Baby Boy's Nursery Part 2

After our marathon nursery set up, we had to wait a while to complete the design. Our friends and family were very generous at our baby shower, and we got all of the remaining elements to complete the look. This is definitely the cutest, most decorated room in our house. In fact, we often hang out in there in the evenings because it is so nice!

This is one of my favorite parts of the room. These are all gifts given to Jason when he was first born. His mom couldn't make it to our shower, but she sent a box of these items for me to open. They include homemade gifts from Jason's grandmother and great-grandmother, the star that stayed with him while he was in the NICU, and gifts from his grandparents' friends.

I have to admit that I am really proud of this dresser. I am not a crafty person, but I managed to paint this dresser and make it look pretty nice. I have had this dresser since I was 12, and it has been many, many different colors over the years. My mom never took the time to sand it, so I am sure that there are layers and layers of paint on it. The best part was that the nobs had been painted on, so in order to paint them brown, I had to do some serious precision work! Not bad, if I do say so myself!

The painting above the crib was done by my step-mom. She is far more talented than I, and I am so impressed by how well it matches!

The nursery kind of doubles as a guest room - hence the twin bed. And, it has come in handy in the last months of pregnancy as I now take up our entire queen bed, and Jason has been relegated to the baby's room. Fortunately, he's a good sport about it!

Baby Boy's Nursery Part 1

I never thought I would be one of those moms who cared about the nursery. I always figured that our baby needed a place to sleep and a place for clothes, and that was about it. We rarely put a lot of energy into decorating any other part of our house, and have always sported "craigslist shic" furniture. I don't know if it was the nesting urge, or the fact that we are finally living in a place where we can paint the walls, but I became mildly obsessed with the nursery. I wanted cute bedding, and matching crib and dresser, paint on the walls, and some kind of decorating scheme. Luckily, places like Babys R Us cater to the decorating challenged like me and have whole sets of coordinating nursery pieces, of which I took full advantage. However, the perfectionist and the cheapskate in me still came out and I agonized first over bedding patterns, then over cribs, and then over paint colors. We finally settled on what I think is cute bedding - fit for a baby but not pastels (not a fan of pastels), and we got our crib and changing table on major clearance, plus a 20% coupon!

Once we finally got the details sorted out, Jason and I kind of went on a marathon nursery weekend. We bought the paint Friday night, and finished the first coat at 2am...

The next day, Jason put on a second coat while I painted an old dresser. For some reason, we couldn't just leave assembling the changing table and crib for the next day, so we did those Saturday night...we finally finished at 3am!

As is usually the case, I am the designated directions reader and parts separator. If left to his own devices, Jason usually just goes for the gusto and ends up putting things together wrong and/or getting frustrated.

While putting together the crib at 2:00 in the morning, we both had the thought that maybe we shouldn't be putting something so necessary for our baby's safety together while in an exhausted and semi-loopy state of mind...however, neither of us said anything until the next day! I think it all turned out all right!

Reason 57 why we are leaving NYC - Mean People on the Subway

About two months ago Jason and I decided it was time to pack up and move out of the big apple.  Our departure date is set for March 1st.  While there are several big reasons why we are moving (more on that later), since our decision, we have found many more reasons why NYC is no longer the place for us.  A situation this morning sparked another reason why we are ready to go!

Here is my little story:  Jason and I often ride the train to work together.  It's about an hour to work and most of the ride we are on the same train.  This morning, as with many mornings, there was only one seat when we got on the train, so I took it.  When this happens, we usually just wait for a person on either side of me to get up so that Jason can sit down.  Depending on where Jason is standing in relation to the open seat, sometimes I scoot over into the unoccupied seat and Jason takes my seat.

So this morning, we were in this exact situation.  We had been on the train for about 20 minutes when the girl sitting next to me stood up to get off at 125th street.  Because of where Jason was standing, I scooted over into her seat.  Now, there was another guy standing in front of where she was sitting.  He was just an average guy, though on the big and burly side, probably in his 30s and apparently in good health.  I honestly thought nothing of him until I had scooted over and Jason had taken my seat and this guy became obviously angry.  He gave me kind of a dirty look, huffed a little and took off for the other side of the train.  Ok, whatever, I didn't think it was that big of a deal.  

Three stops later, I hear a knock on the window behind me, turn around that this guy is giving me the finger and a very dirty look!  Seriously???  He was so angry that someone else got "his" seat that he bottled that anger up, located where I was sitting on the train, and then took the energy to knock on my window and give me a mean gesture!  I don't get it.

Of course, being the sensitive soul that I am, I was instantly upset by this and even got a few little tears in my eyes.  I started second-guessing myself, trying to figure out if there is some subway etiquette of which, in my five plus years riding the subway, I am still unaware.  But no, there isn't.  And, I'm pretty sure that any other person travelling with a companion would do the same thing - in fact, I have seen many others do the same thing and I don't fault them.  Unless there is a person standing around who obviously needs a seat (ie pregnant woman, elderly, sickly, or injured person), why shouldn't the seated person's friend get the seat?

