Moose meets Santa December 18, 2008

My mom LOVES to tell the story about how I cried and cried every time they took my sister and I to takes pics with Santa.

So when I took Moose to the mall today, I did everything I could to keep him in a good mood – he was napped, fed, hydrated, clean, happy, etc.  I was determined not to have him continue my “legacy”.  We walked up to Santa and Moose was great.  Santa even made him laugh and Moose gave him his most charming smile.  I eased Moose onto Santa’s knee.  Moose was great, still smiling… until I backed away.  It was a look of sheer terror.

The guy who took the picture said this was the only one where Moose was looking at the camera and maybe people will think he was laughing.  Yeah, right.  Oh well.. guess we gotta do some Santa-training for next year.  Or maybe I can just get someone to Photoshop a happy face in there.

 

**As a quick note, here is some proof that it isn’t just me and Moose who were freaked out by Santa – this is my darling nephew!!

We Miss Kitty… December 6, 2008

We decided to leave The Riggs with my parents when we went home for Thanksgiving, but only until after the holiday season. It is stressful for him to acclimate to a new place, so we figured he should just stay with them for the month (my parents have 3 other cats). I know he will eventually love it because my mom feeds those cats 4 times a day, whereas Riggs normally only gets 1/3 of a can once a day here!

But still, we miss that kitty. The silence drives me nuts – I am so used to calling out to him – Riggs, get off the counter (or bed or baby or oven), Riggs, don’t eat my food (or drink my water or puke on the floor).. And Moose senses something is missing. He normally pushes Riggs’ food bowl around with his Puppy walker, but I put it all away. So he walks up to the area, then turns around all confused.

Don’t worry Moose, we’ll see Kitty and all of his friends in 2 weeks!

Moose Turns 1 December 5, 2008

Yesterday, my baby Moose (who is no longer a baby) turned 1. It was a bittersweet day, as most parents probably feel. I baked Moose a cake – my first attempt – because all kids deserve a homemade birthday cake at some point. Next year, I will buy one and make him some food or something!! I tried to tempt him to dig into it by covering it with Cheerios, but he was not fooled.

It was a small celebration, just me, Moose and Hubby. We celebrated last Thursday and last Sunday with the family, so I am sure he was tired of all the fuss!

Thanksgiving December 2, 2008

We went home to Charleston (Goose Creek, SC) for Thanksgiving weekend and it was awesome.  Some of the highlights:

• Seeing ALL the family – I really miss my cousins and wish I could have spent more time with them!!
• Swimming in the new pool at Ben’s parents house
• Getting a Watsu massage from Ben’s mom
• Shopping with my mom
• Clemson whipping Carolina’s ass on Saturday
• Doing our now traditional movie-mommy time-out with my sister
• Going to see Carlos Mencia live at the last minute (thanks Joe and Kelly!!)
• and of course, eating and eating and eating…

 

Thanksgiving

We did Thanksgiving at my parent’s house on Thursday with the big family.  We had turkey and some other odd items that were still yummy.  On Saturday, we did a Lowcountry boil with some fresh steamed oysters with our immediate families at his parents house.  I was so sad that we did not finish the oysters   But there will be more come Christmas time!!

So behind… November 23, 2008

Why in the world have I not been able to keep this thing up-to-date?  Maybe its the Moose, maybe its my laziness, I’ll just blame lack of sleep

We finally got family pics made today.  Moose was great the first 10 minutes, then he got sleepy, hungry AND he fell down face first onto the floor.  But we got some good ones.  I used to always think these were a bit cheesy, until I realized these photos will likely be the only ones this year where:

1. all three of us are smiling

2. all three of us look good and

3. all three of us are, well, in a picture together!!

Here are some of my favorites, coming to a holiday card near you..

Mommy Moose Fantasyland November 15, 2008

Prior to the Moose, I worked full-time and pursued my career with great intensity. Hubby and I were equals, at some points in our relationship making the same amount of money. We equally shared housework, funtimes, money, everything. The biggest adjustment to this SAHM gig is losing that equality. You would think, almost a year into it, maybe we have it figured out. But I honestly think no matter how open two people are, there is a bottom line non-equalizer: Men will never understand what we do and what we need. Don’t get me wrong, they will get it after the fact (when we explain it to them), but not a second before.  Oh yeah, and for SAHM who are still breastfeeding, I know the men will never understand just how malnourished and famished we are!!  Just another thing to put us over the edge.

