What to Do with a Roll of Paper the Tile Guy Left at My Parents' House...

The guy who is comingn to do the tile in our bathroom next week also just did my parents' bathroom... my mom brought over this roll of paper he left at their house (I guess it has something to do with tile somehow) and we've turned it into hours of (non-tile-related) fun.... well, okay, 20 minutes of fun. But still, it's more fun than when it was just leaning up against the wall!

Ben got quite a kick out of this... (our first attempt looks like it has scoliosis because Ben moved while I was tracing...)




Then he wanted me to do it again so he could draw swimming goggles and pajamas on it. (don't ask) The second attempt came out much better, though perhaps a tad on the skinny side...


Then, of course in true three-year-old fashion, he decided he was bored and started playing with his trucks instead... (sigh)

Shake and Go Cars....

After several exchanges of other attempts at birthday gifts for Ben's friend Ryan that were thwarted for different reasons, we ended up getting him two of these

They were on the list that his mommy posted on her blog...

...but I seriously feel like I need to include an apology note with the gift because OHMAHGAH, I have only had these toys in my house for a half hour now and I can tell you for a fact that I would not wish them on my worst enemy. The whole "shake and go" feature is REALLY sensitive. So basically if you even breathe on them funny they start yelling stuff about races and checkered flags and quoting lines from the movie. I will be very happy to hand them over tomorrow. But Jen, I am so very VERY sorry. ;) I'll include the gift receipt. ;)

Time Crunch...

Cafepress is the company that I run my t-shirt shop through... (btw, my shop is sorely neglected lately, with no new designs in months... but somehow I still sell a TON)

Anyway, they recently sent out an email that I totally ignored about upping their price on double-sided tees. The phone just rang and it was them. They wanted to make sure I got the email and wanted to know what I planned on doing with all my two-sided tshirt designs -- whether I was going to up my price to make up the difference or just delete them. I said I'd probably just delete them but that I hadn't gotten around to it. Then she asked, "Well is there anything we can do to help expedite the process for you?"

I laughed and said, "Do you want to come babysit?"

;)

Needless to say, the girl was amused.... (and then asked where I lived because apparently, she'd be happy to) ;)

At the Risk of Setting off the Blog Curse....

... Simon slept (in his crib) from 9p.m. to 5a.m.

I was totally not expecting this for another ten months. See? That's what happens when you have the challenging baby FIRST. Your standards are set nice and low for these sorts of things. ;) What a happy, pleasant surprise!

To be fair, I should mention that he hasn't been the world's greatest napper lately. He's happy and all, but he has started that thing where he wakes up and accidentally rolls himself over and that REALLY wakes him up. After 20 minutes of a nap these days, I'll suddenly hear cooing and laughing coming from the baby monitor and I'll go up to find him stuck on his back like a turtle, poor little guy. I hope he figures out how to remedy that situation in the near future because I really like/currently miss/could use that nice 3-hour afternoon nap.

Blogger's Introspection...

It's so weird. I've always been a bit of an early-adopter with technology-related stuff... I remember seeing an episode of Nick News when I was 14 that talked about chatting with people through your computer. I thought that sounded kind of cool and begged my parents for a new computer with a modem so I could get online.

Back then, hardly anyone knew what that even meant... at school, it was basically me and this geeky guy who rode my bus who heard me explaining "online" to someone one day and got all up in my face like he'd found the woman of his dreams, asking me, "Do you MODEM???!" In my junior year speech class we had to give a demonstrative speech and I wanted to do mine on the internet. The teacher, (a guy named Mr. Papke who eerily resembled famed painter Bob Ross) wouldn't let me because he didn't understand it. I remember dumbing down my language about it and avoiding "internet" terms like "online", "download" and "chat rooms" because they were foreign to pretty much everyone I knew and I was a little self-conscious about the whole thing...

One by one, my friends started getting AOL though and then we all went to college and email was finally standard by then. (though you still had to ask people, "do you use email?" because there were plenty who didn't)

I got a blog back in 2003 after I saw Meghan Morrone talking about them on techtv. Once again, I was one of the only people I knew (besides Erin) to have one. I didn't tell many people about it because I got strange looks... and if I did tell people about it, I didn't call it a blog because no one knew what a "blog" was. I usually just said, "I have this website... it's like a journal..."

