It was one year and one day ago that I exploded onto the blogging scene and took cyberspace by storm. Everyone was like, "a stay at home mommy blogger? That is so unusual!" It's pretty much been a whirlwind ever since: there's been some posts, some pictures, comments, videos, it's been CRAZY, or should I say CrAzY (still trying to figure out the appropriate usage of toggle case). I would have posted something yesterday except I was way too busy sleeping in, surfing the Internet, and yelling at my kids for getting creative with glitter rather than watching TV like good kids. OK, really I was watching reruns of Full House while eating pop tarts. OK, I was reading World Domination For Dummies, fine. I was busy, whatever. But I did find the time to celebrate this momentous occasion by installing my first ever thingamawidget on my side bar (click here if you love the cowbell), thus ratcheting my blog design from "pretty boring" to "just slightly less boring." I'd say that's enough for one year. Who knows what the next year will hold for my blog, but whatever it is I'm sure it's going to be AwEsOMe. Or is it aWeSOmE?
Anyway, happy birthday little blog.
It's been fun.
Apr 2, 2009
Mar 28, 2009
Enough Already
Do you ever wish that your brain had a big "in case of insomnia, push this" button? Instead I'm resorting to frantically spewing thoughts into my keyboard in hopes of switching that internal switch to off so I can get some sleep already (!). Not that I'm any stranger to insomnia-- in fact, you'd think I would be pretty resigned to it by now. Since Mark got laid off it's been noticeably worse, though tonight I'm not awake out of worry or anxiety, at least not superficially. I've got plans, ideas, inspiration over flowing and bubbling out of my mind like crazy. Plans for my best life ever, though I promise I haven't even been watching Oprah lately. I tell myself, these things are the real me, the me that I would be if I didn't have diapers to change, laundry to get done, meals to plan and groceries to shop for, checkbooks to balance, projects to finish, noses and hands to clean, fights to referee, things to pick up, drop off, put away, throw away, recycle, store, fix, or find-- you get the picture. But really, why am I wide awake dreaming of transforming the family room into a playroom to accommodate my grandiose plans for days filled with non-stop fun and creativity, when those plans have so little to do with the reality of my current time and monetary constraints? (Not to mention taste-- I mean really, bean bags for furniture? Am I drunk?!).
In the true spirit of blog self-psychoanalysis, I wonder if it is in fact anxiety based after all. I wonder if I have a tendency when things feel uncertain and out of my control, to hyper-focus on things immediately in front of me that I can control, and therefore obsessively fantasize about rearranging furniture. Or maybe I just tell myself this so I can feel better about being more concerned about redecorating than I am about actually serious issues such as the economic crisis, global warming, and horrific conditions in Zimbabwe. Or maybe I just shouldn't have eaten so much cookie dough tonight. Whatever the case, I wish it would all just stop so I can get some sleep. I've got plans for tomorrow and sleeping until noon doesn't help.
Good night everyone. Sleep well. Me too, hopefully.
In the true spirit of blog self-psychoanalysis, I wonder if it is in fact anxiety based after all. I wonder if I have a tendency when things feel uncertain and out of my control, to hyper-focus on things immediately in front of me that I can control, and therefore obsessively fantasize about rearranging furniture. Or maybe I just tell myself this so I can feel better about being more concerned about redecorating than I am about actually serious issues such as the economic crisis, global warming, and horrific conditions in Zimbabwe. Or maybe I just shouldn't have eaten so much cookie dough tonight. Whatever the case, I wish it would all just stop so I can get some sleep. I've got plans for tomorrow and sleeping until noon doesn't help.
Good night everyone. Sleep well. Me too, hopefully.
Mar 23, 2009
Nate
Nate (aka "Smalls") doesn't seem to get nearly as much face time on this blog, so in an effort to prove that I love him just as much as the other kids, here is a post devoted just to him. And in case you are looking at the picture above and thinking wow that is a great picture and not at all like the usual poor lighting/bad angle/lame composition shots she usually takes, well you're right. I happened to run into a photographer friend at the park who snapped this picture and emailed it to me, causing me to vow, once again, to someday hire a full-time, live-in photographer.So here you are Nate, this is you:
I LOVE the cheerio phase. It is a gift from God to be able to stick them in a high chair, slap some cheerios on the tray, and leave them to eat happily for hours. I also love the accidental finger-up-the-nose while shoving your face with said cheerios.
