The Quiet Life of Violet

We Had a Sweet Day! (in pictures)

Our day went something like this...

Mom took this obligatory outfit picture. Please excuse my Husband's BRIGHT-ASS ORANGE watch and the bit of trashcan on the right.  It felt like Prom all over again!



Mom and Dad babysat the Squid for us. They went to Berkeley and had calzones and checked out the Japanese dollar-fifty store.

We had lunch at Benihana, as the picture states. The service SUCKED, as in the WORST we've ever had there. I had my plate of food for 15 MINUTES before Dustin got his. I know it was a holiday, but damn, get your stuff together. It's not like the food was free or anything!

 

Went to the movies (FINALLY!) and saw The Vow. It was good and cheesy and we saw Channing Tatum's butt - both cheeks, not partial. HELLO! (I don't think Bub was as excited about that part as I was... Buns!)

Oh! I got these beauties from my sweet man. My first pair of diamond earrings! (Flowers and chocolate, too! Dark with sea salt - my favorite.) The movie theater lighting made me look like Golem and I must confess that this shot is uncomfortably close to my ear hole.




Met back up with Mom and Dad and drove home with our boy. He's our favorite valentine's present. Any kid who will eat sauerkraut with a smile on his face is a-okay with me.

As far as Valentine's dinner goes, I put "Valentine's Day" as what we were having on my weekly menu/shopping list, so I had nothing planned. Whoops! It was a freezer scrounge dinner for us!  I wouldn't have it any other way. <3

A Day At The Patch

Momma's Date

This morning, my parents came over and watched Squiddy so I could get out of the house for a bit and just have some non-baby time.  I took a shower without worry (Squid was in Grandpa's arms while Grandma coo-ed at him). I dried off and put on my favorite summer dress that I  unfortunately can't wear on a "normal" day, as it isn't breastfeeding friendly. It still fits! Mom gave Squid a bottle and he gulped it down and looked so fat and happy.

After doing my makeup and talking a bit, they packed Buggie (one of Squid's MANY nicknames!) up in his stroller and took him for a walk, and I hopped in my car  and drove off. It made it a little easier to leave the house knowing that he was out doing something, too. It was the oddest feeling, going somewhere with out my boy and It's funny how your mind throws a blanket over all of the crying and fussy and "OHMYGODCHILDSTOPSCREAMING" moments when you're leaving the baby for a bit.

"He's an angel! I should have just brought him with me!"

"He won't burst into tears in the middle of the store - he's perfect!"

"Who? Squiddy? He's NEVER a handful in public!"

Yeah... I snapped out of it and smiled as I saw his Grandma and Grandpa  pushing him down the sidewalk in my rearview mirror.

I decided to spend my hour and a half at the cafe in Barnes and Noble where I bought a piece of delicious spinach-artichoke quiche, sipped some Mother's Milk tea, read a People magazine and  I spent a lot of time noting how many women brought their babies and children out around the noon hour.



I swear, I spend 2/3 of the time thinking about my baby boy and wondering what he was doing. Was he laying on Grandpa's shoulder, sleeping? Was he in his bouncy chair kicking his legs at the mean old lion dangle toy? How many bottles had he gobbled? Would he even want to feed once I got home? Would being away for an hour and a half kill my milk supply?

After I finished my magazine and my tea, I got back into the car super excited to see my little Squid.

"Hold on Squiddy! Momma's comin'!"

"I bet you missed me!"

 

I came home to this:



Yeah, he fell asleep five minutes into the walk and slept the whole time.

Gosh, I love him!

 

Dear Squid-Kid: The Two of Us

Yesterday, I planned our morning routine around you and I going out. We needed groceries and since you and Daddy and I were out at the Grandma's all weekend, our fridge was seriously lacking (someday you'll understand what  the words "food" and "fridge" mean, but for now, little boy, you just sick to your milkies). Poor Daddy was going to have to go out and get the groceries after working all day, so I decided that you and I could at least try and do it.

Why, exactly, was it a big deal that you and I went out to the store you might ask? Well, my lovely little one, this trip was our first trip just the two of us. Ever since your birth (it's been 5 weeks now!), we've had someone with us everywhere we've gone. The doctors didn't want Momma to lift anything heavier than you (out of respect to my c-section incision), so up until this point, lifting my wheelchair in and out of the car has been out of the question.

Before you were born, my little man, Momma would go out and about by herself. I would hop to the back of the car and take my wheel chair in and out (I'm buff!) and I've actually done it in a high-heel, too, but that's just Momma bragging now. Seriously though, I really took pride in my independence despite my disability and it's been very hard on Momma not being able to get out of the house without assistance.

Since my incision has healed up nicely and I've been able to do pretty much all of my normal activity without any pain at all, I figured that it was safe for us to try this adventure. I made sure he had a huge "lunch" and was passed out before we took off. I packed his diaper bag - extra diapers, wipes, a binky, binky wipes, hand sanitizer, two changes of clothes, our Panda Pouch, my wallet, keys and phone. Oh dear God, what was I getting myself into?! What if you have an explosive poop and, and... you get you poo all over me and we have to go home with no groceries? What if your pre-trip boob-feast wasn't enough and you start screaming bloody murder in the middle of our trip? What if I can't handle holding you in the Panda, pushing myself in my chair AND pushing the cart like I normally do? What if, heaven forbid, you fall out of the carrier and the whole store screams at me for being a shitty mother. OH GOD.