Anyway, gradually my real-life friends have gotten on board with their own blogs, which is awesome. I feel so much less nerdy when everyone else joins me. ;) I love reading the blogs of people I know in person because a) I often get to know a different side of them b) I can keep up with things in their lives even if I don't see them very often and c) It's always fun when things on our blogs overlap... like if our kids have playdates or something and we both write about it. :)

Without further adieu, I give you the comprehensive collection of all the people I know in real-life who now have blogs... I encourage you to visit them if you don't already because they are all people I like and that makes them awesome, right? ;)

There is Jen, mommy to Zach, Ben's best friend Ryan and Lily. My best friend and mommy confidante... we went to college together and worked two retail jobs together... ah the carefree times...

There is Mandy, my friend from high school and college and with whom I share a storied past involving such adventures as Funjungle and Jumpy the Monkey, one very scary Newswriting Professor and a several years of working at a craft store. She is pregnant and due in October with a little girl! :) Also, if you go to storytime at our local Barnes and Noble, she's the storylady most of the time. ;)

There is Krystyna, my sister-in-law of two years, dating-in-law for something like five, new mommy to baby Anastasia and ally in an attempt to restore the balance of female power in the male-dominated Graff family.

There is Jenn with two "n"'s, my friend from... gosh, how did she become my friend? Oh right, she married my pseudo-cousin, Josh. Strangely enough, I met her and her brother years upon years upon years before when we all went to Sunday school together... though she was too little to remember. How funny is that? She is mommy to Ben's friend Luke, who is two, and new baby Faith.

There is Amanda, mommy to Hannah (3) and Mary Grace. (almost 2) The story behind how we know each other is entirely too long and convoluted to share here... she hasn't updated her blog in awhile, so bug her to do so!

There is Val, who I went to middle school, high school and part of college with. She probably doesn't know this/remember it, but she was in the very same room as Tom and I were when we met for the first time ever. (it was a college orientation thing) She now has a little girl, Jordan, who is a week younger than Simon. Her blog makes me laugh and I love reading because we are going through all the same baby milestones/trials/tribulations at the same time.

There is Katie, who actually is sort of both a blog friend and someone I know in real life. She's actually a friend of Jen's, but our paths have crossed at some of Ryan's parties and Jen's showers... I love reading about Emily Rose and the new baby, Lucy.

There is The aforementioned other Erin, who I know from early in Tom's and my dating years. She and her brother and sister lived around the corner from Tom's family and we all spent many a summer evening playing flashlight tag (yes, most of us were well over 20 at the time), volleyball and wiffleball. I love Erin's blog and wish she'd update more often!!

I hope I haven't missed anyone... if I have, I'll edit this post later. I'm writing during a rare quiet and childfree moment, so I'm typing and thinking and linking as fast as possible!!! :)

Giggle Bean...

If this doesn't cure what ails ya, I don't know what will...

Simon Giggle Bean

Twice the Fun...

Benjamin LOVES when Simon lays on him... and Simon has started thinking it's fun too! ;)

Insert Hallejuah Chorus Here...

Simon. Slept. 11:30 - 6:45. And lo, it was good.

The sleeping with him has never been bad... lately just the one wakeup and back to sleep in 15 minutes or so... but a stretch like that of uninterrupted sleep? Heavenly.

News Bulletin...

Simon has found his feet. I repeat, the butterbean has found his feet.

This foot is MINE! All MINE!


It's a such momentous occasion when your children discover their appendages! What's keeps fascinating me over and over again is how babies do things on more or less the same general timetable. Ben found his feet basically at the same point in time, TO THE DAY...

Btw, butterbean? One of so very many nicknames for Simon these days... most of them somehow involve the word "bean". Butterbean, Peanutbean, just plain "Bean" (which I also call Ben, so it gets a little confusing), Happybean, Smileybean, Chubby Bean, Big Bean, Little Bean, Simon Bean, I once slipped a Monkeybean in there and remembered it's one of Jen's nicknames for Ryan... and who wants to be known as a nickname stealer? Not me!

I also keep calling him The S Man, which I need to stop doing because when this particular name is repeated by a three-year-old with somewhat questionable pronounciation skills? Baby brother suddenly becomes, can you guess???

The Ass Man.

Can We Just RENT Our Next House?

