Celebrations!

Until you become a parent, you celebrate "normal" things. These include holidays, sports events, weddings, you get the idea... Well, in the past month I've learned to celebrate "baby" things... Burping, pooping, passing "wind"... And I mean celebrating like I hit powerball!! Just last night we were at my parents house eating pizza while the baby was having his bottle. He burped & the whole table clapped & went "Yaaaaaaaaaay".... I mean I think we may have been of the verge high fiving!! If you have kids, you know what I'm talkin' about. If you don't have kids, just wait.... You to will be celebrating the bodily functions of your offspring. Just while typing this, we celebrated a burb & a poopy!! YAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAYYYYY!!!!!!!!!

Yesterday Morning our friends Bekkah & Ohio came over with their daughter "Munchy". They came over for bagels 'n coffee & to meet Mr. Phinneus. We had a great time! Thanks for coming over guys!

Yesterday My moms watched the baby for a few hours while Maggie & I hit the movies to see that new Batman picture. Thanks Mom! Now my parents are in Ft. Myers, they left this morning, wish we were there! We both really liked the movie, it was real good. I didn't even mind the fact that it was 2 1/2 hours long... It was so good I will overlook the bed soars I got from being in the seat for so long. The guy who overdosed was awesome as the joker. We bought our tix online before the show so we did'nt have to wait, or worse get there & it's sold out. We bootlegged our candy inside to!! Haribo Gold Bears.... Nuff said! The theater was gosh darned packed out when we left. The line went out the door! I wonder if everybody was going to see the new Will Ferral picture "Stepbrothers"... I wanna see that next!

Phinneus came out shopping today. He went to the Shoprite, & the fresh produce store! He slept through it all! We like the produce store, it has everything!

Well, that's my report for today... May yous all have celebrations of your own!! YAAAAAAYY!!

nine pounds!

Well, since I last blogged Mr. Phinneus has been to the doctor... went to the supermarket... & the farmers veggie store... Of course I missed all of his travels cuz I had to do that work thing that keeps gettin in the way of everything I wanna do! He weighed in at a whopping 9 pounds! He's gained a bunch since he was released onto the scene from the hospital! Over 2 pounds, that'd be like if I gained 30 pounds in a month... sadly I think I may have done that once or twice in my life!! The formula fiasco keeps rolling along. Now that we've found a formula he can tolerate, we tried the dried powder version so we can save some coin. The ready made stuff is $50+ a case & the powder can is like half that.... Only problem is the powder version smells & apparently tastes repulsive.... It smells like a combo of cream cheese, feet & swamp gas.... I can only imagine the taste, it can't be good cuz Phinneus only eats 2 oz of it & refuses to take anymore... I think he eats just enough to sustain life... I don't blame him... The smell is totally toxic... I had to buy a bottle of the ready made stuff tonight cuz I'm affraid he didn't get enough food this week!! Oye vey this formula situation is killing me! I'm happy to report that he pounded the first bottle of the ready made stuff. Almost took the whole 4 oz! We started giving him "gripe water" to curb the hick-ups & baby pepcid for reflux. It seems to be working aight! He still has a few gripes here & there, but who doesn't!?!?!

fried chicken...mmmmmm!!!!

Yesterday we went to Andrews mom Barbaras birthday party!!! It was at Casa de Forste, in beautiful Teaneck New Yersey. It was the first time we had Phinneus out of the house since the last time we took him to the doctor, about 2 weeks ago. It was like Baby-Palooza over there!! We figured there was at least 10 babies there!! I think there may have been more formula & diapers at the party than iced tea & napkins!! Everybody loved Phinneus & commented on how handsome he is!! Phinneus was really good too! He slept almost the whole time, ate some formula & slept again! I thought it was funny that we showed up using one of Barbaras grandkids stroller, and we dressed Phinneus in another of her grandkids old outfits!! Funny right!! Thanks you guys!! So lets talk turkey.... or on this case chicken... They had some of the best fried chicken I've had in a long... long time!! I know yous guys woulda liked it!! It was seasoned perfectly. & you could tell it was the rizzle dizzle southern styzzle.... They got it from some soulfood joint in the city.... Mac 'n cheese, beeiscut (biscuits) & cohwnbreeud (cornbread) along with assorted salads & slaws rounded out the table! Now I loves me some fried chicken! & I haven't had any fried chicken in like 4 years... Since we went to A.C. w/ Trish & Randy in '04!! (no evil-eye babe!).... I enjoyed "the" fried chicken!! Dessert got intense yo! They had cupcakes from Crumbs bakery!! The best cupcakes ever, as we have talked about in previous blogs.... probably 2 sticks of butter in each softball sized serving of heaven!! I hope my arteries can handle the amount of saturated fat I pumped into myself yesterday!! Thank God for stents & statins! There was also cake & ice cream, but I called it a day after the cupcakes! Everybody commented on how great Maggie looked too!! They was like, "wait, you had had a baby 3 weeks ago!!". You go Babe!!

