Our friend Brian came by tonight for a visit (and to play a very long, boring Monopolyesque game with Tom and his brothers). He lives in Austin, Texas now, where he is busy getting his PhD in neuroscience. Yeah, he's not kiddin' around... hardcore science nerd, this one. We always save up all of our weird science and medical questions for when he's around.

Anyway, apparently he and his girlfriend read my blog and thought it'd be cool if he made a cameo appearance while in Baltimore. ;)

He insisted upon a picture with Ben standing next to him for scale. Unfortunately, though Ben had finally stopped screaming like a banshee everytime he made eye contact with Brian, he still wasn't quite willing to stand NEXT to him. So here's the best we got.


I'm so glad he stopped by, though I didn't get to visit very long since the guys got right down to their five-hour game and I went to bed. Wish he'd hurry up and get back here so we could all hang out more often. :) (and play Balderdash instead of boring Monopolyesque games)

Today I went to the store to prepare for Toddler New Year's Eve. This will be the second annual TNYE (it was begun by Jen and, frankly, I think it's a quite ingenious idea. We get together around 3, have dinner and play games and stuff until toddler bedtime and then declare it officially New Years!

Works well for us. I'm not really sure how other parents of toddlers handle this holiday because I can't imagine keeping Ben up/out of his element much past his bedtime. He just FAH-reaks out. It's not worth it. And since his bedtime is between 7 and 8 these days, if we went anywhere, we'd have to leave when the party was just getting started anyway.

How do YOU do New Years Eve with kids?

I can't hold my eyes open (I've been fighting off a sinus something or other for a week now, I think that's the problem). Anyway, so Ben won't nap. I have a conundrum. It's not like he'll stay in one place while I sleep and he REALLY doesn't want to be in the crib right now.

I put on his favorite Sesame Street DVD and he laid on me contendedly for about 20 minutes but that was not long enough for me to fall asleep. Now he is whining and I still feel like I have been drugged.

Can one of you please check in your toddler instruction manual and tell me where the off button is? The only advice mine offers is:

Option 1: Make coffee
and Option 2: Call grandma

Well I really can't drink any more coffee today... I've already had my cup and a half. Anymore and I'll be on coffee overload.
One grandmother is busy right now and the other one lives too far away for me to safely drive there in my current state.

**updated** It's 1p.m. I *think* he is down for his nap. And now I am off to take one too. Whew!

That is all. ;)


(Can you tell this is as much of a social event for me as it is for Benjamin?)

and just for fun... I give you... one year ago. ;)


Three months from two! It's getting hard to keep track of all the new things he does...

At some point when I wasn't looking, he started eating anything and everything we eat. Not sure where the picky eater went, but it's wonderful!

He feeds himself (when he feels like it) and does a good job!

He is talking more and more a little bit at a time. I'm working on a list of words for the baby book right now but am having a hard time corraling them all!

He has started sitting on the potty every night before his bath. Once, he actually pee-pee'd a little bit, but didn't seem to notice. The point is, he is interested in sitting there and that is the beginning of progress!

He can name two of four grandparents. (Poppy and NehNeh (Nanee) The other two are patiently waiting for their Ben names. He ocassionally calls my father-in-law "whoa whoa" since he always turns on the fan for Ben and sometimes he calls my mom "Hot" since she always seems to be lighting a fire in the fireplace when we are over lately.

The two year molars are working their way in EVER so slowly. Luckily, they don't seem to be bothering him much... we just see him chewing on his fingers a lot lately.

He is just doing so much and is definitely his own little person... he's so much fun! :) (though sometimes a bit of a challenge, I will say)

Dear Gift Givers,

Benjamin loves everything you all gave him for Christmas. New toys are great and help ease the boredom that sets in when the toddler and I are just sitting around staring at each other in the afternoons. However, there is no more room at the inn.

In case you don't believe me, see below.

This is photographic proof of why we do not need any more toys. Thank you.

Basement toy corner Part 1:... (POST clearing out of last-year's stuff that never gets played with) I think I may pare down even more and put away that Little People Train Set. He never plays with that.


Basement toy corner Part 2:... See that little shelf thingy with the colorful drawers? Those drawers are FULL of Peek-a-blocks. Yeah, thsoe are getting put away in the near future too. The bike is also rarely touched except to climb on. That one might take a hiatus in the attic until he's older.


Toys that need to be stored: In that blue bucket (and also on the floor) are toys that need to be stored. We're waiting on the stairs to be installed in our attic. This mess? It makes me nutty... and I can't avoid it. It's in the laundry room.


Living room toy corner: I try to keep a few NICE toys (usually wodden toys and quieter toys in this basket in the living room. It's full.


Upstairs in Ben's room are all the books (a LOT of books), wooden puzzles and a few other of his really nice heirloom type toys that I want to make sure stay in one piece.

Not pictured are a couple things he got for Christmas that are still awaiting a home as well as the Playhut Popup "take over the whole darn room" Tent, which is currently in its little tote bag in the corner downstairs.

So....guess what Ben needs for his birthday??? Altogether now.... "NOTHING"! Puzzles, books, paper, crayons and college fundage are all more than welcome if people feel like they have to give him something. Otherwise? Nada. Sorry to be a killjoy, but I have to end the madness for awhile, at least until we find a bigger house. Gah.
We are bursting at the seams over here!

