Stuff

Everyone comes with stuff.  I sometimes think that it would be wonderful to get rid of all my stuff.  But there are some things that just hold so much sentimental value, I have a hard time letting go.  When I moved to the greater Boston area almost nine years ago, I only brought what I could fit in my car.  There were several boxes that got left behind.  Things that had sentimental value, but that I didn't need right away.  Over the years I was able to pick some of it up.  But there were several boxes and a trunk that were in the a attic.

Over the past few months my father has been busy re-doing the half-bath downstairs.  Somehow this project triggered his need to re-wire the house, and while he was at it, he decided to wire for ceiling fans in the bedrooms.  When he went up into the attic, he noticed my boxes, and not knowing what they were, he pulled them down.  After realizing that they were mine, he so thoughtfully decided to mail them to me, the week of Thanksgiving. 

Considering these boxes were packed to be stored, not shipped, there were several items that were broken.  I can deal with broken chotchkies, and even some of my ceramic bowls that I made in college.  The thing that got me was my doll house.  My mom put it together for me.  It took her two years to put it together.  She would work on it for a little while and take a break.  The doll house was in a box that was too small for it, to begin with.  Then to ship it half way across the country, did it in.  Rob told me that he could try to put it back together for me.  Unfortunately, it is broken beyond repair.  I almost wished that my father had just thrown it all away.  After all, it is just stuff. 

The Zoo!

Pookie and I meet up with two of my friends to go to the Franklin Park Zoo.  I have never officially been inside the zoo, and I was rather excited to go.  K wanted to see the exhibit of baby red pandas.  They are only on exhibit for a few hours during the day.  Let me tell you, they are ADORABLE!  While we were there, the zoo keepers were baby-proofing the exhibit.  I find that hilarious.  Apparently they can climb up, but they don't know how to climb down yet.  That sounds rather familiar.  Pookie will get himself somewhere, and not know how to get out.  I guess baby's are baby's and get in sticky situations regardless of what species they are.  The poor mama red panda was tucked away in the enclosure.  I don't think she was too happy to be so separated from her babies.  One of the zoo keepers shared a lot of information about the red pandas.  It was kind of fun being able to ask questions, and get extra info.

We also got to see the gorillas.  There was some form of a class going on when we first went to see them.  As we were watching the gorillas, I was telling my friends how Pookie had turned to eating cardboard.  Especially now that I have limited his amount of wood intake.  The lady who worked for the zoo piped up that sometimes the gorillas will eat cardboard.  Basically, wood pulp is part of their diet, and cardboard is wood pulp.  Just in a corrugated format.  Yum.  I guess a little corrugation never hurt anyone. 

Over all we had a fun day, even if it was a little chilly out.  I was kind of bummed that the giraffes weren't out.  We are going to have to go back during the warmer months to see everything that was closed due to weather. 

Oop's

Today I needed to run a few random errands.  I like to keep a pouch of baby food in my bag for when Pookie gets hungry.  I like mango's or the spinach, mango and pear combo from HappyBaby.  Both of those are fairly liquidus and Pookie can suck it down like a smoothie.  It helps that the pouches don't take up a lot of room in my bag.  With both the mango and the spinach combo, I don't need to worry about having a spoon with me.  For the most part, they are fairly mess free.  Although, sometimes Pookie likes to "help," and squeezes the middle.  In that case, mango get's everywhere. 

I pulled into the Target parking lot and Pookie was getting a little restless.  So I figured I would hop in the back seat and feed him lunch.  I fiugred while I was feeding him his mango's, I would unbuckle him.  Give him a little more wiggle room.  Pookie thoroughly enjoyed his mango's, and he sucked it down in no time.  I figured he should be safe enough while I grab the stroller and get everything set up.  I got the stroller all situated and I walked to the front passenger seat to grab my bag.  As I go by, I look in the back seat window, and there is Pookie.  Standing up and waving hi.  Oy vey.  He sat down so I could open the door to get him.  I don't think I will be making that mistake again.

