Londo's Diary, 25 January 2008.
Day Two of Project: PumpkinWatch (TM)
Day Two began when I arrived at Grandma's House to pick up the baby. This is my wheelhouse. I have done this from the beginning and I am squarely in the comfort zone. I sashay (Londo is secure enough in his manhood to sashay around once in a while) in the door and peek around the corner to see if she is looking. [Aside: Now, normally in this situation, I catch the Pumpkin's eye and she gives me the sweetest smile you can imagine. On a good day, she will giggle.] She is in the arms of the babysitter--whom she loves--and is looking happy. But this time, she doesn't leap, literally, into my arms. Instead, she hugs the babysitter and mutters.
I take her anyway (I'm the boss in this relationship, aren't I? -- I'm clearly not, I know). She doesn't make a fuss, but I swear she is muttering, "mamamamamama."
We get home and she plays, and everything is going pretty well. She is a little fussy, but nothing major. I put her to bed around 8:00 and she slept through the night again, waking at 6:00. I honestly think she is just cutting her old man some slack. (Thanks kiddo.)
Project: PumpkinWatch (TM) has been a near-complete success so far. We have experienced 0.5% casualties (there was a small matter of temporary mashing of fingers [juvenile], and one banged head [adult] but it was resolved in an expeditious manner). We are nearing the end of the project and must now begin immediate prep work for Project: Cleanup For Mommy (TM).
Cheers,
Londo
XXX
Friday, January 25, 2008
Thursday, January 24, 2008
Daddy's Take: Day 1
Londo's Diary, 23 January, 2008.
Taking care of the pumpkin by myself has started off well. Mostly.
There was 1 incident of significance that made me wish I had 10 arms and the ability to multitask like a chess computer.
I was cooking dinner for me and the Pumpkin (rotini, sauce, bread, little puffed wheat thingies) when about 14 things happened at once. The pumpkin was on the floor, playing with her toys. The dog was in the floor, waiting for food to fall. I will try to give you the exact order in which it happened:
1. Londo in apron (hey sauce splatters and I like this shirt) is merrily stirring a pot of pasta and another pot of sauce.
2. dog gets up and sits next to back door - this is the universal sign of, "let me out or I will pee on something in here!"
3. Pasta begins to boil to the top of the pot.
4. Timer goes off, letting me know pasta is ready (breep-breep-breep, etc.)
5. Toaster oven dings, letting Londo know that bread is ready and will be burned to a crisp in exactly 10 seconds.
6. Pumpkin heads towards the cabinet where we keep the dog food (making the dog very interested indeed).
7. The phone rings.
8. Londo pauses, makes a judgment call on how to proceed, then proceeds.
9. Seeing Cara's cell on the caller ID, I grab the phone while heading for the toaster oven.
10. "Hello?"
11. A high-pitched scream, closely followed by the silence that every parent dreads, closely followed by whimpers and screams alternatively. Pumpkin had gotten her little fingers stuck in the cabinet door, and was leaning on the same door with her other hand (making things unbelievably worse).
12. Cara: "OMG, what's wrong?"
Londo: "Gottagocallyoubackinaminuteloveyoubye-click!"
13. Londo freaks.
14. I swept up the Pumpkin, and began kissing her fingers while I turned the stove-tops off and flung a towel over the timer (breep-breep-breep, muffle, muffle, breep)
15. I bang my head (really friggin hard) on the edge of another cabinet (the one over the toaster oven) as I reach into the hot device for the bread (I should have mentioned earlier, I was wearing an oven mitt on one hand, just to make this whole thing more challenging:)
16. Londo curses. This makes the Pumpkin stop crying and actually giggle at daddy (rubbing his head with an oven mitt and a piece of hot bread).
17. I put her down in her high-chair, let the dog out, push the button on the timer (breep-bre...), and sit down.
This whole experience took about 1 minute.
The rest of the night was awesome. I fed, bathed, and played with the baby and put her to bed at 7:50. She woke up at 5:50 in the morning (I usually get up, or try to, at 5:15, so this was no hardship). I showered while she played in the jumper in our bathroom, put on my suit, and dropped her off at Nana's house.
Other than that 1 minute of crisis, we had a pretty good night.
