Introducing Grace Schenck

My dear friend Lisa Gaffney Schenck had her baby girl, Grace, about 5 weeks ago. We finally met and she is precious! Congrats to proud parents Lisa & Jeff!

Part 2

Ok, I am going to piggy-back on my last blog and share the latest...

Yesterday Drew and I met new mom Marcia at Roger Williams Park . We walked the entire perimeter of the park which Marcia claims is about 3.2 miles. Not bad. Drew was vegging in his stroller, eating lunch, checking out the ducks, and relaxing. After the long walk, we went to the Hasbro Playground so he could let loose a bit. I was pleased to be "exercising" and Marcia was really cool. It's great to meet new folks!

Translation: After profusely sweating for over an hour (I never seem to dress appropriately!), I proceeded to chase Drew around the playground while Marcia stood beside the carriage holding her lovely, sleeping baby. Conversations were difficult to maintain as I ran around the play fixtures trying to prevent injury. Needless to say, my efforts were futile as Drew managed to flip off the slide and land on his head anyway! Figuring he was pretty tired at this point (all that Fresh Air), I was glad to take him home for his nap. After 40 minutes of crying Drew quieted down in his crib...only to wake 10 minutes later in hysteria. I guess relaxing in the stroller was enough down time for Drew. Maybe next time he can push me...because my desire for rest was not satiated and I was Cranky Mommy til Daddy came home.

the real deal

It seems I am glorifying the stay-at-home mom scenario. When a single friend pontificates getting "knocked up" to live the stay-at-home mom life that "would be a dream come true" I realize I must present the real deal. Immediately.

First, let Cheris tell it how it is. She is more eloquent than I.

Second, let me say that I spend MOST of my day cleaning up someone else's crap. Literally.

I value being at home with Drew, but I have said since his birth that this is the hardest job I've ever had...and I'm not joking. I even worked as a "park aide" at the most popular RI beach cleaning bathrooms. That was a breeze. The reality is a baby doesn't understand when you're having a "bad day" or that you tore a tendon in your wrist and would be so grateful if he stopped twisting himself while you try to wipe his bootie. He doesn't get it that if he continues to close the drawer on his finger it will hurt, or that sneaking outside onto the deck without Mommy is dangerous. He can't empathise when, despite an entire pot of coffee, you are so tired from waking at 5am after having been up several time to soothe his tears. He doesn't care that he peed through his diaper, pjs, sheet, and mattress pad AGAIN. He giggles when you say "no" as he dares to walk along the edge of the fireplace or deliberately throws food on the floor as a "game." While the teacher in me loves trying to develop new learning activities to stimulate his growing mind and body...and the social me enjoys meeting new moms (did I mention I had NO mommy friends when Drew was born?!?) ...it is still work. After cleaning all day and caring for Drew I am literally dead when Daddy comes home (and yes, I often sit in the yard or at the door eagerly awaiting his arrival!!). Chris jokes that I have "returned to my spot on the couch" as soon as he enters, but he must appreciate that I'm at least awake. It's physically, emotionally, and mentally draining...but the joy of watching my little boy grow makes it all worthwhile. And I realize working moms often envy the stay-at-home mom, but trust me...we envy the working mom too. And as for you non-moms...you have no idea how we live vicariously through your every experience. Each time you dine out (bastards!) or sleep in (damn you!) or enjoy martinis with friends (lucky you!) or go to the cinema (curse you!) or plan a vacation (wha?!?) ...think of us. Cleaning poop, pushing strollers, longing for more sleep, exhausted, ready to repeat today tomorrow.

Trust me. You don't want to get knocked up.

Where he's at...

Drew is always impressing us with the things he has learned.

It's exciting to see what he does, how he plays, and the ways he communicates.

Here's an inside peak...

Signs he recognizes: milk, water, hi, bye, more, food, good, yes

Words he recognizes: (list above), dog, cat, elephant, cow, nose, toes, feet, shoes, hands, clap, belly, head, tickle, no, be-careful, stairs, night-night, bed, car, press-the-button, on, off, light, fan, come-here, can-i-have-a-hug, kiss, eat, hungry, sit, bath, book, ball, open, closed, duckie, tigger, dance, push, outside, walk, do-nice

Words he says: mama, dada, tickle-tickle, "ca" (for car, cat), , "ti" (for tigger), "dir" (for dirty), "mmmm.." (when something is yummy)

Physical skills: walking, running, climbing stairs, clapping, pushing, spinning in a circle, opening/closing/reading books, playing musical instruments - symbols, drums, piano, guitar, tambourine, sticks, and maracas

Favorite toys: CARS! (or bus, train) books, ball popper, shape sorter, building blocks, instruments

Favorite foods: FRUITS!, yogurt, oatmeal, omelets, cheese (on anything), pasta, peas, peanut butter

DISLIKES: being held (unfortunately for mommy), being inside all day, having his diaper changed, being told he cannot play with the tv/dvd player

LIKES: animals - wants to pet them all, playing with cars, listening to and playing music, dancing, "Jack's Big Music Show", sorting - moves objects from one place to another repetitively as if organizing (like Mommy does?!?), reading books or having them read to him, climbing stairs, sliding, eating, destroying what we build with blocks/legos, other babes

At thirteen months that's Drew!

