Got an email from CafePress with their response to this whole ridiculous nametag business. Attached to it was their response to the letter from the label company. Apparently, CafePress agrees that it is ridiculous and spewed a bunch of legal stuff back at the label company with reference to various past cases that related to this particular trademark issue. Basically they argue you can't trademark a COMMON PHRASE.

HA!

For the time being, I don't have to remove the shirt! Hooray!

Because apparently you can copyright ANYTHING. (I really should have remembered that from my college Media Law class...argh)

NOTICE: If you had any desire to own the "Hell0 my name is No No" shirt you need to get over to my store and get it. I'll be taking it down within the next 48 hours or so...

The company that makes THE "Hell0 my name is" name tags owns the rights to the phrase "Hell0 my name is" on ANYTHING resembling a name tag. There are TONS of these types of shirts made (just on Cafepress ALONE), so hundreds of shopkeepers got the email forwarded from the lawyers. As Rbelle and/or Mrs. Flinger said... "Boy.. SOMEONE is anal." Ummm yeah.

I haven't had much time to put into the store in the last week or so. I got myself entangled in a bunch of other endeavors I have yet to finish. I am the queen of unfinished projects! Anyway, hopefully I will be adding some new designs this week, so check back! :)

Tom is golfing today and the boy is currently napping. I am sitting amidst a big huge living room mess of toys and shoes. My bathrooms are disgusting too...andthere is laundry to be folded and put away and sheets to be changed.

BUT, I think I'm going to try and ignore all that and just enjoy my quiet time. Ahhhhhhhhh....

It's official, Ben has his mommy and daddy's sense of humor. I'm very relieved because I don't know what we'd do with a boring, fuddy duddy kid who didn't get us. ;)

How did I confirm this? Well, I played him the Hairbrush Song and he laughed his head off and made me play it again (and again)! Riding around with Jen yesterday and her Veggie Tales cd reminded me that I had the Silly Songs cd amidst my collection... I've had it since BEFORE Ben... which *should* tell you something about my slightly warped sense of humor.

I left Ben with my mom for a few minutes yesterday so I could run a quick errand near her house. Apparently while I was gone, the following moment of cuteness transpired. It's babybook-worthy, so it must be blogged.

She had baked a cake for a birthday dinner she was having for some friends last night and it was sitting on the kitchen table. My son, the newly initiated table/chair climber, spied the cake, got UP on the chair and started patting it while saying, "Mmmmm! Mmmmm!" Mom said, "Yes, that's cake! mmm!" and put him back on the floor. He promptly got back up and did it again. She had made a second cake for my dad and brother so she asked him, "Do you want a piece of cake?" and gave him a small piece. So he sat there and had himself a piece of chocolate cake and milk... while continuing to say, "MmmM!" Mmmm!" (I'm also told he even picked out the pieces with icing and ate those first.)

Now THAT, my friends, is good communication! ;)

Jen and Ryan invited us to go to the zoo with them today! (since the killer heatwave finally made an exit) WE certainly got a workout, since both boys at various times insisted on walking/running/pushing the strollers on their own. Anyway, we had fun and of course, took pictures. :) Thanks Jen and Ryan!

Hey Ryan, wait up! This wooden crate = more fun than a barrel of monkeys...




...speaking of which...MONKEYS! But not in a barrel. Okay, *you* can't see them anyway, but Ben could. So just take my word for it. Here he is just enjoying the monkeys... and a pretzel. Life is good...


Oh wait... Ryan is running now. MUST. GET. DOWN. TOO! Hey Ryan, wait up! Don't worry mommies, we can TOTALLY climb this hill ourselves. (minutes later, Ryan's mommy had to climb it too, lest he be lost forever in the zoo woods)


We might even find some... ELEPHANTS!

Today
Partly sunny. A 30 percent chance of showers. Highs in the lower 80s. Northeast winds 10 to 15 mph during the morning...decreasing to 5 mph for the afternoon.

16 weeks pregnant... good times, good times...


(still haven't reached the bottom of the drawer yet)

much less, that we had OUTTAKES of engagement pictures...

Actually, this picture captures us better than any of the ones where we are LOOKING at the camera.

What the heck ELSE is in this drawer?!

Lookie! A business card! I thought I had burned all of these, but apparently, one survived by hiding out in the bottomless pit.

Also in the bottomless pit that is the filing cabinet... the hundreds upon hundreds of disposable camera pics from our wedding. Anyone thinking about doing the cameras at their wedding, DON'T. Big waste... lots of people's thumbs and fuzzy shots and backs of heads.. and four years later, where are they? The bottom of the file drawer in a big pile.

But there WAS this gem... PROOF that there was NASTY cake smashing and it wasn't all my fault as Tom now claims.


More to come...

I was cleaning out some of the file drawers in Tom's office and came across (among many other things I may be sharing with you as the day goes on) this picture I took a few years ago. It's a gravestone I saw at the cemetery where my grandfather is buried... morbid, maybe a little... but read it! Funny lady... in case you actually can't read it... the bottom left says "She cooked a damn fine pot of beans."

The whining, my gosh the whining...

I have so much to do today and none of it is fun. At some point I have to venture out into the bazillion degree, 99% humdity because our supply of baby wipes has reached the single digits. That just won't do.

