Gas Prices

Dear A,
We have been facing unprecented highs in gasoline prices. When Daddy and I lived in North Brunswick, we were sure that they would never hit $3, but sure enough, they did. This winter, they came darn close to hitting $4 here in NJ, and went above in other parts of the country.

But for some reason, they have been dropping like a stone in the past week.


The gas station near our house advertised $2.81 for their cash price this morning.

I hope that these government guys get their acts together, and maybe you won't need to worry about gas prices when you start to drive. Hopefully, they'll develop a car that runs exclusively on the things we already have filling our landfills and waste treatment plants, because what the heck else are we going to do with it?

Way Back... Friday

Here's A and Grampy from this week last year.

Blowing kisses

This evening as A was getting ready for bed, we started going through the parts of the face. He LOVES to "honk" our noses, but he started off pointing at mine. I said, "that's Mama's nose," to which he replied by honking my nose. Then he pointed to his nose. I asked, "Where's A's nose?" and got nothing. I then asked, "Where's Mama's nose?" and he responded by honking my nose. It sounded as though he was trying to repeat me too. He then pointed at my eye, and then when we went through the routine, he again sounded like he was trying to repeat.

Then, after brushing his teeth (which, by the way, it looks like he's cutting his top two... but nothing's gonna break on through to the other side yet), I gave him his nightly kisses when he started blowing kisses. I'm not sure where he learned this, since we don't really do it with him (Despite hearing Mama lots and lots of times a day, no Mama's are said here STILL, but this he picks up), but it was pretty clear. He started giggling when I said, "Are you blowing kisses at me???"

Way Back....Friday

Sigh, it's been a long time since I've done a Way Back Whensday, but it's better late than never.

This series is from when we first got our new camera. In an attempt to play with it, I sat A on our bed and took some shots. I got a few pretty good ones.

I loved that little onesie, Mr. Right. And you have to love the range of emotions he displayed here!

The Mayor's Back in Town!

I haven't seen this boy wave in what feels like ages. And his smiles have been more of the "Please stop bothering me" variety of late. Yesterday, though, all that changed.

We both went to get him from daycare yesterday. In the car, he started to click his tongue, and then smiled when I asked if he learned that in school. I started doing it back at him, and he started to CRACK UP. When we got home, he was just in stitches for one reason or another. After his prebedtime nap, he started waving at his Daddy. It was a different kind of wave; just the wrist side to side instead of the whole hand.

Then, as we were cleaning up before bed, he started clapping.

I guess he is feeling better!

I won't be comin home tonight; my generation will put it right

With all I've been hearing lately about how great a hero Ronald Reagan was, etc, etc, etc, blah, blah, blah, I thought I'd share this with you...


Is Obama the "Superman" we need? Or maybe McCain is? We know the Reagan era brought in lots of prosperity, although there was a major recession along the way. But what we need is a sense of working together; our country needs to build a community, which didn't seem to be the mindset of Americans in the 1980s.

I think this is what the question during the debate, which asked the candidates what sacrifices each would expect of Americans, was all about. During the Depression and the war, Americans made sacrifices for the greater good. I'm not sure if my generation would be willing to sit in the dark (without their televisions, video games, and internet) for fear of an air attack.

I see more of the sense of togetherness in the younger generation, actually. Their schools require a certain level of community service from them, and many of them take this charge to heart and go above and beyond the requirements of their schools.

It is my hope that whomever becomes our next president can find a way to get us to work together. To support each other. To help our communities and our country. Hey, maybe it's the guy who was a community organizer. Maybe he is too liberal, too radical, too inexperienced.

Either way, you (yes, YOU) need to register yourself to vote, if you aren't already. You can go here to do so, regardless of which state you call home. Then, on November 4, go out and vote. Because,

As promised, PICTURES!

I'm not a great photographer, but I'm trying to take better pictures. I was playing with not using flash, which creates a lot of blur when chasing a curious toddler around. The costume shots were my attempt to take advantage of some late afternoon natural light, and the family room pictures were my playing with the running man feature on my camera.

You can see one of A's new toys in those last few pictures. I got it for $3 at a consignment sale, and it's his favorite right now. It has blocks and different things for him to do while he stands at this table. Last night when A woke from his nap, Daddy carried him into the room and he started pointing at this toy. Well worth my $3!

Back to School...

A went back to school today. I left his teacher a message that he was out of it, pooping was hard (literally), and that he was refusing the sippy, preferring the bottle. She called M around 9:30 to tell him that A was just sitting there by himself and that he had a rash on his back. OY. She didn't send him home, though.

