I'm in a New York state of mind

Tomorrow marks the final day of my four-year stint as a New York City resident. It's one of the most bittersweet things I've ever experienced. A part of me still can't believe I ever moved here in the first place. I never imagined myself living here, even when I was preparing for a career in theatre. I assumed I'd end up at a regional theatre or maybe a University. Turns out I did things backwards--regionals and teaching first, big bad city second. The first time I visited the city, back in 2001 for my graduate class showcase, I knew it had an energy like nothing I'd ever experienced before. The more I visited, the more I wanted and needed to be a part of that energy. Part of move wanted to see if I could keep up. Another part of me knew I could. To say NYC welcomed me with opened arms is the understatement of the century. Things happened fast once I got here and now, looking back, it all seems like yesterday.

My first night as a New Yorker was spent at Meredith's Brooklyn Heights apartment. I met up with her at the Biltmore Theatre as soon as I got off the bus and we went out for Mexican food. It POURED rain and there were no cabs to be gotten, so we took the subway. My first subway ride as a resident. Clutching my map. Drenched. Tugging at my suitcase. Terrified. Today I took my last subway ride as a New Yorker with my four month old son riding happily on my front in his Baby Bjorn. It was a much less eventful ride--we went to the mall to turn in our cable box. I didn't even look to see which train we were getting on because I knew I could get us home no matter which line we took. That ride made me think about who I was when I got here versus who I am now. While I like both of those versions of me, I cannot imagine myself now without the experience of living here. I'm thrilled to be going back to a small southern town, but I'm even more thrilled that I have had the stamina, drive, temporary insanity (???!!!) and guts to tough this place out for this long. The experiences Marcus and I have had here, both together and separate, will certainly play a part in how we raise Dean. If he ever decides to do something we think is just a little crazy, all we have to do is remind ourselves how many months we spent in this tiny one-room apartment and things should fall into perspective pretty quickly.

Since I've been here, I've made some amazing friends and built on some existing friendships. To my friends here who have become my New York family, thank you for your time, energy, love and support. I will miss you terribly. When I told my college chum Qui that we were leaving NY, we both agreed that even though we don't see each other that often, it's nice to know we live in the same city. There's something comforting in the knowledge that, even in the city of great anonymity, you can still run into someone you know just about anywhere. I have loved our coffee dates, our explorations and exploits, our touristy activities, our long talks. I look forward to my first visit back to see what wonderful things you've all been up to and to have you show me all the fun new things the city has to offer.

This huge wave of nostalgia hit me on Sunday as we drove back in from DC. I saw the skyline and realized that would be the last time I entered NYC as a resident. Don't get me wrong--I'm thrilled about our move. Marcus and I have known forever that we wanted to get back to the south some day. Ever since we found out we had a bambino on the way, the clock has been ticking. This job came up at the perfect time and we are so excited about building a life in Alabama. But we've been so focused on getting out that we haven't really taken much time to remember the great things about living in NYC. Italian delis and bakeries, bagels, hot dog vendors (oh, how I love thee!), not being able to spit without hitting a Starbuck's, every kind of food you could ever wish for, Broadway at your doorstep, Christmas in Rockefeller Center, Central Park, Union Square on Sunday mornings, the damp smell of the subway, and the little jolt your heart feels every time you look over at that Manhattan skyline. These are just a few of the amazing things I am so happy to have in my memory bank now. Not to mention, since I've been here, I have:
*Worked on 2 Broadway shows (still unbelievable)
*Gotten engaged AND married
*Figured out the subway system (no small feat)
*Ridden said subway system while hugely pregnant
*Had a baby (the best part of it all!)
Plus a million little things that will now be a part of the tapestry of me forever. (Did I just say "the tapestry of me?" Jeez...)

I have no idea how to end this post except to say I have taken my bite out of the big apple and I'm proud to have been a part of the city that never sleeps. But it's time to be a resident southerner again.

Why?

*Disclaimer: This is about American Idol.
*Disclaimer 2: "WHY?" Should be pronounced like Matthew McConaughey says it in "Contact."

1. Why is Jason Castro (dubbed "Goose Doo Doo Head" by my husband) still around? EVERYTHING sounds the same!

2. Why don't they take away whatever Paula is apparently drinking/snorting/swallowing/sniffing before the show!?!? She thought she'd heard Goose Doo Doo Head sing 2 songs when everyone had only done their first songs. She seems more drunk every week. Lay off the Liquid Paper fumes, Paula.

3. Why did Brooke write lyrics on her hand if SHE IS PLAYING THE PIANO??????? Go home, Brooke, go home.

4. Why were there not more shots of the violinist wearing sunglasses? She was awesome. Especially since she also seems to be wearing biker shorts.

5. Why is David Archuletta dressed like he's in the Jailhouse Rock video? And why does everything he sings lately sound like "Up With People?" His version of "Coming to America" sounded like show choir. Why are the judges wearing blinders where he's concerned? (I do like the kid, but I don't think he's always perfect...but he is probably going to win.)

6. Why has Syesha stopped wearing shoes? Don't wear fancy dresses if you're not gonna wear shoes.

7. Why don't they just send everyone home and let the Davids battle it out? I'm officially for David Cook, by the way. I voted for him 24 times. He is my American Idol boyfriend. (not to be confused with my Show Boyfriend, Chris Sarandon, my Music Boyfriend, Bono, or my husband, Marcus.)

Look what we got

We researched. We looked. We narrowed it down. We offered. They countered.
We accepted.
Check out our new pad. :)

And now for something completely different!

Marcus and I have done a lot of things together. We've visited casinos (what does it say about me that I mentioned that first?), gone to college and graduate school, worked in West Virginia, lived in the city that never sleeps, gotten married, honeymooned in the Florida Keys, made a little person, cooked tacos, and lots of other cool things. But we've never bought a house before. And in case you couldn't tell, we're freaked out.

It's 11:24 on Thursday evening. At 4 in the morning, the Marjen household will pack up our Dodge car and head out for the Great Alabama House Hunt of 2008. Lord help us. We have about a zillion houses to look at and only 5 days in which to see them all with Phil, our realtor. Fortunately, my parents will be joining us on Thursday evening. Our brains should be sufficiently fried by then and I, for one, will be good and ready for a hug from my Mommy and Daddy. My dad, who gets a kick out of watching me handle stressful situations, should be in for a real treat.

I'm taking the computer with me in hopes of posting daily updates. Hopefully our hotel will have internet access. Be sure to check back to laugh at, uh I mean read about our adventures!

How NOT to lose the baby weight

Eat the following BEFORE NOON:

1 whole wheat bagel with low-fat cream cheese (Ok, so that's not too bad)
1 cup coffee with equal (again, not bad)
10 blue corn chips with roasted garlic hummus (uh, oh)
1 can of Cherry Coke. Full calorie. You know, because the artificial sweeteners in Diet Coke are bad for the baby. The baby who's been out of my body for 3 1/2 months. Yeah.
3 potato pancakes with fat-free sour cream (My mother is now opening another window so she can write me an email telling me to watch my salt.)

I was going to have a hamburger and fries, but realized I used the hamburger meat to make spaghetti sauce last week. I am very forgetful about meat these days. I preheated the oven Monday night to make chicken only to look in our fridge and freezer and realize I had not bought chicken. Nice.

Anyway, this weight was much cuter when it was all in my belly in the form of a cute baby-to-be. (see photo) And I'm going to Alabama next week where I will CERTAINLY eat BBQ. Probably twice. Oh, well.

If you cut yourself, I'm totally there for you.

I had grand plans today of doing laundry, going to Hallmark to purchase cards for our friends and family with late-April birthdays, strolling through the 'hood with Dean, hitting the grocery store to try and get inspired about dinner. This was all before Dean decided that all he wanted to do today was nap. All. Day. He did stay awake long enough to dribble formula all over himself and me, which prompted me to give him a bath, which prompted him to pass out. Anyway, since I have some free time, I decided to clean out the remaining drawers in my dresser, clean out some old purses and make a final bag for Goodwill. That didn't take as long as I thought, so I decided to tackle the cabinet under the bathroom sink. Now I admit to being a bit of a hoarder when it comes to bathroom things. I love lotion, body wash, sample-sizes, all such as that. But y'all. Even I have to admit that my findings were a little out of control. Let's inventory, shall we?

