2 Mommies and a Baby

Fine. We did it.
I gave into peer pressure.

But I really DO like it. I like how easy it is.

I've moved to Wordpress (sorry Estelle)

You can now find us here.

Link to us now at: http://2mommies.wordpress.com

OKAY - It's actually not so bad now that I got a muffler on the car.

The interior is apparently a really hot commodity - royal blue and black with baseball stitching! Very Pimpin'!

Introducing....my new (previously loved ride)....the Subaru WRX....SEXY REXY!!!

Congrats to Wendy & Karen. She is beautiful!

We had a night without the boy.

Last night, he stayed at Lois' parents' house.

Our night consisted of eating dinner at their house (not going out to eat), coming home at 9 pm, reviewing our taxes, paying bills, reviewing Lois' unemployment stuff, taking Tylenol PM and going to bed with a kiss on the cheek.

We definitely missed him! It was a little quieter around without him!

Welcome back little buddy!

Our thoughts and prayers go out to the families and loved ones of the victims at Virginia Tech. Also to the classmates who endured and witnessed such a horrible scene.

Now, being a parent, seeing something like this is even more traumatic and heart-wrenching. Our hearts go out to everyone affected by this tragedy.

The Tiny Love Symphony Light and Motion Mobile is the Toy of the Week!


Andrew is going through a stage - at least we hope it's just a stage - where he apparently needs constant attention.

He likes motion and being entertained. He needs to move around. If you put him down, he cries. If you hold him, then sit down, he cries. It's tiring.

I've been itching to get him a mobile hoping it would entertain him. Suz gave us the Symphony-in-Motion mobile that Kaden loved so much, but we couldn't get it to work. So, I returned 2 of the 3 Bumbos we received as gift and I bought the newest one - the Light and Motion Mobile.

HE LOVES IT!!! He spent almost 30 minutes in the Pack n' Play last night staring at it, and was in there again this morning.

Be forewarned, putting any mobile on a pack n' play is performing a work of art. A hole or expansion of an existing corner is necessary. Plus, it is all jerry-rigged and crooked, but it works.

I highly recommend any of the mobiles from Tiny Love!

- - -

I had to post this for my own humor.

I was a waitress and a bartender before law school and have worked as a retail manager and other various customer service positions. I would like to think that I understand what it is like and am a little more patient than some customers. When actually, maybe I am more critical because I know that even on bad days, you can perform basic levels of service. The problem is that many people just don't listen.

This was an actual conversation that occurred at Dunkin Donuts drive thru yesterday morning.

Setting the Scene: this is the DD that is solely a drive thru, no walk in part. It always has horrible customer service and the wait is forever, but I go all the time anyway because it's right by my house. It's 10 am on Sunday morning, it's pouring rain and I have 12 cars behind me.

Talking Box: Can I help you?

Me: I would like a medium coffee light and sweet and a large Vanilla Chai.

Talking Box: Vanilla coffee?

Me: No, a medium coffee light and sweet and a large Vanilla Chai.

Talking Box: (long pause) Is that all?

Me: Yes.

Talking Box: (no response)

I drive around to the window.

Sixteen year old (SYO) girl at the window: You have an omelette?!?!

Me: No. I do not have an omelette. I have a medium coffee light and sweet and a large Vanilla Chai.

SYO (looking very confused): a large French Vanilla coffee?

Me: No, I have a medium coffee light and sweet and a large Vanilla Chai.

SYO has three coffees and a bag of food sitting in the window. She shuffles a few things around, places the bag to the side and puts the three coffees in the window again.

SYO: That will be $5.60.

Me: Are you sure? For two coffees??

SYO: Yes.

Me: A large Vanilla Chai is $2.22 by itself. A medium coffee is probably, what? $1.59? How is that $5.60?

SYO: Ok, hold on. (plays with register) Ok, that will be $7.30.

Me: If I thought $5.60 was way too much for 2 coffees, how is $7.30 any better? I'm guessing my total order should be less than $4.00, correct?

SYO: Well, it's due to the combo?