When I picked him up today, he was fairly happy sitting in his high chair, eating Goldfish (cause they're so delicious). She told me he had pooped... THREE times today. I apologized profusely, cause they musta been awful. He was having a good time using his sippy. She told me that he WANTED to hang out in his crib; she went to take him out of it after his nap and he just cried. So, she put him back in and he just sat there.

I booked out of school and daycare today because I had scheduled him an appointment for shots, so the poor kid is all messed up. He got Hep A, chickenpox, and the flu shot. Poor kiddo is pooped! He took a nap of an hour and 15 minutes until 11:30 this morning, so he is tired from so few naps AND the shots. He's been sleeping pretty much since we left the doctor's office.

Ya gotta love PETA

I just discovered that PETA has implored Ben and Jerry's to use human milk in their ice cream instead of cow's milk. Yum.

http://www.peta.org/mc/NewsItem.asp?id=11993

Tired

Grammi came to visit today. Errr, she came to hang out with the too-sick-for-daycare Boy. One reason we asked her to come was that A was such a sleepyhead, and we knew he wouldn't sleep nearly as much as he probably needs at school. Grammi had a rough night, combined with how early she needed to leave to get here, and so A fell asleep on Grammi, who fell asleep right with him.

I, for no reason at all, cannot seem to keep my eyes open. And it wasn't even a particularly exerting day. Nonetheless, it's 9:30 and I'm heading to bed. Wooo, party animal!

Z is for Zebra

Despite The Boy's still being out of it (or maybe taking advantage of it), I decided to give the Halloween costume a try. I bought it on Nov 1 last year, so wasn't really sure how it was going to work out. It has a hood, and since he's not super fond of hats these days, I was doubtful. It also looked enormous.

It was SO CUTE. He seemed to tolerate the hood just fine, and he was crawling around having a blast. I took some pictures, and promise to upload by the weekend.

The Exorcist in our house

We have had a rough week here in the Feisty house. We're all still fighting off that cold, so we didn't know what the heck was going on on Wednesday when A came home from school SUPER DUPER hot. M took his armpit temp at 102. From the time I got home, all A would do was sit and groan. We gave him some food, and although he wasn't super interested, he ate. And then it all came back out, projectile.

We sent him to school on Thursday, because although he was still sorta out of it, he seemed to be doing better that morning. Still, he was very warm when he came home and super cuddly. I gave him a little bit of dinner, and we had to run out to the grocery store. A little bit of ick in the car seat, but not nearly as much. He also groaned the entire time in the grocery store, getting us lots of strange looks and only one little lady came up and asked what was wrong with the cutie pie.

Friday, he was again super warm, but I still took him to school. When he came home wearing different pants than the ones I sent him to school in, I discovered the cause of many of his problems. He apparently had a huge blowout, and when I came home he was a much better temperature, and we were finally able to get him laughing.

He still isn't great today. I gave him some prunes for breakfast because he was still pushing with no success. I also gave him some yogurt and oatmeal, which all came back up.

I never expected to be catching puke in my hands, but there it is.

14 months old

I can't believe it, but A is 14 months old today. For months, people have been asking if he's walking yet, but he isn't. He seems really content to crawl everywhere, but he really loves to stand up while holding onto things--anything really, legs, couches, refrigerators, but the sound of the dishwasher door still brings him... er, the crawling version of running.

"No" has become a big part of our life. He doesn't say no, but grunts it and shakes his head. We see this most often when it comes to food. He'll tolerate food on a spoon for a few bites, but much prefers food he can feed himself. He especially likes to take the food out of a container, rather than off his tray.

This morning, I asked if he wanted some milk, and I think he nodded his head yes. We are amazed at how much he clearly understands, although his vocabulary is so slight.

His Grammi blanket continues to be his favorite friend. If we are bringing it back to daycare, he HAS to hold it in his carseat, and screams at me when I move it to strap him in.

Yesterday, I picked him up from school and they were fingerpainting. It was cute, but it seemed that more kids had paint on their faces than on the poster. Hilarious... I wish I had had my camera. Speaking of which, they take pictures frequently of the kids. The school's director told me a story of a picture--they were watching A and saw him rub his eyes, but he was continuing to play. They checked when his last nap was, and he was due. The next thing she knew, he was asleep with his head in a cubby. She snapped the picture, and it's too funny. He IS back to sleeping in his crib, but now that he's getting over his cold, he's back to one nap a day.

