May 2009

May 01

HAPPY BIRTHDAY GRACIE!!!!

One year ago today we held you for the first time and were overwhelmed with how lucky we were to have such a perfect baby girl!  On year later you:

• are trying to walk
• are learning new words
• are playing with Elijah
• will play independently
• love to dance
• can climb
• are sneaky
• smile easily
• love to cuddle
• still have eczema
• are night weaned
• love broccoli
• love chicken
• refused to every eat baby food
• can drink from a straw
• have a few signs down pat
• is very tolerant of Elijah's games where you are the dog...

Grace and I have had our first argument.  It went like this:

me: Look Grace, it's a plane.

Grace: bird?

me: Well, it flies like a bird, but it's a plane.

Grace: bird.

me: It's a plane sweetie.

Grace: Bird!

me: It's a plane.

Grace: BIRD!

I'm pretty sure that I lost.  Of course, she was riding in the car with Jerry and said, "plane."  (punk!)

Anyway, Happy Birthday Baby Girl!  I hope that you are as happy with us!  We sure love you!!!
 

May 02

First Birthday Party -- Gracie Style

We had cake!

and more cake...

and more cake

and played

and ate

All surrounded by friends!  It was really windy, but warm.  Overall a pretty darn good birthday!!

May 18

Grace's Well Child Check and VACATION!!!

I wrote a huge entry about Grace's Well Child Check Up, but stupid Windows Live Writer froze and it got lost in cyber world... sooo the gist:

Grace weighs in at 20 pounds (25-50%), is 29.5 inches tall (75%), and I can never remember her head size, but it's in the 50%.  She is all around well.  She does have low iron so we are on a Multi-vitamin with iron for her.  Her eczema is really bad, so we (after lots of talking!) broke down and got her a steroid creme.  I now feel like a total jerk for not getting it for her six months ago.  Overnight her eczema is gone.  We can only use it 5-7 days at a time and then have to take her off it for 4-5 days, but keep her lathered in the thickest lotion one has ever seen.  So far, GREAT!  So, I've made peace with it.  Two days after her appointment Grace took many independent steps, while on the ferry on vacation, she took off!  She is officially a walker now!

Okay VACATION!!!! WAHOO!!  (This is a REALLY long entry...but it's our whole vacation...so sorry in advance!)

We went to the Outer Banks hanging out in Kitty Hawk, to be more specific.  Here's how our week went (I will add an album of our week shortly!):

Saturday:  Got up bright and early to be on the road by 7:00 a.m.  We had to be at the ferry gate by 10:00 and made it there by 9:52.  Luckily we had pre-ordered our ticket as the ferry was full and if you didn't have a ticket, you were out of luck... or at least stuck waiting for the next ferry 3 hours away!  Elijah thought the ferry was the cat's meow and we spent the 2.5 hours wandering around talking about how the waves were generated, what a life buoy was, and why channel markers are VERY important!  We also saw a bunch of HUGE jelly fish (to which he informed me that it was okay, because the turtles will eat them...thanks Diego!) and some dolphins.  Grace found her sea legs and loved wandering around in the air conditioned part of the boat.  Afterward walking so much, Jerry and Grace took a nap in the car while Elijah and I explored the ferry yet some more!  Once we got off the first ferry, we raced to the next one.  This one was only 30 minutes.  So we hung out in the car.  Then it was a 1.5 hour drive to Kitty Hawk.  After unloading the car, Elijah, Grace, and I went to the pool and the playground on the grounds while Jerry went grocery shopping.

Sunday: We lazed around and explored the grounds a little more.  We went to the main rec area and checked e-mail and played around.  After lunch and a nap, we went to the beach for some afternoon playing.  Elijah got to stay up a little later and watch Finding Nemo (thanks for the movies Kristie!!!)

Monday: It was rainy and chilly.  So we decided to hit the aquarium.  Elijah was excited to see the "diving boys" in the tank and when we arrived we rushed to the big tank.  The question/answer time with the divers was over, which actually worked in our favor.  All the big groups were gone, but the divers were still in the tank cleaning.  So we got a front row seat to see the divers and the HUGE sharks.  I'm not sure you could pay me enough to be in there with those sharks.  Obviously the sharks knew what it was all about, they seemingly would swim by where all the people were standing and SMILE, showing off all 8703245 teeth they have!  My kids were FACINATED!  They loved it.  So after the divers finished cleaning, we went back to see all we had missed.  It was a good day.  Elijah and Grace were awesome!  So we stopped by the gift shop and Elijah got a souvenir of a truck with sharks on it!  cost: $23

Tuesday: The rain was gone, the sun was out and the temp was perfect at 67.  We hit the Roanoke Island Festival Park.  This is by far the best day we had!  This park has a replica of the Elizabeth II ship.  Complete with actors in New World garb and speaking in Old English-ish style.  This is all well and good, but I always don't know how to react...  Anyway, we had a nice visit with the boat, but that wasn't the end of it!  We walked a little way down a forest path and into an English settlement with tents and a blacksmith.  We were given a tour of the tents and then got penny nails made for us from the apprentice black smith.  (Fun fact: 100 nails cost a penny then...sounds cheap... not so much... one penny then is worth 100 DOLLARS today.  So nails were only used to hang doors.)  So THEN we walk up the trail a little more and there is a GREAT hands on museum.  We were greeted here by a museum worker who was thought that Elijah pretending to be a puppy was cute and totally played along.  She guided us through the whole museum, personally.  This museum ROCKED!  There were dress up clothes, boats to climb on, tents to walk through, a pirate that told funny stories from his ship, a general store, and a house.  There were interesting things for the parents to read and no one was saying, "NO DON'T TOUCH THAT!!!"  In fact, there were little hand prints and foot prints that led through the museum for kids to follow and to know that it was indeed ENCOURAGED to put their little grubby paws on things!  THEN we went out to a fossil digging area where you are encouraged to dig and sort through dirt to find sharks teeth and other various things.  Apparently there was even more to see, but we had to get the kiddos fed and napped.  The pass is good for two days and next time we will go back the second day for sure!  It was worth every penny!  cost: $16 (kids under 5 are FREE!!!)

Wednesday: Again, the weather was sunny and warm.  So we packed the kids up and headed up the coast to Corolla to the Currituck Lighthouse.  After a brief screw up in directions from yours truly we arrived at the lighthouse.  Elijah and I decided to climb to the top.  All well and good in thought... not so much in reality.  First, I forget how much I really don't like places that are high up.  Secondly, I had a 3 year old to worry about in addition, which was rather nerve wracking.  Walking up the stairs you can see through to below.  There is a space in between each stair and I was left wondering if it was indeed big enough for Elijah to slip through and down many stories... It didn't help that it goes around and around, making me not only wary of the height, but also rather dizzy.  But it was fine.  Elijah was GREAT going up.  He climbed all on his own (mostly with me holding onto his hand.)  We stopped at each landing that had a window and looked out.  When we got to the top we waved to Jerry and Grace.  Then we walked around the top.  Elijah was excited and wanted to stand on the bottom railing.  This left me wondering why the hell there was no plexiglass covering the whole top of the lighthouse.  So, of course, when I tried to pull him back, he had a massive breakdown.  I explained that it was very dangerous to be that close to the edge and it made mommy VERY nervous.  He then decided it was time to go back down and I was more than willing to oblige.  Of course, we had to wait for 5 of the slowest people in the world to finish climbing (there is really no room to pass at the top.)  Then it was down the lighthouse for us.  This started out okay and then Elijah realized that he could see all the way to the bottom and FREAKED out!  He got scared.  He wanted me to carry him.  My legs were already sore from climbing the 8 million stairs to the top, no way was I going to carry him all the way down.  So we stopped on a landing and I hugged him and reassured him that it was fine and I would hold his hand.  What tickled me was what got him to agree to walk down.  I told him we could count the stairs in between each landing.  This seemed like a great idea to him and he made it all the way to the next to the last landing, where he suddenly declared (very loudly) that he had to pee!  Screw the tired legs, I scooped him up, waited for some dazed looking children to hurry the hell up the stairs and ran him down the stairs, stopping only to pick up a sticker that said we climbed to the top, and ran him to the bathroom, where he peed in the toilet without incident!  We then walked back to Jerry and Grace and I went in to the gift shop and got a little snow globe for Elijah.  I was very proud of him!  We took a stroll out to the sound and then headed for some food and back to the condo for some naps.  cost: $12 (including admission to the lighthouse and souvenir)

Thursday: Warm, sunny, and WINDY!  We headed to the Wright Brother Memorial.  I have to say, that this is not a great place to take kids.  Well, I shouldn't say that...it's not a great museum to take kids.  Elijah wanted to see the big plane.  They were giving a lecture where the big plane was... we had to leave the area, Elijah broke down.  BUT I got him excited by (foolishly) coercing him into a race to the top of the monument.  So, once he agreed, I had to actually do it!  SO, Elijah and I raced to the top of the monument.  I am still feeling the soreness in my thighs from the lighthouse climb and the shin splints from running up a big-ass hill...sigh... Anyway, it was fun.  Even more windy at the top.  But great view.  After hanging out up there for a bit (read, catching my breath) we RAN down the hill to meet Jerry and Grace at the airplane sculpture.  This is where you should go if you bring children here.  The kids can climb on the plane and hang on the figure and all around get all the sillies out.  In fact, had I known it was back there, we may have forgone the museum all together.  Though there are some interesting things in there and SOME hands on stuff, but not a lot.  So the day redeemed itself at the end.  cost: $14 (including a 7 day pass to the park (wish we had known this beforehand as well.  We would have gotten it at the beginning of the week and gone a couple more times for the kids to play) and a souvenir.)

Friday: This was our last day on the islands.  What better way to spend the day than climbing up Jockey's Ridge.  The climb is tedious and there is no easy way to get up on top.  Don't be fooled.  But I think it's worth it.  You climb up these huge dunes and really see how thin these islands are.  From the top you can see the sound and the beach.  And regardless that there were three school groups there, you can completely feel very isolated.   We took some sand toys up.  This is where people hang glide as well.  We happened to be there on the first day of a hang gliding festival.  Unfortunately, Elijah got antsy so we only got to see some practice flights as they tested where the best take off place would be.  Some of the high schoolers that were there were sliding down the dunes.  Elijah wanted to slide down SO much.  So I thought, what the heck.  I walked down in front of him and since he didn't have anything to slide down on except for his tush, he scootched down the whole way.  But he thought he was something else!  He smiled the whole time and laughed!  So it was good.  At the bottom, he wanted to go back and do it again, but with bribes of going to the beach, he left willingly enough.  cost: free!