Yesterday, I went out and it took me the rest of the afternoon to recover. We ran over to my old office to pick something up... Ben is scared to DEATH of that place. I guess it just gives off that clinical/doctor's officy vibe or something. Or maybe he just absorbed the disdain I acquired for the office during the nine months I had to sit at my desk and act busy while gestating. (as if gestating isn't work enough! hrmph) But one of the girls there had a box of Legos from a photo shoot or something so eventually he stopped screaming and entertained himself with those for awhile.

17 minutes to naptime... OH, and I have I mentioned it's only one nap a day now? (Been that way for awhile)... but that the one nap a day has dwindled to ONE HOUR. It's just wrong, I tell ya... WRONG.

I just got off the phone with a friend of mine who recently (like last week) had her second baby. Her other little girl is 2-1/2. I polled her (as I have all my friends who are on their second) about the birth (is it really faster and easier?!), and just generally how life with two is. The answer to that first question is overwhelmingly YES. (thank you, thank you thank you!) The answer to the second question is always, "We're tired, but we're managing." So ya just deal... I got that now.

Also on the topic of pregnancy and babies (aren't I ALWAYS on that topic?)... I was talking to a pregnant friend yesterday and we were discussing the pros and cons of being both newly pregnant in the summer and HUGELY pregnant in the summer.

We came to the conclusion (since she has now done both), that it all pretty much sucks no matter which way you do it. I know some of you would disagree, but you are probably all the people who were hugely pregnant and sweating your butts off in mid-July. Yeah, okay, I get it, that sucks... but lemme tell ya, being at that stage where no one knows if you are pregnant or just getting chubby, coupled with being exhausted and starving and nauseaus all the time ain't no picnic either. Summer as you know it is over when that test shows two lines... so the way I see it, the better alternative is being huge and fat and almost done with the whole process anyway. No? Feel free to comment. ;)

For those of you who are rooting for/peer pressuring me into getting pregnant again SOONER than later (the aforementioned friend being the main culprit here), this is good news. It gives me less ammunition to wait around until summer 2006 to try for another spring baby. No... I'm thinking now that a summer/fall baby might be an interesting change. It'll really screw with the hand-me-down clothing situation though... then again, having a girl (pshahhhh... like that will happen, have you seen my husband's family? Boys 3 Girls 0) would too....

I was in Target with Ben yesterday and they had the new Baby Einstein DVD... it's all about words around the house. I picked it up mostly to give him something to hold and babble about while I was shopping, but ended up buying it. Anyway, it's adorable. There is a WHOLE segment about lamps. Have I mentioned how obsessed he is? "Nigh! Nigh! Nigh!" (light)The kid went nuts! There is also a whole section about cats.(another obsession) Anyway, it's really cute... two thumbs up from Baby Human Land. It's long enough to get something substantial done too, like making dinner or putting away all the groceries. Baby Mozart is way too darn short for any of those kinds of shinannigans.

Thanks to Anne. I made the spinach lasagna recipe she posted a couple of days ago. SO yummy. I substituted ricotta for the cottage cheese though. Try it! You'll like it!

I've already set up a blog space for our next dip into the gene pool. Does that make me nuts? I want to make sure he/she is as well-documented has his/her older brother. ;) That's good, right? Not nuts,right? I've even bought him/her his/her own domain name. Hee hee...

You'll get to see it all in good time, my friends... all in good time. I'm just all excited about it because it feels like a pretty solid commitment to get on this whole trying again thing in a few months... eek!

In an effort to try and uncover exactly WHEN the baby became a little boy, I put together all of his monthday pictures. (and threw in the ultrasounds and first born pic to fill up a gap in the top left corner) ;)

I think you'll see, upon careful examination, that it occured around month 16. ;)

Click the mosiac to zoom in for a closer look.

I found Benjamin's Halloween costume. (after last year, I knew to get an early jump on this particular thing) Anyway, it's pretty darn funny... what is it? Well, I'm not telling. It'll be funnier that way. I'm considering this practice for bigger secrets I want to try and keep in the future. Tom and I are still trying to decide... but right now, our current plan is not to tell everyone right away when I am pregnant again, not to tell the sex when we find out and not to tell the name.
We may end up doing only one of the above... but who knows. ;) I think it will be fun... and those of you have have been on the fat, throwing up, tired, bloated, gloriously painful adventure of pregnancy and birth know you need all the fun you can get. ;)

Benjamin has been so sick today... one big snot monkey and cranky as can be!. But I couldn't skip his monthday picture! He was so cooporative for such a little sicky poo...



For the babybook... here's what 16 months has brought us:

* He can finally reach to climb onto the couch and table. This has also brought with it the newfound knowledge of how to get down from these places without diving headfirst onto the floor. Hooray! He also tries to go down the stairs the nice, safe backwards way now. Thank goodness.

* New words - Hot, Ewww, milk, "E", a clearer version of daddy and, on rare occasions, mommy... this brings his total to something like 12-15. (not all of which he uses on a regular basis. We haven't heard "doggie" in over a month.)

* He knows the letters A, C, E, G, F, L, and M. Though the only ones he says clearly are E and M. He also knows some shapes and can point to every Sesame Street character on his placemat as we name them.

* He brushes his teeth on his own (after we do it first) and even hands us the toothpaste demanding that we put it on the toothbrush.