Nectar of the gods

Once, I echoed Ben Franklin in proclaiming that "Beer is proof that God loves us and wants us to be happy." Sometimes, I corrupted his quote with wine.

These days, however, I'm becoming (once again) a follower of the savior whose name is Cola... Coca Cola. It's what gets me through the work day, especially the post lunch periods of the day.

Everyone knows I'm in over my head, over my head

I somehow expected to be better at the juggling act called working mother. I didn't expect perfection, but I also didn't expect the disaster of a house, desire to eat nothing but takeout, and early evening collapse on the couch. I also didn't expect A to go to bed at 6pm, leaving me with two very short hours home with him (and at least half an hour of that is spent making dinner... I have to somehow find more time on the weekends to prepare meals in advance).

This week at work just sucks butt for after school commitments. In addition to Back to School Night on Tuesday, we also have a new school bonding session on Friday evening AND Saturday morning. It sounded just fine to me over the summer, but now that I know what my weekends look like (and that we also have a baptism on Sunday), I'm just dreading that I have to be at work instead of doing any of the other gabillion things that need to happen over the weekend.

**SIGH** At least it can only get better.

NO TEARS!!!

YAHOOO, there were no tears when I dropped A off at daycare this morning! We went around, putting his breakfast in the fridge and writing a note to his teacher. Then I put him up to the table there... a little girl was eating her cereal, but on there were also Cheerios and Goldfish. As anyone who's ever babysat A knows, he soothes himself with food. So, he didn't cry at all when I put him down, and he also didn't cry when I looked over my shoulder and happened to catch his eye.

As for me, it's Back to School Night tonight. Joy of Joys. I can appreciate that the parents want to see our faces, but goodness, it's such a long day and tomorrow's going to require a trip to Dunkin. Or maybe even to evil Starbucks for some extra caffeination. Despite meeting her several times, I want to go to Back to School Night at daycare... that's right, BTS Night at DAYCARE. See here for other ways daycare is trying to prepare us for real school. Too bad, though, cause I'll be celebrating my 21st birthday that night.

We survived, part 3

We made it. We both got paid and have survived the long summer of no money coming into the house. Our savings are seriously depleted, but there's still a little something there.

We had a good time at the wedding, although we left before dancing and cake. We initially planned to go to a hotel after the wedding, but M was a little concerned about how A would sleep with us in the room, so decided to just drive home. The wedding was an early one, though, so it wasn't so bad.

In the rush to get out the door, I forgot my camera. So, those promised pictures are coming, but they just won't be of the wedding.

Look, Mama!

This morning when I was feeding A, he pushed my chin and started to point at one of the characters on the wall. I thought, "Nahhh, he's not doing what I think he is." But then he did it again. And again. And again. How did he know to turn my head?? Dunno, but he did.

I apologize for the dearth of pictures these days. Since we only see A for about 4 hours a day, there haven't been too many pictures taken. I will definitely take some this weekend, since we will be at the wedding of one of my college buddies and A is taking his first trip to New York state and Connecticut. It's also his first long trip (2.5 hours!), so hopefully we'll survive.

No crying?? Sorta....

Today, when I dropped A off, I had a lot of "errands" to do. I had to drop off some food, diapers, wipes, and a change of clothes for him. So I was carrying him hither and yon for a few minutes longer than normal.

After kisses and hugs, I handed him to the early morning lady, and...he didn't cry. Of course, Mommy is a dumb head and turned around to him and said, "I guess you're getting used to it here!" causing him to cry.

But progress is being made!!

The effects of daycare/work

A is starting to adjust to daycare. When M picked him up on Tuesday, he was asleep in his crib rather than on the floor. Yesterday, he took two naps, each of about an hour... he's starting to settle in.

We came home and he went to sleep around 6:15, and then stayed down for the night. Sleepy boy! It did mean, though, that he stayed asleep until 6:30, which is when I need to wake him up. I fear an earlier bedtime is in order, reducing FURTHER our time with him.

It's really no matter, because I'm back to falling asleep on the couch around 8:30. Sleepy Mommy too. I'm missing all the good shows!

Fundraising?? ALREADY?

M and A came home today with this book. I thought, oh cool, we're getting something for our *insert large sum of money here*. Nope. It was a sample book that we can get for free if we get 10 chumps to spend $25 and get one.

Of course, there's well over $25 worth of coupons, and we'll probably end up buying one anyway.

But seriously? Fundraising? For a year old? Who I am PAYING for his childcare, rather than a public school?

We survived, parts 1 & 2

We survived our first week of school/daycare! A took a long nap yesterday, but didn't take his afternoon nap at daycare (he did around the time I got home). I guess he's starting to transition to one nap.