Saturday: Our trip home was uneventful (thankfully!)  We drove all the way back and for this I'm thankful.  1) it is really hard to schedule the long ferry ride.  If you don't make it you are stuck for 3 hours and that's saying the next ferry isn't booked.  You can only get on and off of Okracoke Island by boat.  2) it was raining and rough water...not so much for Erin.  So we drove.  It's only about 5 hours, but that's a bit of a trip with kids and only a few rest stops.  Nevertheless, it was fine.  Elijah entertained us the last leg of the trip with made up songs about: bedtime, bears, a twinkle twinkle little star remix, good and bad dinosaurs, mama and dadu raccoons, peeing and pooping.  He also made up some stories that he "read" from some construction paper that he had in his little pack (can I just say this was a handy little investment and I filled it with things for him to do including: coloring books, chalk, crayons, dry erase markers, books, lacing cards, and toys!  Got one for Grace too!)

Overall VERY good vacation.  Busy, but you have to be with kids or they get bored and then you go crazy.  We also utilized the resort's indoor pool a few times, as well as their video rentals.  The costs I included did not included the MANY times we ate out, but I thought that we did A LOT of stuff for not a lot of money!  Best kind of vacation!!

May 24

Another good week

my folks left yesterday morning.  They arrived last Sunday for a visit.  It was a quick adjustment to come home from vacation then to dive into hostess, but my folks stayed at a hotel this visit and this allowed for a little more downtime in the evening and waking up time in the morning.  Unfortunately, the weather wasn't as nice as it could have been, but it's all good.  We hung around the house on Monday.  Tuesday we had soccer, so mom and dad played with Elijah and Grace for the morning.  Right before we left for soccer mom and I went to get the right sized bolts for the baby bike seat.  Wednesday was a HUGE day.  Elijah had his first dentist appointment.  I was very nervous since he would NOT open his mouth for the doctor at his 3 year old well child check.  I also thought that they would simply look at his teeth and count them and make sure everything was okay.  HE DID GREAT!   I was SO proud!!  I seriously almost cried! not only did he let them look at his teeth, he let them polish them, and floss them!  We decided to just bring him to our dentist instead of a pediatric dentist because of insurance and convenience.  They said that if there were any problems then they would refer us to a pediatric dentist, but his teeth were perfect!  He got to choose two toys from the treasure chest and got a new toothbrush.  My folks then took him down to a local cafe while I had my teeth cleaned.  Turns out that I had a cavity.  But the scheduled me in for 8 the next morning.  So Thursday I went in and had the filling, then I went to the cafe until about 9:15.  At 9:30 I had an appointment to tour the preschool where we may send Elijah.  We are looking for a year from August.  But I want to start looking now so we can start putting money in Jerry's flex spending account at work.  This one is in a church about 10 minutes from our house.  It's 9-12 (or 1 if we pay an extra fee per month) 5 days a week.  Our biggest thing is to get him comfy around teachers and other peers.  They do a lot of learning through play which is a big deal for us.  I'm excited for him, and a little sad since it means my little guy is growing up. Thursday was also our 9th anniversary! Friday morning was spent at the beach.  Mostly because it was the first day that it wasn't freezing cold or raining.  My daughter has no fear!  This child LOVES the water.  We had to bring her out after about 10 minutes because it wasn't THAT warm yet, but she was fascinated.   And her confidence wore off on Elijah a little bit.  He came into the water as well.  I decided, though, that it would be really hard to take them together on my own.  So it will be a rare day that we go by ourselves.  Not that the beach is that fun without at least another adult.  So we got back, ate lunch, and I sent the kiddos off to nap while I got ready for an actual DATE!  Jerry and I went to see Angels and Demons while mom and dad took the kiddos to a local free family concert.  We met up afterward for dinner and ice cream.  Elijah did not fall asleep until 10:00!!!  And then woke up at 6:45 on Saturday...WTF?  SO anyway, with grouchy toddler in tow we met mom and dad for breakfast before they hit the road.  I got my lawn mowed.  Dad weed whacked my back yard.  I ALMOST have the pool rid of algae.  Overall life is good.  We have ordered a new mower, an electric one with a cord.  I love our reel mower, but it's already getting SO hot...so this is another option.  I really wanted a battery powered one, but the one I want is REALLY expensive, so this is something that we know how to use and it will be easier than the reel mower and still low emissions.  So hopefully it will all be good!  Our garden is looking better.  It rained so much that all the nutrients in the soil washed out, so we fertilized and sprayed the worm poop on there a few times and it's looking much better.  I'll get pics soon!  okay... I'm going to go enjoy the fact that Jerry has an extra day off this weekend and watch a totally brain candy movie!!!

May 31

Curiosity Killed the Cat...

but satisfaction brought him back right?  I hope the same is true for little boys.  Elijah has entered the question stage.  This is all well and good, I really try to encourage questions asked and finding answers... but there really should be a limited on questions asked before 9 in the morning!

It's actually all good.  Here is a sampling of the questions we have been getting lately:

• What's that?  (pointing to random things... most frustrating is while in the car and I can't see what he's pointing to... the question increases in volume and intensity until I, thinking my head is going to explode risk the lives of myself and our children to see what the hell he is pointing to only to find that whatever he was pointing to is gone since he started pointing to it 5 minutes ago.)
• What's that train/plane/truck/car/bird/bug/tree (you get the idea) does? (Yes, the grammar is bad, I try to restate the question correctly, but he doesn't get it...yet... sigh, this question seems to be easy right?  Not so much.  I have tried saying the following, "What do you think it does?" (response: I don't know mommy, what it does?) "It takes people places." (response: WHERE?) and finally, "I don't know!" (response: why you not know mommy...) sigh... also, Air Force One does touch and go practice once a month here.  I made the mistake of telling Elijah that it was Barack Obama's plane, so through in the mix of this, "Mommy is that Orock Omama's plane?" "Yes it is." "Where he going?"  lather, rinse, repeat....)
• Why? (I ask myself this question often... At least, thus far (KNOCK ON WOOD) it is usually just one why, I try really hard to come up with good answers as to nip the 9835769 whys in the bud, but we'll see...)
• Where does steam/smoke/rain/thunder/lightening come from? (again, try to answer as best I can... have had the Why question follow these...)
• Will you/Gracie/Dadoo play with me?  (I love this question, because he really just wants you to sit on the floor with him.  But he comes up with the best stories during his playing.  You will get dressed up as a fire boy or ride in a plane or build a dumping trash garage, but it's totally worth it!  Grace ends up getting distracted within a few minutes.  He will also ask me if others can play with him.  I tell him it's not up to me.  He needs to ask that person.  This is probably my favorite question.)

This stage is definitely keeping me on my toes, but I love that he gets it and remembers things we tell him/he sees.  At the same time, it makes me a little sad.  He's growing up (literally and figuratively) SO quick.  He really has only been speaking understandable sentences for a year.  It's CRAZY!  Sigh... My little guy...

March 2009

March 18

I know...

It's been close to a month since I've written.  I blame the weather...well, and my laziness, and my annoyance at microsoft right not... BUT whatever...

So Grace is 10 months now.  She is chattering up a storm and says words clear as day and then never says them again, but ya know!  She is cruising around and getting into EVERYTHING!  She is just about night weaned.  We have been having trouble with her actually eating stuff and last night we got exasperated and just put the spoon on her tray with food in it... and there you have it.  She ate most of her dinner... sigh... her eczema is still pretty bad.  She ate something that made her break out and so we got some Benedryl and that has helped on the occasion that she breaks out so bad that she is up all night long tearing at her skin... poor kiddo.

Elijah is doing well.  He's loving his soccer class, as am I.  He is full of energy.  We have many trying days, but the really good days make it all worth it.  We have decided that we will put him in preschool for a year before he goes to kindergarten.  He's been climbing into bed with me at night.  He's very quiet and just slips in bed.  And I must say that I don't really know he's in bed until I wake up half way off the bed because Elijah thinks that he should he sleep sideways in the bed...ah well... he doesn't wake up when I move him.  He talks... A LOT, but it's fun and I love that he's curious and making up stories!

So, on to what we've been doing.  We have decided to make raised gardens this year and we finally have one up.  I'm hoping that I can get the dirt into it tomorrow.  We also want to build at least one more for this year. Jerry's master plan is to have the least amount of grass to mow.  It's a good plan!  We are hoping to build a deck (or have one built for us) fairly soon.  My folks are coming next week and bringing their truck, so we have to make a choice by then.  If we build it ourselves, we'll 1) need their help and 2) need their truck to pick up all the supplies.

We've been hanging out with friends and enjoying the super warm weather...which ended last Friday.  Sigh... but it's returning.  We went to beach and played in the park and outside.  I actually got sunburned at the beach.  So I have the sunscreen out now.  I got to go to the movies this last weekend.  I saw Race to Witch Mountain.  I never saw the original so there was nothing for me to compare it too.  I thought it was decent.  There were a lot of families there and it made me happy.  I think this summer we will take Elijah to his first movie in the theatre.   Our local theatre does one dollar kid movies in the mornings.  They aren't new releases, but who cares?  It's a buck!

My issues with microsoft are as follows: my hotmail account got hacked...again... sigh... and I'm really not digging this new format with the web pages... but alas.  I have started transferring all my posts to blogspot.  I mean this blog is pretty much a chronicle of my pregnancies and the kids' lives.  So I'm sticking with here for the time being... but we'll see...

Okay... I'll post some pics from this month.  I'll really try to be better.  I know more stuff happened... 

March 31

A week with the parents

So my folks came in last Monday and then left on Saturday morning.  It was not long enough!  The weather limited us a bit as well.  We also decided not to build a deck...at all.  We may do some of these over the existing concrete and possibly under a gazebo/canopy thingy.   We'll see.  We found a decent deal on them on an e-bay store.

Anyway, my folks... We went to the big ship that's docked downtown and then to soccer class on Tuesday:

On Wednesday we went to the spin-y park.  I really like this park.  There are lots of spinning toys, which make me a little sick to my stomach, but the kids like them.  There is also a good walking path around the water shed.  I will say that this park will be a late fall/winter/early spring park because the mosquitoes will be insane soon.  But it's still a good park.  Jerry took half a day and we wandered around Lowe's and Target ALONE....sans children... we had an actual conversation!

On Thursday we went to a local indoor play place.   Since the weather was starting to become rainy it's nice to go somewhere that's inside.  We don't go there often in the winter due to cold and flu season, but I really enjoy it in the spring and when it's 973249570 degrees outside.  (On a side note, there is a great Children's Museum here.  We hadn't gone until the had a free day there a few weeks back.  They charge for anyone (including parents) over the age of 1 and it's 8 bucks a pop.  So, it will be a special treat.  But we are thinking about getting a membership there.  I think it will be worth it once Grace is one...in 1 month!!!!  HOLY MONKEY!!!)  So anyway... Thursday...

