Sunday, May 28, 2006
Time for some audience participation...
...assuming I actually HAVE an audience!
So, chocolate-fudge cupcakes or chocolate-fudge brownies?
Whaddaya say?
So, chocolate-fudge cupcakes or chocolate-fudge brownies?
Whaddaya say?
Thursday, May 25, 2006
Super-Cool Lyrics Thursday
I Can I Will I Do
Barenaked Ladies
Friend, this shouldn't be the way things end
But then, a break is just around the bend
And when you tell me as I leave
You're scared you'll never see my face again
Well, I'm not sure it's the truth
You don't think I can love you
You don't think I can love you
You don't think I can love you
But I can and I will and I do
You write - I read your letters every night
All right, I skim them just to be polite
I fight embarrassment and shame
The mention of your name makes me turn white
But guilt still makes me refrain
You don’t think I can love you
You don’t think I can love you
You don’t think I can love you
But I can and I will and I do
I imagine you think I don't think of you
You know you couldn't be more wrong
If good intentions paved the road that gets me through
Then I've got a six-lane highway
And I intend to someday
Do all the things I say I can and I will and I do
Hey - it's hard for me to go away
Okay, I know it's not adult
But it's just as difficult for me to stay
And anyway you say
You don't think I can love you
You don't think I can love you
You don't think I can love you love you love you love you
I can I will and I do
I can I will and I do
Perhaps you, Reader, can share your super-cool lyrics with me, too?
P.S. Luke said "Mama" last night! And he's been chanting it all day today. Music to my ears.
Barenaked Ladies
Friend, this shouldn't be the way things end
But then, a break is just around the bend
And when you tell me as I leave
You're scared you'll never see my face again
Well, I'm not sure it's the truth
You don't think I can love you
You don't think I can love you
You don't think I can love you
But I can and I will and I do
You write - I read your letters every night
All right, I skim them just to be polite
I fight embarrassment and shame
The mention of your name makes me turn white
But guilt still makes me refrain
You don’t think I can love you
You don’t think I can love you
You don’t think I can love you
But I can and I will and I do
I imagine you think I don't think of you
You know you couldn't be more wrong
If good intentions paved the road that gets me through
Then I've got a six-lane highway
And I intend to someday
Do all the things I say I can and I will and I do
Hey - it's hard for me to go away
Okay, I know it's not adult
But it's just as difficult for me to stay
And anyway you say
You don't think I can love you
You don't think I can love you
You don't think I can love you love you love you love you
I can I will and I do
I can I will and I do
Perhaps you, Reader, can share your super-cool lyrics with me, too?
P.S. Luke said "Mama" last night! And he's been chanting it all day today. Music to my ears.
Wednesday, May 24, 2006
Crying and Shopping and Things
Well, SHIT! In putting-the-child-to-bed-awake news....
Last night, I accidentally let him fall asleep while nursing. I didn't mean it! It was like, one second he was happily eating...the next he was out. (and he woke up at 3ish for another feeding) For Luke's first nap this morning, I put him down awake and he didn't make a peep. Just played with his doggie and his blanket for a few minutes, then rolled over and fell asleep. I was so happy! But he only slept an hour. For his second nap, he fell asleep at the boob again! Seriously, I'm not meaning for it to happen. And for the third, well, it's not happening yet. This morning's performance gave me false confidence. I put him down and he cried, screamed, thrashed about for 25+ minutes! He's still now...but I can hear him talking softly. I think sleep is coming. This is tough! And I pray that Luke hasn't woken Cam, whose room is next to his. C-note is a bear and a half when he's sleep-deprived (can we say, Father's Son?)
So. For the past month, I've been getting one night a week where I can leave the house and do whatever I want. It's my break. Like, I go out to eat (table for one, please) and go shopping...or go to the bookstore...stuff like that. Last night, while I was singing loudly in my car, I saw this on the back window of a Chevrolet Silverado:
"I go from zero to horny in 2.5 beers!"
Now, we KNOW that guy is cool! I wish I could have seen the driver, but he was in front of me - plus his windows were super-tinted.
My "me" night kind of sucked. I went to Macaroni Grill, even though my favorite dish has been sucky the past few times. I asked for it extra-spicy...thought that would take care of things. Well, they sure spiced it up, because I couldn't even eat it! I ate a lot of bread. Then I went to Hallmark to look for baby book/memory book things since Cam's is falling apart (cheap crap!) but they didn't have what I really wanted. I did end up getting lots of cards, though. So I checked out Michael's for scrapbook-type books, but their selection sucks. Then I headed to Hobby Lobby to look for a frame to match one I already have, but they didn't have it in the size I needed. I still needed to pick up diapers and pictures from Walgreens, but I had to pee so bad that I just went home. Fun, huh?