We're taking a wait and see approach to the daycare situation. We're not quite sold yet, but want to give them a chance for the dust to settle. I'm not sure if our expectations are too high or what's going on. Of course, the other daycare I looked at is now on my commute every day. They don't provide food or milk, which was a major selling point for us where he is now, but school lunch there isn't the world's healthiest food. I want to try to get A eating as healthfully as possible for as long as possible.

We also survived the month of no health insurance. I wasn't too too worried about that one, but it was a niggling concern in the back of my mind. We were covered if anything happened because we could have just paid for COBRA after the fact, but it seemed so wasteful to pay $1400 for a month.

I went to sleep right after A did last night. I had a migraine coming, so I just laid down. I woke when M said he was going to bed and then slept until 4:30. So it's an early morning for me, but I still got a ton of sleep.

Overall, the week went pretty well. I'm struggling to adjust to the new school and their different ways of doing things. At least I'm not in the same boat, though, so I can talk to people going through (or who have gone through) the same transition. My students seem very enthusiastic, which is always a good sign. I just found out about an accommodation plan that I have no idea how to fulfill and I also have no idea how this student got into the school with such a plan. **SIGH**

I was offered an opportunity to pick up another course for the year. It would have been for Economics, which I've taught before and would have been a breeze, and would have been a great resume booster, because I would have been in the employ of the county college. However, at only $100 a week and on top of my already can't breathe I'm so busy schedule, I decided it just wasn't worth it.

Speaking of my schedule, for whatever reason, my old school kept us at a load of 5 classes in a two day rotation, plus two duties. When I moved up to 6 classes there, I was released for all of my duty obligations. In all the other schools on campus, however, teachers have 6 classes in a two day rotation plus two duties in that rotation (I have one on each day). It makes it hectic, because it means I have 83 minutes free plus 30 minutes for lunch. Granted, my duties for this semester will allow me to get some work done, but it's a lot to handle.

HOORAY for the weekend! I'll get some pictures of A up!

A bright spot today!

Before I turn into the miserable complaining lady, let me tell you about my bright spots today.

First, I came in from lunch to discover a box of roses on my desk. I received them from my Godson and his family. So sweet and beyond thoughtful!

Next, students made me laugh multiple times today. I had forgotten how much I love working with sophomores (who, as an aside, are exactly half my age). They're still in that innocent zone of a freshman, but are much more savvy and have a element of maturity. I was also impressed by this group's desire to help. I've heard talk of it, but today saw it firsthand. My textbooks were delivered to another classroom, so I asked my class to help me move them. After doing that, I started organizing them by number and a small group of them just started helping, without being asked. They weren't too interested in reading aloud (and who would be, going over school policies that they already know?), but I had them chomping at the bit to help me/run errands/etc.

It was a draining day, as it always is on revised schedule days. My old school had us jumping in slowly, with shortened classes (they had 20 minute classes today) all week, but my new school has us diving in with full length classes starting tomorrow. This drain, in addition to my worry induced insomnia, had me napping on the couch when I got home.

But it was a good day. A did alright again. He was napping (on the floor, yet again) when M picked him up. He apparently couldn't get enough of his school lunch, which was cheese roll ups. I just discovered he also had corn for lunch.

M starts tomorrow. The roller coaster ride begins.

Daycare

The first full day of daycare went...okay. There was some misunderstanding about food, and he was given cheerios and milk for breakfast, it looks like he had oatmeal for lunch (until I called and then he got school lunch). M said that he only took a 10 minute nap and that he cried every time they tried to put him down, so they just let him sleep on the floor when he collapsed there (and slept for an hour). I laugh to think of it, but my poor baby! I know he'll get used to sleeping with all the other kids around.

I'm having a difficult time for so many reasons. Not only am I leaving my baby, but I am in such a weird place at work. I'm a new teacher but yet a veteran one; old to the district, but new to the school. I'm not just falling into it like I sort of expected. Further, the making friends issue I've been worried about is probably going to be even worse since I'll have to give up my shoot the bull sessions in order to spend my after work time with A.

More from Kim

Kim sent me the link for the rest of A's pictures, and I don't which to order! I'm so pleased with her work.

Check it out here, password is my former last name (case sensitive).

