Updates! LOTS of Pictures!

The laundry room!

brushing his teeth 

playing with the new tool bench 

had to pull his hair out of the way because he was feeding himself pudding and I didn't want it in his hair! 

GO PACKERS!!  Super Bowl sunday

Oh man, where does the time go?  I haven't blogged in over 6 weeks....Here's a quick update:

down the slide with Lulu

Hanging out playing with the tool bench again!

Baby E has learned to open doors around here.  This is NOT a good thing.  Since he has been mobile, I have been closing all door down the hallway to encourage him to stay in the "living" area of the house (where the toys, kitchen, etc. are located).  Now that he can open all those doors, he has decided that the bedrooms and bathrooms are much more fun to play in.  I don't mind the bedrooms so much - not too much for him to get into in there.  But the bathroom?  it's like Chuck E. Cheese in there for that kid.  The toilet water is apparently waaaaayyy too fun to pass up, and the drawers?  I had no idea that my hairdryer and hand towels were so much fun.  The worst part is that now he knows how to get outside. I see a trip to Home Depot in my very near future: like tonight when Big J gets home from work!
Baby E is also learning lots of new sign language thanks mostly to the video that Nana got him for Christmas.  He now knows how to say (in addition to what he already knew) "sleep", "bed", "cookie", "bath", "eat"  and my favorite: "love you".  There are a few more, but I can't remember them right now....he's also beginning to say few words - movie, cat, no, yes and Maria (his cousin) are the easiest to decipher, but he also knows 'fish' (eeeesshhh), yuck (uckks), and a few more - he does a LOT of babbling and he understands most of what I say to him (where is the ball?, where are your toes?, where is daddy's hair?, do you want to have breakfast?, etc).  I guess it's time to really start watching what I say around here!

The backsplash in the kitchen

I bought him a tool bench at a rummage sale a couple of weeks ago and he is LOVING it!  It has become his "go-to" toy whenever daddy is around.  He pretends to fix his big truck (that grandma and grandpa got him for Christmas) and uses the screwdrivers in some pretty random places (like on the couch and the fireplace).  He's getting so big and watching him learn is pretty amazing!

Hey mom, Take my picture!!!

In other news: I don't know if you've heard this or not, but my hometown team, the GREEN BAY PACKERS won a little game called the Super Bowl!  What an exciting time in this area!!  We also completely finished our kitchen/laundry room remodel!  Just got the tile backsplash in the kitchen last week, so it's officially DONE!!

Breakfast time!

I feel bad because I laughed

And then I realized he was really hurt.  Because he started crying AND there was blood.  Baby E was sitting in the basket that usually holds all his stuffed toys.  He was rocking back and forth then tipping himself over backwards onto the rug and he would Laugh and giggle and scream.  Then as he rocked back and forth, he tipped FORWARD, landing on the tile in front of the fireplace.  At first I laughed because I thought it was cute and then the blood.  Oh the blood.  Everywhere.  Took a quick look, does he need stitches?  Whew, just a bloody nose.  That I can handle.  Stop the bleeding and reassess.  Oh no.  He has a fat lip.  A big one.  Poor little guy.  He got an extra special bubble bath and I let him suck on ice.  Boys will be boys.

Baby E's first fat lip.

A-B-C-D

A funny feeling came over him.
"Blow dryer" said the assistant.
Come on now, he thought.
Don't be such a baby.
Everybody doing this, right?
Finally, everything was ready.
"Go ahead and turn around" said the stylist.
"Holy Cow!"
"I look like a whole different person" he said.
"Just imagine what your wife will think" said the stylist.
"Kelly is going to be so impressed", he told her.
"Let me just have a minute here and I'll be on my way."
"Maybe you should take a little more off the back?"
"No, I definitely think this style works for you" she assured him.
"Okay, but it's just so different from what I'm used to" he admitted.
"Probably because it's such a new style, it IS the 80's after all", she said, starting to get annoyed.
"Quite right", he said.
"Remember when you came in last time and I told you to grow it out?"
"Sure am glad I listened to your advice," he said
"Totally!" she agreed
"Unbelievable that just 2 years ago you had that disco look, huh?" she added
Vastly different from this, that's for sure, he thought to himself
"Well, I guess I had better get going." He told her, walking toward the front desk.
"Xerox of your receipt, sir?" The receptionist asked as she popped her gum.
"Yeah I guess." He answered
ZOWIE!  Forty bucks for a perm?!?!?!?

