I Didn't Forget You, Valentine!

What? Valentine's Day was LAST Thursday?
Oh, Fudge!

Do you know what this thing says?

Be mine!

Update: The Henderlembckes

When I started this blog, I never intended it to be a few times a month kind of thing, but here it is almost February, and well, I have only posted twice in January. There are many times during the week that I think, wow, that's a good idea for a post, but then I am consumed with work, laundry, baby Jack, and sleep (not necessarily in that order) and I never make it to the computer. But we have eaten dinner, the little one is fast asleep, and there is an hour or so before the season premiere of Lost, so I thought I would (briefly) catch you up on the happenings of the Henderlembckes*.

When I posted on New Year's day, I wrote about the many changes that 2008 would bring for us. We've managed to accomplish most of what we've set out to do in 2008 so far. Jack started daycare without a hitch. He has a wonderful daycare provider a few blocks from our home who spoils him with love, hugs, and attention. Most of the time, Jack is the only child there. He shares Grandma Sherri with two four-year-olds on Mondays, two school-age kids come a few days a week, and every so often a 15-month old waddler joins the crew. Nick and I have arranged our schedules so that we each have every other Friday off, so we get some extra time with Jack and Sherri gets her Fridays off.

I love daycare!

I have joined the ranks of telecommuters and it is a bit trickier than one might think. I am not the biggest fan of getting ready to go to work in the morning, and it's even harder to make that happen when you aren't really "going" to work. Some days, I stay in my pajamas/lounge pants all day and forget to brush my teeth until after I eat lunch. It doesn't really affect my productivity, but it does affect my ego when I realize that I forgot to put on deodorant for the day (and no, it's not a smell that reminds me, smart aleck). I have found that overall the advantages to working at home outweigh the drawbacks, but it is definitely different than I expected. A recent story in the New York Times confirmed some of my feelings.

We have purchased a new car and, much to our surprise (and maybe yours), it is a minivan. I was shopping around for the best used car we could get for the money, and, lo and behold, stumbled across this Honda Odyssey. I know that some of you Kiwis are not familiar with the term minivan and may wonder what it looks like - I'll post a picture as soon as we get the salt washed off of it.

We are the proud aunt, uncle, and cousin to little Andy. We went to Madison to check him out in person last weekend and man, is he a sweetie. His parents, Grant and Anne, are hanging in there during the (most amazing and hardest) first weeks. Grandpa Roy is bursting with pride (well, as much as he "bursts") at the newest additions to the family. The minivan survived the road trip and its spaciousness allowed us to feed and diaper Jack without having to take him out in the cold.

Little Andy

And it has been cold. Yesterday was the coldest day of the season, with high temperatures well below zero and wind chills close to 30 degrees below (Fahrenheit). We are headed for a big warm-up this weekend - highs in the 20s. Gotta love winter in Minnesota.

Mom, I can't put my arms down!

I will post some more pictures of Jack and his cousin in the next few days, but now I have to run and watch the Lost: Past, Present, and Future show so my brain is ready to absorb the new episode scheduled for 8pm. This writer's strike (and that darn baby) have really put a cramp in our TV viewing this season. Gotta catch the new shows when we can!

*The Clever King came up with this nickname a few years ago for our dual last name family while playing The Sims and it has stuck.

Eyes on the Prize

Tonight, all eyes are on our neighbors to the south, those crazy Iowans. As they participate in the the Iowa caucuses, about 300,000 of the approximately 2 million eligible voters in the state will have an important hand in the decision of who the rest of us will eventually get to pick between for the president. Nick has spent the last several days watching the polls and telling those Iowans (via that handy two-way communication vehicle, the television set) that if they haven't made up their mind on who they are going to support by now, then they must have some of their famous corn between their ears instead of a brain. It's hard not to be jealous of all of the face time, as we sit here due north, nary a candidate in sight, and our primary still a month away. Today on MPR (Minnesota Public Radio) I heard that one Iowan woman had been discussing hot flashes with Hillary, sSounds like an advice column, "Hot Flashes with Hillary"), a topic of critical importance when selecting the next president.

