Fetch Puppy

My brother Jeff has been working on a major project for some time now that is finally coming to fruition. Jeff helped to build a website called Fetch Puppy, and the site officially launches today.

Similar to Groupon, Fetch Puppy offers a different daily deal for various businesses around New Orleans. However, unlike Groupon, Fetch Puppy allows you, the community, to go out and land deals at places you want. YOU contact the business and settle on the terms of the deal. YOU send the deal over to Fetch Puppy. The FP staff then verifies with the business that the deal is in order and puts the deal on the schedule to be featured on the site for one day.

 

Also, as part of the Fetch Puppy community, YOU get to vote on which deal YOU want to be featured next. Once a deal has been verified by the FP staff, it will be listed on the site and voting will open. The FP staff have the final say on the actual schedule, but they want input from the people who will actually purchase the deals so they can determine what the community really wants.

But you know what the best part is? If YOU submit a legit deal to Fetch Puppy, then YOU will receive a portion (10%) of the profits from that deal. Seriously!

Say for example that I contacted the aquarium in New Orleans and set up a deal with them similar to the one they featured on Groupon on November 15 of last year. Just over 3000 people purchased that deal for $9. If I had submitted that same deal to Fetch Puppy and got the same results, I would have made just over $2700.

Score.

Plus, Fetch Puppy is going one step further. The site will also feature a local charity for one week that will also get a portion (10%) of the profits from ALL of that week’s deals. How cool is that? And, as part of the Fetch Puppy community, YOU can nominate a charity YOU would like to see benefit for one week.

I love the concept of this site. And I’m so proud of all of the work Jeff put into it. I hope it becomes a fast success.

So spread the word, tell all of your friends and family, and get to thinkin’ about some deals to submit!

Visit www.fetchpuppy.com for more information.

Footwear Aversions

I don’t really like wearing socks. Or shoes, for that matter. If I’m in the car, as long as I’m not driving, my shoes are usually off a couple of minutes into any trip of decent length. Whenever I come home from going somewhere I usually kick my shoes off the minute I step inside. I also have a tendency to leave my shoes under various dining tables at relatives’ or friends’ houses because I can’t seem to make it through a meal with them on. And, more often than not, I forget about them after we leave the table and usually spend a few minutes searching before I remember where I left them. I just need to start checking under the table first.

I have even been known to remove my shoes while eating out at a restaurant and tuck my legs up underneath me, getting comfy and settling in. While I wouldn’t do this at a fancy restaurant, I often do at more casual places. It’s just how I roll.

Socks get almost the same treatment from me. Most of the time I prefer to be completely barefoot. However, there are times (like now, when it’s very wintery outside) when I will cave and put on a pair of thick, soft, comfy socks. I don’t usually last very long before I take them off, though. This behavior of mine is especially fun at night in the winter months: Kenny just loves when I get into bed and stick my invariably freezing cold feet on his warm legs. If I started to wear socks regularly, I wouldn’t be able to torment him so.

And even thought he’d never admit it, I just know he’d miss it. Right, dear?

The only problem this creates is that my feet are almost ALWAYS really cold when I get into bed at night in the winter. And sometimes I like to give Kenny a break. So I choose not to freeze him out with my feet. But that leaves me with really cold feet. And burying them deep within the recesses of my bedding doesn’t work fast enough. I don’t ever achieve the pocket of warmth my feet desire within a reasonable amount of time. This really is a perpetual problem I have from December to February.

I realize there is a simple solution to all of this (just put on some socks, genius!), but I’m stubborn. And if I accepted that simplicity, I wouldn’t have this delightfully random topic to write about here. I bet you didn’t expect to read something like this when you clicked on the link to my site today.

What can I say? I’m an equal opportunity blogger.

And I’m just trying to keep it real, people.

Small Changes

As Kenny and I were getting ready for bed the other night (….at 9pm. Don’t make fun; that’s when you go to sleep when you have a four-month-old who may or may not be truly sleeping through the night. It’s true. It’s in the manual.) I commented that I wasn’t quite as enamored with my pillow as I used to be.