OK, I need to get some stuff done. Lukey's out (whew). Hope it's a long one.
Last night, I accidentally let him fall asleep while nursing. I didn't mean it! It was like, one second he was happily eating...the next he was out. (and he woke up at 3ish for another feeding) For Luke's first nap this morning, I put him down awake and he didn't make a peep. Just played with his doggie and his blanket for a few minutes, then rolled over and fell asleep. I was so happy! But he only slept an hour. For his second nap, he fell asleep at the boob again! Seriously, I'm not meaning for it to happen. And for the third, well, it's not happening yet. This morning's performance gave me false confidence. I put him down and he cried, screamed, thrashed about for 25+ minutes! He's still now...but I can hear him talking softly. I think sleep is coming. This is tough! And I pray that Luke hasn't woken Cam, whose room is next to his. C-note is a bear and a half when he's sleep-deprived (can we say, Father's Son?)
So. For the past month, I've been getting one night a week where I can leave the house and do whatever I want. It's my break. Like, I go out to eat (table for one, please) and go shopping...or go to the bookstore...stuff like that. Last night, while I was singing loudly in my car, I saw this on the back window of a Chevrolet Silverado:
"I go from zero to horny in 2.5 beers!"
Now, we KNOW that guy is cool! I wish I could have seen the driver, but he was in front of me - plus his windows were super-tinted.
My "me" night kind of sucked. I went to Macaroni Grill, even though my favorite dish has been sucky the past few times. I asked for it extra-spicy...thought that would take care of things. Well, they sure spiced it up, because I couldn't even eat it! I ate a lot of bread. Then I went to Hallmark to look for baby book/memory book things since Cam's is falling apart (cheap crap!) but they didn't have what I really wanted. I did end up getting lots of cards, though. So I checked out Michael's for scrapbook-type books, but their selection sucks. Then I headed to Hobby Lobby to look for a frame to match one I already have, but they didn't have it in the size I needed. I still needed to pick up diapers and pictures from Walgreens, but I had to pee so bad that I just went home. Fun, huh?
OK, I need to get some stuff done. Lukey's out (whew). Hope it's a long one.
Tuesday, May 23, 2006
CIO
So, I am trying to let Luke "cry it out" to get to sleep. He's used to falling asleep at the breast for naps and nighttime, and I really want him to learn to go to sleep on his own. We were able to put Cameron in the crib drowsy and he'd put himself to sleep relatively easily. Crying it out pretty much sucks. It's really hard for me to have to listen to my baby cry. Luke's in the middle of his first official cry-it-out session, and he isn't disappointing...the crying is full-force. I know I could get him to sleep within like 3 minutes if I just go in there and feed him. I guess it's just going to be hard for a few days around here. I can't really go in there to "calm him down," since my presence just makes him more agitated. It's like I'm taunting him - "I've got the boob and you don't get it!! Now here's a pat on your back, dear, go to sleep"
Well, it seems that he's exhausted himself to sleep. It only took 15 minutes. Yes. I let my 7.5-month-old cry for 15 straight minutes and did nothing. I feel cruel. This is supposed to work, though. It'll be good for him to be able to self-soothe, and good for us, obviously. Apparently, when he gets used to this new way of going to sleep, he won't need to exhaust himself to sleep...he'll realize he doesn't need to cry and will talk or play himself to sleep, or just drift off peacefully. One can hope. I hope we don't give in. We need to be consistent every time. But if this isn't working after a like 3-4 days, I think I'll give it up. Can you tell I'm iffy?
Well, it seems that he's exhausted himself to sleep. It only took 15 minutes. Yes. I let my 7.5-month-old cry for 15 straight minutes and did nothing. I feel cruel. This is supposed to work, though. It'll be good for him to be able to self-soothe, and good for us, obviously. Apparently, when he gets used to this new way of going to sleep, he won't need to exhaust himself to sleep...he'll realize he doesn't need to cry and will talk or play himself to sleep, or just drift off peacefully. One can hope. I hope we don't give in. We need to be consistent every time. But if this isn't working after a like 3-4 days, I think I'll give it up. Can you tell I'm iffy?
Friday, May 19, 2006
Podcast, my ass!
