Not So Bad

Well, today was my first day back at work. And I'm a little ashamed to say.....it wasn't bad. I was glad to wear a dress. I was glad to wear heels. I was glad to stop at Starbucks on my way in and grab a mocha. It felt good to go back to work. It felt good to be needed and have purpose. It felt good to complete tasks.

But I covered Luke in kisses when I got home and ate him up!

AND....after Tommy left for school, Luke behaved well enough in his swing so I could make a real dinner.

Woo hoo!!!

Now That's Multi-Tasking

While Luke was napping, I was able to do the following:

Take a shower.

Actually wash my hair while in the shower, rather than just rinsing to put up in a ponytail.

Apply proper lotion to proper body parts, rather than slathering the same stuff haphazardly all over.

Dry myself off.

Put on all clothing at once.

Apply makeup and do hair.

It was a miracle. I didn't have to nurse a screaming baby while sopping wet and naked.

I think we might be turning a corner here. It seems as though he's quite the busy bee. Loves to look around at his world and is very curious about what's going on around him. I actually think that me going back to work is going to be a good thing - he'll get out, I'll get out and we'll be happy to see each other at the end of the day.

I will however miss the Frasier re-runs, the bad Lifetime movies and crazy infomercials.

And just because he's so cute - here's my little Lucas-bear.

Breakfast of Champions

I've discovered the easiest way to not feel woozy by afternoon. Eating something. Which as simple as it sounds, ain't so easy with a squeaky, reflux-y baby. I was eating toastable, frozen french toast, which is super-tasty with just some margarine. But that was even too many steps to cook. So I discovered Carnation Instant Breakfast and Quaker Breakfast Cookies. The best part is - is that they both come in chocolate type varieties. I mean, does it get much better than a chocolate milk beverage accompanying a warm, giant, chocolate chip oatmeal cookie?? And even better, I can consume both with one hand while nursing or soothing said squeaky baby.

Blasphemy

Sweeney Todd didn't get nominated for Best Picture. I officially hate the Oscars. Up to this time I merely disliked them, but now I hate them.

And He Wouldn't Want Us To Give it Away

...Not Sweeney. Not Sweeney Todd.

Okay. I confess. I'm a huge huge music geek. Tommy laughs at me often for what I come up with sometimes. My poor son will be subjected to car rides with mom blasting Sondheim, Jason Robert Brown and the like. I laugh heartily at the musical-related jokes on Will and Grace. I laugh even harder at the jokes on Frasier that are musically-related.

I've seen Sweeney Todd in many incantations:

1. My first experience with the show was seeing Hofstra University's Gray Wig theatre company do a production of it. My friends were all playing in the pit and I absolutely fell in love with the show and learned as much as I could about it.

2. The original Broadway production - not in person, but via video. The one most people think of when they think of Sweeney. Angela Landsbury really shatters the whole "Jessica Fletcher" persona there. (Yes, yes, I know she played Mrs. Lovett before the 'Murder She Wrote' lady.)

3. My next encounter with the demon barber was playing in the pit for Calhoun High School's production of the show. It was fun, and the music is great and the kids really did a bang-up job. It's an incredibly hard show to sing and coordinate, but they really pulled it together.

4. The in-concert version done by the San Francisco opera. It featured Patti LuPone, George Hearn and of all folks, Neil Patrick Harris (yup, Doogie himself). It was so well-done, creatively staged for an in-concert production and everyone seriously sang their asses off.

5. The brilliant revival that showcased the actors playing the instruments. Brilliant. Loved every minute of it. I sat there just saying, "That's Evita." "I'm actually watching Evita right in front of me." Patti LuPone and Michael Ceveris - Tony winners. I was glued. And like the good music geek I am, had my picture taken with Patti LuPone and got her autograph.

But the most recent is:

6. The unbelievable film version that Tim Burton brought to life. It was absolutely breathtaking from beginning to end. I loved every minute of it. And of course it was heightened by the fact that it was my first post-baby outing that didn't have an errand attached to it. It was just Diane, Mom and I having a girls' evening out. I even smuggled in Taco Bell to really live it up. The entire cast was perfectly...well...cast. The scenery was the uber-drab London done so dismal, but not to the point of being a cliche. The songs seemed like they belonged perfectly, not like "Hey, let's all break into song right now". I'd be super happy and have renewed admiration for the Oscars if this won Best Picture.

