Apr 13, 2015 | Uncategorized, What's going on |
* Normally people post their Easter pictures by Monday then move on with their lives. Then there’s me, bringing up the Easter post rear since 2010.
* Christopher entered a giveaway and won a revolver. I have entered approximately 72 jewelry giveaways and have nothing to show for my efforts. Some people have all the luck. Next time he needs to enter a European vacation giveaway.
* Within the past year I have had four computers. I’ve had three since my computer was stolen in January. I have TERRIBLE luck with computers. They get mysterious viruses. They crash. In the case of my latest computer, bought a month ago, it randomly decided to not turn on. I charged it for 12 hours, pushed every button and maybe shook it a little but nothing made it turn on. I took it to the computer people last week and they called this morning to say it was perfectly fine and turned on for them. ????????????? She didn’t know why it didn’t work for me but she was charging me a $45 diagnostic fee. Now I’ll have the walk of shame when I pick it up.
* Somehow a bag of frozen peas spilled in our ice maker. Every time I use the ice dispenser on the door I’m treated to a couple of peas. Instead of cleaning out the ice maker I have chosen to think of it as the latest and greatest flavor in infused water.
* MOPS had parents night out on Saturday so we dropped the small one off and went to the movies. On a scale of one to superb the movie was pretty bad. At least it was more physically comfortable than our last date. When Katie was here she sent us out on a to the gun range. An hour later we left and my ears felt blocked up and fuzzy. I could barely hear a thing for three days. I didn’t realize my ear plugs fell out and my ears were exposed to the loud noises for so long. It was terrible. I mean, not as terrible as being deaf but still terrible. I almost had a panic attack in the grocery store because I didn’t know what people were saying or if they were talking to me. As if people always come up and start conversations in the cake aisle of Kroger.
* I am not very into super heroes but I do like Captain America. Christopher got me a Captain America shirt and I really like it, but every time I wear it I feel like such a nerd. I feel like I’m two steps away from buying tickets to ComicCon. I wore it to the doctor when AB had her one year appointment and the male nurse looked at it and said, “That’s the best super hero right there.” I replied, “Thank you.” THANK YOU? What kind of an answer was that? Did I think I was the creator of Captain America? A week later we were back at the doctors and, of course, we had the same nurse. The doctor mentioned a medicine Sesame should take and I said to the nurse, “Is that…that isn’t…I mean…do I…whatI’mtryingtosayisthataprescription?” He looked at me for the longest three seconds ever then asked me to repeat the question because he didn’t understand. How could he not understand my eloquence? Then Sesame pulled me shirt waaay too far down and I wanted the floor to open up and swallow me whole.
* Sweet girl was so excited to be out in the sunshine yesterday.
She smiled to her adoring fans then got down business- practicing her princess walk in preparation for her royal wedding to George.
Feb 15, 2015 | Holidays, What's going on |
We had plans to be out of town this weekend so I didn’t decorate the house with hearts, buy ingredients to make red pancakes or spend precious moments of my life cutting strawberries into X’s and O’s. I planned on being reunited with Michelle and spending the day wandering the streets of Ohio in search of the thieves who stole my computer talking a mile a minute about everything and nothing. As life goes, Christopher caught the stomach bug a few hours before we were scheduled to leave. As much as I wanted to see Big Belly Shelly (her words, not mine!), we didn’t want Christopher to have to suffer through ride as sick as he was so we stayed home.
Annabelle had a great day. She ate fried rice for lunch and her little life was made. I thought I was SO WITTY to think up this little tag to put on her fruit squeezie valentine. Turns out 148 other moms on pinterest had the same idea.
I left this sweet note for Christopher earlier in the week.
Let it never be said I don’t know how to write a love letter.
Nov 20, 2014 | Uncategorized, What's going on |
 |
Sesame was really excited about the trip.