Some days I HATE HATE HATE owning a home. Just when we get enough money together to do a house project we WANT to do, another project comes along that we HAVE to do in order to prevent something catastrophic/REALLY expensive from happening like living room ceilings caving in or someone falling through a floor...

So alas, my pretty wood floors that I saved and saved and saved for have given way to retiling the hall bath and shower surround. I still have 17 boxes of flooring sitting in my living room, which are going to get stored in the laundry room until such time as we have the money to actually have them installed. (by someone other than Home Depot because I AM SO DONE WITH THEM it's not even funny) (sigh) I'm hoping it's early next year, but the way these things go, who knows. By then, the roof will probably need replacing or something ridiculous like that.

Oh, and two days ago? The heating element in our dryer blew for the second time in ten months. Thankfully, it's totally free because hello? Heating elements don't generally do that and so it was still under warranty. Tom and I are suspicious it has to do with a whole house electrical issue we think we have. (outlets will randomly not work, fuses blow several times a WEEK, and a very high number of small appliances have had to be replaced over and over due to overheating... hence why we suspect the dryer also fell victim to the problem) It almost HAS to be an electrical problem, right? Again... sigh...

Part of me would love to just pick up and move... but (aside from being financially impossible at the moment) there is another part of me just DREADS when that actually does become necessary.... for SO many reasons...

Just Around the Corner...

So Benjamin starts preschool next week. Is it wrong that I am totally thrilled for the small break during the day for two mornings a week?

Seriously, we do a LOT together, but by the end of the day, the kid is totally bored with me and these four walls (which transforms him into Mr. Destructo) and I just REALLY need some quiet moments to regroup. He loves to talk and loves to hear himself talk. (he gets this from his father) ;)

He also is three, which means he asks a lot of questions and by a lot of questions, I mean probably five bazillion a day, which is a conservative estimate. I think the questions are adorable and I love trying to come up with answers for all of them, but I'd be lieing if I didn't say I just need a break and for someone else to answer some of his questions for awhile.

He also sings now.... all day long, that is, when he is not asking questions.

Thankfully, he has cooled it somewhat with the Star Wars talk. These days, he talks more about letters and words and what words mean, an obsession I'm more than happy to cater to. He has even started reading small words... (we've been working on words that end in "at"). He gets very proud when he makes a word all on his own! He also asks what words mean when he hasn't heard them before and then will set about using them on a daily basis, which is just funny. He went up to a two-year-old a few days ago and said he wanted to "socialize" with her. And he likes to tell his baby brother that he's "daft". (a word which I swear *I* didn't even know the meaning of until two days ago) Yeah, so we're well on our way to making our kid into enough of a nerd to keep him out of trouble when he gets to high school....

So I'm very excited to get him going with this whole school thing so people with actual degrees in teaching three-year-olds things can take his interests and run with them! Mostly, I can't wait for them to teach him how to clean up, which I hear is a big preschool skill goal. I seriously would pay $100 a month extra for them to teach him this!!!

So next Thursday, off he'll go.... not sure who is more excited! Him or me! ;)

Thinking Ahead...

A number of people have asked me if we want another child. If you read this blog, you already know the answer is an emphatic, "Yes!" Much to my husband's chagrin (who jokingly insists babies ruin your life for an entire year), I want three. And in the past few months, I have changed my tune and am entertaining the idea of four.

Why the insanity?

Well, first off, I will give you that it IS insane. Four kids, (or even the original three I want) especially during these early years, will be complete and total chaos. But I keep reminding myself that this period where they are all so dependent is only temporary. I'm actually looking forward to the future... as they all go off to school, college... get married.... have kids of their own.

I look around at my husband's family. (my inlaws have three boys) Recently, (as in, the other day while sitting in the waiting room with all of them), I looked around at the brood, at the chaos, at the joy and the excitement... at how the family has added on in recent years and months (and days!)... and I realized I LOVE it. I love the insanity... I love the adopted "sisters" I have now, I love the extra "brothers". I realized that at some point when I didn't even notice, they really became my family. Yes, there are plenty of times where I get annoyed and frustrated with some of them. But times like last Friday really made me appreciate them all for who they are.

