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.)

Baby in a cage

I was inside cleaning today while Big J was out working in the garage/yard. I decided that it was too beautiful outside for Baby E to be hanging out with me in the house. So I dragged his little baby cage out to the yard (I know, I know, I can't believe I put my kid in a cage either, but it's the ONLY way I can actually get a shower, or vacuum, or load the dishwasher or make the bed with out worrying about what the heck he's going to get into). I told Big J to make sure to watch him because I really needed to get the floors cleaned in the house. I looked out the window a few moments later and this is what I saw:
It totally melted my heart and reminded me of one of the many reasons I love my husband so much: HE IS A GREAT DADDY!!! I don't know too many adults who will stop whatever they are doing and go hang out with a little baby in a cage.

I LOVE MY BOYS!!!!!

oh, towels. How I love you.

A towel. How can a towel make you feel better? When we were kids we knew someone was sick not by the smell in the bathroom or the vaporizer in the bedroom, but by seeing "the towel". It was a sure sign that mom had been up in the middle of the night in order to tend to a sick child. Maybe it was the flu, maybe we had eaten too much Halloween candy, maybe we got a hold of a bad cheeseburger. Whatever it was, you could count on the towel.

What does a sick person need a towel for? I'm not *exactly*sure what mom's logic was, but I think it had something to do with not wanting to change the pillowcases 4 times in one night. "If you start to feel sick, just lean over the side of bed and try to get it in the garbage can. When you are all done, I'll come clean it up and you just lay your head here on this towel."

And you know what? It worked every time. It was like a security blanket (except it was a towel). I knew that once I put my head on that terrycloth piece of heaven, I was going to feel better.

During my first 3 months of pregnancy, I wore a hole in the towel. I felt sick all the time, but I when I put that towel over my pillow, something magical happened. I fell asleep, and THAT is the best medicine of all!




This was my entry to Mama Kat's Workshop this week - I chose prompt #2

2. What was your medicine? Tell about a time you remember being sick.

My copy/paste isn't working (oh BOOOOO)! So here is her site -if you haven't checked it out yet, DO IT!

The sound of silence

Shhhhhhh. Did you hear that? It's SiLeNcE. It means that Baby E is sleeping, the washing machine is finished with it's cycle, the phone is turned off, the cat has been fed, and Big J is sleeping in his red chair. I love that sound.

I was so busy with daily life this weekend that I completely missed wishing "Happy Ten Months" to my little monkey. I usually get photos developed and try to get a page or two done in his scrapbook. In lieu of that, I am going to tell everyone in the world (or at least the ten of you who read this blog) what I love about my baby boy.

Dear Baby E,

I love your big blue eyes.

I love that whenever I take you somewhere somebody stops me to say what a precious/cute/gorgeous/adorable/sweet baby you are and then you bat your eyelashes at him or her and he/she just gushes over you.

I love your smile.

I love that you only have 2 teeth in your mouth, but you really give them a workout.

I love how happy and alert you are when you wake up in the morning or from taking a nap.

I love your curly red-blonde hair that can't decide if it's going to be blonde or red.

I love your kisses. You open your mouth as wide as you can and pull on my cheeks until I cave and you slobber all over me.

I love your "cuddles" when you are sleepy and just want mama to hold you.

I love that you let me kiss your neck whenever I want - you just tip your head to the side and let me keep my mouth on your soft neck until I can't breathe anymore.

I love when you pull on my legs to help you stand up.

I love that I can't get a thing done around the house when you are grumpy.

I love to watch you feed yourself. It is one of the best moments in my day.

I love when you try to kiss Delilah and you end up with a mouthful of fur.

I love it when you get giggly after dinner and before bed - I call it your "happy hour".

I love to watch you sleep.

I love when I'm trying to change your diaper and you roll yourself over and crawl away.

I even love when you are crabby, sick or teething.

I love you, I love you, I love you (with all my heart) my little bean/peanut butter cup/monkey/bear/lovey.

Love, Mama

And here are some photos from his 9th month. It was a busy month for us!

Here he is just after his bath

With his Auntie Tara

Asleep in his bouncy chair - poor neglected baby!!

Baby E wants to blog.

Sleeping in his car seat - after a day in Disney World.

And just hamming it up for the camera.

And finally, the coolest flower I've ever received - I think it was a genetic mutation, but it's pretty cool! (Mother's Day flower)