Friday Jerry and I got to go on a date!!!  We went to see Duplicity.  I really liked it.  I thought the storyline moved and was fun.  It was, again, nice to get out without the kiddos!

Mom and dad brought my bike down so that I can ride with Elijah.  This weekend we got a seat for Grace and a helmet for her as well.  I haven't installed it yet, but once I do, I think it will be fun to throw the bikes on the back of the car and ride at a park.

Yesterday we went to the park with Kristie&co. and Katie&co.  Usually we have Wednesday Friendsday, but it's supposed to rain (AGAIN) tomorrow, so we played on Monday.  Today a couple friends came over for a tie dye play date.  After they left, I had some dye left over, so I dyed Grace's diaper covers.  Lately we haven't been using cloth because Grace's bottom breaks out when there is the slightest moisture.  I think that this has a lot to do with her eczema, which is flaring up from the stupid pollen that is EVERYWHERE... nevertheless, I'm hoping to give it another try in a couple weeks.  I hope the wraps turn out super cute!

On the topic of Grace:  She'll be 11 months tomorrow and I simply cannot believe it.  I have sent out the e-vites for her birthday party.  We're having a potluck in the back yard!  She is walking with her walker now.  She LOVES music and dances often (Jerry taught her the fist pump and it's pretty funny to watch her do it.)  She has four teeth.  She REFUSES to be fed and will NOT eat baby food.  She wants real food or nothing.  She loves broccoli, peas, corn, pasta, chicken, rice cakes, apples, and pizza crust.  She is drinking from a sippy cup and is mostly night weaned.  She starts out the night in her bed which is in the same room as Elijah.  He has adapted very well to this arrangement and sleeps through her waking.  She is fairly laid back and is quite chatty.

Tomorrow evening, I am getting to go out with the girls!  My friend Katie's husband is entering a local singing contest so we are going out to show our support!  WAHOO!

Okay... I think this is it for now. I leave you with my two favorite pics from the past week!

June 2007

June 03

feeling better

sorry about the big bummer of a blog... but thanks for the kind words.  sometimes it helps to write things down...even if they aren't what's totally bugging you...  anyway...this weekend has flown by and that makes me sigh... yesterday someone was supposed to come look at our futon, but bought another one before looking at ours...though it turns out that's a good thing.  someone coming forced us to clean the office, which forced us to clean some other rooms and we realized we really like the futon and want to keep it... so that was good and we had a productive day.  today i went to a baby shower in the morning and then we went to rachel and erin's for dinner.  so it was a good day, but i wish it were saturday instead of sunday...sigh...
one of the things we did was re-assemble elijah's crib.  he kept rolling off the bed and ended up sleeping almost upside down...so back into the crib...we'll see how it goes.
we finally got rain that we have so desperately needed this weekend thanks to barry...(tropical storm) so it's been nice to not have to worry about the garden for a few days...though we did need to hang up some clothes...
also we found out that the weed wacker isn't broken, it just flipped a reset button...ahhhh, the joy of electric, right?
so that's about it i guess....maybe more exciting things will happen this week!
June 08

who needs thumbs anyway?

so i started the car today to cool it down while i got elijah in his seat and as i turned around i closed the door on my thumbnail...i have shut my finger in a door before, but i forgot how freaking bad it hurts!!!!  my nail immediately started bruising underneath and the back of my thumb swelled up.  it still hurts quite bad.  even if it's broken though (i don't think it is) there is nothing anyone could really do.  anyway. that's all about that... stupid thumb... hmph!
last night i went out with some girlfriends to see waitress.  it's a GREAT movie and i highly recommend it.  it's not the best acting in the world, but the story is really good.  i love that the main character writes letters to her unborn baby... it's a great witty movie.  very chicky-flick...
i added some pics of elijah.  his new thing is running and playing hid and seek in the laundry that's out drying.   he can also pull off his diaper through his pants now, hence the diaper pin in the front of the wrap.  with his hair pulled up into a pony tail he looks a little like a baby sumo wrestler...
we went to the beach yesterday and it was absolutely perfect.  it is burning hot inland, but the beach was perfect weather and the water temp is actually cooling right now.  so that was good.
we have decided to move our playgroup from the beach to each other's houses.  this is fine except for the space issue at my house...but i think when it's at my house i'll set up our new screened in thing-y outside and fill up the pool and offer inside and outside play.  it wish we had a fence so the ditch wouldn't be an issue, but life will go on...
okay, elijah is stirring from his nap....
June 12

a new week

so my thumb is all better...well it doesn't hurt anymore, it still looks rather gross... sigh...
this weekend i mowed the lawn and then finished weedwacking the ditch.  we also got a potty seat for elijah and are starting the training...nothing too big, just getting him used to sitting on the pot...
last night i stayed up way too late working on hats to drop off at carmen's.  the web designer is taking longer than expected to get her site up, but hopefully it will be up within the week.  she's 38 weeks preggers and we would be surprised to see her at group on thursday...but you never know.  i have a new item.  i have made baby dreamcatchers.  they are small and they have an origami crane in the middle of them.  i made them all different colors.  i think they are quite cute personally.  i'll post a pic at the bottom of this...
i am hosting group this week.  we are making father's day art projects... it should be fun...and messy... but mostly fun.
jerry is going to pass your plate for our next round of food.  i really love this place.  they use really fresh ingredients and supply you with the nutritional info so you can choose things that are healthier for you.  since it's his turn to go, i'm in for a long day... sigh...
last night elijah had a sorta hard time.  at around 11 he woke up and had his fingers jammed into the back of his mouth...sure enough i can feel the bumps of his 2 year molars coming in... so we gave him some IB and jerry got him back to sleep.  he stayed in his crib until 4:30!!  i brought him to bed and then he slept until 5:50...yuck-o!  I made him stay in bed until 6:45, by then i was over fighting him, so we got up...sigh...  this wouldn't have been that bad if i hadn't stayed up so freaking late working on stuff...oh well...
we went to story time today and elijah did GREAT!  he sat in my lap the whole time and for the most part really listened to the story.  we went down to carmen's after that and i talked to a woman about slings for a bit...she had the cutest little girl...so pudgy still...  rachel was with me this morning so we went for smoothies and then came back here for lunch.   tomorrow is going to be all about cleaning.  i think that i will do some example ideas with elijah for thursday.  we're doing hand print art and i think it will be super cute, but trying... it's hard to control a child's hand, but it'll be okay...
okay, i have stuff uploading and need to work with it...here's the pic of the dreamcatcher...



June 14

the BEST husband in the WORLD

I have the best hubby... here is why...
He always answers the phone at work when I call.
He sends me flowers just because.
He kisses me three times every morning before leaving for work (one fore each word in the sentence I LOVE YOU!)
He likes my folks.
He likes my friends.
He watches chessy girlie movies with me and doesn't make too much fun of them.
He encourages me to go out and spend time with my friends.
He doesn't get mad at me for not cleaning the house or having dinner ready every night.
He keeps the baby every other night.
He reads bedtime stories like they are the most exciting books ever written.
He loves me and our son.
He works hard so that I can stay home.
He listens to me complain, even when he's had a horrible day.
He listens to what happened during my day, including the finger painting and EJ's poop stories.
He knows when to agree with me...even if he doesn't.
He knows how to talk me down from a rant.
There are so many other reasons, but these are just some off the top of my head...  I just love him so freaking much!!!!!
June 17

when 52 inches, isn't 52 inches and other weekend fun

sigh... my kid has been crying for almost 1.5 hours straight.  i gave him some IB about 20 minutes ago (have no idea why i waited that long) for his teeth, and jerry took over the rocking.   poor guy.  i have no clue what's going on.  he usually gets fussy right before bed, but not like this.  anyway, i think he may be finally asleep...an hour past bed time...  though he's been sorta off all day today.  i hope that tomorrow is better.  jerry went back to bed this morning and slept until 10:30!  he needed it!  we were going to go out for lunch, but elijah fell asleep in the car before we got anywhere near the restaurant.  so we did a drive through thing.  came home and elijah slept for about half hour more.  once he woke up we played outside for a bit in the sprinkler.  we decided to go out for dinner, we went to this place boodles, but it was closed for some mysterious reason, we wanted to go to smokey bone's, but it's been closed down... so we ended up at our old stand by, atlanta bread co.  it was fine, but it was weird that everywhere was shut down... oh well.  (elijah is sleeping now...thankfully!!!)
so the title of this blog's story:
on saturday we went to costco to get some things and decided to wander around.  we came across this closet organizer that would be perfect for elijah's room.  so we find the measurements (52 inches long by 18 inches deep by 72 inches high...) our biggest worry is the 52 inches.  we have really small closets in the four smaller rooms.  so we come home, and i measure, not once, but twice (i am a good this old house... measure twice cut once....type of girl) from base board to baseboard and it is EXACTLY 52 inches.  so after nap and snack we head back to costco to by the organizer.  we get back to the car only to find out the #$%^ thing won't fit in the trunk...SOOOOO after removing the car seat, putting down the back seats, moving the stroller, all the while trying to calm a grouchy baby that wants to get out of the cart so he can push it into the road... we decide that it will fit if we take it out of the box, and hey, why not since we've measured and everything...and oh, on the way  home we can stop by the recycling bin to get rid of the outer box so we don't have to bring it back out... GREAT!  so we get it in the car, get home, get it out of the car, and get everything out of elijah's closet, get elijah busy "sorting" books and start putting said organizer together.  everything is going great, it's going together really easily, lalalalalala...UNTIL!  we get to the final base bracket.  it won't fit without bending the poles in.... well, okay, so let's take the feet off the poles...everything is fairly even (except apparently the back wall of the closet) and surely that will give us enough space... SOO we move everything out, take off the feet, slide it all back in, AND........
IT STILL DOESN'T FIT!!!!  for some unGODly reason we don't have the air on and have a window fan going and now Elijah has decided that climbing on mom while in the small a$$ closet is fun.... so I am freakin' burning up and irritated and we can't return the darn thing because we threw the stupid box away because I FREAKING MEASURED TWICE....  so jerry says...."well, let's rip out the base boards."  okay.... so we rip them out, not prettily I must add, and start over AGAIN.  this time is works and everything fits in place...well, almost everything....  in the 18 inches wide they don't take into account that there are drawers and baskets that need to be pulled out and shouldn't be in front of a wall...SUPER SIGH....  so we decide to put the drawers in the middle and make it so we can just reach into the baskets.
all in all, i really like the end result and am giggling as i'm recounting the story, but man yesterday, i thought i might melt the thing down to drop on top of costco.  i still can't figure out why it didn't fit to begin with...but what's done is done... and the end result is pretty.  we have moved the dresser out of elijah's room and moved stuff around so that his room is also his playroom, instead of having stuff in two rooms.
on another note, the flowers jerry sent me last week are almost in full bloom and really very pretty!  they are purple irises and yellow lillies.  i'll have to take a picture....
happy dad's day to all the dad's out there!!!!






