I love emptying my pockets at the end of the day of all the objects SB bestowed upon me: pebbles, tiny pieces of paper, puffs, crumbled leaves, acorn tops...it makes me smile that she finds me worthy of such treasures.
We finally started brushing her wild hair and she now will take the brush and try it on me. Yes, she may use the wrong side of the brush, and she has given me a few good whacks in the head, but it's awful cute playing beauty salon with her.
I feel guilty that I haven't come up with some stupendous idea for Kurt's Christmas present. He wants "nothing" so I got crafty instead and it's not turning out as well as I'd hoped. First of all, it's difficult to find time to work on my project between baby time and him lurking around all the time. I'm almost done but I guarantee I will be blowing on glue to dry tonight at 12:30AM. There is glitter too. Glitter is highly underrated. He keeps finding it in my hair and thinks I am dressing up as a stripper for him this Christmas. Um no. Maybe for Kurt's birthday. Not for the birthday of our Lord and Savior. That would be wrong.
We tried crayons for the first time today. She liked pounding them into the paper in pointillist fashion. Very Seurat. We'll continue to cultivate her artistic talents. Her piano lessons are progressing nicely. I was brushing my teeth the other morning and heard a perfect C chord from the living room. She's got skills. Kurt heard it too and thought it was me. Move over, Jackie Evancho, our girl can sing AND accompany herself.
I am procrastinating right now. I have a zillion things to do. So, perfect time to sit down and blog, right? I need to go fix Kurt some lunch. He actually ventured to the mall this morning (2 days before Christmas!) to look for a jacket for me. Now he's started his conference call marathon for the day. Again...guilt over my lame Christmas presents this year so I better go and at least feed the poor guy...
Thursday, December 23, 2010
Monday, December 13, 2010
O Kitchen Tree O Kitchen Tree
Well I don't know what happened but I blinked and it's the middle of December. As I type this there are bona fide snow flurries flitting about outside. I guess having a late Thanksgiving throws me off, but it's Dec 12 already and we just got the tree up tonight. After much debate over where to put the tree, or even whether it should go up at all since we've got a crazy 17 month old on our hands with an hankering for shiny forbidden objects, we decided to put it in the kitchen. The kitchen is a no-baby-roaming zone. She either sits in her highchair or she's being held, so we figure that would be the safest place for the tree and still allow us to enjoy it.
I also managed to order 2 sets of Christmas cards this week. Now if I get them out in the mail it will really be impressive. That was about all the productivity I could muster this week. Our house got hit with a cold and all three of us were feeling not too great. SB actually didn't seem to feel bad but her nose was running and she decided not to nap at all. This is always a small crisis for me as her naptime is my precious few hours to get a few things done and recharge for the afternoon. She tends to get a little cranky if she misses her nap, but Mommy gets REALLY cranky if SB misses her nap. You'd think after 9 months of full-time mommyhood I'd be a pro at multi-tasking with baby in tow, but I'm not. I find it hard to get much done at all when she's awake and on the move. I segregate my tasks and errands into two categories, baby-friendly and not baby friendly, with a sub-category of "baby-friendly but it may take 3 times as long to get it done" like folding laundry, for example. SB is very helpful with the laundry. She loves to snatch underwear and parade around the house with it. Sometimes on her head. Quite hilarious, but after I finish folding what's left of the clothes in the basket, I have to to a round-up of all the pilfered items, usually located in her toys or under the coffee table.
I haven't really started much Christmas shopping yet. I haven't the slightest idea what to give Kurt this year. Any ideas, people? We're not getting carried away with gifts for each other, or for baby, either. I ordered a nifty SB-sized armchair from Crate and Barrel. She'll get a kick out of it and be able to use it for a few years at least. I got her the Hallmark Tinkerbell ornament since she was such a fine Tinkerbell for Halloween this year. That's about it so far. I have a feeling Grandma may go a little nuts this year...every time I talk to her she's either shopping or just returning home from shopping. SB is still at the stage where the container is way more interesting than what's inside. Grandma bought her these cute little handmade finger puppets over Thanksgiving, and she fell in love with the brown paper shopping bag they were in. She carried the bag around all weekend like a little purse, picking up anything she could find and placing it in the bag. Then dumping the bag. Then refilling the bag. You get the idea. Good times. So maybe some empty brown bags for Christmas? Or a cardboard box? I think she's be delighted.
Ta-Da!
Please note the dazzling display of lights outside our window in the backyard. Kurt Griswold was busy this morning getting our reindeer up. They move. And the "snow" lights twinkle. Fab-u-lous.
I also managed to order 2 sets of Christmas cards this week. Now if I get them out in the mail it will really be impressive. That was about all the productivity I could muster this week. Our house got hit with a cold and all three of us were feeling not too great. SB actually didn't seem to feel bad but her nose was running and she decided not to nap at all. This is always a small crisis for me as her naptime is my precious few hours to get a few things done and recharge for the afternoon. She tends to get a little cranky if she misses her nap, but Mommy gets REALLY cranky if SB misses her nap. You'd think after 9 months of full-time mommyhood I'd be a pro at multi-tasking with baby in tow, but I'm not. I find it hard to get much done at all when she's awake and on the move. I segregate my tasks and errands into two categories, baby-friendly and not baby friendly, with a sub-category of "baby-friendly but it may take 3 times as long to get it done" like folding laundry, for example. SB is very helpful with the laundry. She loves to snatch underwear and parade around the house with it. Sometimes on her head. Quite hilarious, but after I finish folding what's left of the clothes in the basket, I have to to a round-up of all the pilfered items, usually located in her toys or under the coffee table.
I haven't really started much Christmas shopping yet. I haven't the slightest idea what to give Kurt this year. Any ideas, people? We're not getting carried away with gifts for each other, or for baby, either. I ordered a nifty SB-sized armchair from Crate and Barrel. She'll get a kick out of it and be able to use it for a few years at least. I got her the Hallmark Tinkerbell ornament since she was such a fine Tinkerbell for Halloween this year. That's about it so far. I have a feeling Grandma may go a little nuts this year...every time I talk to her she's either shopping or just returning home from shopping. SB is still at the stage where the container is way more interesting than what's inside. Grandma bought her these cute little handmade finger puppets over Thanksgiving, and she fell in love with the brown paper shopping bag they were in. She carried the bag around all weekend like a little purse, picking up anything she could find and placing it in the bag. Then dumping the bag. Then refilling the bag. You get the idea. Good times. So maybe some empty brown bags for Christmas? Or a cardboard box? I think she's be delighted.
Wednesday, November 24, 2010
The neighbors are at it again...
Yesterday morning I hear a ruckus next door so I look out the window to see my neighbors' worthless grown son in the front yard drinking a beer (at 10:42 AM, really?) and watching his son who could not be more than twelve ON THE ROOF with the blower clearing leaves. Hello, DSS? Isn't that child endangerment? The house has a walk out basement so while the front may not be terribly high, if he went over the sides or the back of Grandma's house he would most certainly be paralyzed or worse. Idiots.
The only reason we are hoping our neighbors don't succumb to lung cancer anytime soon (they spend all day smoking their carport) is because if they kick the bucket, you can guarantee this classy guy would move in.
He doesn't even live there, yet he brought a totaled piece o' crap truck over and left it in their front yard. (Been there a month now, not that I'm keeping track or anything.) The vehicle does not have a roof - it was completely caved in, yet he managed to drive it over to dear old Mom and Dad's house. But he put a tarp halfway over it so it's ok. I am not at all bothered by staring out the kitchen window into a junkyard as I sip my morning coffee. Why the heck did he bring it over to his parents' house anyway? Do they not allow junk cars at the trailer park or extended stay motel where he surely resides? Or maybe he's trying to hide evidence. Whatever the reason, it's got to go.