“I’m outside! People are paying attention to me! I’m being held! My life is great!” |
 |
| This picture is precious until you realize I’m straddling a pumpkin. Who does that? |
 |
| “What are these pumpkins of which you speak? Give me all the hay.” |
 |
| Christopher took almost all the pictures while we were at the patch. Normally I don’t post pictures of pickup trucks because boring and also, boring, but I’m trying to encourage his recent interest in randomly pointing the camera in the general vicinity of an object and pushing the button. I’m also trying to encourage him to start a blog but that’s going nowhere fast. |
 |
| “Oh great. Another picture with my mother.” |
A brief anecdote-
Lady who owned the pumpkin patch: You’re baby looks so cold! Let me zip up his jacket. Does he have mittens?
Me: Not yet. I still have to get HER some.
Lady: Oh! Look at his bracelet. Isn’t that cute. Does he ever eat it?
Me: No. SHE doesn’t seem to know it’s there.
Lady: Is it for teething? I’ve heard amber bracelets help for teething. Does it help him with that?
Me: SHE drools less when SHE wears it so I’d say it helps some.
Lady: He has such pretty eyes.
Me: (my mouth) Thank you. (my head) Did you not hear the 48 times I said SHE and HER?
Note to self- Never leave the house without the baby wearing a bow, a pink jacket, and a large sign that says —> 100% GIRL <—.
Nov 7, 2014 | Sesame, Uncategorized, What's going on |
I’m on a tight schedule here. The name of the schedule is Annabelle and the clock counting down to til her nap time ends is ticking.
I used google this week for the first time since February. We watched a movie about two Google interns and I decided to see how long I could go without using the google. The answer is ten months. I would have kept on going strong had I not needed a screenshot of a google search. This proves that not only is google not the be all and end all of internet search sites, but also that I stick to something I put my mind to it. Not that we ended another example of that when I refused to talk to someone for three years straight because he offended my sister. It’s even more impressive when you consider that I saw him at least two times every week. Also to be noticed is Elizabeth talked to him THE VERY NEXT DAY. I take vicarious offenses very seriously.
Speaking of the internet, I’m part of a breastfeeding group on facebook. Ninety percent of what’s posted is of no use to me but I stay in the group for the information in the other ten percent. If we’re being completely honest, I also stay in because some of the ladies are a little intense and I enjoy ranting to Christopher about it when he gets home. “You’ll ruin your child for life if you let them cry it out! Free the boobs and nurse uncovered in public! I have five kids so I’m an expert on all things baby! Formula is evil and should never be given! Don’t even consider having a baby at a hospital!” It’s a real morale booster when you’re having a bad day and letting your baby cry in her crib.
I rarely comment but a few weeks ago I replied to a question about nursing in church. Thirty two comments later, people were off topic and bringing up human rights, how men need to stop paying attention to a womans chest, and, of all things, Mary and Jesus. One lady said, “Duh! Mary feed Jesus without a cover.” I (because there’s nothing like fanning the flame!) said, “Nobody knows for sure how Mary feed Jesus.” She replied, “There are tons of breastfeeding paintings from the early church showing Mary baring her chest.” Ok then. I didn’t realize I was dealing with an expert on early church paintings. Here I was thinking those portraits weren’t actually Mary. I assumed she’d be too busy washing whatever fabric contraption she used for a diaper and not have time to pose for a portrait.
(I hear some squawking from the crib. I’m going to stick her in the highchair with a handful of puffs while I finish pounding this out.)
Since we’re on the topic of babies and food, I hate every time we have to give Annabelle a bottle of formula. I wanted to last a whole year without formula (maybe a lofty goal because I do not love nursing) and I did make it to 6 months, but the girl needs to eat and sometimes I don’t have enough for her. Sesame Pie doesn’t seem to care one bit where her food comes from as long as she gets some in her mouth.
Now she’s pounding on her fists on the tray and demanding more puffs. Our Miss Manners lessons are really sticking.
Oct 22, 2014 | Uncategorized, What's going on |
We took AB to the zoo for the first time on Monday. To the surprise of none I was the most excited about the trip. This girl certainly wasn’t bursting with excitement on the way there.