June 20

it's raining!!!! Finally!!!!

After a long hot beginning to summer it is finally raining.  We are 9 inches under where we should be and under water restrictions.  It is raining a good hard soaking rain and it's supposed to continue into the night.
Right now I am waiting for the last five minutes of our pecan chicken to finish so that I can call Elijah and Jerry in to eat... that's right, I'm watching them out the window run around in the rain!  It's awesome.  They are so freaking cute!  I love warm rain that you can play in.  I have towels waiting by the door, and then they'll change clothes and have nice warm food to fill their tummies!  How awesome is it that my husband comes home after a long day at work and wants to play in the rain?!?  I took pics of them, I'll post later tonight when I have more than 3 minutes to post.
I just wanted to celebrate the rain and the playing in the rain!!!
June 23

getting my kid to eat..er...drink his spinach

So for a while Elijah really liked spinach, now not so much... not a biggie.  He's a great eater, but now we have all this frozen spinach in the freezer.  Everyday for his snacks Elijah gets a tofu smoothie and a rice cake.  I know that the tofu smoothie probably doesn't sound appealing, but they are really good.  I'll post the recipe in a moment.  Anyway, the other day I was pulling out the frozen fruit and thought...hmmm, I wonder what would happen if I put spinach in this smoothie?  So I made only a single serving (usually I make two servings one for each snack).  Gave it to Elijah and he gulped it down.  I tasted it before I gave it to him.  It wasn't bad.  I really didn't taste the spinach...so problem solved!!!
Anyway, here's the recipe:
1/3 cup of silken tofu
1 banana
1 cup of fresh or frozen fruit (if you use fresh fruit you'll need to add 6 ice cubes)
1 cup of fruit juice
1 tsp of honey (optional...we like it for the allergy factor)
We double this and mix and match frozen and fresh fruit.  We also use V8 Fusion juice.  It has 100% juice plus you get a serving of fruit AND a serving of veggies per 8 ounces.  And now we throw some spinach in there... yum-o (LOVE LOVE LOVE Rachel Ray!!!!)
So this afternoon Jerry and I are going on a DATE!!!!!!  Rachel is going to watch Elijah while we go see Ocean's 13.  I could care less if the movie is good or not, WE ARE GOING OUT SANS CHILD!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!  Don't get me wrong, love the kid, but I'm about to go crazy having to interrupt conversations with my hubby to deal with Elijah.  My folks are coming in July sometime and you better believe they will probably not see very much of me.
Speaking of the little darling... he's learning so much.  He's starting to test boundaries and picks up almost a sign a day, which is AWESOME!!  He knows about 10 words and close to 30-35 signs.  It's very nice to be able to say to him "stop whining and sign what you want," and he responds with what he needs.  He's becoming more independent, but still likes to hang out with us when there is a crowd, until he's surer.  His memory is getting better.  This is also nice.  He plays independently very well.  He loves to make noise and any new noise he learns is sure to fill the house fro a few days!!  He's right on track developmentally and that is always reassuring!
Okay, we have some bread in the oven about ready to come out (bread is the newest sign... one day I'll get some of these on tape and post links to them)  so gotta run...have a great weekend!
June 27

stupid nature...

So our garden was looking GREAT!!!  I picked our first tomatoes last Saturday morning, at that time our green beans were producing, the okra had lots of little okras on them, there were two squash forming, and there were about 30-35 roma tomatoes and 25-30 better boy tomatoes (all green.)  I went out monday to check on some tomatoes that looked like they might be ripe and BAM the stupid deer had gotten into the garden and eaten EVERYTHING except for the bell peppers.  They even ate the sunflowers out of elijah's garden.  I was so upset I cried.  I mean they ate everything.  I looked today and I have 1.5 okra plants that might make it.  The squash is beyond help.  I have three or four tomatoes (total) that have formed since the eating... Man...
SO THEN... the stupid rain comes...  and while we really need it, I really needed diapers to dry more.  BUT NOOOOO, so I hung out the diapers to dry (our dryer is out of commission and that's fine, until we need diapers...) and it rained all afternoon....SIGH!!!!   So I left them up overnight...at least they are REALLY REALLY clean... I go out at lunch on Tuesday to bring them in b/c it looks like rain again (but does it rain? NOOOO!!!)  Then go back out to hang them BACK up after Elijah wakes up.  While we are out there I decide to clean out Elijah's kiddie pool.  Whilst doing that... I get stung by a wasp!  ARE YOU KIDDING ME WITH THE NATURE?!?!?!   SO having not been stung by anything since I was like 7, I freak out that I'm going to have some reaction.  I bribe Elijah inside with a smoothie and call Jerry because now I am feeling rather woozy.  I call my mom just to be on the phone with someone in case something happens before Jerry gets home...man stings HURT!!!  My mom tells me to make a paste out of baking soda (since we don't keep meat tenderizer or tobacco juice just lying around...) and put it on the sting to help take the pain away... it does help, but I still feel like I'm going to be sick.  Elijah keeps coming over and kissing my leg,, which was really cute (Jerry told me later that Elijah was walking around holding his leg like I was and signing "help" and Jerry would kiss the leg and he would go back and play and then start the whole thing over again...)  So after all that, I was fine...what a wuss I am, but I was a little freaked out...
Anyway, today was better.  We went to the beach after our walk this morning and it was perfect.  The weather wasn't too hot, the water was calm, and there was no nature out to get me.  We stopped by Rachel and Erin's on the way home to pick up their tiller and to say good-bye.  They are leaving for a couple weeks of vacation... I'm in total denial and hope that the time will fly...
I am excited because I have scheduled some appointments for next month.  One is for my annual, and while that's not exciting, we are meeting the midwife we will go with for our next pregnancy.  i've heard such great things about her and I'm really excited to meet her.  I really loved my OB but they are no longer doing OB stuff.  There isn't another all woman practice in town, so we decided that a midwife would be the way to go.  The only problem is that she lives in Myrtle Beach (about 1 hour away) so if she isn't in town when we go into the hospital...she could be cutting it close to make it here for the delivery...but I'm not worrying about that now as we aren't preggers and we'll have some time to figure it all out when the time comes...
Okay, I've got brownies in the oven for play group tomorrow...let's hope nature continues to be nice to me...

May 2007

May 01

A beach day with no documentation

HUGE SIGH.... we had a blast at the beach this morning.  I took a ton of pics and when I came home to download them...the card corrupted... and now it won't format (which would have erased all the pics anyway...  I'm so bummed.  So we have to get another card.  You may have noticed I haven't updated any video or pics lately...well our computers haven't been talking to each other properly, so Jerry fixed that last night.  I was waiting to download a bunch of pics until that was fixed and now... SIGH... I should've gone on and downloaded them.  How frustrating!
ANYWAY, we had so much fun this morning.  Elijah and some of his friends played in the sand and in the water.  I actually went all the way in.  The water temp is 67 but the air was so warm!  On our way home Elijah fell asleep and then slept for about an hour once we got home.  Then woke up to eat and hasn't gone back to sleep.  Sigh... I made him sit quietly with me for about an hour so he at least got some rest...
Okay, I just wanted to vent about the stupid camera...
May 07

Work Work Work

YAWN!!!!  What a busy weekend!  On Saturday I hosted play date from 10 til 12, then I worked all afternoon...  On Sunday we went out for breakfast and then Jerry and Elijah went to see Jerry's folks and I worked until 4 and then went out with the ladies!  That was very fun.  The working was fun too, but it was a lot...  Have I mentioned that I have this new project?  I was commissioned to tie-dye a huge amount of kids clothing to be sold in Carmen's store (FYI by the end of the month her store will be on-line as well....she is also going to have virtual birthing classes...I think it's pretty cool....) So I spent Saturday evening rubber banding everything and Sunday dying.  This afternoon (and probably evening) I will spend rinsing everything.  So I am tired and dyed a bit...  but my test projects turned out pretty well I must say.  I'll put some pics at the bottom of this post.
The rest of last week was pretty uneventful.  Jerry watched the republican candidates debate and was disgusted at many things they did or didn't say.  He got really fired up when three people raised their hands and said they didn't believe in evolution.  Anyway, he blogged about it...  he's so funny about his politics.
Oh yeah, so on Saturday Jerry took Elijah out to the store with him.  he was going to go to just the grocery store and maybe the library, but I got a call from him while he was in Target.  This is the conversation:
"Umm, hi we're in Target."
"Okay."
"Ummm, so Elijah found something he wants..."
"Oh he did did he?"
"So....is it okay if he gets it?"
"What is it?"
"It's a surprise."
"Is it for mother's day?"
"no."
"Is it for the whole family?"
"no."
"It's just for Elijah?"
"yes."
"Is it expensive?"
"I don't think so...."
"okay."
So they get home and Jerry brings this thing in behind his back and says this is Elijah's.  It's a ride on scooter thing from Radio Flyer.  Super cute.  But get this... the reason he bought it was because there  is a picture on the side of the box that looks JUST like elijah (if he had a hair cut...)  Anyway, Elijah loves it.  He still hasn't figured out how to make it go forward, but he's really good at going backward...it really funny!
So that's that....
Oh and Elijah's word for the week is uh-oh....Everything gets an uh-oh...

May 11

one more week!