Me: How is 2 coffees a combo?

SYO: You have an omelette combo.

ME: I do not have an omelette, I have a medium coffee light and sweet and a large Vanilla Chai.

SYO: You don't have an omelette?

Me: No, I have a medium coffee light and sweet and a large Vanilla Chai.

SYO: (now taking a very long time at the register) Oh, that will be $3.95.

Me: That sounds about right.

SYO: (after taking my $4) What did you have?

Me: a medium coffee light and sweet and a large Vanilla Chai.

SYO: (after handing me the 2 coffees) Thank you for coming to Dunkin Donuts.
Me: Keep the change.

When I got to Billy's house for our guy morning task of putting the muffler on my car, I handed him his coffee and said "Good luck. I don't know what might be in that cup. It was 4th string quarterback day at Dunkin Donuts."

Andrew has not really been himself this week. Or maybe he is being himself and is just uncomfortable a lot.

It's funny that now he's cooing and smiling, that he can go from happy little guy to mad little guy in about 2 seconds flat.

Ben and Salina brought Emma over Wednesday night and Emma made about 3 semi-cries in the time that they were at our place. Andrew screamed most of the evening. Emma kept looking around all concerned about who was making that awful noise.

- - -

As a Rutgers alum and a women's basketball fan, I guess I have to make one quick statement.

I'm sure this will spark some feedback, but I have very little feeling on the Don Imus firing. I have never liked him and always found him offensive. I personally think he should have been gone years ago. He's said thousands of hurtful, racist, sexist things and everyone has turned the other cheek. Many people find him insightful and funny. (I've had people tell me that they listen to his show for the interviews, is that like reading Playboy for the articles?)

These young women, who should be focusing on their accomplishment, their college classes, their own worlds, are now the center of such a controversy that they never deserved. It's so sad that in this century, these fine, incredibly talented young women are enduring this debacle when they should be enjoying the highlight of their careers! Their grace through all of this has been tremendous.

I can go on and on about this. I'm tired of hearing about Don Imus. I'm tired of hearing people defend him saying it's just one comment. I do agree that we've accepted his behavior for years, why is this the firestorm that's finally brought him down?

I do not understand offensive humor. I have no desire to see Borat, I can't stand Don Imus and I can't even tolerate Howard Stern for a second.

What is it about offensive humor that makes it so popular? How can rich men in business suits who consider themselves liberal listen to Howard Stern every day on their Sirius radios?

Maybe I'm just missing something.

Here’s Andrew in his Easter outfit!



Yes, it's Ralph Lauren (it was a gift) with Yankee booties. Auntie Suz would be mortified!

This was the car behind us on the way to Long Island!



And finally, this is the blanket I made this weekend. It’s the extent of my creative and artistic talents – tying 2 pieces of fleece together.





Lois said we should have done a Mets blanket.

Sorry, I didn’t see any Mets fleece.

I didn’t look for any, so I definitely didn’t see any.

GREAT NEWS!

Kaden had an appointment with the cardiologist yesterday and guess what!?!?!
The fluid surrounding his heart is gone!
And...he is having successful use of his left ventricle!
Thank you everyone for your thoughts and prayers during his surgeries and hospital stays.



MORE GREAT NEWS!!

Congratulations to Momai and Mombi on the arrival of Griffin!!!!

We can’t wait to see pictures!!

ANDREW’S NEWS!

We had a pediatrician appointment yesterday morning. (Going with Lois’ rule of using cute doctors, our pediatrician is very cute – and young!)

Our little meatball is 21 inches long and ….12 lbs 7 oz!

Wow!!!

I don’t think there is any question of us underfeeding the child. He came home from the hospital 8 weeks ago at 6 lbs 5 oz.

During the appointment, he had 5 shots! Poor little guy!

I had to hold him while the nurse did it. One second, he was smiling and cooing at me, the next, he was screaming bloody murder. I felt awful – like I was leading a cow to slaughter.

