And...I survived.

Against all odds, I managed to make it through this week. I survived going back to work, coordinating Connor and all of his bazillion daily necessities for the nannyshare across the street. I survived even with Dennis being out of town. So, like I said, AGAINST ALL ODDS, I survived. Oh yeah, and so did Connor. Guess that's the most important part. Once you have a child, I have learned, you are no longer the important one. Nope, not even close. You are lucky to take second, third, or even fourth place in the ranking order.

I know you are dying to know the details about how I pulled off this miracilous feat. I must start by saying that it wasn't easy and I called Dennis once (or twice..or...well, ok, let's go with SEVERAL TIMES) crying. I was overwhelmed.

When you become a new mom, there are so many new, important, and challenging parts of your day. I never knew about this. THANKS EVERYBODY FOR NOT TELLING ME THIS! Not only am I a champion diaper changer, a food machine, a cuddler, a swaddler (still working on the Super Swaddler status that only Dennis has achieved so far), and nurse (providing gas drops, dosing vitamins, and giving baths) but I am also a wife, a woman, and an individual. Echo fits in there, too. No matter how busy or stressed I may be, I need to give her attention and daily walk(s), as well. Oh yeah, and she needs to eat, too. She managed to get some spilled breast milk the other day...

And, one other small thing: I have a full-time job. Learning to juggle all of these tasks quickly turns me into a "Jack of all trades". And I don't want to be Jack because even though he can do a lot of things, he doesn't do any of them well. And, as we all know, I'm a slight perfectionist which doesn't bode well with Jack. Jack, meet Mrs. Perfectionist. Mrs. Perfectionist, meet Jack. As you can see, herein lies my dilemma.

The phrase, "I can't", kept creeping into my dialogue this past week and I realized that while I may WANT to do everything perfectly, there is no way that I can actually do it all. Not without killing myself in the process, anyway. So, I had to really think about what I CAN manage and let the rest go. Or "let it go" enough that Jack would be happy. Mr. Compromise joined in on the conversation between Mrs. P and Jack and from there on out, things started to make more sense. I started to realize that there might be hope for me afterall.

SO....short story LONG, I learned a lot last week. The way that I survived the first four days of work was by realizing - and accepting - that I cannot do it all. And I especially cannot do it all perfectly. Enough playing on my blog for now. I need to put my computer down and go over and give Dennis, Connor and Echo a big squeeze...

It's Saturday.

In case you need another reason to smile, watch this.

Pee is running down my leg. And it's not mine.

An extended weekend with friends, golf, and lots of beer makes for one tired Dad. An extended weekend at home alone with a 12 week old makes for one tired Mom.

Yes, you guessed it. I'm talking about Dennis and me. When he returned on Sunday from his North Carolina golf adventure, he was greeted by three family members that were eagerly awaiting his arrival. I hugged and kissed him when he walked in. Echo greeted him with a...uh...well, with hugs and kisses, too. Connor had a slightly different welcome home gift in mind.

After a few hours of being back together, we fell into our normal routine and it was time for Connor to have a bath. I started to run the water in the sink, grabbed his bath tub, and Dennis took off his onesie and diaper.

Dennis held our naked child close to his chest and I commented on how cute of a derriere he has since I had a perfect view of those little cheeks. And, just so you know, Connor has the cutest little butt in the world. He really does.

So, picture me at the sink making sure that the temperature is just perfect and Dennis holding Connor. Then, for no seemingly good reason, Dennis starts moving around and holding Connor away from his body. "Oh. My. God. I have pee running down my leg and it's not mine." Of course, I lost it. And so did Dennis. There we were, two mature parents, laughing hysterically at the fact that Connor peed all over Dennis. The story got even better when we looked at Dennis' shirt. The entire stomach area was SOAKED with pee. (Dennis obviously isn't laughing in this photo...the picture was taken after the excitement passed.)

If the amount of pee on Dennis equates to how much Connor missed him over the weekend, I think it's safe to say that Connor REALLY loves him. What a lucky guy. If it doesn't, then, well... I am just so glad that Dennis was holding him and not me.