We leave on vacation in one week BABY!!!!  I'm excited to have my hubby for a week...  We leave for Edisto Island in one week.  I'm excited to just get away.  My folks will be there on Sunday, but they are staying in a different area of the resort.  It'll be nice to have a babysitter if we should need one!  My mom's so funny...she doesn't want to intrude on our vacation and promises not to bother us...we don't mind mom!!!  I'm just looking forward to doing nothing!  I do think we are going to try to go up to Charleston for a day...but if it's too hot, we may revisit that idea.
So last night, we hear Elijah cry out...when this happens we wait for a minute to see if he's really awake and then just check on him to make sure he's not up doing stuff he's not supposed to...ANYWAY, jerry goes in and comes back and asks for the camera.  I go in and there's Elijah with his head on the floor and his body on his bed totally asleep (see the photo album for the pic...) we of course fixed him so he was back on his bed...  but what a cutie and funny little boy!
Rachel just called so we are going to the library and the store with her and MR...  HAVE A GREAT DAY!!!
PS check out the sweet potato production page for the tie dyes...i turned them into Carmen Wednesday...Actually I think that I might add an album here....
May 15

Is it vacation time yet?

sigh...this week seems to be dragging!  Yesterday we walked the loop and then had lunch with Rachel and MR.  Today I went and dropped off some reversible sunhats and a few slings at Carmen's.  Her site should be up by the end of the month!!!  I also did some yard work this morning.  Have I mentioned that our dryer is about to kick the bucket?  It's been squeaky for a while, but it has gotten unbearable lately.  We don't run the dryer unless we are home...so it's really annoying and REALLY loud.  So we are now hanging all our clothes out to dry.  We really want a good energy star dryer....but they are REALLY expensive.  So for now, this will work.  I think the dryer just needs a new belt, but I have no idea how to fix a dryer...sigh... the biggest thing is the diapers.  Not usually a big deal, but since we are going on vacation it's kinda hard.  So we are using disposables now and getting all the diapers (and the pail which is how we will transport the diapers in)clean to be able to pack in the car...sigh...I would have preferred to use disposables on the trip, but we'll have a washer and dryer in the condo, so why not?
So we took care of MR on Saturday while Rachel and Erin went kayaking (with kayaks I found for them, thank you very much...)   We took the kids strawberry picking.  It was really fun.  Elijah would take the bucket and move it out of MR's reach and then she would crawl after it and right as she got there, he would pick it up and move it again.  We came back here and I pumped up the pool.  While I was doing that I had MR sitting on the ground and she was just talking away and Elijah was just running around.  later when I was getting them our of the pool, I look at MR's legs and she had fire ant bites all over them!!!  She never cried, but they looked horrible and I felt SOOOO bad!!!  Poor kid.  But she never got upset and they look soooo much better...but this is the first time we took care of her and that happens...sigh... Of course, Rachel and Erin weren't even a little upset, I wouldn't be either as those stupid little ants are everywhere...but still....  Needless to say I treated the whole yard Saturday afternoon.
We picked the first blueberry off of the bush this weekend and I pulled the last three carrots and picked some peas.  I'm excited!  I think that our garden is going to be better than last year!  Everything looks really good.  I need to get out and hoe in between the rows before we leave.
That's it I guess...
May 16

yeah...

So I was just reading Claire's blog and she was talking about things she loves.  She mentioned that Planet Earth Series...I really keep meaning to watch it, but forget until it's over and then I'm all annoyed...sigh... ANYWAY, she was talking about the cool underwater creatures that were shown on one.  That made me remember the pics someone sent me after the tsunami hit a couple years back.  They are of all these really cool (and sometimes creepy) creatures that washed up on shore.  I'm going to post them in just a minute, because they really are interesting.
Is anyone else watching Notes From The Underbelly?  I'm totally addicted to the show.  It's just funny to see how some people view pregnancy.  I guess it's different for each person.  I know a whole bunch of pregnant women right now and each one of them is handling their pregnancies differently.  It's really cool.
Hmmm....I'm watching a show called My Kid's A... And there are a bunch of kids that have all these different lives...One is joining the Cirque Du Soleil, One is a 12 year old preacher, and one is a transgender kid...  It' quite interesting.  The transgender (I think...I came in in the middle) was a girl and wants to be (or rather is) a boy.  The mom is trying to find a doctor who will remove his breasts...hmmmm... very interesting... random thought....
So today I finished washing the clothes and drying them outside.  I also hoed the veggie garden and the side garden, so they are weed free-ish..I'm pretty beat now, but it's good.  It's supposed to rain tomorrow so I will pack everything and get the house cleaned up.  we aren't leaving until after lunch on Friday since we can't check in until 4.  We were going to go through Myrtle Beach, but it's bike week there...so not so much for us...
Okay, this has been a really random blog....I'm going to post pics.
May 17

okay...so maybe I was wrong...

Maybe we just don't have bunnies around here...though I find that hard to believe... ANYWAY, I just did some research on the marigold theory...Apparently it doesn't work for many, in fact some of the bunnies were actually eating the marigolds!  So many suggested blood meal which you can buy at the garden center.  Since we haven't had any trouble with the rabbits, I'm not doing anything else.  I've also heard that if you pee or spread hair around it will keep them and deer away.  I lost so much hair after EJ was born that I spread it around last year, no problems with the deer or bunnies... who knows...
I'm packed, Elijah is packed, his toys are packed....now all that's left is Jerry and the food and then we'll be ready to go!!!  I am a little nervous about the insane price of gas, but as this is probably the only place we're going this summer, I'm not that concerned.  We plan on renting bikes once we get down there, so that takes care of the gas issue once we're there.  We may go up to Charleston for one day...we'll see...
Okay, I'm going to post a video and some more pics of the kid.  Also I'm posting pics on the Sweet Potato Productions page...so check out the new stuff!
This is probably it until we get back so have a nice week!!!!
May 25

home again home again...

So we're back...got back around 4 actually.  It's depressing to come home and realize you live in an ugly place...Edisto is covered with live oaks and palm trees... it's just so pretty...oh well... we could sell our house and live in a  tent...
So our vacation... well, we got there last Friday and jerry woke up sick on Saturday and was sick for the majority of the vacation, so that sucked.  My parents got there on Sunday afternoon, that was nice.  If Jerry had felt better, I think they would have been asked to babysit.  Elijah's long term memory is becoming more apparent.  He gets excited to see my folks instead of looking at them like strangers.  He is willing to go off with them and be okay with the whole thing.  Quite nice...  I rented a bike with a baby seat while we were there and on the arm days it was fab-o.  Elijah and I went to the pool and played and walked to the beach to play in the sand.  If we had such nice bike lanes here, I would consider getting a bike, but as it is you really risk your life getting on a bike.  Jerry didn't rent a bike, so once he was feeling better, it was sorta silly to ride a bike and drive a car.  There's a great park on the island and Elijah really liked that.  He slept well at naps and at night, as did I!!!  However, he got Jerry's sickies and now has a cough that is not pretty.  If he's not feeling better by Tuesday, we'll go to the doc.  We went out to the ACE basin and walked around the plantation there on Thursday.  I got eaten by bugs there, but it was really nice.  The last half of the week it was a bit cooler so we didn't go to the beach as much.  I just felt so bad for Jerry.  He's worked so hard and he was sick on his vacation, which in turn meant I wasn't really on vacation since I was on mommy duty 24 hours a day...but we were in a beautiful place and we didn't have to worry about work and hours and stuff like that...soooo...
Anyway, we are back and our house is still standing and our garden looks good...so life is good.   Now to catch up with everyone else...
May 28

back to the grindstone

Well, not really...but yesterday I did work my little tail off.  In the morning I broke out the weedwacker and cleared out around the house, then jumped into the ditch...I got about 3/4 of the way down the side ditch and the weedwacker just stopped working.  It's electric so I thought maybe I had tripped a switch or maybe over heated the motor...but apparently not. It just doesn't work.  Since his was a gift and we have no proof of purchase, we are out of luck... Oh well, we realized we needed something that can have attachments and maybe a bit more power.  This one definitely did it's job and worked great...so, once that broke, it was lunch time and after Elijah (and I) had a nap, I hung a rack in the pantry...makes it look so much better!!! and then fertilized the garden with liquid worm poop!!!  Thought that was funny, but we found it for the lawn a bit ago and now we have it for the garden.  It's really cool stuff and they have a program for recycling used soda bottles...The company seems really environmental and we like to support companies like TerraCycle.  It's awesome...check 'em out!!
Anyway, it was a good day.  Today Elijah and I went over to Rachel's grandmother's pool and played for a bit then picked up some lunch.  It was good to see her again.  Jerry's friend, Eric, came down to visit for the day, so that was good for them to catch up.  Tomorrow we'll go to story time at the library and then I want to check out this bookstore in town.  I also want to try my hand at a Memory Quilt so I need to find some fabric crayons at AC Moore... I hope these work out.  I am hoping to have a website up before homecoming in October, though I think/hope that it will happen sooner.  I just purchased another bolt of fabric from JoAnne's, so we'll see...
I'm waiting for a video to process to add to the site and then I am going to just chill with my hubby for the evening.  I'm sad that he has to go back to work, though he worked on Saturday... but at least it's a four day week.
Hope you had a good long weekend where you are!
May 31

little known facts

or maybe they are widely known...who knows...
1. i don't make friends easily.  i tend to not always be myself and then the whole thing blows up in my face when my true colors come through.
2. i often feel that i don't belong and that i am somehow in a temporary state.... i constantly hope that this feeling will eventually end.
3. i worry that my children will have some of my same issues.
4. i do worry about what people think of me and secretly get my feelings hurt quite often...but i don't let it show...
5. i think that the whole "organic" movement is overrated and that you are really just paying a higher price for the same food...wash your food people!  i know that there are those that judge me for not eating organic and for once, i really don't care...
6. i do believe in buying in local and think that it's great that there are farmer's markets in which this is possible.
7. i think the best way to go is to have your own garden...but i know that's not always possible either.
8. my husband is my absolute best friend...he kicks butt!!!!
9. i secretly think that the country is doomed if we don't find someone who can actually make a difference...
10. i miss my college friends (and my two high school friends i still talk too) so bad that it hurts.  i wish we all lived really close...
11. i sometimes feel i lead a rather lonely existence...i am scared that my children will feel this way too...
12. i get annoyed with people who claim to be open-minded, but refuse to look at the other side of things... (another reason why i love my hubby!!!!  he keeps me in check...)
13. i don't feel like a martyr because i went through natural childbirth...my labors were only 5 and 6 hours...who knows what i would have done had it gone on longer.
14. i sometimes don't think my heart can hold all the love i have for jerry and elijah and grace... i honestly don't know what i would do if anything ever happened to them...
15. i realized today that i don't want to live in this town much longer... i would be only a little sad to leave, but i think i would be happier elsewhere...
16. i haven't attended church in quite a while... i have tried a couple down here and none of them have felt like it could be home.  i miss having the feeling of acceptance i once had... it makes me lonely and a little sad.
17. i miss acting...a lot...but i love my kids...but i still miss the stage...
18. i haven't felt like i was a part of something great for a long time (besides my marriage and being a mom...)
19. i call my folks just to hear their voices sometimes... i miss living close to them...
20. i often feel guilty about things i have no control over...i don't know why and i don't know where this comes from...
21. i often over react to small things and think they are much worse than they really are...
22. when i over react to these things, i tend to realize that i need to change direction in life.
23. i believe that life is too short to not be silly...
24. i love to skip.
25. chocolate is the one thing i can not seem to give up.... why can't brussel sprout be bad for you...those i would have no problem giving up...
26. i have missed three weddings of college friends and i regret missing each and every one...
27. i wish i would win the lottery...but i don't play it...
28. i wish i had the means to travel all over the world...
29. i wish i had joined the peace corp directly after UNCW...
i have had a crappy morning... i don't want to get into it...but it has sucked!  i've been rather tearful writing this and my adorable little boy has been coming over giving me hugs...what a sweetie...
i just needed to write...