I found:

*Enough band-aids to stop the world from bleeding. Forever. Seriously, there are like 20 boxes under there. Fortunately, I can use them to re-stock my stage management kit.

*4 bottles of Advil liqui-gels. Before I got pregnant and was then diagnosed with PKD, this was my pain reliever of choice. Now I'm Tylenol all the way. But Marcus keeps telling me we are out of Advil, so I keep buying it. And now we have 4 bottles. I condensed them down to 2.

*A bottle of body splash I received as a gift in 2001. I know.

*Approximately 500 of those neat little makeup bags Clinique gives you as a free gift when you buy $21.50 worth of stuff. My mom always sends me hers. Did I mention how cool my mom is? They are filled with trial-sized goodies, and we all know how Jen looooooves trial-sized things! I haven't had to buy mascara in 3 years.

*5 bottles of various prenatal vitamins (none of which I could keep in my stomach for more than 20 minutes) and a bottle of Centrum Silver, which eventually became my prenatal vitamin of choice.

*A bottle of M, Mariah Carey's perfume. I got it when I was on The View.

*2 pairs of those mesh panties they put on you in the hospital after your c-section. Now I don't remember a lot about the few days following Dean's birth (thank you, Percocet), but I do remember packing these in my bag to bring home, along with a package of the enormous sanitary napkins they give you in the hospital. I have no idea when or where I thought I would need to wear mesh panties, but I'll be danged if I wasn't leaving with mine! Maybe I'll put them in my stage management kit.

*Hundreds of Kotex. Seriously. Hundreds. And I just bought a new pack last week. So hundreds and 24.

*Venus razor blades!!!!! I'm actually really excited about these because they are expensive!

*3 trial-sized cans of Edge shave gel. These belong to my husband. One of my pet-peeves about Marcus is his complete inability to prioritize what needs to go in his makeup kit when we travel. (I know it's an "overnight kit" because he's a guy, but I call it his makeup kit. Because it irks him. And that makes me giggle.) He NEVER brings shaving cream. He ALWAYS borrows a full-sized can from his dad when we visit, then steals it. Therefore, we also have 6, count em, 6 full-sized cans in our 1/2 squre foot bathroom. Gr.

*17 small bottles of hand lotion. This is because Marcus and I both had terribly dry skin in the days after Dean's birth, probably because of all the Purell, baby wipes and hand soap we used during diaper duty. I have now distributed our favorites among my purse, his makeup bag (hahahaha), my makeup bag, my stage management kit (which is getting SO totally stocked!) and our home. I now feel that I must tell you about Glysomed, the best hand lotion in the world. Unfortunately, it kind of smells like old ladies at church (slightly rosy). The good news is that it works so well, you just don't care!

And now, a free moving tip from Jen:
When purging your bathroom cabinet, be careful not to pour out too many different scents of lotion, perfume and body spray on the same day. Spread it out or else you, too, will end up smelling like a mix of Clinique Happy Jasmine Ylang Ylang White Tea Lemon Verbena Cucumber Melon Baby Powder. Mmm Mmm.

Let's hope Jessie Spano doesn't show up in CHICAGO

I just read on playbill.com that Mario Lopez, aka A.C. Slater from Saved By The Bell, is about to make his Broadway debut in A CHORUS LINE. Now, I realize the man can dance. I mean, who can forget him ripping off his clothes in "The Max" to win Jessie's heart with some sassy pique turns? But this is part of an ongoing trend on Broadway where, let's call them "unconventional" actors end up in shows. CABARET a few years ago was the perfect example. Everyone from Brooke Shields to Molly Ringwald to Neil Patrick Harris (Doogie!) was in it. Seriously. Marcus and I are about the only people in NYC who did not grace the stage as Sally Bowles and the Emcee. A stage manager friend of mine worked on that show and said they had a piece of paper in their office where people would write down who should play the roles next. Most of them were jokes, but a couple of times, folks from that piece of paper ended up in the show. I certainly understand the need for a "big" name on the marquis. That certainly sells tickets and often brings in a more diverse audience than you might get with theatre-only actors whose names are not as recognizable. I'm not saying these folks are not talented, I'm just saying that if my years of working in the NYC theatre scene and the Broadway community have taught me anything it's that there's an unbelievable amount of untapped talent in this city. I'd like to see an unknown actor (or even a lesser-known theatre actor) get a role over a "big name" any day. This, friends, is why Jen usually works for not-for-profit companies and is also why she will never, ever be a theatre producer in NYC. (Well, that and she's broke.)

So what's your nightmare casting for Broadway? Mickey Rooney as Annie? The guy who played Squiggie as the Phantom? Don't just limit yourselves to Saved By The Bell characters! :)

FINALLY!

Oh, spring has come at last to NYC! (of course the forecast says it's going to rain all weekend, but give me my moment, won't you?) I love spring, always have. It rejuvenates my mind and body and brings back fantastic memories of springs-gone-by. Gone are the grey, dreary days of winter, melted is the snow, no more do I have to wear boots and a coat. My body, by the way, rejects coats, having grown up in the south and never having needed a real coat before I moved to Ithaca, New York at the tender age of 24. Talk about one extreme to another! Mr. Dean and I celebrated the gorgeous weather by going into Manhattan to have lunch with Kitty and Vikram in Bryant Park. It was packed, others obviously as excited as we were about the sunshine and high-60s temperature. Dean was his usual charming self, flirting with passers-by and girl babies.

Did you notice I put a link in that last paragraph? You can click it and learn all about Ithaca! Yes, it took me this long to figure out how to do that on my blog. I am intimidated by the little buttons.

Before I was a mommy, today would have prompted me to run to the nearest nail salon for a pedicure to ready my tootsies for sandal season. Now, however, I don't think I should force my 13 week old (Oh my gosh, he's 13 wks. old!) to sit in a tiny space getting high on acetone fumes while Mommy gets her toes painted bright pink. (shameless plug for OPI Japanese Rose Garden --greatest bright pink toe color ever! Again with the links--I'm outta control!) Rather than my inaugural pedicure to welcome springtime, today I opted to shave my legs while Dean took a nap, something I'm sure my husband will appreciate. (Who am I kidding? He probably won't even notice!)

So tell me, friends, how do you ring in springtime? Pedicures? Ice cream from the truck? Inquiring minds want to know.

Fun with spit rags...Part Deux!

This will never not be funny.

Next thing you know he'll want the car keys

Dean did a very un-Dean-like thing a little while ago. We had been on a very long, relaxing walk to drop off some old clothes at the Salvation Army and enjoy the sunshine, then we came home for a story book and a bottle. I could tell he was getting sleepy by his new "I'm sleepy" move, which is holding the sides of his head with his hands. (most adorable thing ever, by the way) After about 3 minutes, he started jerking his arms, which means crying is inevitable. Usually that means he wants to be cuddled or needs his pacifier. Today, though, none of this would do. I could tell he was uncomfortable and getting frustrated, so I decided to try his swing to see if maybe a slight change of scenery would help. He stopped crying the second I strapped him in. This event, of course, nearly reduced me to a blubbering puddle, because all I could think was "OH MY GOD, MY BABY BOY IS GROWING UP AND DOESN'T NEED ME AND LOOK WHAT A BIG BOY HE LOOKS LIKE IN HIS SHORT-SLEEVED ONESIE AND PANTS!" He promptly went to sleep holding the sides of his head, as if to shut out my crazed inner-monologue.

Deano going to sleep is usually quite a blessing in the middle of the day. It allows me to get many a chore done that I just can't be bothered with when he's awake needing a song or a story or just a good dose of Mommy humor. (who knew me sticking my tongue out was so funny?) His new little bout of independence prompted a trip down memory lane.
I remember when:
*A shower was a daily occurrance that, when lasting more than five minutes, did not feel like someone rewarded you with a trip to the spa.
*I wore makeup.
*My jeans zipped and buttoned. (yes I"m still wearing maternity jeans. They are comfy.
9 months on, 9 months off. Give me a break.)
*I could wash dishes any time of day.
*I could eat whenever I got hungry.
*I could drink coffee first thing in the morning without having to worry about dripping it on someone's head while he nursed.
*I worked outside my home and often enjoyed it.
*A simple outing did not involve a stroller with a windscreen, a diaper bag or a baby bjorn.

Of course, all this was before the moment in the picture to your right happened and I fell hopelessly in love with the sweetest little 6 pound guy in the world. I wouldn't go back for all the tea in China.

PS: As I was about to hit "Post," guess who woke up needing to be held and sung back to sleep? Guess he still needs his mommy after all. <3

You know you're sleep-deprived when....

You go to heat up your leftover Chinese food and instead of putting it in the microwave, you put it in the fridge.

Then you catch yourself, giggle, put it in the microwave and fix yourself a drink. The microwave dings, your food is ready....and you open the fridge to get it out.

When Dean wears his spit rag on his head he looks like the flying nun

It's fun to do goofy things to your baby. :)

Today, Mr. Dean got to meet Meredith and Dave who are in from Alabama! Meredith and I met in 1999 when I was a grad student and she was a senior at Univ. of Alabama. We both frequented the computer lab at the same time each day and became instant friends. They live about two hours from Montevallo, so we'll be seeing a lot more of them very soon! Dave says he doesn't look at cameras any more, hence the, um, we'll call it "artistic" shot of him to your left. We had a great visit with them at their hotel today. Meredith and I confided in each other about our addiction to blogs and Dave got all excited that he and Marcus play the same online game. We started planning a trip to the beach for after we move. It's going to be great having them play a bigger part in our lives now. (Plus if they have a baybay, he/she and Dean can hang out all the time!!!)

I am currently watching The Jacksons: An American Dream on VH1. It's one of those horrible rockumentaries they made in the early 90s. I can't not watch it when it comes on tv. It's like a horrible addiction. The best part is when Joseph goes ballistic, yelling "Who left the towel in the swimmin' pool??????" Oh, good times.

Poor, poor Marcus has a cold. You should know that Marcus does not do well on drugs of any kind. Even too much Advil makes him kind of goofy. If he takes a Benadryl, he's out for days. So the fact that he's been taking DayQuil every four hours for the past two days has been a constant source of amusement and entertainment for me. Yesterday I tripped over our living room rug, which I do a lot, but this time I was able to convince him that he'd imagined the whole thing. HAHA!

Now if you'll pardon me, little Michael is about to sing "I Got The Feelin'" and I think Marcus is going to sing along.

Now that the beans are spilled...

I can tell you what life in our house has been like over the past few weeks!

*We watch HGTV religiously, hoping to find inspiration for our future house in every episode of Design on a Dime, Curb Appeal and Designed to Sell. Moving from a teeeeeeeeny NYC apartment to a full-sized house with actual square footage and a kitchen we can both stand in at the same time will be quite the adjustment for us!

*I daydream about things like dishwashers and laundry rooms. As I've said before, the dish fairy must not be able to find our house, because MAN do those things pile up fast in that sink! (and since we can't fit in the kitchen together, I end up washing them all by my lonesome most of the time. Poor Jen.) I am living for the day when I don't have to bundle up myself and my baby and pull out the granny cart to tote the laundry bag, detergent, fabric softener and quarters across the street to the laundromat. Oh, the domestic bliss that shall ensue when I have modern appliances at my disposal!

*We applied (and were approved for) a mortgage loan. That has to be the most terrifying thing we have ever done as a couple, and that's saying something, considering one of us had a baby cut out of her 3 months ago! The night before sending in the final packet of paperwork, we sat on our Ikea sofa holding our entire financial history in our hands. There were bank statements, pay stubs, tax returns, credit reports...and if you know us, you know that money stresses Marcus out and math stresses me out. Needless to say, we were a mess. But it all worked out and the kind people at our credit union are giving us what seems like an ungodly amount of money to buy a home. We keep reminding ourselves that we don't have to spend every dime of what they've approved us for.

*I continue to purge drawers. This is happening for 2 reasons.
1. We're moving, so I need to get rid of as much stuff as possible.
2. I'm coming to terms with what I will and will not ever fit into again. Size 4 pants? Who am I kidding. Size 6 skirt? Well, maybe, considering it has an elastic waistband.

*We have to start the process of saying goodbye to NYC. That means working in time to see as many friends as possible and trying like crazy to blow through our list of "Must Do's" while we're still here. We have not been to the Cloisters. We haven't been to the Statue of Liberty. (I'm kind of ok with that one, since I would probably vomit on the boat you have to take to get there.) There is still some time to do some of these things, but others may have to wait until we come back to visit. Man, that'll be weird.

The hardest part of this move is the fact that it's a two-parter. We go to WV in May, and that's when we're giving up our NY apartment. All our stuff (except what we need for the summer) is living in Marcus's parents' basement until we are ready to go to Montevallo in August. It's going to be interesting, kids. If anyone has any nuggets of wisdom or would just like to make fun of us a little for the insane process we are about to enter into, please feel free to do so in the form of comments. :)

Mama's got a brand new blog!

Here it is folks, what we've all been waiting for...the unveiling of Jen's new and improved blog!!! (C'mon, you know you wanna leave a comment!!) I've been wanting to go in a different direction for a while, especially since Marcus neither posts on nor reads our "family" blog. I've been trying to figure out the perfect, clever name, which wasn't happening. (Thanks to Mom, though, for suggesting "Inside Jen's Brain." At least we got a good laugh out of it, right?) Anyway, today I was inspired by myself. :) Those of you who know me personally, what's the first thing I say upon entering a room? "Hey y'all." So there we go. Up here in NYC, my southernness has set me apart, made me somewhat interesting and always fun to mock. But now, this greeting is going to become a part of everyday life again, something my son will say, something people will say back to us. Because, everybody, we are moving back home. It's true. Marcus has accepted a position at the University of Montevallo in Alabama (just south of Birmingham) and we will relocate there permanently in August, after our summer gig in WV is over. That means when we leave NYC in May, we're not coming back as residents.

We have mixed emotions as we prepare to leave the Big Apple. Before moving here, I don't think either of us ever pictured ourselves living in this city. I expected to spend my life and career at universities and regional theatres. But one thing led to another and this is where we landed. The opportunities we've had here have been incredible. I realized dreams I never knew I had and made them come true. I never in a million years dreamed I'd work on Broadway, yet I've done two shows there now. Marucs never saw himself as the coordinator of a theatre department, yet that's exactly what he's been doing the last couple of years. We got engagaed in New York, lived together as a married couple here, had our baby here. It will always hold a very special place in our hearts, but it's time to move. Anyone who knows us will not be surprised by this news. We have always known we'd leave NY some day and since finding out Dean was on the way, the clock has been ticking. Neither of us wants to raise kids here. It's not that it's an awful place for children (though we would have to declare bankruptcy if we wanted to send Deano to private school), it's just not what we know. We both grew up with backyards in subdivisions where you could ride your bike, where you ate lunch at whomever's house you were at around lunchtime, where you didn't have to take the subway everywhere. Of course the world has changed since the 70's (haha, Marcus is old!) and 80's when we were kids, but we know what kind of life we want to provide for our family and a childhood in NYC is not it.

We are both incredibly proud to have called ourselves New Yorkers for the past few years. I for one am prouder than proud to have been able to make it here. I've never missed a rent payment. I haven't had to hock any family heirlooms at the pawn shop to make ends meet. I've worked in my field since I walked into town, only spending a day or two temping (Which sucked my soul out through my ear, by the way). These are big accomplishments and have been so important in making me the person I am today, a person I'm proud of, a person who can give my son better experiences and understanding of the world because of what I've been through.

I can't wait to get to Montevallo. We go down next month to look at houses for purchase (!!!!!), so look for upcoming blogs on the terror that is applying for a mortgage. Everyone we've told has asked "But what are you going to do down there???" I'm going to raise my son and take care of my husband and our house. And visit my family more often (they're only 3 hours away in Oxford, MS!!) And drink coffee. And probably find a way to spend some time working in the theatre department with Marcus. I will certainly find something to occupy myself, even if it's just sipping sweet tea and soaking up the warm weather. Now everyone go play "Sweet Home Alabama" and think of me. :)

I was gonna write something deep, but here are some pics instead

Yeah, I had lofty expectations for today's blog, but that was before Dean cried on and off all day, I decided to cook spaghetti sauce from scratch, and I got a raging headache. The blog I've been composing in my head all day is important, so I want to give myself time to write it well, but today it ain't happening. So here are some pictures from Dean's first "photo shoot" this weekend. We took him to Kiddie Kandids at Babies R Us. (It's a pet peeve of mine when words that should be spelled with a C are spelled with a K, by the way, and this almost caused me not to go there. Seriously.) The photographer kind of rocked, as you can see by the adorable poses she was able to pull off with our 12 week old. Guess which one's my favorite... :)

Getting to know Jen

Here's one of those fun little survey thingies. Read on and learn some kooky things about me! I"m just trying to be the best Jen I can be...
(Pictures of Dean tomorrow, I PROMISE!)

1. What time did you get up this morning? Hehe, which time? 1:30, 4:30, 7:00 (that time for good)

2. Diamonds or pearls? diamonds

3. What was the last film you saw at the cinema? I Am Legend (really good--now I want to read the book)

4. What is your favorite TV show? Lost

5 What do you usually have for breakfast? Smart Start Cereal

6. What is your middle name? Marie

7. What food do you dislike? olives and mayonnaise. YUUUUUK!

8. What is your favorite CD at moment? A mix that Marcus made for me. Dean smiles when we listen to it. ;)

9. What kind of car do you drive? Marcus drives our Dodge Stratus and I ride in it.

10. Favorite sandwich? the reuben

11. What characteristic do you despise? tardiness

12. Favorite item of clothing? my black maternity yoga pants. I'm never giving them up. Never, never, never!

13. If you could go anywhere in the world on vacation, where would you go? Italy

14. Favorite brand of clothing? I luuuuuuuuv New York and Company! Someday I may fit into their clothes again!

15. Where would you retire to? The Florida Keys

16. What was your most recent memorable birthday? For my 30th last year, Marcus and Daniel threw me a big party at Daniel and Justen's apartment. There were a ton of people there from different phases in my life and we had a blast. There were many dishes served with cheese as the main ingredient and Daniel and I made cupcakes. We even did a big collage of pictures from my whole life. (Thanks, Mom, for providing pictures of the "claw bangs" phase in middle school!)

17. Favorite sport to watch? SEC football!

18. Furthest place you are sending this? into the blogosphere

19. What color is your shirt? Hot pink

21. When is your birthday? February 13

22. Are you a morning person or a night person? definitely a night owl, though Dean is working on making me a morning person

23. What is your shoe size? 5. It used to be 4, but they grew after I was pregnant. Yay! Maybe now I can shop in the big-girl section!


24. Pets?
My cat, Audrey, lives with my mom and dad. She is almost 11. I found her in a bush at the library when I was in college and rescued her. She was not supposed to live. Guess she showed us.

25. Any new and exciting news you'd like to share with us? Check back and read tomorrow's post...

26. What did you want to be when you were little? I always wanted to be a teacher. Then I discovered theatre and knew that's what I was meant to do. My career has turned out to be the perfect mix--teaching and theatre!

27. How are you today? weary

28. What is your favorite candy? The Strawberry Twizzler. Oh, how I love thee.

29. What is your favorite flower? Daisy

30. What is a day on the calendar you are looking forward to? May 12 (Start at TWV)

31. What is your screen name? It used to be smjennelson. Then I got hitched and now it's my name.

32. What are you listening to right now? Dean's swing. It plays some funky calypso tunes.

33. What was the last thing you ate? leftover pasta

34. Were you on the Homecoming Court? No way...that would have meant I couldn't dance with the Bronco Belles for Homecoming. (The Bronco Belles were my high school dance team. And we rocked it!)

35. If you were a crayon, what color would you be? PURPLE

36. How is the weather right now? rainy and gross

37. Last person you spoke to on the phone? my mom

38. Favorite soft drink? Dr. Pepper

39. Favorite restaurant? In NYC, I love 44 SW (Italian) and West Side Cottage (Chinese). In Oxford, Ajax and Abner's. In DC, Five Guys Burgers. mmmm Give me another city and I'll tell you my favorite from there. ;)

40. Hair color? dark brown

41. What was your favorite toy as a child? BARBIES! I called them my "little dolls." I created VERY intricate storylines about their families and cut all their hair into mohawks.

42. Summer or winter? can I say spring?

43. Hugs or kisses? yes

44. Chocolate or Vanilla? chocolate (Did you seriously just ask me that?)

45. Coffee or tea? COFFEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE! (perhaps I should cut back on that...)

46. Favorite guilty pleasure? Glamour Magazine.

47. What is under your bed? I'm terrified to look.

48. What did you do last night? Drove home from DC and it took FOREVER!

49. What are you afraid of? clowns

50. Salty or sweet? yes, please

51. What color is your toothbrush? It's purple.

52. How many years at your current job? Stay at home mom since 1/5/08! (stage manager professionally since 2001)

53. Favorite day of the week? Saturday, especially during football season!

54. How many towns have you lived in? Oh, jeez, 9??

55. What's your favorite potato chip? It's hard to beat original Ruffles.

56. Random fact about you: I have no sinuses in my forehead. It's true.

My dad calls it "getting your neffers checked"

I had my first appointment with the nephrologist yesterday. (That's the kidney doctor) I liked him a lot. He put me on some blood pressure medication, which already seems to be working, and let me ask all my questions about polycystic kidney disease. I am in the very, very early stages of the disease and am overall very healthy. We talked about ways I can adjust my diet to help slow the progression of the disease and I got to ask my million-dollar question--will I be able to have another baby? I was expecting a hearty "NO!" but was told that it wasn't out of the question! :) Obviously, I would be a high-risk pregnancy, especially since I've had pre-eclampsia before, and my blood pressure would have to be very stable because you can't take BP medicine while you're pregnant. There are a lot of other factors Marcus and I will have to consider before we make the decision whether or not to expand our family in a few years, like can I handle having pre-eclampsia again, what will I do if I have to go on bed rest (especially since Dean would be 2 or 3 at the time we had another one), is it worth the strain it may put on my body to go through another pregnancy and is it worth potentially spreading this disease to a child. These are all huge things to think about, things that may very well lead us to the decision that Dean will be our only child, but hearing that having more kids is not totally out of the question made me feel really good. See, it's Dean's fault--if he wasn't so sweet and cute, I wouldn't want another one! haha

I've been thinking about taking this blog in a different direction and I'd like to hear your thoughts. Originally, we started it to keep a lot of people updated while we were out of town for the summer. While I was pregnant, though, I started reading some blogs on parents.com, which led me to a couple of other blogs, and now they are some of my favorite things to read. My absolute favorite blogger is taking some much-needed and deserved time away from her blog to devote to her darling daughter, who was born a couple of weeks before Dean. Her blog is so much fun and is like having a conversation, and it inspired me to start learning more about blogging. It's something I really enjoy doing, so I'm thinking of making this one more my own than just an "adventures of Marcus and Jen" kind of thing. I'd like to talk about some issues that are important to me and my family (which I already do to an extent) and get you, the readers, more involved in the way of comments and links. That said, I'm thinking of changing the name of the blog. Suggestions?