Making a list

I have a list of things to do, and I have until December 24th to get them done.  Luckily, I'm no longer working in retail, and I actually have some time to get things done.  Well, as much time as someone with a 10 month old can have.  There is some debate about where Thanksgiving will be celebrated this year.  Whether it should be here or up north.  If it is up north, I need to head to IKEA sooner rather than later, so I can by a crib.  Seeing as the last time I tried to put Pookie in his bed, he fell out, I would prefer not to have a repeat.  On Sunday, I started to create a list of what needs to happen, and in what order.  I realized that a trip to visit Santa was in order.  I figured that I better bring Pookie there before the end of November.  That way Santa has ample time to work on Pookie's request.  Tuesdays are generally the slowest day of the week in retail, so today was the day!

I packed Pookie up and off to the Mall we went.  I'm rushing along because I want to beat out any after school crowd.  I really didn't need to worry because there was no line.  Go figure.  I wheeled Pookie up to where Santa was sitting, and I got a slightly panicked look from the photo lady.  Followed by "is he a crier?", as long as Pookie can see me, he is good to go.  I plunked Pookie on Santa's lap, stood in my designated spot, and Pookie behaved himself.  (Yay!)  He didn't smile, but the photo lady got a great shot of Santa and Pookie looking at each other.  Of course by the time we got to the sales portion of things, Pookie was all smiles.  He was charming the ladies that were helping us with our pictures. 

Part of the package that I got, was a stuffed bear.  No, I don't want the bear, but it comes with everything else.  I have no use for yet another stuffed toy.  I know down the road, we'll be inundated with them, but for right now, forget it.  I figured I would just donate it to Toy's for Tot's.  We get home and I pile up the bags on a kitchen chair, with the bear on top.  Pookie goes over, pulls over the pile, grabs the bear, and heads for the hills.  By the time I catch him, he has started chewing on the bear.  Pookie has decided that the bear is his new favorite toy.  It looks like we have a new acquisition. 

Ode to a stinky dog

I am not a pet person.  Well, that's not totally true.  I like low maintenance pets.  Like fish or a tortoise.  I like cat's too, but I'm allergic to them.  I am not a dog person.  I never have been, and I don't think I ever will be.  I like other peoples dogs.  It's kind of like other peoples kids.  You go over, play with them for awhile, rile them all up and then go home.  I should say that I don't want the responsibility of owning a dog.

However, my wonderful honey-pie, came with a dog.  It's like a step-child, only furry, on four legs and without the baggage.  I almost didn't date Rob because he had a dog.  I then thought that it probably wouldn't last, so I thought why not.  Go figure.  It's now almost five years later, with a kid to boot.  Bailey is a pug.  He's so ugly he's cute, the stinky little thing.  The pooch and I have come to an understanding.  He doesn't pee on the floor on my side of the bed, and I make sure he's taken care of.  We've had our ups and downs, but we tolerate each other fairly well. 

Bailey had had tumors on and off for the past 8 years.  The latest one is about the size of a large biscuit on his shoulder.  A few weeks ago it, for a lack of a better word, burst.  I've managed to jerry rig a bandage with a couple of socks.  Luckily Rob has quite the collection of socks.  Bailey is really good during the bandage changes, but you can tell he's in a lot of pain.  Rob finally decided it's time to put Bailey down.  He made an appointment for Friday.  Rob finally realized it was time, when he took Bailey outside over this past weekend.  When Bailey was done with his business, he laid down in the snow.  Bailey, the pooch who doesn't like to be either cold or wet, decided that a small snow bank was a nice place to plunk himself.  That spoke volumes. 