February 2007

February 10

You Got a What? Where?

Sorry it's been so long.  I can't even remember what I've been doing.  My folks have been in town this week for a visit.  That's been really nice.  Let's see... We went to a b-day party for one of Elijah's friends on the 1st, the 2nd was Erin's b-day, the 3rd was the opening of Carmen's store, and the 4th was super bowl (and me trying to get the house ready for company.)  Then the folks arrived...soooo, I guess that's what I've been doing....
Anyway, the story that fits the title.
To preface...My child was wearing a bib, a long sleeved onesie, and jeans when this happened...
So after lunch, Elijah pooped...Jerry went to change his diaper and called me.  I thought maybe something was wrong (I mean once you have had to deal with gross poop, you live in constant fear it will come back...) but then he said..."Bring a camera...."hmmmmm.  So I grab the camera and go into the nursery.  There on the table is Elijah grinning like a mad hatter, his diaper down, his pants off, his onesie un snapped, and in his belly button....a single green pea.  It's like he ate too much and it came out from the inside.  It was rather funny.  So the pics are at the bottom of this post...  Leave it to my kid to figure out how to get a pea perfectly in his belly button while fully dressed..My KID IS MAGIC!!!!
Oh, yeah, this week a woman I know from a web site I have joined brought over 3 trash bags full of yarn that her mother in law was getting rid of!  I'm so excited!  I have just about finished my newest addition to my line....knitted bunny slippers.  I have one finished and it is too freaking cute!  I would let Elijah keep them, but since most of our house is hard wood, he slips in them too much.  However, I will get him to model them.  I also have the pattern for bears, dogs, and kittens.  They are really cute.  I also am going to do some washcloths with animals knitted into them.  I hope they turn out.  I will start making sunhats soon too, but those will be out of fabric.  Mom and I figured out a way to make a pattern we found reversible.  Hopefully it won't be too hard.
Elijah also got his sandbox (and sand) this week.  He's not to sure about it, but we think it's because it's freaking cold here!  This summer it should be a blast!  We are also getting a kiddie pool soon!  That should be fun too.  Dad was making fun of the whole thing.   ... living at the beach and owning a sandbox and a pool...but you have to pay to park at the closest beach, so we won't be going EVERY day this summer...
Okay, the pics and then I need to go to bed.  I'll try to be more consistent.  It's just hard when you have a little one running around.  He's in to freaking EVERYTHING!!!!  sigh... my big walker...this time last year, he was barely keeping his eyes open long enough to look at you!
sleep well everyone!


February 16

big sigh

First off I'm really tired and so this will probably not be the most positive entry.  (Just a little disclaimer...)
So we are almost finished weaning Elijah...let me just say that this weaning thing is for the birds.   We have done this really gradually, only removing one nursing a week.  So we were down to the 5 in the morning feeding and I knew it was going to be rough... but DANG!!!  Jerry was off today since they are painting at his work, so we thought this weekend would be as good as time as any...sigh..Last night SUCKED!!!!!!  Elijah was fine until about 12:30 when he rolled out of his bed and landed on the rocker of the rocking chair...not so bad, I just brought him to bed with me and he went back to sleep (his mattress is on the floor by the way, so it's not like he fell far...) anyway, he slept until 3:45 and I woke up to him grabbing my breast... I picked him up and hugged him close and said mama's milk all gone...that didn't go over too well.  I walked with him, I rocked with him, I bounced with him, I sang to him, I sat down with him and watched bad Disney cartoons (not a norm...but at 4:15 in the morning, I'm willing to try anything to get my kid back to sleep...)he would almost get to sleep and then start screaming...sigh...at 4:45 I went to go get Jerry and he was already up, so we traded places.  I went to sleep and he stayed with EJ.  Apparently he didn't really go back to sleep.  I woke up to the microwave closing at 7:30 this morning.  So I thought, well, we'll just tough it out until 1 when it will be nap time. We met Rachel, Erin, and MR for lunch and EJ fell asleep on the way home.  Jerry brought him in and put him down for a nap...thought we would get a nap too...WRONG!!!  The little punk woke up 15 minutes later and we tried for TWO HOURS to get him back down...didn't happen.  SUPER SIGH!!!  He is finally asleep and I am hoping it is for a bit.  We, I am sure will be going to bed early tonight.  We have a play date tomorrow morning, so it would nice to actually function whilst playing at the park.
To top all this off, 2 of EJ's molars are cutting in... This makes me feel a bit guilty about the weaning, but I can't deal with the pain anymore on me.  I'm also SOOO ready to have my body back.  Don't get me wrong, I have REALLY enjoyed breast feeding and I am excited about nursing the next one...IN THE FUTURE.  But since he's had teeth and his latch is so strong and his mouth is so small....let's just say it's not so comfy anymore.  He's sorta been weaning himself anyway.  This last week, I'm pretty sure I was producing very little to none, I felt the let down, but barely, and he's only been nursing for about 5 minutes at the 5:00 feeding...sooo, I guess I had a small hope that this might be easier than it has been.  There is no magic that I can find to the weaning, it just sucks.  I also (falsely) hoped that the Motrin we've been giving him to help with the molar cutting would help him sleep...sigh....
Anyway. that's my blog entry today.  I have pics to add, but I haven't uploaded them and the camera is farther away than I am willing to walk.  I'll take some pics at our play date tomorrow and maybe I'll post tomorrow evening...depends on how functional I am tomorrow.  Wish us luck!
February 20

Weaning is for the birds

But it is done.  He hasn't nursed since last Thursday night.  The sleeping has not improved and so there are two sleepy parents in the house.  Elijah is up for the day at 5:30 and that really isn't great for me... However, he has been taking a 3 hour nap in the afternoon and is going to bed at 7:30 at night...so I guess it's okay for him...sigh.
Anyway, this weekend we tilled the garden.  This year our garden is a bit smaller and then we made a separate one for Elijah.  I'm waiting for the video I took of him to upload to Soapbox right now.  I hope this video thing works.  It's kinda a long movie, but it's so freaking cute.  He signs more and plane in the movie and he's helping me plant some flowers.  ANYWAY, we are starting all our plants inside this year.  Some we'll transplant in the next couple of weeks pending this fab-o weather staying.
I went by Carmen's shop today and found that I need to get busy making some more slings.  I am also going to try to get some sunhats in as well.  Oh yeah, and bunny slippers in time for Easter would be nice too.  I'll post the pic of the slippers at the bottom of this entry.
It seems that there was something else to write about, but I can't think of what it is...
Oh well, must not be too important!  Happy Mardi Gras!!!!


February 26

Okay, better now

So Elijah is officially weaned!  Things are going much better now.  Our next goal is for him to stay in his bed all night.  So I have a mattress next to his on the floor and last night he stayed on his bed until 5:30 with only 2 wakings.  So that's good.
Friday afternoon I went to put something in the microwave and I guess I moved the wrong way or something, but a muscle in my neck went in spasm and I lost much of the range of motion in my neck.  That sucked since it was supposed to be a painting and sewing weekend.  That didn't happen.  I guess we'll paint this weekend.  We're doing the bathrooms.  We did get some more paint supplies...like an edger...I HATE painter's tape...it takes way to long and really doesn't work that well.
My neck is feeling better, just sore.  I really need to make an appointment with a chiropractor...it's just time and stuff...oh well.
This evening we are going to a wedding and Jerry will be doing the photographs.  It's sort of a last minute thing, but I think it will be fun.  It'll be good for Jerry too. He hasn't done lots of pics lately and he really has a good eye.
Our garden is all ready for the plants and that's a good thing.  We started everything inside last week and the green beans pushed the top off the little green house box-y thing we have.  I'll post pics when I'm finished here.  I'm hardening everything but the peppers, tomatoes, and onions.  So hopefully they will get in the ground by the end of this week.  It's supposed to rain on Friday and Saturday, so it would be good if we got them in by then, but we'll see.
We did work on the front flower gardens and the flower boxes this weekend.  I hope they do well.  I've also started some rosemary and lavender.  I was going to put those in Elijah's garden, but I think they will take over his little garden, so I think I'll put them outside his window and his playroom window (as that will be the nursery for baby number 2 WHEN WE DECIDE TO HAVE ANOTHER...this is not an announcement...)
Anyway, we are definitely getting more sleep.  Elijah is sleeping until at least 7 now which, while still early, is much better than 5.  If he's really tired he'll sleep until 8 or 8:30!!!!!  But usually Jerry has to have him for the night...
Okay, I'm posting new pics of the boy and of the garden...
Hope you are having fab-o weather as we are!!!!!