* He tries to put on his own shoes and socks.

* He is obsessed with violins this month. His godmother did a sign for violin a few weeks ago and now whenever he sees a picture of one, he does the sign emphatically. Strangely enough, he seems to also know what a violin sounds like and when music comes on that has one playing, he'll do the violin sign. Got his Poppy's music gene, we think!

* Speaking of genes from grandparents, he has also shown us he knows what to do with a golf club and golf ball, despite the fact that no one has even shown him! He can also throw a ball HARD (we had to hide his dadd'y real golf balls)... sometimes with his left hand, sometimes with his right hand... so the verdict is STILL out on that one.

The party raged on at Zach's Party Shack until about 11p.m. We never did figure out exactly what game they were playing. There was a lot of cheering though and shouting of "Go go go!" Here's the "table" (two sawhorses and a piece of plywood) they were playing on... if anyone has any guesses, I'd love to hear them. My only theory is that whatever it was was very beer-centric, with some Red Bull thrown in for good measure. It also involved a lot of flipping of cups. ??

Click here for a closer look. Isn't it nice that they took the time to clean it all up last night? Ha.

Around 9:30, they decided to crank up the music. That was oh-so-lovely. We were treated to an hour and a half of what sounded vaguely like Funky Cold Medina. Around 10:30, Ben woke up again and we had to bring him to our bed because the music and yelling were coming right through his bedroom window.

Tom found a beer can in our backyard this morning, which he thoroughly enjoyed throwing back into Zach's yard. Otherwise, the mess is all limited to the Party Shack property itself. Hey and look, they even got the beer boxes off the deck and put them in the trash. Yay!


And just for kicks, here's a better picture of the box of weeds he keeps on the deck. (a reminder that once upon a time, we had a decent next door neighbor...)


To add to our enjoyable evening, Benjamin was up pretty much the rest of the night with his cold. He would sleep for about ten minutes at a stretch and then wake up crying. We are all very VERY tired here today... well, all except for Ben... I can't quite figure that out.

There is yet another gathering happening at Zach's Party Shack. (the oh-so-wonderful next door neighbor).

The first hint was the pile of beer can boxes on the deck. Oh yeah, nothing says class like ten empty boxes of beer piled up on your deck next to your weed-ridden flower box that you haven't touched since you bought the house two years ago. Mmm-HMMM!

Anyway, this particular party seems to involve several people with small children. (great, drunken parents, another one of my favorite things to see!)... Tom was just looking out the back door and noticed the kids had taken our giant purple ball that we left in our backyard from earlier. I was a little annoyed... it was IN *our* backyard. But, I guess it was our fault for leaving it out there anyway. Figured we'd recover it later. Then I had a thought... ran down the stairs to look out the basement door and sure enough, there is a nine-year-old in Ben's baby swing being pushed by yet another nine-year-oldish looking kid and being cheered on by two others. HELLO!!?? Parents?? Anyone?? Anyone at all...Supervision?!

Of course, they had also torn apart Ben's sand table... Nice... very NICE.

We try really hard to take care of Ben's toys. They need to last through a few more kiddos, ya know? I don't mind other kids coming over and playing... our one neighbor knows she and her son are always welcome to use our stuff. But this was just RUDE.

So Tom went outside to shoo them off the swing. He says, "That swing isn't made to hold your weight, get down please." Guess what the kid says back?

"YES IT IS!"

If someone had told me to get off of their swing when I was that age, I would have peed my pants and run home crying. Where is the FEAR these days?

Oh... and as the kids were being called in for dinner and Tom went out to get the ball? The same little kid says, "That's my ball." Tom says, (heh) "Nooo.. it's MY ball.. my ball, my swing, my backyard."

HAHAHAHAHAHAHA! We are sooo the bitchy neighbors now... but I mean, c'mon... stop drinking for just a MINUTE and watch your freakin' kids already!

**updated** to add that the party now seems to have moved from the deck down to the backyard... where they have moved a really large table outside and they may or not be bowling for beer cans.

**upated again** to add that my child is STILL awake, an hour past his bedtime. Why? Well, it could due to his cold (oh yeah, he has a cold as of today), or the cold medicine, or maybe it's that there are twenty frat boy-types yelling and screaming and bowling for beer cans just under his bedroom window... what do you think?

**updated yet again** to add that it's 9p.m. and the party rages on. I hope they all get eaten alive by mosquitoes.

The Science Center!!!

...and what a good choice it was! :) They have a dedicated little kids area and Ben. LOVED. It. There was a room that was practically wall to wall soft mats with things to crawl through and over and around. There were doorbells to ring and mailboxes and drawers to open and close. Balls, magnets, blocks... toddler paradise! Also a big hit was the water play section... we spent a LOT of time there. We will be going back because it was just THAT cool.

Playing a harp with invisible strings...


Playing with water...




Hanging out in the "squishy" baby area...


Steering a boat with daddy...


And getting ready to leave, we got an ice cream and shared it while we people watched.


I was also just checking out the website for Port Discovery, a kids' museum downtown, pretty close to the Science Center.. They have a lot of cute exhibits for the toddler set too! Going to have to put that one on the list too!

Today is Benjamin day... most Saturday we drop him off with one of his sets of grandparents and go out on a date, but today, all the grandparents have left the state. Are they trying to tell us something? Hrm...

