November 16th, 2009

Solo

My husband went out-of-town for a week for work and I am staying home with the baby.  I am sure it will be an adventure.  I do the bulk of the childcare, but it will be interesting to try and fit in meals, showers and the housework without his back up.  I took my last leisurely shower yesterday in anticipation of his departure.  He works long hours so I am used to being home alone with the baby quite a bit,  I think the main difference is that there is no anticipation of his company or the extra support for the fussier moments.  And then I think of all the people who are own their own much more than I am– my cousin with the Air Force husband who just got back from Afghanistan, single parents– and I realized I should just shut it.

November 11th, 2009

Veterans Day

My childhood could have been very different if my dad had stayed in the Army.  He joined ROTC to help pay for college.  This was in the 1960s and by the time he graduated, the situation in Vietnam had significantly escalated.  Be married my mom, graduated and went off to basic training all in a span of a few months.  He left for Vietnam on his birthday in 1969 and came home one year later.  He then decided to leave the Army.

My dad had intended to be career Army, but his experience in Vietnam changed his mind.  The only time he every talked about his experience there was on Veterans Day.  He would put out the flag and tell one or two of the same three stories every year.  These were not combat tales; they were stories of water buffaloes and beer.

I am remembering my dad today and telling his stories to my son, establishing a tradition to help him get to know the grandfather he will never know  I would like to wish a Happy Veterans Day to all of the men and women who serve, or have served, our country and offer my gratitude.

November 10th, 2009

Little Boy Blue

I had very lofty ideals about gender roles and the color coding of babies when I was pregnant; there would be no purposeful blue or trucks or footballs.  And then I had the shower. Regardless of what I registered for (some of which was blue, much of which was green), nearly everything I received was blue.  The things that weren’t blue had pictures of sports and vehicles on them.  The lack of snails or puppy dog tails shocked me.  Don’t get me wrong, I am very grateful for everything I was given and never would have made it through the last few months without the love, support and generosity of my friends and family. Luckily, my little guy looks good in blue.  It isn’t the gender color issue that bothers me as much as the prints.  I was not too sad that the first things he outgrew had a baseball print on them.

Now that it is fall, I am buying him clothes that are brown and lots of primary colors which I think are much cuter.  I have noticed that when I take him out in something yellow or orange people think he is a girl.  I don’t mind and don’t always correct people and that can make it awkward if later they ask “her” name and I reply Spencer.   I just checked and it looks like Spencer Grammer from Greek is a female, so maybe the name is becoming more gender neutral.  I guess the bigger question is that if I have a little girl will I need to deck her out in pink or just reuse all of the boy clothes.

November 10th, 2009

Spencermelon

This is the swaddle I won from bTrendie.  The blanket is huge and will be great for playtime.