Author: Trina

Today started out sh*tty. (Yes, I went there.) And as I started to clean up said sh*t, more started to appear. And then even more.  It was a moment where I could have gotten really frustrated (annoyed? flustered? some combo?). But instead, I laughed. Because it was hilarious. Maybe not so much the mess as the fact that my adorable baby was literally pooping faster than I could clean it up. And the best part? She was grinning from ear to ear the entire time— almost as if she knew what she was doing and was taking great delight in doing it.

When I finally got the mess under control and went to throw away the debris— I found that Baxter had gotten into the trash can in the nursery (NOT the diaper can, thank goodness) and made a huge mess. Unlike the poop situation, this was a blue job that could wait until Jarmon emerged. I guess Baxter figured he’s not allowed to touch Arabella’s toys, he may as well go after her trash can.

We had some errands to run this afternoon so we gave Arabella a bottle before heading out. Jarmon was holding her while I quickly changed clothes and it was in those five minutes that Arabella projectile spit up all over him. I like to think of this equality— and my child as an equal opportunity mess maker.

Arabella was such a trooper as we made our way from the post office to Target and our favorite Jewel. Tonight, we decided to venture out for sushi. We went to our favorite sushi spot— Sai Cafe in Lincoln Park. It was delightful as usual. Arabella never went to sleep, but she was very well behaved. She seemed to be thoroughly enjoying all the commotion around her and didn’t want to miss a thing. She even gave Jimmy the owner a smile.

Now we are home and winding down for the night. I cleaned out my old work bag and found my pregnancy candy stash still inside— not one or two, but three bags of Tootsie Roll pops. (God forbid I had run out!)

I moved all of my stuff into a new work bag that I’m hoping will encourage (force?) me to lessen my load. And with that… my summer of stay at home momming has officially come to an end.

Today was the last weekday of my post-baby time off with Arabella. Not a big deal since I’ll still have some weekdays off every week, but it marked the end of a carefree and downright blissful time.

I’ve been trying to knock things off of my summer to do list and today’s item was exchanging a gift we received from Monica + Andy that didn’t quite fit. I decided we would go at lunchtime and stay for music class. Suffice it to say this second music class went better than the first. Not only did Arabella stay awake, but she also smiled and just generally seemed engaged in what was going on around her. It’s amazing how much babies change in a few short weeks.

After music class we went to Nordstrom to pick up my dress for Liz’s wedding. It looks MUCH better on me post-alterations. I still thought it needed hemmed, but the tailor and sales associate still said no— so I thought it only rational that I put that money toward new shoes. Specifically, I bought new shoes for the wedding— less sparkly and more strappy than the ones I had planned to wear.

By the time we got home it was time for Arabella to go to sleep. When Jarmon got home he was tired from his 24 hours in New York, so I let him stay home with our sleeping baby while I went to Emily’s going away party. It was so nice to see Emily and hear about her wonderful new life back home in Utah. It was also nice to ease back into the work scene and see a lot of people I hadn’t seen in months.

Arabella was awake and throwing a fit when I got home— obviously cranky she didn’t get to party with her news-baby friends whose parents are cooler than me and took them.

I got her to sleep somewhat quickly, then made Jarmon dinner (tomato, basil and mozzarella ravioli with my signature hot sausage sauce). Yes, it was 9pm– but I had promised. Then we had a glass of wine while Jarmon assembled the new wooden rocking chair for the nursery. I feel like it’s going to fit in perfectly once I find a new home for all of the stockpiled diapers, wipes and formula currently stored in its place. The nursery continues to be a work in progress, but the finish line is finally in sight.

In any case, today was a great day. Tomorrow will officially (for the first time in months) be a work night.

Some days you own the mountain. Some days the mountain owns you. I know that’s not the actual saying, but it should be. Because today— the mountain kicked my butt. (The mountain being a variety of tasks associated with parenthood).

I was feeling SO on top of things earlier this week. (I mean, come on, I taught my kid how to take epic selfies). I had finished most of the items on my summer to do list and was about to cross off my final (and arguably most major) item— finding a nanny.

(Warning: I’m about to cannonball into a pool of self-pity.)

Without getting into too much detail, I found the perfect nanny. She was the first person I interviewed (after many hours of sifting through painful online profiles and Facebook posts). We clicked. She and Arabella clicked. She and Baxter clicked. I had 100% confidence in her and couldn’t wait for her to be part of our family. (I was pretty sure she felt the same). So I waited a reasonable amount of time, checked her references and offered her the job before she even met Jarmon. She accepted— and I was sure I had hit the nanny jackpot. Why did people make it seem like finding childcare was so hard??? I learned about eight hours later when she backed out because a family that lived closer made her a better offer.

I probably could have made a counter offer (a “bid war” as they call it in nanny land), but did I really want to try and convince someone they should take the bus to my house all winter when they had the opportunity to just walk down the street? Selfishly, yes… but no, because that would make me a crappy person.