More cheerio fun. I'm telling you, this kid eats his weight in cheerios on a daily basis.
And while we're on an eating theme, here is a video of what happens when we try to feed him actual food.At Nate's last check-up, we found out that he is in the 4th % for height, the 6th % for weight, and the 65th % for head circumference. Seriously. I think this picture does a pretty good job of demonstrating the disproportion.
Nate is now almost 10 months old and officially crawling. This has resulted in a campaign at our house called, "Keep the Baby Alive 2009." I cannot even tell you how many choking hazards I have pulled out of his mouth, how many close calls with electrical outlets we've had, how many times his brother has sat on him... and that's just today. If this kid makes it to his 1st birthday, it will be nothing short of a miracle.Nate has 2 teeth, which, true to 3rd child protocol, get brushed approximately 1.4 times per week.
Nate's current favorite toy is the broom. That's right, the dirt-covered, germ-encrusted, practically a weapon broom. We have high hopes for his future as either a janitor or a performer in STOMP.
Mia's current nickname for Nate is Goo-goo.
It seems as if Nate fits perfectly on my hip, like he was made to perch there. He has started "hugging" me by resting his head on my shoulder and nestling in the crook of my neck. I'm not exaggerating that it sometimes makes me almost die of happiness.
Despite enduring daily torment at the hands of his older siblings in the form of poking, prodding, jostling, squeezing, hefting, and man-handling, Nate absolutely adores Mia and Sam. And I have to record that for posterity out of the fear that someday he will never believe me if it's not written down.
Nate, thank you for being my only child currently sleeping through the night. I love you even more dearly just for that.
And now for something a little less depressing
Let's lighten things up a bit shall we?
I promise it's not all doom and gloom around here. In fact just yesterday Mia got her first phone call from a BOY, asking her for a playdate. It happened right in the middle of one of Nate's massive blowouts, which she described very excitedly and in full detail to the young boy. I'm sure he was very impressed by this and thought it was pretty cool, since poop is about the #1 favorite subject of most 6 year olds. The conversation then ended like this:
Mia: What are you doing?
Boy: I don't know.
Mia: OK, bye.
He then had to call back to actually set up the playdate (which is scheduled for tomorrow). When she got off the phone I said, "So are you guys pretty good friends?" and she informed me that they were not only friends, they were going to get married. I guess this is something to be relieved about because up until now she had plans to marry Sam (who she has also taken to calling "Uncle Chut"). In fact, we've had many conversations that involved her wondering
"when they are going to change that law so that you can just marry your brother if you want to."
It's so sweet and yet so disturbing at the same time.
Here is a picture of them playing "camping" yesterday, which like most of Mia's play schemes, involves a very elaborate and involved set-up, and then a lot of sitting around and looking at it while sucking her thumb. I should also point out that these pictures were taken after they had decided that 48 degrees and partly cloudy meant it was practically Summer and played "beach" in the front yard-- complete with bathing suits, towels, beach chairs, and of course, lots of water.
Those kids... when they're not driving me crazy, they're usually making me laugh my head off.
And on a completely unrelated note, I feel like I have to even the score after my little "jab" at Republicans, lest any of you get any ideas about my political ideologies. I've been trying to think of something to zing those Democrats with, but it's got me thinking: maybe I should actually join the Democrat Party . I didn't realize until recently that being a Democrat meant that you could vote to increase everyone else's taxes, but not actually pay those taxes yourself. Sweet! Oh you kooky politicians, will you never tire of providing so much good material for Saturday Night Live? Here's one of my favs from this season.
I promise it's not all doom and gloom around here. In fact just yesterday Mia got her first phone call from a BOY, asking her for a playdate. It happened right in the middle of one of Nate's massive blowouts, which she described very excitedly and in full detail to the young boy. I'm sure he was very impressed by this and thought it was pretty cool, since poop is about the #1 favorite subject of most 6 year olds. The conversation then ended like this:
Mia: What are you doing?
Boy: I don't know.
Mia: OK, bye.