Thanks Pumpkin, sorry about the fingers.
-Londo
XXX
Taking care of the pumpkin by myself has started off well. Mostly.
There was 1 incident of significance that made me wish I had 10 arms and the ability to multitask like a chess computer.
I was cooking dinner for me and the Pumpkin (rotini, sauce, bread, little puffed wheat thingies) when about 14 things happened at once. The pumpkin was on the floor, playing with her toys. The dog was in the floor, waiting for food to fall. I will try to give you the exact order in which it happened:
1. Londo in apron (hey sauce splatters and I like this shirt) is merrily stirring a pot of pasta and another pot of sauce.
2. dog gets up and sits next to back door - this is the universal sign of, "let me out or I will pee on something in here!"
3. Pasta begins to boil to the top of the pot.
4. Timer goes off, letting me know pasta is ready (breep-breep-breep, etc.)
5. Toaster oven dings, letting Londo know that bread is ready and will be burned to a crisp in exactly 10 seconds.
6. Pumpkin heads towards the cabinet where we keep the dog food (making the dog very interested indeed).
7. The phone rings.
8. Londo pauses, makes a judgment call on how to proceed, then proceeds.
9. Seeing Cara's cell on the caller ID, I grab the phone while heading for the toaster oven.
10. "Hello?"
11. A high-pitched scream, closely followed by the silence that every parent dreads, closely followed by whimpers and screams alternatively. Pumpkin had gotten her little fingers stuck in the cabinet door, and was leaning on the same door with her other hand (making things unbelievably worse).
12. Cara: "OMG, what's wrong?"
Londo: "Gottagocallyoubackinaminuteloveyoubye-click!"
13. Londo freaks.
14. I swept up the Pumpkin, and began kissing her fingers while I turned the stove-tops off and flung a towel over the timer (breep-breep-breep, muffle, muffle, breep)
15. I bang my head (really friggin hard) on the edge of another cabinet (the one over the toaster oven) as I reach into the hot device for the bread (I should have mentioned earlier, I was wearing an oven mitt on one hand, just to make this whole thing more challenging:)
16. Londo curses. This makes the Pumpkin stop crying and actually giggle at daddy (rubbing his head with an oven mitt and a piece of hot bread).
17. I put her down in her high-chair, let the dog out, push the button on the timer (breep-bre...), and sit down.
This whole experience took about 1 minute.
The rest of the night was awesome. I fed, bathed, and played with the baby and put her to bed at 7:50. She woke up at 5:50 in the morning (I usually get up, or try to, at 5:15, so this was no hardship). I showered while she played in the jumper in our bathroom, put on my suit, and dropped her off at Nana's house.
Other than that 1 minute of crisis, we had a pretty good night.
Thanks Pumpkin, sorry about the fingers.
-Londo
XXX
Getting a Break
I almost couldn't do it. As I hurried home early from work to pack and high-tail it out of town, I called Londo, my sister, and a couple friends. She's still so young, I worried, maybe too young to leave her. What about nursing? I will bring my pump, but it's not the same. Won't she miss me and be miserable without me? And what if she doesn't and isn't???
"How can I do it?" I fretted over the phone. "How can I go out of town and leave the baby?"
I got a variety of responses from "You could just bring the baby" to "She and Londo will be fine without you for a couple days" and everything in between.
I finally realized that I needed to just go. Stop thinking about it, pack my bags and GO. My friend needs help, and I want to help her. Also, I need this break. I love my little girl more than I have words to say (and it's rare I don't have words). But two nights away would be good for us all.
So I did it. I left yesterday evening, and I spent my first night away from the Pumpkin. It was also Daddy's fist time completely solo (which apparently went pretty well). It was not as difficult as I thought, getting a full night's sleep. But boy, do I miss her!
"How can I do it?" I fretted over the phone. "How can I go out of town and leave the baby?"
I got a variety of responses from "You could just bring the baby" to "She and Londo will be fine without you for a couple days" and everything in between.
I finally realized that I needed to just go. Stop thinking about it, pack my bags and GO. My friend needs help, and I want to help her. Also, I need this break. I love my little girl more than I have words to say (and it's rare I don't have words). But two nights away would be good for us all.
