Well, What Distracts You?

I am a third of the way into this:

and wishing I could pick it up to read about 50 pages or so. I started it before Christmas. At this rate it will be next Christmas by the time I finish it.

Christian picked up the latest issue of this for me a few days ago while at the grocery store:


I haven't even cracked the cover.

I haven't cooked a single meal since December.

There are clusters of Loki hair in the corners of every room, dirty clothes to be washed, clean clothes that need to be folded, folded clothes that should probably be sorted and ultimately put away, letters to write, work to do (real work, job work) and shopping (so much of that - for groceries, Easter basket odds and ends, overdue gifts for people). But it is the weekend, after all, and it is one of those rare, perfect days so instead I am doing nothing but staring at him:


and painting tiny toes that won't be tiny next time I look


and finding warm patches of sunlight



and wondering in awe at how the lantana gets more blooms every year despite my fear that the bi-annual 'trimming' Christian performs destroyed it forever (perhaps he did inherit a green thumb from his father?)


and spending lots of quality time with loved ones


and being thankful and happy and peaceful.

Nana Withdrawals

Nana departed for Atlanta yesterday around noon. She hasn't even been gone for 48 hours and we are already suffering the effects of her absence. La Luz is moping around asking when Nana will return and missing having a guest in her room at night (yes, Nana slept in the room with the bug and, despite the fact that they apparently both snore, it seemed to work out just fine). James keeps looking around for the sweet, short lady with the blond hair and the Boston accent. Me, well, where do I start...it is perfectly clear that child-rearing takes a village, or at least one extra set of hands at all times.

Thanks Nana...we couldn't have done it without you:

Following The Rainbow

This morning La Luz announced that she really wanted a leprechaun to come into her room tonight. I think that is twisted. Maybe it is because I remember previews of that horror movie about the rabid leprechaun that ate people (or something along those lines) but the very idea of a leprechaun makes my skin crawl. Clearly, La Luz's image of a leprechaun has much more to do with pots of gold, rainbows, shamrocks and good luck. Either way, I don't want one in my house tonight and I find it incredibly odd that she does. I will let you know if one shows up.

As expected, this week has been incredibly hectic. I could work 12 to 14 hour days and still not come close to accomplishing what I need to accomplish in the office. I am also finding it tricky balancing working and pumping milk to keep up the supply for the baby. I practically have to calendar in time to pump in order to get it done. Even though things are really crazy, I managed to escape the office for about 2 hours this afternoon to meet up with some clients at Parasol's and enjoy a green beer. The weather was perfect and the people-watching was incredible. It was a very nice distraction in an otherwise chaotic day and served as good anesthesia for a phone call later in the afternoon with the second-most miserable, condescending attorney I have come across in the State of Louisiana. He clearly does not like women, especially women with bar numbers lower than his, and he probably kicks his dog when he gets home each night. It is not worth going into, but he behaved like a jerk and came off looking like an idiot and I behaved in a cordial and respectful manner, treating him the way that I expect members of the bar to treat one another. It should come as no surprise that I have never heard anyone say anything nice about this man and what a pity...after all, what do you have if the mention of your name causes others to fill up with piss and vinegar.

On another, much more important note...family members have been in and out of town and it has been the most lovely distraction. Most recently, Molly came to NOLA for a few days of r and r while she is between shows. Here she is enjoying some quality time with her niece and nephew. Molly will admit that she did not have any use for children until the birth of La Luz...she will also admit that she said she doubted she would ever love any children other than La Luz...I think it is obvious that Santi changed her opinion:

Erin Go, Or Not

La Luz, Christian and Nana braved the Irish Channel St. Patrick's Day parade and the last annual O'Haynes open house. The weather was lousy so I stayed home with James. They didn't mind and, instead, stood in the middle of a rainstorm just to catch this:


Well, not just a cabbage. They came home loaded down with carrots, potatoes, a variety of shamrock beads, rain-saturated stuffed animals, shot glasses (yea, why would you throw a shot glass to a three year-old?), and flowers. A very odd assortment of loot.

Apparently they had an incredible time and the rain did nothing to stop the revelry. In fact, La Luz was so wiped-out once they got home that she fell asleep in the middle of playing with her toys:


Impressive. Jessie and Beau throw one hell of a party.

Weights & Measures

I did a lousy job of keeping track of La Luz's stats. We were living in chaos in the aftermath of Katrina and, frankly, her height and weight growth were not at the top of the list of things to ponder. Consequently, it is tough for me to remember how she grew in the first few months. This time around I am going to be better about keeping track.