It's 7:40 and Benjamin is still sleeping. I have learned from experience that even 15 minutes of extra sleep in the morning for him means he won't go down for a nap until HOURS later than usual. This will be extremely annoying later, but for now, I'm enjoying the quiet... and the last ten minutes left on my laptop battery.

Though it's quiet in the house right now, my brain is NOT quiet. It's filled with a very long, ongoing to-do list. And not just to-do's for today: (the huge pile of laundry, the trip to the grocery store, the toys that still need homes downstairs and the one that needs to still be put together.... ) I'm pondering the birthday party just around the corner that I need to plan... the one for the big TWO-year-old. Can you believe he's going to be two? I'm thinking about how I really need to start putting together his big boy room and get a real bed for him soon. I'm leaning toward trains as a theme.... there is a lot of really cute stuff out there. Do I move him out of his room while I work on it? How does THAT work? Where will I put him? I have to repair the wall in a few places and repaint. And since I'm going to be moving the baby furniture out, should I go ahead and put together the nursery in the other room while I'm at it? (no, I'm not pregnant).

And the potty training... 2006 is the year for that... ugh.

Maybe I should just go back to bed. ;)

Heh. Get it? Wrap up? Oh BOY am I tired.

Christmas Eve church went well. Ben was good (for an almost-two-year-old forced to stay in one place for an hour and a half) Then it was off to Christmas Eve at Grandmom and Poppy's.

Christmas Eve at Grandmom and Poppy's. Saxaphone courtesy of godmother Debbie


I would say Santa came, but since we are now TERRIFIED of Santa over here to the point of now being afraid of all men with grey or white hair, we'll just say Mommy and Daddy put some presents under the tree...

The setup on Christmas morning before Ben came downstairs. The kitchen set and piano are from my parents and godmother Debbie. Needless to say the boy was a little overwhelmed when he came downstairs.


Benjamin on Christmas morning with mommy, daddy and his new teeny tiny violin.


Playing with Aunt Debbie


Concert time!


Then it was off to Nanee and Pap's (sans nap, just btw) for Christmas dinner and more present opening...

Trying to blow out the candle at Nanee and Pap's house Christmas night.


I love this picture... (even though he was still trying desperately to blow out the candle)


Home again home again by 8:00 and time for bed. Whew.

It was a wonderful, whirlwind two days. Ben has enjoyed the sudden influx of new toys. I am grateful for new things to occupy us during the day, though still trying to find homes for all of it. Daddy is enjoying his day off.

This morning started our two day Christmas marathon. We went over to Tom's grandparents' since we won't see them this evening due to some rearranging of our usual routine this year. They gave Ben two wooden puzzles which he immediately loved and a book (which he took to bed with him at naptime) and a cd.

Then we came home and I worked on things for breakfast tomorrow morning. In a little while we're off to church with my family and then back to their house for dinner and general hanging out.

(out of breath...)

Tomorrow morning, my family and Benjamin's godmother are coming over for breakfast and to open presents and then, after Ben's nap, we're headed over to Tom's family's house for Christmas dinner and more giftage.

Whew.

Still trying to decide if we want to make the 3-hour drive to Tom's OTHER grandmother's house with his parents the day after Christmas...

I.AM.TIRED.

Luckily, Ben is actually napping today. Huzzah!

Speaking of Ben, guess what? He's 21 months old today! More on that later...

... a coffee bean!

Yes, Benjamin has befriended a Starbucks coffee bean.* He carried it home from his grandparents' house last weekend and forgot about it. But today it fell out of a pocket or something while I was sorting laundry and he found it.

"Bean-nuh?"

"Yes Ben, it's your coffee bean."

(he smiles and gazes lovingly at the little Ethopian Sidamo bean he is pinching between his two fingers)

He has carried the bean around the house for the last three hours. When he wants to do something with the bean-carrying hand, he ever so gently and carefully places the bean somewhere safe. And he ALWAYS remembers to come get it.

At one point, I moved the bean to the kitchen table and he went looking for it.

"Bean-nuh?"

"Yes Ben, here's your bean."

I even had to read stories to both Ben AND Bean a little while ago.

There was a minute there where I thought I had accidentally flushed Bean down the toilet... thankfully, he had just fallen onto the floor. Whew.




*Yes, I realize a coffee bean is a choking hazard. His time with Bean is allowed only under close supervision. Also, he really doesn't like the way Bean tastes, anyway.

"Benjamin, who does mommy love?"

(points to himself) "Me!"

"Who does daddy love?"
"Me!"

Who does Grandmom love?
"Me!"

Who does Poppy love?
"Me!" "Me!" "Me!"

(you get the point... apparently he is quite confident that everyone, both human and animal loves HIM. ;) I guess we've done SOMEthing right.)

Last night, I managed to don something other than my mommy uniform AND stay out last 9p.m. Seriously... this was a huge accomplishment for me. I actually had to REPIERCE my ears to get earrings in. How sad is that? Oy.

I had my very first ever moment of feeling like my brain was atrophying because I stay home all day. I was the only full-time mom in the group of spouses who were there (there was ONE work-at-home mom though). I had to make a concerted effort to make intelligent conversation that didn't involve poop, pee-pee and toddler development. But I think, once I got into the swing of things, I did okay. For the first time, I used the phrase, "He's almost two." when asked how old my son was, figuring that most of then don't know or care about the difference between a 21-month-old and a 24-month old.