After the party we trecked back to the hills & my parents came over to see the 'lil man. We hung out for a while & heard stories from their weekend travels (Long Island & Aunt Marie & Uncle Gino's house)... Amy came over after she finished up at the party & spent the night. She offered to do the late night feeding & the one at 3:00 AM!!!! Thanks Amy!!!! It was the 1st time in a month we both got more than 3 consecutive hours of the sleep! I woke up late for rehab cuz I was sleeping so hard!!! I think I dreamed about fried chicken!! Jeez, I'm going OCD on the fried chicken!! I'm considering becoming a fried chicken-etarian... Check out the latest round of pics of Phinneus!! Cute right!! We've started usung a new technique in trying to control his crankies... We wrap him up tight w/ his hands bundled up (baby swaddle straight jacket), gentle rocking, making the shhh noise & the passy.... It is a full body work out that brings you to the verge of hyper-ventillation, but it works!! It may take straight 2 hours of doing this, but it calms him down!! I think if they said jumping out the window would help him, we woulda tried it!! Not a bad thing if you have a ranch, but jumping out our 2nd floor window would hurt!! What parents will do.....!!!!!.... Time to make the dough nuts!!!

PEACE!

Cardiac Rehab Touched My Heart...

Here are some newish pics of Phinnian (Gigi accidently called him that once & now that's what I've been calling him!!!), pretty cute right! So I went to my heart patient rehab as usual on Friday. Nothing out of the ordinary for me, I go every M,W,F for an hour in the morning. After a year of being there, I've made friends with all the people who are also lucky enough to need a cardiac rehab program. I am the youngest in the group, by about 30 years!! We have one guy who's in his 90's!! When I get to rehab I see nurse Toto & she calls me into the dietician's office where she & Mary the Dietician gave me a bunch of gifts from everybody!! They actually had a party last week for me, with cake & cookies but I missed it cuz it was one of the "bad days" & I didn't get any sleep! It was so thoughtful, they are all such great people!! They took up a collection & got us a $150 gift card at Target for baby stuff!! I'm thinking about bringing in Bagels or making something for everybody to show our appreciation. What a nice group of people, they all ask me how we're doing everyday & give me advise. It's refreshing to know that there still are some good people out there, even if you need a near fatal heart problem to find them! God bless my sticky arteries, or I'd never have met these wonderful people! I don't know what it is, but I seem to get along with people twice my age easier than with the people that are in my age group. I guess I'm an old spirit or something!

On the baby front... We've accepted that Phinneus has a bit of the colic & we just have to... deal with it (as Taylor from kid nation would say). It's easier said than done!! My poor Maggie has to "deal with it" all day....., Alone! It ain't easy!! Fo Sheezy!!! So Props to you Babe, for being such a trooper (as usual, she always a trooper!! you go!) But we're all adjusting & will be victorious against the tyrannical forces of "The Colic"!!! I guess if you think about it, Phinn is making the biggest adjustment of us all, & we have to remember that (tough during a Chernoble-esque meltdown). Other than the usual baby stuff, nothing real news worthy to report... My parent are out partying it up on Long Island for their 4,000th high school re-union (well, maybe no 4k, but it was a long time ago!). I actually got a chance to cook some dinner last night. I Made some shrimp & scallops coated in old bay & pan seared over roasted pinapple with mango-avacado salsa & bahamian style rice 'n peas. It was a "fun" meal, with "island flavors" & made me hunger for the bahamas... The only Island I got a shot of visiting any time soon is Staten Island... Not the same! Maybe I'll buy some used hemmingway books on amazon & some spray on tan to get me in the zone!! Well, maybe I'll nix the spray on tan...

PEACE!

