Letters For Lucas

Wonders, Mishaps, Blunders and Joy.. commentary on my life as a mom in the form of letters to my son

You’re Gonna Miss This

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I have been known to listen to country music from time to time and the other day I heard this song for the first time, even though it is a couple of years old and I just fell in love with the message.

With you turning seven months old this week, time not slowly down and my world sometimes feeling like it’s spinning out of control, it sums up where my head is lately:

You’re Gonna Miss This
by Trace Atkins

She was staring out the window of their SUV
Complaining, saying “I can’t wait to turn 18”
She said “I’ll make my own money, and I’ll make my own rules”
Mamma put the car in park out there in front of the school
Then she kissed her head and said “I was just like you”

You’re gonna miss this
You’re gonna want this back
You’re gonna wish these days hadn’t gone by so fast
These are some good times
So take a good look around
You may not know it now
But you’re gonna miss this

Before she knows it she’s a brand new bride
In a one-bedroom apartment, and her daddy stops by
He tells her “It’s a nice place”
She says “It’ll do for now”
Starts talking about babies and buying a house
Daddy shakes his head and says, “Baby, just slow down,

Cause you’re gonna miss this
You’re gonna want this back
You’re gonna wish these days hadn’t gone by so fast
These are some good times
So take a good look around
You may not know it now
But you’re gonna miss this.”

Five years later there’s a plumber workin’ on the water heater
Dog’s barkin’, phone’s ringin’
One kid’s cryin’, one kid’s screamin’
And she keeps apologizin’
He says, “They don’t bother me,
I’ve got two babies of my own.
One’s 36, one’s 23.
Huh, it’s hard to believe, but…

You’re gonna miss this
You’re gonna want this back
You’re gonna wish these days hadn’t gone by so fast
These are some good times
So take a good look around
You may not know it now
But you’re gonna miss this.”

Every day spent with you is a gift and sometimes, I get going a little too fast and need to remember to enjoy this, because I know I’m going to miss it.

The best is yet to be.

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Who Cares If Your Baby Is On Track?

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A mommy can drive herself crazy getting caught up in the developmental milestones a baby is suppose to reach and when they are suppose to reach them. I am guilty and I am so mad at myself.

After yesterday’s post on Lucas’ seventh month accomplishments, I made the mistake of digging around on the Internet (Baby Center, What To Expect, WebMD, Parents Magazine, etc.) and found several lists of these so-called benchmarks. I’m a sucker for lists, but as I consulted each one, not only were they different from the last, but they included items that Lucas hasn’t mastered yet, or in some cases even attempted. And that’s when the guilt and head spinning set in… am I doing something wrong, is there something wrong with my baby, will he ever scoot, get up on all fours, crawl, eat solid foods, etc. etc. I must be a terrible parent if he’s not doing what the “lists” say he should, right? What exactly is the difference between gross motor skills and fine motor skills anyway?!?

Whoa! Time for a deep, deep breath….

Luckily, I’m smart enough to know that each baby is unique and that these charts are only meant to serve as a guideline, not an end all be all of child rearing or infant development. The most important thing to me is that you are happy and I have no doubt about that! The rest, the milestones so to speak, will all come in due time.

The best is yet to be.

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Seven Months

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Today you are seven months old and I know I say it every month, but I can’t believe how fast the months are flying by…. I continue to be amazed by you, all that you are learning; and watching you grow.

Your seventh month was an exciting one, as we celebrated your very first Christmas holiday and you reached all of these wonderful milestones, too:

  • Your piercing screaming has been replaced with “ba-ba”, “da-da”, “ma-ma” sounds, thank goodness. I love hearing you talk to yourself early in morning when you wake up.
  • You are mastering the art of the major meltdown whenever I am out of sight. I think it’s separation anxiety and is completely normal, but it definitely tugs at the heartstrings and frays the nerves.
  • You are sort of enjoying cereal once a day, but I’d love to get you eating more solids, more often. So far, we have tried sweet potatoes, stewed carrots, butternut squash and apples and you wanted no part of any of of them. Well, you like gnawing on the apples, but they are very slippery for your little fingers. The bottle seems to be your food of choice and just way too easy for you. We need to work on that. I’m open to suggestions….
  • After being away for a week over the holiday and in the same guest room with us, you are finally back to sleeping through the night!
  • You suffered through your first cold and ear infection. 🙁
  • You love to sit up in your strollers and the more we can keep you off your head, the better!
  • You are thriving in your physical therapy sessions for a mild case of torticollis.
  • You are learning to get around by rolling and scooting…backwards. No crawling yet, but I’m sure it’s only a matter of time.
  • You can sit up unassisted, but it makes me a little nervous, as you have had a couple of bonks to the head. Practice makes perfect.
  • Your top two teeth are on their way and one is visible.
  • Your eyes are still blue. 🙂

The best is yet to be.

