The Truth

I feel like I've been lied to.  When we left the hospital with Drea, we were given a variety of "tools" and very general, and seemingly "easy-to-follow" instructions.  One of the tools we received was the Infant Bulb Syringe.  I don't know if this is the clinical name, but we refer to it as the "sucky thing."  For some reason, the manufacturers of the sucky thing do not give you instructions?  They really should have. 

Someone should have warned us of this tool's nastiness.

 

These are the instructions I created and plan on submitting to the manufacturer.  It's only fair for other new parents.

Step 1:  Recruit a Team Member - this is not a one-person job.

Step 2:  Hold Bulb behind your back so the child does not see it.  Please note - You should only perform this if you are, or were a Navy Seal and have been professionally trained in stealth missions.

Step 3:  Instruct your team member to hold the child's arms down - this needs to be performed within 0.5 seconds and done with the strength of 10 men, as it is common for any child - ages 0-5 - to gain super-human strength to fend off the Bulb.

* The following steps need to be performed within 1.5 seconds - please practice on a pet, or yourself until mastered as it will only make life easier *

Step 4:  Sneak the bulb into perfect alignment with the tiniest nostril you have ever encountered.  Simultaneously squeeze the bulb and swing it into position with said tiny nostril.

  Step 4a:  If you accidentally poke your child in the eye with tip of the Bulb, do not release it as this will only suck moisture out of the eye and this is not recommended.

  Step 4b:  If you hit anything other than your child's itty bitty nostril, follow this set of instructions --

    STOP -- hide the Bulb -- pick up your child -- begin playing -- change toys a few times until your
    child calms down -- bring them to a new room so as not to remind them of what just happened --
    Resume from Step 1.

Step 5:  Within 0.5 seconds - suck snot out of first nostril - release Bulb and wipe it on your pants (luckily you have changed out of your work clothes before attempting this).

Step 6:  Within 0.5 seconds - suck snot out of second nostril - release Bulb and wipe it on your pants. 
* Please note - you should not wipe in the same area as this is counter-productive and you will have snot all over the place.

Step 7:  Say a quick prayer that you got all of the snot out of both teeny nostrils.

Step 8:  Prepare to be really fun for the rest of the night to make up for the trauma you caused.

Since Drea has had a cold for a couple of weeks, I now consider Dustin & I masters of the sucky thing, but I'm pretty sure she still considers us amateurs.

Man Down

What did you do over the weekend?  Took it easy?  Well, I can tell you about the interesting weekend we had! 

On Sunday, Dustin let me sleep in - which is awesome - what is not awesome is how I woke up.  I was starting to "come to" when I heard this THUD and a screaming cry ... I ran out to the kitchen to see Dustin holding Drea - "What happened??!" - "She fell from her high chair!  I took the tray off and turned to set it down, then BAM - she scooted right off and fell face-first!"  Needless to say, it was traumatic for all of us ... but more so for Dustin - he saw her fall 2-3 feet ... poor guy.

I took Drea into her room and turned on her noise machine to help soothe her.  Dustin brought in a warm bottle and I fed her and rocked her until her tears stopped and she calmed down.  Then I began feeling her sides and face - as best I could - to watch her reactions.  She sat up when Dustin left the room, which was a good indication that her ribs were ok ... she let me tickle her nose and neck too, so I felt better about that.  Dustin called the clinic and explained what happened.  Considering she is only almost 8 months old and hit her head, they advised us to take her to the ER for further examination.  The nurse explained that it was purely precautionary and it sounded like she was fine ... but it was better safe than sorry!  By this time her & I were in the living room and she was bouncing on my lap and playing with my face - if you know Drea, you know this is perfectly normal!  

So we loaded her up and prepared for a long wait at the ER!  Luckily we got right into a room - Drea charmed the triage nurses and the attending nurse - then proceeded to wait for 2 hours until the Doc could see us.  Lo and behold he confirmed what we knew - she was, is, and continues to be PERFECT!  He told us how his own 20-month old fell down the stairs and scared him & his wife.  Dustin and I took immense comfort in this - hey, if the ER DOCTOR'S child can fall, then so can ours! 