Goddamned itunes! I check to see if Barenaked Ladies has released a new podcast just about every other day. I'm too impatient to wait for itunes to search to see if there is a new podcast, so I click their refresh (or update, or whatever it's called) button to get things moving on my own. When there's a new cast, the status bar thing that tells me it's thinking keeps going for several seconds (like 30?) until the podcast is loaded. When there's not a new one, it usually just flashes a quick "scan" and stops. Well, you know what makes me mad? When itunes gets my hopes up and scans for like 15 seconds, leading me to believe a new podcast will soon download. And then stops short, leaving me in disappointment. Teasers. Assholes. ;)
Oh, and by the way, both boys did really well at Tony's great-grandmother's visitation, service and burial. My mother-in-law, well, that's another story. I won't get into the details, but let's just say that she's such a selfish bitch who doesn't stop to think that the shit she says can actually hurt people's feelings.
Oh, and by the way, both boys did really well at Tony's great-grandmother's visitation, service and burial. My mother-in-law, well, that's another story. I won't get into the details, but let's just say that she's such a selfish bitch who doesn't stop to think that the shit she says can actually hurt people's feelings.
Tuesday, May 16, 2006
A mom, a woman, her boys
Time for a new blog, no?
My Mother's Day was really nice. Almost perfect, in fact, had it not been from one pesky present. For Mother's Day, I got.......my period. After 16 months, it's back. And it's ugly. I was totally surprised. I'm still nursing - maybe not quite as much lately, but still a regular, consistent amount. Anyway, beside that unfortunate event, the day was great! Tony got me a new table for the patio and the boys gave me a gift card to Borders (yes!) and Cam picked out a cool candle for my table. Since Mom is in Portland visiting Amy, we spent the whole day at Stason's house. Luke had napped really crappily before we got there, but he surprised me by taking an hour-long nap in Riley's crib! Which was awesome, because it put him in a pretty good mood for the rest of the afternoon/evening. Cam had a blast. I got some good photos of the day, and will be posting them on md.com pretty soon.
Cameron has been doing better at potty-going. Since he didn't like the little potty at first, he's been going (sitting, mostly) on the big toilet, with a cushy potty seat on top, for almost a year now. Very sporadic. We decided to try the little potty again last weekend. I don't know if it's the novelty of something "new" or if it's just time, but he's been going potty more regularly now. Not exclusively, by any means, though. Like, one day he went 4 times. However, yesterday he refused to sit on the pot all day and only went once in the evening. He's wearing a "big boy diaper" - aka Easy Ups - most of the time. Those suckers don't hold much, so we're still doing a regular diaper at sleeptimes.
Speaking of diapers, I think Luke is already ready to move to size 4s. I can't believe it. He's such a chunk. And speaking of sleeping, I don't know what my little guy is up to at night lately. I KNOW he can sleep all night and then some. He gave us about a month of 9+ hour nights...and then he turned 6 months. Since then, it's been the norm for him to get up at least once a night for a feed. And this past week (save one night) has been absolutely insane. Last night, he slept from 8-2:30, ate, slept 1/2 hour, Tony rocked him, slept 1/2 hour, then I fed him again. Luckily, he then slept until 8am, but MAN! It's like we're sliding backward instead of progressing. I don't know if it can be attributed to teething or if he's about to reach a milestone or what. It's frustrating, and I'm so freaking tired. When he is awake, Lukey is big time into playing. He wants to get his hands (and mouth) on every toy in reach.
So, I think I will list some favorites:
Favorite Food:
Cameron - grapes, I think. Any fruit, really!
Luke - Prunes with oatmeal (seriously)
Favorite Snack:
Cameron - cheese crackers (or raisins)
Luke - Zwieback toast
Favorite Movie/TV Show:
Cameron - Chicken Little/Little Einsteins
Luke - he's not much into the tv, but he seems to like Diego!
Favorite Toy:
Cameron - cars, of course
Luke - Step and Play Piano
Favorite Book:
Cameron - Mr. Brown Can Moo! Can You? (but he loves all books)
Luke - he doesn't play favorites - they all are fun to chew on
On a sad note, Tony's great-grandmother passed away, at age 97. The visitation is tonight. It will be the first funeral for both boys. I'm not sure how to prepare Cam, or how he will react. I guess my current thought is to just keep him away from the casket. It's not really that I'm worried he'll be freaked out by death...he really doesn't understand that yet. I just don't want him to show disrespect (although not intentionally, I realize that) by saying - in his perpetually shouting voice, "who's that? what is she doing there? why are her eyes closed?" So, I will report back on how things went.
I have an awesome video of Luke to post on md.com...if I can just figure out how to edit it and get it up there. Look for it in the next day or so...it's so cute!