I did have a weak moment when I heard the work-at-home-mom mention Gymboree. (because I knew she had to go to the same one I do) "Gymboree?! You go to Gymboree?! Ooo!! Which class? Who's your teacher?" Gah. I also briefly discussed the fine points of labor and epidurals with the preg that was in attendance. Again, I'm used to having the WAY too much info version of this conversation with my mommy friends, but I managed to restrain myself and keep it fancy-restaurant friendly.

Speaking of fancy restaurants, The Capital Grille was yummy. Though, it's a steakhouse and I ordered shrimp. (only one in the room).

My husband's boss told me how wonderful and hard-working and good at his job Tom is, how thankful they are to have him there and how they are so excited he is going to be their partner. That was nice to hear... I'm extremely thankful to have a husband who is good at what he does so that I can stay at home and kill brain cells with the Wiggles and the Doodlebops every day. (that sounds sarcastic, but it's really true.... I wake up every day thankful that I can do what I do.)

So that's that. We got home around 9:30 and Ben was sound asleep and apparently had played his little heart out for several hours with his Aunt Debbie. I think a good time was had by all! ;)

I will not be at all sad when it's time to pitch the big fat Christmas tree full of glass "No No's" "Ben Don't Touch Thats" and get on with our lives.

...for company Christmas parties. And tonight is my husband's. This is the first year I've ever agreed to go. One year, I was just all, "No way.", the next year, I had just had a root canal and was still flying high on Percoset. The year after that, I was pregnant, fat and puking every hour, and last year, we had a nine month old who I didn't want to leave at bedtime.

This year? I have no suitable excuse. I ALMOST had a cold or something, but it has since retreated and I'm just left with a stuffy head that is not stuffy enough to get me out of this. We have a babysitter who I wholeheartedly trust with bathtime and bedtime, (Ben's godmother) and Ben is so into his nighttime routine now that it won't be a problem at all.

It's not that their Christmas party isn't lovely. They always go to dinner (small company) at a really fancy place. A couple years it was at Ruth's Chris, once it was at the Baltimore Country Club and this year it's at another fancy shmancy place I've never heard of.

The problem is the dressing up. Gah. I just don't feel like it. But I'm trying to make the best of it... it will be a nice meal, time alone with my husband and a break from the toddler who is cutting his two-year-molars. These are all good things. I just wish I could wear jeans. ;)

So funny that Dawn posted this today.
I was just getting ready to post that Ben finally learned how to say thank you!

Mind you, he doesn't actually SAY it, he still doesn't have a huge verbal vocabulary. But he SIGNS it and that's what we've been working on. For the longest time he REFUSED because well, after he would say sign "please", he got whatever he was asking for and he'd run off before I could even show him "thank you."

So I took another approach. I make him say please. Then, as I'm handing him whatever it is, I show him the sign for thank you and try to get him to do it before he actually takes the thing.

I have done it every time I've given him something for the past few days and today, it worked! It worked!

By gosh, my kid will have good manners if it kills me!

Today I didn't honor the nap properly and for that I now am paying the price.

This was when his Pap taught him how to lick his finger,stick it in the sugar and eat it. As you can imagine, he didn't have to show him more than once.

And here's the official Ben cookie. Hee hee. ;)

Today we're going over to my inlaws' house to make cookies! It's a tradition that fell by the wayside for a few years, but with a grandchild in the family, I thought it would be nice to start it up again. On this topic, I saw a commercial for Tollhouse break and bake cookies last night while I was watching The Sound of Music. I am a big fan of break and bake during the rest of the year, but if you're going to make Christmas cookies... break and bake??? C'mon! How fun is that? At least buy the cookie dough log so it's a LITTLE more work.

Anyway, so I'm looking forward to Cookie Day. (I hope Jen doesn't mind that I stole the name!) ;) If I had thought further ahead, I would have gotten Ben a little apron that said Cookie Day or Nanee's Little Helper on it, but alas, my mind was elsewhere.

I'm still busy stuffing stockings over here. I thought I was finished, but then I kept finding things... like a Cookie Monster electric toothbrush for Ben. I know he will just think that is the coolest thing ever. Frankly, I'm not sure I will be finished stuffing stockings until Christmas morning. It's challenging, but it's SO fun.

We also had one more big gift to buy (for my father-in-law) and we braved Home Depot yesterday afternoon to get it. Tom still has to go get his youngest brother's gift and his grandmother's gift (both are at places are right near his office, so he'll just run over during lunch one day next week). Otherwise, I guess we're finished. I feel like I've said that a hundred times since November, but it seems there is always just "one more thing" to get.

I was inspired to write this by the author of Poop and Boogies.

Dear Santa,

I know you are busy this time of year but I was hoping that you would be able to add a few items for the people on my list.

For Leslie- some WWE posters and a sleighload of pregancy tests so she can satisfy her neurotic peeing on a stock obsession without breaking the bank.

For Sarah#1 - some really good wallpaper remover to help with her Americana problem

For JLDropout - give her something nice from Tiffanys or some things for the new house. But whatever you do, don't give her a pee-stick with two lines on it this year. She could use at least 365 consecutive days of not being pregnant.

For Dawn - Some snow, if a few inches are too much to ask, a flurry will do. She's in California and is deprived of the white stuff, also a snow shovel and for Jacaroo, a sled.