The zoo

Our Saturday plans changed unexpectedly, and we still wanted something to do. M said, "Let's go far away!" And I suggested Philly. But one of our typical visiting spots there (Dave and Busters) doesn't really seem like something A would enjoy. So tossing around ideas, one of us said "the zoo.' Rather than drive all the way to Philly, we instead went to Turtleback Zoo in West Orange. It was a good decision because he didn't last all that long before getting sleepy AND it was about half the price of the Philadelphia Zoo.

M was very surprised that with the love this kid has of dogs, he wasn't super interested in the gray wolf. It was kind of sitting in a log, so maybe he didn't see it. He was, however, very interested in the little boy checking out the wolf.

We were both very surprised that A was SO. EXCITED. to see the black bear. It wasn't even close, but he was bouncing in his seat and pointing.

He was also very interested as we walked through the bird aviary. They had parakeets all over the place, and they were beautiful. He was pointing at them and seemed to have a good time.

Pictures coming soon... pending work not taking it all out of me this week. :(

Lookit my han'some boy

My girlfriend is a recent transplant to NJ. She is a professional photographer, and asked if A would be her model to get some shots for her website. Of course, I said sure!

Check out her blog for the preview!

Way back.... today

I will probably once again forget about Way back Whensday, and since I'm thinking of it now, here ya go.

IT just so happens that I took a monthly picture a year ago tomorrow. I guess A was 8 weeks old at the time, so here it is... He wasn't such a happy camper!

6 unspectacular things about me.

I was tagged by Rachel, a M.O.M. (Mom of Multiples) extraordinare. She blogs about her life with twins A's age, a step son, and a daughter on the way here

Here are the rules:

The rules:
1. Link the person who tagged you.
2. Mention the rules on your blog.
3. Tell about 6 unspectacular quirks of yours.
4. Tag 6 following bloggers by linking them.
5. Leave a comment on each of the tagged blogger’s blogs letting them know they’ve been tagged.




Hmm. 6 unspectcular things you say. Let's see if I can fill the list.

1. I am afraid of thunder and lightning. I dunno if afraid is really the best word to use here, but I definitely don't like them. I wouldn't say I fear for my life or anything like that, but I would much prefer if I never had to experience one. I've never hidden under the bed with the dog or cats (err, at least not since I was 7), but have always kinda wanted to.

2. My two big toes take after each of my parents. This is hard to explain, but my left big toe look just like my dad's, and my right big toe looks just like my moms. How's that for unspectacular?

3. I love, love, love roller coasters. Actually, any ride really. I'm a little afraid of KingdaKa and haven't actually been to Great Adventure since it opened, but would go on it if it's there the next time I am. I love a lot of the rides that others are afraid of--the spinny one where you go up the walls, the dropping one, etc. I won't, however, go on any of those super daring rides you have to pay for (like that catapult thing). Not only am I cheap, but I think they might just be a little too extreme.

4. Learning to surf is on my bucket list. I have always wanted to do it, and never got the chance. I think we're going to have to make a trip to Hawaii so I can learn (where better, right?).

5. Sort of related, learning to SCUBA dive is on my list of things to do in my 30s. Another thing I've always wanted to do, but it's much easier to learn here in NJ.

6. I think it's been a year since my last manicure or pedicure. I'm not sure how I've survived this long, and especially how I've survived a whole summer, but I've done it. Thank God for beach sand, which has really helped keep things under control.

OK, so who to tag. I think:
Susie
Lauren
Erica
Amy
and
Jackie

The verdict

Since I have no bulletin boards, filing cabinets, or materials yet, my visit to school didn't take nearly as long as I anticipated. So I got back to daycare a little before 11 this morning.

I went in and watched him through the window. He was playing with some toys, all the while carrying around his "Grammi blanket." I went in, and he started to cry as soon as I caught his eye. Awww, poor guy.

His teacher exclaimed, "He's barely cried at all!" Other than the times I was there, he only cried once--when another kid started to cry. She said he did really well, enjoyed his breakfast, and did great all around. He didn't, however, take his morning nap, despite his teacher's trying to get him down. As you might imagine, the second we got into the car, A was down for the count (so much so that he didn't wake until he was halfway out of the car).

A's teacher asked if I'd be bringing him back in during the week, and I said I wasn't sure since he did so well, maybe we didn't need the extra time. She agreed that he did so well that maybe it won't be a problem at all. I'm a little concerned, however, with how he will do there ALL DAY. I'm not completely sure if I'll be able to leave him there all day for a trial, but I think he'll do fine. he really seemed ot be enjoying himself while he was there, and as long as she can get him to take a nap, it will certainly be fine.

I never thought it would be me.

