Ross House: Before and After

Work has really thrown a wrench into the machine, so to speak.

Laundry:
Used to be clean and put away
Is now dirty and all over the place

Dinner:
Used to be planned in advance and made from scratch
Is now processed and hardly nourishing

Carson's Toys:
Used to be put "in their place" after each use
Are now ticking time bombs for bare feet

Blog Posts:
Used to be creative, funny and frequent
Are now half-assed, ordinary and scarce

My Response to Personal Emails:
Used to be a day or two
Sucks - I'm not being selective; it's universal across the board.

Conversations with my Dad:
Used to be daily
Are now hit-or-miss if I'm able to pick up

Tolerance of Clutter:
I'm sorry; did you just say something? OCD Trish didn't hear you.
Is now through the roof

TV-watching:
Used to consume my evenings
Is now replaced by nightly baby chores

I could go on and on, but I won't. You get my drift!


(Neither Nate nor I went into the office today...we were snowed in!)


(Carson is learning to "smile" for the camera.)

Leasons Learned

TUESDAY - I got my butt, Carson's rump and my hubby's rear out of the house by 7:30AM, which allowed enough time for Nate and I to drop Carson off at school and grab a coffee at Panera, all before reaching work by 9:00 AM. Now, I'm fairly certain I'll have to drink even more coffee than I already do, wear extra concealer to hide my dark circles, and hold my eyelids open for pillow-talk with Nate, but all that is doable.

WEDNESDAY - I worked from home. It is not easy cranking out solid work product while entertaining your son; however, I will make this work. Seeing Carson roll over for the first time outweighs my lack of productivity while at home. (That's right - Carson rolled from his back to his tummy Wednesday afternoon!)

THURSDAY - Leaving clean clothes in the dryer for days on end until I have the time to fold them and put them away is acceptable. Spending time with my family takes precedent over a picked-up house.

FRIDAY - I no longer get up at 5:30 AM. The entire family gets up when Carson decides we should, which is normally around 6:30 AM. Nate and I spend the rest of the morning juggling what needs to be done until we're all three out of the house. Tag-teaming the morning's responsibilities makes for a more pleasant and less stressed Trish.

Heading back to work was really, really great for me. I was welcomed back with open-arms and realized just how much I missed my friends, adult conversation, work challenges, professional attire, etc. And Carson really does enjoy his "new" environment. He is certainly well on his way to winning over every adult, toddler and baby at school. What can I say, they love him!

My ability and capacity to love and care for my son (and my hubby) will not change because I'm a working mother.

The Ross Family's new routine is taking shape.

Bluto: TOGA! TOGA!

I stayed with Grandma and Grandpa on Saturday night so that Mommy and Daddy could go to their friend's wedding in Kansas City. It was their first night away from me, and from what I can tell, Mommy and Daddy did great without me! I heard Mommy say that the last time she was up at 3:00 AM was when I was a tiny, little baby and had to eat in the middle of the night.

You know that movie, Animal House? I bet that's how Mommy and Daddy acted at the reception - out of control. Thank goodness I didn't have to watch.

Snap out of it!

Yesterday was Carson's first day at school. (I decided it best to do a dry run before next Tuesday.) To my surprise, I didn't shed a tear. I dropped my baby off, along with a laundry list of Carson-isms for the head teacher, and headed out for a day of errands.

After a venti Starbucks (to raise my spirits!) and a few errands, I called to check in - Carson was just fine. When I picked him up, Miss Kim said he had the best "first day" of any baby she has ever cared for. He didn't cry or fuss one time while away from me. (Not sure how that makes me feel.) What he did do was flash a toothless grin at anyone who would look his direction.

I know the saying goes, "If Momma's not happy, no one is," but I'd like to adjust it slightly - "If Carson's happy, Momma is."

And in response to the title of this post, I have.


(Carson's ready for school!)

I love my Paw-Paw!

Paw-Paw Ite stayed with us Monday and Tuesday. Mommy and Daddy are cool, but Paw-Paw makes even better funny faces than they do. And the Itsy-Bitsy Spider song Mommy sings to me every morning is so boring compared to Paw-Paw's Donald Duck voice. How does he do that?

