Parenting Test Drive

Woah, woah, before the rumor mill starts up: my womb is very much vacant.

I have been helping Emily out with Ethan a little bit over the past couple of weeks while Matt's traveling and she's stuck on a heinous rotation.  I haven't stayed with him since about a year ago and so much has changed since then.

It's amazing to me how much energy it takes me to watch him.  I mean really, it's so much more challenging that I could have ever imagined that it was going to  be.  Not that I'm ready to have a baby by any means, but I do think it's good to prepare mentally and be aware of what I'm getting into if/when I am ready to have kids of my own.  

Actually, this was the same research process I went through before getting Hunter-.  Thanks to taking Henry (Matt & Emily's Cavalier) over night and on weekends several times, I knew it would change my life and I knew that nothing would ever be the same.  I knew what it was going to feel like to walk down the stairs and take a dog for a potty break before bed.  I knew it was going to suck to wake up in the night with him.  I knew that he would cuddle with me and snuggle with me and it would be amazing and worth every second of him throwing up, peeing on the carpet, etc.

I guess this is kind of the same thing, but I am test driving a child instead of a puppy.  

Ethan is the easiest kid I have ever been around- almost always smiling, very happy, pretty easy going despite being in the "Why?" phase where he literally asks "Why?" every single time you tell him something.  

But seriously, he's got complete sentences going on, he's getting potty trained, and his personality is really coming out too.  I can't believe how much fun we had together.  

That said, OMG I have so much respect for parents!  How people pull off parenting let alone juggling parenting and a full-time job is a seriously noteworthy feat.  I get up in the morning, and even when I try to adjust my schedule to account for Ethan, he's got his own agenda and I can't seem to make it to work on time to save my life.  Thankfully, I have a really flexible job and my schedule is pretty low-key.

Papa Santi Turns 80

Yesterday my grandpa threw himself an 80th birthday part at my parent's house.  Sam, my sister and I flew in from our respective places of residence, Ali and her boyfriend came up from Santa Barbara and Mark, Lori and Brock came over from Hawaii.  It was quite an event.  Papa invited 60 people and we think we had about 55 attend.  

He hired a team to cook (in GIANT propane powered pots) lobster, veggies, potatoes, and garlic.  It was our own private lobsterfest.  They rolled parchment paper out on these long tables and then dumped the food out on the middle of the tables and everyone pretty much sat down and ate with their hands.  It was pretty fun- except of course that some of us don't eat lobster so much.  Which was a real treat for those of us who DO eat lobster.  :-)  Sam ate my tail and one of my claws while I stuck to the corn and shrimp.  He also was a HUGE help manning the bar with Carina.  They were fantastic!

I took a TON of photos with Papa's camera- hopefully they will turn out well.  Hopefully Nonna and Papa will remember to have a disk made for me when they have the photos printed.

It was good to see Ali and Brock- I loved catching up with them!  Mark and Lori were fun too, and I al so glad they all came over around 2:30 so that we could spend some time with just the family before the guests arrived.  We broke in the bar and had a couple beers to take the edge off while playing some friendly family ping-pong matches.  Ali's boyfriend, Peter, ripped his jeans open at the crotch which was HILARIOUS and he ended up borrowing a pair of Dad's shorts so that he was decent for the party.

Once the party was in full-swing there were SO many people I didn't have as much time to hang out with them.  C'est la vie.  I hope that we're going to be able to hang out with them soon.  I'm sure we'll see Peter and Ali since they only live 2 1/2 hours from us by car and should be able to come down and visit one weekend before Peter graduates in December. 

One of my favorite photos of the afternoon was the one of Sam, Carina and I in our bibs (provided by the lobster company) to try to keep our clothes clean.  They reminded me of the "I <3 Pasta" bibs Nonna used to have for us at the holidays.  

Along with the family, it was wonderful to see so many old friends.  I really enjoyed spending time with the Cantys, Geoghegans and Williams- Maria and Pat especially.  They are such amazing people and have always treated me like a part of their family.  Gosh they are just the best.  