I expected to get a little emotional upon dropping A for daycare the first time. I didn't, however, expect to CRY--not just tear up, but honest to goodness cry--the night before. I'm not concerned about him. I know that he will be fine, they will take good care of him, and he'll have lots of fun (and probably learn stuff I never could have taught him at home). I'm concerned about ME having to leave him.

So I dropped him off this morning for a dry run. Getting up at 5:30 was tough. I ended up ahead of schedule, and was able to unload the dishwasher. WOOHOO. A started to stir early (probably because of my unloading the dishwasher), so waking him up wasn't that big a deal.

When we got to the daycare, he did seem a little bit out of it, but he did sit on the floor at my feet. I kissed him goodbye, and he was ok (he's used to Mommy kisses ALL the time), but started crying and followed me out the door when I left. I then cried again as I walked to my car.

I have the ability to call up and check on him, but don't have the direct number to do so with me. I'll have to remember to get that when I pick him up.

Mitten

When A was born right after Mitten had her accident, I knew the two were linked (I figured that her bringing him out--to life--and him saving hers, it was only logical). But I cannot believe how these two are together. He is just fascinated by her--headbutts her, pets her, goes up to her when she is in the window, plays with her while she is eating.... And more amazing is that she tolerates it! She isn't afraid of him and even lets him (briefly) touch her paws. When she is on the bed, he loves to crawl right over to her.

We are so lucky to have such a good girl and such a good boy!

New Slideshow

Ok, I've set up a new slideshow on photobucket. I've only added a few pictures from A's first few days in the hopes of trying things out. I plan to set up just a year 2 slideshow, which you can find at photobucket.com/A's name. (that would be his real name, with no caps or spaces, first and last).

Feel free to give me feedback about whether it's any good or not!

Picture People

We went to Picture People in the hopes of getting some pictures of the three kids. We did get a few, but overall, I was disappointed with the photographer. I also put A in for some shots, and only got EIGHT from which to choose.

For some unknown reason, A was not an especially happy camper. We had a return of the Radio Flyer, although this is a bike type thing instead of a car.

I'm so thrilled to have gotten a wearing of this outfit. It's 9 month size and clearly fallish, but it was enormous on him in the spring. YAY for my little peanut.







Man, wouldn't that have been perfect had he been looking? What an expression!

FU, Shutterfly.

Our shutterfly gallery has disappeared. All 1000 or so pictures--gone. I still have them on my computer, but they are nowhere to be found online, since I deleted from my shutterfly account as I uploaded to the gallery.

I'm in the process of looking for a new site, and am currently trying out flickr. More info coming soon.

Drinkin' milky from the bottle,not thinkin' bought tomorrow...

So, we've struggled with the whole milk thing. We've discovered that he will drink whole milk, with no breast milk added, as long as it's from the bottle. (Usually, that is).

We were pretty sure we were done with bottles, and the pediatrician advised us to start weaning from the bottle to a cup, but it's more important to get him drinking the milk, I guess.

HA.. snort.. HA!

I found this fun little time waster at It Was Funny in my Head (I know the feeling). So, I uploaded a picture of myself, and it put me back, back, WAY back, in time to various "high school yearbook" photos.

1962

1968 (I like this one)


The year of my birth:


The year of my own high school graduation (looks straight off of 90210!):



And, since I am after all, an equal opportunity embarrasser:



(looks kinda like the guy from Big Bang Theory, no?)

Best toy ever

The new best toy ever in our house? The dishwasher. Yep, that's right. When the child sees the door to it open, he comes... umm... the running version of crawling... over to stand up with his hands on the door. Other favorite activities include climbing onto the door. LOVELY.

I am also sort of in the process of reorganizing the kitchen. Since the cabinet next to the oven has become his favorite cabinet, I put some plastic containers in it. Smart person that I sometimes can be, I only put a few containers and lids, so the mess isn't huge, but he just loves that he has his own cabinet. It has also kept him out of some of the other cabinets...for now.

Kisses

Prom Date has been blowing kisses for some time, and I was a little bummed that A still has no interest. Yesterday, however, I discovered he was giving me kisses--real ones! Oh my goodness, my heart is melting just thinking about it, it's that very sweet. They're almost always on the mouth and thankfully, aren't open mouthed sloppy ones.
SMOOCHIES!

First haircut

We took A to get his mop cleaned up. We had to bribe him with chocolate chip cookies, terrible parents we are... But it worked, so I guess I just need to remember to bring snacks for next time. At first, we tried to put him in the chair by himself,

but there was NO having THAT! Then he sat in M's lap, and things were ok.


He looks SO grown up and SOOO different. But he looks adorable!