He then had to call back to actually set up the playdate (which is scheduled for tomorrow). When she got off the phone I said, "So are you guys pretty good friends?" and she informed me that they were not only friends, they were going to get married. I guess this is something to be relieved about because up until now she had plans to marry Sam (who she has also taken to calling "Uncle Chut"). In fact, we've had many conversations that involved her wondering
"when they are going to change that law so that you can just marry your brother if you want to."
It's so sweet and yet so disturbing at the same time.
Here is a picture of them playing "camping" yesterday, which like most of Mia's play schemes, involves a very elaborate and involved set-up, and then a lot of sitting around and looking at it while sucking her thumb. I should also point out that these pictures were taken after they had decided that 48 degrees and partly cloudy meant it was practically Summer and played "beach" in the front yard-- complete with bathing suits, towels, beach chairs, and of course, lots of water.
Those kids... when they're not driving me crazy, they're usually making me laugh my head off.
And on a completely unrelated note, I feel like I have to even the score after my little "jab" at Republicans, lest any of you get any ideas about my political ideologies. I've been trying to think of something to zing those Democrats with, but it's got me thinking: maybe I should actually join the Democrat Party . I didn't realize until recently that being a Democrat meant that you could vote to increase everyone else's taxes, but not actually pay those taxes yourself. Sweet! Oh you kooky politicians, will you never tire of providing so much good material for Saturday Night Live? Here's one of my favs from this season.
Mar 20, 2009
Signs
As I've been driving around the last couple of days (very slowly I might add), a couple of signs on various buildings and billboards have caught my attention:
Breathe
Be less concerned about what to live on, than what to live for.
It's time to smile.
Thank you sign-gods. I needed those.
Mar 17, 2009
"Why you not go to work today?"
Courtesy of beawesomeinstead.comReally, we're doing OK. On a scale of 1 to 10, my freak-out level is about a 3 (where 10 would be an all-out crap your pants kind of panic). We don't need to beg for handouts yet, we're just cutting out frivolous expenses such as newspaper subscriptions (I mean, newspapers are doing just fine right?), and health care insurance (because according to the Republican party, poor people NEVER get sick). And we're very hopeful. If it comes down to it, I'm just sure that our back-up plan to flip houses in Detroit and Las Vegas will bring in BIG bucks. But for now, I will shamelessly put forth this small plea:
Anyone need an Information Architect?
Mar 10, 2009
#*#%&@#$!!!!
You are not going to believe this. I'm not making this up.
I JUST got another speeding ticket. 11 mph over this time. Wasn't even paying attention.
(Huge self-loathing sigh)
The terms of the deferment of my last ticket involved being "infraction free" for a year, or pay the original fine. This means I now have to pay $150 (nonrefundable) to defer the first ticket, $154 to pay the now reinstated first ticket, and $124 for the second ticket.
For a grand total of $428.
Oh yeah, not to mention 2 speeding tickets on my record in less than 6 months.
So does anyone know a good joke? I could really use a good laugh right now because I'm about to cry. I guess this is what I get for complaining. And speeding.
Can't wait until my insurance policy is up for renewal next month.
Edit: OK, since I posted this I've already been laughing at myself. I mean what kind of idiot gets a speeding ticket, contests it, gets it deferred, whines about getting it deferred on her blog, and then gets another speeding ticket just 14 hours later? Yeah... All I can say is if you thought you were having a bad day, I hope you're feeling much better now. You can't get much more pathetic than this even if you tried.
I JUST got another speeding ticket. 11 mph over this time. Wasn't even paying attention.
(Huge self-loathing sigh)
The terms of the deferment of my last ticket involved being "infraction free" for a year, or pay the original fine. This means I now have to pay $150 (nonrefundable) to defer the first ticket, $154 to pay the now reinstated first ticket, and $124 for the second ticket.
For a grand total of $428.
Oh yeah, not to mention 2 speeding tickets on my record in less than 6 months.
So does anyone know a good joke? I could really use a good laugh right now because I'm about to cry. I guess this is what I get for complaining. And speeding.
Can't wait until my insurance policy is up for renewal next month.
Edit: OK, since I posted this I've already been laughing at myself. I mean what kind of idiot gets a speeding ticket, contests it, gets it deferred, whines about getting it deferred on her blog, and then gets another speeding ticket just 14 hours later? Yeah... All I can say is if you thought you were having a bad day, I hope you're feeling much better now. You can't get much more pathetic than this even if you tried.
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