My Mother's Day was really nice. Almost perfect, in fact, had it not been from one pesky present. For Mother's Day, I got.......my period. After 16 months, it's back. And it's ugly. I was totally surprised. I'm still nursing - maybe not quite as much lately, but still a regular, consistent amount. Anyway, beside that unfortunate event, the day was great! Tony got me a new table for the patio and the boys gave me a gift card to Borders (yes!) and Cam picked out a cool candle for my table. Since Mom is in Portland visiting Amy, we spent the whole day at Stason's house. Luke had napped really crappily before we got there, but he surprised me by taking an hour-long nap in Riley's crib! Which was awesome, because it put him in a pretty good mood for the rest of the afternoon/evening. Cam had a blast. I got some good photos of the day, and will be posting them on md.com pretty soon.
Cameron has been doing better at potty-going. Since he didn't like the little potty at first, he's been going (sitting, mostly) on the big toilet, with a cushy potty seat on top, for almost a year now. Very sporadic. We decided to try the little potty again last weekend. I don't know if it's the novelty of something "new" or if it's just time, but he's been going potty more regularly now. Not exclusively, by any means, though. Like, one day he went 4 times. However, yesterday he refused to sit on the pot all day and only went once in the evening. He's wearing a "big boy diaper" - aka Easy Ups - most of the time. Those suckers don't hold much, so we're still doing a regular diaper at sleeptimes.
Speaking of diapers, I think Luke is already ready to move to size 4s. I can't believe it. He's such a chunk. And speaking of sleeping, I don't know what my little guy is up to at night lately. I KNOW he can sleep all night and then some. He gave us about a month of 9+ hour nights...and then he turned 6 months. Since then, it's been the norm for him to get up at least once a night for a feed. And this past week (save one night) has been absolutely insane. Last night, he slept from 8-2:30, ate, slept 1/2 hour, Tony rocked him, slept 1/2 hour, then I fed him again. Luckily, he then slept until 8am, but MAN! It's like we're sliding backward instead of progressing. I don't know if it can be attributed to teething or if he's about to reach a milestone or what. It's frustrating, and I'm so freaking tired. When he is awake, Lukey is big time into playing. He wants to get his hands (and mouth) on every toy in reach.
So, I think I will list some favorites:
Favorite Food:
Cameron - grapes, I think. Any fruit, really!
Luke - Prunes with oatmeal (seriously)
Favorite Snack:
Cameron - cheese crackers (or raisins)
Luke - Zwieback toast
Favorite Movie/TV Show:
Cameron - Chicken Little/Little Einsteins
Luke - he's not much into the tv, but he seems to like Diego!
Favorite Toy:
Cameron - cars, of course
Luke - Step and Play Piano
Favorite Book:
Cameron - Mr. Brown Can Moo! Can You? (but he loves all books)
Luke - he doesn't play favorites - they all are fun to chew on
On a sad note, Tony's great-grandmother passed away, at age 97. The visitation is tonight. It will be the first funeral for both boys. I'm not sure how to prepare Cam, or how he will react. I guess my current thought is to just keep him away from the casket. It's not really that I'm worried he'll be freaked out by death...he really doesn't understand that yet. I just don't want him to show disrespect (although not intentionally, I realize that) by saying - in his perpetually shouting voice, "who's that? what is she doing there? why are her eyes closed?" So, I will report back on how things went.
I have an awesome video of Luke to post on md.com...if I can just figure out how to edit it and get it up there. Look for it in the next day or so...it's so cute!
Wednesday, May 10, 2006
Awesome News
My sister and brother-in-law are coming home from Portland this summer! I'm a little bit happy. YES!
Saturday, May 6, 2006
Alien attack! (well, ok, not really)
We are currently experiencing an "invasion" of forest tent caterpillars. They are pretty much everywhere. Cameron didn't mind them too much until my mom got him all scared of them the other day. She has a tendency to spaz out over certain things and totally doesn't think about how her reactions affect C-note. So now he's freaked by our furry little friends. The good news is these guys will be gone soon...they have a short life cycle and will soon turn into moths. Apparently, Attack of the Killer Caterpillars is happening because we've had such a mild winter.
Here are some of our invaders on Cam's climber/slide:
And up close...they're actually pretty cute, but poop this disgusting, thick mustard stuff when you accidentally step on them. Which tends to happen often when they're EVERYWHERE!
I call them all Sherman Worman.
Here are some of our invaders on Cam's climber/slide:
And up close...they're actually pretty cute, but poop this disgusting, thick mustard stuff when you accidentally step on them. Which tends to happen often when they're EVERYWHERE!