This post was written in response to the prompt Red Writing Hood - go check it out for some AWESOME stories, including one of my favorite (although truly scary, haunting) pieces by Natalie at Mommy of a Monster and twins.  I am not yet a member of this club, but I thought I'd give one of their prompts a try!  

I am NOT impressed

New Year's Eve brought with it our new tradition of hanging out at the neighbor's house watching Dick Clark slowly deteriorate in front of our eyes while enjoying adult beverages.  If this is any indication of what 2011 is going to bring, I am not impressed.  Let me explain.

First of all, our neighbors are a  couple who adopted a baby (at 2 days old) who is just 2 weeks older than Baby E.  As an aside:  when we first moved in we did some major remodeling and Big J (my hubby) was dragging large overfilled black trash bags out to his car in order to take them to the city landfill.  I was not home at the time and the neighbors thought that the new guy (Big J) had killed his wife and stuffed her into some trash bags.   I found this out 3 days later when I went to drop off some home-made applesauce and introduce myself.  Instant friends.

SO:  Last year they invited us to their house for NYE; it was just us and them and the two babies.  Babies went to bed early and we partied into the wee hours.

The Boys finishing up their New Year's Eve dinner

I thought for certain that this year would be much the same.  Alas, it was not.  The "babies" didn't want to go to sleep - they thought it was so great to have a roommate for the night and talked and giggled and talked (in 18 month old babble, that is).  After finally getting them down, I started to enjoy my glass of champagne. Then another. Then a third.  But then I stopped.  I was TOO TIRED to stay awake any longer.  I was in shock to learn that it was only 10:30.  I'm usually the last one out.  But here I was, falling asleep on the couch.  Do you see why this could be trouble?  Well, for one thing, I get a lot done at night while everyone else is sleeping.  Secondly, If 10:30 feels late NOW imagine what it will feel like when I've only had 4 hours of sleep the night before (like when Baby E and Big J are BOTH SICK at the SAME TIME). and Finally, how the hell am I going to keep my reputation as "life of the party" when I'm sleeping at 10:30?

We'll see how 2011 pans out, I guess!


This was written in response to Mama Kat's writer's workshop prompt:
2.) If the way you spent your New Year's Eve is any indication of how the rest of the year will go, how would you say your future is looking right about now?

Pizza Snuggie

This year for Christmas, my siblings and our spouses exchanged names in order to cut down on the gift buying.   There were two rules agreed upon:

Rule #1:  You could not spend more than $10 on the gift
Rule #2:  The gift must be either hand made or bought at a second-hand store (Goodwill, St. Vincent's, etc)

After all gifts were exchanged, it was agreed that my sister, Tara gave the best gift and my brother Ryan was the lucky recipient.   She combined his two favorite things:  Pizza and TV time.  The result?  A pizza Sunggie, made with love.

I know it looks bad, but the top was supposed to look like a pizza slice, not a KKK hood.......

This was posted for Wordful Wednesday

Sneaky little sucker

Its one of those days.  One of the rare days I feel motivated to do EVERYTHING.  I'm not complaining - I just wish they weren't so few and far between.  I got up early and had all the laundry finished (by finished I mean actually PUT AWAY) before Baby E even started stirring.  Then after breakfast, we organized the *cue scary music* TOY BOX.

AAAHhhhhhh sooo many TOYS!

The day after Christmas, I took out all of his "baby" toys and put in all the new stuff he got as gifts.  Here's the problem.  Instead of taking all the baby toys and putting them in the basement (which would have been the smart thing to do), I put them all in a giant blue IKEA bag and thought I hid it behind the chair.  Not such a good hiding spot.  I had been racking my brain trying to figure out why all his toys didn't fit in the toy box - now I know.  He has moved the chair and taken his old toys out and re-integrated them into his new toys.  Then he has moved the chair back.  Pretty sneaky for an 18 month old.  I also found the missing remote control and house phone.  2 points for motivation.

