Like I Have Time For This?

Many congrats to all of you for not receiving a personality test result that might indicate you are not a RARITY in some form or other.

 And many apologies for my absence from my very own blog this week, but I have been very busy doing:

a) schoolwork with my 7-year-old.

b) negotiations with my 4-year-old regarding just exactly how loud she can be during school time.

c) reminding the children that RegularDad is working the night shift this week and as such must sleep throughout the day and as such, we need to be as quiet as possible in spite of the fact that it’s freekin’ freezin’ outside and we have all this pent up energy that we just can’t seem to get out at the gym or the mall or grocery store or any place OTHER THAN RIGHT OUTSIDE THE DOOR TO THE BEDROOM WHERE REGULARDAD IS TRYING TO SLEEP.

d) reading the new Stephen King novel unpacking diligently as ever.

e) reading the new Stephen King novel catching up on all that laundry.

f) loading up the new dishwasher with large, bulky pots and pans and running it in the middle of the day, just because I can, all while reading the new Stephen King novel cleaning the bathrooms.

g) all of the above.

Did I mention that the new Stephen King is out?

I’m halfway through it. And my 7-year-old just landed on the floor with a thud, followed by an “ow…ow…OW…OW!!!!” She’s clearly hurt, and I’m betting the whole accident went down right outside the bedroom door where RegularDad is trying to sleep.

I’d better get back to reading the new Stephen King novel go see if she’s okay.

I never did get the exact time of his birth, but here are the rest of the stats:

June 15, 2007
8 pounds, 6 ounces
19 inches long

His Apgar score was 9. He’s healthy and doing well, and so is my sister. We stayed the night last night and most of today as well, babysitting my 18-month-old niece, and just got back home a couple of hours ago.

I’ll write up some details of the past 24 hours as soon as I get some rest.

But I did want you all to know that you sent out some pretty serious vibes!

She had that baby in less than 4 hours! Total time of labor ended up being 3 hours, 20 minutes. By the time I’d made the 2-hour drive (in Friday afternoon rush hour traffic, mind you) he’d already arrived.

I’m thinking it was you. Damn, you guys are GOOD.

Just…Got…the Call. It’s time!

 We’re headed north!

Everyone…send good vibes to RegularSis!

Just wanted to let you all know that as of this past Monday, June 11th, my husband celebrated one whole year nicotine-free!

Yep, that’s right! He quit that chewin’ tobacco last summer, and this time it’s for good!

 Can we all give him a rousing good cheer? Send in some comments and tell him how excellent he is!

Seriously, hon….GREAT JOB! You’re the best!

My sister is expecting her second baby within the next week or so.

She’s being really quiet about the whole thing, but I remember being THAT pregnant, and I just know she’s really looking forward to Not Being Pregnant Anymore. She’s very beautiful and gracious about it, though. Unlike me at that time in my life, she glows. She smiles joyfully. Her skin isn’t all blotchy. And you know she’s gonna drop that weight in like 45 minutes flat.

It would all be perfect and idyllic, if not for one tiny little glitch in the whole event: our mother.

Our mother is A BIT self-involved, to put it mildly. And she’s not really fond of GERMS. She loves being the ‘Nana’ in a romantic old-fashioned classical literature kind of way, but I suspect she’s really looking forward to when she’s a Nana to OLDER children. The kind that don’t need diapers, and always flush, and wash their hands, and don’t come at you covered in unidentifiable sticky stuff.

So, she’s really looking forward to seeing the new baby, but I suspect she’d really prefer to see the new baby in a clean-room while wearing a germ-proof suit like Dustin Hoffman wore in that movie about the Ebola virus.

Because our mother is so fussy about GERMS And The Babies That Carry Them, my sister and her husband have WISELY asked me to be the Point Of Contact for this big event. So, pretty soon, I’ll be getting a call and jumping into my minivan with my kids to drive like mad across the Delaware to babysit my little niece while her mom is busy producing her little brother (or sister) and her daddy is busy helping her mom produce said sibling.

This arrangement will work out nicely. It will allow my sister and her husband to concentrate fully on the birth process knowing that the person watching their other child won’t stuff her full of sugar at the drop of a hat, and will actually change a dirty diaper if necessary instead of letting it sit and Pretending The Poop Didn’t Happen.

My sister and my brother-in-law will also rest easy in the knowledge that I will not try to move in with their family (rent free) at any given moment, that I will not lift any spare change I find under the couch cushions (not to mention any tens, twenties or VISA check cards I ’accidentally’ come across while digging through their desk drawers), and that I will not peruse their personal mail or diaries. Sadly, my mother is prone to these types of behavior.

I’ll probably just order in some pizza, watch a whole lot of Elmo with my niece and my daughters, make some popcorn just because it’s SO HYSTERICAL to watch my little niece actually eat popcorn, and maybe do a little laundry if I come across it. And then at some point, I’ll cry when they bring home their new little baby and take a BAZILLION pictures and post them all here (if they say it’s okay) so you can oooh and ahhh and cry with me.

Welcome to Baby-Watch 2007!