Just a Regular Night on the Mother Ship

So I'm working last night at the Mother of All Coffee Houses and this lady comes in. She seems nice enough as she says, "I'd like to order a cappuccino." A cappuccino? Sure, no problem. So I grab a hot cup to write the order on and she says, "Oh no, I want an iced one." An ICED cappuccino? (For those of you who are coffee illiterate, a cappuccino is shots of espresso, half steamed milk and half HOT FOAM. Foam can't be made with cold milk). I try to explain that we can't make an iced cappuccino, how about an iced latte instead? It's similiar but doesn't require any foam. But oh no, she keeps insisting, "No - I want an ICED CAPPUCCINO!" I'm trying really hard not to roll my eyes in exasperation as I run down a list of other iced drinks we have for her in hopes that she'll choose something else. But she starts yelling at me going "What's wrong with you people?! I just want an iced cappuccino. It shouldn't be so complicated to order a damn drink!" I'm trying really hard to think of something to say to make this lady calm down when an idea comes to me. "Do you mean an iced Frappuccino?" I ask. "It sounds a lot like cappuccino." She gets quiet for a second and then gives me this very cold look and says, "Yes, a Frappuccino, that's what I've been saying ALL ALONG."

Sighhhhh, I love this job.

How Cute Is This?!!!!

Last night, Rory had a hot date with his girlfriend Avery...

You're Right, Uncle Jer - He Does Look Like You!

My Son, The Non-Sleeper

About a week or so ago, my six month old son decided that he no longer needed to sleep. Of course, he never discussed this with me or asked me if it was okay, he just made the decision all by himself and has stubbornly stuck by it.

I've tried EVERYTHING to get him to sleep - rocking, bouncing, singing, begging, pleading - NOTHING WORKS. He's so incredibly overtired that he fights anything I try. And with little to no sleep, he is quickly becoming The Crankiest Baby in the World (not to mention the fact that I'm becoming an exhausted, Cranky Mama).

I had lunch with my friend Amanda the other day and she told me that a book called Healthy Sleep Habits, Healthy Child had worked miracles for her with her daughter, and since I'm desperate, I ran right home and ordered it online. Now I'm pacing the floors waiting for it to arrive and praying that it provides me with the answers I'm looking for. Because it CAN'T go on like THIS...

SPAM

Apparently, I'm getting to be sooooo popular that people are spamming my comments! Am I cool or what?

Makes Mouths Happy

Mmmmmm...wooden spoons!

Stranger Danger

Today I took Rory to the outlet mall to try and find some clothes for him since my son is a baby giant and has outgrown EVERYTHING HE OWNS. Unfortunately, he has only so much patience for his stroller, so I decided to put him in the Baby Bjorn and carry him around to keep him happy (although my back will probably never forgive me for it.)

After doing a little shopping for him, I thought a little window shopping for myself was in order, so I headed over to the Nike outlet store to take a look at their sneakers. As I was waddling around the store with my 20 lb baby strapped to my body, I heard someone come up behind me and say "Your baby is so cute!". I turned to say thank you and saw a woman wearing the Nike store uniform standing there smiling strangely. She started talking really fast and saying "I just love babies! Babies are so cute! I'm really good with babies! Babies love me!" and she kept trying to grab Rory's hands. Now, I could tell right away that she was mentally challenged, so I was trying to be patient with her, but she kept grabbing at Rory's hands and face. I could tell that it was starting to scare him, and then he a few seconds later, he began to cry. So I said with as nice of a smile as I could muster, "Sorry, he doesn't really like strangers touching him. It upsets him." But she kept saying "Oh no, babies just LOVE me!" and she WOULDN"T STOP! I finally had to turn so my back was between her and Rory so she couldn't reach him. I quickly said "Ok, we've got to go now, thanks!" and I began to hurry out of the store with my hysterical son. Then, as if that wasn't enough, she actually FOLLOWED US to the door and I have to admit I was starting to freak out a little bit. However, when we got to the exit, she stopped and started waving like a maniac and yelling "Bye baby! Buh Bye, baby!"

It took me 20 minutes to calm Rory down after that and I was pretty shook up myself. I felt like I had just paid a visit to the twilight zone! Perhaps I didn't handle that right? If something like that should ever happen again in the future, any suggestions on how to manage the situation? How do you tell strangers not to touch your child without being rude?

(And by the way, don't take your babies to the Nike outlet in Camarillo! Consider yourselves warned!)

Six Months

Rory -
Well, you've officially turned six months old, and your father and I can barely belive it. You've been around now for HALF A YEAR - how is it possible that it's been that long? It seems like just yesterday that we were bringing you home from the hospital, just a tiny helpless bundle with two new parents that didn't have a clue what we were in for. There wasn't much to you then really, you were sort of just this cute baby blob who cried, ate and pooped - pretty much in that order - all day, every day.

But as the months have gone by, amazing changes have taken place. Yes, you still cry, eat and poop, but now you can do so much more! You're sitting up by yourself, eating solid foods, rolling over, reaching out and grabbing things, trying to eat your feet, and laughing when your daddy and I tickle you. You've suddenly become a little HUMAN, with your own personality, right before our eyes. You know exactly what you like (insert big baby smile here) and what you don't like (insert ridiculously loud shrieking here), and you're not afraid to let us know exactly how you feel at any given moment.



And let's talk about the crazy growth spurt you've had. Twenty pounds at six months! Oye! I can barely carry you anymore! You've outgrown all of your 6-9 month clothes that you wore for like one whole second, and now all that fit are your size 3 diapers. So if you look like a little white trash baby in just a diaper and a bib for the next few months, I hope you can forgive me, but I just can't keep up with all this GROWING. We even had to go out and buy you a big boy car seat tonight because I could no longer lift you in and out of the car in your infant seat without throwing out my back. Have I mentioned that I have arms of STEEL?!



But no matter how sore my arms and back may be, or how tired I might get, seeing your beautiful smile makes it ALL worth it. After a long day of work, there is nothing better than coming home and having your face light up when you see me walk in the door. I hope that no matter how old you are, that part never changes...

Happy six months, Rory Bear.

Love,
Mama

Wouldn't You Know It...

Hoby and I bought tickets to a concert a few months ago (sorry I can't say what concert it is because Hoby would kill me) and like most new parents, we were really looking forward to having a big night out on our own for the first time without Rory. We were going to go out for a romantic dinner, go to the concert and then have a WHOLE night to ourselves for blissfully, uninterrupted sleep. I had to ask for the night off weeks ahead of time from work, and we started preparing Rory for his first sleep over at his grandparent's house.

Yesterday was the big day, so I got up early and started getting all of Rory's things together to take to my parent's house - his hammock, extra clothes and bibs, his baby food, bottles, extra pacifiers, his favorite toys, his Baby Einstein DVD, his teddy bear, the list goes on and on. If you're a parent, you know how it is. You have to take EVERYTHING and then some.

So we get to my folks house and spend a few hours hanging out so we wouldn't just be dropping Rory off and leaving him. Right before we were going to leave for the evening, Hoby decided to check the concert website for directions. Here's what he found:

"Tonight's concert is postponed due to illness. A rescheduled date will be posted as soon as it is available."

Do we have the BEST luck or what?!