Picture pages, picture pages

I got some unhappy feedback for not posting pictures with yesterday's blog...so sorry! :)

Here are a few shots of Dean's visit to Oxford where he met his Papa and Grammy for the first time. He's going to DC to visit Pappy and Grandmama this weekend. "Spoiled" doesn't even begin to describe it.

On a totally unrelated note, has anyone ever tried those Folgers Coffee Singles? I got some yesterday because, yes, it is even too time-consuming to brew a pot of coffee some days. I can't decide how I feel about them. I think I need to steep longer so it will taste better. Ugh. Coffee really shouldn't come from a teabag, but I guess you do what you gotta do.

On another unrelated note (sparked by the picture pages theme, which is now stuck in my head) why do we think they discontinued making Jello Pudding Pops? Bill Cosby was working it trying to peddle those things and they were goooooood. Perhaps we should start a petition to bring them back. I'll look into it.

Productivity

Yes, it can still happen. Even with an 11 week old, I can have a productive day! Dean slept in this morning, so I got the overnight bottles washed (Lord, will all the bottles ever be clean at the same time?) before 10am, hand-washed some delicates in the sink, cleaned the kitchen and even ate breakfast all before the little guy woke up. We rolled down to the "good" grocery store to enjoy the nice weather on our way and get some stuff for dinner. Then we stopped at the drugstore to hit the day-after-Easter candy sale for Marcus. (Who can resist Cadbury creme eggs at half price, I say?) Dean even napped long enough this afternoon that I got to open the enormous stack of mail that piled up while I was out of town. It included a jury duty questionairre by the way, which made me MAAAAAD! I did my time 2 years ago and I'll be danged if I'm going back! Marcus and I have a ton of things to catch up on tonight over dinner. For a while, especially during the colic days, I wasn't sure I'd be able to hold it together, meaning housework, baby, remembering to pay the bills, etc. Let's not even talk about when I go back to work in May. But days like this remind me that I can still get things done once in a while. We'll see how tomorrow turns out!

I'm getting more excited about the summer, too. I have officially hired my two assistants for the summer (Great gals who I can't wait to work with!) and we're plugging away at the rest of our hiring and casting. Having two assistants is not only going to be great for me, but so wonderful for the company. I won't have to call every single show, so I can sit out and do notes when I need to. We will also have an extra floater for the backstage track if we need it. And the best part is that, since both of my assistants are college students, I get to do a lot of teaching while we work. Yay.

I go to the nephrologist tomorrow. I"ve been apprehensive about it all week and I finally figured out exactly why. Yes, my blood pressure is still high and I desperately need this guy to put me on some medication before, as my mother so plainly put it, I have a stroke. But I also need to get answers to my list of questions, the most burning of which is can I have more kids. I have a feeling I already know the answer. But, as Marcus reminds me, we are both teachers at heart and there are always kids in our lives, so maybe I"m meant to be a kind of surrogate mom to them. Time will tell, I guess. I"ll let you know how the doctor visit goes.

Cold meds + Mommy brain = silly Jen

Thanks so much for all the sweet emails wishing Mr. Dean a speedy recovery! I'm happy to report he's on the mend! We are decreasing his breathing treatments by the day and he's back to his usual, charming self. He hung out with his Papa for a while today while Mommy got a nice long shower. Mom, Dad and I are still quite under the weather. My mom, voted the sickest of all of us and, for other obvious reasons, went to the doctor today. She got antibiotics and some heavy-duty cough syrup. She even came home bearing cold medicine for the rest of us. I should get really loopy here in a minute or two.

We are in the thick of hiring for our summer season at Theatre West Virginia. Marcus and I are really looking forward to getting back there and it looks like we're putting together a great staff for this summer. I'm looking forward to not having morning sickness during rehearsal every day. Dean is going to get sooooooooooo spoiled! (Like he's not already!) I'm sure "Baby Awesome" will be the company mascot this year. I imagine that, on my first day back at work, I'll take Dean with me and someone will take him from me that morning, probably Lou Ann or Ms. Gayle, and I will probably not see him again until the picnic dinner that night. And that's why we love TWV...it's one big ol' happy family.

I PROMISE to post pictures as soon as we get home and get them developed. My digital camera died about a minute after I got to my parents' house and of course I didn't bring my charger. Thank goodness for disposable cameras, huh?

The cold medicine is kicking in now, so I'm gonna go watch the trippy screen saver. ;)

I get it now

When you're growing up, or at least when I was, and my parents would do something I though was weird or over-protective, they would always tell me "Someday you'll understand." That someday came this week. Dean and I have been in Oxford visiting my family for almost 2 weeks now. Last Tuesday, he started coughing. I called the doctor in NY. They told me it was a cold, to steam him and watch his temperature. On Wednesday it was a little worse. I called again. They told me to steam him and watch his temperature and that it might get worse before it got better. By Wednesday night, after steaming, he was wheezing and my mom and I had decided he was going to walk-in hours at the local pediatrician's office. We got there at 7:15 Thursday morning. The next two hours flew by in a blur as they listened to his chest, took a nasal swab, poked his little finger for a blood test and passed us from the nurse practitioner to the doctor. At 9:30, I walked out of there with orders to have Dean admitted to the hospital. He was diagnosed with RSV or Repiratory Syncytial Virus. This is apparently a very common illness in young babies, especially those born in the winter months. If it's not caught and treated early, it can turn into pneumonia. The doctor told us the easiest way to treat it was to put him in the hospital for 24 hour observation and breathing treatments. So off we went to Baptist Memorial, me crying all the way. Remember my mom had a kidney transplant 3 months ago, so she can't even go near a hospital or doctor's office unless she's wearing a mask. Her transplant coordinator wouldn't even let her pass through admissions. So Dean and I went up and got settled in the room (I'm still crying at this point) and I called Marcus to tell him our 9 week old was being hospitalized. The word terrifying does not even begin to describe how I felt. Long story short, they took more blood, out of his little foot this time. If you've never had to hold your baby while someone squeezed blood out of his little heel, you are a lucky parent. They set up a croup tent over the big hospital bed and Dean had to sit under it to receive straight oxygen. He also received breathing treatments from a tiny nebulizer. I was able to get into the tent with him and also to sleep with him in the bed. (not that we really slept much...) My dad and my grandma arrived about an hour after we checked in and it was great to have company. After a few hours in the tent and a couple of breathing treatments, Dean started to bounce back. By the next afternoon, he was his usual, charming self, batting those long eyelashes at all the nurses and causing them to melt. We were released Friday night with our own tiny nebulizer so we could continue breathing treatments at home and orders to sleep with a cold-mist humidifier. We will go back to the doctor Monday afternoon to see how things are progressing. He is feeling MUCH better now and his cough is almost gone. He is such a brave boy when he does his little breathing treatments. He never cries or fusses, he just takes it like a man. The doctor told us we wouldn't be ready to travel on Tuesday, so I changed our flight to get us home on Friday evening. We miss Marcus terribly and I know he's dying to set eyes on his little boy just to see that he's ok. (we web-camed for a bit last night)

I knew I adored my little boy even before he was born. You've all seen the picture of me holding him for the first time, and if you can't see the absolute, unconditional love in my eyes, then you must not be looking at the right picture. I love Dean so much. But I had no idea how much until something was wrong with him. I know this isn't the last time he'll ever be sick, which is a scary thought in and of itself. I am so thankful that he has pulled through this so well. (babies bounce back fast!) Somehow, I feel closer to him after this ordeal. (16 hours in a croup tent together will do that...) There is no better feeling in the world than going to pick him up when he wakes up and seeing that big, beautiful smile just for me. I get it now. And if anyone tries to take blood out of his little heel again anytime soon, I may slug them.

PS: RSV doesn't affect adults as seriously, it just manifests as a bad cold. A cold which my mom, dad and I all have. Niiiiiiiiice.

PS2: As horrible as the hospital ordeal was, I just have to tell you that my little boy looked SO adorable in his tiny peach hospital gown. ADORABLE. And no, I didn't take a picture. :(

We're pooped!