Mommy Loey, who was unable to watch the shots and almost cried when she saw the little drop of blood on the sheet, had no problem ripping off his band aids later – how mean!

VACATION NEWS!

It’s booked!

We are going to Provincetown during Family Week this summer!

We’re going to be there July 26th-July 30th, so we’ll get to experience 2-3 days of Family Week!

I know we are not in a great financial position to be talking about going anywhere on vacation, but we’re going to do it the least expensive way possible!

CAMPING!

In a trailer, not a tent. But if Andrew does cry all of the time, we’ll leave him outside to be raised by wolves! – such horrible parents we are!

Yes, we are smiling now...even some laughing noises here and there.



Isn't he just adorable!?!?!? I know I'm a little biased...



I'm not sure if he was just loving his bouncy seat or he was trying to flirt with Shawna, Salina and Emma!

EVERYTHING IS WONDERFUL! HE SLEEPS ALL NIGHT! HE NEVER CRIES! HE'S ALWAYS HAPPY.

At least that is the story my mother-in-law will always hear.

She was incredibly critical to my friends sitting at her table at the baby shower about how poorly we are doing as parents, feeding him, etc.**

So, we are never going to tell her if he is being fussy or if he is responding poorly to anything we do.

Therefore, if she ever watches him and he's not perfect, we'll just say

"Well, that's funny. He's never been like that for us!"

It is my goal in raising this child to make sure that certain family members have little influence over our child.

On the feeding front, contrary to my MIL's opinion, he's doing well. The kid is quite beefy, he's definitely not starving. We're alternating between Good Start formula and breast milk with rice cereal. His pooping is better and we are burping him every ounce to try to prevent the spitting up. He goes crazy when you pull the bottle away to burp him, but it works out better in the long run!

Plus, he's definitely not a fussy baby all of the time. He's fussy when he's hungry or gassy. He's happy and interactive several times a day (mostly the morning).

Sheesh, this poor kid with two ignorant unresponsive mommies are parents, right?

**My friends were absolutely mortified by my MIL and Lois' sister-in-law during and before the shower - more to come on that in another post. I hope they don't read my blog.

We received so many wonderful, incredible gifts on Sunday. We are still blown away by how generous our friends are.

Our kid is set for a long, long time.

Last night, after performing major surgery to get the darn thing on the crib, I discovered why we were so anxious to get this thing:



The Ocean Wonders Aquarium is the "Favorite Shower Present of the Day for April 2, 2007"

Once I finally got the damn thing on, I put Andrew down in his crib (which he is never in) thinking that he wouldn't notice it.

He loved it! He just stared at it and when it stopped, he made little sad noises until I came in the room and turned it on again.

Everytime the light got brighter, he let out what could be considered the beginnings of a giggle.

It was adorable.

Of course, he didn't stay in the crib after 4 runnings of the aquarium, but it's a darn good start.

Yesterday was our baby shower put together by our greatest friends!!
It was so amazing and everything was perfect!

Our friends are so unbelievable and wonderful!!! (Not exactly sure what we did to deserve them!)

Thank you Suzanne, Shawna, Salina, Spiewak, Fedigan, Nina & Liz!!!

Here are some pictures!

***UPDATED*****

MORE PICTURES




More to come later!

We had such a wonderful time!

I've really been unable to blog or read much of our buddies' blogs out there during work hours. Work is busy and it's not the sort of job where I can goof off too much.
I don't want my friends out there to think I'm not paying attention, I'm just doing most of my catching up on nights or weekends!

In our news, Andrew is getting better.

The pediatrician (who we really like) didn't want to put him on Zantac or anything, so she suggested we do a heavy mixture of the breast milk with rice cereal. It seems to be working like a charm!

He's getting to be a little porker now. Not sure what the current weight it, but we are much more aware of how much he's eating.

Last night, in one feeding, he ate 6.5 ounces of the breast milk with the cereal in it!

He wasn't going down in the crib, so we put him back in the bassinet in our room for a little while and he had 3 nights in a row where he slept for 5 or 6 hours straight! Last night, he even put himself to sleep in the bassinet!