The Claim

Sorry there hasn't been a blog in a few days but it crazy around here, & lets face it.... to much of a good thing can kill the value of that good thing, remember "Who Wants To Be A Millionaire?"... Great show, but I lost interest once it was on everyday, day & night!! It got so bad Regis even split.... Regis still rock though!! Ask Gellman, he'll tell you!! So anyway, lets not let that happen to DWMB.....

I called the insurance company to file a claim for that little electrical issue that cost me 4 large last month... They are sending their guy out this morning to see if they can re-emburse us the cost of the repair less the deductable. I hope it all works out, cuz we po!

No real news to report on the baby front. He has good & bad days. During the bad days he doesn't sleep at all & that causes him to crash the whole next day. That is his good day.... at least he ain't crying! The books say this is all normal & generally starts in the 3rd week of being in New Jersey & lasts 'till the 3rd month... I guess after 3 month of crying, you realize that no matter how much you scream, this is Jersey & you'll ALWAYS have to make a right in order to turn left.... There will always be traffic, airport delays, people w/ PA plates doing 40 mph in the left lane, that funny smell on Rt 1 & 9 in Linden, & someone will always look at you funny, honk or gesture towards you..... But we have good bread! I guess the 1st 3 months are really a time for skin thickening in order to deal with the world (or in our case Jersey) & lets face it, developing thicker skin ain't fun... Not fun for baby, not fun for parents! So we continue our voyage into the waters of the parental sea. Hopefully we can successfully navigate the treturous parts & find some calm waters!

On a sad note, I called on this supply house yesterday where I developed a good relationship with the owner & staff. The owner wasn't in & Bruce (his consigliere) informed me that his wife was diagnosed with stage 4 lung cancer in both lungs. They have 3 small kids, a real sad story.. So if yous guys can say a prayer for them, maybe it can help a little! Tell Gigi to pray to St. Anthony please, they sure could use it!

No new pictures this time, maybe next time I'll have some new ones to post. Lets hope the insurance guy can cut us a check!!!!!

Peace!

3rd times a charm?

Phinneus had another real rough day today, so we've switched to our 3rd new formula in a week & a half. Hopefully this will help him rest. It's strange, he's fine for a few minutes, then he freaks out uncontrollably for a few minutes, then he's ok, then angry.... Then he gets so tired he passes out, only to wake up eat & get pissed again... It's gotta be tough on him. I know it's tough on mommy & daddy!! He's still darn cute though! Check out the new picks!

So our new favorite thing to eat is Broccoli rabe, or as we say "Braaahcli Raaahhb" in our pseudo chicago accents... It's delish! We've had it for the past 2 nights & decided to eat it once a week! Other than the rabe & new formula not much has changed in K'vil since Yesterday. It rained in the morning, I went to sweating with the oldies today, sold some stuff & talked to some morons, while my poor babuh dealt with the un-soothable crankies... Now we just chillin, waitin for Phinn to wake up for a feeding. I have the homerun derby on the tube, live from sold out Yankee Stadium in the Bronx, NY.... sucks they're tearing it down man.... I still can't believe that the greedy $tienbrenner clan are going to tear it down.... It's like tearing down the Statue of Liberty & melting it down to make copper wires out of it....... Replace "The Stadium" with a new one because the new one will be more corporate luxery box friendly???? I don't get it... do yous?

My 1st mail

So yesterday Phinneus recieved his first official piece of mail! Yup, good 'ol Uncle Sam sent him his official membership card. That's right, the all important social security card. It's all over now baby blue, you're an official part of some government spreadsheet & database! Welcome my son, welcome to the machine! Here are some long overdue pictures. I have more & will post them as soon as I can! It's hard trying to get the pics from the phones & camara onto the computer. My phone sucks so bad I have to email them to maggie (the only email address that works w/ the phone) & then email them from her work email to my email, then save them so I can post.... Maggies phone downloads its pictures only sometimes... sometimes it works... sometimes it doesn't... The digital camara only works with Maggies desktop, not mine & I can't figure out how to get them into my pictures so I can only post those pics from her desktop.... All this while trying to feed, change & comfort a 3week old.... or .75 month old since the status quo in baby lingo is to refer to age in months.....