So go see it. Now. It's the kind of film that screams to be seen on a big screen with huge, surrounding sound that really gives you every note of the lush score.

Side note: As much as I like the fact that movie musicals are making a comeback (Chicago, Hairspray, etc.) I don't understand why there was a need to movie-cise the musical "Mamma Mia". This was one of the trailers before Sweeney. I mean, I love ABBA as much as the next gal, but really.....

Dear Stony Brook University

This is probably too scathing, but after the treatment Tommy's gotten from Stony Brook, I felt it necessary. We received a "Parent Appeal" for money to support Stony Brook in the mail recently. It was addressed to "Parent of Thomas G. J." Which is interesting, since his father passed away 2 1/2 years ago and his mother lives 800 miles away in Chicago. I was insulted as his spouse and as a fundraising professional. Seriously. This is like Fundraising 101, knowing your donors and who you're soliciting. So I wrote a nice little email to the gentleman who the letter was from. And cc'ed the Director of the Stony Brook Foundation and the Donor Relations person.

Dear Mr. Guarino,

My husband is a student of Stony Brook University. He has not lived with his parents in over 15 years. In fact, he lives 800 miles from his mother and his father is deceased. We recently received in the mail the Parent Fund appeal, addressed to "Parent of Thomas G Jordan". This is very disturbing, both as a spouse of a Stony Brook student as well as a fundraising professional. My husband has felt from day one at Stony Brook that the university does not understand the concept of a "returning student" who does not live at home with his parents and who has different needs and concerns than a student fresh from high school. This point is further illustrated through the appeal we received at home addressed to his parents, who clearly do not live with us. It is clear that Stony Brook does not address the needs of their students individually, but rather operates under the assumption that all students entering Stony Brook are 18 and have just graduated high school.

If Stony Brook wishes to raise funds from the families of its students, perhaps it should do some research as to who their students are and how best to suit their needs while at the school. If my husband's needs and concerns were better addressed by the administration and faculty of Stony Brook, we might be much more inclined to return the support financially.

For your records, the appeal was labelled 105700315, 08AFDM04Parent Fall. I do hope this assists in your fundraising and helps Stony Brook to see how they might better help their "non-traditional" students.

Sincerely,
T. M. J.

I'm Supposed to Do What in 3 Weeks?

Answer me this. How am I supposed to go back to work and leave this little, teeny person who needs his mommy all day? How am I supposed to live with leaving him with someone else and not being able to take care of him myself?

I have to go back to work (since I was given a measly 4 week maternity leave that I was able to tack my OWN vacation to) in 3 weeks. This is awful. It's unfair. It's inhumane. Even dogs don't leave their puppies after 6 weeks.

December 27 - A Day That Will Live in Infamy

How could I have just drifted past this day without noticing? I didn't realize the importance of it until I was driving to Freeport to give a lesson. (I had also forgotten how much thinking I get done while driving more than 5 minutes.)

Three years ago on above date, I had my last chemo treatment. Meaning, 12/27/04 was the "official" start of my remission. Meaning, if Dr. B. still holds to what he said at the beginning of all this, I'm "officially" cured of my Non-Hodgkins Lymphoma.

It's so weird to even let myself think like this. When I first entered remission I agonized about how I was going to make it 3 years to be considered cured. How could I get through 36 months of thinking about not having to go through all that again? Every day it would creep up in my mind.

But then I started busying myself with shows, lessons, work. And that helped a lot. And then, with this new little guy taking up my time, I really forgot about how close I was. And December 27th just slipped by without me even noticing.

So here I am. Cured. Hopefully for good.

They're Cousins, (Un)Identical Cousins

Here's the meeting of the minds at New Year's Day. Ismaeel was very curious about the new baby - his wee little cousin. As soon as Annie and I sat next to each other he reached right over to touch his cousin. Luke was a little hesitant about this encounter, but he seemed to warm up to Issy!