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Been Caught Stealing

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One of my favorite Web sites is Diapers.com, who claim to have “the best deal on diapers and much more” and I’ve done the math and on the items we use on a daily basis, they do! Every order over $49.00 is free of shipping costs and there is no sales tax, plus they accept other manufacturer’s coupons. It’s super convenient, super quick and they carry everything! I got my Skip Hop diaper bag from there and several classic children’s books and even pjs. I placed my umpteenth order this morning for staples: formula, wipes, laundry detergent and yes, diapers. It will arrive on my door step tomorrow morning. How great is that?

Somewhat related….not really, but go with it….

I just read an article that stated that baby formula was now being kept under lock and key in some drug and grocery stores and it made me so sad, but at $10.99 – $50.00 per can, I get it. Breast milk is free, but if your baby didn’t take to your breast or was dehydrated and needed a supplement when they were born, like Lucas, you have no choice but to go the formula route. I suppose a parent will do whatever it takes to feed their baby, even if it means shoplift.

The Food Marketing Institute maintains a list of the 50 most shoplifted items and while the number one most shoplifted item is a 50 count packet of Advil, Similac makes the list three times. A case of Similac with iron formula ranks #7 on the top 50 most shoplifted items while a single can of Similac with iron ranks number #8. Similac concentrate with iron ranks #21 on the list.

Why are people stealing infant formula? Is the formula being used for infants? Are parents going to extremes to feed their babies? According to the article, the answer is yes and no. Believe it or not, there is a black market out there for baby formula. The item can be stolen and sold to a mom in need for half the retail price. This does happen but it is not the most common use.

Infant formula is often used in the drug world. Drug dealers use powdered baby formula to cut the strength of cocaine and heroin, “the popular powdered baby formula is primarily used to dilute heroin and methamphetamine or to stretch the product when supplies run low. The consistency and the way it looks is what makes it a good cutting agent” Infant formula is non-toxic and relatively safe to cut with any number of drugs. The article also said that street gangs were using baby formula containers to conceal illegal drugs. Great!

I’m going to stick to Diapers.com for my formula needs.

The best is yet to be.

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LA ‘n’ LA

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To document her adventures in Los Angeles, Leah has started her very own blog, LA ‘n’ LA. I can’t wait to read about her new life in the City of Angels.

I am also looking forward to getting to know LA better myself. From what little time I have spent there, I haven’t been very impressed. After graduating from college, your dad lived in Brentwood (a neighborhood in west LA) for 10 years and loved it and would probably move back in a heartbeat if I was on board. He says it’s because of the anonymity the city offers offers and the endless options. I, on the other hand, have always felt that it was too congested, full of horrific traffic and shallow people, but I’m keeping an open mind and can’t wait to experience a different side of LA from the view point of a frequent visitor. 🙂

Leah included this Frank Lloyd Wright quote in her first blog posting: Tip the world over on its side and everything loose will land in Los Angeles and I like it! I am so happy that she has landed there. All the best, Leah. xoxo

The best is yet to be.

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Moving Day

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Last night my sister arrived in San Diego with her 10′ moving truck in tow and today I helped her move into her new house in LA….sort of.

It was a very long, hot and frustrating day that didn’t start off the way either of us had planned; but when is moving day ever fun?

Her best guy friend was kind enough to drive her U-Haul out here from Phoenix while she followed in her car and he was going help us unload it, but he unfortunately had a rough night last night (I’ll just leave it at that…and no, he wasn’t over served) and needed to fly home this morning. Your dad, still recovering from his ankle sprain stayed home with you and so, that left Leah and me.

I got to drive the U-Haul, which was super fun, but once in LA and knowing full well that we couldn’t get her bed, enormous desk, dining room table, or heck, even TV up the two flights of stairs by ourselves, we did what any two savvy women would do and hired two beefy hombres from a Home Depot parking lot. I am 100% confident that we over paid for Ivan and Orlando’s help, but who cares, the entire truck was unloaded in under 90 minutes. Oh, and they put her bed together too. Bonus!! I don’t know what we would have done without our handy helpers, God bless them.