The first night he did it, we looked at the clock when we woke up and wondered if he was still breathing!

And for one more update....(sorry the post is so long)

I'm buying a car.

It was pretty much down to my brother's WRX, a used Mazda 3 and a new Toyota Yaris.

The Yaris bombed in Consumer Reports and the used Mazda was almost $14k.

I need a car that will go 16-20k miles a year. And I don't want to buy something used without a warranty (I gave up on ebay searches).

Plus, the funny thing is that one of car dealers who was a Volvo/Subaru dealer basically talked me out of buying a car from him and into buying my brother's car. He said I can probably drive it for 2 years, then trade it in and get pretty close to the same amount I paid for it. Furthermore, it's AWD, which will be super nice to not leave Lois stranded when I go to work in a snow storm.

The car shopping experience was horrendous.

I went into a Toyota dealership to buy a Yaris. The guy kept trying to sell me the top of the line Corolla. He wouldn't listen to me and he kept calling me "Molly."

His follow up letter said "thank you for your interest in a Corolla Sport." I wanted a bottom-of-the-line Yaris, you ass!

I got tired of the question "How much money can you put down on a car?"

None. Nothing. Zilch. We bought a condo a year ago, bought a car for Lois in September, I switched jobs, Lois was on bed rest then lost her job (no income since Thanksgiving), we just had a kid who only can keep down the most expensive formula. The timing sucks.

No one has in stock that car on autobytel.com that's the manual transmission, no options $11k car. They do, however, have a much better deal for $3,000 more.

The Honda Fit is expensive once you price it out. And the gas tank is located under the driver seat. That's scary.

The Nissan Versa is one of the better options but you can't get one for under $15,000.

These cars with great gas mileage have 1.6 or 1.8 Liter engines that don't go faster than 65 mph and have no side curtain air bags.

I want a $10,000 car that lasts me at least 100,000 miles. I must be asking for the world.

I'm still bitter about the Hyundai. I bought the car because it was $10k off the lot with no money down. It had a 100k mile warranty and I was a law student making $100/week.

When the engine blew, the mileage was 100,530.

I tried calling service departments, Hyundai dealership managers, the corporate headquarters, consumer affairs divisions, etc.

"Don't you guys have some good faith policy to fix something when the warranty just expired? Don't you want to avoid the bad PR that a Hyundai car will only last through the week it hits the warranty?"

Nope. It's not worth it. The car isn't worth it.

It's amazing how much value your car has to you (when it's functioning). 2 weeks ago, my car was invaluable to me, getting me to and from work without hassle. Then, (POOF) just like that, it's worth shit.

No, it's worth less than shit.

It's a car worth less than shit that I still owe the bank $1,800 on.

It is currently sitting in Bill's driveway. I cleaned it out (which was very sad) this weekend and there it sits. It sits until I can pay off the lien through Chrysler Financial, get the title to it, then donate it to someone who will come tow it (i.e. kidney foundation, local tech school, etc.)

This is what my ride is now worth.

I am buying the Subaru WRX. It’s a hot rod with a rear spoiler, turbo hood, white exterior, 5-speed manual transmission and leather interior. And the leather is custom – black and royal blue with baseball stitching.

Ok, the car's not really screaming suburban-mom-lawyer-professional. But it works.

Hell, I'm lucky that my brother is totally hooking me up – for under $10k. I'm taking a used car loan from USAA that will cover the taxes and registration, with an extra $500 to put towards paying off the Hyundai. (YES, I LOVE USAA - the interest rate on USED cars is less than some new car financing available other places!)

I just want this ordeal to be done and over with.

I feel better putting my son in the Subaru than some of the other cars I test drove.

The only down side is that I need to get all of my local cop stickers and shields onto the car ASAP. With an engine like this, I am going to get into trouble on the highway! (LOL, I'm not known for being a slow, patient driver).

- - -

Oh yeah, and our baby shower is on Sunday. I can't wait!
We have the perfect outfit for Andrew all picked out!