Thank Heaven For Grandma

We had been having a time of it trying to do the night thing with Luke. Until my mother came by yesterday and showed us the uber-mummy-grandma swaddle. Which put him out like a light IN THE CRADLE! The cradle in which he had previously screamed in as if we put him into an enormous venus fly trap.

Tommy and I actually both slept last night. At the same time. With the lights out.

*Sigh*

Not Advisable A Week After Having a Baby

Watching any movie that made you bawl BEFORE you were pregnant. I'm embarrassed to admit that the movie in question is "Three Men and a Baby".

After

Here is my brand new darling, adorable, sweet baby boy, Lucas Ryne. Born Friday, December 14 at 6:46 a.m., weighing in at 7 lbs. 8 oz. and measuring 20 inches. He's an absolute delight (when not feeding hourly) and the most handsome baby around. Poor little guy - I thought he was a girl.

It wasn't easy getting him to the outside world either. I was in labor from 9:15 a.m. on Thursday. We made it to the hospital about 8:00 p.m. By that time I was in so much pain that I was vomitting profusely. So I caved. I asked for the epidural. Which of course slowed everything down. I made it to 8cm and then came to a halt. So Lucas made his entrance in a different way, via a C-Section and even then refused to come out!

But he's here with us now and we wouldn't trade him for anything in the world. Even if he does seem to have his days and nights mixed up.

Before

This is about an hour before we left for the hospital.

Nasty Note

Left on the windshield of a HUGE Lincoln Navigator that was parked so badly that the person next to them would have trouble backing out:

If you can't properly park your truck, don't drive it. This is rude and dangerous.

And....while leaving it on the windshield, I noticed that the genius driving the truck left their purse in plain sight, on the front seat.

Loser.

Because an Ambulance In Front Of This Place Wasn't Funny Enough

I'm so glad I got this picture. This sign has been up for a few weeks now, but I always pass it and am going too fast to take a picture. I'm wondering what kind of application process it has. And yes, it's the same place that a while back had an ambulance in front of it.

37 Weeks

Okay. Here it is, the gratuitous belly shot. I'm about 37 weeks or so in this photo. Which also showcases my messy fridge (I've since reorganized the front of it). Baby Jordan says "hi!"

Productive Weekend

I've been a busy little bee this weekend. Friday night was the only "lay around and do nothing" part of it. Saturday I spent most of the day with Diane. I did the rest of the baby's clothes while we ate delicious, humongous wraps (smoked turkey, pepperjack cheese, chipotle mayo, bacon, avocado), watched "Pirates of the Carribbean: Dead Man's Chest" and just chilled.

But here's all my accomplishments (which always make me feel better to see in black and white):

Finished washing baby's clothes
Finished ALL shower thank yous
Finished writing birth plan
Made baked oatmeal
Got more Christmas shopping done
Set up new stereo
Put together diaper disposal pail
Made headway on referral letter for Kick and Diane

AND....I plan on making a nice dinner tonight WITH a dessert and everything. I figure, I better do Betty Crocker-ish stuff like this now while I still can. If inspired, I might put away the clean baby clothes and/or start to organize and wrap Christmas presents. Ooh and henna my hair. But I'm snuggled under a blanket with a warm laptop, 2 snuggly monkeys and the Sunday Times. Hmmm....

I'll Bet These Are The Same Women Who Picked Out Their Own Engagement Rings

I don't think I could ever be disgusted enough by this. It's an article in the Times about women who DEMAND a "baby bauble" or (even more disgustingly referred to as) "push present". They think they are ENTITLED to jewelry for having a baby. How about being happy that your child is healthy? Or how about being thankful that you live in an area that has adequate healthcare to help you deliver the child.

It goes right back to the awful holiday commercials with Bitchy Wife demanding jewelry and dropping too many hints.

I hope half of these husbands drop their preggo wives on their swollen asses. That's the thing - the men are just as big morons for giving in to such awful demands. This is yet another reason I stopped going to babycenter.com because this was one of the topics, "What are you getting as a push present?"

Losers.

Why The Holidays Grate On Me

The holidays are all fine and good. Time to spend with family and reflecting on what's really important and all that.

However. There's one result of the holidays that drives me crazy to no end.

Bad Holiday commercials.

