The Incident at the Alamo

I need to preface this story by saying that Orion has been coughing a lot the past week but only at night. During the day he is fine and happy but will have a runny nose (which is clear) and no fever.  I wouldn't say he has been sick but maybe dealing with allergies.  A few times this week he has been coughing so much at night that I brought him a sippy cup of water. This seems to happen about 3 in the morning. Last night he got me up at that time, and I brought him his sippy cup. I went into his room he was not in his bead but hanging out by his closet. He seemed happy to see me then wanted to show me his sheets which were sodden. There were two large spots of what I can only assume was mucousy vomit that came up during a coughing fit. I changed his sheets and his jammies and he was happy to get back to bed and we both slept till 7:30.

I was very excited to take Orion to the movies today to see Walking with Dinosaurs. He loves “dinoroars” and frequently runs around like a dino roaring and stomping. He also loves popcorn so I was excited to take him to the movies and splurge on our date.  We went out on this grey, rainy, Monday to the Alamo Drafthouse Cinema. I had never been there before and was a bit confused when I couldn't find the concession stand. Once I got into the theater I began to understand that it was more like the Arlington Cinema and Drafthouse. You order from your seat and everything is brought right to you.

We got in our seats and our server started his schpeel.  He got to the part about children under the age of 6 and I was all whaaaaaaaa. Children under 6 are only allowed in the Theater on Tuesdays before 2 pm, which it wasn’t and if my 2 ½ year old got loud, we would be asked to leave. I could feel the pressure mounting to ensure that Orion was a good and quiet toddler.  We ordered popcorn, a trio of cookies, and milk.

Before the movie started, they showed many dinosaur related clips like the trailer for The Land Before Time and the music video for Walk the Dinosaur which was my jam back in the 80’s while listening to Kid’s Corner on WXPN.  They also showed the opening clip from The Muppet Movie when everyone is getting into their seats in the theater. This was followed by the warning that if you do not behave “we will blow you up”. So that was really fun AND we got to see the preview for the new Muppet movie Muppets Most Wanted and The Lego Movie. (F.Y.I - I love going to the movies, worked in movie theaters, and went to film school for a few years)

This all made me very impressed with Alamo and the service was great. I asked for a booster and was given one in a timely fashion. The seats were comfortable and there was plenty of leg room. Orion did have a few things to voice so I was really looking forward to the popcorn arriving to fill his mouth and keep him quiet. I was happy that there were only 2 other people in the Theater (both adults) but worried about getting kicked out.

We were watching the movie and Orion was being pretty good. The popcorn was delicious and Orion was very excited.  He wasn't silent but the movie was loud and he wasn't being too disruptive. The trio of cookies were freshly baked and hot. They were so unbelievably delicious!  A nice crust on the outside, soft and gooey inside. The trip consisted of a Peanut Butter Banana, a Chocolate Chip, and a Double Chocolate. At one point, I noticed Orion had chocolate all over his face and I thought “how cute, I will have to take a picture of his messy mug once the lights come up.”

I gotta tell you that my heart swelled with pride and my eyes filled with tears of joy because I was out at the movies with my son. He was being good and really seemed to be enjoying himself.  He sat in my lap for a bit and it was so comforting to have my arms around him and feel his head under my chin. A few times during the movie he turned to give me hugs. It was so sweet! But, all good things must come to an end.

The check had been dropped off which happens 30 minutes before the end of the movie. The server came by to pick it up but I hadn't been able to deal with my bag of stuff to get to my wallet. I was going to wait till the movie was over and the lights were up.  Orion was in my lap and started coughing, I reached for his milk, empty. I had a water bottle in my bag but before I could reach it, or grab anything, Orion threw up all over me. So. Much. Vomit. Then I grabbed the empty cookie pan and he threw up into that. I felt horrible for the two people sitting behind us. The smell was bad but I am fairly impervious to that smell after working in movie theaters for a number of years.

I got the water bottle out of my bag along with the wet wipes to clean us up as much as I could. I got my wallet out and paid the $15 bill and left a $10 tip. I raised up an order card so someone would notice we needed assistance.  This took a while since checks had already been handed out. I was content to finish the movie because I have only walked out of a movie once because it was awful and my date was really hot. But Orion had other plans, he wanted to walk around and I was powerless to stop him. He got into the first row and wanted me to chase him. Instead, I sat on the floor and waited for him to get distracted and then I pounced. I was able to grab him and get him in my lap while I sat on the floor. Then he noticed the row numbers and started calling out “1 2 3!” and I knew it was time to leave.

I got him into the “family” bathroom and washed up a bit more before we put on our coats. We went out into the rain and played for a few minutes on the grassy square in front of the theater.  I was hoping that some air and rain would wash away some of the vomit smell. Once we got in the car and hit the road, the smell was overwhelming. I cracked a window and struggled to obey speed limits.

Once we got home, we both stripped by the front door and I tossed everything into the wash. We took a shower together. I cleaned up first, then got Orion all soaped up which made it hard to pick him up to rinse off. I was kind of amazed at how small he felt with his arms around my neck and his legs clinging to my sides. He is in the 95^th% for height and 75^th for weight so we are usually talking about how huge our baby has become.  And the cherry on top would be that he peed on the bathroom rug upon exiting the shower.

I got Orion dressed first then retreated into my pajamas giving up on the day.  I made him a PB&J, took him to his room for nap, read a few stories, and tucked him in on his nap mat. This Saturday we are going to The Kennedy Center to see Elephant and Piggie are in a Play, wish us luck, I think we are going to need it!   

Mom's night out

Woot, mom’s night out! I was really excited to stick my husband with a super fussy baby but as luck would have it I was able to get Orion to bed by 6:30.  I have a very lucky husband.  I had a night out and he had a night off.  For the first time, I wasn’t even worried about the baby or my husband or my husband dealing with the baby.  I was totally like “I am out and I will be back when I get back, peace!” 

I threw on some lipstick, a real bra and footwear other than flip flops, so fancy!  I drive our little Fiat 500 thumping M.I.A. but wishing I had Santogold.  I felt so liberated, I wanted to go dancing but settled for dancing in the car.  I get to the theater and meet up with 3 other moms to see Magic Mike.  It was a super nice theater with huge seats and you didn’t need to fight for a piece of the arm rest.  The floor was wood and not nasty sticky carpet, I wouldn’t feel bad about letting my baby crawl around on those floors.

The movie was fun.  My favorite was Big Dick Richie and not because the obvious or because he is an enormous muscled man, which does help.  But because the first time we see him he is behind a sewing machine working on a gold thong, wearing thick black glasses.  The movie also made me feel old because (SPOLIER) once drugs came into play I knew it would be the downfall.  We enjoy the movie with abandon, hooting and hollering but director StevenSoderbergh  (yeah, right, I was surprised before I saw this movie that he was the director this was far from Ocean's 11 or Erin Brockovich) was really great at cutting just when things started to heat up.   

  

After the movie, we walked up the street to grab some drinks.  I enjoy 2 (2!) cucumber/cilantro gimlets which were very yummy.  I am sure we would have sat there longer chatting, dishing, and getting to know each other if last call hadn’t been at 11.  We are planning to get crazy at a real strip club one of these nights. I am going to start saving my dollar bills in a jar label thong money.

I got home around 11:15 (big night!) and my husband was in bed and the baby (I know he is no longer a baby but a 15 month old toddler, he will always be my baby much like every dog to me is a puppy, until it is too embarrassing for him) was still asleep.  The house did not fall apart without me for 4 ½ hours! Orion woke up around 4am for about 45 minutes and we both slept till about 8am.

You hear it said that it is important for moms to make time for themselves. But it is more important for moms to allow themselves to enjoy that time.  There have been a few other occasions when I got out of the house for a few hours for me time but spent so much of that time stressing and worrying about the baby and that the baby was driving my husband crazy.  It is so seldom that I get me time, that when I do, I will never again let worry spoil it for me.

I only wish the weekends were longer so I could have a day and my husband could have a day and we could still take care of all the other things which usually fill up a weekend.  I do think that weeknights will start to get easier with Orion going to bed earlier and sleeping through the night.  I can have a mom night out on a week night and Patrick has his dad’s night out.  It really is important for us to get out, talk with other moms/dads and have fun.  I am really thankful that we have found such a great group of people to enjoy these times with.