This is a big thing. Not long ago I absolutely LOVED my pillow and could not sleep well without it. I’d get all depressed if we went to stay overnight somewhere and I forgot it. I bet pregnancy changed my view of it. So I can blame Riley. Awesome.

My ever chivalrous spouse offered me his pillow, which is one of those memory foam ones with the depression in the middle of it, you know, for proper spine alignment and such. I have tried pillows like that in the past and found that I just don’t like them. When I said this to my other half, he responded with, “Okay, but just think of all of the things you hadn’t given a chance before you met me and now you’re hooked on.”

So instead of going right to sleep and not thinking about it like any good mother of a four-month-old (who may or may not be truly sleeping through the night) should do, I gave Kenny’s statement some thought. A few things popped into my head right away, and of course I had to get out of bed and open up my laptop so I could get it all down before I forgot something. (Remember, that’s been known to happen on many an occasion. Just think of all of the wisdom crap I could have imparted in the past but didn’t because I forgot before I could get to my computer. Now you’ll never know.)

None of these things are really life-changing. I for one do not believe one should change the way they are for the one they love. If you start out one way then you should stay that way. My husband fell in love with me for a reason, right? Sure, nobody’s perfect (certainly not me!), but that’s what makes us all so unique. He loves me regardless of all of my idiosyncrasies, so there’s no need to change. With all of our good and our bad, we’re perfect for each other. These “changes” listed below are just small, everyday improvements in my life as a whole, not changes to me as a person. Or at least, that’s what I think they are.

Wow, sorry about that slight deep diversion.

Okay, so here are the four items I came up with, in no particular order:

• Toothpaste: I was solely a Crest girl before I met Kenny. Then he told me about Arm & Hammer toothpaste with baking soda. I admit, the first time I tried it was out of necessity (There was no other option as we were traveling. I probably had forgotten my pillow, too.) and I did not like it one bit. But Kenny convinced me to give it a few more chances and he promised me I would be hooked. And you know what? I am. I’m hooked. I can’t stand Crest anymore. It tastes like candy compared to Arm & Hammer. Normally, that wouldn’t be a problem, but not in this case. “Candy” and “clean teeth” just don’t really go together. The baking soda in the Arm & Hammer toothpaste just leaves your mouth feeling so fresh and clean. I dare you to give it a fair try (at least a week). You may never go back to Crest, either.
• Green peppers: I’m not sure I had ever tasted a green pepper before dating Kenny. This is mostly because my mom never uses them when she cooks because my dad just can’t handle them. They do bad things to his stomach. And while I can’t remember the exact moment I first tasted one in all their glory, I do remember that it was Kenny who introduced me to them. I don’t know what I ever did without green peppers in my life. They are simply delicious, and I’m so sorry, Dad, that you can’t eat them. You don’t know what you’re missing. Oh, well; more for me!
• Separating laundry (or lack thereof): Like my mother taught me when I went off to college, I dutifully separated my whites from my darks whenever doing laundry. This changed when I had dated Kenny for a few years. He was putting a load in once and I remember he hadn’t separated anything. Whites, darks, towels, undies, you name it! He just threw enough in until it was full and let it whirl. (Dogs and cats living together, mass hysteria! Name that movie.) I soon realized that this is much easier than separating everything out (with the exception of sheets and towels; I do wash those separately) and have adopted the practice of NOT separating ever since. And I believe I have only inadvertently turned something pink once. Perhaps twice.
• Classic rock: I have an eclectic taste in music that runs the gamut from Top 40s to Country to New Age to Showtunes. And while my parents also exposed me and my brother to lots of great music from their generation that I still love to this day, I hadn’t really listened to much classic rock. Enter my husband. He’s a true classic rock fan. He introduced me to lots of songs I had never heard before that I now really enjoy. These days the radio in my car is practically permanently tuned to the local classic rock station. And that’s what I listen to, except for those times when I just need a Glee fix. That’s when I plug in my iPod and sing as loud as I want to, persons in the cars around me be damned. Sometimes you just have to belt out a good showtune. It can make everything better. 