I think Leah is second guessing her decision to move to southern California, but I hope it’s only because today was so stressful and she is running on empty. I hope that she soon realizes that it will take a good 30 days or so to learn her way around her new neighborhood and that before she knows it, things won’t seem so foreign. I am super excited for her LA adventure to begin, for her to land a fabulous new job and make new friends. I applaud her for making this move and am thrilled to have her closer.

Leah’s new place is great and so are her roommates, who thankfully made themselves scarce while we (I mean, our new friends) moved in.

Once Leah gets settled in, I look forward to taking you to visit her in her new digs.

The best is yet to be.

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2010

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2010?! Boy, does that sound weird. I love a new year and I am really looking forward to starting a whole new decade.

I do have a short list of some of my new year’s resolutions. I rarely enter into a new year without them and they are different each year. What can I say, I’m a realist; if I can’t or don’t do it, I remove it from the list! I am usually successful though. 🙂 This year, I vow to:

  • Start reading again, at least one hour a day. Oh, how I miss it!
  • Work out with a trainer twice a week and walk on my own four to five days a week on the quest to get my biscuit back in shape. I am off to a great start on this one; having already walked nine miles in 2010 so far.
  • Start working on baby #2 (scary thought!).
  • Walk across the Golden Gate Bridge, preferably with you in the BOB.
  • Use a cloth bag every. single. time. I go to the grocery store. Incidentally, this was my gift to all of my girlfriends this Christmas.
  • Organize our photos into album, boxes, frames, zip lock bags–something, anything just as long as they aren’t in piles.
  • Learn to live without so many magazines in my life. So far, I have already let five of my 10 subscriptions go. Yay for me! I should be reading books anyway.
  • Spend more time in the kitchen cooking (AKA learn to cook). I have collected yummy sounding recipes for years and it is time to try them out.

I am also really looking forward to my sister moving to Los Angeles (today!), selling our parents house (fingers crossed), our trip to Australia and New Caledonia in April and continuing to watch you grow and flourish.

I wish you and yours a wonderful new year filled with much love, laughter, prosperity and vibrant health.

The best is most certainly yet to be.

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New Year’s Eve – Update

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For those of you that care…

Good news! After getting the complete runaround from my doctor’s office, I finally found out that the lab work that I had done on Tuesday revealed that I have a intestine infection. Okay, so that’s not good news, but the fact that we now know what is going on with me is very, very good news. I started taking Vancocin and should start feeling better in a couple of days.

More good news: your dad did not break his ankle, thank goodness, but did severely sprain it and has to be off of it for at least two days. We rented crutches for him.

We are whoopin’ it up in our house tonight. 🙂 Happy New Year, everyone!

The best is yet to be.

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New Year’s Eve

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It is New Year’s Eve and it has been over a week since I have posted anything. I have attempted to write a couple of times, but have felt so uninspired and maybe even a little depressed. This always seems to happen to me after the holiday. Christmas comes and goes and I end up feeling like I missed it. I think there is so much hype and preparation, not to mention, pressure and in my case, it’s spending another holiday season without my parents, coupled with being sick on and off for almost two months and, when you aren’t feeling 100% , it’s really hard to truly enjoy anything to it’s fullest. I had a bunch of lab work done on Tuesday, so hopefully I’ll get the results today and be on the mend soon.

You were as cute as ever Christmas morning and loved rolling back and forth under the Christmas tree looking up at all the lights and ornaments. You especially loved all the wrapping paper and we got some very cute photos of you in the middle of it. You kept the smile on my face all week and I am grateful.

I enjoyed being with my sister and in-laws and spending time with friends over the week of Christmas, but I’m ready to slow down and resume our simple little lives. We have been busy the last few days; celebrating your dad’s 38th birthday on Tuesday night by having several friends over and going out last night with to watch my alma mater, University of Arizona get their asses kicked in the Holiday Bowl. We have absolutely no plans tonight to ring in the new year and I am just fine with that. Your dad fell going down the stairs this morning and is at the doctor’s office now having his ankle x-rayed, so a quiet night in will be perfect. I hope we can stay up until midnight!

I’m looking forward to a new year and a new decade and finding inspiration again soon. With you and your dad by my side, I shouldn’t have to much difficulty with that.

However you choose to celebrate tonight, have fun and please be safe.

The best is yet to be.

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