It's funny, now that Bailey's time with us is coming to an end, I'm feeling the loss.  No, this does not mean that I want another dog.  It's just when you have something that's been part of your life for the past 4 1/2 years, you are going to miss it when it's gone.  This is definitely the right decision.  All I can smell when I walk into the house is blood and something unhealthy.  To bring Bailey outside is a process, to say the least.  You can tell that he is in a lot of pain.  I must say, that through all of this, Bailey has been wonderful with Pookie.  With all of the poking and prodding that Pookie does, Bailey just looks at him and when he's had enough, he moves.  He's had a wonderful 12 years with Rob and now it's time to go to the big farm on the flip side. 

  Goodbye pooch, you stinky dog, you'll be missed.

Over the river

Seeing as it was a beautiful day out, and there won't be too many left like today, I decided to take Pookie and go for a walk.  Not just around the block.  I decided to run errands.  Growing up we only had one car.  More often than not, my dad had it.  Every so often we would drop him off at work so mom could use the car.  Generally if mom and I needed to go somewhere it was either on foot or by bus.  Seeing as my mom like to go for walks, we went on quite a few adventures on foot.  Well, in my case I was in a stroller or back-pack carrier, until I got big enough to walk along.  The two of us had quite a few adventures going on those walks. 

I love the fall weather.  Over the summer it was too hot and humid to go very far.  But the crisp air has been calling to me.  I've been trying to get out as much as possible.  Lately I have been thinking about the walks that my mom and I went on.  Why can't Pookie and I go for those long rambling walks, too?  For the most part we have been making laps around the neighborhood.  If I'm feeling fancy, I'll pack us up and go around Hond Pond.  But as I was making laps around the neighborhood on Sunday, I started getting a little itchy.  There are a few shops relatively close by, why not venture forth.  Today I needed to run some errands, so I figured I might as well walk there.  I packed lunch and a few snacks for Pookie and away we went. 

There were a few places where the sidewalk disappeared.  But for the most part it was smooth sailing.  I took my time, went to a few stores and decided to get lunch.  It was great.  Pookie loves looking around, I got some exercise and my errands got done.  As I was walking along, I found a small stream that is near my house.  I have traveled that way every day for work, and I have never noticed it.  Nothing like a small wake-up call about stopping to smell the roses. 

When Rob got home from work, I told him what Pookie and I were up to today.  He was astounded to find out where I had walked to.  I had to remind him that when I worked at the bookstore, I was on my feet all day and I probably walked further than that on a regular basis.  Just making loops around the store, doing my job.  Now that I've set out on one errand seeking walk, I'm planning out the next one.  Hopefully I have awhile before the snow sets in and I head to the mall to get walks in.  Although there's nothing like window shopping...

What IS that?

Pookie apparently has a thing for "older" ladies.  Pookie managed to grab the attention of a rather cute little girl a week or so ago.  Pookie and I were attending an event at a relatives house.  There were a lot of people from the husband's side of the family there.  Kids were running amok, it was great!  But this one little girl thought Pookie was just the bee's knees.  She wanted to hold him, and play with him.  I must say, she was an excellent helper.  As the day went on, she announced that Pookie had done peepee's in his pants.  Considering it had been a while sense I changed him, I felt that she was spot on.  So, I got my self all set up, plunked Pookie on the floor and proceeded to change him.  Of course the little girl wanted to get in on the action.  As I was going along, she piped up, "what is that?".  Um, ya, about that.  I'm thinking to myself, what in god's green earth do I say?  Should I go the anatomically correct route?  Or should I go with something else.  The last thing I want is the parent to come up to me asking what I have been teaching the little girl.  Ugh.  Luckily for me, the little girl saved the day.  She piped up "is that his private parts?", you betcha!  I got out of that one by the skin of my teeth!

Cool mom on the block...?

Who doesn't want to be the cool mom?  Driving the snazzy SUV, dressing appropiately cute, and trying not to embarrass the kids too badly.  I will freely admit, I have done something I feel is a little silly.  Rather practical, but still a little, well, floofy.  I got Mommy Cards.  They are basically business cards, but have all of your contact info on them instead.  This way, if you are out an about, you don't need to worry about finding a pen and paper.  You can just whip out one of your cards and it has all the pertinent information on it.  In reality, business cards derived from calling cards.  If you went to call on someone and they were not at home, you would leave a calling card with your name on it.  Frankly, I'm not sure if the mommy cards fall under the category of "cool mom" or not.  But they are rather cute, if I do say so myself.
 