Like Carina said last night after everyone had gone home and it was just us five, we are incredibly lucky to have been dealt the hand we were given.  We have a great family and great friends. 

Past My Bedtime

My apologies if this post seems disjointed or disorganized- it is, as the title suggests, far past my bedtime and my brain is finally starting to slow down a bit.  I have consistently sold myself short in my dedication to hard work- which is funny because one does not become a First Team All-American water polo player without serious dedication and hard work.  But in my professional life, it was only in the last two years that I realized I was passionate about marketing and wanted to devote significant portions of my free time to learning and improving myself.  Lately, it seems that my hard work and dedication are paying off: I have interesting opportunities popping up all around me.

A girl I went through UCI's Marketing Certificate Extensions Program with reached out to me last week about doing Integrated Marketing Consulting for the company she works for.  Cue me writing my first-ever proposal for consulting services.  We'll see where that goes.  I have been more and more interested in consulting as I get to be more acquainted with self-employed professionals, but I'm not sure if I'm ready to take the leap and go to full-time consulting.  Sam and I are considering that when we start a family, but it's not something I want to explore just yet.

Another networking connection has a very interesting business opportunity that we discussed today.  I would love to be a part of his team and create content and integrated marketing plans for clients on a 12-24 month contract basis.

I am on fire today- completely reenergized and motivated to achieve all that I can.  It was one of those days where I logged nine and a half hours at the office and didn't take a single break.  Well, that's not entirely true.  I did use the restroom once and I had to get a class of water in the afternoon to ward off a dehydration/starvation headache.  I was so consumed by the projects I was working on that I completely blew off my lunch- postponing it to the point that it was ridiculous to even try to take a break to eat.  Ooops.  No biggie, I told myself, I will just leave early.  Next thing I knew, it was 4:15, and then 4:55.

I headed to the gym and met up with Sam for a short workout before we came home and walked Hunter.  By the time we had showered and eaten it was nearly 8:30 and I started work on my other projects.  I edited my consulting proposal with Dad, returned the favor and recommended a dear friend and mentor on LinkedIn and did some other work.

I literally looked up at the clock and realized it was 11:40.  Hunter was laying on the guest bed behind me, Sam had turned off the TV and gone to bed without telling me and my 10:30 bedtime had long since passed.  So I took Hunter out to go potty, piled all of Sam's dirty dishes in the sink for him to tackle tomorrow and sat down to write this post and finish my VERY productive day.  It's funny, at once point this afternoon the song that plays in the movie Rudy during his senior year when he is getting beat to shit during the practicing montage popped into my head.  It's really a very motivating soundtrack if you're looking for something to keep you going... I ended up listening to it all afternoon and evening.

Alas, it's now time to crawl into bed between my freshly washed sheets (yes I even did a load of laundry today!) next to my wonderfully supportive boyfriend and snuggle with our adorable dog.

Ignoring the Skeptics

I recently read a blog by Seth Godin called Proving the skeptics wrong and it really struck a chord with me.

Lately I have been feeling like no matter how hard I try, it isn't good enough for some of the people in my life... two in particular and one especially.  

I really let it get to me when I hear nasty things that have been fabricated about me.  I grew up in a family where we called each other out on our bullshit and sitting idly by while people blatantly make things up to manipulate other people.  Have some accountability people!

It makes me doubt my self worth and question who and what I am.  It causes me to question whether or not I am worthy of these people's approval or respect.  Ultimately, it makes me so disappointed in the actions of this person and I spend so much of my precious time dwelling on the whole mess far more than I should be and than is healthy for me.

I need to stop.  Like Seth says, "Instead of working so hard to prove the skeptics wrong, it makes a lot more sense to delight the true believers."  I need to surround myself with the people who fill my life with love and happiness.  I need to stop bending over backward for the people who couldn't care less and focus my energy on the people who appreciate the things I do.