The only reason we are hoping our neighbors don't succumb to lung cancer anytime soon (they spend all day smoking their carport) is because if they kick the bucket, you can guarantee this classy guy would move in.
He doesn't even live there, yet he brought a totaled piece o' crap truck over and left it in their front yard. (Been there a month now, not that I'm keeping track or anything.) The vehicle does not have a roof - it was completely caved in, yet he managed to drive it over to dear old Mom and Dad's house. But he put a tarp halfway over it so it's ok. I am not at all bothered by staring out the kitchen window into a junkyard as I sip my morning coffee. Why the heck did he bring it over to his parents' house anyway? Do they not allow junk cars at the trailer park or extended stay motel where he surely resides? Or maybe he's trying to hide evidence. Whatever the reason, it's got to go.
Sunday, November 21, 2010
Who's Pretty?
She is!
All dressed up for neighbor and future suitor Gavin's Baptism.
Thoroughly investigating the yard--those are acorns stashed in her little fist. She's like a chipmunk with those things. I am constantly pulling them out of her hands before she shoves them in her mouth.
Nice backdrop of our cruddy old scratched up back door courtesy of one Moose and one Savannah Dog.
P.S. Gavin did great at the baptism! SB did pretty good too. She only threw the program far enough for random strangers to have to pick it up twice. And she took only one stroll with Dada in the back of the church and was very happy about all the clapping and music. Maybe her heathen parents should take her to church more often. :-)
Tuesday, November 16, 2010
Jiffy Pop
The other day Kurt and I were reminiscing about Jiffy Pop. You remember, the popcorn you cooked on the stove top by shaking it back and forth with the little metal handle. As kids, we watched with excitement as the foil expanded larger and larger until you were sure it was going to explode all over the kitchen releasing its popcorny goodness with a BANG. Now those were some fun times. No microwaves floating through those kernels.
I was at the store yesterday and decided to look for a Jiffy Pop to indulge our nostalgia. There it was, sitting on the bottom shelf, hidden below the dozens of microwaveable versions. Yippie it still exists!
So we get to the register and the sweet young girl checking me out picks up the Jiffy Pop and says, "oh this is neat. But doesn't the handle get hot in the microwave?"
I explained to her the whole concept of shaking it on the stove top and no you don't actually put it in the microwave, that Jiffy Pop pre-dates the microwave. She looked at me like I had three heads.
Ugh. I am old.
Sunday, November 14, 2010
So.
So. Here I am. Slacker blogger. How dare I show my face around here after not posting for 12 days! Well, my excuse is...I've been busy. Real busy. Like working a bunch busy. So I'm not complaining. Busy is good. Just not for blogging. There appears to be an inverse relationship in blog frequency between my personal fun blog (this one) and my work blog (that one.) Therefore, if you ever wonder where the heck I've been, check blog number two. If I'm not posting on that one, then check Facebook. If I'm not on there then call the police. ;-)
Ok so now that my pathetic excuses are out of the way...what's new in our little world? Well, SB continues to entertain and delight us. She is spunky, opinionated, and running around the house like a maniac. We spend lots of time outdoors in our new grassy backyard. That's right, grassy. For those of you who have seen our backyard in the past, you may remember the jungle-like mass of ivy and weeds covering our property. Well Kurt tilled it all up, planted grass seed a month ago and like magic, we now have a green lawn suitable for baby to play on if not for the dog "presents" they leave behind. With leaves everywhere it's hard to locate all their, um, leave-behinds so naturally our first romp in the yard ended with SB picking up an old dog turd. Lovely. I was horrified. Kurt would have been horrified too but he was so amused with my horror that he laughed instead as I carried SB, holding her defiled hand out of reach, into the house for a thorough scrubbing. Gross.
We had an awesome day today. my friend Ouida was photographing her friend's wedding up at Hanging Rock State Park north of Winston-Salem and she invited me to shoot with her for fun, for her friend, and to add to my portfolio. Of course I jumped at the chance and we decided to make a day of it. We got up relatively early and headed up to Old Salem for a few hours. It is the coolest place you've never been to. I lived in Winston for years and barely set foot in Old Salem. It's just like Williamsburg but smaller and closer and with Moravian cookies. Love it. Our time was limited so we only walked around outside but it's on our list to return for a tour of the buildings and a little shopping.
After Old Salem, we headed up to Hanging Rock, about a 40 minute drive through some, shall we say, more rural parts of the state. Wow. Walkertown, Walnut Cove, Danbury. We are talking the sticks here. Some of the scenery was very quaint and pretty. Some of it, not so much. Like, for instance, I wouldn't recommend going to the Stokes County Hospital for any reason. It looks like a run down grammar school. The pharmacy there is a trailer. Maybe I'm judging a book by it's cover but I would venture to say they are not on the cutting edge of medical science. It wasn't all bad though. My favorite scene was a store that did not have a sign out front so I know not what it was, but there was smoke coming out of the chimney on the tin roof and there were at least 6 older men sitting out front in chairs in their overalls shooting the breeze. They were still there on our return trip.
The park itself is stunningly beautiful. The trees were red and gold and the light filtering through the trees about sets them on fire.
The coolest part is there's a lake at the top of this rock/mountain thing. It's just lovely. The family was so sweet and happy. We got some beautiful pictures and had a great time.
While Ouida and I were busy, Kurt and SB ran off with Greg and Avery to explore the woods. They must've had fun because SB fell asleep before we got out of the parking lot. She woke up 30 minutes later, fresh as a daisy. So we stopped in China Grove (continuing our tour of tiny towns in NC) to stuff ourselves at Porky's BBQ. A longtime favorite of Kurt's from his days working in Kannapolis, we introduced it to SB and she was smitten. Not only is the food delish, but there are lots of people to watch and if that isn't enough there's a TV hanging on the wall every10 feet. A feast for the senses. She ate most of her mac and cheese, some pork BBQ and tried a hush puppy. She was too interested in the little boy at the next table to really care what she was eating, but I think she left with a full belly. She will sleep well tonight!
Ok so now that my pathetic excuses are out of the way...what's new in our little world? Well, SB continues to entertain and delight us. She is spunky, opinionated, and running around the house like a maniac. We spend lots of time outdoors in our new grassy backyard. That's right, grassy. For those of you who have seen our backyard in the past, you may remember the jungle-like mass of ivy and weeds covering our property. Well Kurt tilled it all up, planted grass seed a month ago and like magic, we now have a green lawn suitable for baby to play on if not for the dog "presents" they leave behind. With leaves everywhere it's hard to locate all their, um, leave-behinds so naturally our first romp in the yard ended with SB picking up an old dog turd. Lovely. I was horrified. Kurt would have been horrified too but he was so amused with my horror that he laughed instead as I carried SB, holding her defiled hand out of reach, into the house for a thorough scrubbing. Gross.
We had an awesome day today. my friend Ouida was photographing her friend's wedding up at Hanging Rock State Park north of Winston-Salem and she invited me to shoot with her for fun, for her friend, and to add to my portfolio. Of course I jumped at the chance and we decided to make a day of it. We got up relatively early and headed up to Old Salem for a few hours. It is the coolest place you've never been to. I lived in Winston for years and barely set foot in Old Salem. It's just like Williamsburg but smaller and closer and with Moravian cookies. Love it. Our time was limited so we only walked around outside but it's on our list to return for a tour of the buildings and a little shopping.
Here's SB with...wait, who's that? Holy cow it's her Mommy in an actual photo. Very Rare.
Thanks Daddy for taking this one.
Oh now that's better. Mommy behind the camera where she belongs. Aren't these two the cutest?
