Home Alone

My husband left for a business trip this afternoon, so I am solo with the kidd-o. It's very tiring to be alone with the baby. No breaks. Mommy 24/7. Gives me an idea of what it would have been like to be a single parent.....if I had gone with Plan B.

I've only had three really serious relationships in my life. The first, Brian, was a disaster. We started dating when I was very young, and I had never been in love or anything. He was almost ten years older and really did a number on me. Drove me to obsession about my weight. Cheated on me. Lied to me. Ruined my ability to trust men for a long time. Uh, we broke up and got back together about one hundred times, and it really messed me up. Took YEARS to heal, and I ended up moving to another city to fully recover and start over.

Relationship #2 was Bill. Don't get me wrong -- I went on lots of dates and had a very active social life. I was always the good girl, though, and never slept around or anything like that. When I met Bill, I really thought he might be "the one", and things moved pretty quickly for us.

Unfortunately, Bill was recently divorced and although he swore he was "over it".....well, he wasn't! He had his own emotional damage to recover from and still hadn't. At the one year mark, things really went sour, and we called it quits. More emotional recovery....and the declaration that I was never going to find the right man!

It was at this time that I decided that I would just have a child on my own if I wasn't married by the time I was 35. I wanted a baby badly enough and refused to give up on that dream.

Thirty-five came a few years later, still no man worth marrying, but my fear of giving birth was overwhelming. Plus, I didn't feel "old enough" to be a mom. I decided to wait until I was 38 instead! Then, if I were still single, I would have a child on my own and do the single parent gig.

Thank GOD my Plan B was never needed. I met my husband, Andy, in July 2005, a few months prior to my 36th birthday in October. We were married on my 37th birthday, and Nicholas arrived the following August in 2006.

The hubby is gone for four days. These little "tastes" of being a single parent make me very thankful for my husband and stepchildren. "Free" moments to shop or get a massage or sleep in are precious as gold. I take full advantage of them even though I miss my little cutie pie every second we're apart.

Baby Fingernails Can Do Evil

During my pregnancy, I purchased a massage gift certificate at a discount. A local radio station was offering $50 gift certificates for only $25. Such a deal! So, I bought one with plans to use it once the baby arrived and pamper myself.

Anyway, I noticed it was about to expire on 2/9/07, so I booked my appointment for this weekend. Although I'm still fighting the evil phlegm beast, I thought I would go and make the best of it.

Well, the massage was GREAT! It was at this place called Cincy Massage, and I had Patricia. If you live in Cincinnati, check them out. I'll definitely be going back to see her! She did a regular massage and used some of the hot stones at the end, and that was a new treat for me. I felt so good after my massage!

Ran a few more errands afterwards -- heck, the girls had two friends over, so I thought I would spare myself the house full of kids and let the massage glow continue as long as possible. Plus, I was in dire need of black shoes anyway. I had worn my favorite two pairs to the point that they were squeaking!

After another two hours of running around, I got home. After unloading my buys, I went to greet my baby....ACK!!!!! WHY DID HE HAVE BIG, RED GASHES ON HIS POOR LITTLE HEAD??!?!?!?!??!?!??!?!???

Turns out, his little fingernails were in need of a serious trim, and he had scratched himself pretty badly right in the middle of his forehead. I swear, I cut his nails almost every other day, but those suckers grow FAST, and they can obviously cause great damage to such an adorable face.

I have learned my lesson. I will cut his nails daily, if I must, in order to prevent such injury to my poor, sweet baby. Thankfully, he's a trooper....the kid can take four shots in a row and barely cry. I guess a gouge to the forehead isn't going to stop him. Doesn't mean I don't feel like the worst mom right now......