Summer Rain

Yesterday was humid.  Very humid.  I was not surprised in the least when, to my delight, it started raining on my drive home.  It rained again when we walked Hunter in the evening.

This morning, when I woke up, it was overcast and the air was heavy - indicators that it's likely to be rainy.  Sure enough, as I lay in bed checking the weather, I noticed that we were supposed to get showers.

When Hunter and I walked this morning it started raining, and it rained my whole drive to work.  So much for the carwash I got after our road trip last weekend!  

I love a good summer rain storm.  It smells so good on the warm asphalt.  It sounds so nice coming down on the leaves and trickling down the side of the building.

It reminds me of being home in Northern California.

Happy Birthday Justin!!!

Sam's brother received a Fulbright Scholarship in his final year at UCSB and he elected to teach English in Malaysia.  Today is his birthday (in the US) so Sam and I tried to Skype him so we could sing to him but unfortunately he was in the lunch room at work and had to keep us muted.

It was actually an interesting video chat because we literally typed back and forth and were able to use the video component at the same time.  I think that's the first time I've ever done that!

Anyway, since we couldn't sing on Skype, Sam and I decided to do a video post on Facebook.

Here it is:

3rd Year Home Call

Last night was Sam's first night on call of his third year of his orthopedics residency.  We had a relatively quiet beginning to our evening, but around 9:30- in the middle of Pitch Perfect- he was called in for a dislocated elbow and a pediatric wrist.

Cue me worrying about whether he is coming home or not all year again.  Who knows, maybe I will get used to it this year.  Or maybe it just won't be that bad... I mean Sam was home by 11:15 last night and he said he stuck around longer than he probably really needed to.

And he told me this morning that he was paged every 2 hours and had to go in at 4:00 AM.  Talk about an ah-ha moment, I got up to go to the bathroom at 5 because Hunter wanted up on the bed and was whining.  I saw a light coming from under the bedroom door and went out into the living room to find the light on in our kitchen.  At the time, I was half asleep and it was puzzling but I shrugged it off and went back to bed.

Apparently Sam had just gotten home and forgotten to turn of the lights when he came back to bed.  He said Hunter was on the floor passed out in our comforters which we kick off the bed now that summer weather has returned to Southern California.  As Sam came into the room Hunter woke up and wanted back up on the bed, which was what woke me up.  Not the shrill sound of a pager, not the sound of Sam getting up and getting dressed in the middle of the night, not even the sound of the door opening and our alarm dinging (twice- once when he left and once when he came back).  Boy, I'm apparently a much deeper sleeper than I thought or I was just really exhausted last night.

Anyway, while Sam was at work the first time, I was left at home to finish Pitch Perfect with Hunter.  Good thing I have my little companion!  Pitch Perfect was a pretty good movie- I mean yes it was really campy but OMG it was also incredibly entertaining and the talent was absolutely amazing.

Zombie Apocalypse on I-5

So this Sunday we drove back from NorCal where we had been for Dan & Tina's wedding.  Sam, Steve, Hunter and I made the road trip together, and boy was it a shitty drive back to Orange County.

Somewhere just after Buttonwillow, we got stuck in heinous traffic.  It was so bad we ended up pulling off the freeway and to the Chevron station.  I had to use the rest room so badly, and you would not believe it, but the stupid girls working shut the bathrooms down.  WTF!? Who does that?!  To say I was unhappy would be a serious understatement!

It was like a zombie apocalypse trying to get out of there.  The cars were coming over the curbs to get into the gas station.  People were streaming into the mini mart as if they were fleeing a herd of starving, blood thirsty undead.

I was dying.  We hopped in the car and drove to the opposite side of the freeway.  There we encountered a line 25 ladies long.  It was completely ridiculous.  We did use the time to stock up on snack supplies like corn nuts, starburst, some cool soda candy Steve found and other junk.