After Old Salem, we headed up to Hanging Rock, about a 40 minute drive through some, shall we say, more rural parts of the state. Wow. Walkertown, Walnut Cove, Danbury. We are talking the sticks here. Some of the scenery was very quaint and pretty. Some of it, not so much. Like, for instance, I wouldn't recommend going to the Stokes County Hospital for any reason. It looks like a run down grammar school. The pharmacy there is a trailer. Maybe I'm judging a book by it's cover but I would venture to say they are not on the cutting edge of medical science. It wasn't all bad though. My favorite scene was a store that did not have a sign out front so I know not what it was, but there was smoke coming out of the chimney on the tin roof and there were at least 6 older men sitting out front in chairs in their overalls shooting the breeze. They were still there on our return trip.
The park itself is stunningly beautiful. The trees were red and gold and the light filtering through the trees about sets them on fire.
See?
The coolest part is there's a lake at the top of this rock/mountain thing. It's just lovely. The family was so sweet and happy. We got some beautiful pictures and had a great time.
Pretty as a postcard.
While Ouida and I were busy, Kurt and SB ran off with Greg and Avery to explore the woods. They must've had fun because SB fell asleep before we got out of the parking lot. She woke up 30 minutes later, fresh as a daisy. So we stopped in China Grove (continuing our tour of tiny towns in NC) to stuff ourselves at Porky's BBQ. A longtime favorite of Kurt's from his days working in Kannapolis, we introduced it to SB and she was smitten. Not only is the food delish, but there are lots of people to watch and if that isn't enough there's a TV hanging on the wall every10 feet. A feast for the senses. She ate most of her mac and cheese, some pork BBQ and tried a hush puppy. She was too interested in the little boy at the next table to really care what she was eating, but I think she left with a full belly. She will sleep well tonight!
Monday, November 1, 2010
Tinkerbell
Here she is, the cutest Tinkerbell around. We took these pictures before attempting our only Treat-or-Treat stop at Jessica and Steve's house. Did not go so well. Tinkerbell burst into tears when they opened the door. She's been doing that more often lately, crying at strangers. First, the chin drops and the lower lip protrudes. Then, the waterworks start and it's game on from there. Poor Tinkerbell. Hopefully she'll get over this phase soon because she's making everyone feel terrible. She did manage to perk up enough to play with her fun-size Twix bar on the way home. :-)
Monday, October 25, 2010
Father of the Year
Grandma and I took SB to the park yesterday evening for a stroll in the grass before dinnertime. She had a blast exploring the fields at Freedom Park and clearly demonstrated a future in sanitation as she attempted to pick up every scrap of trash in the park. Paper wrappers, bottle caps, cigarette butts...you don't realize how much litter is out there until you have a toddler attempting to pick it up.
Anyway, I observed a candidate for "father of the year" while we were there. He was with his little son who looked about 3. Dad was demonstrating how to kick a soccer ball into a big oak tree as hard as he could, and his son went running under the tree to catch the ball. What he almost caught was a giant tree limb in the HEAD. Missed him by inches. Nice job Dad. So what does he do instead of running over to his son to make sure he's okay? He kicks the ball up into the tree again. Seriously? People should have a license to have kids.
Anyway, I observed a candidate for "father of the year" while we were there. He was with his little son who looked about 3. Dad was demonstrating how to kick a soccer ball into a big oak tree as hard as he could, and his son went running under the tree to catch the ball. What he almost caught was a giant tree limb in the HEAD. Missed him by inches. Nice job Dad. So what does he do instead of running over to his son to make sure he's okay? He kicks the ball up into the tree again. Seriously? People should have a license to have kids.
Tuesday, October 19, 2010
That's Not a Gourd
The other night we were getting SB ready for bath time. As usual, Daddy gets the bath ready while Mommy strips down the baby. We usually let her run around in the buff for a few minutes, mainly because watching her bare booty run down the hallway is the cutest thing ever, and also because I'm sure cruising around with a diaper on all the time is a bummer.
Anyway, as I was tossing her clothes in the laundry basket, I noticed her squatting down to play with a toy, then I saw what for a split second I thought was one of the little gourds that currently decorate my kitchen table. I wondered "now how did she smuggle that in her room" as I stooped down and realized it was most definitely NOT a gourd. Oops. The hazards of diaper-free playtime, I guess.
She'll love this story when she's a teenager, don'tcha think?
Anyway, as I was tossing her clothes in the laundry basket, I noticed her squatting down to play with a toy, then I saw what for a split second I thought was one of the little gourds that currently decorate my kitchen table. I wondered "now how did she smuggle that in her room" as I stooped down and realized it was most definitely NOT a gourd. Oops. The hazards of diaper-free playtime, I guess.
She'll love this story when she's a teenager, don'tcha think?
Wednesday, October 13, 2010
To the Parents of the Graduating Class of 2027
With all the talk in the news about bullying and kids committing suicide as a result, to say I'm scared about Sarah Beth going out into this big wide world would be an understatement. The thought of anyone ever being mean to this precious little person makes my stomach churn. You can teach your children to be confident and kind, but how do you protect them from the small-minded, weak people out in the universe who find pleasure in knocking others down?
I know I have 4 years before sweet Sarah Beth goes off to school, but it's a terrifying thought. If society is this messed up already, how will it be when she's in grammar school, a teenager, a college student? I long for a childhood for her like I had, when 6-year-olds could walk to school by themselves and ride bikes all afternoon with their friends without fear. When we didn't lock our doors. When most of the kids we started with in preschool were the same kids in our high school graduating class. When kids were allowed to be kids. When kids were innocent of so much of the ugliness in the world. When kissing a boy in 8th grade was a HUGE deal. When little girls didn't worry about being supermodel skinny, not that it mattered because we were all skin and bones from playing outside all day. I know I'm looking back with rose-colored glasses - I'm sure kids were picked on and teased. I'm sure I was one of them at some point, being the shy goody-goody that I was, but I can't remember one person in my youth who was ever really unkind to me. Good God, certainly nothing like what's all over the news today. Teenage girls hanging themselves in their closet because some other girls said mean things about them on Facebook or sent rude text messages? Young men jumping off a bridge because some stupid kids outed him on the internet? Were people always this heartless but it just got magnified because of all the "advances" in technology? Or is it that people can separate themselves from the pain that they are inflicting by hiding behind their computers and cell phones.
Whatever it is, this downward spiral has to stop or I, for one, will be moving our family to a desert island devoid of internet, cell phones, and mean people. We all start out more or less the same. Sweet, cuddly babies wanting love and care. How does it happen that some children grow up to pick on other children? What is it that these bullies are lacking that drives them to thrive off of the misery of others? What is screwing up our children?
I hope that all the parents of the graduating class of 2027 feel the same way I do, and teach their children to be nice to others. To have a good heart. To show kindness to everyone. To believe in themselves. To stand up for those who do get picked on and to let the bullies know that their meanness will not be tolerated. I have so many dreams for my little girl. To me, the most important values that I can instill in her are kindness, compassion and love. I hope her future friends and classmates and teachers and community will embrace her and love her as we do.
Please indulge me as I stroll down memory lane, I'd like to thank my wonderful, sweet best childhood girlfriends who loved me for who I was and never made me feel less. Jen, my dear friend of 34 years who is still my sister in my heart even though I hardly ever get to see her. Ishy, my kindergarten pal who danced to Copacabana with me in her basement, introduced me to the piano, and explored the wild woods of her backyard with me. Hoda, my outgoing creative friend who was friends with everyone but always had time to spend with me eating peanut M&Ms and pizza in front of old movies on a Friday night or making silly movies of our own with her Dad's video camera. Thank you. And thank you to your parents for raising such great kids who grew up to be beautiful women, inside and out.