My big helper

After the toy box, we tackled the wine cabinet.  Just kidding.  I will be 'organizing' that a little bit later this evening.

Lights, Camera, Action.

How sad is it that my kid's favorite word is "Mooooo-vie" and his favorite thing to play with is the remote control?   He will point that thing at the TV and repeat his favorite word over and over and over.   The funny thing is, that I only let him watch about an hour of TV a day and it's USUALLY one of the same old  educational DVD's that he's been watching for weeks.  Occasionally, I'll branch out and let him watch PBS kids.

This is the basket he sits in while watching his moooo-vie

Today I dusted off my Pilates DVD (damn you, New Year's resolutions).  I put it in the player and started the work-out.  10 minutes into it I was secretly hoping that BabyE would wake up from his nap and demand to watch his moooo-vie.  No dice.  The kid slept through the entire 56 minutes of his poor mommy being tortured by Ms. Windsor of Windsor Pilates.  That bitch.  Now my stomach hurts too much to bend over and pick BabyE up.  I guess that's what he gets for not rescuing me from the DVD workout hell.

Dancing E

Sometimes when you least expect it, something little happens that makes a big difference.  A couple of weeks ago my sister and I were out shopping with Baby E.  We made a *quick* stop at one of those giant discount warehouses.  You know, the place where you go in to buy diapers and end up with a 10 pack of Clorox wipes, not one but TWO giant bags of Veggie Sticks, a 6 liter bottle of red wine and a new Christmas tree.  So we were at that place.

While walking down the aisle of Christmas ornaments, we came upon a 1990's era boom box playing Jingle Bell Rock.  Now, Baby E is a dancer.  A good one.  It's like an automatic response that when he hears music, his world stops and he bounces and shakes and wiggles in a way that would make Michael Jackson look like one of those 'dancing hamsters'.  Yeah. He's THAT good.  The only problem is that when he is dancing,  he completely ignores everyone else in the room.  So, here he goes. Jingle Bell Rock is playing and he starts dancing (even closes his eyes for a second).  A Grumpy Old Man looking character comes walking down the aisle.  Obviously he's walking down the decorations aisle because it is the least populated one and he can get to the checkout quicker in order to buy his 750 count box of prunes and his extra large box of vitamins.  He is grumbling about something or other, and looking down.  Suddenly, he sees Baby E and gives him a little scowl as if to say "children should be seen and not heard".  Baby E STOPS dancing, raises his hand in the air (as though he's waving) , nods his head once and grins.  Grumpy Old Man stops in his tracks and doesn't smile, but GIGGLES at Baby E.  Baby E nods again and resumes his dancing.

See, little thing, big difference.  It made my day.

poo

Usually, I think babyE's farts are cute.  But not today.  Today, every time I hear a toot in his pants, I wince because I KNOW that there will be runny poop in that diaper when I go to change it.  He's gone through 3 outfits already today.  UGH.  That's all.

This was outfit #2 today (just jammies)  - he looks sick, no?

Randomness

I'm taking BabyE to the doctor today to see what is up with this cough that will not let up.  It's been an ongoing battle for the past 8 weeks.  Maybe he's had a few colds that are running together - at least that's all I'm hoping it is!

Baby E in the FIRST sink bath in the new kitchen.

In other news: the kitchen remodel is DONE!  Well, Big J still has to put up trim around the floor, and we have to paint the door, but other than that, we are finished!

View from the entry - the hood over the range is still covered in white plastic - it is
stainless steel to match the rest of the appliances. 

view from the breakfast nook - The door on the left goes down to the basement, but I have to get it painted
before we put it back on.  the huge butcher block was from our old house - I couldn't bear to part with it!

