Monday, May 16, 2005
Weekend update
It was a big weekend at the Taggart house, as Nicola was feted at a surprise 30th birthday party in our backyard on Saturday. I arranged for about 20 friends to be there, as well as her brother up from L.A. I must say I did an OK job at pulling off secret logistics, including food, beverage, custom tunes, decorations, delightful and amusing childhood photos (I'll post some of those later) etc. Nicola was surprised and appreciative, and she hung in there well considering I'd sent her off to a massage as a ruse to get her out of the house. She overcame the post-massage stupor to enjoy herself.
So, other than dramatically overestimating how much people would eat and drink, the only other hiccup was Ella spiking a 103-degree fever on Saturday afternoon. She briefly rallied to consume some tortilla chips and cheese, but by 5 p.m. or so she was back in bed, sweaty and I think a bit delirious. I was a bit freaked, but we got her through the worst of it and by Sunday morning she was pretty much OK. I think her mother's new work schedule is taking its toll -- formerly, Ella could sleep in most mornings and hang around the house until she went to school at about 8:45 or 9 (or later). Now, they leave the house at 7:30 or so and it sounds like quite a hustle to get out the door. Ella mentioned the hectic pace, the busy mornings and her increased tiredness several times this weekend. I mentioned it to the Ex today, who immediately got defensive. Just trying to co-parent! That's another saga -- the ridiculous e-mail exchange we had last week culminating in her playing the victim again and me saying (threatening?) to go to mediation to get some satisfaction. Today, she called to discuss Ella's after-school options for next year, and that was encouraging...but I'm sure we're going to have to get a more formal process in place to resolve our differences. Or, she could just get the hell over it already.
Now, back to the important stuff -- Lindsay was really great all weekend, and we even captured a smile on camera (another I'll post later). And last night -- (drum roll) -- she slept the whole night in her crib. Not without a whimper or too and some nursing, but she did not sleep a wink in her swing or anywhere else...and this, for the Taggart household, is a major accomplishment. The swing has been our safety net and Lindsay's preferred choice for lengthy slumber. We came to terms with our parental guilt on this one, but I know there are some who found it, um, distressing that we relied on the swing. Last night, we just decided to go for it, perhaps sparked by some successful crib naps over the weekend. To bring this incredibly boring story to a close (sorry, you non-parents), we feel quite good about it and hope that the increased sleeplessness on our part is a small sacrifice toward getting Lindsay into a more consistent sleep pattern. (New parents can talk about sleep patterns and tricks and challenges for hours on end -- no lie.)
I won't blog tonight -- going to the Sox game -- sitting in row 2 by the Bosox dugout! Yowza! Reminds me of my coolest sports experience -- front row behind the plate at Fenway, and I mean, fingers-in-the-protective-net first row. Thank you Jerry Remy, and Dad!
And while I dish out kudos: thanks to Tom and Phoenix for being such awesome in-laws this weekend and helping me pull off the party. What a blessing to have them around.
So, other than dramatically overestimating how much people would eat and drink, the only other hiccup was Ella spiking a 103-degree fever on Saturday afternoon. She briefly rallied to consume some tortilla chips and cheese, but by 5 p.m. or so she was back in bed, sweaty and I think a bit delirious. I was a bit freaked, but we got her through the worst of it and by Sunday morning she was pretty much OK. I think her mother's new work schedule is taking its toll -- formerly, Ella could sleep in most mornings and hang around the house until she went to school at about 8:45 or 9 (or later). Now, they leave the house at 7:30 or so and it sounds like quite a hustle to get out the door. Ella mentioned the hectic pace, the busy mornings and her increased tiredness several times this weekend. I mentioned it to the Ex today, who immediately got defensive. Just trying to co-parent! That's another saga -- the ridiculous e-mail exchange we had last week culminating in her playing the victim again and me saying (threatening?) to go to mediation to get some satisfaction. Today, she called to discuss Ella's after-school options for next year, and that was encouraging...but I'm sure we're going to have to get a more formal process in place to resolve our differences. Or, she could just get the hell over it already.
Now, back to the important stuff -- Lindsay was really great all weekend, and we even captured a smile on camera (another I'll post later). And last night -- (drum roll) -- she slept the whole night in her crib. Not without a whimper or too and some nursing, but she did not sleep a wink in her swing or anywhere else...and this, for the Taggart household, is a major accomplishment. The swing has been our safety net and Lindsay's preferred choice for lengthy slumber. We came to terms with our parental guilt on this one, but I know there are some who found it, um, distressing that we relied on the swing. Last night, we just decided to go for it, perhaps sparked by some successful crib naps over the weekend. To bring this incredibly boring story to a close (sorry, you non-parents), we feel quite good about it and hope that the increased sleeplessness on our part is a small sacrifice toward getting Lindsay into a more consistent sleep pattern. (New parents can talk about sleep patterns and tricks and challenges for hours on end -- no lie.)
I won't blog tonight -- going to the Sox game -- sitting in row 2 by the Bosox dugout! Yowza! Reminds me of my coolest sports experience -- front row behind the plate at Fenway, and I mean, fingers-in-the-protective-net first row. Thank you Jerry Remy, and Dad!
And while I dish out kudos: thanks to Tom and Phoenix for being such awesome in-laws this weekend and helping me pull off the party. What a blessing to have them around.
// posted by Bill @ 11:06 AM 
