What a week!!!!!

From Ben:

WHEW! Where do I start!

Well, we could go back to about 3 weeks ago when we bought a new dishwasher only to find that I had to rip out some of the ceramic floor to get the old dishwasher out and the new one in.

Or we could go to Saturday when I noticed an 18-inch hole in front of the house where the siding was pulled away do to storm damage.

Or, better yet, we could look back at Sunday when I took Kim to the emergency room because she had a fever of 103 and a throat that looked like her tonsils were about to catch fire.

(Keep it together, Ben)

But, of course, Josie kept it all together and smiled. It was like she knew that things were kinda tough and she didn’t want to make them tougher. And, thanks to some great next door neighbors, Mike and Lauri, Josie was in good hands while mommy and daddy were in the emergency room.

So here we are now. Kim felt good enough to take Josie down to Grammy and Grampa’s house, while she takes a work trip to Washington D.C. And I’m at the house, trying to clean up the mess we are in. The good news is that Mike is painting our living and dining room while Kim and Josie are gone, and I have contractors coming to make estimates on the damage. I also plan to take out the ceramic tiles around the dishwasher so we can finally have clear and clean dishes!!!!!

Oh, did I mention that I’m still without a TV untilThursday? That’s two weeks from when my Samsung HDTV went dark. (Keep it together, Ben). I had to get a little stern with some people, or I would have had to wait until Monday.

(Keep it together, Ben)

Somedays, I just don’t know

From Ben:

It seems that on some days, I wonder if I’m doing the right things to help my daughter develop into a smart and healthy little girl. Am I cut out to do the job? Is this what my life has become?

Don’t get me wrong, I’m not complaining about taking care of Josie during the day. I love hanging out with her, watching her play and being interactive with her. But do I talk to her enough? Is she getting the right amount of stimulation? Is she learning? Is she getting enough to eat? Do her clothes match when I take her to daycare? Am I using too many (not enough) diapers? Is she napping enough? Did I put enough sunscreen on when we go for walks? Is she active enough? Is she reaching her milestones? etc. …

I always said to myself before we had Josie that I wanted my greatest accomplishment in life to be a good dad to my kids. Maybe I’m putting too much pressure on myself. Or maybe I should just suck it up and not whine about it.

I guess it’s just one of those “Somedays.”

No poo in 1102

Girlfriends. Every woman needs a few good ones. I’m lucky to have several great ones here and back home in Indiana. Although I was only around for one night of a girls-only weekend retreat at a hotel, it was worth it. I know this is so, so worn out, but I can’t help but think of the weekend in terms of a Mastercard commercial:

Flight home for the weekend = $190
Pitching in for Mai Tais = $10
Dinner with six remarkable women = ?  (you rock Steph!)
New post pregnancy hide-all-the-stretch-marks bathing suit = $40
Being together in a hot tub dancing, signing our lungs out to Proud Mary and just about every other song by the band playing nearby = Priceless

xo

Josie’s first vacation

I’m not a very good blogger. There’s hardly any pictures of our trip. I wish that I had not packed the camera away or forgot about it entirely during many precious, funny, aggrevating… moments of our vacation. This is another lesson I learned while traveling alone by airplane with a 4-month-old.

We had the best time though! Friday afternoon Josie and I navigated through the airport a bit anxiously. Neither of us familiar with this new way of traveling. Got through security just fine thanks to a courteous and strong TSA worker who can lift a stroller with one hand. Mom and baby did have a bit of a meltdown in the bathroom before boarding. She was hungry. I really had to pee. And this woman would not get off the toilet! It was the only stall big enough for my stroller and if she had been old or disabled, I wouldn’t have been so angry. But this was just some other mom taking her time. She wasn’t struggling to change her baby or waiting for a toddler to go – other excusable reasons. Nope. I could see her feet. I could hear her kid  cooing in his/her stroller. She was simply taking the longest time as if there wasn’t a screaming baby and a frustrated mom sighing loudly outside her door!

Yes, it sounds trivial now. But if it’s taking you that long. Give up and go back in later. I timed it. She was in there for nearly 7 agonizing minutes. I tried to be patient. Know that this moment would soon pass. Zen failed. The urge to pee along with Josie’s bawling were too much. When she opened the door, I said “Finally!” I didn’t take time to see her give me a dirty look or talk back because I shoved that stroller into the stall and slammed the door. Give me a medal for immaturity.

Once on the flight, the bathroom rage subsided and Josie enjoyed playing with her toys on my lap. TRAVELING WITH BABY TIP #25: Pack small toys, burp cloth, pacifiers in a plastic baggie for easy access during flight. She would smile at the lady across the aisle and then hide her face in my shoulder. She did this a few times. She even dozed. Aunt Kelly and baby-bump Auntie ‘Tine greeted us and got to meet the little one for first time.

If only Josie wasn’t too excited to sleep, Saturday may have less taxing on our eardrums. She entertained Gran with her morning grins and giggles. And had too much fun meeting Grammy Phyllis, who’s indoor house renovations look fabulous by the way. But then halfway through our lunch outing she clearly needed to give into sleep yet refused. She gave me her first restaurant tantrum. We tried everything from toys, pacificer, rocking and even the parrot trick (blanket over carrier to block world). Nothing worked.