I really tried to hold in my "wet burps" when Paw-Paw was feeding me, but I spit up on every single shirt he brought with him. If I smell like my bottle all day long, everyone else should too, right!?!

It's too bad Grammie had to work. She really missed out!

-CER

Stigma

I wish I could blame my emotions on female hormones, but what I am feeling is flowing straight from the heart. I have sobbed at least three times this week in anticipation of sending Carson to school. I thought the sleepless nights were an adjustment; what I am going through now is far worse.

Ms. Dread is looking forward to...

When I return to work, I will miss the following:
-mornings with my very active and "chatty" son
-casually sipping coffee while watching The Today Show
-laying around in my pjs
-watching the shear joy on Carson's face as he recognizes me when I go into his
room and say, "Good morning, Sweetheart!"
-the lack of stress staying at home causes

When I return to work, I will dread the following:
-dropping Carson off at daycare so that someone else can enjoy his morning chatter
-slamming my first cup of coffee at 5:30a while the shower heats up
-convincing myself that baby spit-up is an appropriate accessory for work attire
-getting ready while my husband is the recipient of the "good morning" grin
Carson flashes as you pick him up out of his crib (I'll be jealous; I admit it.)
-the stress associated with getting myself and my child out of the house each day(Actually, I'll only do this three times a week; I plan to work from home two days a week when possible.)

When I return to work, I look forward to:
-laughing with Kim, Heather, Lisa, Tara, Kyle, etc.
-purchasing my second cup of coffee en route to work (I have missed you, Starbucks!)
-looking like pre-baby Trish
-seeing Carson smile when I enter the daycare's infant room
-thriving on the stress associated with being a wife, mommy, and professional

Don't Worry, Be Happy

Here is a little song I wrote
You might want to sing it note for note
Don't worry be happy
-Bobby McFerrin



I pulled a fast one on Mommy today - I let her tape me on her camera while I played on my mat. Little does she know that I know she'll pick me up and kiss me when I do "special" stuff. Sucker!



Something else that I like in addition to Mommy's kisses - TV! I will watch any show that's colorful with lots of action...Monday Night Football, Entertainment Tonight, Ellen, Baby Einstein videos....you get the picture. High def rocks!

-CER


(I have a great view of the TV from here.)

Duke of Earl

Mommy and Daddy and I celebrated Christmas with Daddy's family this past Sunday. Uncle Boog and Aunt Melissa were visiting from Detroit, so it was that much better with everyone there. I know Grandma was happy to have all three of her boys home...so happy that she made a really good meal for us. I didn't eat it, but I know it was good because Mommy had to unbutton her pants mid-way through the main course. Guess that means she ate too much, huh?

Here are pics of me with my family!
-CER


(Nathan Earl, Kenneth Earl & Carson Earl)


(Uncle Boog and yours truly)


(Aunt Carrie and a very cute baby - my cousin is in the picture, too.
Uncle Greg and Aunt Carrie are going to have a baby!)


(Aunt Melissa and Mommy's pride and joy)


(Grandma and a little stud)


(Uncle Creep and a big buck-a-roo)

Diarrhea

Another turd, and this one's major. Both of our deck doors leaked during a recent torrential down pour. The hardwood floors are ruined in both the breakfast area and our bedroom. Thank goodness for home owner's insurance. It will cover wood plank replacement and the re-staining of the entire first floor. I wonder if insurance will somehow cover the huge pain in the ass it will be to empty furniture from our kitchen, dining room, breakfast nook, great room, master bedroom and entry way while the sanding and re-staining are completed?

Doubt it. What a bunch of poop.

BACK

Back to the Future - this is one of my favorite movies. I may have mentioned this in one of my earlier posts...Michael J. Fox will forever be one of my first crushes. Alex P. Keaton was one cute geek!

Adam Sandler - another favorite of mine. "Back to school...back to school, to prove to Dad that I'm not a fool. I got my lunch packed up, my boots tied tight. I hope I don't get in a fight."