So I did it. I left yesterday evening, and I spent my first night away from the Pumpkin. It was also Daddy's fist time completely solo (which apparently went pretty well). It was not as difficult as I thought, getting a full night's sleep. But boy, do I miss her!
Wednesday, January 23, 2008
Daddy's Take: Oh Crap, Daddy's Flyin Solo
So, Cara has finally left me due to my obsession with Fantasy Football and Poker. I have to raise the Pumpkin myself.
Ok hyperbole (she likes to play poker and watch football too - score one for the good guys), but still, Cara is leaving town for a few days and it's Daddy's time to shine. I have watched the baby all day and night before. I have put her to bed when Mommy was working late, and I have taken care of her at all points in between. However, this time it's different. There is no magic-mommy safety net (patent pending) to catch the Pumpkin if she goes nuts. Mommy will be several states away, for more than 1 day! Yikes!
I will certainly make the most of the Daddy-Daughter bonding time. I picture it will be something of a cross between this...
And this...
Either way, It should be an adventure.
I will log my results in the same manner as Survivorman and if there is amusing video footage of the events, I will surely have it on youtube before Cara gets back :)
Wish me luck people, I am going in.
-Londo
XXX
Tuesday, January 22, 2008
Phantom of the Diaper
Today I'm going to discuss an unusual phenomenon. I don't know if anyone else will relate, but I'm going to put this out there. I know that at least my sister has experienced the same phenomenon, so I don't think I'm completely alone. I like to call it... Phantom Poop Smell.
The first time this happened to me, the Pumpkin was only a few weeks old. She would poop pretty often, and it was those breastmilk poops that were so liquidy but not truly rancid smelling. (It's a mommyblog. Of course I'm going to discuss poop in detail!) Poopsplosions were not uncommon in (or out of) our house. (BTW, I totally thought I made up this word one night in the first few weeks of babyhood! But apparently other people, especially other parents, use this word too! For us, it indicated the poop exploding out of the baby with such a force and amount that it would blow out the back and sides of the diaper. Those who've had babies know exactly what I'm talking about.)
One evening, I'm nursing the Pumpkin in the chair in our bedroom. I was right next to the changing table in our room and across from the Diaper Champ (love it!). I'm just sitting there, and I SWEAR I smell baby poop. It's a distinctive smell, for those who haven't had the pleasure, so I know that is what the smell was. After the Pumpkin is done nursing, I search all over for poop that might have splattered on something. I sniff over the Diaper Champ (which is letting no smells out, as usual). I even thoroughly check the Pumpkin. No poop anywhere.
I think I'm crazy or hormonal or just too exhausted to be smelling clearly. Or maybe I've just missed it. Or maybe I've just been around too much poop. Anyway, I let it go.
But within the next few months, every now and then, I smell my baby's poop. Sometimes, she's no where near me. I could be at work, and I smell it. I know there is no poop near me, not even a diaper bag! But I get this twinge of smell. The Phantom Poop Smell!
After she started solids, the smell of her poop changed. Phantom Poop Smell changed to match it. I don't smell it nearly as often, but every now and then, I get a whiff. Then there was the one time I was really confused in the car when the Phantom Poop Smell wouldn't go away--it turns out that I DID leave a poopy diaper in the car by accident! It was on this occassion I told my sister the whole phenomenon, and she admitted to gettting the Phantom Poop Smell at times as well!
I can't remember the last time I smelled it. It's been months. I hope it's gone for good. But you can never be sure when (or who) it will strike next! Before you call me crazy, be sure you have something good-smelling near you to combat the Phantom Poop Smell in case it gets you too!
The first time this happened to me, the Pumpkin was only a few weeks old. She would poop pretty often, and it was those breastmilk poops that were so liquidy but not truly rancid smelling. (It's a mommyblog. Of course I'm going to discuss poop in detail!) Poopsplosions were not uncommon in (or out of) our house. (BTW, I totally thought I made up this word one night in the first few weeks of babyhood! But apparently other people, especially other parents, use this word too! For us, it indicated the poop exploding out of the baby with such a force and amount that it would blow out the back and sides of the diaper. Those who've had babies know exactly what I'm talking about.)