We left I-5 and headed for highway 99 to continue on our way over the grapevine.  On the way, we passed a Sonic and stopped to use the bathrooms.  Oh sweet baby Jesus, what a relief!!!

So we continued our journey South and once we got up into the grapevine we were surprised to find a huge patch of scorched land with patches of flames still burning.  Well, okay then, good reason for the backup.

By the time Sam and I dropped Steve off, and finally made it home it was 8 hours since we left my parents' house.  Oy.  Needless to say, it was good to have friends making the trip with us.

Parenting Styles

Recently we've been having some trouble with Hunter's nocturnal binge eating.  Mostly, the problem is that he's eating the buttons and zippers off Sam's clothes which is pretty much destroying them.

Sam is not happy about this situation.

We've tried to walk him more, make his chew toys available to him while he's in bed, and pretty much every other thing imaginable to no avail.  

It strikes without warning too... he will be fine for a few months and then he goes on these rampages where he's just absolutely unable to control himself.  

Sam wants to punish him, he says that Hunter sleeping in bed with us is a privilege that he is not deserving lately... he thinks Hunter should be relegated to the crate at night this week.  

I can't say I disagree with Sam, but I really enjoy my time with Hunter snuggling.  I am more used to having him in bed than I am Sam after 2nd year!  I also think Sam is being a little drastic.  I think Sam should focus on picking up his clothes so they are not such a target for Hunter in the first place.  

This has really made me realize that Sam and I have very different styles of parenting.  Not that I don't think that Hunter (or kids) should be held accountable for their actions, but I think some of the responsibility lies with the adult who let the pet or child get into that situation in the first place.

As soon as I saw what Hunter was doing last night, I immediately stopped him and put him in his crate.  He whined and was upset, sure.  Sam wanted him to shut up and was half asleep telling me he couldn't put up with much more of the crying, but I stayed firm.  I would not reinforce the idea that crying would get Hunter out of the crate on my life.   And sure enough, he eventually quieted down and I drifted off to sleep.  After a few hours, I woke up, let him out, and brought him back up into bed. 

Spray-On Suntan Lotion

This past weekend I decided I should take advantage of the amazing weather - June gloom finally ended and summer is officially here in Southern California.  The downside of this plan, was that Sam was working and I had nobody to prevent my poor pale skin from crisping.  Enter my brilliant solution: spray-on sun screen!  This invention has pretty much enabled us sun-seekers to protect our largest organ from too much exposure even when we're laying out solo.

So I stopped at CVS and purchased a bottle of CVS-brand aerosol spray suntan lotion and headed down to our pool.  On the upside, I was able to quickly and easily apply the sun screen to my body.  Major upside: I didn't have greasy hands when it came time to read The Hobbit on my nook.  Side note- yes I am still working on finishing the story... I didn't think 350 pages would take me a week, but it's been tough to find time to read during all my activities!

Anyway, things were going very smoothly the first hour and half I was baking.  I was laying on my back, propped up a bit, reading.  I had put on SPF 30 in the morning before Hunter and I met up with his trainer and her dog, Junie, so I was really re-applying to my arms and chest.  That said, I was able to easily apply and reapply suntan lotion to my legs and stomach with very little effort. 

The trouble came when it was time to lay on my back.  I had applied sun screen to my back before I laid down, but in hindsight, that probably rubbed off on my towel during the 90 minutes I was tanning my front-side.  I never reapplied the lotion to my backside when I turned over.  Oops.  Thankfully, I took a nap and decided 60 minutes was okay for my back rather than going until 90 like I did with my front side.

Boy was that a good decision!  As I was getting ready for bed I noticed that my back was feeling a little tender and looked in the mirror to check out the damage.  It's definitely not as bad as it would have been had I not applied ANYTHING to my back, but I am pretty pink between my shoulder blades and in the middle of my back.  The lower part of my back is great, and that was the place I think I got the most coverage when I was spraying so clearly I need to adjust my application techniques.