My own family (because I know my mom is reading this and is like, "hello? What about us?!") is just as wonderful... but different.... still forming. I don't have a sister-in-law via my brother yet...(and frankly, I want him to shop around a little first) and so far, the only grandchildren are mine. So it's pretty much just us and our family friends, who are our extended family. So the chaos isn't there. (although if you were to visit when my dad, brother, Ben and his Aunt Debbie are all playing, you'd beg to differ) It's actually a nice balance when coming off an event with my husband's family. Things are simpler. Easier. Quieter.

But in the future, I think I want what my mother-in-law has.... I want lots of opportunities at adding on... I want daughters-in-law, (and maybe a son-in-law)... grandchildren in close succession. Lots and lots of grandchildren! But for that, I have to have several kids. That's why I'm thinking three or four. And I want them to be close and to be each other's friends... like my husband and his brothers. Again, it's not all fluffy and happy and puppies and kittens. They FIGHT. BOYYYY do they fight sometimes... but in the end, they have each other, and we have each other, and our KIDS will have each other... and that's really cool.

I guess I'm just having a fuzzy moment because the last few days have made me realize that I just love how this family has come together. Now that everyone has someone and the grandchildren have started coming, you can begin to see the bigger picture... and I like what I see. :)

Fun with Simon While Big Brother Naps...

Simon Says...
"You think this is easy? You try picking a head this big up off the ground!" ;)









P.S. I just found a bottle lid I've been looking for in picture #3! Woohoo!

Simon Moved Out...

...and it's about time! I finally sucked it up and put him to bed in the crib last night. I know, I know, I should have done it weeks ago, but

a) as you may know, Simon is a tummy sleeper
and
b) a neighbor told me a story (that I won't share with you) and it sent me into a paranoid mommy tailspin.
c) I actually did put him in the crib for the night for two nights in a row about a month or so ago, but the AngelCare alarm went off once and freaked me out

Sooooo, he had been falling asleep in the carseat at night (though he is always in his crib for naps) and I was moving him to the crib in the late morning when he woke up to eat (like 4:30), the logic being that Tom got up at 5:15 for work and could check in on him. Anyway, with the rolling over and neck control/head lifting thing pretty much mastered, I decided it was time. Plus, we do have that paranoid mommy baby monitor now, which I have since learned to trust.

Last night, he started in with his "holy cow-I'm-so-tired-and-sick-of-you-people-and I-want-to-be-asleep-RIGHT-THIS-MINUTE" freakout, so I put him in the crib and he was instantly OUT. I had been doing this for awhile, but then moving him to the carseat when we went to bed. (I know, it sounds crazy... but the neighbor's story messed with my head... ugh)

Last night, he woke up at 2, took three ounces and was back asleep in 17 minutes. (just happened to see the clock when Tom came back to bed) Then he woke up at 4:30, took an ounce and was back to sleep in five minutes and then slept until 8 this morning. This is pretty much par for the course with how the sleep thing has been progressing lately. I think he's pretty much giving up eating in the middle of the night, because he hardly takes anything at all most nights. He just wakes up, wants the bottle in his mouth for a minute and then he's back in the crib.

So all is well in our house... the pack and play/infant seat are finally getting put away... I guess next we'll be sending him off to college. ;) (sigh)

Cousins -- Three Months, Three Years, Three Days... :)

UPDATE: Ah-ha! Krystyna's mom got a MUCH better shot than I did. (well, technically it was marc who took it, but her mom's camera) ;)



I posted all four because if you put elements of all of them together, you ALMOST get a good picture. ;) Still, these are the first photos of all of them together and that's just plain cool.

Why School Needs to Start A.S.A.P...

...because Benjamin needs to talk ALL DAY LONG nonstop and he really REALLY needs someone else to talk to for awhile besides me.

It's really adorable, the constant monologue...

("I need to poop! Let's go! First, I have to open the door... can you help me with the light? I can't reach the light. Then, I sit down... oh no! I pee peed on my hand! Mommy! I pee peed on my hand because I forgot to point my penis down, wipe it off please! There is PEE PEE ON MY HAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAND!!! Okay, I'm done pooping. Come wipe me! I need to be wiped! Now let's pull the pants up. Can you help me wash my hands? I need to wash my hands. Okay, NOW we're done... want to go downstairs to play blocks? Let's go play blocks.... ")

...but I am yearning for just an hour or two of quiet. Or at least, an hour or two of only baby noises, since that's about the best I can hope for... ;)

Budding Photographer...