6:15

A typically wakes around 7. Today, 6:15 came the wake up call. I'm not sure if his cry was incorporated into my dream or if it was just coincidence... but at least it was one of those smooth wake ups.

I suspect when we return to work, he'll wake up earlier than we would like...but if it's earlier than his typical wake time, I think I'm not going to be happy.

This from the former early bird.

Oh, and he's not allowed to be this cranky either.

Milk.

For as much as this child loved his first taste of ice cream, he doesn't seem much interested in cow's milk. It has been a struggle. On Saturday, we gave him his sippy as we drove to the wedding, and he drank quite a bit of it--straight whole milk. Since then, he makes this face as if we're giving him skunk spray every time he tastes.

He does drink it if it's mixed with breast milk, but I discovered today that it has to be a 1:1 ratio or he won't take it.

I tried mixing with formula since our reserve of milk is extra low. No dice (and, I might add, in an attempt to show him how good it is that even Mommy drinks it, I discovered how really bad formula tastes).

I tried denying other liquids, which just made for a cranky kid who still wouldn't drink milk.

So, joy of joys, I'm back to the fun of pumping in order to get this kid to drink milk.

I'm wondering if the trick that got me to drink milk (ahem, Quik Bunny, anyone?) is appropriate here? Can't hurt, right???

Thin hair must be a dominant gene.

A's hair has become a mop. He definitely got mom's thin hair, but also dad's curls. Clearly, thin hair is a dominant gene, since I got it despite my mom having thick hair and my son got it despite his dad having thick hair (hey, hopefully he'll get Grandpa's fullness as he ages?).

His hair seems to have exploded in the past few weeks. Today, it's not so bad, but he got a bath last night so it's manageable. Before his bath, however, what a mess.

We're thinking of taking him for a haircut later today....

The head butt, part 2.

The head butt for which A has become famous seems to have developed a purpose. In addition to trying to break my nose, this has become his way to ask for kisses. He'll lean his head toward us and when we kiss his forehead, he does it again and again.

Adorable.

Way Back When-sday

February 26, 2007

Feb 25, 2008

Picture update

I don't have time to upload here right now, but I'll get to it eventually!

You can see all kinds of stuff on the shutterfly page...

A's first name, A's last name (no caps or spaces or comma).shutterfly.com

Books

Here's a meme... I'm not completely sure what a meme is, but it was fun so I did it.

Here's how it works:
1) Look at the list and bold those you have read.
2) Italicize those you intend to read.
3) Underline (or mark in a different color) the books you LOVE - mine are in blue
4) Books in yellow are those that I have in my bookshelf right now and have been meaning to read for years.
5) Reprint this list in your blog so we can try and track down these people who’ve read 6 and force books upon them ;-)


The premise of this exercise is that the National Endowment for the Arts apparently believes that the average American has only read 6 books from the list below.



1 Pride and Prejudice - Jane Austen

2 The Lord of the Rings - JRR Tolkien
BLECH. I couldn't get into the first film so didn't waste my time reading the books.

3 Jane Eyre - Charlotte Bronte

4 Harry Potter series - JK Rowling
I'm up to book 6.

5 To Kill a Mockingbird - Harper Lee

6 The Bible
I've read parts, but definitely not the whole thing.

7 Wuthering Heights - Emily Bronte

8 Nineteen Eighty Four - George Orwell

9 His Dark Materials - Philip Pullman

10 Great Expectations - Charles Dickens
Started it, but never got around to reading anymore.

11 Little Women - Louisa M Alcott

12 Tess of the D’Urbervilles - Thomas Hardy

13 Catch 22 - Joseph Heller
Started it, but it was so dull....

14 Complete Works of Shakespeare

15 Rebecca - Daphne Du Maurier

16 The Hobbit - JRR Tolkien

17 Birdsong - Sebastian Faulks

18 Catcher in the Rye - JD Salinger

19 The Time Traveller’s Wife - Audrey Niffenegger

20 Middlemarch - George Eliot

21 Gone With The Wind - Margaret Mitchell

22 The Great Gatsby - F Scott Fitzgerald

23 Bleak House - Charles Dickens

24 War and Peace - Leo Tolstoy

25 The Hitch Hiker’s Guide to the Galaxy - Douglas Adams

26 Brideshead Revisited - Evelyn Waugh

27 Crime and Punishment - Fyodor Dostoyevsky

28 Grapes of Wrath - John Steinbeck

29 Alice in Wonderland - Lewis Carroll

30 The Wind in the Willows - Kenneth Grahame

31 Anna Karenina - Leo Tolstoy

32 David Copperfield - Charles Dickens

33 Chronicles of Narnia - CS Lewis
I've read one book; does that count?

34 Emma - Jane Austen
I've started this one about 5 times.

35 Persuasion - Jane Austen

36 The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe - CS Lewis

Why is this here and not just part of number 33?