I know I have 4 years before sweet Sarah Beth goes off to school, but it's a terrifying thought. If society is this messed up already, how will it be when she's in grammar school, a teenager, a college student? I long for a childhood for her like I had, when 6-year-olds could walk to school by themselves and ride bikes all afternoon with their friends without fear. When we didn't lock our doors. When most of the kids we started with in preschool were the same kids in our high school graduating class. When kids were allowed to be kids. When kids were innocent of so much of the ugliness in the world. When kissing a boy in 8th grade was a HUGE deal. When little girls didn't worry about being supermodel skinny, not that it mattered because we were all skin and bones from playing outside all day. I know I'm looking back with rose-colored glasses - I'm sure kids were picked on and teased. I'm sure I was one of them at some point, being the shy goody-goody that I was, but I can't remember one person in my youth who was ever really unkind to me. Good God, certainly nothing like what's all over the news today. Teenage girls hanging themselves in their closet because some other girls said mean things about them on Facebook or sent rude text messages? Young men jumping off a bridge because some stupid kids outed him on the internet? Were people always this heartless but it just got magnified because of all the "advances" in technology? Or is it that people can separate themselves from the pain that they are inflicting by hiding behind their computers and cell phones.
Whatever it is, this downward spiral has to stop or I, for one, will be moving our family to a desert island devoid of internet, cell phones, and mean people. We all start out more or less the same. Sweet, cuddly babies wanting love and care. How does it happen that some children grow up to pick on other children? What is it that these bullies are lacking that drives them to thrive off of the misery of others? What is screwing up our children?
I hope that all the parents of the graduating class of 2027 feel the same way I do, and teach their children to be nice to others. To have a good heart. To show kindness to everyone. To believe in themselves. To stand up for those who do get picked on and to let the bullies know that their meanness will not be tolerated. I have so many dreams for my little girl. To me, the most important values that I can instill in her are kindness, compassion and love. I hope her future friends and classmates and teachers and community will embrace her and love her as we do.
Please indulge me as I stroll down memory lane, I'd like to thank my wonderful, sweet best childhood girlfriends who loved me for who I was and never made me feel less. Jen, my dear friend of 34 years who is still my sister in my heart even though I hardly ever get to see her. Ishy, my kindergarten pal who danced to Copacabana with me in her basement, introduced me to the piano, and explored the wild woods of her backyard with me. Hoda, my outgoing creative friend who was friends with everyone but always had time to spend with me eating peanut M&Ms and pizza in front of old movies on a Friday night or making silly movies of our own with her Dad's video camera. Thank you. And thank you to your parents for raising such great kids who grew up to be beautiful women, inside and out.
Tuesday, October 12, 2010
See what happens when we let her out of the bubble?
On Thursday we went to storytime at Imaginon and SB wanted instead to wander about and touch everything she could get her little hands on. Including toys that other little kids were holding on to. Whoops. How do you teach your little one not to grab other people’s stuff? The world has been her oyster up until the moment I told her not to steal Thomas the Train away from that nice little boy. Anyway, that nice little boy or some other kid apparently shared their virus with SB and she got her first official cold, complete with fever and…drum roll…the dreaded croup.
Poor baby. I didn’t even know what croup was until I googled it. “Inflammation of the voice box and windpipe” um that doesn’t sound good. Our little baby girl doesn’t have that big a pipe to begin with. Now she sounds like she’s been smoking a pack of Marlboros a day for 62 years. The doctor says she’ll be fine in a few days. Her fever is already gone and the runny nose is slowing down. Now it’s just the awful barky cough when she gets fussy.
So this sick baby thing is all new to us. It’s been quite an education. First of all, I don’t know how you full-time working parents with baby in daycare getting colds all the time do it. Our shiny happy baby was a sad, pitiful mess all weekend. She has cried more in the past few days than she has cried in all her 15 months combined, I think. Her sleep is all screwed up so she’s tired and cranky. Oh my goodness.
Pitiful.
So here are a few things I learned:
When baby is sick, the house quickly turns into a disaster. Kurt said something about the kitchen being a mess but it didn’t even register to me because OUR BABY IS SICK hello! She needs Mommy to snuggle with her, not clean the macaroni and cheese off the floor. It’s easier to clean up once it hardens anyway, right?
When baby is sick, Mommy doesn’t sleep. Even when SB does fall asleep for a few hours, I found myself laying there in bed glued to the baby monitor listening to every sound. Naturally, the moment I finally dozed off, she woke up in need of Mommy comforting. Incidentally, I tried sleeping on her floor but it was so uncomfortable, I kept moving around and waking her up. I guess I need a blow up mattress instead of 20 small baby blankets in a pile on the rug.
When baby is sick, Mommy gets sick. It’s impossible to avoid when my sweet girl sticks her fingers into her mouth and then sticks them into my mouth (or nose or eyes...) She wants to share everything with Mommy. Cough cough.
When baby is sick, there’s not much to do except watch TV. Watching 8 hours of Nick Jr is enough to drive a person insane. I knew that I had absorbed too much when I found myself humming the theme song to “Jack’s Big Music Show” at 3 in the morning as I was trying to fall asleep.
Her nap schedule has been out the window and as I type this she is asleep next to me on the couch. I dare not try to move her. Fortunately, she's feeling much better today and even managed a trip to the grocery store. I got her a "Get Well Soon" mylar balloon which she has enjoyed toting around the house. Hopefully tomorrow we'll get out for a walk and some fresh air and be well on the road to recovery...
Saturday, October 9, 2010
Not a warm fuzzy feeling
We took a little family trip yesterday afternoon to Independence Park so baby could stretch out her new walkin' legs on some flat terrain and go for a swing. She toddled all over the place, from the playground all the way to the little waterfall on the other side of the park. She had fun exploring the new territory; Mommy had fun trying to keep her from picking up cigarette butts and licking the trash cans. (She's attracted to anything with a hint of danger or germs, of course.)
After 45 minutes or so, we headed back to the car, walking past the gazebo with the usual harmless-looking homeless guy sitting there. (Why homeless guys tend to hang out in this particular park is beyond me, but they do.) As we got to the top of the hill where we parked, we noticed a police officer crouched behind a dumpster, apparently staking out aforementioned homeless guy. He gives us the "sssshhhh" sign, as we pass.
Um, not a warm fuzzy feeling as we wondered, should we also be ducking behind a dumpster? We quickly got baby in the car and high-tailed it out of there, but I would love to know what in the heck was going on...
After 45 minutes or so, we headed back to the car, walking past the gazebo with the usual harmless-looking homeless guy sitting there. (Why homeless guys tend to hang out in this particular park is beyond me, but they do.) As we got to the top of the hill where we parked, we noticed a police officer crouched behind a dumpster, apparently staking out aforementioned homeless guy. He gives us the "sssshhhh" sign, as we pass.
Um, not a warm fuzzy feeling as we wondered, should we also be ducking behind a dumpster? We quickly got baby in the car and high-tailed it out of there, but I would love to know what in the heck was going on...
Monday, October 4, 2010
Sister Wives
I am ashamed to admit it but I stayed up late last night watching that polygamy reality show on TLC . You want to watch it too, admit it. So the guy is "married" to 3 women and is bringing a 4th into the harem. Between the 3 wives, he has like 12 kids and one on the way. Candidate number 4 has 3 kids of her own. Seriously?
So many things confound me here. But my main problem with it is, this guy is a real tool. He has weird hair and acts like a total d-bag (pardon the expression but it's true.) What is so appealing about him that he gets 4 women to agree to share him as a husband?
Now I can see some of the appeal of having a "sister" wife. Someone to help with the laundry and cleaning and errands and cooking. Um, but she's also sleeping with your husband? Ew. And why oh why do they need that many flippin' kids? The whole thing is just bizarre. I know, they say it's part of their religion or whatever, but I read The 19th Wife and call me crazy, it sure seems like an elaborate scam for a man to get a newer model when he gets bored.
What really blew me away was the scene where he gets into his LEXUS SPORTS CAR to go drive 5 hours to meet up with #4. Even if he has some killer job or is independently wealthy, how does it make sense that he drives a $45,000 car when he has 15+ kids to send to college? I'm just sayin...