So this morning, we went out to breakfast at Bob Evans. Ben enjoyed some toast, some eggs and a piece of sausage (gag). This is momentous, since he still generally does not eat real people food. Picky eater, that one.

We're waiting on a nap now (that does not seem to be forthcoming) and trying to decide whether we want to go to the Aquarium, the Science Center or the Zoo. We're leaning toward the Science Center. We haven't been in a long time and Jane raved about it just last weekend. I was checking out the website and they have a Mr. Rogers planetarium show that might be cute, but I doubt we'll make it there for that (it's at 1:00).

Otherwise, it's too hot to do much except sit in the house today... even Ben complains about it. As soon as we walk out the front door he starts saying, "hhhhhhhhot..."

Benjamin is now tall enough to climb onto the coffee table (and the big chair, and the couches)

As you can see, he is quite proud of his accomplishment.


He also gets great joy out of acting like he is going to walk right off the edge and seeing my panicked reaction...

Today, my blog is two years old! :)

I hope this doesn't mean it's going to go through a terrible twos phase... randomly telling me "NO" when I try to post, trying to do everything by itself, insisting on changing its own template all the time, not behaving on other peoples' computers...

Sesame Street was sponsored by the letter E this morning, so Ben was very excited. "E!" "E!" "E!" Of course, every letter but M is also E to him, so he's excited about Sesame Street pretty much every day. ;)

The nap just started and I have a to do list a mile long. First the housework, then the fun stuff (some work on a t-shirt someone requested), then some of my freelance stuff. Have to cram it all into two hours... guess I shouldn't be blogging, huh?

I should also fill up Ben's pool while I'm thinking about it, so the water has time to warm up for later. It's so darn hot and humid out that anything done outside HAS to involve water... I just might get in his elephant pool too! Luckily, there is no one around to take pictures of THAT. HA!

...especially when your former work computer has been stripped for its parts and all of your old files pertaining to the project you are supposed to be working on (both digital and paper) are just MISSING.

It's also very weird that the old office is now inhabited by strange, new people who are looking at you like, "Who the heck are you and why do you get to wear shorts?!" as you blow in and out of their offices trying to find your old stuff. HA!

This is going to be an interesting little project...

~*~

He just frustrates the heck out of himself... but he sure is determined. He's been working at this for weeks now and finally, he's almost got the sandal on. I didn't have the heart to tell him it's a fashion faux pas to be wearing sandals with socks, not to mention wearing two different shoes...

I'm pretty sure Gabby and Miles are eventually going to hook up. All you Sesame Street watchers know what I'm talking about. They are just a little TOO chummy...

In other news, Benjamin has a new word, "milk", (sounds like "meeeeee--ul") which brings our grand total to something like 8 or 9 words. My Parents magazine that came yesterday has a whole article about babies learning to talk... it says to expect two-word phrases by 18 months - two years. Ummm... seeing as he he almost 16 months right now I don't see those coming anytime soon. So I'm guessing we'll be closer to the "two years" end of that spectrum. Interesting article though! You can probably check it out on their website.

I spoke with my old boss yesterday and agreed to take on a consulting job of sorts. I'm going into the office for a few hours tomorrow to get started. Talk about weird.

Do I wear my usual shorts and a t-shirt since I'm not really an employee? Or should I go for my old office casual wear? I think I'm going with the shorts...

This has been in the works for awhile... I'm a little hesistant about the whole thing, perhaps a little nervous, even. I don't want to get sucked into something I'm going to regret committing to... but, I figure I can always walk away if I stop enjoying it. Right? Right. It's not something I NEED to do, but it will be nice to have my own (small) source of income for however long this lasts.

Maybe I'll take along my camera tomorrow and take you guys to "work" with me. ;)I'm sure I'll check in here too. It will be strange to blog from the office again...

Off to build some block towers for awhile... Ben is looking restless.

I am both somewhat proud and somewhat embarassed to say that I was on the internet before it was the cool thing to be doing. I was 15 when I got my first modem and hooked up to AOL. Nerdy boys in high school thought I was the coolest girl around because I'd call their BBS's. (there's a word from back in the day for ya).

I have gone through my internet "phases." Spending time on various message boards and whatnot that are inhabited by others going through a similar life experience at the time. Over the years, I can say I have made true friends of some of these people.

In the beginning, it was AOL's Teenchat and a message board called "The Goofballs". This was before there were 6 bazillion rooms on AOL and a bunch of people with no brain cells who really shouldn't have access to computers. For the most part, everyone was smart and funny and as dorky as I was. There, I made my first online friends. This was so NOT cool back then. I couldn't go to school and be like, "My friend so and so on AOL said yada yada..." No no no. You just didn't do that. I once tried to talk my speech teacher into letting me give a demontration speech on the internet and chat rooms. He looked at me like I was crazy, "Inter-WHAT?" "World Wide Who?" and told me no. Whatev.

So back then, I had a group of "Teen Chat" friends. We had various things in common... I met one or two in person, but for the most part, they were just the people who lived in the grey box on my desk. Eventually, AOL's chat rooms got way too crowded and annoying... people left... some of us had our modems taken away because we spent too much time and/or money on there. (oops). But, almost FOURTEEN years later, I still keep in touch with two of them -- Elaine and Josh... still somewhere in my brain affectionally known by their screen names, Cynara(e) and Turbofish. Thanks to blogs, it's even easier to keep up with these former Goofballs.