Heh, heh, that title takes on a whole new meaning when you have an 8 week old. Especially when he wakes you up at 2am with a "special prize" for you in his diapee...

Here's Dean on his changing table with is best stuffed pal, Cow. Cow showed up in my Christmas stocking this year. If you pull her tail, she shakes. When I pulled her out of my stocking on Christmas morning, I never dreamed she'd become a staple in our household, keeping our baby company at every diaper change. She likes to sit on top of the wipes. He stares at her intently while we change him. We also sing little songs about Cow. Yay, Cow.

For the record, I saw Dr. Shepard today, who does NOT look like McDreamy, by the way, and I don't have chronic hypertension. :):):) My blood pressure's been weird since I gave birth, but now seems to be leveling out. This could be due to the fact that :
a. I finally feel like a real human being again and I actually started going back out in public this week
AND
b. Marcus and I have stopped adding salt to our food. Do you know how hard that is for a southerner? Yeah, you do.

Dean went to work with Daddy today while I went to the doctor. He was babysat by the lovely and talented Julia, one of Marcus's students. He is becoming quite the social butterfly. Speaking of which, he nad I will leave Tuesday morning to visit my mom and dad for 2 weeks! (I'll be at the Southeastern Theatre Conference in Chattanooga the first weekend, where Marcus and I will be helping with the hiring for TWV...did I tell you this already?) Please pray for us on the airplane. I tried to pick the worst seat on the plane so that no one would sit next to me. We'll see how that goes. I'm bringing him a pacifier and a bottle for takeoff and landing. If anyone has any other suggestions about how to make travelling with a tiny one more comfortable, please share. Every time I get nervous or freaked about it, I think about my poor, dear mother-in-law traveling from Japan to America with a 4 year old Marcus and a 1 year old Michael BY HERSELF. I think I can handle 3 hours.

Maybe, baby?

Jen doesn't want to jinx it (so she will, therefore, refer to herself in third person), but could it be possible that her baby boy's colic has passed??? Oh, please, oh, please! He actually slept through a feeding the other night! We woke up at 5am to his little hungry whimper, looked at each other and asked "Did you feed him at 3?" Neither of us had. He went 5 hours without eating. And I felt like a new woman. A woman who had experienced REM sleep. YES!

Now if we could just get him to stop peeing on his changing table! He did this about 15 minutes before we were due to have company on Sunday. It ran all over the vinyl pad and onto his back and head. There was no time to drag out the baby tub. Fortunately, Marcus was in the shower, so I just handed the baby to him to hose off. Dean actually seemed to enjoy himself and looked quite cute wrapped up in his froggy hooded towel.

Next week, Deano and I head to Oxford for his first visit with Grammy and Papa! (My parents) Everyone's just a little excited. My mom and I have been making list after list of baby essentials. Her friends from church are giving them a grandparents' shower on Sunday! Dean will be in heaven for our 2 week visit.

Oh, by the way, I've changed the settings on here so that anyone can leave comments...you don't have to have a google account. So comment away!

Prepare to melt

Look who started smiling!

Have we told you lately that we love him?

Whaaaaaaaa?

Dean Nelson Lane slept through a feeding last night. It's true. We fed him (after a HUGE screaming fit) at 12:30 and finally got him settled into the vibra-chair (he has rejected his bassinet this week...who knows why) about 1:15, knowing we'd be up for another feeding by 3. The whimper cry woke us up at 5. I picked him up and started changing his diaper when it hit me--we should have done this already! I went back to the bedroom and asked Marcus "Did you feed him at 3? Because I didn't." Marcus, still half-asleep, thought about it for a while and replied "No, I don't believe I did." We are hoping this means he's going to start sleeping for longer stretches. That would rock. Needless to say, the poor little guy was ravenous when we did feed him at 5. Poor baby.

I had my six-week checkup at the baby doctor yesterday, even though it's been 7 weeks since I had the baby. I'm good.

This week will mark me kind of "going back to work" as I am knee-deep in resumes for Theatre West Virginia. We're looking for a scenic designer for our musical and I'm starting to interview possible candidates for assistant stage manager positions. It's nice to get that ball rolling. I feel like I haven't really been a part of the real world for the past couple of months, so it's nice to re-connect with some adults again! And it makes us look even more forward to the summer. Marcus and I will go to the Southeastern Theatre Conference in a couple of weeks to help hire TWV's summer staff and cast. Dean will be living it up in Oxford with my mom and dad. (translation: Getting spoiled beyond belief by Grammy and Papa!)

On another note, Marcus and I are absolutely addicted to HGTV. We watch it ALL THE TIME! When we finally have a home of our own, it's going to have awesome curb appeal, a sassy kitchen and a very "zen" bathroom.

Happiness is...

This little guy smiling at you at 6am. You don't even care that he won't let you go back to sleep and you just have to read him a story. :)

Cutie McSweet Face

Yep. That would be Dean in his visor. Eileen gave him this outfit right after he was born and he wore it today to visit Daddy at work. Could you melt?

Oh, by the way, we're getting REAL smiles now. :)

aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah!

That is what I felt like when I woke up this morning after 10HOURS of sleep! Marcus's mom and dad came into town yesterday and took baby Dean to their hotel to spend the night. Now I must admit to having some mixed feelings. I felt a little guilty about feeling so ok about handing my child off to someone else. This is when my dear, wise husband reminded me that a. they are his grandparents and they really, really want to be with him and b. I seriously needed some sleep. We had about 3 sleepless nights this week and they were starting to really take their toll. I was getting dizzy and feeling really out of it. And let's not even talk about my blood pressure readings when I don't sleep. Marcus went back to work full time this week, so he really needs to rest before going to KBCC every day. So the full night's sleep did wonders for Marcus and me. Today we were also able to get some stuff done around the house AND I got a pedicure!!! We met up with Grandmama, Pappy and Dean-o for lunch and dinner. He really is a fun little guy. He's started giving some very sweet smiles! He was charming the ladies and making friends at the hotel when we were eating dinner. Notice his "Chick Magnet" onesie in the picture above. Truer words were never spoken. Old ladies come up to us on the street. A gaggle of teenaged girls were talking to him at the hotel. He makes friends everywhere. This excites us--we want him to be social. Being a theatre baby, it's essential.

As much as I would love to stay here and chat with all of you, I'm going to sign off and go to bed, where I intend to enjoy at least 8 full hours of glorious sleep. But by tomorrow, I'm gonna be really happy to get my hands on that baby...

Hello from the colic monster and his sleepless minions!

Oh, y'all. Somebody cure the colic. When it's 4am and all three of us are crying, life ain't too grand. It breaks my heart when he cries and nothing we do can console him. I sang showtunes to him for 2 hours yesterday, which mildly amused him. I'm going to have to expand my repertoire--I made it all the way to Tell Me On A Sunday, so you know I was reaching.

Here's a picture of Dean enjoying tummy time. As you can see, it relaxes him. Or he's just really over-stimulated by all the stuff on the mat. The world may never know.

Marcus's mom and dad (Grandmama and Pappy) are coming tomorrow! We are uber excited because a. no one really ever gets to come visit us and b. we can hand off Baby Dean. I feel a tad guilty that I am so excited to hand my baby off to someone else, but all the books and the pediatrician have said "Make sure you get a break from your colicky baby from time to time." I think it will do wonders for all of us. We may even get to go grocery shopping. I know one thing, I am going to renew my love affair with my container of Clorox wipes and give my bathroom and kitchen a good scrub-down!