We rode home with the realization that we created an indestructible child and have immediate plans for her to join the circus.  Kidding.  We were beyond thankful that she was ok ...

What have we learned from this?  Well, Dustin improved upon his "packing" skills.  Granted, she's on the floor here, but that proves he isn't taking any chances ...

Drea is fully capable of sitting up on her own now ... she occasionally topples, but overall is pretty steady.  As you can see, Dustin has us back to square one.  Not only is the boppy surrounding her, but she has 3 back-up pillows - just in case.  She sure is cute though. 

And you can barely see the little "egg" on her forehead ... I circled it for your viewing pleasure ...

I'm sure this is only the first of many-a-tumble for our little lady ... but I commend Dustin & myself for keeping our composure and not scaring the bah-jeezus out of her by screaming/crying/running around - which is what we felt like doing. 

Welcome to Parenthood!

P.S.  here is one more picture of her since she's so dang cute when she's all bundled up :)

Letter from Drea

What up guys - Drea here ... Mom told me she started a blog and I asked if I could add my two cents .  Bear with me - I'm still learning my words, so this might be a little "elementary" to some of you older folks.

Things have been crazy lately!  I am eating a ton and am starting to really have fun with my toys!  My favorite foods are sweet potatoes & carrots with some cinnamon on top (good one Mom)!  I did not like cauliflower or peas.  Mom kept trying to "secretly" mix them in with my favorite foods, but I knew better - I clamped my mouth shut and threw myself back in my high chair.  It only took a few times, but she figured it out.  Here I am cooperating (6 months old) ...

I love me some apples and pears too, but since I eat those in the morning, I didn't let Mom get a picture of that - my hair wasn't even done yet & I was in my jammies, come on!  Oh man - I guess she did get a picture of that ... well, at least I didn't have food on my face (4 months old here)!

Nevermind - she got a picture of that too ...(4 months old here too)

I got some really fun toys for Christmas too - wanna see?  OK - this is Mr. Penguin ... Uncle Buddy (Jeffrey) gave him to me and he's super fun! 

 

I also love Mr. Turtle - as you can see, he lights up - but what you can't see if that he plays music when I touch his lights!  I'm not sure why, but my favorite part of him are his feet - I love to chew on them!!  Mom took this picture when I was 5 months old ...

 

My Great Aunt Nancy gave me this really cool bouncy seat toy thing - Mom & Dad call it my "command center" and I think that about sums it up.  This is my first time in it when I was about 3 months old - looks fun, right??

As you can see - this picture was taken when my toy was set on the lowest setting (little yellow circle on the "leg" of the toy), but NOW I'm so big that it's on the second level and my feet touch so I can bounce really high and make a loud noise!!

I really love when Dad tickles me - armpits, neck & my legs are pretty good spots!  My feet are also ticklish, but I just pull away and give you a "look" to make sure you don't do it again.  Here is a picture of my good friend Lincoln.  He lives at the house where I go to daycare and he greets me every morning when Dad drops me off.  I was 4 months old here ... I wish I could remember what we were talking about since Lincoln is really funny :)

My other favorite person is Dad!  He is so much fun - you guys have no idea!  Here we are when I was 5 months old laying on the floor - he's really smart so he was showing me the squirrels & birds that play on our deck.

I like this picture because we're both in hats - I tried to switch hats with him, but he said no since I was only 4 months old ... 

Uncle Buddy let me try on his hat even though I was only 4 months old - he lets me do whatever I want!  I think it fits even though Mom said it was too big ...

Yeah, it's not that bad out here ... I've got a lot to learn, but it's not that bad at all :)  I've come a long way since I was first born, that's for sure (here I am just over an hour old)!

Til next time folks!

Daddy's Back!

