it's not so much self-help as it is help for Harrison. But if Harrison gets more sleep, mommy gets more sleep, and will regain her sanity. Thus, self-help.

The book is called "Good Night, Sleep Tight" by a mommy author who calls herself "The Sleep Lady". It got great reviews and a lot of other mothers were saying it helped their babies sleep significantly, so I forked over the $10 to download it to my Kindle.

So far, this is what I've gathered from it: almost everything I'm doing to get Harrison to sleep is bad, Harrison seems way too ingrained in his bad habits to turn around, and I'm freaking out that I'll never get a good night's sleep again. Wonderful!

Death by milk coma

She does say to wait to start her program until you can have three weeks with little interruptions, and since we are travelling to Watertown in a couple weeks, I'll have to wait until after we return. Two more weeks of the get-no-sleep plan. I am excited to try it out though, and will keep you updated on our progress. That is, if we have any.

This morning, in an attempt to improve my mood and take some of the edge off, I put in a 30-minute yoga video. I didn't know what would stop me first- Harrison deciding that 30-minutes unattended to is far too long of a stretch and demand to be picked up, or me being so out of shape that I poop out. Well, I'm embarrassed to report that it was the latter. I got through 10 minutes before I decided that I was ready to be done. Sad, but true. I'm going to place all of the responsibility for getting so out of shape on Harrison. I had an 8-week recovery period from surgery and couldn't work out! His doing, not mine. Maybe one day I'll put the excuses aside and really start a less pathetic work out regimen.... but probably not.

I'm again sorry at my failure to blog more often. Of recent, I've become obsessed with Homeland and can't do anything but watch it, think about it, and stalk cast members on the interwebs. Specifically, Damian Lewis, who plays the POW turned terrorist. Not only do I find myself crushing on a terrorist, he's also a ginger, and possibly the first ginger I've ever been attracted to. I can't explain it. I think
I'm in love.

you can terrorize me anytime