Dad explained the finer points of exotic birds. Ornithology is not one of his many gifts. Were we looking at an ostrich? A hoopoe? An African crane?
She was still very serious and not quite sure what was going on when we went to the walk-through kangaroo exhibit.
But then we went to the petting area.
 |
| I LOVE ALL THE GOATS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! |
I’m going to mail this picture to anyone having a bad day. If I was witty I’d make it into a meme.
I thought it would be cute to take a mother daughter picture in front of the elephants. Annabelle had other ideas. Isn’t she a little young to act like she wants to avoid being seen with her mother?
“Fine. I’ll look but I won’t smile. I’ll give no indication that you have cared for me and catered to my every need for the last six months.”
Two-thirds of the family is looking at the camera. I call that a successful family picture.
Oct 7, 2014 | Uncategorized, What's going on |
Subtitled: They might as well move into the guestroom
I feel like I’ve had next to nothing to blog about lately. We don’t sit at home doing nothing, but most of what we do doesn’t seem worth mentioning and sometimes I want things to talk about besides what the baby is doing. Shot me if I ever write something along the lines of “Annabelle can move her toes! Call Brian Williams and the evening news! Get the Harvard application!”
* I joined a MOPS (Mothers of Preschoolers) group last week. I was almost too chicken to get out of the car because I knew I wouldn’t know anyone, but I can’t complain about not having friends with kids nearby if I don’t make an effort. They gave me a paper to fill about Annabelle and I almost put “forget the clean diaper, she must always be wearing a bow” on the line for special instructions, but I don’t want to be seen as the difficult mom right off the bat.
The director gave me a box of craft supplies and told me to make a name tag. There weren’t any stencils in the box so CUE THE OCD PANIC. I stopped short of digging through a closet to find a cup to trace so I’d have the perfect circle.
The guest speaker was a woman who survived breast cancer and now owns a wig and bra store. She talked about bras for 58 minute. I had no idea there was so much to say on the topic. My usual criteria is that I like the color.
* We got Annabelle a jumperoo. You know who refuses to pay $129 on a toy that has more buttons than my car? Me. You know who doesn’t care that she has the low-end jumperoo? This girl.
Her favorite toy is the tithing envelope at church so I expect she’ll be happy as a clam when I stick her in a cardboard box and call it a playpen.
* The maintenance man is here for the fourth time in three weeks to fix our heating and cooling problems. He asked if I know where the handles for the air port vents are located. Excuse me? The what? I know nothing about our heating and cooling systems except THEY DON’T WORK.
I just remembered the time different maintenance men came earlier in the year. I was pregnant and in the very pits of despair and morning sickness. I was stumbling around with mismatched pajamas, a messy bun, and most certainly no makeup. I looked like death. I know what you’re thinking- “Christopher is a lucky guy to have married such an attractive woman!” I sat at the table, crying and trying to keep down a muffin when who should appear at our door but two maintenance men. They weren’t scheduled to come until Thursday and it was only Tuesday. They kept ringing and I kept sitting there refusing to answer the door in such a state. We have a window near the door and I knew it was only a matter of time before they looked through and saw me. I slid off the chair and crawled over to the kitchen away from view. I was so proud of myself for such stealthy moves. I was sure the next person to knock on the door would be a Special Forces recruiter. A few minutes went by without noise from the guys so I decided to see if they were still there. Here’s where I encountered a flaw in my perfect plan. The only way to see the door from the kitchen was for me to crawl around the corner into view. I looked once and they saw me. The guy was looking in the window. I sat on the floor while they continued to knock because I would not let them win. Fifteen minutes later they left. I spent the rest of the day drafting a speech in my head about how they shouldn’t show up unannounced on the wrong day at the home of someone with a VERY DELICATE stomach and emotional state.
That afternoon I took a three hour nap because sitting on the kitchen floor is exhausting.