I took a message board hiatus for awhile after that... then came the Fearful Flyers. I found myself completely petrified to get on an airplane and only had a few months before a vacation we were going on with my husband's family. As a last ditch effort, I typed in www.fearofflying.com. There, I found one of the most supportive online communities ever... and I met Bonnie, Lynda, Rob and Jessica. I spent a lot of time on there until I got pregnant... then I was more worried about labor than flying, so I started spending more time on pregnancy sites. But those four people are still good friends. I even met Bonnie and Lynda in Orlando a couple of years ago. They are two of the sweetest, kindest people I know. Jessica still keeps in touch now and then... reads the blog sometimes. Rob lives in France and we used to exchange silly presents. He'd send me sand from the French Riviera, I'd send him little American flags. They all check in now and then! It's really a very cool feeling to know you have friends literally in all corners of the world. If I ever got the notion to visit Manchester, England, for instance, I wouldn't leave without going to see Lynda and her family!

These days, I have my mommy blogger family... Leslie, Mrs. Belle, Bree, Jane, Dawn... the list goes on, just click your way down the blogroll. The ladies on the two message boards I have linked down there have also been one of my most valuable resources as a first-time mom... we all may have different opinions on baby issues... but we're all in this together and we all love our babies. So we have common ground.

The internet and I have come a long way together. I have a policy that no matter how often I IM someone, they always stay on my buddy list. There's something nice about seeing someone's name light up when you're online... just knowing they are still out there. Even if you don't have as much in common anymore or talk as often. They are always a friend.

I hope I haven't totally bored you with my novel here. It's just somethingI 've been thinking about lately.

Back to the baby stuff now, I promise. Maybe some nice pictures later or a diatribe about the stinky highchair I'm getting ready to hose down and put away for good... yeah that. ;)

Tom came up with the newest t-shirt in the Tale of a Baby Human Boutique. I thought it was pretty darn funny! Might have to add this one to Ben's collection! ;)

Major crampage happening over here. Epidural, please?

I don't understand why people have a hard time describing what contractions feel like because frankly, they feel a lot like this, only you get a break between them. A little further on down the line if you opt not to have the epidural or something crazy happens like it FALLS out (I will never forgive that anesthesiologist)... it's more intense, more relentless and constant and accompanied by an overwhelming need to push something... ANYTHING out of you. But otherwise, bad cramps... much like what. I. am. having. right. now.

Breathe.
Breathe.
Breahte.

Crap. No over the counter epidurals available... where oh where is the Motrin so I can go overdose on it?

We have THESE in our house.


We only see them occasionally, and only one at a time. But ohmahgah I scream like a little girl when one runs out at me. They are HUGE. I bring this up because I am writing this from our basement computer (a.k.a. the dinosaur) and the basement is where we usually see these mutant creatures. I saw one last night. It was right where I am sitting. I am itching just thinking about it. That picture? Doesn't do them justice. They are often TWICE as big and they are ugly and FAST as lightning. To make matters worse, they are the same color as the carpet down here.

I keep telling myself it's better than having roaches or something but if I EVER find one crawling on me in the middle of the night, this house goes up for sale the next day, I swear.

GAG.

What a cool job... you just sit around all day and plan vacations for people. I'd even do it for free; but only for people who are going to Disney World. ;)

That's what I've been doing this morning... today I booked our rental car, changed one of our dining reservations and started making a list of must-sees for this trip. We missed a lot of the kiddie stuff last time around. I really want Ben to see the Playhouse Disney show this time, the Wiggles, and Philharmagic... and we only spent a few minutes in Mickey's Toontown Fair last time, so that's one we're going to spend more time in this trip.

I also redeemed our Disney Visa reward points... we had 601 that we accumulated over four years. I won't even tell you how much that means we ran through our credit card in that period. We are painfully responsible with it (pay it off every month) but we use it for EVERYTHING from groceries and gas to house projects... so it adds up! Those reward points will cover pretty much everything while we're there, which makes this trip basically... well... FREE! So yay for free!

Now we're contemplating changing our flights to get there a little earlier... but it means we'd leave at 6:25a.m. Do the math on that one and figure we need to be at the airport at 4:30 or 5 at the latest. Airport is 30-40 minutes away... wow, that's early. I think I just talked myself out of that crazy notion.

The boy just went down for his nap and when he gets up... it's DATE DAY! He's going to hang out with Nan and Pap while Tom and I go out to lunch. We were also going to go see Charlie and the Chocolate Factory but have been warned that it is HORRIBLE. So we nixed that. Instead we're going to look at furniture for the basement. So romantic... :)

Yes Mrs. Belle, it finally IS Friday. Yay! We're enjoying another quiet day with no particular place to go.