Contrary to popular belief, I need help sometimes.  Dustin knows this about me and over the years, has "learned" me well enough to step in and finish what I'm starting / pick up my slack.  Anyone who has this experience with someone, knows how awesome this is. 

This means he is a very hands-on Dad too :)  He does it all - bottle feedings, solid food feedings, midnight feedings, diapers, getting her ready in the morning, getting her ready for bed, bath time, keeping her distracted when she's cranky, making her giggle, making her belly laugh ... you name it!  Imagine my surprise when I have to do this all by myself for the last 4 days!!  I know - go ahead and say it - Dustin, how dare you get sick?!? 

Because I've been spoiled since Drea was born, I can equate the last 4 days to having your right arm tied behind your back and having to go on as if you don't notice!  Needless to say, it was rough - and although I can complain & whine with the best of them, this ain't no joke.  Dustin and I have a routine - a dance, if you will - that we perform 24 hours a day and 7 days a week.  If she fusses in the middle of the night, I can tell by his shadow movement as to whether or not he hears her.  Since there was no shadow for a few days (he slept in the guest bedroom), it seems like my whole world was thrown off.  Dramatic?  Yes.  True?  Hell Yes.

I've mentioned before how Drea can mess with my ego.  This happened BIG time while I was mommy/daddy :)  She wanted my attention - leaning to see me from her play chair, squawking for me when I wasn't in the room and wanting nothing more than to sit in my lap while she played with her toy on the floor.  No matter how tired I was, this was a dream ... she likes me, she really likes me!! 

But now that Dustin is back in action, I am dropped back in reality.  Within 2 minutes of me leaving the house to go on a (much-needed) walk, he tells me that he had her belly laughing! 

Dad - 1 ... Mom - 0. 

I'm jealous and at the same time, THRILLED that he can get such a fantastic reaction from her so quickly.  What can I say, it's a complicated emotion.  :)  Yes, I can finally leave her sight without issue, but that's just it - I can leave her sight without issue!!

I know he really missed playing with her ... this is a picture of this morning - she was sitting up and talking to him about her toys (or something like that), but then fell over after a big exclamation ...

The picture is a little fuzzy, but what's not fuzzy is their connection - we're witnessing best buddies here, folks!  Even right now, she knows that she can tell her Daddy anything she wants and she'll get this - attention and love from her hero.  Whether it's a supporting hand (I swear he didn't push her over) or a response to her babble, Dustin is there.  He's there in every sense that he can be. 

Drea gets her buddy back. 

Dustin gets his buddy back.

All is right with the world ... until I catch whatever he had.

Music

Considering this is one of the most basic "get to know you" topics, I would also like to say that it is the most difficult subjects for me.

There is so much more that goes into it that just 'what kind of music do you like?' - for me, it represents my past, present - and an unknown version of my future.  As the daughter of a life-long musician, there is a certain nostalgia when I hear certain songs, names, chords or even whistling that might not present itself for other people.  I turn on the radio and immediately have a plan of up to 5 back-ups in case I don't like the song.  And it's not that I might not like the song - I might just not like it at that minute.  We all go through that ... I love me some Frank Sinatra  - but right at this second, I'm jamming (with headphones at my desk) to Kid Cudi w/heavy bass, rap, miles of piano, synthesizer & electric guitar :)

Some of my strongest memories are directly related to a song or concert of some sort!  I'm sure painters have this experience with colors or shapes ... right?  I was once asked why I didn't go to school for "music" - what would I have done?  I thought about it and for some reason, got this funny vision of myself sitting at an over-sized desk saying things like, "yes - that was good music" and "no - that was terrible."   Can you go to school to be Simon Cowell?  Ha.  Maybe the vision I had was to make sure I didn't go to school for music.