The reality is that finding a nanny is a special kind of online dating Hell. Endless options. Everyone constantly looking for the next best thing. You sift through hundreds of profiles deciding whether to “keep” them or “say no thanks.” Then you start chatting, only to realize that they either greatly exaggerated or flat out lied about their experience and/or availability. (And that’s after you weed out the 95% who can’t write a grammatically correct sentence). I wish I could share some of the messages here, but that wouldn’t be appropriate. Of the four interviews I set up, two cancelled at the last minute. The number of conversations that fizzled through unanswered texts mid-conversation is mind-boggling. These are nanny jobs, people. You are applying to BE RESPONSIBLE FOR MY KID. Buying my parents weekly plane tickets to Chicago is looking better and better. (And probably cheaper too).

If you aren’t tired of my whining just yet— stay tuned for the Baxter problem. His less than stellar behavior has continued to the point that I saw fit to call his trainer for help. When he was a puppy we sent him to a two week boot camp while we were on our honeymoon, but since he was (until recently) such a good pup we never did any follow up lessons. Well, today his trainer scolded me for that and scared the crap out of me. She basically said to take him to a shelter and start over with a new dog. I told her that wasn’t an option, so she gave me a list of things to do including (but not limited to) kicking him out of our bed, keeping him off the couch and not letting him anywhere near Arabella. (He was sleeping peacefully in the Dock-A-Tot– as photographed below– as she was telling me all of this.) Have you ever tried telling a lap dog that they can’t sit in your lap? It goes about as well as you would expect.

On a lighter note, it would appear that my hometown Walmart isn’t the only place that sells furry adult onesies these days. I found these gems at my local Target today.

Also, my husband wore white gloves and Saran Wrap to bed last night. Doctor’s orders to treat some eczema on his hands and legs.

I told him he looked like Mickey Mouse. I also told him I was suspicious that the doctor was trying to help him plot my murder. Then again, if he really wanted me dead— he could just unleash the killer 12-lb cavapoo we already have in the house and no one would suspect a thing.

Today was by far my most ambitious of the summer. I woke up when Jarmon did– as has become my routine now that Arabella is (somewhat) sleeping through the night. On his way out the door, I reminded Jarmon (in case my note on top of his wallet wasn’t enough) to take the stroller out of his trunk so I’d have it for the day. He said that he would and also said that he’d be home at lunch time to drop off his dry cleaning. I have no idea what possessed me to offer to drop off said dry cleaning– I hate dropping off dry cleaning under solo circumstances, so doing so with a baby would in theory be doubly torturous– but I did. Letting him drive home during a busy week at work seemed ridiculous when I really had no excuse to not drive a few blocks and drop it off for him. So I did. And it was easy. I decided to experiment with carrying Arabella down the stairs before putting her in her carrier and it was a total game changer. I can only wish I had discovered the strategy sooner.

When I got home from the dry cleaner, Natalie and Franci texted to see if Arabella and I wanted to join them for lunch. My first reaction was no because I had a hair appointment at 3 and it sounded like too much activity for one day. But I love lunching with friends and had plenty of time, so I said I’d love to join. It was around that same time that Jarmon responded to my email (happily announcing that his suits had been dropped off and would be ready after 6 tomorrow) with an apology for forgetting to take the stroller out of his car and offering to bring it home at lunch. Again, I’m not sure what possessed me to be so agreeable, but I told him that wouldn’t be necessary and I could get by without it.

Slipping out of the house the second time was just as easy as the first with the new strategy of leaving the carrier in the garage. (How did I not discover this sooner?!) I scored a great parking space close to Yolk Test Kitchen in Bucktown and we had a great lunch with Natalie, Sailor and Franci. After lunch, we stopped back home before my hair appointment. Arabella was an angel the entire day. She got a little fussy at the end of the hair appointment– but to be fair, she was hungry, hadn’t napped and it was practically her bedtime (#momoftheyear). Lucky for me, Amy (my colorist at Edit) has a little boy and 100% understands the struggle is real. Today she swooped in to help me mix baby formula when Arabella started crying– at my last appointment she swooped in to grab a poop-filled diaper out of my hand and take it to the dumpster in the alley for me. Amazing. The kindness moms show to one another in those trying moments is incredible– and something I’ve been blown away by all summer long.

I used to be super judgy toward friends and family who didn’t leave the house after having kids. I, of course, would never be like that. Well, guess what? For the last four months I have been exactly that (x10). The giant sets of stairs in both the front and back of my house are daunting. The multiple locked doors and gates waiting at the bottom of each are exhausting. Now, in my final week off, leaving the house is finally feeling manageable– like a routine part of the day as opposed to an event in and of itself. It feels good to be mobile again. I guess that means it’s time to go back to work.

We had a lot of grand plans for today. We wanted to grocery shop, meal prep, revisit Home Goods and do some cleaning around the house. None of that happened. It was raining and gross and we just couldn’t bring ourselves to venture out… or up off the couch.

I went to the gym early, but by the time I got home the rain was moving in. We thought it would pass and it just never did. So instead I made some eggs with spinach and we played with Arabella. We did a bunch of tummy time and let her play with the new light up musical toys we bought her yesterday. We also gave her some almond butter in her cereal for the first time.