So thank you, my sweet, wonderful, dearest husband, for introducing me to the aforementioned things. In doing so you have made my life better.

Now if you’ll all excuse me, I have to go make a second pot of coffee so I can remain awake to take care of my four-month-old (who did, in fact, sleep through the night). Maybe I should just keep pen and paper in my nightstand so I can avoid having to get up and type when I should be sleeping.

That would make a lot of sense.

Quality Time

Back in high school, I was the oddball in my group of friends: I did not want kids. Period. Ever. I was already focused on what career I would have, and while I did dream about what kind of guy I would marry, I didn’t ever see kids in the picture I had of my future. I wasn’t what one would consider “maternal.” I didn’t babysit as much as my friends did, I didn’t go gaga over babies like they did. I was, quite frankly, awkward and uncomfortable around young children. I was convinced having kids of my own was just not in my makeup.

All of that changed when Kenny and I started dating. I knew fairly soon into our relationship that we would raise a family together. I’m not sure how I knew it; I just did. I could see it. And I became excited about the prospect.

So while my life now is nothing like I pictured it back when I was in high school, I wouldn’t change it. I may have a master’s degree, I don’t have much of a career right now, but what I do have is a beautiful little boy.

I’m actually kind of proud of how fast I picked up on this motherhood thing. I went from knowing practically nothing (it’s true: ask my friend Karen how much I picked her brain when I was pregnant on how to raise a kid!) to figuring things out as I go and continually learning along the way. You’re sort of forced to learn quickly with a firstborn child; you ain’t got no other choice!

And you know what? It’s not always easy, but everything works out in the end. Even if you make a mistake, you just try another way. And I know as long as I continue to feel the overwhelming and unconditional love that I have for this little creature I helped to bring into this world, all is well.

Being able to stay home and have so much quality time with Riley has been wonderful, and I hope I can continue it for a long time. Otherwise, I would miss out on many special moments like these:

 

Even though you really didn’t have a choice, I still thank you, Riley, for letting me be your mom. I love you!

Cuteness Four

Our little Poo Dat

Sportin’ his new shades

 

Doing his “in the saddle” pose in his sleep…kinda

 

Stinkin’ cute.

All ready to run errands with Mommy!

Enjoying a new toy from Christmas

Crazy bath-time hair

Nappin’ on his tummy

Checking out his feet

Playing on his new laptop from Nola and Nopsi

Adventures in Eating and Sleeping

This type of post is two-fold. One, as I have mentioned before, I like that I am documenting the growth and progression of Riley in minute detail. For those that appreciate the ridiculous amount of facts and figures I have put forth thus far in this category, here’s another one for ya. For those that could care less, I am sorry.

Two, there are a few cute pictures and a video for you to see today. Perhaps they will make up for the lengthy, wordy text that accompanies them.

Riley has gotten loads better at eating his rice cereal. Granted, the video Kenny took of Riley’s second-ever attempt at solid food is priceless, and it was made all the funnier by his being an absolute sticky mess throughout much of it. Unfortunately, Riley’s cereal meals aren’t quite as funny anymore. Fortunately, he’s much easier to clean up after he’s done.

He’s also gotten fairly demanding during a cereal feeding: he opens his mouth almost immediately after I give him a bite, so I have to be pretty quick with reloading the spoon! And we used to feed him in his bouncy seat on top of the island in the kitchen (top picture), but we just moved him into his highchair (bottom picture). He looks like such a big boy sitting in it.

Riley has also been trying more and more to hold his own bottle, a lot of times with pretty good success. Kenny has reported that he has held it completely on his own for two or three recent early morning feedings. He’s held it himself with me a bit, but never for a whole feed. But he’s making good progress! Not that I mind assisting him at all, but it will be a nice change when he can feed himself.

And now on to the more pressing issue: sleeping. On our errand day last week, Riley and I popped into Barnes and Noble so I could pick up a book that a friend of mine recommended. Called Healthy Sleep Habits, Happy Child, it has actually given us some good ideas. After reading a decent bit of it the first day I got it, Kenny and I decided to try implementing some of the methods advocated by the author, with the hopes that Riley would stop waking up in the middle of the night.