For Jane - lots of pink frilly things to help decorate the room for 2007 Moosling addition

For Jen - an early epidural and a two-minute labor in March, not February.

For Mari -a hissing cockroach of her very own (stocking stuffer?), a non-infected daycare and an idea for something fun to google besides potential illnesses

For Chris - Theater seating for his new finished basement and titanium toddler-proofing supplies for the office

For Sarah#2 - a full night's sleep and some monogrammed spitup cloths "FB" for Freebird.

For Claire - a good boy's name. NOT Jackson Michael. Oh, and maybe ONE more ultrasound just to be sure.

For Carolyn - ear tubes! And while you're packaging these up, please send a pair to JLDropout too.

For Rachael - a less dramatic labor and delivery this time around

and lastly...

For the Etiquette Queen - a year's worth of bad manners and juicy breeches of etiquette to address and a good bottle of wine (you choose the vintage) for her supper club.

Thanks, Santa. You're the bestest. If I missed any of my bloggy friends, please send them a subscription to the Fruit of the Month club with my apologies. My brain is fried from my day with The Toddler.

I took Ben to try out a Kindermusik class this morning. I'm always looking for interesting things to get us out of the house plus, Ben could really use the interaction with groups of kids his age. He loves music, so I thought this would be perfect.

Wow. How WRONG I was.

It started out okay, I guess. The class started and they were supposed to sit in a circle and sing the hello song. Ben ran off, which is fine, some of the other kids did too. It's only after 8 weeks of Gymboree that he finally "gets" circle time there and doesn't run off as much.

After that, there was more singing. But there was a little football in the room that Ben spotted and so he kept going to get it. A couple of other times, another child would get it and Ben would get PISSED off. Okay, so we really need to work on sharing. He's an only child right now and isn't in groups of kids often. That's why we're here. Again, fine.

Then things started to go downhill. The teacher brought out a box full of instruments... bells, tamborines, xylophones, cymbals. Ben decided he liked this little bell (basically one piece of a xylophone with a mallet). Another little girl had it. He pitched a ROYAL fit. The teacher brought out a second one and he was happy happy happy. I decided now was not the time to teach him that he couldn't have the bell just because he pitched a fit... I just wanted the screaming to stop already.

They got to play with their instruments for about five minutes and then they had to PUT THEM BACK IN THE BOX.

What would YOUR two-ish child have done at this point? I knew what mine was going to do and it did NOT involve putting that bell back in the box. For some reason the other children, all the same age went along with this crazy plan and surrendered their instruments like little angels. Now, I know my kid can be a little challenging... but come on... you give him something new and cool to play with for FIVE minutes and then make him give it back? How many of your kids would have gone along with this without a fight?!

The teacher said he could hold onto it and that when he got distracted we'd hide it. She got out some jingle bells for them to play along with the song. Ben was all, "Dude. I've seen jingle bells before. They are SO two weeks ago. I have this xylophone piece and I'm NOT giving it up." THought finally, at one point, he dropped it and I hid it. Then he noticed and FAH-reaked out. I had to take him out of the room he was screaming so loud.

Eventually, he regained his composure long enough to march to a fiddle song and bounce his hands to the beat. THAT'S why I thought he's like this class. "There's my kid!" I thought...

Then she brought out a recorder to play a goodbye song. Now, Ben HAS a recorder so he thought it was his god-given right to go try and take it from her and was REALLY ticked off when she was only going to let him put his fingers over the holes while she played. More screaming.

THEN, apparently after this class is over, they get to go to an adjoining room to this play area. I let him play for a few minutes and then just wanted to get the heck out of there and put Mr. Pissy Pants down for his nap. That was when he threw the biggest kicking, screaming tantrum I have EVER seen out of him. It was NOT pretty.

I have a feeling if we went for a few weeks, he'd eventually get the routine and it might be a little better. But I don't think I want to spend $150 to find out that it won't. I just don't feel like they do any of the activities for enough time! I mean, I have the attention span of a toddler sometimes and the going from thing to thing every five minutes even got on MY nerves.

My review? Kindermusik, thumbs down, at least for this age. He gets more out of when my dad plays the guitar for him or I put on cd's and we dance and sing together at home.

What I want to know from you is... is it appropriate for me not to expect my almost-two-year-old to give up his instrument? (or the little football?) Should I have made him and then just suffered through the screaming that would have ensued? At home, he generally gets to play with something until he loses interest in it... but if I need him to stop for some reason, he's agreeable and easy to distract... so it's not like he's completely spoiled in that regard. And sharing? We're WORKING on it... but come ON.

Jen, be GLAD you did not go with us. I have a feeling Ben and Ryan may had similar experiences... (I KNOW I am not alone with this type of kid I have here...)

... there is something weather-related looming on the horizon. I haven't been paying much attention to it except to hope and pray that Gymboree was not canceled this morning. I was guessing it was going to be our only chance to get out of the house in the next day or so. Thankfully, whatever is supposed to happen out there hadn't started yet at 9a.m., so off we went.

Stopped at the grocery store on the way home since we were out of milk and stood in a line that went down to the end of the potato chip aisle. Gah. Could be the impending "weather event" or could just be Safeway. No matter when I go in there I ALWAYS have to wait in a line. They seem to have some kind of rule that they can only have two cashiers at a time.

Had to buy a can of Pringles to keep Ben occupied (with the lid) while we stood in the line. Fun times. Fun times.