Benjamin took this picture yesterday afternoon.... I love it! ;) btw, can you describe that eye color? I have no idea what it is... right now, I call it bluegreengreybrown.


Here are few more (not taken by Ben)...

More standing


Concentrating very hard on standing and looking at a teddy bear toy. I like this series of pictures because you can see Ben action in the background. LOL!


I was trying to get a good closeup shot of both boys' feet for a series of prints I'm framing and hanging on the way up our stairs... this wasn't a winner, but it still turned out cute, I thought.

Just for Fun...

Krystyna, (and all, but mostly Krystyna): let me preface by saying this is totally just for fun. In no way do I think Anastasia looks like a baby boy, or even that she looks like her cousins. She is beautiful, petite, girly, pink and perfect in every way. She is also completely unique and totally has her own look... (gorgeous). All I'm saying was that I saw a hint of Simon (and maybe Ben), which makes sense since Tom and Marc share genes. That is all. :) It would be neat for people to be able to tell they are related as they grow up... but who knows if that will even be true.

Okay, so yeah. A commenter on the last post just gave me this idea and since I am up at 2:30a.m., I thought I'd give it a try. Obviously, she is a baby and changes almost hourly... and obviously, I picked very similar angled shots/expressions to compare... okay, all that being said...

Anastasia and Benjamin


Anastasia and Simon

Baby Sesame...

Sesame...yes, that is the nickname my husband has chosen to bestow on his baby niece. Sesame. (because it sounds like Cecily) So let's review our collection now:
We have Ben/Lefty, Simon/Rhymin' and Anastasia/Sesame. Creative man, my husband is. ;) I hope we come up with something better, because I'm not sure how mommy feels about Uncle Tom's creation.

Uncle Tom holding Anastasia Sesame


Anyway, we went over to visit this evening and see Anastasia/Sesame all cleaned up. Her hair is actually a COMPLETELY different color than I thought it was (more brown) and she has WAY more than I thought she did when I saw it all wet yesterday. Very cute. And definitely plenty to put a little bow in. :) She was wide awake when we got there and just looked allll around. We also got very lucky as we were there to witness a momentous event, Marc's very first diaper change, which I, of course, documented for posterity. ;)



This is how she felt about daddy's first diaper change ;)


Hi princess! (btw, I swear I see a resemblence to Simon... I'm sure it's just the nose thing... but Tom said totally unsolicited that he saw it too... so maybe I'm not crazy!)


So tiny... I can't believe Simon was EXACTLY this size just 14 weeks ago!!!


This is Marc either swaddling or unswaddling... either way, it was very serious business.

Brother Love...

Now Back to Our Reguarly Scheduled Program...

Wow. Yeah, so THAT was a whirlwind of a day. My house is in shambles because I pretty much dropped everything at 7:30 and started trying to hightail it to the hospital. (which took four hours, ultimately!) I'm behind on laundry, I'm behind on dishes...blehhh... but at least it's another rainy day. Yay!

I do want to make it over to the hospital to visit. Hoping that will be possible sometime this afternoon... we'll see.

Poor Benjamin. After Marc came out and people started going back to see the baby, he kept asking when he was going to get to see the baby. But, they don't allow non-siblings under 12 back in the rooms. (pretty much standard hospital policy everywhere, I think... it was the same at my hospital) Anyway, so he didn't get to see her. :( It was so sad. But he'll get to meet her soon enough, I guess.

Okay, off to try and get some things done this morning! :) Simon is still sleeping, so I'm trying to take advantage of it!

More on Anastasia, Krystyna and the Day...

To answer questions from the peanut gallery:

- Seriously, Anastasia is gorgeous. She has Marc's nose (for reference, see the pic above in the banner of my kids... it's the very same nose). She has tiny, perfect little lips that Krystyna has claimed as hers, and I think her eyes are Krystyna's as well... they are currently very dark, dark blue. Her hair is reddish blonde... maybe more blonde than reddish and she has "some" but not a ton. :) But she's certainly not bald. She's so petite and perfect and sweet (I even got to hold her!!! :) :) :) :) :) :)

- I don't know WHEN Krystyna started pushing, but it was apparently only 45 minutes. She said they actually had to make her STOP pushing because the doctor had not arrived yet.