First, we moved his bedtime up lots earlier, to around 7pm. So many sources say this is key, so we decided to really give it a try. Even though he did okay with late bedtimes when we were in New Orleans for the holidays, we knew that wouldn’t last.

Second, we also established a bedtime routine. He gets his second and last feeding of rice cereal around 5:45pm. Then he gets a leisurely bath (where he actually squirms and splashes – mostly while smiling – a lot, getting some of his excess energy out before bed), followed by putting on pj’s and reading a couple of books. After that comes his last bottle of the day and then he’s in his crib around 6:45pm.

I know I said in my infamous sleeping post that I thought he was too young for a routine. But this is working. So I take back my original statement. Emphatically.

We really didn’t know what to expect the first night we tried this new bedtime ritual, but he did great with it. And he’s still doing great with it. He doesn’t always fall asleep during his last bottle, but he’s gone down in his crib with little or no fuss for over a week now. Kenny and I have agreed to let him cry for 5-10 minutes after we put him down to give him a chance to settle himself, but he hasn’t put up much of a fight at all.

However, the first few nights after we started the bedtime routine, he was going down easy, but he was still waking up in the middle of the night once or more. And then he had a really bad night. So, we decided to start sleep training the night of January 7.

We’re using a graduated method, meaning we let him cry for 5 minutes until one of us goes in to check. We talk soothingly to him for a minute or less, and then leave the room, no matter what. We wait 5 more minutes, then go in again if he’s still crying and soothe the same way. After that, the length of time between soothing increases to 10 minutes and then to 15. If he still hasn’t settled after the first 15 minutes, we keep going in every 15 minutes until he’s back asleep.

The first night we tried this method, he was back asleep a little less than an hour after he first woke up. The second night required even less time. And the next three nights? He slept for 11, 10, and 11 hours straight. It was magical. I hope it continues.

I’m also trying to get him on somewhat of a schedule for his naps, too. This is what I’m trying to avoid:

   

True, it is very sweet, and I really do love holding him while he sleeps. But it was time to start being consistent and getting him to sleep in his crib during the day as well as at night. The book says to aim for a morning nap around 9-10am and a longer afternoon nap between noon and 2pm, with a possible short third nap in the late afternoon. Most kids naturally fall into this pattern. However, Riley seems to like taking two morning naps and one afternoon nap, as opposed to one morning and two afternoon. We’ll see if this continues or if he slides into the other times. For now, I’m taking my cues from him instead of the clock.

The key with Riley’s daytime sleeping is to watch him for signs that he’s getting tired and to not push him too far. Once I start to see sleepy signs (which should occur one to two hours after his last sleep period), I put him in his favorite position (on his side cradled in my arms against my chest), head into his room, sway from side to side and gently shush him for a couple of minutes, and then put him down.

Since I’ve started doing this, he’s done pretty well. Of course, sometimes I’ve waited just a little too long and he fights it more. And other times I’ve thought he was just about out in my arms but then is wide awake waving his arms and kicking his legs as soon as I attempt to put him down. So the process starts over again. But ultimately, it’s working pretty well.

Also, since he has learned to roll over, we have found him on his tummy a number of times in his crib. This newfound skill prevented him from sleeping in the beginning, and we weren’t sure what to do about it. Leave him and let him cry and hope he eventually rolls back or falls asleep? Go in and roll him back ourselves? I think Kenny has actually rolled him back once, but it turned out we didn’t need to debate about a course of action too much. This is what happened over the weekend during one of his naps:

 

He started fussing shortly after Kenny put him down and rolled himself over. Of course. But he eventually calmed himself down and fell asleep on his tummy for over two hours. This tummy sleeping has occurred a number of times now during naps……perhaps he’s destined to prefer sleeping on his stomach like his momma!

The bottom line, though, is that this is all just one big game of trial and error, and it’s certainly keeping me on my toes. He’s nowhere close to napping at the exact same times every day, but at least we’ve got a consistent bedtime. It’s a start. And the good part about the book we’re using is that it contains information on how to get kids to sleep better all the way up to age sixteen.