He loves him some piano! I hope to get to use this picture on a VH1- Behind the Music someday. ;)

I took Benjamin over to the the mall this morning in an attempt to get a picture of him with "Ho Ho". I did not have a good feeling about it going into it, but had another mission at the mall anyway, so it wouldn't be a total bust if the Santa thing didn't work out.

When we got there, Ho Ho hadn't arrived yet (we're morning people, what can I say?), so we wandered around. I went into Gymboree and bought him some little mittens that match this winter outfit he has from there. We went into the Disney store and he pointed out all the "mows" (Mickey Mouses) and we then we accidentally wandered into Benjamin heaven.... two people with guitars singing Wheels on the Bus. Jackpot! We discovered that this mall does a kiddie fun day every Tuesday at 10a.m.! With music! And singing! And toddlers galore! And wheels on buses! So, we sang along for awhile and then headed off to find Ho Ho.

There was no line for Ho ho when we got there. We walked right in....Ben all the while yammering about the "lights" and "hot" and "snowy" then the poor child caught sight of Ho Ho. Deer in headlights moment. Horrified look. Backed into me as far as he could go. This is a child who is NOT shy, but certain people strike him as really REALLY scary... our old pediatrician and this Santa in particular. I can't blame him. Go over and visit Mamac-ta's blog to see for yourself. (since we apparently have both a hospital we gave birth at AND a Santa in common) He WAS scary. I wouldn't have sat on his lap either. I did try to put Ben up there just to see what he'd do and he FAH-REAKED. So no Santa picture... maybe not for a LONG time.

...that I really enjoy cleaning my kitchen? I mean I REALLY take a lot of pleasure in taking everything off the counters, moving the table and chairs out and going at it. I'm not saying I enjoy cleaning in general (though there is a certain rush I get when I make vacuum lines in my carpet... yes, I'm weird)

But the kitchen.... there is something about a sparkly kitchen that just makes me so happy. I take everything out, wipe the counters, cabinets and stove down with lysol cleaner, then bleach, then windex. I bleach the sink then I put everything back one piece at a time and and wipe it all down as I go. Then the floor... ahhh... well, cleaning the wood floor is not as satisfying as cleaning tile or linoleum because it's harder to see your progress but stil.... ahhh....

Ohmahgah I just wrote an entire post about scrubbing my kitchen. Someone please have me committed. Or someone please tell me I'm not alone in my kitchen cleanin glee. Please?

I'm hesitant to even hit the "publish" button because you all are going to think I'm insane.

The Naptime Gourmet had lots of great contributions over the weekend. (including COOKIES!!) Check in and find something new to make this week! :)

Ben enjoyed the basketball game! He sat through the whole thing, believe it or not. I guess there enough going on to hold his attention... and best of all, every 5.5 seconds (it seemed like) they stopped the game and played some music to which he'd joyfully shake his groove thang.

By the end of the game, he had even picked up the "defense defense!" chant and was saying "dee dee dee" right along with daddy. Sadly, the Greyhounds lost, but at least we had fun and took a few pictures. ;)







Doggie!

Tom and his brother are taking Ben to see his first Loyola College(Tom and Taylor's alma mater and mine for uhh... two semesters before I transferred to a cheaper school.) basketball game this afternoon.



Actually, I think I'm going to go along with them because a) I have nothing better to do b) I want to take pictures of Ben in his Loyola College sweatshirt and hat and c) I'm uh.. mumble mph mumble mumble might lose my mumble mumble...

"Wait, what did you say?" you're asking.

Okay, I'm a little afraid my husband might lose Ben. Not REALLY but a little. He's sorta forgetful, you know. Leaves the house without his keys all the time, goes upstairs and forgets why he went up there in the first place. So while I'm MOSTLY sure he wouldn't actually lose a toddler... I just want to make sure. It's more likely he'll forget to change his diaper or give him a snack or a drink.

Should be fun. I HATE basketball, but the Loyola College campus holds a lot of sentimental value -- it being where Tom and I met and all and then eventually got married. (at the chapel on campus). :) I'll also get to browse the bookstore... I loves me some cozy college-logo-emblazoned hooded sweatshirts. :D

Was in Petsmart a little while ago buying kat fud. Got to the checkout line, glanced to my left and saw Santa. He was there so you could bring your dog to have a picture taken with him.

Now see, there are a whole contigent of you who just read that and are like, "Yeah! That's cool! So what?!" or "Yeah. I was just there with Fido. We got a great picture this year!"

And then there are those you who are more like me and are re-reading that thinking to yourself, "No... you're kidding right?!" But I am deadly serious. There was a SANTA in the PETSMART so the DOGS could sit on his lap and get their pictures taken. OH YES THERE WAS.

AND...

there was a HUGE LINE of people with their dogs... and the dogs? They were DRESSED and had BOWS in their hair. I'm sure I will offend at least 1/3 of my readers but I SOOooooo do not get the "dog is my child" thing. Maybe it's that I'm a cat person. Maybe it's that I HAVE a child (who is WAY above the cats on the priority list). But I JUST. DON'T. GET. IT. I also stopped into the grooming place they have there to ask if they would be willing to shave my mean and nasty and really matted black long-haired cat. (they said no) While I was there, a woman came in to drop off a very large and hairy black dog and burst into tears as she handed him over saying, "Go ahead... you'll be fine... you're making mommy cry!" Umm.. okay.

