…And Baby Makes Two

The …and Baby Makes Two! blog has moved.

The new address is: http://baby.magazineblu.com.

Adrianna and Dante (and all posts from 2008 to 2009) will see you there!

My first Mother’s Day was just amazing, and I hope all you moms out there felt loved and appreciated. I wanted to treat myself to a little relaxation, as a reward for ten months of motherhood. So here’s what I did:

Since my father has been taking Dante overnight about once a month anyway, I asked if he would keep him last night. Dante loves his sleepovers at Pop-Pop’s house. He gets a million smooches and has playmates galore, both in the house and in the neighborhood. Even the crossing guard knows him. My stepmother says my father is a much happier man when Dante’s around, so she loves when he is there, and I think might even volunteer to take him indefinitely if I’d ever allow that. Although I had planned on dropping the baby off around dinner time, my dad requested an earlier arrival. So at 3pm yesterday, I bid my baby goodbye (after unloading his food, clothes, bedtime items, and etcetera), and drove back to my house.

For the next three hours, I was a domestic goddess, though much grimier and sweatier than the average goddess. I mowed the lawn (what a pain in the ass), vaccuumed the cat hair off my basement steps (yes, it’s been 6 weeks since the cats moved out… I’ve been busy), did three loads of laundry, then actually hand-cleaned the siding on the front of my house. It had been filthy since I moved in last August, but I never really have a stretch of time thanks to Dante’s cat naps and, of course, my job. So I got some soapy water and a washrag, and just went to town.

My house sparkles. It looks like it just had a treatment of Crest White Strips. Love it.

I jumped in the shower, in preparation for Addy’s arrival. We decided to go out to dinner, and sat outside at a local pub with some beers and sandwiches. It was a gorgeous night, and I just felt blissful. Good weather, good friend, good food…. it’s all good. Over dinner, we discussed this undertaking we’re considering for the fall. I’ll spill the beans: We are thinking about running the Philadelphia half-marathon in November. Still in the consideration phase. I see a lot of potential obstacles, and I just want to make sure it’s something I can actually prioritize if I commit to it. But I would love to do it, in honor of my 30th birthday. So we talked about the ups and downs of training, and decided to revisit the idea in a month, when we’ve both had some time to do more regular runs.

After dinner, I was home and in bed by 10pm.

I slept until 7:30am.

I leisurely got out of bed, and decided to run a local trail that I used to love. It’s a route I can not do with Dante, because it doesn’t accomodate running strollers. It was a cool morning, perfect for running, and I did the 2.5 mile loop with just two brief walk breaks. That is the most I have run in almost two years. I felt amazing afterwards. And despite some slight wheezing, I did not need my inhaler (which is good, since I forgot it at home). I stretched a bit, then went to my favorite bagel shop for coffee and a bagel.

When I got home, I read for half an hour in the sunshine. I’m reading One Hundred Years of Solitude.And though I was only on page 55, I had to start all over today, because I felt like I was missing some crucial element to the story. Honestly, I read like ten pages a night before I fall asleep, so my brain is not exactly operating on full power. Anyway. So now I’m re-reading One Hundred Years of Solitude, and it was nice to have some time in which to do that.

I ran around the house getting some tidying done, then went to pick up my gorgeous son.

He beamed when he saw me. He lunged out of his Mom-Mom’s arms, and reached out for me. I extended my arms to embrace him, and he reached right for my sunglasses and plucked them off my head.

Ah well. I still think he missed me.

We spent most of the rest of the day outside. We played on our “beach”, which is a little plot of sand in our backyard. I pushed him in his swing. We went for a slow and quiet walk. We ate mac n cheese and peas and cod and sweet potato and strawberries and crackers and beets and cheese…. he is a well-fed baby. And by the end of the afternoon, he was so tuckered out that he went to bed 20 minutes earlier than usual and with not even the slightest protest.

I can’t believe there was ever a time that Dante was not in my life. He has brought me so much joy, and he brings joy to everyone in his life. He has an amazing little personality (explorative, adaptable, and affectionate with a touch of mischievious), and I feel so fortunate that he is also blessed with good health.

We are a happy little family, and I thank God daily that I am a mother.

…but not really.

Just got home from a fun night out with some grad school friends, and I am certainly buzzing. I don’t drink a whole  lot, and a few beers can do a number on me.

In the past, after drinking with the girls, if I were to find myself at home alone, I would have done some drunk dialing and tried to reconnect with people I should stay disconnected from. Or maybe I would have bypassed home all together and driven to someone’s house, in the hopes of finding some trouble there. Or I would have just called a bunch of friends to find out who was still out so I could go and drink way too much and just drown my aspirations in a big ol’ vat of beer.

But not tonight.

Yes, I was a little buzzed as I left the restaurant, and I know now that two is no longer my limit….. one is.  But I got home to my cozy house, with baby toys littered like lucky charms, and had no desire to be anywhere else. And positively no desire to stir up any trouble. Whatsoever.

In fact, it’s not much after ten, but I have to get to bed, because Dante still wakes up around 5:30am. Far from being annoyed by this particular circumstance, I am embracing it, and so grateful that my life has finally evolved past the point of senseless drama.

Now I can rest.