So many things confound me here. But my main problem with it is, this guy is a real tool. He has weird hair and acts like a total d-bag (pardon the expression but it's true.) What is so appealing about him that he gets 4 women to agree to share him as a husband?
Now I can see some of the appeal of having a "sister" wife. Someone to help with the laundry and cleaning and errands and cooking. Um, but she's also sleeping with your husband? Ew. And why oh why do they need that many flippin' kids? The whole thing is just bizarre. I know, they say it's part of their religion or whatever, but I read The 19th Wife and call me crazy, it sure seems like an elaborate scam for a man to get a newer model when he gets bored.
What really blew me away was the scene where he gets into his LEXUS SPORTS CAR to go drive 5 hours to meet up with #4. Even if he has some killer job or is independently wealthy, how does it make sense that he drives a $45,000 car when he has 15+ kids to send to college? I'm just sayin...
Saturday, September 25, 2010
Messy and Quick
Today Miss Priss wasn't into her lunch. I was trying to feed her roasted blueberry and apple goo from a pouch. Sounds gross but it's quite tasty - Tyler Florence makes it. Designer baby food. Anyway, I left it on the table while she played in the highchair with her mini-pumpkin (gourd) that she both loves and abuses. I was baking brownies for our neighborhood party and turned away for just a moment, turning back just in time to watch her yank the placemat from the table, sending aforementioned blueberry goo flying through the air, landing on highchair, cabinets, table, bench floor, wall, and baby. Awesome. She's a mess. And she was quite amused as Mommy crawled around on all fours wiping it up.
After clean-up, we crossed the street to the neighbors for a potluck dinner and SB, who has never seen so much flat grass in her life, ran laps in their backyard until she was pink-cheeked and sweaty. It's amazing. A few weeks ago she was barely walking on her own, now she is hauling her little booty fast and furious. I always thought those kid-leashes were a terrible idea, but I may rethink that after watching our lil' Speed Racer scooting around today. We're in trouble!
After clean-up, we crossed the street to the neighbors for a potluck dinner and SB, who has never seen so much flat grass in her life, ran laps in their backyard until she was pink-cheeked and sweaty. It's amazing. A few weeks ago she was barely walking on her own, now she is hauling her little booty fast and furious. I always thought those kid-leashes were a terrible idea, but I may rethink that after watching our lil' Speed Racer scooting around today. We're in trouble!
Sunday, September 19, 2010
Grandma the Great!
Yesterday was a blast for Miss Sarah Beth. She not only had the undivided attention of Grandma and Grandpa, but also stole the heart of her Great-Grandma. Grandpa and the Grandmas drove down for a visit and Sarah Beth did not disappoint. She immediately reached our her arms for Grandma, which totally made the 2 hour drive worthwhile. She played games with both the Grandmas during lunch and then we went to Latta Park to show off her swingin' and splashin' skills. Here are a few pics:
Grandma and Grandpa
(notice how their outfits are coordinated?
Apparently that's what happens after 40+ years of marriage without even trying.)
The Grandmas! Grand and Great. You can see where SB inherited her good looks.
4 Generations.
Spraygrounds! Man does this baby love some water. We thought it would be too much for her but she thought it was awesome and kept dragging us back in every time we shuffled her to the exit.
Whatchoo talkin' bout Mama?
I'm hoping she doesn't get too comfortable spending time behind bars.
We are so happy we had this day together. Great-Grandma is a beautiful, sassy lady who always knows how to carry herself with class and style. I love that she got to spend some time with our little girl. I talked to my mom on the phone today and Great-Grandma said to tell me that I was a great Mom which is about the nicest compliment she could give me. Thanks Great-Grandma for your visit and for all the love you send us. We love you lots!
Tales from the 'Hood
I think I've alluded to the fact before that we live in, shall we say, a transitional neighborhood in Charlotte. Don't get me wrong, it's a wonderful neighborhood for the most part on the fringe of Cotswold. Only 5 miles from Uptown (downtown), lots of beautiful old oak trees (we have 35 on our .4 acre lot) and nice solid, 1960's ranch homes. And you can't beat the value for your money anywhere else this close to town. Most of our neighbors are great and we see a trend of houses being fixed up and professional people moving in. However, it's got it's share of questionable characters. Now we don't have gang warfare or drug deals on the sidewalk or anything, but there's likely some illegal activity in the park across the street, and a few blocks away there is some cheap housing that should be firebombed. I'm just sayin'...
To explain my desire for Rambo to show up with a flamethrower, let me describe things further. Our street? Just fine for the most part. The street around the bend? Even better. The short block between us and the nice neighborhood around the bend? Not so good. There are (or were actually, I'll get to that) 5 crappy rental houses that have a variety of short-term occupants. Envision dogs chained up in yard, big wal-mart 4 foot by 12 foot plastic pool in the side yard, which is also adorned with laundry hanging from anything that doesn't move. Lots of random furniture, outdoor and indoor, littering the front. You get my drift.
Next to these houses are the Pink Apartments. Well, there's not actually pink anymore because they painted them beige but didn't use primer so they are a pinkish beige now. We still lovingly refer to them as the Pink Apartments. We got all excited last year because they put up a tall chain link fence and we thought surely this meant they were tearing them down. Oh no. They just decided to put up the fence to keep the riff-raff out (or maybe in?) Lovely. The apartments across the street do not have much better of a clientele but they are brick so they look decent, at least, except for the pants-on-the-ground hood rats hanging out on the front porch with their gold teeth and hats cocked to the side. We'll call these the Crappy Brick Apartments for simplicity's sake. I firmly believe that if we could rid ourselves of these few dwellings, our neighborhood would improve tenfold.
Ok, now that you know the lay of the land, let's play a little game called Good Sign/Bad Sign. Kurt and I play it all the time, wondering if a given incident in the area means an increase in our property value or a decrease. The first few are easy. Jury's still out on the third.
To explain my desire for Rambo to show up with a flamethrower, let me describe things further. Our street? Just fine for the most part. The street around the bend? Even better. The short block between us and the nice neighborhood around the bend? Not so good. There are (or were actually, I'll get to that) 5 crappy rental houses that have a variety of short-term occupants. Envision dogs chained up in yard, big wal-mart 4 foot by 12 foot plastic pool in the side yard, which is also adorned with laundry hanging from anything that doesn't move. Lots of random furniture, outdoor and indoor, littering the front. You get my drift.
Next to these houses are the Pink Apartments. Well, there's not actually pink anymore because they painted them beige but didn't use primer so they are a pinkish beige now. We still lovingly refer to them as the Pink Apartments. We got all excited last year because they put up a tall chain link fence and we thought surely this meant they were tearing them down. Oh no. They just decided to put up the fence to keep the riff-raff out (or maybe in?) Lovely. The apartments across the street do not have much better of a clientele but they are brick so they look decent, at least, except for the pants-on-the-ground hood rats hanging out on the front porch with their gold teeth and hats cocked to the side. We'll call these the Crappy Brick Apartments for simplicity's sake. I firmly believe that if we could rid ourselves of these few dwellings, our neighborhood would improve tenfold.
Ok, now that you know the lay of the land, let's play a little game called Good Sign/Bad Sign. Kurt and I play it all the time, wondering if a given incident in the area means an increase in our property value or a decrease. The first few are easy. Jury's still out on the third.