So, after my moment of sensitivity, I have come to the conclusion that many people in NYC have a lot of anger and sometimes they take it out on other unnecessarily.  However, I am officially done bearing the brunt of this anger and am ready to be in the amenable, hospitable environment of the great Northwest!  Just a few more weeks to go...

Two Things related to Politics

Alright, here I go. I have one commentary to share although it is a little past due...I still feel it is applicable. The Wednesday prior to the election, Barack Obama ran an infomercial on all the major networks, which makes me wonder how desperate we must be as a nation for a change. I also have to ask what it says about us that we need an advertisement to prove to ourselves that we need a new direction. Barack Obama ran an Infomercial for Change. I wonder if he consulted RonCO for tips on how to peddle his thoughts as he polished some old food dehydrator, flavor injector and rotisserie oven tactics to sell himself. There were testimonials from the WalMart demographic indicating how fabulous it would be and there were clear statements about how much better life would be. In fact, the only thing that was missing was the old..."It's not going to cost you $300.00, not $200.00, not $100.00.  This change could be yours for three easy payments of three hours in line at the local polling place."  I am glad we stopped short of the payment plan in this pitch for change. Don't get me wrong, my guy won the election, but what must be wrong with us as a society that we can't listen to ideas unless they are packaged up Ron Popeil style in a 30 minute Infomercial? We have a long way to come as a nation, let's all get ready for the work ahead

The second item on the docket today is the concept of President-elect:

This is a difficult concept for some people...especially for my friends working at the local K-Mart in the Bronx.

I made the mistake of going to K-Mart last week on Thursday. I say mistake, like I actually have a choice not to go, but unfortunately, in my neighborhood, it is my only choice for many household necessities. I rushed through the store grabbing what I needed, and rushed back to the check out line only to wait in line. There are two guarantees at K-Mart: 1) You will wait in line for way too long and 2) there are always four or five employees gathered around one register not helping anybody almost as if they are laughing at the people in line. Please open up more registers, stop talking and help get me out of this store! Anyway, on this night, the gathering of staff at one register allowed for me to have an eye opening experience.

As I placed my items near the scanner, my cashier looked over to the next register where the "staff meeting" was taking place and said, "They are still counting votes in California." Now, me being curious asked, "What are you tailing about?" She looked at me for the first time and said, "The Barack Obama election thing." I pressed again and wanted to know why she was concerned about the votes in California 48 hours after all precincts had reported and President-elect Obama won the state nearly 2-1 over John McCain and had a clear victory in the Electoral College. She said, "man, they are still counting votes in California. They aren't done counting the votes that is why he is just the President-elect and not the President!"

I took a step back, because in her excitement and pronunciation of the word President, she spit on me...just a little. I debated trying to explain the true meaning of President-elect and how Inauguration works and when it takes place and really help to educate her on the political process. Before I could make my decision, she chimed in with the following piece of incite. "My cousin Titi lives in California and alls I knows is that they aren't done counting. I'm gonna call her and get an update but until those votes are counted, he's just the President-elect" I now knew that I would not be able to compete with her knowledge and the budding political reporting career of cousin Titi. I grabbed my bags, took my receipt and parted withe the following. "Have a good evening. Good luck with California (and under my breath, "how uniformed are people? I can't wait to put this on a blog somewhere.")

That's the great thing about life...there are so many interactions that you just can't make up!

Jury Duty

Yep, that's right, despite my many attempts to get out of it, I finally had to do my civic duty and serve jury duty.  As often happens, I let my imagination get the better of me prior to serving and had convinced myself that I would get selected for a criminal trial of the most heinous variety with all kinds of awful evidence that would most definitely leave me scarred for life.  

Fortunately, it was nothing like that.  It was surprisingly simple and pain free.  On Monday I sat in the jurors' room all day waiting for my name to be called, which it wasn't.  Incidentally, I say all day, but that is not exactly accurate.  I arrived at 9:00am and we were sent to lunch at 12:30.  We returned at 2:00pm, and then were sent home at 3:00pm...this is my kind of work day!

Yesterday, the courts were closed for election day.  Today, I returned to jurors' room and crossed my fingers that I would yet again not hear my name.  We were told on the first day that if we made it to the end of Wednesday without being selected then we were finished with our civic duty for the next 6 years!  However, when I arrived today, the number of jurors left in the room was so small that I was sure we would all be called and  would have to serve.

So, just before lunch they rattled off another list of about 20 names.  Once again mine wasn't on it...except, right after, they said "Oh yeah, and Amber Wells"...Dang it! So we all filed into a court room for the selection process on a civil trial.  They drew 12 names out of hat to begin the selection process, which they said would start after lunch.  At 2pm we return to the room while the attorney for the plaintiff proceeds to ask each juror several questions.  After about 45 minutes, he and the other attorney take a short break.   Upon their return they announce that the trial would likely take another three days, and really, that's asking us to serve for too long, so instead, they will just release us all and start fresh tomorrow!  So, I was finished by 3:00pm.  

