Friday, August 8, 2014

Bowling and Booze

Odd title for a mostly baby related blog…
not MY baby.
He went bowling with the pass his cousin got from the library for completing her summer reading list (she's not even 2)
Eli spent most the time eating and napping, BUT just before his nap and just after eating we managed to get in a frame. 
Our son is a bowling prodigy.
He got a strike his first time…while half asleep!
Then, he had his first trip to the liquor store to pick up wine to bring to family dinner. I was going to let it pass, but at the checkout the register worker asked about Eli, so of COURSE I had to tell her that she was a part of one of his "firsts"
She laughed and made a joke about how I needed to be sure to jot it down in the baby book. Then, also as a joke, she said "Oh and you should take a picture with him next to Jack to put in there with it"
I don't think she expected me to actually do it.
By this point, we were all laughing (while wondering simultaneously if we could have child protective services called on us for this kind of tom foolery) and she and a male co-worker suggested that we give him a tiny bottle of Jack to go with the photo. 
Of course! 
Why wouldn't I put a tiny bottle of alcohol in my child's hand? 
The entire time Rico was going, "Alli, no, we can't do this."
Want to hear the part that is kind of sweet about this whole experience? 
The male liquor store worker that was excited to have Eli put a tiny whisky bottle in his hand wouldn't do it himself, "I can't take this moment away from his dad."
Whhhhhaaaat?!
You mean the classic moment that every parent dreams of, where they pose their child with a tiny bottle of addictive liquid poison? A dad giving his son his first drink…just happened to be a couple of decades early.
and Rico's final words as the sliding glass doors shut on our way out, "Well, we are officially the worst parents ever"
We DIDN'T have him drink it.
We DIDN'T leave him in the car while we went in to buy it.
We DIDN'T steal anything (in fact, I almost forgot the bottles of wine I had picked up for the dinner)
We DIDN'T drink and drive.
So:
We could be worse.

Saturday, August 2, 2014

My Baby Daddy got a Job

Well, after a July full of waking up, job hunting for an hour or two, then working on the house for the rest of the day- Rico accepted a new job!
This was the job he was most excited about, even from just the job description.
He knew he would be a perfect fit for the position, the people were nice, and the product was something he liked. 
Money.
He'll be the Direct Marketing Coordinator for the headquarters of a bank. 
I did an impromptu photo shoot in Rico's tie so he would have a recent picture of Eli for his desk. Thank goodness he didn't pee on it.
Now some fun details:
1) He interviewed for his previous job the night after being hospitalized for food poisoning.
He interviewed for this job after getting listeriosis (from that pluot recall) where his arms and face fell asleep, his vision went blurry, and he spent days where he couldn't focus mentally on things. 
Perfect for an interview, right?
2) He'll be working downtown and will drive past "our spot" everyday. This commute will be almost exactly HALF the commute he had in KC.
We went and visited "our spot" with Eli when Rico went to show me his new office on our Friday night family date
3) The salary and benefits are much better than he had expected to be able to get in the Wichita area- in fact, he didn't even make a column in his spreadsheets of our future budget that went out that far.
4) The dress is the same as his old job (so no shopping spree for a new suit)
5) His office has 2 buildings across the street from each other (and a third actual bank down the block)- so there is an elevated glass enclosed sidewalk he gets to use. 
I remember seeing these downtown when I was little and wanting to go in them SO bad. 
6) It is also on a main street with all sorts of cool places we remember from our childhoods.  The "River Festival" takes place right on the street in that picture, so he'll be able to look out the window to see parades and all sorts of CRAZY people watching…AND we should get a pretty sweet parking spot (in the garage) for when we want to go at night.
He works in the left building, but these are both his company
One of my favorite places to go when I was little, The Old Mill Tasty Shoppe (an old tiny diner) is right down the street (and across from where Rico and I got our senior pictures taken…ahhh memories)
We went to eat there last night and I ordered the same thing I had as a kid:
Peanut butter, Banana, and Honey sandwich. On WHITE bread. AND we split a chocolate shake!
 (I got a side salad to try to offset all the horrible sugar filled choices I was making. Obviously I am telling you all this because I feel guilty and when I feel guilty I verbally purge)
Look how impressed Eli is. 
Yet another Wichita classic that he slept through. 

Eventually Eli woke up and we went to visit his aunt Ashley and cousin Lizzie who live fairly close. Lizzie was post sticky sno cone (hence the lack of clothing), but agreed to help my sister feed Eli a bottle. 
Or at least TRY. 
Dude hates bottles.
A tiny bit of me likes this, I get boob superior: "Oh, you crappy bottle, you can't even begin to compare to the real deal"
...and then I get off my high horse and realize that is a HUGE pain in the butt because it makes me leaving him with anyone else really hard on them.

So, there it is, the last piece that was missing from our moving home puzzle.
Baby- Check
House- Check
Job- Check

We still have a long way to go before we feel settled and in any sort of groove with any of these things (Except the baby, I think we've pretty much found our new normal with that one. The new normal being that there is no normal and we should go with the flow)

I knew people looked at me like I was a little crazy when I told them that we were picking up and leaving our home and jobs to move somewhere else where we had NO idea what we would be doing  or where we would be living, but I knew God was going to put us WHERE we needed to be WHEN we needed to be there- and boy did He deliver. 
I never doubted. 
I wondered what he had in store. 
OH BOY did I wonder... 
but I always knew that He had His plan and we were just along for the ride.
I won't lie, I'm glad the ride is almost over, maybe now we can go from the super thrilling "you never know what is around the next corner" kind of ride to something a little more tame. 
You know, like going from an intense roller coaster where you almost get whiplash to taking a tram ride through the amusement park while you catch a quick nap. 
Good luck to me on that one. 
I have a hunch that once you start having babies, you have forfeited your ticket to the tram ride portion of life…everything is a little more thrilling now.