Good Sign :)
The other day I drove through the Ghetto on the Bend heading to the grocery store. They were paving part of the street which was annoying but nothing else out of the ordinary. An hour later, heading home I was shocked to see one of the dreaded rental homes had been completely demolished! There was nothing but a pile of sticks and a proud yellow bulldozer sifting through the heap. This has got to be a Good Sign right? I only wish I had gotten to see the destruction firsthand. Bad Sign :(
You know it's going to be a bad Friday night in the 'hood when your backyard is being lit up by a Police helicopter spotlight. That's right, as I was baking toll house cookies in our cozy home, I watched the ghetto bird circle our house for 45 minutes. It got even more exciting as the police stopped a guy walking down the street right in front of our house and had 4 police cars, lights flashing, parked out there for over an hour. Normally our street is fairly quiet but this made us want to stick a for sale sign in the yard ASAP. Apparently there was some sort of armed robbery a few blocks down the street. The suspects were not caught. Awesome. Oh and good luck finding this in the news anywhere. Not a peep. If a police helicopter lit up Queens Road I bet it would end up front page of the Charlotte Observer.TBD ?
Here's a puzzling one. We drove through the 'hood this morning on our way to the park and noticed big red "A"s painted on the doors of several of the Crappy Brick Apartments. What the heck is that about? Is this a new gang sign? Adulterers? Anarchy? We're stumped. Any guesses?
Saturday, September 11, 2010
Remember
It's 9/11 again.
It's such a weird day. Americans want to celebrate everything. Memorial Day has turned into a day of barbecues and beach getaways. MLK day is an extra day off work in January (if you're lucky.) Presidents' Days are big sale days at the mall. I wonder if 9/11 will turn into that type of day or if the tragedy was so great that it will always be considered a day to remember the lives lost and the terrible sadness.
I remember. I remember hearing about the first plane as I walked into work that morning. I was in Little Rock. I watched the second plane crash into the tower on the big TV in the cafeteria. My first irrational thought was of my brother and his family living in Manhattan. They had no reason to be anywhere near there, but I felt better after hearing my brother's voice. I remember the shock that something like this could happen in our country.
I remember the day of mourning. The memorial service on TV. I watched as I cleaned house that day. I remember being overwhelmed with emotion, sitting on the coffee table and sobbing for the longest time.
I remember flying into Newark a few weeks later for my high school reunion. Seeing the big American Flag draped over the gates where those planes departed. I remember driving to Red Bank in a crappy rental car, losing count of the Flags that hung above every overpass on the Turnpike and the Parkway. I remember the memorial of flowers and mementos on Front Street overlooking the Navesink River.
I remember visiting my brother in the City and going down to Ground Zero. Dust everywhere, the smell of death and destruction still in the air. The most striking thing was the quiet. It was so quiet. No taxis whizzing by. No one yelling. No buzz of commuters walking the streets. It was like a different country. A war zone. It was a war zone. The twisted metal. The unimaginable horror of that day.
I hope this day doesn't ever turn into a Macy's Sale Day or a 3-Day Holiday Weekend.
I hope people use this day to remember. The innocent victims, the heroes who rushed in to save them. The ordinary people who saved the lives of others. The survivors who are left with terrible emotional and physical scars. Those suffering from guilt because they were "supposed" to be there that day, but missed the plane or went a different route. Those who have died protecting us since then, and those who protect us now.
I hope we all use this day to show our loved ones how much we love them and to be thankful for our blessings. Last night, my sweet 14 month old girl was having trouble sleeping. After several failed attempts at returning her to her crib, I brought her into our room around 3AM to snuggle between us. For a moment I thought about the sleep that I was losing, but then she looked at me in the darkness and grabbed my fingers with her little hand and held on. I watched my biggest blessing drift off to sleep and thanked God for every moment that I have with her. I hope she will never know a world of such senseless violence. I pray for peace.
It's such a weird day. Americans want to celebrate everything. Memorial Day has turned into a day of barbecues and beach getaways. MLK day is an extra day off work in January (if you're lucky.) Presidents' Days are big sale days at the mall. I wonder if 9/11 will turn into that type of day or if the tragedy was so great that it will always be considered a day to remember the lives lost and the terrible sadness.
I remember. I remember hearing about the first plane as I walked into work that morning. I was in Little Rock. I watched the second plane crash into the tower on the big TV in the cafeteria. My first irrational thought was of my brother and his family living in Manhattan. They had no reason to be anywhere near there, but I felt better after hearing my brother's voice. I remember the shock that something like this could happen in our country.
I remember the day of mourning. The memorial service on TV. I watched as I cleaned house that day. I remember being overwhelmed with emotion, sitting on the coffee table and sobbing for the longest time.
I remember flying into Newark a few weeks later for my high school reunion. Seeing the big American Flag draped over the gates where those planes departed. I remember driving to Red Bank in a crappy rental car, losing count of the Flags that hung above every overpass on the Turnpike and the Parkway. I remember the memorial of flowers and mementos on Front Street overlooking the Navesink River.
I remember visiting my brother in the City and going down to Ground Zero. Dust everywhere, the smell of death and destruction still in the air. The most striking thing was the quiet. It was so quiet. No taxis whizzing by. No one yelling. No buzz of commuters walking the streets. It was like a different country. A war zone. It was a war zone. The twisted metal. The unimaginable horror of that day.
I hope this day doesn't ever turn into a Macy's Sale Day or a 3-Day Holiday Weekend.
I hope people use this day to remember. The innocent victims, the heroes who rushed in to save them. The ordinary people who saved the lives of others. The survivors who are left with terrible emotional and physical scars. Those suffering from guilt because they were "supposed" to be there that day, but missed the plane or went a different route. Those who have died protecting us since then, and those who protect us now.
I hope we all use this day to show our loved ones how much we love them and to be thankful for our blessings. Last night, my sweet 14 month old girl was having trouble sleeping. After several failed attempts at returning her to her crib, I brought her into our room around 3AM to snuggle between us. For a moment I thought about the sleep that I was losing, but then she looked at me in the darkness and grabbed my fingers with her little hand and held on. I watched my biggest blessing drift off to sleep and thanked God for every moment that I have with her. I hope she will never know a world of such senseless violence. I pray for peace.
Friday, September 10, 2010
I've been workin' on the railroad...
Don't try this at home, folks. This wasn't an active track. No babies were harmed in the making of this photo.
So...we just got back yesterday from a week at Chez Fagan in the beautiful NC mountains. The weather was amazing. Sarah Beth was a total peach the whole trip and is an official walking toddler now. More to come but I just wanted to post this real quick to let everyone know we're alive and well.
Thursday, September 2, 2010
Back Crackin' Good Times
Wednesday already? Wow this week is flying by. I've been staying up late editing photos. I had a great OpLove Shoot on Sunday with a spunky little girl and her Mom. Daddy has been in Iraq and has three more months to go. They actually live in Idaho but she grew up here and has been staying with her parents for a while. Apparently, there's not a lot to do in Idaho, but the scenery is beautiful, she says. I don't know how she manages, chasing this little one all over creation while her husband is in flippin' Iraq. I'd be a basket case. She keeps it together though, all those military spouses do. It's remarkable. Anyway, I am so excited to get these photos done and mailed off to her husband since it's a total surprise. So that's why I've been up every night waaaay past my bedtime and been ignoring my blogging responsibilities.
In other news, I went to my very first chiropractor visit today. Come to find out, I'm not supposed to feel like I've been hit by a bus on a daily basis. Every since baby, my body has not been the same...aches and pains from head to toe. I thought it was just because I'm the old and decrepit "Advanced Maternal Age" of 37 (shudder!) but no. I quote my doctor, "your shoulders are really messed up." And my foot too. It's some kind of plantar fasciitis type of thing. Anyway, Kurt got tired of my bitching and moaning and I got tired of hobbling around like a 90 year old, so off I went to Estramonte Chiropractic. It was great. They did some heat therapy like super-duper heating pads, a few other things with wires and wands, and then the infamous adjustment. Overall it was fine but it is a strange sensation when someone grabs your neck and pops it like you see Steven Seagal do in those awful Fat White Guy-Doing-Karate movies. I must admit, I feel a little better. So I may be jumping on the chiropractic bandwagon, especially if it can prevent me from popping 20 ibuprofen a day, getting cortisone injections, or even worse, surgery.