SIR MIX-A-LOT - ringing any bells? Don't tell me you didn't dance a time or two to "Baby Got Back" in high school. Shelley, I have two words for you - county fair.

Britney Spears - she has had one heck of a come-back , hasn't she? I am no longer embarrassed to admit that I have "Womanizer" and "Circus" on my ipod.

PwC - I'm heading back to work two weeks from today.

My reaction to work has slightly changed over the last few days. (Maybe it's the rejuvenation caused by the new year?) While I am not entirely thrilled with the idea of dropping my kid off at daycare, I know that it will be good for him to interact with other rug rats. And I can honestly say that exchanging jeans and flats for dress pants and heels will be good for me. The "fire" I used to have for professional success was nearly smothered when Carson arrived. That fire isn't necessarily a full-blown blaze these days, but it's still certainly burning.

Do You Believe in Magic

Mommy took me to The Magic House on New Year's Eve! We went with our neighbors, and it was so much fun! Well, I can't really say just how fun The Magic House is since I slept the entire time we were there, but I know that Isabelle and Jake had a great time. Maybe they'll ask me to go with them again when I'm bigger. I really want to climb on the Jack and the Beanstalk thingy and see Mommy's hair stick out while touching that giant silver ball. How does that thing work anyway?

Do you believe in magic in a young girl's heart
How the music can free her, whenever it starts
And it's magic, if the music is groovy
It makes you feel happy like an old-time movie
I'll tell you about the magic, and it'll free your soul
But it's like trying to tell a stranger 'bout rock and roll
-Lovin' Spoonful


Hello!?! How did Mommy expect me to see all that was going on with this thing over my head? No wonder I slept the entire time!


Mommy and Daddy have so much to look forward to!


Dear Favorite Neighbors,
Thanks for asking Mommy and me to go with you!
-CER

Auld Lang Syne

Ringing in 2009 brought an entirely different type of "celebration" than years past. Last year we drank apple martinis while hot-tubbing it with our friends Reece and Susan. I'm pretty sure a couple of us didn't feel 100% for an entire week after the martini madness.

This year we watched the ball drop while sitting on the couch in pjs with our wide-eyed 3-month old propped up in between us. How quickly life changes in just one year. And what the hell does "Auld Lang Syne" mean anyway?

Supersize Me

I have been fortunate enough to not have to buy Carson many clothes since he graced us with his presence. His closet is filled with gifted special occasion outfits, onsies for every day play, and sleep sacks for night. Speaking of sleep sacks, Carson isn't a fan. He kicks his feet so much at night, that by the time 6:30a calls, the "sack" is camped out above his belly. CER's daddy also happens to say, "Get that dress off of him!" ever time I put him in one, so boo to the sack.

Carson's bedtime attire of choice - footed sleepers. Wouldn't we all sleep better at night if we were bundled head to toe (literally!) in a zipped-up get-up?

Like a good Momma, I bought Carson a bunch (And by bunch, I mean ten!) of footed outfits for Christmas. Here's the problem - I washed them without trying them on Carson first.

What size would you have bought your little guy if you were in my shoes? My rationale went something like this: Carson is three months old, so buy the size that compliments his age. Naive Mommy, I am. Of course they are all too small!

My kiddo won't be eating Big Macs; he's off-the-charts big on his own!

Ho, Ho, Ho

Merry Christmas!
We wish you health and happiness in 2009.

O Holy Night

Disclaimer: If you don't approve of swear words, don't read this post.

O Holy Shit, is more like it. Carson and I were on our way home after some last minute shopping with Nate. The three of us hit the mall today and had lunch before Nate headed to work. (Nate stayed downtown for the Illinois/Mizzou hoop game. ILL-INI!) This all seems harmless, right? Nope.