If you are a dog person, feel free to explain this mindset to me...

In other news... I REALLY wish my grocery store of choice was not next door to a Target. All I want to do is get my weekly grocery shopping done and I'm nearly run over/backed into/trampled by the hoards of Christmas shoppers. Plus, I had to park in a different zip code. Wish I had thought ahead to do TWO weeks of shopping while I was there so I didn't have to go do it again next week.

Welcome to the 2005 Holiday Edition of Getting to Know Your Friends!

1. Egg Nog or Hot Chocolate? Hot chocolate OR coffee with a little eggnog in it OR better yet... an Eggnog Latte from Starbucks


2. Does Santa wrap presents or just sit them under the tree? Wrapped. But not very well. I Our Santa never quite learned how to use scissors.

3. Colored lights on tree/house or white? White... they are simple, tasteful and pretty.

4. Do you hang mistletoe? No. But only because I never remember to go looking for it.

5. When do you put your decorations up? A week after Thanksgiving.

6. What is your favorite holiday dish (excluding dessert)? Greenbean casserole

7. Favorite Holiday memory as a child? staying up until midnight (or later!) or Christmas Eve and then STILL waking up around 5 or 6 a.m. so excited to open presents and wake everyone else up.

8. When and how did you learn the truth about Santa? Are you ready for this? I never believed in Santa! I wouldn't tell Benjamin about Santa if it were up to me, but Tom insists... so he wins that one. It's not worth fighting over.

9. Do you open a gift on Christmas Eve? My mom always let my brother and me open our new pajamas on Christmas Eve.

10. What kind of cookies does Santa get set out for him? There was no santa in my house! I'm sorry! ;) I guess if we do the cookie/santa thing with Ben, it will be chocolate chip, and carrots for the reindeer.

11. Snow! Love it or Dread it? Loved it as a kid. Hated it when I was working (beacuse I almost always had to go in anyway) Love it now because I can just sit back with my coffee and enjoy it.

12. Can you ice skate? yes. But my husband... he can't. It's very sad. He was once mocked by several small children after falling down a hundred times. So he won't go with me anymore and thus, I never get to go. :(

13. Do you remember your favorite gift? Cabbage patch kid one year, a really cool telescope... most recently, my video camera.

14. What's the most important thing about the Holidays for you? traditions and spending time with family.

15. What is your favorite Holiday Dessert? Chocolate chip cookies!

16. What is your favorite holiday tradition? Stockings ... also, more recently, I like going to my inlaws house and taking the "coming down the stairs" picture. It's so funny!

17. What tops your tree? A silver wire star. This is the first year we've had a tree topper since we've been married!

18. Which do you prefer Giving or Receiving? Giving!!! I love picking out the perfect gifts for people!!

19. What is your favorite Christmas Carol? Oh Holy Night

20. Candy Canes! Yuck or Yum? Not so much a mint fan... but find me a chocolate candy cane and I'll love you forever.

When the local news ran umpteen crawlers across the bottom of the the screen all during Survivor last night, you would have thought we were getting 24 inches of snow. I was all ready to spend today in my cozy house... Tom would be home from work... we'd watch movies and make cookies and play with Ben together. Oh the FUN we would have!

But the snow... it was pitiful. Three inches, at best and then it turned to rain. This really just makes it a pain... and quite heavy to shovel (not that I do that). Tom was out the door this morning by 8a.m.

Lameness. My cozy snow day dreams are now a distant memory.

Instead, I spent the morning dealing with mysterious hives all over Ben's bottom and his face. I have yet figure out what would touch BOTH of those places and set off hives. The top contenders are the lotion I used on my hands this morning and the possibility that the particular cloth diaper he had on was accidentally washed and dried with the regular clothes and thus, was exposed to a dryer sheet. Otherwise? I'm baffled. He's fine now. And, I might add, napping quite nicely after a dose of Benadryl. Hee. :D

One of Ben's Christmas rules is that every Christmas light in the house MUST be on whenever we are home. So when we walked in from our errands this afternoon (early evening), we of course, turned on the tree... it looked so pretty, (especially considering what it has been through) so I decided to take a picture.


I looked at the picture and noticed something odd in front of the tree. So I investigated and decided that it warranted a picture also.


Yes, it's a cat in a bag. Shh... don't let the cat out of the bag!

Then I got this one of Benjamin with the tree. Though it's blurry, I love the way it looks. He was looking at this Cinderella ornament I have where Cinderella and Prince Charming twirl in circles. He says it's "mama and daddy" going "wow wow wow" (round and round) which is just the sweetest thing ever.

For those of you who get our Christmas card in the mail today or tomorrow... yes, I KNOW that is the worst picture of all of us EVER. I just had my heart set on a beach picture (thanks to Rbelle for that idea) and that one was the best shot we got. We're all squinty because we're looking directly into afternoon sun... it's pretty bad. But it's the thought that counts, darn it.

Those of you who DON'T get that card (I sent out two because I underestimated how many picture postcards we'd need), you got the better end of the family picture deal. Trust me.