I finally got all my Christmas presents wrapped up and ready to go - I fell a little behind because this is the year of the home-made gifts......My brother and sister and I (and our spouses) exchanged names as usual, but there were rules.  We are only allowed to spend $10 and the gift we give has to come from either a second-hand store or be something we make.  It should be an entertaining Christmas morning (to say the least).  Last year we had to make the gifts and there were some very creative presents exchanged.  There was a sweatshirt and CD of the "Kringle Kris" aka my little brother; an adorable frame with a photo of BabyE - a gift from my sister-in-law; a set of dressed up golf-club covers; a home-made cookbook; a set of hand-spun wooden darts; and there was one more, but I can't seem to remember what it was!  It was really fun, and a good way to not spend a fortune on gifts :)



We will be trekking up north (how much farther NORTH can we get from here??) to my sister's on Christmas Eve for the festivities.  Have a safe and Merry Christmas!

17 months!

Baby E after his fall at the ice-skating rink.

 Dear Baby E,

Baby E yelling at his cousins in the bathtub
The girls kept moving his cups around.....

Can you PLEASE lose the attitude?  I know you are getting your top molars in, but do you really have to throw yourself down on the floor and scream every time I try to change your diaper?  Also, would you mind not playing with that DAMN music box every second of the day?  I get it. It plays 76 different songs and it lights up and you can choose which instrument you'd like to hear, but if I have to listen to the classical version of "London Bridge" one more time, I might just start drinking BEFORE noon.  On the other hand, please don't ever stop giving mommy your "lovies", you know, the ones where you run up to me at lightning speed and when I pick you up you grab my face with both of your hands and 'kiss' my face until I'm laughing so hard I almost pee.  Those are my favorite kind of kisses.  Oh, and please continue to put on an excellent show for complete strangers.  Like Saturday when I took you to the ice-skating rink with your cousins and you danced and danced while the girls skated.  Then, when you tripped and fell and had those giant tears, I picked you up and you laid your head on my shoulder and let me cuddle you.  Don't stop that, because 5 minutes after your fall, some ladies came out of the warming shed and told me that they LOVED your little dance and that when you fell, there was a collective gasp that went through-out the room.  Oh and please don't EVER lose your desire to learn or your curiosity!  It's kind of annoying when you keep opening the bathroom drawers to take everything out, but I love how you study each thing as you're doing it and then line it all up on the floor.  I love you little peanut and I can't believe you are already 17 months old.  Where has the time gone?  You are getting bigger and smarter everyday and I could sit for hours and just WATCH you!  Thanks for making me laugh and reminding me of how important it is to be a good role model for you!

playing in the kitchen during the remodel

Love, Mommy

sick baby

Baby E is sick.  Not the crying, throwing up, fever, chills sick.  Nope.  He's the kind of sick that the goo runs from is nose like a dripping faucet and the cough starts in his lungs and works it's way into his throat and then turns into a sneeze which means MORE green goo for me to clean up.  Does this sickness faze him?  Not in the least.  I declared today "pajama day" at our house.  Me and Baby E will not be leaving the house, so I found his most snuggly pj's and warmest socks and he's running around like a madman.  He's into making piles and so far today I have found a pile of books, a pile of tissues (dirty ones from the bathroom garbage can), a pile of small stuffed animals (including Elmo, and those things that sing when you push their bellies) and a basket full of things with wheels (cars, trucks, pull-y things).  So since it's pajama day you'd think he'd want to take nap,  huh?  Nope.  He wants to wander from room to room and make piles.  Oh well.  Maybe he can help me sort clothes in the laundry room.  In the mean-time, enjoy the photo of him under the Christmas tree after his bath last night (I FINALLY found my tree skirt this morning)!