Rob and I were in the car driving along, and we were discussing my new vehicle.  One day I will get a new car.  I don't know when, but someday.  There has been a lot of debate over the kind of vehicle to get.  I'm thinking long term, when we have 3 or *cough* 4 *cough* kids and we are going on a road trip and need space.  Or just the thought of the kids and a friend or two driving around town.  I need a big car.  I was thinking along the lines of a Suburban.  Rob's thinking Tahoe.  As we are driving along we see a Escalade ESV, which is the equivalent to the Suburban.  I told Rob that maybe that's the car I should get, because after all, he does want me to be the coolest mom on the block, right?  I think he is still laughing over that one. 

Regardless of what happens, I will completely blow any chance I have at the "cool mom" status because I will be the lady shouting "GIVE ME A KISS BEFORE YOU GO!" followed by "I LOVE YOU!  HAVE A GREAT DAY!".  Oh, and don't forget about using spit as a cleaner.  Let me just get a little spit on a kleenex (that I have tucked up my sleeve), and I'll clean you right up.  Oh, Pookie has no idea what's instore for him! 

Lion, ROAR!

Pookie loves to growl.  It's quite funny actually, to hear this little person growling.  We were at the grocery store, checking out and I think Pookie had hit his limit for the day.  He was sitting in the cart growling.  The cashier, who was a teenager, thought it was hilarious.  He asked if we taught Pookie to do that.  Nope, he just started it all on his own.  

For Halloween, Pookie was a lion.  The costume was a little too big for him.  When the hood was up, he had problems seeing.  The poor thing would run into things.  It was quite funny to watch!  After I had a chuckle, I would fix it so he could see again. 

Where are the kids?

The funny thing was, he refused to growl while in costume.  The one time when it was completely appropriate to growl, and nothing.  Rob and I were both growling at Pookie, trying to get him to do it back.  Pookie just stared at us, like we were off out rockers.  That's generally the way, when you want someone to do something, they don't.  Rob brought him to a couple of the neighbors houses to do Trick-or-Treating.  Apparently he was quite the hit.  I managed to pass out most of the candy.  I think over all it was a rather successful Halloween!

My little Beaver

Apparently I'm not giving Pookie enough fiber.  He has decided that gnawing on wood should be a new staple in his diet.  He got his first 4 teeth in during the middle of September.  One morning I went into his room to get him and he had all these brown flecks on his face.  He had chewed about a foot long section of the crib railing.  My beautiful crib, it forever will have Pookie's stamp on it.  When I got him from his afternoon nap there was another section further down that was gnawed upon.  Ugh.  So I decided to get crafty and came up with this.

Yep, those are Rob's socks tied in knots all the way down the railing.  Luckily Rob has quite the plethora of socks.  I then proceeded to go on Amazon and order covers for the railing.  You can kind of see the one on the back railing.  They are made of a soft brown material that is tied onto the railing.  It's not going anywhere, any time soon.

Now that I have taken the crib railings away from Pookie, he has had to find new ways to sneak wood into his diet.  He has gnawed on the kitchen table, his high chair and a poor polar bear.

I looked over and Pookie had white flakes from the paint.  Thank god the paint is non-toxic.  Then last but not least, we were trying out the Little Gym, where we live.  One of the exercises was to have the child grab hold of the bar and help the child swing on it.  Only Pookie decided it looked yummy and did a chin-up and started gnawing on the bar.  I don't think he left teeth marks in it though. 

I'm thinking for Christmas to get Pookie blocks of wood.  That way he can gnaw to his hearts content.  I was thinking of getting a piece of 2x4 and cutting it up and sanding the pieces.  I don't want to buy a block set, because I know Pookie will gnaw his way through it.