I was emailed another freelance job from my old office late yesterday afternoon. I could definitely get used to this! It's amazing how much I actually ENJOY writing and how efficient I am about it when it's on my own terms. I could actually concentrate on what I was doing because I was here at home, in my pajamas, not in some stuffy gross office. I thought about the project for a little while while I took a bubble bath last night (nice!) and then Tom watched Ben for me for an hour while I did the job. I blared my favorite music and voila! All done! Yeah, this could work for me. It's also nice to be able to take the jobs I want and refuse the ones I don't. I haven't refused any (of the three) yet, but I COULD have and that's what counts. ;)

Off to do some laundry and play with the boy before his naptime. Happy Friday, blogland! :)

Benjamin's friend Hannah came to play this afternoon with her mommy, Amanda. We had lunch and played and played! Ben was a very good toy sharer...mostly because he was busy watching Baby Einstein and climbing on and off the couch. He's in his OWN little world.

I'm sitting here watching Sesame Street with Benjamin and they just did this whole bit where Elmo was riding a tricycle. How did they do that? Anyone? Anyone? I actually find myself wondering how they do a lot of things on Sesame Street. I'd love to go visit the set and get some answers, but they don't do tours. :(

No big plans for today... Ben and I are just hanging out. It's been so disgustingly hot and humid lately that I haven't felt like leaving the house much except for when I have to. Amanda and Hannah are going to be in the neighborhood later and plan on stopping by. That should be fun!

I have a to-do list a mile long of all this piddly stuff I have to do that I CAN'T do unless Ben is napping-- A couple of phone calls and things like that. So I'll probably tackle that today. Sounds exciting, eh? Actually, one of the phone calls I need to make is to book priority seating for the restaurants we're going to in Disney World, so that's a fun to-do! ;) Those of you who have been, what are your favorites? We love the San Angel Inn (Mexico in Epcot) and the Prime Time Cafe in MGM. I think we're also going to do The Rose and Crown (England in Epcot) and the Hoop Dee Doo Revue this time around. Anyone else a big Hoop Dee Doo fan? We're also going to do a character breakfast, of course. That was such a big hit with Benjamin last time!

The mail just arrived and in it were the first two shirts I ordered for Ben from my shop! They came out SO NICE! I can't wait to make him my model for the product pictures! ;) Speaking of which, those of you who I sent shirts to, I'd love for your kiddos to be models too! Eventually, my store will have its own domain and front page, which is where the pics will go. So when you get your shirts, be sure and take a picture for me if you want to be included! :)

I couldn't resist the Little People train set at Target yesterday. It seems to be a big hit here. $19.99 well spent, apparently. The way Benjamin likes to play with it is a little Godzilla-like though. He plops himself right down in the middle of the track, usually sitting right ON a Little Person. (creating wide-spread panic among the remaining Little People, I am sure.)

Then he proceeds to tear all the pieces out one by one and toss them aside. It comes with a little umbrella that he thinks is a light and is, therefore obsessed with. He carries it all over the house. I may have to tuck it in with him when he goes to bed tonight.

I see a potential problem with Little People products... I'm gathering from the way this set looks like it has room for expansion that are lots and lots more pieces I could buy... and in case you weren't around for my Peek-A-Blocks period, you should know this is very VERY dangerous for me. I'm really into "collect them all!" So if there are more pieces that connect to the Little People train set, please don't tell me about them. Thanks.

Jen claims I haven't posted anything chock full of content lately. I guess she's right. But nothing particularly interesting has happened, and if it has I have posted, I really have! Let's recap:

July 4th - uneventful, no fireworks due to the fact that Ben's bedtime is two hours before it even gets dark

July 9th - Tom's brother's wedding. Nothing interesting on the Benjamin-front from that day. He spent the day with his grandparents and they wore him out. Actually, it was the other way around, I think.

July 10th - Dinner at my grandmother's house. Rolicking good family fun was had by all. I posted pictures down there. Cute, no?

Jen wanted me to mention that are going on another vacation in September. Apparently that's blog-worthy. I had not mentioned it (except in passing) because I know you all will mock me. Why? Because...

Yes, we're going to Disneyworld.
Yes, we've already been once this year already.
Yes, we go often.
No, I don't get tired of it.
No, we don't really go anyplace else on vacation, except to other Disney properties. No, it's not particularly expensive... the Disney Vacation Club makes it very affordable, and so do our Disney Reward Dollars that I have been accruing for the last four years.

And with that, I need to bid you all adieu for now. The boy has just been put to bed and it's that time of night where my husband hangs around over my shoulder until I get off of the computer. Night! :)

Okay, well, not really. But one of my old coworkers does freelance jobs on the side and she asked if I'd be interested in writing a brochure. I mulled it over for awhile and thought... what the heck? A little extra money wouldn't hurt. It's going to go to my Pottery Barn table fund. I just hope I don't end up regretting committing to something that is actually serious work for a real client. (as in, not just silly t-shirts that I work on for fun)

Speaking of the silly t-shirts, a big bloggy thanks to Baby Shmear's daddy, BusyMom, Bree, and anyone else I may have missed who gave me linky love! I really appreciate it! The store is hoppin' today!

Benjamin is being exceptionally cute this morning. We shared a bowl of cereal while we watched Sesame Street together. I love it! Lots of housework to do today (filthy bathrooms) and naptime should begin shortly... so I'm off!

Today shall forever be known as the day Benjamin figured out that it's fun to throw things into the toilet.