Shopping with a toddler

I've decided that shopping with Baby E would be an EXCELLENT advertisement for birth control.  Picture this on your TV:
A not so young woman gets out of her giant SUV cute little car.  She walks around to the back of her car where you assume she is going to open the passenger side back door and take out her purse.  However, you hear this: NONONONONONONONONONONOOOOOOOO.  Whatever could that be you ask yourself?  Certainly not that adorable 16 month old in the carseat who is screeeeching because his hat has dropped below the acceptable level on his forehead.  Cut to the store:  Mom gets a cart and attempts to put child in the seat.  This is a no-win situation.  He will not sit in the seat when it is obvious that walking and pushing the cart is much more fun.  Cue the whining.
Produce Section: Child - apppo,  apppo,  apppo? Mom:  No, honey,we don't need apples, we already have some.  Child: APPO, APPO, AAAAPPPPPOOO!!  Mom: how about some bananas?  Child (in his adorable shrill pitch) AAAPPPPOOOOOO!  Mom: Where are the oranges?  Child:  Bana?   (banana).  OH. MY. GOD.  Other patrons who once thought he was cute are now rolling their eyes at me and wondering what kind of mother I am.
Deli is next:  Mom: you can look, but please don't touch the glass because other people want to see what is in there too.  Child is oblivious and puts not only all 10 fingers but also nose, mouth, tongue, cheek, forehead and ear on glass.  Oh I really hope they clean that thing regularly.  After he is away from the glass and in the personal care aisle (we needed toothpaste), he sees it.  The one thing he simply cannot live without.  That's right folks a box of condoms.  Why oh why do they put them on such a low shelf.  He hands them to mom and screams until she puts them in the cart.  Fade out...... Then your screen goes black and in big letters it says something about birth control.
So that was my exciting trip to the grocery store.  Some lady did stop me and tell me what a beautiful little girl I had.  I should have just said thank you and walked away, but instead I told her that he was a boy, not a girl.  To which she said "really"?  People are stupid sometimes.

Halloween!

 Now that fall is almost over and winter is getting ready to settle in, I figured I better post a few pictures of Baby E (who is really not a baby any longer but rather a toddler, but I'm going to keep calling him my baby until another one comes along).

This is the first year he was able to get out and enjoy the fun things that autumn in Wisconsin has to offer.  We played in the leaves almost every day  - too cold to even think about playing outside right now....at least until I get him some warmer pants!

I took on the task of making his costume for Halloween this year.  I can't tell you how many times I ripped parts of it out because I suck at sewing and haven't used a pattern since 8th grade home economics class  they just didn't feel right.  I must have worked on that damn tummy panel for about 3 hours and then realized that NO ONE WOULD SEE THE FRICKIN' TUMMY  because the vest would cover it up.  Rookie mistake.  Next year he's getting something made out of cardboard.  I gotta say, though, he really was cute!
I'll post some photos from his "Fall Photo Shoot with The Cousins" next time!

Where. Have. You. Been?

Now that's a question I used to hear a lot when I was younger: "your hands are all sticky - where have you been" (um, probably eating candy behind the couch). "your hair is all wet - where have you been (most likely playing in the sprinkler). You're limping - where have you been (fell off my brother's scooter).  "It's an hour past curfew, where have you been?"  (probably 'cruising' Main Street with my best friend). But now-a-days, I've been nowhere. And it sucks. I try to leave the house at least once a day to save sanity, but that doesn't always happen. So why, you ask, haven't I been blogging? Motivation. Or lack thereof. I've been trying to find some motivation to write, but can't...Of course, I DO have stuff to write about (mostly Baby E and his achievements), but it's hard to sit down and get geared up. So I'm going to try to do this more often - by more I often I mean at least once a week - props to all you bloggers who do this everyday!

So here is some of what I've been doing lately:

Estate Sales - OMG! I didn't think it could get any better than garage sales, but then I discovered Estate sales. When grandma/grandpa/aunt/uncle die, the kids/grandkids/nieces/nephews just open the doors to the deceased person's house and put price tags on everything. This is MY kind of place. I got the BEST photo from the 1920's of a little boy crying at the bottom of the steps who looks so much like BabyE that it's uncanny. I also got a fantastic old grate that I'm currently using as a welcome mat. My favorite find, though, is my new set of fall dishes! How awesome!
Took a trip to see Jason's family in Kansas City - had a great time and was SO glad to catch up with family that we regrettably get to see so little of!

Baby E: He's getting SO big and walking all over the place. He has decided that it's MUCH better to be outside on the "wheeee" (which is what he calls the slide), than pretty much anyplace else on Earth. He also loves to brush his teeth - screams when I try to take away his toothbrush. I sit him on the counter and we brush together. He makes a hacking-type noise when I spit - pretty funny! He has also started fake sneezing. I think it's hysterical. Also, I guess he has made the life-choice to be a vegetarian (at least for now) I CAN NOT get the kid to eat meat. I just hope he's getting enough iron. He knows where is belly, legs, eyes, teeth and hair are. He also knows things like: light, picture, baby, book, Delilah (our cat) and Orange (his stuffed cat). I'm loving watching him learn, and he's awfully cute, too!