.

.

.

.

You slept the whole time.

I got everything on my list.

I forgot the brown basamati rice. (Drat!)

I spent $170 and it felt GOOD.

I felt like a Superhero!

We did it, Squiddy!

Just the two of us.

Last Date Night?

 

Saturday was a busy day for us!

We had spent the evening on Friday with Dustin's parents, so we woke up in our hometown, Oakley, on Saturday. Our sweet puppies had their very first agility class, bright and early, at Fiona's Farm. Widgey and Fonzie both worked on their teeter-totter, blind tunnel, A-frame, jumpy-pole thing and weave pole skills.

They were pretty much rock stars.
(... minus the time when Widge decided to pee on the tunnel...)

[Fonzie, post blind tunnel.]

 

After that, we went shopping for "Manager" clothes for Bub. (Oh! Did I tell you guys? he got that job! He's now a manager! A manager , almost a Daddy and debt free. Holy crap. Life just throwing us rainbows, hey?!)

SO, back to the shopping. There were some killer coupons ($10 off $25 - and we had two!) for JCPenny's, so he got a few nice dress shirts, a pair of swanky man pants and a tie. He was happy, so I was happy!

We stopped by In-N-Out 'cause Squiddy was callin'... That little boy loves burgers in muh belly.


[Okay, looking at this, I'm starving again!]

After that, we stopped by a local cherry orchard and picked up some luscious red lovelies, and then stopped by my Mom's. We watched baseball, picked blackberries in the backyard and chatted it up. My Sister stopped by and wanted a picture of my belly, so she took my trusty iPhone and snapped a few.


[I look a bit bottom heavy, no?]

After saying goodbye, we stopped back over at Dustin's parent's to pick up our stuff and say bye to his family and our sweet pups.

We drove home, freshened up and then headed out to IKEA for a few Squid-room organization things. Then we grabbed some pizza for dinner and stopped by a cute candy shop to pick up some movie goodies. It was a "by-the-pound" place, so I was able to get a few pieces mix-and-match sour candy and Dustin got a butt-load of  M&Ms and peanut butter candies.


[This is only half of what they had to offer.]

We made our way to the theater, bought our tickets for Super8 and settled into our comfy, over-sized seats. (Does anyone else ever wish they could get a pair of those chairs for home?) The theater filled up a good 15 minutes before the movie started and then it hit me.

Whoa.

This could be the last movie that Dustin and I ever see as non-parents.
Our Son is due in 2 weeks and 6 days.
Our lives will never, ever be the same.

We couldn't be more excited if we tried!

Oh, little boy... you are more loved than you'll ever know.

Purses & A Belly

With the pending arrival of this little boy, I've been searching for a new purse that will accommodate a bit more than my current purse does.  The thing is, I'm quite particular about design and have certain purse-ly requirements.

My purses have to have a shoulder strap because sometimes I use crutches to  get into a store... try crutching into Barnes & Noble with a purse on your shoulder like this. It's recipe for definite armpit burn. Also, it has to be big enough for my wallet, my inhaler, my phone, camera, some snacks and a note pad. I also currently clip my keys onto the strap with a carabiner and sometimes hook my water bottle onto it, as well. 

This is my purse, Mini Mustard.

It's pretty small, which I like, but it's not quite big enough. I've been searching for a new purse, as I wanted something bigger, but not by too much... I've learned that the bigger the purse, the sooner it gets filled with random crap. You know know what I mean? I know you do. I'm almost positive that everyone of us has suffered from "puffy-receipt-and-junk-filled-purse syndrome".

I like a certain amount of organizational design in my purse, too. I like pockets. I like slots. I like snap-shut compartments. I like to designate spots for everything that I usually keep with me, and my philosophy is, if I know where something goes, I'll put it away and it wont end up in the middle pouch with a million other pieces of random crap. I'll be able to find whatever I'm looking for in a jiffy and I'm no expert, but I assume that anything that saves time and causes less stress in daily life is a good thing once a real, live baby is in the picture.

So, last Saturday Bubby and I set out in search of my dream purse. After returning a few duplicate baby-shower things (you wouldn't BELIEVE how much clothes this kid has already. That's a different post, though), we hit up Kohl's. We were looking around the purse department, not finding much, when I said these magic words, "I want one exactly like my old purse, only bigger."

   And then we turned the corner...



Hello, lovely!!

Same color and front pockets. Same shoulder strap and key loop. Same lining, inside zip pocket and same zip top. Additionally, it has a back pocket PERFECT for a notebook, and phone pouch on the inside that my new iPhone fits snuggly into. Purse HEAVEN. And it was 60% off. I walked (well, rolled) out of Kohl's with Mrs. Mustard, my new purse. I love her. She even holds my water bottle INSIDE. No more outside bottle dangling. Oh man, it's the little things, hey?!

 

In other news, my shirts are too short.

I've never been so happy to be poppin' out of my clothes before!

I love my life.

(P.S. ~ Squiddy is saying "Hi!" in the form of bladder bouncing hiccups. Teehee!)