I'll never forget growing up with this music shadow - cloud - overhead ... no matter what I started listening to, I inevitably had to have my Dad hear it.  At which point, I learned all that was wrong with it or how "the Beatles did that first."  Little did I know that the countless hours of arguments (I use that word very lightly as anyone who knows him, knows my Dad isn't much of an 'arguer') that began with, "Dad, listen to this" - I was LEARNING!  I caught myself listening to some new song - of course I can't remember what it was - but while listening, I heard the different layers they put down during the studio recording.  The first thing I thought was - the Beatles did that first.  HA - is there an echo in here?  Dad is that you?

Poor Drea.  She's really in for it ... Dustin is at least somewhat used to my musical "tastes" - but poor little Drea has no idea what she was in for.  I'm not the sing-in-the-car-and-embarrass-anyone-who-rides-with-me type ... I'm the type that hears the music whether it's turned up or even ON while in the car.  I hope Drea doesn't choose the car to have serious conversations with me - I'll be secretly listening to the horn section in the second bar of the chorus in whatever song is playing!

There have been plenty of songs over the years that have been "terrible" - but have an awesome line in the first verse - therefore, I will buy the CD with the hopes not all songs are terrible.  I've been to concerts just to be able to watch the guitar playing ... Dad has turned down many-a-song for us to learn over the years because he says I think he's better than he really is.  He's just being modest.  What do you mean you can't do this Brad Paisley, John Mayer or Keith Urban song exactly the way they do?  You play guitar too!  

The cool thing about this is that Jeffrey chooses me to be his musical soundboard (pun intended) like I did with Dad.  Just today he sent me this text message -- "Timeflies tuesday - hotel california ... lemme know what you think."  I know to go to YouTube and type in exactly what he told me :)  Lo and behold ... it rocks!  Not a genre that I would have chosen by myself - but that's the cool part - being open to listening to something out of the box and LOVING IT! 

Maybe I did go to school for music ... it has taken me 27 years and I'm still not done, but it was free ... and the cool thing is I love my students, teachers and the material.

And what, do you ask is the point of me sharing this with you?  I don't know - my music is too loud to think clearly.

A Day in the Life

It's true what they say - routine is necessary when you start a family.  They do say that, don't they?  I might have made that up.  Either way, we have a routine Mon-Fri and we try not to mess with it. 

Our morning starts around 5:15 and whoever is "most" awake (usually Dustin), begins ... shower, dressed, make Drea's bottle, hear Drea's morning cry/greeting babble, change her diaper & clothes, feed her 1/2 the bottle you made - struggle with her as she tries to sit up, lay back down, stand up, turn & flip around in your lap, play with the lamp, pull her socks off, try to "hold" your nose, try to "hold" your lips - overall, we just try to make sure she doesn't fall off our lap. 

The rest of the morning is a blur - Dustin drops her off at daycare and all I know is that I park my car and walk into the office ... other than that, I'm out.  I usually pick her up in the afternoon and we listen to music and occasionally talk to Nana on the ride home :)  Once we're home, Dustin takes over - he is the "fun" one - I am everything else.  Last night, for instance, Dustin had to "up his game" since she was sleepy/cranky so I could do all of the other 'household' stuff!  Nothing like cramming dishes, laundry and dinner into a 1-2 hour time span! 

The nice thing is, we do it - it works ... somehow :)  This would be my advice to anyone wanting to get married & start a family - find your teammate - everything will work out then. 

I couldn't do this without Dustin - and wine & caffeine ... in no particular order.  We take turns putting her down, usually around 6:30ish and then take turns getting up with her throughout the night.  Then the next day begins :)  I must say - I do like this routine ... yeah, I know we only see her for a few hours a day (and night), but we know she's spending her days with someone that truly cares about her ... plus, she loves daycare!!

We are lucky enough to have understanding parents & brothers, so we were able to host all of the holidays this year!  That meant Drea's routine got to stay the same (somewhat) and we were able to keep our sanity (mostly).  To end today's blip, here is a couple of pictures of Drea the night we took her to meet Santa.  Rachel from daycare, got her dressed before we came to pick her up so we just fed her quick and off to the mall we went! 

Pretty hyped up - not that you can tell from her expression :)

She was ready to get going - I wonder where she gets that from?