June 2006

June 02

Friday

Some weeks seem to go by so slow...this was not one of them.   Yesterday we had playgroup and then Jerry and I had Bonnie, Dean, and William over for dinner.  Wednesday night was a LOOOONNNNNGGGGG night.  Elijah woke up at 3:30 and didn't go back to bed until 5.  So getting up yesterday and then not having time for a nap...I surprised I didn't fall asleep in my dinner last night.  Last night was better.  It was Jerry's night.  He brought Elijah in to eat at 2 and then wen to lie back down.  At 2:30 I woke up (often I fall asleep when feeding Elijah while on my side...very convenient way to feed in the middle of the night....) and heard Jerry snoring.  I went into his room and asked if he wanted me to take over for the night.  He said, "sure."  I took off his glasses and couldn't find the baby monitor to turn it off so I asked him where it was and he reached over and turned it off for me.  I left, put Elijah back in his crib and went back to bed.  Elijah slept until 6:30 and I just brought him back in bed with me and we cat napped.  At 7:45  Jerry walks into the room, points at me, and say, "j'accuse"... Turns out he has no memory of talking to me last night or turning off the monitor...hehehe ... ahhh  sweet sleep deprivation!  Anyway, it was no big deal.  I may have been a little less jovial if Elijah had kept me up, but not too bad.
This morning Rachel called and we went to the library to see everyone (we both used to work there.)  And I checked out some board books for the boy.  Then we came home and had "naked baby dance time!"  That is a fun time for sure!  I just put on some music, lay a water resistant blanket on the floor and let him be naked.  It's really very cute and in the afternoon I  let the sun it to help with any diaper rash he may have.  It also wears him out!  He's sleeping right now...
I really want to clean my house this weekend.  It's driving me crazy!  I need to vacuum and really dust and all that good stuff.  The problem is that Elijah does NOT like the vacuum, but with Jerry home, I think we can manage it.
Oh, did I mention that we got a telescope?  This woman listed a telescope on the yard sale page for 20 bucks.  So I went and got it.  Jerry (being the physics major) has wanted one, but we never bought one because they were too expensive.   But we got a 250 dollar telescope for 20 bucks!  It does need an eyepiece, but other than that it's in great working condition!  so maybe we'll get the eyepiece this weekend.  I know it's against the pact with the money, but Jerry deserves this...
I have a new list of shopping categories.  I think my new favorite site is Clever Cuties!  They have the cutest things!  The site itself is very clever....anyway, check it out!
Okay, I'm about to upload some more pics of the cutie that's my son!   Have a GRAND day!

a very nice morning June 6

I had a very nice get together with my friend Amy.  We hadn't seen each other for almost five months.  Which in normal people time it doesn't sound like a long time, but in baby time it really is.  Anyway, it was nice to sit down and catch up on each other's lives. (Though she is an avid reader of this blog, so really everything was old news to her....)  I totally let the day slip away from me.  I didn't realize it was almost 1 until I got in the car to come home.
When we got home, Elijah took a small nap and then Jerry stopped in to get the stuff to go to the court house to get out of jury duty....(wow that was a run on sentence if I've ever seen one....) He got out of duty (well got it postponed) and came home!  It was so nice to have him home!  This past weekend I got nothing done that I wanted, but I did get to spend time with Jerry.  We went to Maya's baptism on Sunday and I really forgot what we did on Saturday.  Jerry had to work both days at some point, so I feel like it really wasn't a weekend.  We did get our shelving dilemma solved, but the store didn't have all the parts we needed, so we didn't buy anything yet.  Hopefully they will get the parts this week and we can install them this weekend.
Today we realized that our gym membership will expire 6 months sooner than we thought!  That's exciting seeing as neither of us have gone in quite sometime...it's rather far away and with traffic, it's really a hassle.  we have the exercise ball, weights and a stationary bike here, so that's really all we need.
I'm so excited to go on vacation in a week and a half!  We are going to Edisto Island...I used to make fun of people who lived at the beach and then went on vacation to another beach...but I guess I am one of those people!  Anyway, we will be there with my folks and some extended family will be just down the road.  It should be interesting and fun to say the least!
My goodness, I suddenly have a cranky baby...so I am off to feed and then maybe put him to bed....(he's still a cutie....)

finally asleep...i think

little man has been doing this weird thing lately.  he'll fall fast asleep, and goes into his crib without any trouble...then half an hour later he's crying (but not awake) and is all squirmy and stuff.  so we hold him and comfort him and rock him and he goes back to sleep and then cries again in half an hour and the process repeats itself until about 10 or 11. (going to bed between 8 and 9) and then he's fine.  he is waking up every three-ish hours these days which is a change from the 6 hour stretch, but i feel like he's going through a growth spurt.  nevertheless, the every three hour thing is not that bad because he wakes up, we change the diaper, he eats and goes back to bed all within about 15 to 20 minutes...so much nicer than when he was a newborn waking up every two hours to eat for an hour and then not want to go back to bed (don't worry megan this didn't last long.)
so yesterday and today have been cooler than normal.  by cooler i mean 77 degrees.  it rained yesterday and this afternoon we had rain and hail!  our sunflowers love it!  i swear hey grew a foot in the last two days.  but apparently this rain has brought out all the frog and toads in the world into our yard.  they are sooooo loud!!!  i mean we've had tree frogs all season and they are not the quietest creatures...but mixed with the bull frogs it's quite a chorus outside.  don't get me wrong...i love anything that eats bugs!  speaking of which...the stupid bug sprayer person came through the other day.  now i don't mind this since i hate bugs, but a little warning would be nice.  we had our windows open and everything.  i just don't want my kid breathing in the fumes.  i guess he gets them second hand anyway, but really i don't need this insecticide flowing directly into my house.  sigh....
okay, so i really hate the dentist... i mean really hate it...but i think i have a cavity so i am going to the dentist on thursday afternoon.  since i am a new patient (that's right i haven't been to a dentist since we moved down here....judge judge judge....) thursday is just going to be x-rays and an examination of my mouth.  then i have to schedule another appointment for the cleaning and then another one if i have cavities...sigh....it's just inconvenient with jerry working and whatnot.  also i looked at our dental plan and realized we have to pay 20% of having cavities filled...sigh...  i guess there are many more things in the world than having to do this, but i just have an aversion to anything being done to my teeth...i blame my grandmother...not because of all the candy she feed me (that was just good) but because she pulled my loose baby teeth with old tooth pliers....eeekkk!  i can still taste the metal...to this day i can not look at a loose tooth in a child.  i've already talked jerry, he's going to be in charge of the tooth pulling...
i was very lucky to not have any cavities until i was 18.  but i did have all my wisdom teeth pulled. and i had my last baby tooth pulled and the new tooth had to be pulled down because it was growing sideways...so that needed braces...but only for a year.  anyway, think of me on thursday...hope i just have a tooth ache and no cavities....gotta go brush and floss now....
June 07

FYI

Elijah found his feet...check out the new pics of him...
Also he is rolling from his tummy to his back consistently now, and sitting fairly well as well....
That's all...just wanted to brag....
not all...
I just read Megan's comment about the shelves and I realized no one knows what I'm talking about....
We have a ton of DVDs and CDs.  Right now they are on those shelves that are make just for holding entertainment stuff.  They are not very sturdy and we want them off the ground for when some little boy starts pulling himself up.  We of course don't want anything to fall on him, and we want more floor space.  SO we are getting shelving that can go on the wall and what not.  We found some shelving we like.  It's on tracks sort of and then you can buy as many or as few shelves as you need.  It's hard to explain, but once we get the stuff, I'll post pics.  There are other shelving issues around he house, but this was my biggest concern since the living area is where we are lots....
Okay, now that's all...I think....
June 08

stupid dentist...

sigh....Okay, so it's my own fault....I haven't been to the dentist in five years and I LOVE sweets....sigh...so I broke down and went to the dentist.  Rachel recommended me to Dr. Smaltz.  She's a nice dentist, but really I have to cut out ALL SWEETS AND yes that's right AND get a prescription tooth paste? sigh....i am lucky in that I only have a little decay on an already filled tooth, so the filling happens in July.  But  really a prescription?!?!  sigh....well, at least I got my Ben and Jerry's fix this week (Carmel Sutra...to DIE for!!!!) This wonder tooth paste is supposed to help restore my enamel and prevent more decay.  Get this...step 1) floss step 2)brush with special tooth paste BUT no spitting.... step 3) swish with toothpaste for 2MINUTES... are you kidding me?!?!?!?!  My dad said I could just carry the tooth paste around with me and swish with it after every sweet I ate...I'm very tempted.
Anyway, it could have been WAY worse.  I really thought I would have 5 or 6 cavities.  I must admit I was pleasantly surprised.
However, what is with dental hygienists?  I swear every one I have ever had starts up a conversation that is in no way one sided while they have the cleaning thing in my mouth.  This one started talking to me about my OB (who happens to be hers) and asking me all this questions about her and I'm sitting there with goop coming out my mouth looking at her thinking really you want to talk about our OB/GYN while you are cleaning my teeth?  Personally I'd rather be there....I mean it's not like they talk to me about the dentist and the visit is a whole lot faster....super sigh...
We had our little group this morning.  I really love meeting with them.  I know I say that often, but I really do.  It's so nice to have a group of women I can bounce ideas off and talk to about issues I may be having.  Elijah did great all day.  poor guy.  I take him to group and then rush home so I can brush my teeth and then back in the car to get Jerry and then two+ hours in the dentist office.  He's sleeping right now.  It's against my 6:00 rule (no naps after six because then it seems he never sleeps) but I am making an exception since he didn't get a nap at all today, and last night was a little frazzled.  Jerry had him last night and said that Elijah was up from 3:30 to 4:45...apparently Elijah just needed to poop and then went straight to sleep...poor guy....
Did I mention that I have become a beer drinker?  I have NEVER liked beer.  But I have decided to acquire a taste for it.  My favorite (which means I can finish most of it) is Sam Adam's Summer Ale.  It's yummy.  Jerry says it's a girlie beer, but hey I'm a girl!
Also, I know I need to start a new album, but Elijah doesn't turn 5 months (not 6 months Megan...lol) until next Tuesday...I know it's nit picky, but I back pictures up on his birthday and I have them in folders labeled by months....soooooo....I'll start a new folder next week.  Until then just click the back button to see the newest ones.  I didn't put up any today, so there.
Okay, I think that's it.  One day I'm going to get on here and totally go off about politics (there are some interesting things happening...SUPER DUPER SIGH!!!) but not today....
And if you haven't already check out Clever Cuties....
oh there's my boy.....

June 12

the weekend...

I had a very nice day Friday.  rachel and I went to Target to get some things for her sisters-in-laws birthday.  While we were there I found non-disposable swim diapers!!!!  I was sooooo excited!!!  I had found some on-line, but we are leaving on vacation on Friday and I knew they wouldn't get here by then.  Also I found baby sunglasses...That's where I stopped though they had matching swim trunks and t- shirts and hats  and cover ups....wholly moly I could have spent lots of dough!  But I only got the swim diaper and the sunglasses.  The two things I was going to get on-line anyway (and they were cheaper at Target!)  My friend Laura got Elijah some swim trunks that are super cute.  I'm so excited to go in the ocean with him and also into the pool.  I can't dunk him yet because of his ears, but I hope to get him used to water (other than in the bath!)  So that was Friday.  On Saturday, Jerry's friend (and mine too) Eric came in for a visit.  It was nice that Jerry didn't have to work this weekend (the first time in about a month and a half!) So he spend Saturday afternoon and all day Sunday with his friend.  Yesterday I went to Cora and Dora's b-day party.  That was lots of fun. There were three kids (including Elijah) and I know these three are going to be thick as thieves when they get older.  Alexis is the oldest.  She's about 16 months.  And then there's Elijah at almost 5 months and Maya Rose at just over 2 months!  They are all very cute kids and as Maya Rose and Alexis are cousins, just throw in my boy and there you have it!  Bill cooked out so much yummy food! And Cora made this potato salad that was to die for!
So all in all it was a good weekend.  I did get the front lawn mowed and the front ditch whacked.  So that was the productive thing I did.
Elijah is sitting on the floor playing with a stuffed parrot that Amy gave him.  It's too cute!
I realized I haven't taken any pictures lately, but I go through these spells where I just don't take pics.  Tomorrow Elijah will be 5 months old! so I'll start another folder then!  I'm so excited about vacation!  I just can't wait to not have to worry about the house for a week!  Okay, my boy's getting cranky!  Off to play with him for a bit...what a hard life I lead!
June 13

the feeding debate continues...