I’m confident our methods are working, so we’re going to keep at it. Hopefully he’ll be on a true schedule and sleeping the way he’s supposed to be, day and night, very soon!

Cheeks

Riley and I were in Target the other day, just one stop of many, and I saw a three-pack of bibs I just couldn’t pass up. See the picture below for the reason why.

I love the vibrant primary colors used in all three, and the sayings are all so cute (the others are “I call the shots” and “Life of the Party”). Thanks, Grams; we used part of your gift card to purchase them!

Cotton Bowl Victory

The LSU Tigers played the Texas A&M Aggies in the Cotton Bowl this year, and our little family of three enjoyed the game by ourselves at home. Well, Riley enjoyed sleeping through the game: he was in bed before it even started. And because of that, Kenny and I had to learn very quickly how to celebrate quietly whenever our team did something good. It was actually pretty funny, seeing Kenny jump around the living room waving his arms around, “yelling” with no sound coming out of his mouth, and giving me silent high-fives.

(I realize lots of people advocate making no changes to the noise level after you put your child to bed, but we’re still struggling with getting Riley to sleep as good as he used to, so we weren’t taking any chances. More on his sleeping trials coming up soon.)

I used to be VERY vocal when it came to watching football, and it’s interesting to note how fast I made the adjustment when Riley came along. (I wonder if he’ll be as loud as I used to be when he grows up and understands the game. And I wonder if I’ll return to my old ways once he’s older. I’m betting so, but only time will tell.) I remember holding him fast asleep in my arms during the LSU-Tennessee game in September and not making a sound at the ridiculous end to that one. And while I did join Kenny in celebrating on Friday night, I too did so with no sound. I guess that’s what motherhood has done to me: help me control my volume (and language) while watching football, all for Riley’s benefit.

Riley probably wouldn’t have cared, though. As long as he got adequate finger-sucking time in before we put him to bed, he considered himself good.

Congrats to LSU for an impressive win over A&M. I’m already looking forward to what next season will bring. Geaux Tigers!

Postscript: What a shame the Saints’ season had to end in the game against the Seahawks on Saturday afternoon. However, no one can ever take away their stellar performance last year. Way to go, boys. We are still proud of you.

We Have a Roller!

On Sunday afternoon, January 2, Riley and I were playing inside the house while Kenny took down the Christmas lights outside. I had Riley on his playmat, and he started to roll very precariously onto his side. I watched for a few minutes and then ran to get Kenny. I was sure Riley was going to roll over on his own VERY soon.

Kenny came inside with me, grabbed the camera, and this is what he got:

Please excuse the commentary. We both need to get better about it, like not feeling the need to say anything at all.

I was so excited, both that Riley had finally rolled over (especially since I thought he had lost interest in trying!) and that we had gotten his very first roll on video. He proceeded to roll four more times that afternoon, and now he can’t stop. Most times he’ll roll almost immediately to his tummy as soon as we lay him down anywhere. He’s rolled over in his crib during a couple of naps (which, coincidentally, were very short), as well as once during the night (yes, we’re still having issues. Pray for us.)

I wonder what his next milestone will be…..think I can teach him how to unload the dishwasher any time soon?

Home.

Home. I love being home. Given the choice, Kenny would probably want to go out and do something while I would rather stay home. I like being in my own house, doing my own thing, on my own timeline.

Don’t get me wrong. I’m all for get-togethers and dinners out and the general celebration of things every now and then, especially around the holidays. I enjoyed this holiday season immensely. We did a lot and saw a lot (and drank a lot). And it was WONDERFUL to have so much help with Riley for seven solid days. But man is it nice to be home.

Granted, we didn’t arrive back home last Saturday, drop everything where it landed, and relax the week away. No, we jumped right into putting away clothes and Christmas presents, taking down our Christmas decorations, cleaning up the house, running errands, making a big grocery run, and doing a massive amount of laundry (8 loads….ouch).

But we’re home. We’ve been home for a week. And we don’t have anywhere to go until the first weekend in February.

And that’s just fine with me.