It was SUCH a wonderful, exciting day and I very much enjoyed being on the other side of it for a change. What fun! Marc's announcement was perfect and really wrapped up the whole nine months of waiting SO well. I could have killed him for making us wait while he set up the camera though. And then? It was almost a full five minutes before he told us the name.

I am so excited to have a niece... more excited even than I thought I'd be. (and I was already pretty excited) She is going to be so loved and fussed over!!!! :)

Congratulations again to Krystyna and Marc. We are thrilled for them!!

More Pics...

Click here for good pics! :)

Home...

We left the new mommy, daddy and baby to have some time to themselves... Krystyna did great. She says she onlypushed for 45 minutes and felt NOTHING. She looked wonderful!

That's all I know... uploading pics from my real camera as we speak. :)

Oh, and Anastasia was actually 6 pounds, 12 ounces, not 6.8 as I originally posted. :)

So pretty!

It's A...

GIRL!
6 pounds 8 ounces

Anastasia Cecily (spelling unconfirmed) Graff

Will update with a pic as soon as I get to go back... the grandparents are all back there right now. :)

Marc came out with his video camera and made us wait an excruciatingly long time while he set up the shot. Everyone squealed and clapped! So very VERY fun. ;) I can't wait to see the footage he got!


p.s. The middle name is prnounced "SESSily"

Still Waiting...

Nope. Nothing yet. I figure it can't be much longer now beacuse I know they won't let her push for more than three hours.... don't you think?

Waiting and waiting...

Still Nothing...

And Marc is still not answering his phone. So now we are just assuming she is pushing... meanwhile, the family in front of us just got new that they got a much awaited boy... we all applauded for them. Then we told them to please go ask what the heck is going on in room 5. ;)

Update...

No idea if the doctor is here yet... those of us in the main waiting room haven't seen her, but she could have come in another way. And Marc has stopped answering his cell phone, so we don't know what's going on. He did say he'd call when she started pushing, but he could be distracted... so we just don't know!!! More as I know!!

Mommy and daddy

K @ 9.5 cm doing great!

Dr. Has Been Paged...

... and as soon as she gets here, Krystyna will start pushing! This is going so quickly!!

Almost Time!

marc just came out and said she is 9-1/2!!! She's definitely going to make it before her doctor clocks out at 5!!

Almost Time!

marc just came out and said she is 9-1/2!!! She's definitely going to make it before her doctor clocks out at 5!!

Krystyna is Blogging Now...

But I'll keep updating anyway... I got to see her and chat for awhile... they fixed her epidural and she seems pretty comfy. No progress updates yet though!

Labor!

Sprout is Coming Soon! -- continually updated --

10:07 a.m. Just talked to Marc. She is 4-1/2 cm! They are saying early evening for the birth. She is very relaxed and was getting the epidural when I talked to him.

9:40 a.m. My father-in-law says she is still at 3. Going over around 11:30 to hang for awhile and see how things are progressing. Will take some cell phone pics to send here if they'll let me. :)

8:55 a.m. I just talked to her mom and she says Krystyna is at 3cm. Quite a ways to go, but progress is progress, right? I'm hoping to head over to the hospital while she's in labor for at least a little while. Trying to figure out what to do with Sprout's cousins though since kids aren't allowed on the maternity ward. (but they ARE allowed in the lobby where you check in to go visit the maternity ward... so this could work)


7:30 a.m. My sister-in-law's water just broke (at 5:45a.m.) and she is headed to the hospital! Updates later! :)

Ears on His Feet...

There is only a small window of time in one's life when one can pull off wearing footie pajamas with bunny ears on them. We're taking full advantage of it. ;) Observe.

The full ensemble...


A closeup...

An Interview with Ben...

I mostly did this to capture him in all his glorious three-year-old'dom for posterity... but you may find it amusing. It's about 5 minutes long, just warning you... :)

An interview with Benjamin, age 3-1/2

Also, here he is singing Grim Grinning Ghosts for all you Disney fans out there. ;)

Recap...