Those of you who didn't get a card from us at all. I'm sorry... I only have so much budgeted for postage! ;)

The article about the tree farm showed up in the paper today... I am laughing so hard because:

a) He refers to Tom as a "jr." which he isn't and everyone made that pretty clear when he was taking our names. Though, this particular mistake is forgiveable because having an article littered with Tom Graffs would have just been confusing. At least we didn't volunteer that our son is technically one too.

b) He has Tom as being 20 years old.... let's do the math on being 20 years old with a 20 month old son. Can we say... teen pregnancy? This is just embarassing.

c) Apparently, we were chopping down cedar trees. This, after the guy emailed me to double check what kind of trees we were chopping down and I told him they were douglas firs. I give you... a cedar tree.

d) I kept telling him our son's name is "Benjamin" because it is. Ben is a nickname but I try my hardest to use Benjamin most of the time. Yet all throughout he is "Ben" "Ben" "Ben.."

Oh well... it's still a pretty cool thing to put in the scrapbook. ;)

You all MUST go on over and pay a visit to the Etiquette Queen. Her latest post on IMing is great! (so are the other ones, this one just was particularly good)

We were upstairs getting Ben ready for his bath last night when we heard a crash. Upon arriving downstairs, we saw this.


Gah.

Luckily, the only ornaments that broke were cheapy filler ones I bought YESTERDAY. Everything else is intact. Whew.
Turns out our tree sort of naturally bends on one direction, so Tom worked on it for awhile and we faced the bendy part toward the back door. Seems okay now.

SHEESH.

For those of you who haven't checked in with The Naptime Gourmet recently, we have collected QUITE a few recipes! Seriously, there is some good stuff over there. And just in time for the holidays, I'm asking everyone to come on over and post their favorite cookie recipes. Yeah, they don't really count as easy family dinners, but who can't resist a good cookie?

Tonight at our house, I'm trying Claire's recipe for Fennel and Thyme Rubbed Chicken We're having garlic mashed potatoes and steamed broccoli with it. Yum! Thanks for the recipe, Claire! :)

That is all. Now back to your regularly scheduled Baby Human. (who skipped his regularly scheduled Baby Human Nap today and JUST fell asleep... at 5p.m.... gah.)

Ben has recently become obsessed with "Bee Bee". (pee pee). He knows it goes in the potty and that also he sometimes smells like it in the morning.
Me: "Ew, kid, you smell like pee pee!"
Ben: (laughing hysterically) Bee bee!! Bee bee!!

Yesterday, he wandered into the bathroom and was about to try to get away with splashing in the toilet. Just as he lifted the seat he said, "Bee bee!" I took the opportunity to solidify the connection between "Bee Bee" and the potty. So I said, "Do you want to try to pee pee in the potty?" I took off his diaper and sat him up there. I tried this once before months and months ago and he wanted nothing to do with it. But yesterday, he thought it was fun. He sat there and I explained where the pee pee comes from and that it goes in the potty. I even turned on the water to try to "encourage" some pee pee, but he was apparently running on empty.

We played this game for a few minutes and then he was ready to move on to something else, but I figure it's a step in the right direction. :)

...but the tree is decorated!
Sorry the picture is blurry, I'll have to try for a better one later.


And under the tree is Benjamin's early Christmas present from his grandparents. It's the Disneyworld Main Street train! It goes around on the track and makes all kinds of noise while it puffs real smoke. Way cool. Ben think so too. ;)

Well... it was inevitable. Snow. :: sigh :: And when we were at the grocery store yesterday (oblivious to the weather report) I walked by the ice melter pellet thingies on the way out and said to Tom, "We REALLY should get some of those soon so we have them in case it snows." Drat. I also neglected to get the red potatoes I needed and a box of spaghetti. So Ben and I will be bundling up and heading back out this morning before the big white out before the crazies all come out en masse to clear the shelves of toilet paper and bread.

After that, I guess it will be just a cozy day inside for us. Luckily, I have all the ingredients for my Christmas cookies and lots of knitting supplies to hold me over. :) It will actually be nice to be home all day... we had a really long and busy weekend and I hardly saw these four walls.

Yesterday was Tom's dad's birthday dinner so we spent a good part of the day at my inlaws' house. It was really nice... when we got there, their tree was ready to be decorated and the Christmas carols were on. So the three brothers and Ben put the ornaments on the tree and I played photographer. Ben was mostly a hinderance, but I did get some cute pictures. I think I also got a good one of Tom and his two brothers, which is always a challenge because they are always all running in seperate directions. None of the pictures were taken with my camera though, so I don't have them to share, sadly. :(

Anyway, then we had a nice dinner and discovered Ben is a HUGE lasagna fan. Woohoo! He really does eat pretty much anything these days. It's weird how that transition happened and I didn't even really notice WHEN it happened exactly. I usually keep a Lil Entree in my diaperbag as a backup when we go out, but I hardly ever use it anymore!

So anyway, enough rambling. I hear the sounds of the infamous crib aquarium. He cranks it up to the highest volume. The kid's not even two and I'm ALREADY saying, "TURN THAT MUSIC DOWN!!!" This does NOT bode well.

I'm guessing I'll be posting pictures of snow later... but not of us out IN in because Ben doesn't have any snowpants yet!! How sad! :(

This afternoon, after the Ben's elbow was put back into place, we headed to the tree farm with his Nanee, Pap and Uncle Taylor to chop down our Christmas trees. Despite the absence of Ben's Uncle Marc (who always complains he's "always the one who HAS to chop down the tree..."), Tom and Taylor managed to saw the down the trees quite capably. Ben seemed to think the whole affair was quite amusing, especially when the trees fell.