So Phinneus is still waging battle against the foul & evil forces of "the gas".... He's very placid until "the gas" starts churning & gurgling his little tummy... Then, he gets PISSED off (awe-uhff). He has more gas than PSE&G (NJ gas utility) sometimes. Definately not as bad as when he was on the other formuler though. Now he usually is only upset right after a feeding. He has "wind" as this english lady on a baby video refers to it... Sometimes he's windier than a hurricane! I gotta tell yous though, he's like a new kid after a dumpsky.. It's like a huge relief for him. I wish he'd evacuate more than he does... In fact he doesn't really go but once every day or two... Hopefully that will change... Wait, am I actually wishing for more dirty diapers??

This is our first go around with the whole baby thing. So I have to ask you people that have done this baby thing already... Is it normal to get a burp real easy after some feedings & after other feddings getting none? I mean none! And not for a lack of trying! Lemme know, aight!?!

So I was driving home from Home Depot yesterday, listening to the Yankees post game show on the radio. Susan Waldman was doing the clubhouse report & informed us all that Bobby Murcer lost his fight against brain cancer. John Sterling (the Yanks radio play by play guy) almost couldn't complete the broadcast. Now Bobby Murcer's playing career pre dates me. He retired in '83, I was 7 years old. But the day after he retired as a player, he became a broadcaster for the Yanks. So, for as long as I can remember Bobby Murcer was one of the voices that brought the game from the field into the living room. I guess he'll be up there with his old channel 11 partner Phil Rizzuto calling the games in heaven...

Peace

Beefcake.... BEEFCAKE!!!

So we took young Phinneus back to the Doctor because of "the gas" & his general lack of comfort on Wednesday. We changed his formula, but he still wasn't very comfortable. The doctor looked him over & said everything was fine, & to stick with the new formula. He said that it takes time for the new formula to work, at least 48 hours.. So since we had only changed the formula 24 hours prior, we had to wait another day. I'm happy to report that he has adjusted better to the new formula, & he even drops more deuces than when he was on the original formula. I think that he wasn't pooping enough on the 1st stuff, & being backed up isn't very fun!! We have been giving him echinacea tea also, it seems to be helping him out! The doctor was amazed at how much weight the 'lil man has put on. He was like almost 8 pounds!! I'm sure he's less now that he poops regularly though!!! So even though the old formula was a recipe for gas, he's ahead of schedule in the putting on weight deptartment! I don't think he digs the taste of the new formula though. He was taking 3-4 oz of the old formula per feeding, now he's at 2-3 oz of the new stuff. The doctor said that he has to get used to the new taste. I guess it's hard, I mean the old formula was the only taste he's ever known!!! It'd be like if you grew up in a place that had an awesome pizzeria, I mean great stuff, then you move to a town that only has dominos!! Yeah, you'd eat it, but not like the stuff you're accustomed to! At least the gas has deminished & he is resting. Although he's sleeping more during the day & catching a 2nd wind from 11pm - 1:30am....... Yesterday he got to take a walk with Mommy, and really slept most of the day. It's amazing to see how much more alert & aware he's become since he was born.

On Wednesday, St. Amy came out for a visit & to help out cooking dinner. Unfortunately she went through a North Jersey right of passage on the way to our house... She hit her first deer... This is something that almost everybody in the state will go through.. I think everyone I know has hit at least one. I remember when my sister got her car back from being fixed & hit a deer like the next day... I hit one while delivering pizza 10 years ago.. It just happens.. At least Amy didn't get hurt & the car is ok! Anyway, she made us a great summery pasta dish & broccoli rabe while we were at the doctors!! Thanks Amy!! Sorry for the lack of pictures today, but we're having a problem downloading the pics from the cell phones, & that's how we've been taking like 95% of the baby pics! Yous guys all have a great weekend & bababooey to all'a yall!

Peace!

Gas... It ain`t just expensive at the pump these days!

First and foremost, I must give apologies for my lack of blogging lately. With the departure of Gigi & Papa Ken, work & parenting duties I've lost "free" time... But enough of my Mia Copa, lets Blog!

So Saturday Morning, with a heavy heart we bid farewell to Gigi & Papa Ken until Xmas. Thank you so much for helping us out! We would've never been able to handle the first few days (nights really!) without them! We had fun!! & great family meals!! We miss the full table!! My only concearn was that Gigi kept saying "oh John, in a few days I'll be gone...", like she thought I wanted her to leave??!!??!! Not so, we miss yous guys! Thanks again!