Yesterday was rainy and yucky. (my favorite kind of day!) :) So we took Benjamin down to the Geppi Entertainment Museum, which we had heard had a Star Wars exhibit. Ben spent about an hour and a half doing pretty much this:


Yeah. He thought it was pretty cool. But I could tell he was thinking what a waste for all those great toys to be stuck behind glass. ;)



In other news, Saturday morning, I put together Simon's exersaucer. It's a hit. ;)
(though I'm sure it will become even more of a hit the older he gets)


This thing is insane. The poor kid doesn't know where to look first.


Here's Benjamin in his exersaucer at the same age. Similar reaction. ;) I kind of think I liked his saucer better. It was way less complicated but just as entertaining. The toy companies seem to think making toys more and more flashy is the way to go. I tend to disagree. Don't get me wrong, I like the one I got for Simon, I'm just sayin... the kid doesn't need it to light up and blink and play When Johnny Comes Marching Home Again (btw, HOW is that song appropriate for a baby toy?)


Also Saturday, Tom's dad came over to help Tom replace the duct thingy coming from our dryer so it's no longer an imminent fire hazard. It's always nice to know your laundry room isn't going to burst into flames at any second. I had spent six years crossing my fingers and praying every time I used the dryer.

Just when we thought our busy weekend was over, Tom's recently engaged brother and fiancee called to see if we were free last night. They stopped by for awhile and I got to see the ring (SO pretty!!) and tell them congratulations in person. What fun!

How was your weekend?

Too Funny...

Simon, Ben and Sprout Are Getting An(other) Aunt!

Congratulations to Tom's youngest brother and his girlfriend Sarah, now fiance! :) We are so very excited! :) :) :)

This is How We Roll...

Five trips out to the car and back... an hour or so to disassemble, clean up, wash and dry the cover to the Evenflo and move the straps to the lower setting... Finally, everyone is situated. :) For the record, I LOVE LOVE LOVE Ben's new seat. (btw, that link is the absolute best deal on it right now) It feels so sturdy and it installed in matter of minutes. The LATCH setup on it is a hundred times better than the one on the Evenflo, which took me a good 20 minutes to get in and tight enough. But it's in and they are safe and secure. Hooray! :)

My Story (A Survey)

Hi, my name is: Erin

but you can call me: Erin... or mommy.

Never in my life have I: been drunk... or bungee jumped. Or bungee jumped drunk, which might be an interesting way to experience both for the first time.

The one person who can drive me nuts is: Benjamin

When I’m nervous: I blush, I also say stupid things that don't make any sense... or I play with things... whatever happens to be laying around. This once got me in trouble with an exploding ketchup packet at Friendly's.

The last song I listened to was: Hey There Deliliah, as it was played for the fifth time in as many hours on Mix 106.5 this afternoon.

If I were to get married right now it would be to: Tom, duh.

My hair is: brownish blonde... more or less of either depending on the season, trips to florida and the chlorine content of various pools I might be swimming in

When I was 4: I started preschool

Last Christmas: I was pregnant and hoping my SIL was too. This Christmas? Two new babies! Yeehaw!

I should be: going to bed because who knows when I will have to get up

When I look down I see: the kitchen table

The happiest recent event was: Simon laughing at me while I was putting his jammies on

If I were a character on ‘Friends’ : Some bizarre hybrid of Monica and Phoebe

By this time next year: I will probably be trying to get pregnant again. Oy.

My current gripe is: There will be no OB's left to deliver the baby and I'll have to deliver it myself on the bathroom floor

I have a hard time understanding: Ben's obsession with Star Wars

If I won an award, the first person I would tell would be: Tom

I want to buy: Pretty much anything for the house... a new kitchen would be up there. I would also love to buy a label maker, because I am a big nerd and really have this strange desire to plaster labels all over my house lately.


Where do you plan to visit: Vero Beach in January! I hope it's snowing here!

If you spent the night at my house: I hope you like sofas.

The world could do without: jealousy and people who are just outright miserable and mean

Most recent thing I’ve bought myself: groceries

Most recent thing someone else bought me: Tom's parents bought us a surprise dinner one night last week

My middle name is: Spring

In the morning I: I snuggle with the kids, feed them play a little and then start on chores while Sesame Street is on.

Last night I was: wearing my favorite sock monkey pajamas

There’s this guy I know who: is going to propose to his girlfriend soon

If I was an animal I’d be a: I hate this question.

A better name for me would be: I've always liked the name Amy

Tomorrow I am: watching the kiddos while Tom and his dad fix the dryer

Tonight I am: answering these silly questions and then going to bed

My birthday is: March 16

Big Boned...

