tonyandkirsten.org

We try and arrange our schedules so that I can get out one night a week for some “alone time” away from the kids.  I usually use a majority of this time to get some extended time with God, and sometimes I also do a little shopping or whatever else I might be in the mood for.  My usual routine is to go get coffee somewhere, and then spend time reading my Bible, praying and then sometimes reading something else for fun.

Tonight I went to a Caribou Coffee, since I had a gift card to use from there. I prefer the local shops, but you can’t beat having a free drink.

I hadn’t been thinking at all about what I wanted while I was traveling there, so I needed a few moments to think about it once I arrived.  Here’s an approximation of what happened next:

Clerk (after I had been standing there about two seconds, obviously looking at the menu board): What can I get for you?

Me: I’m still deciding

Clerk: Oh, are you in the mood for something hot or cold?

Me: Hot

Clerk: Okay, do you want something sweet or not-so-sweet?

Me: I really am familiar with the drinks, I just need a moment to think about it.

Clerk: Do you like things that are chocolaty or fruity or…

Me (interrupting): It doesn’t help me make decisions when you are talking to me the whole time.  Fine, I’ll just have a Caramel High Rise.

Clerk: Wait, what else were you considering?

Me (annoyed): A White Raspberry Mocha. Why?

Clerk: Well, I think you should get that instead.

Me: Is there a reason you are trying to get me to change my mind?

Clerk: It’s probably what you really want. Most people’s snap decisions are really their second or third choice.

Me: Okay, fine. I’ll see if you are right.  Make it a medium, with whip.

Clerk: Are you sure you don’t want it iced?

Me: No (again, annoyed voice — Iam thinking how I already said I wanted a hot drink).

Clerk: Have you ever tried the Lite White Berry version of that drink?

Me: Yes, but just do the regular version tonight, okay?

Clerk: Okay, and did you want whip on that?

Me: Yes!  (Again, I’m thinking about how I already told him this)

We then finally finished out the transaction and my drink was quickly made by the barista and was waiting for me at the end of the counter.  This experience was so humorous it almost could have been something out of a Monty Python sketch or something.  I wonder if this clerk is always like this.

I was so flustered and annoyed by the whole experience that I forgot to order it decaf, which I usually do since I don’t need that much caffeine in the evening.  The result is that it’s almost midnight, I haven’t slept at all, and Erik will be awake again sometime in the next one to three hours for a feeding.  I better get to bed and try and make myself sleep before I have a really regrettable morning tomorrow!

As Madeline nears three years old, it’s very clear that she likes doing things her own way. Sometimes, she wants to do things her own way for the sake of being in control — like when she is hungry but yet refuses to eat food we know she likes for dinner.  We try really hard not to give in to her behavior in those circumstances.

There are other times when it isn’t very important and and just isn’t worth the battle.  Yesterday, it was 90 degrees outside and 85 degrees inside our non-air-conditioned house.  At one point, Madeline insisted to the point of tears that she needed to wear a sweatshirt.  I tried to reason with her and protest, but she wasn’t convinced.  So, I finally gave her one to put on (after she stopped crying and asked again nicely).  As I suspected, she wore it for about 10 minutes and then took it off saying she was “really, really, hot.”

Today, the weather has thankfully been much cooler.  Around mid-day it was about 68 degrees in our house with a cool breeze blowing in the windows. I’ve had a sweatshirt on most of the day.  And of course then at this point, Madeline insisted that she wanted to wear her new swimsuit and matching swimming cover-up dress around the house.  She didn’t need me to help her much with this, so before I could even protest very much she had made the switch and was asking me to cut off the tags. At least she let me direct her toward putting her regular clothes back on when she lay down for her nap!

Erik turned six weeks old this past Sunday.  He celebrated by sleeping for six hours at one stretch that night! He hasn’t done six hours any other nights yet, but has done 4 or 5 hours several times now — which is still a great improvement for me over only three hours from the start of one feeding to the beginning of the next! He is nearly 12 lbs now — we weighed him last Friday and he came in at 11.75 lbs, so 12 lbs is coming very soon.  The 3-6 month onesies are starting to fit well and the 0-3 month sleepers will be packed away soon. He will still be able to wear his 0-3 month pants/shorts for a while yet — his legs are very short compared to his torso.

He’s also filling up his little bassinet pretty well.  I wouldn’t be so concerned about this except for the fact that it has thick fabric sides, and although he can’t roll over yet, he can scoot to the edge somehow and also kind of “flip up” onto his side.  I’ve found him with his face rather close to the side too many times for comfort.   Our original plan was to keep Erik in our room until he could mostly sleep through the night if possible, since he will be sharing a room with Madeline and we don’t want to keep her up with his screams when he wakes up to eat.  It’s also a lot further to have to go to the other bedroom to get him as opposed to just picking him up from the bassinet at the side or end of our bed.

There just isn’t room for anything bigger in our room than his bassinet, so my first solution was to buy a cheap replacement  to use until he is sleeping longer — one with mesh sides so that if he scooted up against the side he could still breathe.  I found something on craigslist for 10 bucks that I thought might work, but Tony objected to the idea of us cramming yet another baby item into our small house with its limited storage space.  So, Tony thought we should “hack” our current bassinet to make it more breathable.

We went to wal-mart last night and purchased some mesh-type fabric.  With this, we can make a “window” on both sides of the bassinet for breathing. And by “we” I  mean Tony, because I don’t trust my sewing ability enough to undertake such a project. There are bars on the sides of the bassinet, so the fabric/seams don’t have to be structurally supportive.  But the design of the bassinet’s removable fabric cover is a bit tricky, so it’s not a simple project.

We didn’t get very far on the actual sewing last night, but I am sure we’ll have some proud pictures of Tony’s bassinet hacking to post soon.  I can see it now– the next hit show on one of those home channels will be “pimp my bassinet.”