As I entered our subdivision, the Yukon started sliding. Mind you, our house is in the back of a heavily wooded subdivision and is a 30-minute walk from the front of the subdivision. How do I know this....pay attention. The roads were covered with an inch and a half of ice. Add to that very steep inclines, deep ravines, and f'ing gravel roads and you have a clusterfu*k. Staying in the car was not an option; neither was driving. I quickly realized I somehow had to get this cutie home.



I fed Carson a bottle, re-strapped him into his car seat, put on my gloves, shoved the formula I had just bought into my backpack and left the car. I stomped through muddy ditches in the pouring rain to the nearest neighbor's house (Barb and Dave) with Carson's car seat hanging from my arm. Here's where it gets good. Barb and Dave's house was on the opposite side of the street. Since the roads were so slick, I couldn't get myself and Carson to the other side of the street without falling. I put his car seat flat on the ice, held on for dear life and literally slid on my ass (and pushed Carson!) across the street like a baseball player would slide into second base. Yep - I had on jeans, flats, my pea coat and a cashmere scarf. F'ing great.

Bryan, the neighbor who lives closest to us, actually met us at Barb and Dave's and carried Carson to our house as I walked behind him in the rain. By 6p, Carson and I were safely home, though wet and cold.

Needless to say, the stars are brightly shining on me tonight. Thank goodness for nice neighbors!

My Apprentice

I am embarrassed to admit this, but I used to love watching Donald Trump's The Apprentice. I'm not reality TV-crazed per say, but I do enjoy watching a good competition. I especially liked the celebrity version of the show, which most recently starred Lennox Lewis, Trace Adkins and Piers Morgan.

Speaking of mini-mes, Carson is mine. We do everything together, and I wouldn't trade it for the world. No, wait - I will be trading in my mommy routine one month from today. Boo. Where has my professional drive gone, you ask? I have no idea. Work has rarely entered my mind since I left the office in September. To my PwC friends reading this, rest assured that your friend will return on January 20th. It may, however, take a while for the Missouri Market Sourcing Leader to get back in to the swing of things.

I wonder how I'll like being a working mother? I can tell you one thing, I can't get this song out of my head...

You're gonna miss this
You're gonna want this back
You're gonna wish these days hadn't gone by so fast
These are some good times
So take a good look around
You may not know it now
But you're gonna miss this
-Trace Adkins

I'm sick of...

...having this blue thing shoved up my nose. Cold, Cold, go away. Carson Ross wants to play!

My Very Own Name

I may not know how to read just yet, but I love to look at the pictures. My Very Own Name is my favorite book....I wonder if other babies enjoy listening to their mommy's tell them how I was born on September 29th and how a bunch of animals picked out their favorite letters to spell my name, Carson Earl Ross. Weird, if they do.

Anyway, here's me listening closely as Mommy reads my special book to me.

(Keith, Shelley, Mason and Lauren - what a great personalized gift!)

Sleeping Beauty

an·to·nym [ ántənìm ] (plural an·to·nyms)

noun

Definition: word with opposite meaning: a word that means the opposite of another word. For example, "hot" is the antonym of "cold."

[Mid-19th century. < French antonyme< Greek anti- "against, opposite" + onuma "name"]

My baby is still an angel, but I see room for improvement. Carson spent most of last week "figuring out" how to sleep through the night. We put him to bed at his usual time and were pleasantly surprised when he woke at 4:45a on Tuesday, 5:45a on Wednesday, 6:45a on Thursday and 7:10a on Friday. How perfect! He's weening himself from the 3:30a feeding, right? Nope. To my dismay, he's reverted back to his middle of the night feeding. Last night's was at 2:00a! What!?!

Sleeping beauty, Carson is not. Waking wonder is more like it.

Mirror, Mirror...

It's been a busy weekend! Grammie and Paw-Paw Flesner came to visit, so we spent the weekend getting in the Christmas spirit. Well, maybe I should rephrase that a bit - we spent the weekend fighting for a parking spot at the mall, standing in line at registers and rooting around picked-over racks. How sad that these days, the "Christmas spirit" is partially driven by the rat-race of shopping for gifts for family and friends.