Baby update. Baby is walking, I repeat, Baby is walking. Only a few steps without holding on, but it definitely qualifies as walking. She is on the move and so proud of herself! She lets go, takes a few steps and squeals with delight before plopping down on the floor or grabbing a chair (or us.) It is the funniest thing. She is also eating everything in sight. Must be a growth spurt. Tonight she tried tilapia and loved it. What kid likes fish? She also chowed down on some pinto beans, rice and guacamole. Is there nothing this girl won't eat?
We went to our first storytime at the library yesterday. SB loved it! She sat on my lap, listening intently to the lady and watching all the other kids. They sang songs and did dances and topped of the whole thing by blowing bubbles for the kids to pop. Can they pack any more fun into 20 minutes? I don't think so. Sarah Beth only got irate when I wouldn't let her run up and steal the felt duck off of the storyboard. She wanted to hold it in her little fists so badly. After storytime, we played in the little kids section for a while. Most were still bigger than her, and she got knocked down twice by a couple of little brats. Mommy restrained herself and did not kick them in their baby teeth but boy did I want to. There was one nice little boy who thought SB was the cat's meow and showed her how the toys worked and was sweet and gentle. SB eyed him suspiciously, but allowed him to play with her. It's so interesting to watch her interact with other kids since we've practically sequestered her for the past year. I think we'll try to go to storytime every week and maybe she can make some friends or at least learn to push them back when she gets knocked over. Oh wait, I'm not supposed to tell her to do that, right?
In other news, I went to my very first chiropractor visit today. Come to find out, I'm not supposed to feel like I've been hit by a bus on a daily basis. Every since baby, my body has not been the same...aches and pains from head to toe. I thought it was just because I'm the old and decrepit "Advanced Maternal Age" of 37 (shudder!) but no. I quote my doctor, "your shoulders are really messed up." And my foot too. It's some kind of plantar fasciitis type of thing. Anyway, Kurt got tired of my bitching and moaning and I got tired of hobbling around like a 90 year old, so off I went to Estramonte Chiropractic. It was great. They did some heat therapy like super-duper heating pads, a few other things with wires and wands, and then the infamous adjustment. Overall it was fine but it is a strange sensation when someone grabs your neck and pops it like you see Steven Seagal do in those awful Fat White Guy-Doing-Karate movies. I must admit, I feel a little better. So I may be jumping on the chiropractic bandwagon, especially if it can prevent me from popping 20 ibuprofen a day, getting cortisone injections, or even worse, surgery.
Baby update. Baby is walking, I repeat, Baby is walking. Only a few steps without holding on, but it definitely qualifies as walking. She is on the move and so proud of herself! She lets go, takes a few steps and squeals with delight before plopping down on the floor or grabbing a chair (or us.) It is the funniest thing. She is also eating everything in sight. Must be a growth spurt. Tonight she tried tilapia and loved it. What kid likes fish? She also chowed down on some pinto beans, rice and guacamole. Is there nothing this girl won't eat?
We went to our first storytime at the library yesterday. SB loved it! She sat on my lap, listening intently to the lady and watching all the other kids. They sang songs and did dances and topped of the whole thing by blowing bubbles for the kids to pop. Can they pack any more fun into 20 minutes? I don't think so. Sarah Beth only got irate when I wouldn't let her run up and steal the felt duck off of the storyboard. She wanted to hold it in her little fists so badly. After storytime, we played in the little kids section for a while. Most were still bigger than her, and she got knocked down twice by a couple of little brats. Mommy restrained herself and did not kick them in their baby teeth but boy did I want to. There was one nice little boy who thought SB was the cat's meow and showed her how the toys worked and was sweet and gentle. SB eyed him suspiciously, but allowed him to play with her. It's so interesting to watch her interact with other kids since we've practically sequestered her for the past year. I think we'll try to go to storytime every week and maybe she can make some friends or at least learn to push them back when she gets knocked over. Oh wait, I'm not supposed to tell her to do that, right?
Friday, August 27, 2010
Random Happenings and More Pictures
Another week has flown by and it's almost September? Wow. In some ways this summer lasted for-ev-er with the stifling heat and humidity keeping us trapped inside, but in other ways I can't believe it's time for school buses and Halloween costumes. Our little girl is just shy of walking on her own. We are down from a two-handed assist to just holding on to one of Mommy's fingers. Go baby go! Consequently, we just received a shipment of various baby-proofing items: toilet lid lock, oven lock and super-duper retractable baby gate for the top of our stairs. Who knew you had to lock your toilet? But sure enough, SB finds the bathroom an exotic locale full of forbidden excitement. Toilet paper is ridiculously fun. Just one tug and whooosh half the roll is unfurled at her feet. She like to gleefully grab handfuls of the stuff and ball it up in her little fists. If you try to take it away she'll attempt to shove it in her mouth. Where'd she learn that from, an episode of Prison Break? She also likes to go for the toilet brush (ick) and peek behind she shower curtain in case Daddy is hiding there, I guess. All I see is one slip and a skull fracture from the cast iron bathtub, therefore I do my best to keep her out of there completely. She's a fast little bugger though.
Pardon me while I get all domestic, but I cooked the most delicious meal the other night and must tell you about it: Mini-meatballs and Polenta served with Hidden Veggie Tomato Sauce topped with a dollop of Ricotta Cheese. All three of us devoured it and it was from the Williams Sonoma Cooking for Baby Cookbook that my Mom bought us as a baby shower gift. You make the meatballs with oat bran instead of bread crumbs and add dill and nutmeg. Delish! The tomato sauce has pureed sweet potato and spinach in it so it's way healthy. Sarah Beth loved it. I highly recommend this cookbook if you have a little one or one on the way - the recipes go from first solid foods thru toddler meals and like I said, it was delicious for us big kids too.
So, in the category of unpleasant eating experiences, we had a stowaway in our bagged fresh arugula mix from Trader Joe's the other night. I plated our salad and we sat down at the table. I started eating but heard this weird hissing sound coming from Kurt's plate. There was a HUGE striped beetle-looking thing sitting on his plate staring at Kurt. It was apparently not pleased that it was about to be dinner and believe me, neither were we. I, of course, being the borderline bug-phobic person that I am, flew across the room screaming EW EW EW EW as I spit out the salad I was chewing on. Kurt thought it was all hysterically funny. Baby did too. Our little friend met his fate in the garbage disposal and I will never eat bagged salad again. I am only thankful that it was not sitting on my plate because I probably would not have survived.
Since my theme here has turned to food, I may as well mention our luncheon with Daddy on Wednesday. We went to the big city to meet Daddy at work. We ended up at Lola's, a home cookin' cafeteria style place that possibly has the best mac n' cheese ever. SB thought so. She ate all of Mommy's serving save for one or two bites. She also enjoyed the baked chicken, pinto beans and cornbread. She is definitely a southern gal. Oh for you Yankees, mac n' cheese is considered a vegetable in the South, so it was actually quite a healthy meal for her. After lunch, we headed up to The Green for round two of frolicking in the fountain. This time, no homeless people showering. No one at all actually, SB had all 3 fish to herself and she took full advantage. Again, iPhone video will be forthcoming.
As promised, here's the final round of photos from Avery and Sarah Beth's playdate at the park, post-haircut.
Pardon me while I get all domestic, but I cooked the most delicious meal the other night and must tell you about it: Mini-meatballs and Polenta served with Hidden Veggie Tomato Sauce topped with a dollop of Ricotta Cheese. All three of us devoured it and it was from the Williams Sonoma Cooking for Baby Cookbook that my Mom bought us as a baby shower gift. You make the meatballs with oat bran instead of bread crumbs and add dill and nutmeg. Delish! The tomato sauce has pureed sweet potato and spinach in it so it's way healthy. Sarah Beth loved it. I highly recommend this cookbook if you have a little one or one on the way - the recipes go from first solid foods thru toddler meals and like I said, it was delicious for us big kids too.