James had a 2 month checkup today and received his first round of shots. He weighs 11.3 lbs and is 24 inches. The pediatrician told me that, based on his size and growth over the past 2 months, he could easily eat 6 ounces in a feeding. She told me to start supplementing with formula because it would be tough to satisfy that sort of appetite solely with breast feeding and pumping, particularly in light of my return to work. She is right. On a good day I can pump enough for 4 ounce bottles. On a day like today I practically have to schedule a time to pump while in the office or it just won't happen. So, I took her advice and started to supplement with Nestle's Good Start. Nana fed him his first formula bottle this afternoon and he ate it all but he gagged every time she tried to give him one later in the day (he must've caught on at that point). This evening I tried and had the same result. I took a taste of the formula and it tasted just like liquid iron. I wouldn't drink it either. There are about 10 different versions of the Good Start formula so finding the one that works for Santi could take a while. In the meantime, I am pumping like crazy, getting in as many feedings as possible when I am home at night and in the morning, and feeling totally sleep-deprived...but loving every minute of it.

Here he is flirting with the doctor:

The Old Pro & The Newbie

We took James to Frankie and Johnny's for his first Friday night, boiled crawfish dinner. You can see he was just bursting with excitement. He stayed like this the entire time:


La Luz, on the other hand, was in her element. I guess Christian taught her his style of crawfish eating last year and I must've missed a step somewhere. Mind you, as a non-native, Christian really only started LOVING crawfish about 5 years ago. He is, without a doubt, far more naturally n'awlins than I could ever dream of being. Here she is, eating crawfish just the way her dad does...ew:


I never have great expectations when it comes to dining at F&J's. This is the place where mom felt something crawling up her leg during a meal and was relieved to find that it was a live crawfish that had made a break for it from the kitchen as opposed to a roach. I am realistic. That said, I was really hoping for a good batch of boiled crawfish and was somewhat disappointed. We went early, around 5:30, so there should have been plenty of crawfish to pick from at that point. My batch was, sadly, sub-par. The crawfish were small, fragile and my basket was filled with a ton of inedible crawfish parts. The seasoning was nice, however, and the convenience factor was huge. I guess we will try again as we get deeper into crawfish season and see if the results are any better.

Things are going okay around here. I returned to work on Monday and it was a lousy day all around. I hate being away from James and I really enjoyed being a stay at home mom for 2 months. I am sure it is even more alluring to me because I had to go back to work but it certainly seems like a lifestyle I could get used to. I think reality is not really going to hit until Nana heads back to Georgia. She is with us for another week and a half and has made the transition much easier. Tonight La Luz told her that she wished she would stay here forever. Me too!

2 Months

Wow. How did that happen? I blinked and my maternity leave ended. It flew by. I knew it would. James is in no way ready for daycare. There is no schedule to speak of, napping is something that happens when he is snuggling under my chin and we are rocking, he hasn't had his shots, he is only just starting to focus on things and laugh and babble, and I can't imagine torturing him with spending his days in car seats and swings. Fortunately, Nana came to the rescue and is here with James for the first two weeks of my return to work. Mom is going to take over for the following two weeks which means that James will not have to go to daycare until he is three months old (which, incidentally, still sounds too young to me, but so it goes).

I can't figure out what the difference is this time around. Why am I so sentimental? Is it because I have a suspicion that this is my last baby? Maybe it is because my maternity leave was interrupted early with La Luz as a result of Hurricane Katrina and at that point I had much bigger things to worry about - fixing a flooded home, making sure we kept our jobs, finding a place to live...? Maybe I didn't know what I was doing and didn't trust myself with La Luz and was ready to hand her off to someone more capable. I can't quite figure it out but it is tugging at my heart more profoundly this time around. I suppose it might have something to do with the fact that the last two months have been blissful. At any rate, it has all come to an end. I am deeply sad about returning to work but also ready to jump in, prove that I can handle it, and start to develop a new routine. I know it is going to be crazy and that is why I am going into it with my eyes shut, holding my breath...wish me luck.

The adorable James (aka "Santi") at 2 months:

Like Mother...

Mom reminded me of an old picture very reminiscent of one of La Luz holding James she took the other night. It is A-mazing.

Me holding Josh at 2 and 1/2 months old:


La Luz holding James at about 2 months old:


I guess the age difference between me and Josh is close to the age difference between the bug and James. I think I was four years old in that picture and La Luz is 3 and 1/2, close enough though...

Things are good around here. Christian returned from Detroit and I managed to keep it together while he was gone and learn some good lessons about what I am capable of doing in my new role as a mother of two.

I have one more day of maternity leave left. It is hard to believe how fast 8 weeks has passed. Fortunately, James will not have to go to daycare immediately. Nana is coming in town for two weeks to take care of him and mom is going to watch him for two additional weeks. At that point he will be about 3 months old. I can stomach sending him to daycare at 3 months, but right now he is just too little and helpless, it would break my heart.

Bliss

Even though things are a bit crazy these days because Christian is in Detroit and I am on my own with a three year old and a newborn...there are still some lovely moments amid the chaos when things look a little something like this: