Check out my husband’s new blog: UWS Dad

Tom is a blogger by night, writer in Corporate America by day.  He has decided to take his exceptional skills as a blogger and apply them to his personal life.  He has started a blog named appropriately UWS Dad: http://uwsdad.wordpress.com/

I cannot guarantee that you will like what he writes but I can guarantee that you will always be entertained.  Please keep up with us as we navigate pregnancy and parenthood (come November).

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The Perfect Marriage

I have often looked at other couples and thought that they had the perfect marriage/relationship.  I do not consider myself as part of that group.  Tom and I could not be more opposites if we tried.  Tom loves to read non-fiction, I read trashy novels.  He loves to write while I love to watch TV.  Yet somehow we have found a way to make our relationship work for over 9 years.  I have begun to wonder if the “perfect” relationships that I seem to think exist actually do.  I wonder if there ever really is a relationship that has no disagreements or arguments in it.  If they do exist, are the people in it being real?  When you think about it, we are two different people and will at some point have different views on things (or at least should).  If we are not disagreeing perhaps we are not being ourselves.  I have also wondered how hard others work on their relationships.  Tom and I put a lot of effort into making our relationship work.  (Correction: I think that I put a lot of effort into making it work, Tom would say that he doesn’t have to work hard, he is just a natural at it.) However I think I keep him on his toes and require him to put some work into it every so often. 🙂  And I make no secret of the fact that Tom and I have our ups and downs.  I guess it only works if you have more ups than downs.

Do you think you have the perfect relationship?  If so, please share the secret to your success.

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Tom – Hot dogs at Curtain Bluff

Tom, a blogger for Gadling and Luxist, is a hot dog lover. Whenever we go on a vacation he tries the hot dog of that particular locale. Curtain Bluff in Antigua was no exception and he decided to order the hot dog at this luxury property. Check out the video describing his take on their hot dog below.

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Antigua

My husband, Tom, who writes for Gadling and Luxist, and I are in Antigua on our baby moon.  We are staying at Curtain Bluff and it is our first experience with 1)an all-inclusive restort and 2)traveling to the Caribbean.  The vibe is so different here.  Everyone at the resort greets you with a smile and a hello. 

 The island is only 108 square miles and has 90,000 residents.  Tom commented that the population in our neighborhood in Manhattan is larger than their entire island.  It is amazing to think of how large Manhattan is in relation to other places but I digress.

Today we had our island tour and got to see parts of the island that we would not have seen otherwise and learn a bit about it’s history.  It is such a beautiful place with water all around no matter where we looked.  Eric Clapton has a home here and we got to see it from a distance.  It is massive and very impressive.  Tom took pictures and I will post them later.

At Curtain Bluffs, I had a pregnancy massage.  The woman’s hands were magical.  She moved around with the slightest of noise.  I barely knew when she switched from one side to the next.  I really appreciated her concern about my comfort throughout the massage.  I don’t get massages often and it can be uncomfortable to be naked around a stranger.  It is compounded by the fact that I am pregnant and therefore a bit larger than my normal self. 

We met with the General Manager today who showed us around the property and gave us complimentary spa treatments.  I am going to get a facial tomorrow and Tom is getting an aromatherapy massage.  After our treatments, we are going to watch the sunset over the Caribbean Sea from their balcony at the spa. 

This has been a really fun vacation.  We always enjoy our vacations but they aren’t always fun trips.  Tom is not a relax and sit back type of guy.  He has embraced this and has enjoyed the beach thoroughly.  He went up against some major waves today and I don’t think I have seen him smile so much in a while.  He has already mentioned bringing Hunter here in a few years.

Overall, I would recommend Curtain Bluff to anyone looking for a romantic getaway, babymoon destination or true relaxing vacation.

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Tomisms

I was on the phone with my Mom the other day and was telling her some of the things that come out of Tom’s mouth.  She was hysterical laughing and told me that I need to write them all down.  Well here is on: I was talking to Tom about different things we need to take care of before Baby J arrives.  We are coming close to finding out the gender of the baby and will probably register for things after that.  One of the major concerns has been which stroller we will choose.  If we go with the Orbit, we won’t need a car seat initially and if we go with the UppaBaby, we will need a car seat to bring Baby J home.  With that we discussed bringing Baby J home from the hospital.  I am due November 9th.  This means that Baby J is most likely to be born during cooler/colder weather.  Tom’s solution to the car seat discussion was to walk Baby J home.  We live about 15 blocks from the hospital which is nothing compared to our weekend jaunts around the city.  However, we don’t have a 2-3 day old infant in November weather and I have not just given birth.  Sometimes I just have to laugh over Tom’s ideas.  They are so cute and so funny.  I cannot help but love him a bit more for being so cute.  As they come up, I will post them.  This is just one of many that I am sure will come up. 🙂

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Baby Registry

If anyone knows me they know that I am a planner.  I may not be super organized but I like to plan everything.  You can ask Tom or my family if you are in any doubt!  As Tom told me today, “You are in my world” referring to an itinerary that has not shown up yet for our trip.  Registering for baby things is no exception to this rule.  I have been scouring websites for ideas and asking my friends for advice on items.  I think that aside from the items themselves, the store(s) in which you register becomes a big question too.  There are so many stores to choose from.  You have your standard BabiesRUs (surprisingly pricier than other stores with same items), Baby Depot (decent selection but not much of what I would need), Target (surprisingly has a good selection and great prices) and PotteryBarnKids (super expensive and has lots of items that you can get at other stores).  Then you have your Manhattan/NJ stores, BuyBuyBaby, Giggle,  Albee Baby, Planet Kids, etc.  It is all so confusing and takes a lot of research.  Well, I have tons of time on my hands and I have done my research and have narrowed it down to 2/3 stores.  Unfortunately, not one store carries every registry item I want.  I am not revealing the registry stores yet as I have not started the registries.  Also, I am waiting to reveal them until I am certain the baby is a girl or boy. 

The other question is about registry items.  I think that I have narrowed down my list of “must-haves” but it is inevitable that I will be running to Buy Buy Baby or some other baby store to pick up something after Baby J arrives.  I am excited to learn along the way as that is how most parents do it and I think is an important part of life.  Haven’t we all stumbled our way through different parts of our lives and learned something as a result?  Alot of us were petrified we would not make any friends when we first got to our college dorms or even kindergarten, yet we found a way and made friends somehow.  I think that this is just another step  that will end up being a life lesson.

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Mother-in-law stories

Do you have a great mother-in-law story?  I have tons of them and I won’t bore anyone with all of them.  However, I will say a few things:  She is not a part of our lives, Tom is much happier as a result of her non-participation and our child will probably never know this person.  Many people would say, “Oh, how sad.  Children should know their grandparents”.  Well, I think that children should have positive role models in their lives and she, along with her husband (Tom’s stepfather), do not fit that role.  Our children will have plentry of experiences with my parents and also my father-in-law.  They will also spoil our children enough that our children will not feel the absence.  Please share your good or bad mother-in-law stories.  It is always so nice to hear about a great mother-in-law.

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Pregnancy

Prior to getting pregnant, Tom thought that I would be a miserable person to be around.  He based this assessment on his (little) experience with others who have been pregnant.  Those people being his mother – a miserable person in general, and the other a woman he knew in the army.  Now, I don’t know if I am the most reasonable pregnant woman but think that I have taken this whole pregnancy thing in stride.  I think this is due to a few factors.  The first being how long it took us to be pregnant, I am so grateful to have this experience that I am enjoying every minute (even the nauseous ones).  Plus I think that I am a generally happy, positive person.  I started showing pretty early on. I  think that I was still in my 1st trimester.  At first I was not too happy because I didn’t want people to know before I told them.  However, I am loving the fact that I am showing now.  I look pregnant, not just fat and it is a great feeling. 

I also thought that because I was not skinny prior to getting pregnant that I would end up being a whale.  However, I lost 4 lbs at my first appointment and have only gained 1 lb this entire pregnancy.  I am actually still 3 lbs behind my pre-pregnancy weight.  I am surprised as I have struggled with my weight and thought that I was just going to pack on the pounds.  One thing that pregnancy has done for me is to eat healthier.  I am now eating tons of fruit and love cold food – popsicles, fruit, applesauce.  These are all things that would never have been eaten prior to pregnancy.  Baby J is a good influence on me all around.  I hope that pregnancy is this pleasant for others.

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