So, in the category of unpleasant eating experiences, we had a stowaway in our bagged fresh arugula mix from Trader Joe's the other night. I plated our salad and we sat down at the table. I started eating but heard this weird hissing sound coming from Kurt's plate. There was a HUGE striped beetle-looking thing sitting on his plate staring at Kurt. It was apparently not pleased that it was about to be dinner and believe me, neither were we. I, of course, being the borderline bug-phobic person that I am, flew across the room screaming EW EW EW EW as I spit out the salad I was chewing on. Kurt thought it was all hysterically funny. Baby did too. Our little friend met his fate in the garbage disposal and I will never eat bagged salad again. I am only thankful that it was not sitting on my plate because I probably would not have survived.
Since my theme here has turned to food, I may as well mention our luncheon with Daddy on Wednesday. We went to the big city to meet Daddy at work. We ended up at Lola's, a home cookin' cafeteria style place that possibly has the best mac n' cheese ever. SB thought so. She ate all of Mommy's serving save for one or two bites. She also enjoyed the baked chicken, pinto beans and cornbread. She is definitely a southern gal. Oh for you Yankees, mac n' cheese is considered a vegetable in the South, so it was actually quite a healthy meal for her. After lunch, we headed up to The Green for round two of frolicking in the fountain. This time, no homeless people showering. No one at all actually, SB had all 3 fish to herself and she took full advantage. Again, iPhone video will be forthcoming.
As promised, here's the final round of photos from Avery and Sarah Beth's playdate at the park, post-haircut.
Here's BOB!
Avery was very eager to help push SB around.
Happy boy!
There's a water feature that is calling my name, Mommy!
Check this out!
Good times.
Little Man! Love this one.
SB's turn. I have 1000 pictures of her on the swing.
I'll spare you the masses and just pick a few. But if I can get the video off of Kurt's iPhone you will be forced to watch it in a future post.
Here's a close up of the precious turtle hair clip Auntie Ouida bought her. It's made of felt. Too cute.
Wheee! We've been to the swings several times since then and she loves it. As soon as she sees the swing-set she gets all excited. Even better when there are other kids to watch!
Monday, August 23, 2010
Sunday Funday
Today was a fun-filled day for our little family. We went to the park for a stroll, then after naptime, headed downtown so Kurt could do a little filming of Charlotte landmarks and we could take SB to see the big buildings.
Two stories from our day:
As we strolled by the baseball fields at Freedom Park, there was a father pitching to his son who was probably 10 or 11 years old. Son was hitting 'em pretty decent for his age. As we walked past them, the kid swings and misses and dear old Dad says very loudly "NO NO NO I don't want you EVER to swing at a high pitch EVER AGAIN!" Really? Is that how you teach your kid to love baseball and love you? What a jackass. Kurt wanted to borrow the son's bat and take a few swings himself. We only wish the son could have said "well old man maybe if you could learn how to pitch I wouldn't have to swing at that crap" but I'm sure that wouldn't have gone over too well. Poor kid. I hope he quits baseball and takes up ballet just to tick his dad off.
In the afternoon we stopped at The Green, a cool little park tucked in between the big bank buildings of Uptown (downtown) Charlotte. There is an awesome water feature there that kids love to play in - it's 3 concrete fish, 10 feet tall, in a circle that spray water from their mouths, surrounded by spurts of water that come out of the ground. Well, SB took one look at that and said "I'm in!" She thought it was delightful and the two of us got soaked splashing in the water with lots of other little kids....oh and the homeless guy. Yes, amidst the rosy-cheeked children playing in the fountain, there was a bum rinsing off fully clothed (thank god for that at least) complete with bicycle helmet. He was cordial enough, I guess, but seriously, where are the security guards to escort this guy to the showers at the local men's shelter? You have to understand that the security people patrolling these properties are like the gestapo. If you so much as take a picture on The Green they will tell you you're not allowed. Last time Kurt tried to film some of the new museum buildings (just the exterior, mind you) he was shooed away by the property police saying you had to have prior permission from the property management. Yet some guy can take a shower in a kid's water feature and that's ok. As long as we don't take a picture of it. Awesome. Kurt did get a little video, the sneaky guy that he is, so stay tuned for that footage in the near future.
Hope everyone has a great week. First day of school for CMS students here. Is it a bad sign that I'm already getting weepy over back to school commercials and Sarah Beth is only one?
Two stories from our day:
As we strolled by the baseball fields at Freedom Park, there was a father pitching to his son who was probably 10 or 11 years old. Son was hitting 'em pretty decent for his age. As we walked past them, the kid swings and misses and dear old Dad says very loudly "NO NO NO I don't want you EVER to swing at a high pitch EVER AGAIN!" Really? Is that how you teach your kid to love baseball and love you? What a jackass. Kurt wanted to borrow the son's bat and take a few swings himself. We only wish the son could have said "well old man maybe if you could learn how to pitch I wouldn't have to swing at that crap" but I'm sure that wouldn't have gone over too well. Poor kid. I hope he quits baseball and takes up ballet just to tick his dad off.
In the afternoon we stopped at The Green, a cool little park tucked in between the big bank buildings of Uptown (downtown) Charlotte. There is an awesome water feature there that kids love to play in - it's 3 concrete fish, 10 feet tall, in a circle that spray water from their mouths, surrounded by spurts of water that come out of the ground. Well, SB took one look at that and said "I'm in!" She thought it was delightful and the two of us got soaked splashing in the water with lots of other little kids....oh and the homeless guy. Yes, amidst the rosy-cheeked children playing in the fountain, there was a bum rinsing off fully clothed (thank god for that at least) complete with bicycle helmet. He was cordial enough, I guess, but seriously, where are the security guards to escort this guy to the showers at the local men's shelter? You have to understand that the security people patrolling these properties are like the gestapo. If you so much as take a picture on The Green they will tell you you're not allowed. Last time Kurt tried to film some of the new museum buildings (just the exterior, mind you) he was shooed away by the property police saying you had to have prior permission from the property management. Yet some guy can take a shower in a kid's water feature and that's ok. As long as we don't take a picture of it. Awesome. Kurt did get a little video, the sneaky guy that he is, so stay tuned for that footage in the near future.
Hope everyone has a great week. First day of school for CMS students here. Is it a bad sign that I'm already getting weepy over back to school commercials and Sarah Beth is only one?
Saturday, August 21, 2010
Avery's New 'Do
The long awaited photos of Avery's first haircut are here!
The hairdresser at Pigtails and Crewcuts was so nice and good with Avery. I will definitely be taking SB there for her first haircut. They have the cutest hair accessories for little girls too! Auntie Ouida bought SB a little felt turtle clip - too cute. You'll see shots of that in our next installment: Avery and SB go to the park. Stay tuned!
Before:
Playing while we wait:
The consultation:
And away we go...um, Mom what is this lady doing?
Lady, what do you think you're doing exactly?
Not really loving this but I'm keeping it together.
Reassuring kisses from Mommy helps.
See, it's not that bad, right Avery?
Well actually Mommy it is that bad. Almost done Avery, promise!
Whew, glad that's over with.
Now, can me and my sidekick take this truck for a spin or what?
Look at that grown up boy haircut!
The hairdresser at Pigtails and Crewcuts was so nice and good with Avery. I will definitely be taking SB there for her first haircut. They have the cutest hair accessories for little girls too! Auntie Ouida bought SB a little felt turtle clip - too cute. You'll see shots of that in our next installment: Avery and SB go to the park. Stay tuned!
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