They can be broken down into categories so predictable and obvious that it actually pains me to watch them:

Smarmy, Sappy Commercial. This can be for jewelry where the female finds the male so so romantic and wonderful because he bought her some sparkly bauble. It can be for some brand of coffee that brings the roving college student home. It can be for something that brings the whole family together in matching sweaters. But it's always overtly sappy and annoying. And has awful, awful music accompanying it.

Overly Expensive Commercial. Lexxus is guilty of this. There's usually some ploy to get Mom or Dad outside to the driveway to see the shiny new car with the red bow on it. How the heck do you buy a car without your spouse knowing? Are they just targeting the demographic of people who have $40,000 laying around collecting dust?? It drives me crazy to no end.

Uber-Technology Commercial. As much as I am a nerd, (merely a high nerd, but a nerd no less) and love technology, I despise unnecessary technology. Why do we need movies in the palms of our hands? Why do you need access to so much? I don't get it. So when I see commercials for phones that do everything including walking the dog, it incites me about technology in general. And the technology powers that be are simply evil for using the holidays as an excuse to tell you why you need this unnecessary technology.

Greedy Child Commercial. Why do pre-teens need cell phones? Why do they need phones that walk the dog (see above)? Why are their parents so hideous if they don't get one? These commercials disgust me most. It's as if you're being told you're a horrible parent who does not understand their child if you don't bend to their every whim. Which leads me to the.....

Bitchy Wife Commercial. Wife basically berates the husband into getting her what she wants. Gross. Do yourself a favor guy and leave her now, because this will only get worse and lead to the greedy children.

Bah humbug. I'm guessing the 4th or 5th circle of hell is reserved for commercial producers who prey on the holidays. Or so you'd hope.

Weekend in Review

It's always bittersweet when a holiday weekend comes to an end. You wish it could last longer and that you could kick back a little longer, but you also yearn and itch to get back into the regular swing of things. But I had the greatest weekend:

Wednesday: It's never a bad things when your weekend starts on a Wednesday. I actually went straight home from work and started cooking. Made the baked ravioli and then relaxed the rest of the night, which culminated in the viewing of the new Project Runway episode. The contestants this time around seem very talented. I'm rooting for Chris - the beautiful purple dress he made for the first episode has me cheering for him. I was disappointed in SJP as a guest judge - I'm so so so tired of when people label actresses as fashion "mavens" or "icons". Audrey Hepburn was an icon, Diane Keaton is something of an icon - they have their own style. I just hate that anyone with a stylist who has high-end designers on their speed-dial is considered a "fashion icon".

Thursday: Woke up early-ish. Prepped and made the green beans with carmelized onions, pumpkin pie and packed it all up. Went to Mom and Dad's and had a nice dinner and got some major face-time in with Ismaeel. Ate too much, went hom and watched 2 episodes of CSI; last week's which included Jorja Fox's swan song and this week's which was equally good.

Friday: Lounged in bed. Caught up on my reading at chow.com and blogged a little. Then off to the library where I picked up a book for Tommy and returned some others. Then a lesson to teach and then picked up my laundry and dinner. We've been loving those thin "crispy cheesy" pizzas from Domino's. It's got that cooked cheese consistency on the top layer and the gooey cheese in the middle. Can't go wrong with more than one form of cheese.

Saturday: Thought I was going to lunch with Diane and then to see The Mist. We head to the restaurant and POOF a surprise baby shower! I was flummoxed and bowled over. I was (for lack of a better word) showered with presents and ate a delicious blt. The cake was chocolate with chocolate icing - and I have 2 takeout containers full of it in the fridge. Annie, Diane and Mom really outdid themselves - it was a really nice afternoon and everyone had a good time. Then I took all the clothes and hit Diane's to wash everything. So she and I got a little more girlie time out of it - wating pizza while watching Heroes.

Sunday: R&R. Started my day off by watching Marie Antoinette - not a bad movie - I have to admit - I really like Kirsten Dunst as an actress. Then I was inspired into putting away as much baby stuff as I could. But the room is closer to being finished and now I'm resting, intermittently watching CSI reruns, reading my latest issue of Saveur and nibbling on whatever suits me.