I turned 31 on Wednesday. It feels good. I feel older, probably because it's my first birthday as someone's mommy. Fortunately, I didn't have the middle of the night freak-out this year. Last year, on the eve of turning 30, I frantically emailed my friend Eileen and said "I feel like I should wake up tomorrow and be wise." I did not wake up wise, but I did have a spiffy birthday party at Daniel's house where we served several tasty recipes with cheese as the main ingredient. I have no idea where I was going with this paragraph, so I'll just tell you that Kitty kept Dean for us on my birthday (THANK YOU, KITTY!!) so Marcus and I could eat at Red Lobster. It was so good. SOOO good. And it was nice for both of us to make it through a meal without having to pick up a fussy baby. But by the time the check came, we were both ready to see that sweet face and get a little baby cuddle. No matter how cranky he is, he's still our boy and we kind of adore him. :)

Dealing with it

Baby Dean is one month old! I don't know where the time has gone. It's so much fun to watch him grow and learn new things. He rolled over all by himself this week, much to our surprise! I think he's minutes away from his first real smile. He's getting fat rolls on his legs and arms. We kind of love him. :)

We took our first road trip as a family of three last weekend to visit the Lanes in Virginia. Dean was an angel in the car, not making a peep until we turned onto Grandma's street. He met his Aunt Mirka, Uncle Mike and cousin Adam for the first time. Adam was not too sure about that baby at first! He didn't understand why Dean got a bottle and he didn't, and he SURE didn't like it when his mommy was holding another baby! As you can see in the picture, he eventually warmed up to him enough to plant a sweet kiss on his head as they donned their matching jogging suits for Super Bowl Sunday. They are going to have such fun together in a couple of years.

This weekend also marked the first time in a month that Marcus and I had gotten a full night's sleep. Our first night in town, Grandma Claudia took the night shift and we got a glorious 9 hours of sleep! We felt like new people. Of course, you forget that when you take care of the physical part of you so that it feels good and stable, that opens the door to your having to deal with all the emotions you've been pushing to the back burner. Needless to say, we've had a very, very eventful 8 weeks. My mom had a kidney transplant, I was diagnosed with the same disease that necessitated said transplant, we've had a baby, I've had major surgery, an no one has slept. It wears on you. And it decided to hit me halfway through my second taco at dinner Sunday night. I had to go upstairs and lay down because I could not for the life of me stop crying. Marcus, of course, was there as the voice of reason, encouraging me to get it all out and take a nap. And crying it out did make me feel somewhat better. Every once in a while you've just got to give yourself a break. (Dean knows this and is exercising his right to cry it out right now.)

This week will be a big one for us--Marcus returns to work full time and I turn 31 on Wednesday. What am I getting for my birthday? Aunt Kitty is babysitting Dean so Marcus and I can go eat at Red Lobster (Thanks for the gift card, Mom and Dad!) and then come home and get another night of much-needed uninterrupted sleep. As exciting as this is, I know that, come Thursday morning, I won't be able to get my hands on my little baby fast enough. Did I mention that we kind of love him? :)

Mom update

http://www.djournal.com/pages/story.asp?ID=264891&pub=1&div=News
This is the link to an article in the Tupelo, MS paper about my mom and Bradley. Get a tissue.

Colic, party of 3

Here's Mr. Dean after his midnight bath last night. He did a huge poop (after scaring his mommy by not pooping for almost 24 hours), then managed to pee not once but twice on the changing table. His hair was soaked. The table was soaked. His clothes were soaked. We decided it was best to just throw him in the tub and hose him off. Now, Mr. Dean has not been enjoying his bath. I think it freaks him out a little. Marcus and I have gotten it down to a science--we can bathe him in under 3 minutes. Well, apparently we've just been doing it at the wrong time of day. The midnight bath actually went well! He even hung his little foot over the side of the sling and dipped it into the water. Yee haw. This was a nice change for us, considering we've had our first couple of nights of serious colic this week. On Monday night, I slept an hour and a half, 40 minutes of that with Dean passed out on my chest. He wouldn't nap on Tuesday unless he was in my arms, so napping didn't happen for me. By 8:30pm on Tuesday, my brain had turned to complete mush and I just had to lay down. Then it was back up for the midnight bath. :) We didn't get much sleep last night either. I read somewhere that babies hit a growth spurt around 3 1/2 weeks old, so maybe that explains his erratic behavior this week. Who knows. Hopefully he'll settle into sleep tonight. We do ok until about 5am, when we seem to hit the wall. Marcus and I can't help but worry a little that the neighbors are going to eventually fire-bomb us if we don't keep him from crying. We can let him cry it out on his own a little until the shrieking starts. I just can't take the shrieking. Marcus had the quote of the week on Monday at 4am. Dean had been screaming for close to 3 hours. We'd fed, changed rocked, sung to and held him. We put him in his swing. The screaming continued. Marcus looked at him in all seriousness and said "This is why some species eat their young." :)

We have a big weekend ahead of us. We'll take our first road trip as a family of three (well, with the baby on the outside) to DC to visit the other Lanes. Dean will meet his Uncle Mike, Aunt Mirka and cousin Adam for the first time and will get to hang out at Grandmama and Grandpappy's house. We are excited that said grandparents will take care of baby so we can sleep!

On another note, I feel like I should go ahead and share this. I went back to the doctor today to follow up and get my results from my renal ultrasound and bloodwork they did last week. I have been diagnosed with polycystic kidney disease, the same disease my mom has. At this point, I'm in very good health. My kidney function is perfect and there is medically no emergency. My doctor was fantastic today--he spent 45 minutes talking to me and referred me to a nephrologist (kidney doctor) he knows and likes. He even called me at home tonight to see how my mom had reacted to the news and to tell me he'd talked to the nephrologist about me and that he'd be calling after my appointment to see how it went. I really, really appreciated that. My blood pressure was pretty close to normal, so hypertension is not a concern, which is good. Obviously, Marcus and I have a lot of questions, but we'll deal with things as they come. Some people live with the disease and never have any problems. We'll keep you posted.

22 down, 10 to go!

Pounds, that is. I went to the doctor yesterday to follow-up on my high blood pressure (more on that later) and hopped up on the scale to see that I"m only 10 pounds away from my pre-pregnancy weight. That makes a happy Jen. Somewhere around Thanksgiving, also known as the last day of my pregnancy where I felt ok, I decided I would never lose my baby weight. I have no idea why I believed this. Anyway, I'm happy it's coming off. I still have a little tummy pooch around my scar, but I see real jeans in my near future! My wedding ring and socks fit again, so that will do fine for now.

Mr. Dean continues to keep us on our toes. And by that I mean awake from 1:30-4am. I took the "Late shift" last night and it was a marathon of feeding, rocking, diaper changes, singing and an episode of "Unwrapped" on Food TV that taught us some fascinating facts about eggs. My doctor is pretty sure my lack of sleep is adding to my lingering hypertension. Tomorrow, I'll have blood work done and on Monday, a renal ultrasound. Given my family history of polycystic kidneys, we've got to rule that out.

Today my friend Betsy came over to meet Dean. Before she arrived, I changed his diaper and brought him into the bedroom to change his outfit. I got him all dressed, then scooped him up only to discover that his entire back was soaked. And so was my bed. He gets angry when you take his clothes off, so I guess piddling on my side of the bed was his revenge. Of course, he didn't realize that this meant I'd have to change his outfit AGAIN... Poor little guy. Check out the picture above of him doing a crazy baby yoga pose after sprinkling the big bed. Babies are super flexible!

Thank God for the Fisher Price Rainforest swing

Mr. Dean had his second well-baby visit today and all is good! He weighed in at 7 lbs. 5 oz. and measured 20 inches. He's a growing boy! He also peed all over the scale and pooped while the doctor was examining him. Guess he was showing off so they'd know all systems were "GO." I was a nervous wreck about taking him to the doctor by myself (Marcus had a meeting at work at the same time as his appt.), but he did great. We took a car service over there (he slept) and a taxi home (he slept). I think he would have slept through the appointment if they hadn't undressed him. He's been super fussy tonight, wanting to be held a lot and crying for no reason. Or maybe he's gassy. That's a pretty safe bet with him. He is a delightful little dude and we are loving having him here with us! I cannot believe that I'm still supposed to be pregnant for 5 more days. I think I would have popped some time last week. Today the swelling in my feet was down enough that I could wear normal socks and I was even able to put my wedding ring back on my hand! I still wore maternity pants because of my scar itchiness. And they're just so dang comfy.