37 The Kite Runner - Khaled Hosseini

38 Captain Corelli’s Mandolin - Louis De Bernieres

39 Memoirs of a Geisha - Arthur Golden

40 Winnie the Pooh - AA Milne

41 Animal Farm - George Orwell

42 The Da Vinci Code - Dan Brown

43 One Hundred Years of Solitude - Gabriel Garcia Marquez

44 A Prayer for Owen Meany - John Irving
I started and was so very very bored, I just don't know why it's so many people's favorite book.

45 The Woman in White - Wilkie Collins

46 Anne of Green Gables - LM Montgomery

47 Far From The Madding Crowd - Thomas Hardy

48 The Handmaid’s Tale - Margaret Atwood

49 Lord of the Flies - William Golding

50 Atonement - Ian McEwan
UGH.

51 Life of Pi - Yann Martel

52 Dune - Frank Herbert

53 Cold Comfort Farm - Stella Gibbons

54 Sense and Sensibility - Jane Austen

55 A Suitable Boy - Vikram Seth

56 The Shadow of the Wind - Carlos Ruiz Zafon
I've started this one and have heard such raves of it, I do hope to one day finish it.

57 A Tale Of Two Cities - Charles Dickens

58 Brave New World - Aldous Huxley

59 The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time - Mark Haddon

60 Love In The Time Of Cholera - Gabriel Garcia Marquez

61 Of Mice and Men - John Steinbeck

62 Lolita - Vladimir Nabokov

63 The Secret History - Donna Tartt

64 The Lovely Bones - Alice Sebold

65 Count of Monte Cristo - Alexandre Dumas

66 On The Road - Jack Kerouac

67 Jude the Obscure - Thomas Hardy

68 Bridget Jones’s Diary - Helen Fielding

69 Midnight’s Children - Salman Rushdie

70 Moby Dick - Herman Melville

71 Oliver Twist - Charles Dickens

72 Dracula - Bram Stoker

73 The Secret Garden - Frances Hodgson Burnett

74 Notes From A Small Island - Bill Bryson

75 Ulysses - James Joyce

76 The Bell Jar - Sylvia Plath

77 Swallows and Amazons - Arthur Ransome

78 Germinal - Emile Zola

79 Vanity Fair - William Makepeace Thackeray

80 Possession - AS Byatt

81 A Christmas Carol - Charles Dickens

82 Cloud Atlas - David Mitchell

83 The Color Purple - Alice Walker

84 The Remains of the Day - Kazuo Ishiguro

85 Madame Bovary - Gustave Flaubert

86 A Fine Balance - Rohinton Mistry

87 Charlotte’s Web - EB White

88 The Five People You Meet In Heaven - Mitch Albom

89 Adventures of Sherlock Holmes - Sir Arthur Conan Doyle

90 The Faraway Tree Collection

91 Heart of Darkness - Joseph Conrad

92 The Little Prince - Antoine De Saint-Exupery

93 The Wasp Factory - Iain Banks

94 Watership Down - Richard Adams

95 A Confederacy of Dunces - John Kennedy Toole

96 A Town Like Alice - Nevil Shute

97 The Three Musketeers - Alexandre Dumas

98 Hamlet - William Shakespeare

99 Charlie and the Chocolate Factory - Roald Dahl

100 Les Miserables - Victor Hugo
I've seen it three times on Broadway; does that count for something?

WAHOO; 29 books.

First wedding

On Saturday, we took A to his first wedding. We went straight to the reception so he could get a nap in as close as possible.

He was so well behaved, it was unreal. As it got closer to and then past bedtime, he really would only stay with Mommy or Daddy, but he didn't fuss, didn't cry, and came out and danced with Mommy.

Lots of people who were sitting at tables near ours came up to us and told us that they couldn't believe how well behaved he was.

Pictures coming soon!

Birthday Stuff: Pictures

I've finally gotten around to uploading our pictures of the party, the presents, and the playing with the presents. Rather than share them with the whole blogging world, send me an email or leave a comment if you want to see 'em... or I'll get around to uploading to the shutterfly page probably tomorrow.
:-D

Ps--hope you like the new header. Thanks to Rachel for the site info!