Not that I'm complaining, but this does not seem to be the most efficient system, especially when they explained on the first day that they are running out of qualified jurors.  Why not just guarantee that when you're called you have to serve for at least one week?  If you get on a case that doesn't last a whole day, then you serve on another one until your week is up.  Similarly, if you don't get selected on your first case, then you go back into the pool to be selected again.  This seems like it would make much more sense.  However, under the current system I only had to miss two days of work and now I'm set for six years!  

In any case, it was an interesting experience and I am extremely thankful that I didn't have to see any gory pictures or hear any gruesome details!

Apple Picking in Yorktown Heights, NY

Amber and I enjoyed our visit to Wilkens Fruit Farm in Yorktown Heights, New York (roughly 35 miles from our apartment in the bronx.  The Fall colors were out in full force along the Sprainbrook Parkway, which made the drive one of the true highlights of the day.

Amber and I took advantage of the Columbus Day and decided to enjoy our first ever apple picking adventure.

Amber, although slightly vertically challenged, was very determined to fill our basket with apples.

You can clearly see that she was very proud of each apple she was able to shake from the trees.

I was more interested in eating the apples than picking them.  I justified this as quality control and ensuring that the apples were up to standard.  Also, I really like apples!

By the end of our picking adenture, we were tired.  We had picked a half bushel of apples which is roughly 24 pounds of apples.  The basket was a mixture of Baldwin, Red Delicious, Ida Red and McIntosh Apples.  The Apple in the palm of my hand was the last one we picked and it was the most perfect of them all.  The Baldwin was a first for boh of us, but it is definately our new most favorite of the apple varieties.

As far as farms go, Wilkens is not the best one that I have been to.  The crops / orchads are not clearly marked and you are almost forced to eat the apples to determine what you are picking. The tractor ride is lame at best. It looked more like riding in the back of a pick up truck with 40 of your closest freinds.  There was no attempt to make this the traditional farm hayride exerience.  All-in-all, Amber and I enjoyed the trip to Wilkens Fruit Farm.  We stopped at the gift shop for some farm fresh honey, some fresh pressed apple cider and the highlight the fried to order apple cider doughnuts rolled in sugar.

The experience was also a little bitter sweet for me as it was a reminder of my grandfather who passed away just weeks before our wedding after a battle with Parkinson's Disease.  My Grandfather was a blacksmith by trade and a green thumb  by passion.  In the later stages of his career, he had his own business that he ran out of a shop in his back yard which was nearly an acre.  Just beyond his shop was his garden which was a highlight of our visits every summer.  Just beyond the garden at the back of the property was my grandfather's orchard.  He planted a fruit tree for each of his grandchildren.  The tree that he planted for me was an apple tree.  

about six or seven years ago my grandfather decided to build his own apple press which was entirely his design.  He rigged a mulching machine to spray apple chunks into his barrel shaped press where he converted the solid apples into liquid apple cider.

Grandpa, where ever you are, the cider at Wilkens, while very good, didn't hold a canlde to yours. 

Who's really in control here?

Our dog Jager has started to take some liberties as of late.  She is a five year old Rhodesian Ridgeback mix who (as with many dogs) seems to think that, if she is not human, than she at least deserves to be treated like one. Although very hyper, she is generally well behaved.  She has started to actually follow directions when we tell her to go lie down, and she dutifully stays out of the kitchen (at least when we're home).  One of her rules is that she is not allowed on the furniture unless invited up.  Quite often, she will beg with big cute eyes until we invite her up, especially on the bed.  Once up, she successfully takes over the entire bed and flops around in pure doggy bliss until we get tired of flailing paws and send her off.  Usually she obeys right away, though sometimes she seems to think that if she curls up at the end of the bed, makes herself really small and looks at us with big pleading eyes then we will let her stay up.  I have to admit, sometimes this works for a little while longer.

When we're both awake, she almost never gets on the bed without an invitation.  Lately, Jason has been getting up before me and Jager has taken this as an open invitation to take his place.  I don't usually mind because she stays still and keeps me warm, so I let her stay.  She must have discovered that if she is quiet and stealth enough that she can get on the bed without us noticing, because the other morning Jason and I woke up to her curled up on the corner of the bed...neither of us had noticed her get up, though Jason did briefly think he had nerve damage when he woke up and couldn't move his legs...  See what I mean about liberties?

Well, tonight she topped it all.  Another one of Jager's problems is that she sometimes pees in the house when we are gone - in fact, we have lost many a rug to her daytime exploits.  Because we are gone so long, we don't like to keep her in her kennel all the time so we have taken to placing pee-pads in her favorite spots and she is now trained to use them should the urge require.  Up until tonight, she has politely reserved their use for daytime.  Tonight, however, as I am sitting on the couch working some things, I look over as she unashamedly squats on the pads and pees...right in front of me!  I yelled her name in shock, and she didn't even look worried.  

So, while our dog seems well behaved, I'm beginning to think that she listens just well enough for us to think that we are in control, when in fact she wears the proverbial pants in the household.  Hopefully we train our children slightly better...