One evening, I'm nursing the Pumpkin in the chair in our bedroom. I was right next to the changing table in our room and across from the Diaper Champ (love it!). I'm just sitting there, and I SWEAR I smell baby poop. It's a distinctive smell, for those who haven't had the pleasure, so I know that is what the smell was. After the Pumpkin is done nursing, I search all over for poop that might have splattered on something. I sniff over the Diaper Champ (which is letting no smells out, as usual). I even thoroughly check the Pumpkin. No poop anywhere.
I think I'm crazy or hormonal or just too exhausted to be smelling clearly. Or maybe I've just missed it. Or maybe I've just been around too much poop. Anyway, I let it go.
But within the next few months, every now and then, I smell my baby's poop. Sometimes, she's no where near me. I could be at work, and I smell it. I know there is no poop near me, not even a diaper bag! But I get this twinge of smell. The Phantom Poop Smell!
After she started solids, the smell of her poop changed. Phantom Poop Smell changed to match it. I don't smell it nearly as often, but every now and then, I get a whiff. Then there was the one time I was really confused in the car when the Phantom Poop Smell wouldn't go away--it turns out that I DID leave a poopy diaper in the car by accident! It was on this occassion I told my sister the whole phenomenon, and she admitted to gettting the Phantom Poop Smell at times as well!
I can't remember the last time I smelled it. It's been months. I hope it's gone for good. But you can never be sure when (or who) it will strike next! Before you call me crazy, be sure you have something good-smelling near you to combat the Phantom Poop Smell in case it gets you too!
Monday, January 21, 2008
Question of the Week - Internet Sites
Happy Monday, interneters! Can I just tell you that I'm loving the 10-month-old age? It's like a beautiful stage in between the fussies, and Londo and I are enjoying it immensely.
But enough about me. Let's talk about you. What do YOU think of me? I kid, I kid! Let's talk about other people, other places...
The Question of the Week this week is:
What internet site(s) (that is not a blog) do you LOVE?
I'm excluding blogs because there are just so many great ones, and lots of you have your own blogs with your own blog rolls. So I can figure out which blogs you love by looking at those. I'm looking for other internet sites. I'm thinking of starting a list of good sites to go with my blog roll (if it won't make my side pane too long... what do you think?), and I've got a few I'd like to list. But I always love to discover new sites or learn that other people love the same sites as me. So give me some good ones!
My favorite non-blog sites are:
-imdb.com for all my movie/TV/actor queries (I'm always saying "Let's look it up!")
-snopes.com to check those e-mail forwards and other urban legends
-kellymom.com for all the best information on breastfeeding
-webster.com because I can't spell and I love thesauruses (or thesauri, as I just now learned from webster.com)
-addictinggames.com for wasting time and having fun
Wikipedia and Google seem like givens to me. I'm sure I have more... If I think of them, I'll add them later. How about you?
But enough about me. Let's talk about you. What do YOU think of me? I kid, I kid! Let's talk about other people, other places...
The Question of the Week this week is:
What internet site(s) (that is not a blog) do you LOVE?
I'm excluding blogs because there are just so many great ones, and lots of you have your own blogs with your own blog rolls. So I can figure out which blogs you love by looking at those. I'm looking for other internet sites. I'm thinking of starting a list of good sites to go with my blog roll (if it won't make my side pane too long... what do you think?), and I've got a few I'd like to list. But I always love to discover new sites or learn that other people love the same sites as me. So give me some good ones!
My favorite non-blog sites are:
-imdb.com for all my movie/TV/actor queries (I'm always saying "Let's look it up!")
-snopes.com to check those e-mail forwards and other urban legends
-kellymom.com for all the best information on breastfeeding
-webster.com because I can't spell and I love thesauruses (or thesauri, as I just now learned from webster.com)
-addictinggames.com for wasting time and having fun
Wikipedia and Google seem like givens to me. I'm sure I have more... If I think of them, I'll add them later. How about you?
Sunday, January 20, 2008
Another Busy Sunday
I really do want to post on Sundays. I just keep getting so busy on Sunday mornings, and then we go to Water Babies (having a great time there, BTW), and today the Pumpkin and I are going to a playgroup after that which will probably last all afternoon. Sigh... I simply to busy with good stuff. It's just so tough to be me. ;-)
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