It's an interesting state of affairs when my (formerly?) Republican uncle and I are supporting the same candidate in the primaries. I'm anxious to move onto the next president, after experiencing "W" for 7 of my 14 adult years. Nick is equipped for the event with his new calendar, the day by day "Out of Office Countdown," a Christmas present courtesy of his son. Each day has an "enlightening" Bush quote, January 1st's being, "You can fool some of the people all the time, and those are the ones you want to concentrate on." Unfortunately, Nick will not become a citizen in time to vote in the 2008 presidential election, but that does not keep him from sharing his (many) opinions on the subject. Two political science majors under the same roof makes for some interesting conversation.

It seems like both yesterday and a decade ago when Howard Dean let out his (in)famous scream in the last presidential go-round. Weird.

Results are coming in...stay tuned.

What the New Year Brings

Happy 2008! I can't believe that "next year" is already here. For the last few weeks, our lives have continued on fast forward. We shoveled some snow, did lots of Christmas shopping, attended some Christmas parties, shoveled some more snow, travel to Madison to spend Christmas with my family, drove through some snow, watched Jack roll over a few times, and shoveled yet more snow. (I recently heard that we had more snow in December than we have for many of the winters that I have lived here. That doesn't surprise me.)

Here's a few pictures from those events...

Karla, Jack, and Katie at the Buckskin Christmas Gathering

The weather's gonna stay this way for how many months?

You mess with Tom, you mess with me

I am strangely drawn to this

Will Ferrell has some competition

And next year I want a Red Ryder gun, a pony, and a real live fire truck

2008 will bring us many changes. Tomorrow, Jack goes to his first day of daycare. Tomorrow is also my first day of my new (although somewhat? temporary) telecommuting schedule. We will soon be returning to our status as a two-car family (if all goes well), after a year or so as a single-car one. We will also soon become an aunt and uncle, as my brother and sister-in-law have a baby on the way. Hopefully, we will also be able to slow down a bit as 2008 begins. I will try and keep you posted about how each of these changes is going.

Hope you enjoyed the holidays. Here's wishing you all the best in 2008!

Our Winter Wonderland

The snow and ice storms hitting the U.S. in the last few weeks have made the news worldwide. Of the six years that I have lived in Minnesota, this year has been the earliest that we have been hit with the snow and cold. It seems especially cold when you have a little baby to get bundled up! I never thought putting mittens on a little one could be so difficult. They ought to make that an American Gladiator or Survivor challenge. Forget this eating worms or knocking people off platforms with a foamed oar. This is the true test of survival in a harsh environment!

As you may have guess, I'm not a fan of winter. This time of year I often ask the Clever King just why we live in Minnesota. I then spend a lot of time explaining to him how, yes, there is snow and cold in Wisconsin, but it is DEFINITELY not as snowy and cold as it is HERE in southern Canada. This time of year, lots of other folks ask the Clever King why HE lives in Minnesota when he is from the island paradise of New Zealand, where it is rarely below 50 degrees (although furnaces are also rare there). He spends a lot of time explaining to them the merits of the States. We've collectively spent a lot of time the last few weeks shoveling the sidewalk so the wheelchair man can get through to church*, digging out cars, commuting home from work, and hunting down the last of the fresh apple cider in the local supermarkets.

Fresh apple cider may be the best part of late fall. CK has perfected the art of heating it in the microwave so it is just hot enough to burn your throat a little bit, but not hot enough to burn your mittenless hands off. One of our favorite mugs (meant for coffee but used for cider by us) has an excerpt from Garrison Keillor on it. It was given to us by an Australian friend one summer when he and his girlfriend (now wife) stayed with us. CK and I each clamor for this mug in the winter months because, when we are feeling sorry for ourselves, it reminds us of the expectations of being a Minnesotan in the winter. Here's what Garrison has to say:

"Growing up in a place that has winter you learn to avoid self-pity. Winter is not a personal experience, everybody else is as cold as you, so you shouldn't complain about it too much. You learn this as a kid, coming home crying from the cold, and Mother looks down and says, 'It's only a little frostbite. You're okay.' And thus you learn to be okay. What's done is done. Get over it. Drink your coffee. It's not the best you'll ever get but it's good enough."