He was playing in our master bathroom this morning while I got dressed in the other room (they're connected, don't go calling child services on me). It got quiet. I then heard several small splashes. Upon entering the bathroom, I found a very enthusiastic Benjamin standing over the toilet, which was filled with a box of disposable contact lenses, a tube of travel toothpaste, a bottle prenatal vitamins and Tom's "leatherette" razor case.

He was very pleased with himself.

Gagging, I extracted everything and put it all in the sink to deal with later. Then we had a "no no" lesson about toilets. Of course, as soon as I brought him downstairs, he headed for the toilet in the powder room with the wipes from his diaper bag in hand. He laughed out loud when I lept over the coffee table and then almost slipped on the rug in the hallway trying to thwart his little game.

We're going to need more toilet locks here, obviously. Yay! I promise to take a picture next time it happens... because I'm NOT in denial, it WILL happen again. This time I was more preoccupied wtih rescuing the contact lenses and the "leatherette" razor case. ;)

Here are a few pictures from today!

If Benjamin ever becomes a famous piano player, this picture will come in handy.


He played Great Nana's piano for well... the entire day.


My Nana with her two great grandbabies, one of whom refused to sit still and make nice for the picture.


Benjamin enjoying pretzels with Poppy a.k.a. my dad ;)


Baby boom! Tom, Benjamin, Me, Elizabeth (my cousin's wife), Baby Keira, and my cousin Ben

Today we're heading out to my Nana's house to spend some time with her and my aunts,uncles, cousin, his wife and new baby. Can't wait! I hope to get some good pics of Keira and Benjamin. :)

In what downtime I've had this weekend, I've been working on my store! I've started making sales and it's so exciting! The store was chosen to be featured on CafePress' Grand Openings page starting on Tuesday, so I'm hoping that will help get things moving even more. I really am having so much fun with it! It's way more fun than watching the Ellen Show during naptime.

Ahhhh, I hear the sweet, soulful sounds of the Fisher Price crib aquarium, so now I must bid you adieu because that means the boy is up to greet the day. Over and out for now. Pics later. :)

~*~

Benjamin's Uncle Marc (Tom's brother) and Aunt Krystyna are tying the knot today at noon. Some crazy person put my husband in charge of the rings. HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA! That's just funny. Tom has lost more things than I can count.

In all seriousness, I've checked on them three times already this morning. I keep thinking they are going to jump out of their boxes and wander off.

Anyway, so there won't be much posting action today. Benjamin is going to spend the day with his grandmom and poppy, since I'm pretty sure he doesn't make the best wedding guest at this wonderful age of his. He'd be damn cute in a tux though... maybe for the next wedding.

I wouldn't know. I can't hear you because my ears are all stopped up. I caught Benjamin's cold and I feel like death warmed over. Ben, on the other hand, is completely back to normal which means I feel like death warmed over AND I still have to chase him. Even better, Tom is out tonight, which means no second shift and that always sucks.

Busy Mom says to feed a cold, so I will be heeding her advice with chocolate chip cookies later.

Hoping the rain will let up because I actually do have some errands to run today.

Benjamin is still meowing. Apparently, in his world, all animals are "doggies!" yet they all meow. Strange kid.

Sure is quiet 'round here...

Anyway, so I was doing some competitive research for my little online shop venture and happened across a shop called Funny State Tees. Some of them are just HYSTERICAL. Definitely worth checking out for a laugh. ;)

In other news, my son has been MEOWING for the last two hours. Almost NON-STOP.
He is in the other room with his daddy now, meow meow meowing through his bath. Do you think this is a medical concern? Should I maybe wack him on the back or something and see if I can get him to skip to the next track? Kidding. But SHEESH. The two CATS don't meow this much!

Benjamin has recently discovered the joy of *building* towers, not just destroying them with gusto. His building materials of choice seem to be spice jars. Here are some pictures of the architect in action. Note the look of intense focus and determination on his face. This keeps him busy for about a half hour at a time!

Jen and Ryan are on vacation. We are definitely getting together with them sometime next week because we miss them. Hopefully both boys will be germ-free by then and we will find a day where their naps coincide. (more difficult than you would think) In the meantime, will somebody please come play with us?

Today's adventure:
Opened the new case of Pampers Cruisers, tried to put one on Ben and the stupid diaper wouldn't stay together... one of the vecro tab thingies wouldn't stick. Tried another one. Nope. Started to panic because the kid was totally aiming at me and there were no other diapers other than what was in the new box. Tried a third. It sorta stayed closed if I left it looser than usual, but basically had the same problem. An hour later, Ben waddles up to me with a diaper in his hand. Figuring he pulled it out of the diaper bag (ah-ha! Leftover GOOD diapers!!) I took it from him and went about my business. When I picked him up, I realized he was going commando. Not only that, he was WET all over. Oops. Guess that diaper didn't stay on after all. And what a talented baby! Being able to pull a diaper out from UNDER his overalls without me even noticing! I mean, I can take a bra off from underneath a shirt but this diaper thing was truly amazing! ;)

Called Pampers because now I was out $26.99. After getting the third degree about which diapers they were, how many in the case, what was the lot number and which side wouldn't stay closed, the guy on the phone admitted that they had been having a problem with a batch of the Cruisers. AhHA! They are sending me a coupon for a replacement box. Yay Pampers for choosing to keep my business!

Checked the diaper bag... two good diapers left. Drat. That wouldn't do. One good morning poopy and we were up poop creek without a paddle.