It’s so sad to think this was my last Monday without work. Where did the time go?!

Today began my last week of time off with the baby— and we didn’t waste a minute. We started the day at Buy Buy Baby where a very friendly associate showed us how to use our Baby Bjourn carrier. We couldn’t understand why other babies seemed so happy in their carriers while Arabella responded as if it were some foreign kind of torture. I guess there’s something to be said for a good demo because now she loves it.

Our next stop was Home Goods. Since we were overly excited about our newfound ability to get Arabella in the carrier we decided to use it at Home Goods. Success! She happily took in the endless aisles of home decor while we searched for a hamper— and picked up a few toys for Baxter.

Later, we stopped at a second Home Goods and found and even better hamper. We actually found a great bench too, but didn’t have room for it in the car. Perhaps we’ll go back tomorrow.

Our last stop was Target. I needed a plastic bin to store my maternity clothes, which I’m happy to report have officially been removed from my closet. We also needed some wine for the cookout we were headed to this evening.

The cookout was a last minute party hosted by Jarmon’s good friend from college, who was also the best man in our wedding. He has a beautiful home in Glen Ellyn and it was a beautiful night for sitting on the patio. Arabella got passed around to many adoring sets of arms and Baxter got to run around in the grass.

Chad’s daughter was especially great with Arabella— and Arabella loved her in return. She even brought out the giant teddy bear Jarmon bought her over a decade ago so Arabella could lay on it. I knew my husband– in his never ending quest to be the cool “uncle” figure– liked to buy obnoxious presents that drove parents crazy. What I didn’t know was that it wasn’t just his niece and nephew who were the recipients. Apparently he purchased three ginormous animals for Chad’s kids while they were still living in the city. (Yeah, he’s that guy.) He must have really thought he’d be a bachelor forever.

Also tonight, Arabella got her first nickname. You see, when Jarmon was in college- for reasons I still don’t understand even after hearing the story a dozen times- he acquired the nickname Fat Tony. Decades later, his fraternity brothers still call him Fat Tony. I, by association, am Trina Fat Tony. You might think fat anything isn’t a nickname you want, but I took it as a term of endearment– my acceptance into the group. (My father was so humored by this at our wedding that he conspired with Santa to give us shirts bearing our names at the next family Christmas party). Chad’s daughter decided Arabella should be Fat Tonya. Definitely not one of the nicknames I considered when naming her, but I’m happy she’s officially part of the club. Perhaps there is a onesie in her future.

As the summer comes to an end, so too does my year of eating whatever I want. For the last two days I’ve traded my chocolate chip cookies for avocado toast. My first steps on the road back to reality.

Arabella is also experimenting with new foods. Earlier this week she tried oat cereal. Now, we are adding to that. Her pediatrician encouraged us to introduce highly allergic foods with the idea that introducing them “early and often” will keep her from developing food allergies. Today was peanut butter. To say she wasn’t a fan would be an understatement. Her face tells the story in the most amazing way (photos are from the second attempt). I’m just sorry I didn’t get a photo of her batting the spoon out of my hand.

But as they say, one man’s trash is another man’s treasure. Or in the case of the Brooks’ household, a baby’s trash is a puppy’s treasure. I turned my back for about fifteen seconds and found Baxter happily scarfing down his sister’s leftovers. At least it didn’t go to waste, right?

I’ve been driving the same car since college. A 2004 Hyundai Elantra. Why, you ask? Because it’s a great car. And it’s been paid off for years. Lots of years. And since moving to Chicago I can play bumper cars with the trash cans that the garbage men insist on leaving behind my garage door in the alley. Not going to lie, I do cringe when I go somewhere nice and have to valet my car. Or when a coworker sees me in the parking lot. But honestly, at this point I just drive it because it drives people around me crazy. Most notably, my Audi-driving husband. (He’s mortified by my car and forbid me from putting Arabella in it initially). Unfortunately, it seems to be nearing the point where driving the old clunker may no longer make sense. Earlier this summer I (and by I, I mean DD) put $1500 into a new muffler (and some other associates parts that were rusting away). And today, what we thought was a dead battery is apparently something else. I know this because my car wouldn’t start outside the bank after opening Arabella’s savings account. Thus, Arabella had the milestone of her first AAA call. The very nice man who responded to my call jumped the car and said I was good to go— but it wouldn’t start again a few hours later. So, we will have to deal with this over the holiday weekend.

Other than the 45 mins spent waiting for AAA (no small miracle in Chicago), the day was pretty uneventful. Arabella woke up at 6:30a– likely the result of me bragging about her amazing sleep skills. I ran to target in Jarmon’s car to buy some formula with more coupons that were expiring. Tomorrow, I’ll go back to Target to exchange some diapers that Arabella is outgrowing faster than she can use (which is insane considering how fast she uses them).

On Saturday, I’m making Jarmon deal with my car. I should probably handle it myself given how badly he wants the car to disappear. But car repairs just seem like a blue job. Say a little prayer for the old Hyundai tonight… I was hoping to get her to 200,000 miles. Right now she’s hovering below the 175,000 mark. Sigh.