Just a quick recap of this evening:
Hubby has had a tough, tough week at work. He is top management for a manufacturing plant that just did some huge layoffs with more to come. He has burned off some steam this week – played ball last night, took one of his guys out for a quick drink another night. So he tells me this morning he is going to happy hour with the HR guy at 4:00 PM, and he will be home at his regular time (around 6:30 PM).
I have had a tough, tough week with the Moose. He is not into sleeping lately, which means I don’t get any sleep at night. Hubby’s parents are coming into town tonight (Friday), so I spend all week cleaning up the house and trying to keep a crazy, mobile Moose entertained. I spend all day doing final clean-ups, going to the store, stocking up. All I want is to have a nice dinner with hubby tonight before his folks come in. Moose is not letting me do anything. He is tired, hungry, tired and is only happy when I am holding him. I can’t make dinner. I am starving. It is 7 PM and Hubby isn’t home yet. I am annoyed, but I know I can’t blame him. I still have to clean the guest bath. Not that his parents care, but it smells like sweaty feet and gym socks because that is where hubby dumps his dirty shit after playing ball.

So do I complain? Yeah, I tell him I am a little stressed out, but I know I have no place to complain about a few hours of lost sleep compared to the guilt and stress of layoffs. But shit, I just want a little something more than “I’m sorry”.

I want a job so I can have money to spend on me again. I want a job so I can do something all day besides trying to entertain an almost 1 yr old and listen to Sesame Street. I want to be able to call Hubby and say, “I’m grabbing a drink with the girls tonight” with no further explanation because he knows he has to look after the Moose. I want to be able to have a full night’s sleep because “I have to work tomorrow”. I would LOVE to come home one day to a clean house with a nice dinner and a happy baby.

But then I look at my sweet-eyed baby and that damn Mommy-guilt sets in. I think that’s the real deal, men have NO clue what Mommy-guilt is, does, where in the hell it comes from. Hubby tries to understand, but he always says “But Moose is fine, why do you feel so guilty?”

I wonder how things work in the Beatie household. (For those who don’t know, the Oregon transgender male who gave birth to his daughter).  Does he get Mommy guilt?  Is it a hormonal woman thing or is it the stay-at-home role that creates it?  Do SAH-Dad’s have this guilt?!?!

Ugh.  Enough venting.  I feel much better now.  And I am excited about my in-laws coming.  I can’t wait to see their faces light up when they see Moose.  And I can’t wait to be pampered just a little by my mother-in-law.  She will gladly take the Moose for a walk and let me have some time to myself.  Or with Hubby.  We’ll see.

Moose Walks a Puppy November 14, 2008

A friend of ours let us borrow this toy that helped her little Pea learn how to walk.  It has been a big hit in the Moose household.  Take a look!

(*A little out of sync here.  This vid was taken about a week ago*)

Moose goes to a football game! October 19, 2008

We took Moose to his first football game.  Clemson vs. Georgia Tech, noon kickoff.  We didn’t get there in time for the 25 most exciting seconds in football.  Let’s not talk about the loss here, but Moose had a good time.  We were in the stadium through the middle of the second quarter.  When he got fidgety, we walked him around the perimeter, ate some food, then met Hubby’s frat brothers to tailgate the rest of the time.  They had a satellite TV setup, so we were good.  Here are some pics from Moose’s first visit to Death Valley.  Doesn’t he look good in orange?

Cute hoody eh?

Moose and the Family October 18, 2008

My parents, sister, bro-in-law and nephew came up this weekend.  Grandma spoiled the Moose the best she could, loading him up with clothes and toys.  We ate tons of good food and went to Maple Lane Farms to check out the hay ride and pumpkin patch.  They also have a corn maze, but we didn’t think it would be fun to get lost in a maze with two babies!  Overall, it was a fun weekend.  The only downside was Moose passed his cold on to his cousin, but like I’ve said before, its unavoidable!!

Breastfeeding in the Spotlight October 11, 2008

I rarely write about anything non-Moose related, but I wanted to give some love to W magazine for putting a picture of Angelina Jolie nursing one of her twins on the cover.  I am a huge advocate of breastfeeding and think any kind of endorsement is good for babies.  But I have to comment on the idiotic remarks from people calling the photo “sexual.”  It is a photo of a beautiful, happy mother in one of the most intimate moments with her child.  Did I mention the photo was taken by Brad Pitt?  Do you think he, the man who actually gets to have sex with this woman, thought the moment was sexual in any way?!?  Are we so immature that the second we see a glimpse of a boob we think SEX SEX SEX?  Nevermind, don’t answer that.