We had a great Fourth of Yuly, Amy & Andrew came over & Papa Ken made some steamed blue claws w/ Old Bay!!! MMMMMMMMMM MMMMMMM!!!! Amy made some badaba salad & a killer red cabage salad, sweet corn,chicken sausage (real good actually, very flavorful) & Gigi's baked beans (delish) rounded out the table! It was kinda weird not cooking in my own kitchen!!

My Sister Sue or "S" as we refer to her came down to meet her new nephew over the Yuly 4th weekend! I think she was amazed at how cute Mr. Phinneus is!! Her & my parents only got to stay over for a little while.

We brought Phinneus out for an hour over to Jeremy's parents house for a BBQ. We saw Jeremy & Silvie, their son Oliver (who grew into a man in like 3 months), Jason (Jeremy's brother who I haven't seen in a decade), his family, Casey (jeremy's lil bro who graduated from college), of course Jack & Diane (the Crowleys) & a whole cast of beer ponging characters. The Beer Pong champion (pronounced Champeen) was Caseys gilfriends 90 year old grandfather!! No yoke, for real! It was great seeing Jeremy & Jason together again. We rose some heck in days gone by..... Everybody at the party had "that look" on by the time we showed up! They were being true Thebian Warriors against the foul Corinthian Beer Beast!

Then "the gas" came into the picture.... Poor little Phinneus can't take his formula any more... It gives him "the gas" uncontrollably!!! From both ends....... You can hear his little stomach bubbling.... He isn't gulping air, it's like as the formula is in his belly getting digested it creates "the gas"!!! He blows up like a football & his tummy percolates like an old coffee pot! I don't think he's slept mpre than a few hours in 2 days... It's terrible! Last night the only way he slept was on his side/tummy while I held him on my chest... It was the only possition that didn't make him cry uncontrollably! So everytime I heard him start to make a noise I rubbed his back & tried to break up "the gas".... He caught about 3 hours of sleep that way, probably could've gone more, but I had to get the trash on the curb cuz I heard the garbage truck coming down the block!

So while I was writing this, I talked to Phinn's Dr.'s Office & they are changing his formula! Hopefully this will curb "the gas"!!

Come to NJ meet Phinneus, you may wind up on the blog!!!!!!!!!!!!

Peace!

Phinneus... He's a hit!

The stream of visitors continued yesterday, all wanting to meet Baby Phinneus. Chenoah, Babara (kev's mom), & "The Boys" (Jake & Tyler) came in the morning while Barbara (Andrews mom), Megan, Paul & Amy came around lunch time. I was at work & missed all the fun (per usual), but I hear everyone loved our Phinneus! They had yummy bakery cookies & salad w/ salmon in it, prepared by Chef Papa Ken. Both the Barbaras came with gifts for the little one. Barbara Lewis gave us two cute outfits, Thanks Barbara! & Barbara Forste gave us a "Moses Basket". I don't know what it is, but Thanks!!!!!! I was told that everyone had a good time & the baby was a "perfect angel".



I had to work & try to generate some sort of income, So I missed the celebration. I was however able to find Papa Kens favorite bread bakery in Hoboken & purchased a loaf of bread for Gigi & Him to enjoy with their steak dinner! They bought a nice steak to grill for dinner, and actually watched the baby for a few hours so Maggie & I could go out on a date! We went to the opening night if Hancock (Will Smith's new movie). We endulged in movie theater popcorn, twizlers & diet cokes for dinner! Did you ever notice that it's cheaper to buy the "value meals" that are comprised of every super sized item the snack counter offers, vs. trying to be good and buying smaller sized treats???!!!?? We saved money getting the large coke/popcorn meal over a small coke & a small popcorn?? Does that make sense? Anyway, we had a great time! It was great to spend some time together! We used to go out to the movies like twice a week when we lived in the apartment in Mo Plains!! Thanks Gigi & Papa Ken for watching the baby!



When we got home, It was time to feed the baby, so I took him to watch the Yanks downstairs until the bottle was warmed. He ate & fell asleep in my arms! I put him to bed & took myself upstairs to meet my babuh in bed. I don't know what we're gonna do once Gigi & Papa Ken head home on Saturday... Things are going to get "real" fast once we take on the full baby schedule by ourselves! Well, I gotta get going to work!



Peace!