I call them all Sherman Worman.
Friday, May 5, 2006
You've heard of falling stars...
So, we were sitting here in the living room at like 10pm. Tony was watching the Reds game and I was cleaning out my bookmarks folder (yes, we are exciting folks on a Friday night). We heard a loud crash, like something has fallen to the floor. We checked on both boys and they were soundly sleeping. We combed the house, but couldn't find the source of the noise. Tony went back into the boys' rooms again, this time with a flashlight. Turns out, one of Cameron's framed space photos (the sun, to be exact) had fallen off the wall and onto his bed. It was lying on his foot! And he slept through the whole thing. Good thing Saturn didn't decide to jump off the wall - that's closer to his head! I think we'll be making sure the prints are more secure in the morning.
On crack
Top 10 Favorite Ways to Eat Zesta Saltine Crackers!
1. Crumbled on hot soup (ok, that makes sense, although I don't crumble crackers on my soup)
2. Dipped in chili (sure)
3. Topped with peanut butter (yummers)
4. Smeared with cream cheese and jelly (gag me with a spoon...although with just cream cheese is not awful)
5. Dipped in hummus (sounds acceptable - never have tried hummus, though)
6. Covered with cheddar cheese (now you're talking!)
7. Topped with an apple slice (what?)
8. Served with a fresh, green salad (fine, but boring)
9. Topped with banana slices (can you get any more disgusting? What a way to ruin a banana! Or a cracker.)
10. Straight out of the box! (now, that's just a cop out, Captain Obvious)
1. Crumbled on hot soup (ok, that makes sense, although I don't crumble crackers on my soup)
2. Dipped in chili (sure)
3. Topped with peanut butter (yummers)
4. Smeared with cream cheese and jelly (gag me with a spoon...although with just cream cheese is not awful)
5. Dipped in hummus (sounds acceptable - never have tried hummus, though)
6. Covered with cheddar cheese (now you're talking!)
7. Topped with an apple slice (what?)
8. Served with a fresh, green salad (fine, but boring)
9. Topped with banana slices (can you get any more disgusting? What a way to ruin a banana! Or a cracker.)
10. Straight out of the box! (now, that's just a cop out, Captain Obvious)
Thursday, May 4, 2006
L-U-K-E
So, two Thursdays ago, Lucas Joseph got his first tooth (bottom right). Then, last Thursday, the one right next to it popped through. Today's Thursday, does that mean number three?! I doubt it, but seriously - his bottom right gum (lateral incisor, I do believe) is looking a little swollen. Maybe next Thursday...
Sir Luke-a-lot is becoming such a big boy. He's sitting really well on his own lately. Still wobbly at times, but nice and steady for the most part. His favorite things to say at 6 months, 3 weeks: Da Da Da Da Da, Di Di Di Di and Na Na Na Na Na. And sometimes it sounds like he says "hey," but I'm sure that's just a fluke. He can be the happiest, funniest, cutest, snuggly boy ever, but he's still a big ole grump the rest of the time. He's got the best grumpy old man face. He's totally into his toys lately, too.
Check it out - I was just looking for a good grumpy old man face to post and I found this one...you can totally see his two teeth! He's usually pretty tight-lipped when it comes to me looking in there, so I thought I'd never get an early tooth shot. And here I get this one by accident:
He's growing up so fast. Sigh.
P.S. Had to change the Walgreens batteries in the mouse this past weekend. It's a record...they actually lasted almost a month + one week. Wow!
Sir Luke-a-lot is becoming such a big boy. He's sitting really well on his own lately. Still wobbly at times, but nice and steady for the most part. His favorite things to say at 6 months, 3 weeks: Da Da Da Da Da, Di Di Di Di and Na Na Na Na Na. And sometimes it sounds like he says "hey," but I'm sure that's just a fluke. He can be the happiest, funniest, cutest, snuggly boy ever, but he's still a big ole grump the rest of the time. He's got the best grumpy old man face. He's totally into his toys lately, too.
Check it out - I was just looking for a good grumpy old man face to post and I found this one...you can totally see his two teeth! He's usually pretty tight-lipped when it comes to me looking in there, so I thought I'd never get an early tooth shot. And here I get this one by accident:
He's growing up so fast. Sigh.
P.S. Had to change the Walgreens batteries in the mouse this past weekend. It's a record...they actually lasted almost a month + one week. Wow!
Monday, May 1, 2006
What a traveler
States I've visited...how sad is this?
create your own personalized map of the USA
or check out ourCalifornia travel guide
create your own personalized map of the USA
or check out ourCalifornia travel guide