OH, and here's the really fun part. Just as we were starting to hunt for the perfect trees, this guy came up to us. He is a reporter for a local paper and wanted to interview us all and watch us choose our tree. Even funnier, he turned out to be a professor of mine from college. (Mandy, remember our feature writing professor, Bob Allen?) I don't think he actually remembered me, but it was still pretty cool! :)

So we got a tree AND we'll be in the paper. What a fun adventure!

Here we all are in our matching santa hats! (loving the camera cord there in the pic)


Ben watching daddy saw down the tree...


Uncle Taylor stops sawing for a moment to look at the camera


RIght after the tree went "Kaboom!"


The official 2005 "dragging of the tree to the car" pictures...
"

We're not entirely sure HOW, but Ben managed to do THIS a few hours ago. It resulted in a phone call to the new pediatrician and a rush visit over there, where it was popped back into place in a manner that is enough to make even the most experienced mommy a little queasy. The good news is that it's very common, so common that the other nickname for it is "Toddler's Elbow" and the fix was quick and easy. (albeit NOT painless, I'm guessing) He is as good as new now.

Of course, this injury, coupled with the fact that we couldn't come up how it actually HAPPENED AND our ER trip back in March, pretty much puts us in the "watch these two for child abuse" file, I think.

Gah. Toddlers.

As I'm sure I have posted before, I have to find a new OB since my other one don't do dat no mo. I don't NEED one at this very second, but I'd like to have found one and actually MET her before I get pregnant. See, in my experience, unless you play stupid about knowing when you conceived and when your last period was, they usually won't see you until you are 10 weeks along. I'd like to have someone I at least SORTA know who I can call within those first ten weeks if there is a problem. Make sense? *I* thought so, anyway...

So I have two doctors I'm trying to decide between. They have both come highly recommended from multiple people I know and both supposedly meet my "hand holding, it's okay you're not gonna die" bedside manner criteria. So I thought I'd set up a consultation with one of them. That way, I could rule her out and move on to doc #2 OR if I really loved her when I met her, I'd just stick with her. It was a plan. And a good one, don't you think? Plus, it's always good to get onto a doctor's patient list BEFORE you call them freaking out about something, I think. ;)

So I called Doctor A yesterday afternoon (Keene, for those of you who live near me). Her receptionist answers the phone and the conversation goes like this:

Me: "Hi. Is Dr. A accepting new patients?"
Receptionist: Yes.
Me: Great. I'd like to set up an appointment just for a consultation?
Receptionist: (totally thrown for a loop, almost as if I have asked to come in and have my nose removed) Uh uh uh... what do you mean? A consultation about a current problem?
Me: No. I need to find a new OB and I'd like to come meet Dr. A.
Receptionist: Uhhhh... okay, hold on.
Then she left me holding for a LONG time. So long that I had to hang up and go change a poopy diaper.

So what's the deal? Am I the only person that does this? Do people NOT go meet doctors before they put their lives (and the life of their future child) in their hands? I would go the more standard route of meeting her but I've already had my annual poking and prodding this year and insurance will only pay for one of those a year.

So I'm asking, internet. Have any of you gone to check out a doctor before you actually needed them? I mean, I don't know about you, but I want to know things... things like "Are you going to be delivering babies for the next few years at least? Because I don't want to have to go OB hunting again!!!"

I had a dream last night that I was in labor (in a vacation villa at Disney's Old Key West Resort) and that Ellen DeGeneres was my OB. I have to say, as an OB, she rocked. I don't remember any dancing, but I'm sure there was some. It was weird. I think I need to take a break from my 11a.m. to noon tv break in the afternoon.

Anyway, today was Gymboree day, after a two-week hiatus. Ben was overjoyed to be let loose in his personal toddler heaven. I met up with another mom today who has the same Gymboree clothing affliction I do. I had commented on her little boy's alligator sweater which Ben also has and it led to deep confessions of much $$ spent on cute baby clothes.

After that, we came home. Boy napped (still napping) and I worked on finishing up knitting that tiger hat. It's too cute. (Jane, ignore my email, I figured it out) The only problem is that I'm finished the actual HAT form and it fits ME. Not sure what's up with that. So if it doesn't fit Ben, I guess I'll be stylin' in my knitted tiger kitty cat hat. Woohoo!

I managed to clean the two upstairs bathrooms. This is a problem because whenever I clean the hall bath (our bigger, main bathroom) I get disgusted with the gross tile floor/tub surround, the 80's wall mirror and light fixture and the boring and also quite dated-looking vanity. I hate it hate it hate it from top to bottom and I just want to rip it out "Movin' Up style" and start from nothing. We've tried numerous things to spruce it up but it's just U-G-L-Y. So I called the handyman. He's coming over this weekend to chat about what we can do with it a little at a time on a budget. (I keep hearing about bathroom rennovations costing upwards of $10,000+. Yeah, um, we don't have that kind of cash to spend on a bathroom OR any room)

I also wrapped all of the Christmas presents (that have been delivered... there are a few still out there in the UPS black hole).

The rest of our day is wide-open. I'm trying to hurd all the laundry to the basement so Ben and I can hole up down there for the rest of the day AND I can be productive. The laundry? It's breeding. I have to keep it moving or I'm pretty sure I'll have a whole new generation of socks and tee shirts running loose all over the place.

How's your day?