So that's where I've been. Hopefully you'll be hearing more from me, soon!

FROM THIS:

To THIS:

ONE year ago, today:

The Monkey cake

ONE YEAR OLD!!

He's ONE, he's 1! HE IS ONE! My little monkey is one. I can't believe a year ago I was just bringing him home from the hospital. He had to use one of those billy-blanket thingies for his jaundice. He looked like a glow-worm. Now it's been a year and he's SO much FUN!
I know I haven't blogged much recently, but I'm getting back into it now. Unfortunately, I've been "recovering" from work. I had no idea that I would be so tired after working 198 hours in 11 days.....you do the math.
We had a little birthday party for him last weekend, but because his auntie and cousins couldn't come, we had ANOTHER birthday party for him on his ACTUAL birthday. You can read all about his first party here



The second party was less of an event, but just as fun. We spent the day with the three little girls (his cousins) at the beach, at the mall and running through the sprinklers - poor baby E was about to fall asleep in his highchair so we brought out his ice-cream cake and the girls took turns feeding him. Little Julia was the funniest (one bite for baby E, take a look around, make sure no one is looking, one bite for Julia, repeat).

He FINALLY got his top teeth in. It seems like within a week he got not one but THREE teeth up top. He's also mastered the art of standing on his own and "walking" along the couch. He loves bathtime, but HATES getting his head wet. It is a two-man job to wash his hair. He has learned that throwing a ball is a sure way to make mommy laugh and he does it ALL THE TIME! He will chase/throw/chase his ball for HOURS.

I really love this little guy! I've been so blessed to have this happy, joyful, fun, totally adorable little boy.

Mama Kats!

She sits lonely and forlorn in the back of the closet. I used to call her Whitney. I don't remember why. Every once in a while she gets played with by one of the kids, but generally she sits in her case and dreams of singing. I feel bad. I've neglected her and replaced her with things that don't require so much time and patience. I sometimes hear her calling to me when the radio is playing one of our songs. Someday, I promise her, I will have time. Time to sit down and get to know her a little better. Time to run my hands over her smooth, polished wood and tune her copper strings. I remember the first time I heard her mellow voice. And I remember the pain my fingertips endured as I practiced and practiced on her. I thought she'd be a perfect instrument for me - someone to sing with, someone to entertain with, someone to write with. But as it turns out, she's just an old guitar and I'm just not a musician!


This post was for Mama Kat's writer's workshop. I chose prompt #3 How long until you realized you had no time or patience for this: Tell the story (true or fiction) of trying to learn a new talent or hobby that you only pursued briefly.

What's new

Baby E and 2 of his cousins

My little boy was 11 months old yesterday! I can't believe he's going to be a year old next month - I've been working so much that I'm starting to feel really guilty about missing all this time with him. I just keep reminding myself that I only work 5 months out of the year!! I took last weekend off and we went down to the Air and Water show - Baby E had to wear earplugs the whole time - those Navy fighter jets are L-O-U-D, but SOOOOO cool to watch. Jason decided to party with Ryan and Co. (that's my brother and his friend) the night before, so guess who got to baby sit three old guys (who were just "tired and a little hungry"), plus take care of the little guy? I'll give you a hint - it wasn't my fairy god mother.

Baby E the rock star.

My intentions have been to get some scrapbooking done, but it's just going to have to wait until after August, when I won't be working and the weather turns too cold to play outside.

In the meantime, here is a brief synopsis of all his little tricks and talents that have popped up in the last month:

Dear Baby E,

Mommy wishes she could spend every minute of every day with you, but if she doesn't get some grown up time (like at work), she will go crazy, and nobody wants a crazy mommy. Right?