After having heard the same reaction from umpteen strangers in umpteen stores who ask me how old Simon is when he's dangling off of my chest in the Bjorn, I have now gathered that "Oh! He's a nice size, isn't he?!" means my baby is a big fat fatty. I get it. Sheesh. Let's just ship him right off to the "husky" department, shall we? ;)

It's kind of like, as my friend Jenn and I were talking about the other day... you know you have an odd-looking baby when people say things like, "Oh! What a cute... outfit!" or "She's so... big!"

Also, while I'm on the topic of strangers and babies, I should mention that Simon got called "she" last night. I'm not particularly sensitive about this because whatever, he's bald and most people say whatever without thinking. But seriously. Even if I dressed him in pink ruffles and a bow, do you REALLY think he could EVER look like a girl? He looks like a little mack truck! For the record, he was wearing one of my favorite onesies, with a little rubber duckie on the front and yellow pants. Strange. Strange, I tell you.

Tale of the Tape.. Er... Worm...

All this AND Simon's about two weeks younger than Benjamin was in the same picture. Maybe we need to try Lite Formula? ;) (the difference is slightly exaggerated since Simon's pic is a little closer up... but still... sheesh)


Also, we are starting to make use of the hover chair, as I call it. ;)
He was pretty happy sitting there while Ben and I had breakfast. Much happier (and for much longer) than when we relegate him to the floor in his bouncy seat.

"Look Ma! Hands!"

And now is the time on Baby Human when we find our hands! Ya!

Red Bird has always been the object of Simon's undying affection. But now? (as in, since yesterday) NOW he can grab and swat at Red Bird... it's good for at least a half hour of entertainment for all involved. (except, perhaps, for Red Bird) ;)

He Ain't Heavy, He's My Kiddo...

Holy cow. I am SO done with the infant seat it's not even funny. The new carseat for Benjamin can't get here fast enough... (supposedly it will be delivered on the 17th). I am counting the days because my right arm can't take lugging that other seat around anymore. I don't know how some people use those for 6+ months. I was finished with it around this point with Benjamin too... 3-1/2 months is all my arm can take.

I even have a permabruise on my bicep from crooking it around the handle of that thing. Supposedly, you can keep the baby in it until they are something like 22 pounds.... HOW?! (with an emphasis on the -"OW!") I guess you could leave it in the car and not lug it around...

Anyway, that's my rant for today. Excuse me while I go ice down my arm.

In other transitional baby news, we just moved up to the size 2 Avent nipples today and the feedings are going MUCH more quickly. ;)

Could my life GET any more exciting? I mean, seriously.

p.s. Texas, I'm coming for you!!!

Don't Have a Cow, Man...

It's Benjamin and Simon Simpson! ;)



Simpsonize someone you love!" ;)

And People Say Benjamin Looks Like Me.. HA!

Proof he really was a collaboration. ;)
Class pic of Tom's.. I'm guessing he was about thee or four.

More coming... I found a box of pics and both kids are asleep! Scan happy! :)

More baby pics of Tom's...
I think this looks a little like Simon


Ahoy Matey! This one is all Ben! Ben even has the same space between his front teeth.


This one isn't even Tom I don't think... so I'm confused as to why it's in our box. Anyway, I'm pretty sure it's my middle brother-in-law, Marc. But isn't he cute? Note how they ALL have the same nose. (my kids, tom and his middle brother at least.. not sure about the youngest one ...and now I'm curious to see if my niece or nephew gets it too because it's obviously dominant!)


LOVE this pic. Can't wait for my boys to be old enough so I can recreate it. We even have the book to do it with!


Kindergarten Tom... a bit of Ben, no? Look at the eyes...


Ee GADS this is fun... here are more!

Simon!


Wee Tom and even wee'er brother-in-law (the middle one)... they were also scarred by the matching outfit phenomenon. ; I'm just keeping the tradition alive!


Can you find "Ben" in this picture?


heh. Couldn't resist sharing THIS one. Ah... 1986... Haley's Comet, giant glasses...and the braces, they are a comin'.


Look at that shirt! (obviously I have now moved beyond "genetics are weird" and right into mocking the 1970's and 80's.)


Last one, I swear...