I just read this interesting article in the NY Times.  I am a strong advocate for breast feeding.  I strongly believe that it increases the mother/child bond.  I believe it is healthier.  I believe that it's WAY cheaper.  But I have never bought into the "cure all" philosophy.  When someone says that breast fed babies are less likely to have childhood obesity...I can't help but think.  Well, if a mother has the time to breast feed her child, doesn't it stand to reason that she will also take the time to prepare healthy meals for her child instead of something pre-packaged and processed?  I wonder if these studies take into consideration the efforts of those who are able to breast feed?  Many women can't because they have to work(sometimes many jobs) very soon after giving birth.
There are, according to the article, people who want a warning put on formula.  Saying that breast milk is better... well, fine, then give women a mandatory PAID year off work.  Make sure EVERYONE has health insurance...better yet, get rid of insurance and make sure all healthcare is free!  Provide all women with GOOD lactation consultants in the hospitals.  Have a ratio of them 1:1 so that women who need constant help receive it.  Educate women that breast feeding HURTS and is not easy and does not come naturally, but with time and practice it might get easier.  Force employers to provide a quiet, private, NON-stressful environment for mothers who need to pump.  Make GOOD QULAITY childcare available on the grounds of the place of work where a mother can go and feed her child.  Encourage father's to be supportive participants in the process.  Educate women that there are ways to help your milk be more abundant.
However, since none of this is happening in the US (well, maybe in small communities such as The Farm...and NM...but for the most part...)don't make mother's feel guilty about what they chose to do.  For most it's a choice between breastfeeding or paying rent/mortgage.  It's not fair to state how important something is for the well being of our children and then not provide a way to feasibly provide an ideal situation for them.  I mean statistically formula fed babies sleep through the night faster because there bodies metabolize the formula slower than breast milk...so of course, there are mothers who have to get up at the crack of dawn who are going to go for whatever helps their baby sleep through the night faster... COME ON!
that's enough of my rant tonight...speaking of ranting I believe my little one is putting up a pretty big fight right now...thank God for Jerry....
Thanks for reading!

new album june 14

i must say that i love the new albums!  i put new pics of elijah up.  he's now 5 months old!  i can't believe it!  the sleeper he is in was too small and too hot, so i cut out the feet and the arms and now it fits and it appropriate for summer... and how cute is he in his swim diaper and sunglasses?
speaking of the ejj...gotta run!
June 14

reassurance is always good

You know, sometimes I feel like I'm not doing what I'm "supposed" to be doing with my child.  This article made me feel better.  We don't sleep with Elijah in our bed (well not that often) for many reasons, but none of them were because we thought he had to be in his crib.  I totally feed on demand and am actually a little sad about introducing food next month.
Anyway, I just wanted to say that it felt good to know that there are others out there who feel the same...
June 15

the boys are sleeping

it's so sweet...i'd take a pic, but it would wake them up.  they are curled up together on the bed...  we leave for vacation tomorrow!!!  jerry is in much need of some r&r.  it'll be good to be lazy and not have to worry about the house being clean (which it soooo is not!)  we are taking cloth diapers, but that means the only thing we have to do is laundry.  i am picking up a pack of disposable today though.
anyway, i just wanted to write down how very sweet my boys are....
June 23

we're back....

We had a very nice, though not long enough, vacation.  The ride went better than I thought it would with a little one.  It just seemed too short.  Jerry took four books and by Monday he was through with almost three and realized he needed to pace himself or he's run out of stuff to read.  Our condo had a very nice view. We were right on the inlet and we watched boats go by most of the day.  There were a herd (?) of about 15 dolphins that provided us with daily entertainment.  And the sunset was absolutely perfect.  It was a bit hot, but that's why air condition was invented.
some highlights with possible stories to come.... I ended up walking three miles pushing Elijah (in his new stroller...) by pure accident...and was rescued by my mom...Jerry started drinking most days by 11...but some days he started a bit later...we did nothing we didn't want to do...my parents ended up upgrading their time share which gives them more weeks....watched world cup soccer in our down time...I  took a couple of three hour naps with my boy....Elijah's first time in the ocean was good...my parents bought him the matching shirt and hat and it is JUST ADORABLE!!!!
i will post pics soon, but right now, I beat.  I'm glad that we still have the weekend to recover (that and mow the jungle that is our back yard....I wonder if I can get a neighbor hood kid to do it for 5 bucks....probably not...sigh....)
I missed everyone's blog while I was gone....gald to be back!

updates

i added pics form our vacation.  i also added a couple pics to elijah's five month old album and also updated our garden pics.
we have veggies now and that's exciting.  there are several things we'll do differently next year, but i am happy with this crop of food.
tomorrow i hope to write more about our vacation, but we are in the process of installing shelves and trying to do a massive clean up of the house, so it may be later this week.
elijah's finally down for some sleep, so i think we'll be able to get most of the installation done tonight.  when we're done, i'll post before and after pics....

June 24

c'est fini

we just finished hanging the shelves... i wanted to post the before and after because with any luck i will sleep as long as possible and then get up and clean....
so before and after....let me know what you think....

cleaning and sunflowers and food...oh my june 26

So I cleaned our floors yesterday.  I've been wanting to do that for sometime now.  They look much better.  I love that we have hardwood floors, but every time the baby spits up or milk gets on the floor, even if you clean it up there is still a little stain.  sigh... so Stephanie (from our little group...JErry calls us the high society ladies...lol) told me about the wonder that is vinegar.  So I cleaned the floors with a water and vinegar solution and while it smelled briefly of salad dressing, the solution really cleaned the floors well.
Yesterday morning we woke up and looked out at the garden and our first sunflower had burst open!  I love sunflowers!  Another one opened this morning.  I think if we actually had some stupid sun then more would open.  It's been raining for a few days now and it's supposed to continue.  It was so yucky yesterday that at 3 in the afternoon it felt more like 7 at night...yuck!  However, we at least aren't having to water our garden and our yard...so that's good.
Elijah is growning out of his clothes faster than we can get them.  So on Saturday we went to Goodwill to find him some clothes.  They had lots of girl stuff, but not a lot of boy things.  Sowe got about 12 dollars of stuff there and then headed to the Bargin Box.  This is the coolest little thrift shop ever.  It's so much bigger than it looks from the outside and the chuirch that owns it has doen a fabuolous job of organizing everything.  Anyway, they had a room of kids clothes.  So Jerry went to town.  I think we bought most of their oneseis and a bunch of outfits.  Total spent at Goodwill and Bargin Box: 25 dollars.  Total items bought: ~30.  Not too bad!  I think (as long as he doesn't grow out of the 18 month outfits we got him!!!) we have him covered at least through the fall.  Hopefully through winter as well!  I was really excited!
Okay, so the biggest news (best is always last right?)...Elijah had his first real food yesterday.  We gave him mushed up banana and he loved it!!!!  I was a little concerned about constipation...but so far so good.  So last night I made a batch of rice and put it through the food mill, mixed it with some breast milk and then froze it in ice cube trays (the only ice cube tray we have way given to us by Laura and is int he shape of little hearts....very cute!) So tonight we will try a bit of homemade rice cereal.  Very exciting indeed!  When we were on vacation we gave him water from a spoon and he didnt spit it out.  We have known that he's been very interested in food, but I didn't want to try it on vacation in case it made him sick or backed him up...who wants that on vacation?  So we went ahead yesterday.  Yea!!!
Well, that's about it.  I still haven't written about our vacation, but there is a pile of laundry staring at me right now...sigh...


June 26

just to clarify

I mentioned that Jerry started drinking at 11 o'clock some of the days we were on vacation.  Let me clarify that he was not drinking to get drunk.  He simply had a nice cool beer as he read his books and hung out with the fam.  I must say that we are the least drink-i-ness people I know.  I have started drinking the occasional beer in between feedings.  We drink beer and wine with friends and family at dinner, but really that's about it.  We are by no means alcoholics.  Heck, I haven't been drunk since college.  I am not sure I have ever seen Jerry drunk.  I just don't want anyone to get the wrong idea.  Jerry didn't drink from 11 until he went to bed...he had a couple of beers maybe three times while we were on vacation.  Please don't get the wrong idea...
June 29

food update

constipation? HA!  i feel like i am constantly changing diapers...but i would rather do that than deal with a grouch who can't poop!  today we will introduce pears!  exciting! he really does not like rice.  i think it may be that i mixed it with breast milk and that confused him?  or maybe he just doesn't like the texture.  so we'll lay off that and come back to it at a later date.
the pic of him feeding himself cracks me up.  he looks so unhappy...but he shoves the spoon  so far back in his mouth that he gags himself a bit and that was when i happened to snap the camera....silly boy...
okay, i'm hosting the high society ladies at 11...so i need to go finish cleaning the house...or at least finish closing the doors to the messy rooms....hehehe..
June 30

Victoria's Secret....REALLY?!?!?!

Recently a woman in Victoria's Secret was directed to the nearest public bathroom to breast feed her baby.  The clerk explained to the mother that the sight of her breast might offend other customers....really?!?!  Did Victoria's Secret suddenly atart catering to the Amish and I didn't know about it?  I mean the last VS catalogue I received showed more everything than the Breastfeeding issue of Mothering Magazine....COME ON PEOPLE!!!!!
For those who do not breast feed or think that the restroom of a mall is a place to feed a child...the next time you want someone to go into a public restroom to nurse, think about if you would want to eat your next meal ina stall in a public restroom...GROSS!!!!
So tomorrow nationwide their will be a "nurse-in" at Victoria's Secret.  My town apparently is not participating, but Asheville is.  Here is the link to the article in their news paper.  Just to be clear....no one is protesting Victoria's Secret, just the right to breast feed in public.  In fact, as this article states, VS has a policy to let mothers breast feed in their stores.  Apparently they are re-enforcing this among their employees....but it really shouldn't be an issue....sigh...
Here's another article I found on Mothering.com.  double sigh...