Trip to Walmart. Discovered Walmart doesn't CARRY Cruisers by the case? They also do not carry lite maynonnaise! Decided I must not be the target market Walmart is going for. Oh well, I'll stick to Target from now on.

Bought a case of Pampers Baby Dry just to get the heck out of there and get home because for some reason, Ben decided he also didn't like Walmart and threw a totally freaked-out fit (like the kind he throws when I take him to the doctor's office or into an elevator). Why? I'll probably never know. But all the more reason not to return...

**This Just In**
As I type this, Ben is watching Sesame Street and repeating "E!" "E!" "E!" everytime they say the letter. He is very VERY excited about the letter E, apparently. I'm just amused that he's actually repeating something, he doesn't usually mimic. Maybe we're finally on the verge of this "verbal explosion" I keep hearing about.

The baby monitor is crackling on and off... this means there is a thunderstorm on its way. It's a useful little household item like that. Sometimes it also picks up peoples' cordless phone conversations. That's always exciting.

Just trying to make it through the day. I've been feeling the effects of my very interrupted night of sleep. TiVoed Sesame Street has come in VERY handy this afternoon. Hoping the cup of extra strong coffee I just had will kick in soon because I have about an hour and a half until the second shift comes home from work.

Poor Benjamin has been leaving a trail of snot behind him wherever he goes. It's like having a pet snail, really. He's restless and whiny and who can blame him? He obviously feels like crud. No signs of an ear infection, but I'm keeping a close eye on him, nevertheless. There's a first time for everything! He IS exceptionally cuddly today, which has been nice. His cold also seems to have rendered him temporarily mute, (he gets very subdued when he's sick) so it is very quiet at our house today. ;) Kinda weird.

I downloaded a yummy recipe I really wanted to try tonight, but I'm not sure I have the energy... how about peanut butter and jelly instead?

Fourth of July was quiet and uneventful. We went to my inlaws' house for a cookout, which was nice. No fireworks to enjoy because they didn't start until WAY past Ben's bedtime. No pictures because there was really nothing to take a picture of.

Benjamin seems to have a cold or something. I noticed he sounded a little funny yesterday and sneezed a few times. Then he had a meltdown right before we left Tom's parents' house when they put him on his back to change his diaper. I'm guessing now that he just couldn't breathe. He was up on and off most of last night and this morning he has a little cough and is sniffly. Hope this is as bad as it gets... summer colds are NO fun for ANYone. I had to change his diaper while he ws standing up this morning because he WOULD. NOT. LIE. DOWN. That takes talent because, of course NOW I don't have any of those pull-on Pampers laying around. Sheesh.

I've been working some more on my little shop. Put up a few new items yesterday. It has been so much fun making the stuff! I got a lot of great input from the mommies on the message board where I post, so I took many of their suggestions and incorporated them into the shop.

Sorry this post is so boring... maybe I'll have a cute picture or two for you later. Off now to take care of my little sniffle monster. :)

Yay for cookouts and fireworks and cute patriotic baby outfits! (and for independence from those crazy British who don't like their tea cold! ;) To think we might not have iced tea to drink in the summer! Enjoy your July 4th, everyone!

... he led the others with a quack quack quack!

Ben and the lead duck conspiring...



Does this not look like the duck is saying, "Hey, get a move on, runt!"

My mom, Benjamin and I went to visit my cousin's wife, Elizabeth and new baby, Keira, yesterday afternoon!(my cousin, Ben, was at work) The baby is SO SO cute. And so tiny. I honestly can't remember Benjamin being that tiny, but Keira weighs the same as he did at two weeks old, so he must have been! Anyway, she is a little doll... but I will say that being there made me more confident in my decision to hold off on baby #2 a bit longer. I quickly realized that I can't hold a newborn and chase my crazy, death defying toddler at the same time. How do you guys with two under two do it? I'm guessing the solution would be to keep the newborn in a bouncy seat while I chase said toddler... still, seems hard. Maybe a sling for the baby? Either way. DIFFICULT. I just feel like in my case, I'd be ignoring the baby a lot since he/she can't move around and make trouble. Am I right in assuming with #2 you don't sit around holding them and staring at them all day long. That's kinda sad, but I guess that's how it goes, right?

Have I mentioned I absolutely adore my cousin's wife? (my cousin is great too, but I am just getting to know Elizabeth) She is so sweet... I'm really hoping we'll spend a lot of time together as families now that they have a baby too. They only live about 15 minutes away! In a way, Keira is going to be more like a cousin than a second cousin, I think, since we are all so close in age. That's what I'm hoping anyway, since it is going to be a LONG time before Benjamin gets any first cousins, that's for sure. Currently, the best candidates for producing any cousins are still a week away from getting married.

I wish I could have taken pictures, but there really was no opportunity. Maybe next time... I really want to get a nice one of Benjamin and Keira for the scrapbook and to send to my grandmother. She is SO excited about her great-grandchildren... I'm sure whoever walks through her door get treated to the whole assortment of pictures she has.

I think the "Don't do its!" have already won. At least for this month.

But now it's your turn. I promised I'd give you your forum. So, go ahead, encourage me.

And Gord, the Bucketheads Collage will up later today, I promise. ;) Sorry it has taken so long! ;)