Took home the red-eyed child and  then I said, “Well Gran, she’s all yours” and rushed off for Mai-Tais with the pr gals. Just kidding. I was home for about couple hours before I handed her a wailing baby for the night. The story goes that I cried for the first three months of my life, so one night with Josie was a breeze for Gran.  

She finally slept that night. And slept all Sunday morning. She probably could’ve slept some more (actually she did: slept on the plane home too). And as soon as we arrived at Auntie ‘Tine’s baby shower, Josie concluded that she didn’t like anyone approaching her. She scrunched her face and wailed at each hello. First thought it was just certain people like Dan, for instance. Kidding! But no one was spared her discomfort.  Feeling shy? Overtired?  Who knows.

It’s taken me a few days to post because as I’ve said, I’m a bad blogger. And also because I’m sort of sad it wasn’t a longer trip. Silver lining…overall Josie was an excellent traveler and that means we’ll just have to go again soon.

And they’re back!

From Ben:

When Josie’s daddy took his first airplane ride, he was 13 years old. Josie has him beat.

Just four months old, Josie flew with little problem, according to her mommy. And now they are back safe and sound in good-ol’ Minnesota. I’ll let mommy tell more of the story in a future post.

From my end, it was great to see my little girl again after a long weekend of actual work and work on the house. I even didn’t mind taking almost an hour to put her down to sleep last night.

As much as I enjoyed my time alone, it was sure nice to see my family again. I know I’m getting kinda sappy, but I’m just so happy to have my girls back.

And they’re off!

From Ben:

It’s a man’s weekend in the Ramsden house!

Josie and mom left for Indiana today, which was kinda happy and sad at the same time. I have my independence this weekend for the first time since Josie was born. But in the same breath, I miss them already.

I can’t even sleep in tomorrow, because I have a life insurance exam at 8:15 a.m. I mean, I have to draw blood before 9 a.m. That’s no fun. I do, however, have a list of self-imposed chores that I hope to do while my girls are playing in Indiana.

Did I mention that Kim added her own chores for me, too? Yeah, I’m gonna get to them.

Here’s what I plan to do:

Wash windows

Pull weeds

Mow, fertilize and water the lawn

Plant flowers

Take stuff to the dump

Reverse the washer door so that it’s an easy transition to remove the clothes from the washer to the dryer

Clean laundry room

Do laundry

Fix ant problem

Clean garage

Get oil change in Kim’s car

Get a haircut.

Go to work

Go golfing for the first time this season on Sunday!!!!!!!!

And I might just go for a bike ride.

Now that’s a man’s weekend!

She’s an alt rocker!!!

From Ben:

We tried Baby Einstein. We tried Rock-a-byes. But believe it our not, Josie prefers The Current.

Yesterday and today, Josie and I were playing, and I said. “Hey Josie, let’s rock!” So I turned on The Current and Veruca Salt was playing. I started to head bang, and she just started to giggle uncontrollably. And yesterday, she enjoyed a tune from Ben Folds’ Five.

It just brings a tear to my eye knowing my baby girl is gonna be a rocker!!!! Just like her mom and dad.

3/4-of-an-inch is going to cost me!

From Ben:

Off the subject of Josie for a sec. …

Today was suppose to be a good day. We were s’pose to get our new dishwasher installed. Instead, it’s sitting in our garage, and the old one is still where it’s always been — in our kitchen, not working.

As it turns out, the previous owners did not consider that perhaps someday the dishwasher might have to be replaced when they had tile put down. So we can’t get the old one out unless we rip a part the tile around the dishwasher. The installer guy knew right away that we needed another 3/4 of an inch of space to take out the dishwasher. Because we have granite counter tops, we have to get in there from the bottom.

So this is what we have to do:

1: I have to get some prices.

2: The contractor has to come in and rip out the old tile.

3. The Installer dude has to come back and take out the old dishwasher and install the new one.

3: a) We have to make sure the dishwasher is installed correctly before we put on the new tile.

4. We have to put in the new tile.

One good thing about this is that the previous owners left some extra matching tile and matching grout. That was sure nice of them.

Just give me til 7 a.m.

From Ben:

Working nights in a newspaper used to be fun. I could go home at 12:30-1 a.m., watch Conan — maybe a DVD — and fall asleep around 3 a.m. I would wake up at about 11 a.m. to noon and have a glorious day, which might have included golfing, taking a bike ride or just getting out and exercising.

Well, since Kim went back to work more than a month ago, that’s all changed.

Now, I can only watch Conan’s monolog, and go to bed at about 1:30 a.m. Next thing I know, Kim is waking me up and saying, “I fed her at 5:50 a.m.” 

It’s 6 a.m.

OK, I’m up, kinda.

I hear the coffeemaker and Kim unloading the dishwasher at about 6:05 a.m.

I hear the creek of the door to the garage at about 6:15 a.m.

I hear Josie fussing on the monitor at 6:16 a.m.

“Just give me til 7 a.m.!!!!”

We get up together, and Josie is all smiles at me, as if to tell me, “Ha, ha, daddy. I woke you up.”

It’s worth it.

Cell phone conversation I’d rather not hear (part 1)

Walking in the skyway on my way into work yesterday, I overheard the guy behind me start this conversation on his cell phone:

Guy: Hi! Good morning Mom. How are you?
short pause
Guy: Good! I just wanted to call and wish you a Happy belated Mother’s Day

Dude! Who calls their mom two days AFTER Mother’s Day? Ouch.