Ready or Knot

When I think about leaving Connor with the nanny and going off to work, I get a knot in my stomach that won't go away. So, as you can imagine, next Tuesday is looming over my head. It's like seeing that bird, ready to poop on you, and you are forced to just keeping marching towards it... knowing exactly what is going to happen when you are underneath it. Naah, I'd say that it is worse than that.

Over the last few weeks, I have tried so hard to NOT think about it and to really focus on just enjoying my time with this LBB (Little Booger Butt). I have to keep reminding myself that it's not like I am going away to war or that I'll never see my son again. But it sure feels like it.

Maybe one of my customers will be able to help me out next week and do whatever medical procedure is necessary to remove the knot. I am sure that there is some type of cure out there. I mean, there has to be...right?

X Rated Photo of Dennis

Stephen scanned and emailed this photo of Dennis (obviously taken a bazillion years ago) to me late last week. It was truly an X-Rated photo ... SO I used my high level Microsoft Paint skills to cover up Dennis' manhood. And now it's a much more appropriate, G-Rated photo.

I'm a little concerned, though, because I'm not really sure when I started worrying about being appropriate...

9 Weeks

Connor,

It's unbelievable to me that you are now 9 weeks old. Time has truly flown by. I catch myself staring at you, looking at your little hands and your precious little features. You seem to be particularly interested in your own hands this week, too. I'm not sure anyone told you that those things were attached to your arms. My fault on that one. I'll make sure to point out every part of your body so that you won't be taken by surprise again. We can even talk about the chubby little rolls on your arms. And legs. And on your neck.

You are so incredibly expressive when you are asleep, awake and while we are immersed in deep conversations about how tall you will be, in which activities you will want to participate (you always say you want to skydive and ride motorcycles in our pretend conversations!) or when you and I discuss what we want your Dad to do (usually he is in the room at the time and typically picks up on the hint very quickly).

Echo has caught your attention several times and you are so good at watching her as she moves. But, I know it won't be long till you will be following her with more than your eyes. You two will be the best of friends. And don't worry - - I have given her a word of warning that you will get to the point where tugging, jumping, and pulling on her will be your way of saying that you love her. Right now, though, she can get away from you when she wants to. You don't seem to like it when she licks your face but I am sure it'll grow on you. Or you'll just learn to put up with it. If she isn't kissing you or trying to play with your toys on your activity mat, you can probably find her on the couch trying to get under a blanket. This typically happens when you are working on strengthening your vocal cords.

The Babywise approach is continuing to work for us. You do really well on a schedule (you are definitely your mothers son in that regard) and are eating every 3 hours. Sleep is really good in the evenings - your Dad feeds you with a bottle at 10pm and then everyone is awake for your next feeding at 7am. THANK YOU for continuing to sleep so much at night. Of course, there have been a few nights when you have fussed for a few minutes in your crib before the 7am wake up time. Echo's response is really cute: she is fast to run in there and check on things. I think she goes in to your room, looks at your crib, realizes that she can't help, and then comes back to bed. It's actually very sweet.

Your bouncer is now back in the living room after we banished it into the other room for a few weeks. You are big enough now (maybe 11 pounds?) that it actually bounces when you move. And you seem to enjoy it for at least a few minutes. Then your attention span wanes and we rotate to the activity mat, swing, or just go outside.

I could (obviously) go on and on about what you are and what you aren't doing. It's so fun and exciting because every day brings something new with you. The one thing that is the same every day, though, is that we fall more and more in love with you.

Connor, thank you for being you. We love you!!

Mom

I am thinking of a word that begins with a "R"

There is only one word that comes to mind when I see something like this in a refrigerator. Any guesses on what "R" word I am referring to?

We Only Left Him Alone for 3 Minutes

Dennis and I went upstairs for just a few minutes and when we came back down, we saw that Connor had not wasted any time making himself comfortable on the leather chair.

At least he was watching FOX News instead of CNN.