The First on the Third

Well hi ... happy 2012 - I'm a little tired, so I'm reserving the mandatory exclamation point that usually accompanies this.  Why am I tired you ask?  Well that is because we are blessed with a 7-month old!  I say 'blessed' and I truly mean it - maybe not all of the time (ha) but she is truly awesome ... Dustin and I have created quite the little lady!  Very busy - very vocal and very focused!  Our little Drea is pretty cool :)  But that means a serious lack of sleep!  I love caffeine.   It is my saving grace - well, wait, Dustin is my saving grace and caffeine is a close second.  Oh shoot - my parents are the close second and caffeine will take the 3rd row seat.  Either way, it's in there :)

How did we ring in the New Year?  We ordered Chinese food and attempted to watch a movie, but fell asleep by 8:30 - only to be obnoxiously woken up with fireworks (as if I couldn't look at the bright, red "1-2-0-0" on our clock to know it was midnight) ... and then Drea.  I would actually say this was a pretty good New Year's - slumbering contently next to the one I love while the hum and static sounds of ocean waves are coming through the monitor to my ear!  Not bad, not bad.

Some people state the reason they decided to start a blog - in their blog.  In all honesty, I don't know why I'm writing.  I just am.  Maybe it's to stay in touch with people we've lost touch with (there are many) ... maybe it's boredom at work (shhh, don't tell anyone).  Who knows.  All I know is there is a certain freedom you attain while "journaling" and I get it.  I'm sure there will be many-a-post that may come across as 'complaining' - don't worry - that's just how I sound sometimes :)  I am sarcastic - Dustin is literal - together, we laugh at and with each other.  Yep - we are the normal boring, loving, blissfully happy, newly-parented, home-owning, full-time working, baby-food making, sleepless couple you can find in any home, of any town.  We are truly, living the dream!

Yes, our dream is modest - we live on a budget and I balance our checkbook to the penny.   But we made a vow to each other, and although Dustin didn't directly say, "I will give you all receipts when I spend money" in his vows, I'm pretty sure it was implied when he said, "I do."  

We love our home and since Dustin just re-painted the dining room, kitchen and upstairs bathroom this past weekend, it is that much more exciting there now!  Some more about us ... we have 2 cats - one loves Drea and the rolls his eyes when she's around.  The "boys" have been around for almost 4 years now - but now they're back to being "cats."  I don't think they mind this though. 

We both work full time - him as a Business Analyst at Fairview Riverside and me as a Project Coordinator at KJ International.  Looks good on paper, huh?!  I'd say we're both happy there, but most importantly - it pays the bills!  What does Drea do while we slave away all day??  She waits in the car.  KIDDING.  She is "livin her dream" at daycare!  Rachel is fantastic - I wouldn't be sane (well ...) if it weren't for her!  Drea has a couple of best friends there - Lincoln, Brooks & Stella (aww Tiffany) - and is greeted with at least one member of this entourage every morning.  Rachel sends me updated text messages during the day and an occasional picture if Drea is too cute to pass up.

I really thought I wanted to stay at home with her once she was born.  That was the plan anyway - we all know how our own "plans" work out, don't we?!  Needless to say, I am too boring for Drea.  Even at 4 weeks old, she was already looking at me like, "So ... this is what we're going to do today??"  She was messing with my ego, so I had to go back to work :)  I commend all stay-at-home Mothers - you truly have the hardest job and deserve far more credit that you get! 

Just in case you have any high expectations for the Lind's blog, think again.  We already decided we're taking 2012 off.  We have done something big every year since 2007 and we need a break.

2007:  moved in together
2008:  Dustin's motorcycle accident and our Engagement
2009:  bought our house
2010:  WEDDING!
2011:  Drea is here!
2012:  nothing!  we might mow our lawn this summer

There you have it.  The 1st post on the 3rd day of the new year!  Thanks for reading all of the way through - I wish I had something to give you.  Maybe next time ...