It took me 9 months to get out of the house and go to a mom group and I am so glad I did.  Every Friday we get together for a playdate, it keeps Orion busy and me.  We have both made some good friends and Patrick is now getting to know some of the dads.  How cool would it be if Orion was making friends in this group that he will have for years!  And I get to watch all these other little babies grow up which is really special.

I encourage all you mom’s out there to join a mom group!  Find one you like and that fits your schedule. You and your baby can make friends, get out of the house, and your baby will sleep so well after he is all tuckered out from playtime.  Then you can have a mom’s night out and hopefully the dads can get it together for a dad’s night out.  It really is good for the whole family!

WTEWYE/BYBM Review

Yes, I was that mom at the mommy & me showing of What to Expect When Your Expecting who was letting her baby crawl all over the theater.  Yes, I do know how dirty the floor of a movie theater is because I worked in a few movie theaters.  Also, I saw the knees of my baby’s jeans and how black and yucky there were which was no comparison to the grossness of his little red booties.  I did feel really dirty after the movie during my drive home and couldn’t wait to give the baby and myself a good scrubbing.

Do I regret letting my baby crawl wild over dirty, sticky, disgusting floors?  Not at all!  Orion did not get sick or eat anything off the dirty floor even though he did try.  He was able to crawl and play and I was able to watch the movie.  Orion is obsessed with steps right now and really wanted to crawl up and down the theater steps.  We have one step in the house which goes into the laundry room.  If he can get to that step, he will go down it then turn around, go up it, and repeat.  It was also nice that we knew a bunch of the moms & babies in the theater so he got to visit with some friends. 

Would I do it again?  Maybe not.  If Orion was an immobile baby who only slept and ate, sure I would be there.  I spent a lot of time chasing after him and at one point everything went a little black and I got a bit dizzy.  I guess my blood pressure had a sudden drop as I do have notoriously low blood pressure.  Orion seemed to have fun and slept for over an hour after the movie.  But he was really cranky and tired the rest of the day.  Not sure if it had anything to do with the movie or if he is going through something.  I got bedtime started an hour early, he was in his crib around 7 but woke up at 2.  He was in our bed until 6:30.  I tried to put him back in his crib at 4:30 but he wasn’t having it and wanted my arm as his pillow.

I do think it was great to be in a movie theater with my baby and not have to worry about him being too loud.  The theater was pretty full and there were a lot of strollers but it wasn’t crowded.  Many baby made noise but it never got out of control.  Orion liked to visit the moms who were sitting in the row in front of us and they did not mind.  I did try to prevent him from hitting them on the head which was mostly successful.  I also did not have to worry about flashing a nipple.  I no longer use a cover when I am nursing because Orion likes to use it as a flag and wave it around which distracts him from eating.  Also, it can get hot holding your baby and wearing a cover. 

How was the movie?  I really enjoyed the movie, I laughed and I almost cried.  They say you are emotional when you’re pregnant but I am way more emotional now than I ever was before baby.  I think they may have added some jello to my insides during my C-section.  This was not an action packed, hard to follow movie.  It did not have subtitles and the plot was pretty easy to follow and a bit predictable.  This is why it was a good movie to watch in the theater while chasing a baby.  I didn’t miss a thing and it was fun.  I loved the scenes with the Dad Pack and Elizabeth Banks was my favorite of the females leads.  I laughed out loud a few times and totally teared up during the (SPOIL ALERT) miscarriage scene and the adoption scene.  I would even watch it again on Netflix and force my husband to watch it with me. 

This is a monthly thing going down on the first Tuesdays of the month brought to you by thebump.com and AMC theaters.  Find a theater near you that participates check Bring Your Baby Matinees.  Tickets are 10$ and I bought my own ticket so don’t start thinking I got fancy and that actually anyone reads this.  Just keep in mind that after the movie there will be a lot of woman wanting to get into the family restroom to change their babies dirty diaper.  Try to find one on the other side of the movie theater mega complex.