You have been such a sweet little munchkin this month. You have learned to pull yourself up on anything that is stationary and sometimes you try to lean on things that are NOT so stationary - like the cat. or the empty laundry basket. When that happens, you look at me and seem to be falling down in slow motion. I usually react with a laugh which makes you giggle back at me. You have learned to stay standing without support, but are not quite adventurous enough to take a step by yourself. Please don't decide to do that when I'm at work - - - I don't think I would be able to get over that!

You still only have TWO teeth! Are you EVER going to cut some teeth on the top? You've been working really hard at it this month and I have a feeling there will be a little edge popping through soon.

Your favorite toy right now is the blue donkey that Nana and Papa got you for Easter - you chew on it all the time.

You have been sucking your little thumb when you get sleepy - it is SO cute how you rub your ears while sucking your thumb.

My favorite time of the day is still "happy hour". That 1-2 hour stretch between dinner and bedtime when you are just the cutest little bug who loves his mommy. Tonight you thought my chin was a chew toy and you would not let go. I got the giggles, which made you laugh. and then I laughed harder. Pretty soon I had to lay on the floor cause I was afraid you might fall out of my arms! You are also a wonderful dancer. The moment any type of rhythm is made you get your groove on. You sway from side to side and close your eyes and bop your head. I call it "channeling Ray Charles". You are still such a little guy - about half the size of the neighbor's baby (who is only 2 weeks older than you). You are VERY gentle and cuddly and every time I take you out, there is always someone who comments on your beautiful blue eyes or your abundance of curly red blonde hair. I love you so much, my little peanut butter cup and I'm so glad that I am lucky enough to be your mom. Please don't grow up too fast!

All the love in the world,

Mommy

I confess.

This is a confession.

I have a bbbaaaaddd habit of thinking everything is funny. Even when things are NOT suppossed to be funny. I guess I was blessed with a wicked sense of humor and an evil mind. I generally can control my laughter when it's not appropriate to laugh, but sometimes I just can't help it.
I blame my mother. And her Father. And all the generations of Irish people with over-zealous senses of humor.
I went to a women's retreat with my mom and some of her friends (I'm not exactly sure WHY I thought it would be fun to hang out with people my mom's age, but it was). This is one of those retreats where everyone gets in touch with their "selves" and their God. It was also about how to make the best out of the hand you've been dealt and blah, blah, blah.
So day one goes by and everything is fine. Then comes day two. The day when the key-note speaker decides to really light a fire under us. She starts telling us about her uncle (or maybe her brother, I can't remember). At any rate, this relative of hers had been working under the car in his garage and it was getting dark, so he decided to light a lighter in order to see better. Can you see where this is going? Well, if not, I'll tell you. The guy started on fire. She was trying to make the point that even though he ended up being severly burned, he went on with his life and ended up being a motivational speaker or something.
All I could think of was this: "Who in the hell lights a lighter when they are under a car?" Apparently, my mother had the same thought and we made the mistake of looking at each other. Let the laughter begin. But, oh no! You have to laugh silently and try to cough to cover it up. Thank God we were sitting in the back of the room and at a table with people we knew (and who KNOW how we act). My mom got the giggles WAY worse than me. She had to put her head on the table, shoulders shaking, trying to be ever-so-quiet. I looked over and the woman to her left had put her hand on Mom's back in a comforting gesture. I guess she thought mom was crying. Which is when I TOTALLY lost it. We had to be seperated for the rest of the retreat. Sort of felt like Junior High School.
Lesson Learned? Make sure to sit wwwaaaayy in the back and near the door for a quick exit.


This post is for Mama Kat's Writer's Workshop - go check her out! I chose the 1st promt for today's assignment!

busy bees

Where has this week gone? Oh, now I remember: I think I worked about 60 hours, Baby E was teething AND has a cold/ear infection, the upstairs addition is FINALLY done (which means i've been moving stuff up there), we have company this weekend, and they are INSISTING we go to Six Flags theme park, I've had to give not one, but TWO presentations at work, and the laundry just never ever, ever stops.

So I'm off on the adventure of trying to get a shower while keeping an eye on Baby E! See you all on the flip side!

p.s. watch for photos of the house in a few days--------I'M SOOOOOO EXCITED (and I know that I have used more than my fair share of CAPS and punctuation today, but I just don't care. so there.)