Friday, July 25, 2014

Stereotype

At one point tonight, I was:
Barefoot in the kitchen
Making dinner
With a baby on my hip
And a shirt that was wet from his bath, or his drool, or leaky milk- I can't remember
Saying something about how "I had the baby all day- I just need a break"

When I pointed out what a "mom" moment I was having, Rico's response from the other room was- "yeah, but is your hair in a ponytail?"

Why yes, yes it is.

And for bonus points: it was super sloppy because I just threw it up quickly (earlier in the day) because Eli needed me.

....if ONLY I had been wearing yoga pants.


Monday, July 21, 2014

Stinky Boobs

Remember that time I kept saying, "oh my gosh- Eli's farts smell SO bad!" every time I fed him all day?

Remember how I figured out it was actually a stinky breast pad with rotten milk?

Remember how when I figured it out Rico said, "Were you wearing it in Walmart?" and when I said yes he admitted that he totally smelled my stench earlier and just didn't tell me?!

Gross.

love,
Stinky boobs.

Saturday, July 19, 2014

Class reunion: Saturday

Saturday, I got to sleep in while Rico went to the golf tournament with some guy friends. The tournament proceeds went to our amazing friend Cheech (obviously a nickname- at least I hope that is obvious) who JUST FINISHED HER LAST CHEMO TREATMENT! She's got 2 adorable, sweet, funny babies and a loving and devoted husband. She shared her struggles, inspiration, and hopes as she went through treatment and it was very inspiring. I am so very lucky to be surrounded by so many amazing friends.


This ALSO happened to be our 6 year anniversary. 
Our friends put the whole event together,

and I told them that I felt like they were planning our second wedding.

Seriously, beautiful location (yes, a barn, but a cute barn- and NO I did not grow up in the country),

beautiful flowers/ decorations, 


a bar, a dj, yummy food, and a lot of the same people.

Like my girls.

 10 years, lots of weddings, and lots of babies later,
two in the oven as I type this!
when we all get together we still act just like we did at those after football game slumber parties on Friday nights: like dorks.

 It was awesome to see people that live so very far away.

There was also a photo-op spot. Perfect!


I told Rico that for our anniversary he had to remember that I spent the morning alone while he golfed, and that he owed me a favor at the party that night. 
Rico: "Only if you tell me what it is"
Me: "No"  
Rico "Fine, but it can't be in front of people"
Me: "Weeeeellllll, it has to be"
Rico: "Fine, but not more than 4 people"
Me: "Deal"
So I made him do our vows photo-booth style. I even brought some of my own props!

For better or for worse
In sickness or health
For richer or poorer
As long as we both shall live
Yep, he played alone without complaining and ALMOST without rolling his eyes. Poor guy.
We also were sure to renew our vows (we do it for our anniversary every year to something random- dolphins, monkeys, fish while underwater, you know, like totally normal people). This year we took a walk to the field and said them to some cows.
The whole night was a blast. It was great to get out, get dressed up, and be with adults. 

Friday, July 18, 2014

Class Reunion: Friday Night

Ways you know you live in a small town
1- On the wall of the bar, there is a mounted (as in framed and in glass) jersey of one of your groomsmen
Yep- that #77
2- You not only know your waitress- you love her AND she brings you drinks that you've never had before that are delicious! I couldn't tell you what it was- but I CAN tell you that I made up for a year of no beverages by having 1 of almost anything I had craved this past year (with the exception of a margarita and a tequila sunrise) 
Don't judge me.
Mama pumped for an ENTIRE week to earn those drinks. 
(all that pumping and Eli was at home torturing his grandparents by not eating his bottles! Poor grandma and grandpa)
3- Your reunion is in a barn- and there are actually a couple of people there in non-ironic cowboy boots / hats- more on that later

4- You are one of the answers to the "find someone who...." Game. Actually, you could be several answers

Friday night at the bar in highlight form
1- A pregnant friend ordered fried pickles
2- Got to see many of my favorite people
Some of the boys of 2004
Some of the girls of 2004
3- Got to be an adult (sans child since Rico's parents were babysitting)
4- Got a surprising number of people telling me that they read the blog. 1 that said he liked it-
Actually, he "------ loves to read your blogposts"
(Former students, pretend that blank says "really")
the others just that they've read it (translation: I read your blog, saw your over sharing, and read on only because I couldn't believe you were really talking about your -----. I may have even re-visited it once or twice just to see if you wrote something else that will make me feel more "normal" in comparison to you"
5- Got a little touchy freely with our friend Tom, indicating to Rico that the time had come for us to leave
6- Used the Fogle Taxi (my parents) for the first time in over a year.
And now, the sad ending. Here you see the milk I had to dump down the drain.
Wasted.
Better wasted milk than wasted baby.
I still felt like I was holding a funeral when I was dumping it down the toilet.
RIP breastmilk.

Lizzie-Sitting

We got to do some cousin babysitting. I maaaay have over documented- but I love watching Rico play with her!
From drawing pictures together
 To Lizzie "helping" to swing her cousin to sleep in the very swing she used as a baby. She also tried to rip off the birds…it made a horrible noise.
 She found a Lizzie sized bench
 …and her and Rico found a way to make Eli's play gym toddler appropriate- turn it into a TENT.
Gee- Rico hides so well!
 It's ok, Lizze is a good seeker, she somehow managed to spot him.
We need a girl next. 
I'm saying it.