Yes, Jack's first Minnesota winter has definitely arrived with a bang. On those few occasions that he has been out in the cold for the 15 seconds it takes to transport him from the house to the car and the wind hits his face, he takes a sharp little breath and looks at us as if to say, "Good God, people! What have you done with that warm cozy place where I spent nine months?" We tell him he's been fortunate to spend the first days of winter at home with Daddy, surrounded by radiators pumping out heat and soft, snuggly blankets wrapped around his little body. Soon enough, he will have to brave the cold each day to get off to daycare. With a Wisconsin mom and a Kiwi daddy, we'll have to see if he is tough enough for survival in the land of 10,000 (frozen) lakes. I'm betting he can make it.

*This stems from the times when we first moved into our house and we had disagreements about exactly how frequently and well the sidewalk needed to be shoveled. Nick often felt that it was "good enough" and I would respond that if he wanted to be the house in the neighborhood who had the sidewalk that kept the wheelchair man from getting to the church on the corner, that was fine with me. The (hypothetical) wheelchair man usually won.

It Takes a Little Time

Well, I am officially back to work. I returned on Thursday, November 29th, so, as of today, I have spent 8 days as a working mother. I had been doing a little bit of work from home part-time, but that didn't really count, as it didn't take me away from Jack and didn't require that I get up, get dressed, and be ready for business by a certain time of day. And it's a bit trickier than I would have thought.

The last month that I was at home taking care of Jack, there was a sort of calculus I completed to figure out what I was going to get done that day. For example, taking a shower meant that I might not be able to get an hour or work done. Surfing the web and blogging meant that the laundry might not get put away and my contacts wouldn't get put in. It's amazing how quickly I learned to assess the tasks for the day and prioritize. Apparently, this type of thinking is a common phenomenon, as one of my favorite bloggers, dooce, used to measure how well the day was going with her and her little baby by how many tasks of personal hygiene she accomplished. Another friend of mine whose children are older now said that she never has gotten more done than when she had a baby in the house because she was always trying to hurry up and get everything done before the baby woke up. So true.

Being back at work is a whole new type of math because there are so many additional tasks associated with it. It makes my old "calculus" seem like using an abacus. Not only does work require a shower and presentable clothing (read: no J-Lo velour jumpsuit), but I must pack my lunch, my work bag, my breast pump, bottles to pump into, and a cooler for milk storage. I have to get up in the morning by 6:45am at the latest, whether I have been up one or three times in the night with Jack. Once I arrive at work, I have to figure out how to balance meetings, catching up with colleagues, and getting regular work done with the need to pump frequently so that my baby has enough milk for the next day. I have to decide if I am going to use lunch to hang out with friends or run errands so I can come home earlier to my baby, who I miss desperately by 2pm or so. When I get home from work, I have a couple of hours to spend with the little man before he goes to sleep and then I decide if I will do laundry, pay bills, run to the store, or simply snuggle my husband and cat. I can't explain it in a way that doesn't sound a bit pathetic and "woe is me," even though that is not my intention. It's just adjusting to life in a different gear than it was B.J. (before Jack). You parents out there know exactly what I am talking about.

Some days it goes well. And some days, when anything unexpected comes up (like 4 inches of snow during a weekday or a car that won't start), it is very hard. I'm really glad that Nick is home with Jack right now because it gives me an opportunity to get used to the work routine without having to factor in adjustment to daycare. The boys are really enjoying their time together and Nick has figured out a good nap schedule for Jack, something I couldn't ever do.

When I was feeling a bit low the other day and lamenting to Nick about if things would ever get easier, he told me that getting used to our "new" life with Jack is like learning to play The Sims. At first, it seems impossible just figuring out how to get your character to eat, sleep, use the toilet, and not stink so bad that the neighbors don't want to speak to you. After a little while, that is a piece of cake, and you begin to socialize your Sim with the neighbors and have a little fun. A bit later, you are able to find your Sim a job, a girlfriend, and time to throw a party big enough to attract Drew Carey. I think this is a good analogy - particularly because I love The Sims and became quite good at it back in the day (after many, MANY, hours of play).

