Next weekend I’m going to sign him up for a hobo marathon
This weekend has been like some sort of terrible research project into the nocturnal habits of juvenile humans when exposed to large amounts of sunlight, food and fun. Code Name: tire the crap out of the baby even though it doesn’t guarantee anything.
On Saturday we met our friends Brandon and Amanda and their daughter Madison down in Essex, CT (Motto: The Best Small Town in America)(My New Proposed Motto: Where To Go If You Want To Feel Really Bad About Your Economic Status). We took the kids to a rather child-inappropriate museum on the history of the Connecticut River and let Baby Evan do his best hobo impression, running in shoeless circles for an hour before we tracked down one of the most delicious fried clam po’ boys I’ve ever had at the Black Seal Restaurant. It was so good even Baby Evan liked it, chomping down part of the giant hoagie roll it came on, an adult-sized handful of clam strips, and dozens of french fries. Did I mention he also ate half the grilled cheese we ordered for him? (Our first time ever ordering off the kid’s menu! THAT is the kind of milestone they should put in baby books.) We didn’t get home until after 3, but by thanks to some crazy magical time warp he was perfectly happy to run around in more shoeless circles yelling at the dog until bedtime, when he collapsed in a heap of exhausted cuteness and slept for TWELVE. STRAIGHT. HOURS.
On Sunday we ran last minute errands (including letting Hobo Baby Evan run up and down the aisles at Stop & Shop – you guessed it – shoeless) before Brandon and Amanda and Madison came over and we all headed out for our first boat ride of the season. The weather was perfect, the traffic on the river was incredibly light and the kids behaved (at least for the first half of the day) especially after stuffing them with Goldfish and Twizzlers. We spent four hours enjoying our horrible financial decision boat and the sun and the water, with everyone but Baby Evan jumping in (water temp: 72 degrees) for some splashy fun. After forcing one overly tired child into an afternoon nap, we went over to Brandon and Amanda’s (can you believe they weren’t tired of us yet?! What I am going to do when they move to Virginia???) for grilled chicken pineapple quesadillas and a few rounds of the marble game.* For dinner, Baby Evan ate several pieces of bread with goat cheese dip and some plain cheese quesadillas plus a whole sippy cup of watered down lemonade. Instead of the quite, easy bedtime we were expecting when we got home, E and I had to take turns rocking/patting/nursing one INCREDIBLY ANGRY SCREAMING CHILD for two hours before he would go to sleep and stay asleep. Eventually a dose of (generic, non-recalled) baby tylenol was what did the trick and Baby Evan slept from 11 pm to 6 am this morning. Which, well, just isn’t good enough anymore. He needs at least 10 hours of sleep to keep him from turning into a monster and in my fetus-growing state I need at least 8 hours.
WHAT THE HELL, BABY EVAN? What was the one factor on Saturday that led to a good night that we somehow missed on Sunday? French fries? No afternoon nap? Less sunshine? More hobo shoelessness? Is it teething? Diaper rash? A broken leg? Demon possession? Please tell me so I can solve the problem with food/shade/medicine/holy water and start getting those wonderful 12-hour nights on a regular basis. Sandy and I thank you.
* The marble game: best card/board game ever. Requires 4-6 people and a special wooden board, unless you are REALLY addicted in which case I’ve heard you can make a board with cardboard and little hole-punch circles. Sometimes called “Social Security” in Ohio, but the rules are less stupid complicated.
Tags: baby evan, boat, Connecticut, friends, holidays, sleep, summer
There’s a very very fine line (at least for Niko) between “tire the baby out” and “get the baby wound up, over tired, and too crankyfurious to sleep.”
Teething pain doesn’t help, either.
Hooray for solid food, though! And at least one good long night of sleep!
Dude. I hear you. Hudson sleeps 8-9 like 13 hours a night but last night- with NOTHING different in his routine except for a playdate- he woke up at 1 SCREAMING and ended up sleeping in our bed after 2 hours of thrashing and screaming. What gives!?!
Dude. I hear you. Hudson sleeps 8-9 like 13 hours a night but last night- with NOTHING different in his routine except for a playdate- he woke up at 1 SCREAMING and ended up sleeping in our bed after 2 hours of thrashing and screaming. What gives!?!
is that game possibly called mancala? i used to play it with the kids at this after school program/daycare place i worked at. so.much.fun. but it always seems so expensive whenever i want to buy it. i think the cut-out cardboard and maybe some rocks idea sounds like the way to go! ps. u can play it online! http://www.aflcio.org/unionshop/games/game_mancala.cfm [not like ive ever done it before or anything]
We had a FANTASTIC weekend! Of course now we are sunburned and exhausted but we had a great time! And here is the link to where we bought the marble game: http://stores.wizardwoodworks.com/-strse-25/marbles-and-jokers%2C-pegs/Detail.bok
That sounds like such a fun game! I’m from the Breastfeeding Moms Unite post about bfing in church! I wanted to thank you for the comment! My husband has wanted to talk to the Pastor also. If anything I think we might have to do that if someone complains, since next church service I’m just going to feed her in the back row. I haven’t been able to go since that post, since one by one everyone has gotten sick. Again thanks bunches!
http://meandmineinasmalltown.blogspot.com/
Oh by the way, what a cute blog! I love it!!! Also you are so lucky to be having another baby! CONGRATS~
I was like “SHE TALKED ABOUT ME IN HER BLOG!!!!” But then I remembered that mine is made out of poster board, contact paper and those flat marbles that you put at the bottom of a fish bowl or vase.
I totally meant you. I just couldn’t remember the specifics of your very, uh, SPECIAL version of the marble game.
Hey,it works! I’ve had to make a second “special” board cause my brother wanted one so bad.
That probably still counts as obsessed, doesn’t it??? :)
…..(Did they have pineapple coconut salsa???? Cause I completely forgot about those until you said that!!!)