We went to a quaint little restaurant near our house for dinner last night. I was the only one at the table who didn't order an alcoholic drink, although after downing 6 or 7 Diet Cokes over the course of dinner and dessert, I suppose my caffeine rush was the equivalent of the buzz everyone else got from the wine. Oddly enough, I was perfectly fine sucking my drink of choice through a straw. Children don't care if you're hung-over; they need you regardless!

...on the wall. Who's the fairest of them all?

Midnight Train

LAST NIGHT
It was 9:56 PM and I inched my way out of Carson's room after his night time ritual -diaper change with Dad, bath with Mom and Dad, snuggle time with Dad in the rocker while Mom picks out baby pjs, and finally, a bottle with Mom. (Last night was Nate's night to give Carson his bedtime bottle, but after an early morning for Nate, I took the feeding and sent Nate to bed.)

As I tip-toed downstairs, the Patricia Cornwell book I just bought caught my eye. (Sad, but true - I love the Kay Scarpetta series!) Every night since Carson has been in our life, I have headed to bed immediately after putting him down for the night. Not so last night; I had the urge for some me time. Nate was already in bed; Carson was "talking himself" to sleep, and the Christmas tree lights were twinkling.....all I wanted to do was curl up on the couch and read my new book. (The first piece of fiction I've picked up since I found out I was pregnant.) So, I did. I read by the light of the Christmas tree for over an hour while my boys slept.

Enough of the melodramatic verbiage -- it was f'ing great to sit by myself last night and do something that solely benefited yours truly! This is what life as a wife and mother is, isn't it. Sneaking in me time whenever possible. I'm down with it!

Journey said it best:

Don't stop believing
Hold on to that feeling

ILL - INI

After Mizzou's ass-kicking this past weekend and embarrassing play these last few weeks, I thought it only appropriate to put Carson in my Alma mater's garb. He always seems to be cranky in his Mizzou onsies.

(What a great onsie, Kim. It was so good to see you today!)

Turds

I'm not talking about Carson's poop. I'm talking about those hidden gems that you don't find during a home inspection. Gems that creep up on you. Annoy you. Don't get me wrong, the people who built our house did a great job with many aspects of the home; however, they seem to have cut corners in the strangest of places. We affectionately refer to these defects as "turds." Here is a list of our top ten turds to date.

10. Our door-bell doesn't work. The hanging chimes look beautiful but don't make a sound. After investigation, the circuit board doesn't work. What a great turd.

9. Our recessed kitchen lights suddenly don't work. The switch has power and is illuminated, but the freakin lights don't turn on. Thanks for that turd.

8. Our guest bedroom has a unique "cut-out." The cut-out houses wires and was covered by a closet door when we purchased the home. So it's not a closet, but a cover-up. Odd turd.

7. Remember that granite counter top post? Come to find out, the counters were not sealed when they were installed. No wonder we had so many water spots. Yeah, turd.

6. When landscaping and seeding our front yard, we accidentally dug up the power lines to our house. The builder didn't bury them deep enough. Yard turds.


5. For some reason, the garage sink does not have hot water, and we can't quite figure out why. Cold turd.

4. At least four outlets in our house were listed as "phone line" when we moved in. Plug in a phone to the "phone outlet" and make calls, right? Wrong. The house was not wired for phone service. Who's calling, please? Turd.

3. Fireplace blower turd. Listen for yourself.


2. Our heating/cooling system came with a built-in humidifier. This is great! No. We found out that the home-builders wired it with 220 volts when it required 110 volts. Needless to say, we had to buy a new motor. This cost us $750. What an expensive turd. (Turd alert - Nate just came upstairs and said we need to buy two new humidifier filters. Special order of course. Damn turd!)

1. Our master shower was completed on November 24th. Yes, it took over 5 months to fix this leaky turd.

Do you have turds?

I'm obsessed.

With my child, that is. Carson has started to smile at me when I pick him up out of his crib in the morning. I never imagined that "Good morning, Sweetheart!" would produce such a response. It makes my heart melt really.

Good-bye, tough Trish. Hello, mushy Mommy!