He's so much fun...has a lot of energy...loves to make others happy.

Happy Birthday to me

I celebrated my 32nd birthday last week. We had a nice family lobster bake at our place that night which was great. One of the highlights was a gift from Chris: my very own Poppiebag! I got the punched floral fold over bag and it's perfect! It's gorgeous and I love it. If you haven't seen the poppiebags, you must check out the website. Here I am below with my favorite gift :)

Moms, Babes, and Capron Park Zoo

Melanie and I took the boys to Capron Park Zoo yesterday. I was hoping other RIPlaydate parents would join us, but alas it was just the two of us. (Too bad for them because it was a beautiful day!!)

The stay-at-home parent scenario is sometimes a bit strange. When we got to the zoo there was NO ONE there. Has anyone ever been to the zoo when it's been empty? It's eery...yet also exciting. We had all the animals to ourselves. I think the stay-at-home culture is very interesting. I'm at the zoo without other visitors!! There isn't a line at the supermarket!! Suddenly grocery shopping on a Sunday seems insane! Navigating through the mob at the mall may cause cardiac arrest. We stay-at-home parents begin to embrace the calm experiences we have while the rest of the world is at "work." Personally I like not having to waste time during the weekend doing chores. I can enjoy my weekends with my hubby. Anyway, it is a different culture...

Here are a few pictures from our day (alone) at the zoo!

Festival Hoppers

After Saturdays festival fun, we decided to follow up the day with TWO more festival! Sunday we met Jess, Ed, and Drew at the Pawtucket Festival...where we enjoyed the view along with FREE icecream. From there we headed south to the Greek Festival in Cranston. I guess by "festival" we mean LOTS OF FOOD. But of course we enjoyed the music, the people, and watching the babes have some fun!

Providence Street Painting Festival

Just a few pics from today's excursion.
It was a beautiful day in Rhode Island and the Kardos clan enjoyed being outside in Providence. We walked around Kennedy Plaza and admired the work at the Providence Street Painting Festival. We knew there was talent in this little state (what with RISD and all) but who knew how many artists there were!?! It was awesome!

A trip to the Vineyard

Who says you can't see Martha's Vineyard in one day? All is takes is a fast ferry, some BC alumni, and a Jeep. Done.

We began the day at Oak Bluffs where we enjoyed a delicious lunch of chowders & bisques...lobster salad...and bloody marys. We then rented The Jeep which was key to exploring the entire island while moving at our own pace. We started off at the beach where we caught up with friends PJ & Patrice, Dave & Penny and their friends from San Fran who now live in RI. (Gotta meet up with them soon ~ especialmente porque hablan espanol y tengo que practicar!) Then we drove to Edgartown...stopping along the way to admire a lighthouse, flowers, and a gallery. We got some icecream, hit the shops, and headed towards Aquinnah. We went to another lighthouse and then to Menemsha (known for its sunset). Finally, back to Oak Bluffs for dinner and the last ferry. It was awesome!

He'll tell you...

Today we met out great friends Jess, Ed, and girl Drew at the Children's Museum in Providence. (It was another free weekend!) It was so much fun to watch the Drews enjoy themselves...and to spend time with our friends. Drew couldn't stop talkin about it!
Find out what he had to say...

Chris and Alan make a splash in Federal Hill

Ok, this post is a bit delayed as the event occured nearly a month ago. Yikes! But upon further photo review, I realized it was silly not to post this fab photo on my blog. Below you will find my lovely husband and my delightful brother causing quite a splash in Providence. Alan & Tiff met Chris and I after we finished volunteering at the RI Int'l Film Festival and we went on to enjoy a night of martinis and appetizers on Atwells Ave (Federal Hill!). We began at Mediterraneo and ended up...listening to less-than-clever karaoke (or was that a live band?) while dining outside. We definitely enjoyed ourselves ~ which is obvious when seeing these two goons below smiling from the middle of the fountain. What?!?

The Salas hit Rhode Island

We were surprised last night by a lovely little treat: a visit from the Salas! What a great beginning to the holiday weekend. We were able to meet Desi Sala who is absolutely adorable! He has such a happy, fun personality! (Wouldn't expect anything else from PJ and Patrice's offspring, right?) Despite the fact that it was "witching hour," our boys got on well and played happily allowing moms and dads to play catch-up. While the visit was short, it was delightful.

How cool would it be if they moved to Rhode Island one day....