Tomorrow I head to my new family doctor, Dr. Shepard, who will monitor my blood pressure. It was still a bit high at my 2 week OB appointment last week. It could be a lot of things, not the least of which is leftover symptoms from pre-eclampsia. We're hoping it's just that and maybe the fact that it's been a bit of a stressful month! We shall see. Fellow Grey's Anatomy fans, I have it in my head that I'm going to see Dr. McDreamy. In reality, he's probably an old Jewish man. Maybe he will let me take a picture of him to post.

Who else is sick of the tv writer's strike? Last night we actually watched a few minutes of Dance War: Bruno vs Carrie Ann before settling on American Gladiators. Hosted by Hulk Hogan. There was a time in my life where that would've been the coolest thing ever. Now is not that time. I want new episodes of Dirty Sexy Money and Pushing Daisies!! And let's not even think what will happen to the Academy Awards if this thing isn't resolved. The Golden Globes were just sad. Fortunately, American Idol started up again and has proven to be entertaining. Marcus and I have also taken a liking to Don't Forget The Lyrics. And, praise Jesus, LOST starts again in a week. :):):)

Dean-o is screaming now. Gotta go.

Best week ever

Well, we've lived through week one with a newborn! It's been an ongoing adventure, leaving us a little sleep-deprived, the sink pretty full of dishes and the house a little messy... but very, very happy. In the interest of time (because Mr. Dean could wake up any second demanding undivided attention...which he will certainly get!), I"ll run down the highlights for you in bullet form!
*Our first night away from Daddy. Marcus had to go to Alabama this Sunday and Monday, so Aunt Kitty stayed with Dean and me. She was amazing at taking care of both of us.
*Gas, gas and more gas. Who knew a tiny body could hold that much gas? And it keeps hitting him at 1am! Fortunately, our pediatrician had some excellent advice on how to get rid of said gas, so we're much happier now.
*Our first night of sleep last night, thanks to the Fisher Price Rainforest swing! Thank you, Jesus, for the Fisher Price Rainforest swing!
*Dean's umbilical cord stump fell off Monday, leaving him with quite the cute belly button. (it's an innie) Which led to...
*Dean's first tub bath. Which he hated. With a passion. See picture above of him screaming as we dried him off. But he smells better now.
*Watching this little person discover the world. It's so much fun to watch him follow sights and sounds. He has such a calm personality already. (Good thing...his name means "Calming.")
*Falling completely and totally in love with my husband all over again. I knew Marcus would be a wonderful dad, but his instincts with Dean are amazing. He's so good with him, whether it's changing a stinky diaper or rocking him back to sleep at 3 am. And he has taken exquisite care of me after my surgery. We have always prided ourselves for having such a strong connection as a couple and a deep mutual respect for one another as individuals, but nothing could have prepared us for how much closer having a child would bring us. What a wonderful feeling.
*Recovery from c-section . Not fun. I managed to pull a muscle in my back, so that's added a new level of discomfort to things. Until last night, I actually had to sleep on top of my pregnancy body pillow with a fort of pillows all around me just so I wouldn't have muscle spasms. I'm trying so hard to stay off the percocet and just manage the pain with tylenol. Percocet makes me goofy and hurts my stomach. I go to the dr. tomorrow, so maybe he'll have some suggestions.
*Shock and utter disbelief at how fast the pregnancy weight seems to be falling off! I look smaller than I did when we left West Virginia in my 18th week of pregnancy! My stomach is kind of a weird gelatinous blob at the bottom, topped off by my scar, which is still covered in steri-strips and looks like a big smile, but I don't even remotely look pregnant anymore. I can't wait to see how much I weigh tomorrow.
*My feet are still swollen. Gr.
*The real highlight has been realizing that our son is finally here in our arms to stay and we have a lifetime of laughs, kisses, smiles and love to share with him. It's even better than we imagined. :)

You know you want more pictures...

Several people have asked for more pictures of Dean. Thank you! He is quite the looker, isn't he? Here is a link to a flickr page Marcus set up today. I'll put some more on snapfish eventually.

We had a rough, gassy night, but today has been smooth sailing. He's quite the little charmer and is obsessed with his hands. In just the past couple of hours, he's come up with a pose we call "the mariachi" and has also flashed what we believe to be several gang signs. (One night in Queens and already...)

He also projectile pooped at Marcus and then peed in his own face. Baby boys are fun!

We see the pediatrician tomorrow for our first well baby visit.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/12515738@N08/sets/72157603677883665/

To know him is to love him...

And we do!!! Please allow us to introduce Mr. Dean Nelson Lane, born Saturday, January 5 (a mere 3 weeks early!), weighing in at 6 lbs. 13 oz. and measuring 18 1/2 inches long. After waking up feeling not so hot on Friday, we showed up for our routine 36 week appointment at Dr. Moritz's office, where they took one look at Jen (especially her swollen feet, ankles, hands and face) and another at her blood pressure and sent us promptly to the hospital! We were in triage by noon being screened for pre-eclampsia. By 2:00, the contractions were 5 minutes apart. At 7:00, we were admitted to a room where the contractions got MUCH stronger. Around 8:30, Demerol was administered, and Morphine after that wore off. At 10:30 they announced we weren't leaving without a baby and started induction with cervidal, a gel to get things moving. Boy, does it work! We went from 3 to 8 centimeters in an hour, then held steady at 9 cm for almost 5 hours. 5 miserable hours. Then the epidural man came. (Insert love for epidural man here :):):) ) Around 2:00 Saturday afternoon, it was decided that progress was stuck and the blood pressure problem was not going away, so to the OR we went for a c-section, where Dean joined us at 2:40pm. While Mommy headed off to recovery, Daddy and the Lane Grandparents followed baby Dean over to NICU, where he spent his entire hospital stay. Since he was early, Mom didn't get to do her Group B Strep Test during pregnancy, so he had to have antibiotics and also had to be observed for a little fluid in his lungs. But three short days later, here we are! We're sore, tired and a little gassy, but we're home. Dean is certainly living up to his nickname "Baby Awesome." And we're a family of three. There's nothing sweeter.

Gotta find a new movie candy now

To answer the question posed by the t-shirt, no, you don't. :)

The bassinet has been assembled. Extra sheets have been special ordered. (Because the people at Disney make it so you can't just buy them at Target--you have to CALL and order them!) The baby clothes are washed, folded and hung and put in their place. Baby's shelves are full of books, bibs, burp towels and tiny little washcloths. There's food in the freezer. If I prop my feet up any higher, I'll be hanging from the ceiling. Can I have my baby now?

Warning: this part contains some kind of personal information, which leads to a really funny story. Hope it doesn't make anyone uncomfortable. I have no modesty, so here we go. I woke up New Year's Eve feeling kinda funky with a sore spot on my left side kind of below my arm pit. (where underwire would hit you) It was worse yesterday when I woke up, so I got online to do some research about just what the heck it could be. I figured it out pretty quickly: I had a clogged milk duct. That can actually happen from your 6th month of pregnancy! So, it's New Year's Day. My doctor is on vacation until Jan. 2, but their answering service should be picking up. I call. The lady answers and sounds professional enough, asking my date of birth and what week of pregnancy I'm in. I then explain that I think I have a clogged milk duct and need some advice on how to treat it so it doesn't turn into an infection. She says "Okaaaaaaay, so you have a clogged milk dud?" (enter glare from Jen here) No, moron. DUCT. DUUUUUUUCT. I spell it for her. She says "ooooooh. okaaaaay. I'll get someone to call you." No one ever did, probably because she told the doctor on-call that I had a clogged milk dud and they didn't want to deal with someone that stupid on a holiday. Fortunately, my sister in law is also a nurse and mother of a one-year-old, so I called her and got some advice last night. And my milk dud is good as new today. I can't wait to tell the doctor this story when we see him on Friday.