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.