A friend at work today was listening to me talk about the adjustment and commented that just when you think you have it all figured out with the baby, it all changes. I guess that means the key is learning to expect the unexpected. And also not expecting to master a game that I haven't practiced a lot yet. I know many others have done it before me and that, and just looking at the handsome devil below, make being a working mother, wife, and oh yeah, basic human, a bit easier each day.

What a Whirlwind!

I looked at my blog today and realized that it has been almost three weeks since my last post and that post was just a little video of Jack. Where does the time go? I remember starting this blog because I thought I needed something to fill the extra time on my hands. As the holidays and my return to work have come near and dear Jack has gotten big enough that he doesn't sleep all day, that extra time is a distant dream. I had all of these great ideas for posting about National Adoption Month (which is November!), our wonderful cat (Hank the Tank), and other clever? thoughts of a new mother, but they have not come to fruition. Those posts take longer than I would have imagined, so instead I'll spend a little time catching you up on what's been going on for us in November.

We celebrated our friend, Comet's, birthday with her on November 12th at Pancho Villa on Nicollet. If you live here in the Cities and you like Mexican food and margaritas, head on over there. The food was delicious (even Nick who prefers Tex-Mex was enthusiastic) and the margaritas were the best I have ever had.

We headed out to Stella's Fish Cafe with the Camp Buckskin Crew on November 16th. Jack got to meet Mav and Chiquita and thank Tom for bringing Nick over to the States so that he could be born!

I'll do exactly as you say, I promise!

Whew, can this guy ever talk!

Man, I'm so hungry I'm eating my hand and all he can do is smile for the camera!

The Clever King and I went with some friends to the Badger/Gopher football game here in town on November 17th. We were lucky enough to have Nick's old boss's wife, Mary, look after Jack during the game. We spent some time catching up with their family while eating lunch before the game. I can't believe how big their "boys" are now! What a change since I first came to work at camp 7 years ago. Hopefully, Jack was a good boy! (Mary said he was, but we realized later that he and I were both probably coming down with something at that time.) After a shaky start, middle, and end, the Badgers managed to pull out a victory (or is it the Gophers managed to snatch defeat from the jaws of victory yet again).

Jack and I felt really sick and achy last Monday and Tuesday. It was sad seeing our fun little man down and a bit cranky. We took a visit to the doctor on Tuesday and determined that it must be a virus of some sort. After some Tylenol, Jack felt a little better and we had some visitors from Iowa on Tuesday night for Thai food and Guitar Hero. (Thanks, Kris, Mickey, and Kim for the fun!)
We headed down to Madison on Wednesday night to stay with Grandpa Roy for a night before traveling to Joliet, Illinois, to spend Thanksgiving with my extended family. Jack enjoyed meeting the relatives he hadn't seen yet, especially the twins. We spent the night in a hotel there on Thursday and, after discovering that our sickness had morphed into pink eye for both Jack and me, returned to Madison on Friday, making a visit with Dr. Amber, Molly, and Mark. (Your prescription was a lifesaver, Am!)

Is that really what happened to the turkey?

Jack and our Thanksgiving hostess with the mostess, Laurie

We had a baby shower for my sister-in-law, Anne, at my dad's church on Saturday. It was fun to celebrate the pending arrival of Jack's first cousin and to catch up with more family. Saturday night we visited briefly with my dad's neighbors so they could admire Jack and Sunday we headed home, exhausted.

We learned a lot about routine and traveling with a little one over the long weekend. Jack was a wonderful traveler, especially for how sick he had been feeling, but even so, it's hard to be away from home. Every day we are learning more about how to be good parents to our "Jack-pot."

Jack and Grandpa Roy

Now as we are back home and in our routine, it is just about to change, as I will be heading back to work full-time on Thursday and Nick will be staying home with Jack until early January. I have been doing a bit of part-time work from home during the month of November, so I have had a glimpse back into my "old life," but I know it will be hard to be away from Jack.

So, that is November, in a nutshell! Looking back, it is no wonder that I haven't posted - we've had the busiest month yet! Here's to slowing down a bit come December! Happy belated Thanksgiving to all.