Andi’s exciting life.

Do you ever feel like you are drowning in housework? That’s how I feel at the moment. Toys and shoes and jackets are scattered everywhere, stacks of papers need to be sorted and dealt with, clean dishes need to be put away and dirty ones loaded in the dishwasher, the floors need to be vacuumed, the laundry basket is full, etc. It’s not that it’s more work than I can handle, but Falco just went down for his nap and I want to relax. I guess what I’m really saying is, I’m lazy. I want to sit and play Xbox or write this blog post instead of doing chores during my only break during the day.

I guess I could have tackled one of the jobs above in the time it took me to type this. I can’t put off cleaning much longer because we’re hosting playgroup tomorrow, and the house needs to be in reasonable order before then. OK. I’m going to go do a flurry of cleaning for 30 minutes, and then I’ll feel justified to sit around until Falco wakes up.

I can’t believe I forgot to tell you sooner that I got a lead on a new friend at AcroSports on Wednesday. This is a good thing because my friends keep moving away (yes, I’m talking about you Kathy, Lynne, and Carmen). Do you know that I’m kind of remedial at making friends? I know I set up a whole playgroup and all, but that’s different. That started with an email, which is so much safer than actual human-to-human interaction. If I had sent that email to a group of parents asking if anyone with kids Falco’s age wanted to get together and no one responded, no harm done. However, if I try to start a conversation or *shudder* make a coffee date with a fellow mom and get rejected, ouch.

In order to avoid such rejection, which I always assume will be the outcome because of old scars from junior high school cliques, I just don’t make friend advances. This shyness and insecurity probably comes off as snobiness, which further guarantees not meeting new people. When someone else tries to be friends with me, I always welcome the effort, and it takes the pressure off. I feel more confident since they made the first move, so I don’t act like such a weirdo.

So, back to Wednesday! I usually go to the AcroSports class with another peep from our hood, which typically seals the deal of not talking to anyone new, but she wasn’t there this week. I was alone with Falco and ready to be befriended. Another mom who I talked with briefly once before started talking to me again this week. She asked me specifics about Falco’s diapers, which earns instant endearment, and she recommended some cloth trainers for when he starts potty training. (His earlier efforts were a fluke, by the way. He’s so over that now.)

A little later, she came to me again and asked if we were going to sign up for the same session again. *flutter* “OMG! She wants to see us again!” I casually said that, yes, we would probably keep going. We introduced ourselves at that point, and then we said how much we liked each other’s kid’s names. Next week, I’m going to see if she wants to go for coffee or a walk before or after the next class. Wish me luck!

I don’t know if it’s possible to be more excited than Falco is about these babies.

You know Falco? The good sleeper? Well, he is still A+ at night and usually at naps, but a horrible thing happened on Tuesday and seems to be happening again today as I type: He declined his nap. That’s right. Tuesday was a full day with Falco except the half hour break when I tried to get him to take his nap. I need that break! I guess I’m getting a break right now because he’s in his room, but he’s crying and I feel stressed and guilty and horrible. Not really the relaxation I’m looking for during nap time. Looks like it might be a long afternoon.

When he was younger, if he had trouble sleeping, I could just rock him and he’d eventually fall asleep. No more, people. There is no cuddling or rocking Falco. He’s a party animal. All the time (thus my need for nap break). There is really nothing I can do to get him to sleep if he doesn’t want to.

This has made me think of the future, and I don’t like it: Eventually he won’t take a nap anymore. At all. He’ll probably go to bed later then too, which will mean like 14 hours of straight Falco time. I guess by then he’ll be in school at least a few mornings a week, but not on the weekends, or for the entire summer. Don’t get me wrong. I adore spending my days with him, but I really, really NEED that time in the middle of the day to regroup and prepare for the afternoon shift.

OK, he is sounding more upset. I can’t let him go on crying, so I’m off to figure out what to do for the rest of the day with a tired child. At least he’ll go to bed early tonight.

As usual, I acted fast on my purchasing plan and got our own jogging
stroller! I decided on the Baby Jogger after doing a little
research, and I found this “used” one listed on Craigslist. It was
at a baby store in Oakland and $100 cheaper than new, but it looks
like it was never used. That night, I listed the wagon and Zippy for
sale. Someone picked up the wagon a few hours later, and the Zippy
is spoken for.

Can’t you picture me wearing my perfectly coordinated outfit,
sprinting like an agile gazelle, while pushing a smiling and waving
Falco? No? That’s because it’s more like I’m lumbering in
mismatched rags, beet red and panting, praying the stroller will hold
me up, and wishing Falco was pushing me instead. The smiling and
waving is about right because, let’s face it, my kid is charming.

Hopefully, in a few weeks, I’ll be running more than walking and
eventually won’t feel like I’ll die of exhaustion after jogging two
blocks. I’ll keep you posted.

Because regular visitors and subscribers will probably never notice this in my sidebar, allow me to call your attention to the list of randomness I made last night.

Would you believe what I did last week? I went RUNNING! That’s right, me, the sedentary one. The most exercise I have done in a l-o-n-g while is going on walks with Falco, which is better than nothing but is not doing much to counteract my love of food and wine. A friend has a jogging stroller, so we borrowed it while she was out of town last week. I took me a week to motivate, but I finally took Falco out in it on Thursday and Friday. I would say I ran maybe 10 minutes and walked 15 each time, but we’ve all got to start somewhere. We both liked it enough that I am ready to get a stroller of my own and work my way up to running 30 minutes 4-5 days per week.

In order to make this purchase, I need to sell some other Falco transporters to make room for yet another piece of gear. So, the Zippy and the wagon gotsta go. Hopefully they will make a swift departure via Craigslist. I don’t mind getting rid of the wagon, but the Zippy hurts a little because I am sentimental about it. I spent hours and hours researching and test driving strollers while I was pregnant before I finally chose that one. Falco started riding in it when he was only a tiny baby, and he has had many adventures in it.

This is exactly why we still have almost every item he has owned since he was born. I need to choose a few (small) things that are special keepsakes and start cleaning out the rest. It’s easy to hold onto a onesie or stuffed animal as a momento, but strollers and furniture are a different story. I keep thinking we should save everything for a second child, but we’re running out of space in our already packed house. Besides, if we get rid of everything and Falco has a brother or sister later down the road, then I get the fun of shopping all over again!

Coming back tomorrow with a bucket.