Making Progress

Sunday, 6 January 2008

Chris and I were cleaning machines this weekend (So he says that next weekend, we actually need to leave the house and do something fun!). We did loads of laundry (and dried them all in the dryer since the weather still sucks and has been rainy and wet), cleaned out the nasty bug lamp full of fried victims (Chris volunteered to do that one since he said I would definitely be too grossed out to do it myself, but I took a picture for the blog...HA!), swept and vacuumed all the bugs INSIDE the house (which is turning out to be a daily routine, but Uncle Gary says it's common for this time of year as the bugs love the rotting leaves outside, so basically, I guess I have to get used to it), and today we thoroughly starting cleaning Jay's room (the master bedroom, which as soon as we clean it and organize it, we can move in, since it is the biggest bedroom in the house). Up until now, the master bedroom has been storage for drying laundry, the laundry hampers, suitcases, baby toys, and whatever else Jay left behind (clothes, golf clubs, yearbooks, camera stuff, Dad's old slide projector and cameras, towels, lots of dust, and all of his furniture which he decided was too heavy and not worth it to carry up our 85 stairs)....

It feels so nice to clean all the layers of dust off the floor and the inches of dust in the window AC unit. I don't think my brother ever knew what a broom or a vacuum was. It was pretty nasty. We moved furniture around, set up our computer and arranged the desk (so now we don't have to call the kitchen counter our computer center anymore!), and disinfected and washed everything so that at least it looks like more of a lived in room, rather than a storage one!

Went out to dinner with the Halsalls - This time we went to Kua'aina Burgers. Since we always eat burgers anyway, we decided to go there. They have better fries (the thin, shoestring kind) anyway. But, Chase was super fussy, and although the fries were good, they ran out of hamburger buns, so we had our burgers on toasted whole wheat bread. What kind of burger place runs out of hamburger buns on a Sunday night?! We took turns rocking Chase to sleep and taking turns eating. But, he was pretty much fussy the entire time. He eventually fell asleep. Guess he's back to his normal "always get fussy between 7-8 pm schedule." Tried to feed him and nurse him, but he just wasn't having it. He was just plain fussy and tired. It was pretty noisy there too though, and that probably didn't help matters.

He's in bed now, so we'll see how long that lasts. He's already nursed and projectile spit up everything all over both of us. Then he was awake at 9 pm and wanted to play. He fussed for awhile and eventually Chris and I just let him cry himself to sleep in the swing.

I'll have to move him to the crib now that it's been a couple of hours. Hopefully he won't wake up!

The highlight of our weekend (besides cleaning, which I enjoyed because I can't stand the clutter we've been living in for months and I want this house cleaned and organized before I start work on Friday!) was reading the book Kai gave us, Babyproofing Your Marriage. Chris already read it cover to cover (yes, I am a slower reader than he is.), and we are both enjoying it, as we can both relate to the situations and the feelings and the communication barriers we have come up against since having baby Chase. It has definitely tested our relationship, and I know we both had some A HA! moments while reading the book (and of course I had some "I told you so" moments, as I pointed out to him that I am not the only woman who has reacted this way). It is definitely a must-read for anyone who has just had a baby (but preferably one that is about 6 months old like ours, since you will be way too tired and stressed out to read it when the baby is a new newborn.) At this point, we feel like things are under control now, we understand Chase more, and although he is going through separation anxiety and just wants mommy when he's fussy, we are all getting along better as a family and communicating better with each other. It has made things so much easier, and this book definitely confirms and reaffirms things!