... don't ask. I'm in the middle of a major blog overhaul here. (and not by choice) Just stay tuned and if for some reason this site is missing at some point? Don't worry, it will be back!

The stitches are out. The ear infection is gone. The boy, he screamed. Now he is napping. Whew.

... is a quiet talker. She makes ME look like a loudmouth. I can hardly hear her on the phone. Today I called to see if I could move Ben's appointment up a few hours. I feel like I sort of push her around!

Me: "Hi. Blah blah this is Benjamin's mom. We're supposed to come in at 3, but our morning plans got canceled, so I was hoping I could bring him in earlier?"

Dr.: (practically whispering) Umm...

Me: If you're booked up, it's no big deal, we can still come at 3, I just was kind of hoping to get it over with...

Dr: What is he coming in for again? Stitches, right?

Me: Yeah, stitches and to check on his ear infection.

Dr: silence

Me: 3 is really okay...

Dr: How about mumble mumble whisper whisper whisper.

Me: (having not really understood what she said) 11:45? That sounds great!

Dr: Wait what time was he supposed to come again?

Me: 3.

Dr. Okay. Yes, can you come at 11:45? Is that okay?

Me: Yes, 11:45 would be great. We'll see you then.

Dr.: um.. okay.

Weird, I tell ya.

Ben has spent the ENTIRE day looking for Moe. (Of the Doodlebops) He has seen the show all of three times and yet seems to have quite an affinity for the segment where the other two Doodlebops search for their friend Moe all over the house... in the cabinets, "Moe?", behind doors, "Moe?", under the table, "Moe?" You get the point. ALL DAY LONG.

Actually, it's very cute. It's just a little hard to distract him when he's hunting...

... I haven't had much to say here. However, I did update here. (since I was working on this week's menu for our house anyway!) :)

Today is going to be a do nothing day. (well, except for going to the store, I do need to do that so we can all eat this week)

Ben is currently watching Little Einsteins and I'm digging around for dinner ideas. Parts of the house are a mess, and I plan on ignoring that fact for the rest of the day.

Do you know that it was 62 degrees here on Saturday? I hope today is like that! We could actually go outside for awhile! It's not really so much what I'd call "winter weather", but um.... that's okay! ;)

... who might be able to tell me how to squeeze seating for 20 into my townhouse living room? Anyone? Anyone?

**update**
Okay, the chairs fit. Now let's see if the people will too!

I was dreading the errand I had to run this morning. I had to take a bookshelf I had gotten for Ben's room back to W*Mart because it was just the biggest piece of junk you've ever seen and it BROKE immediately after I put it together. I just KNEW I'd get a stupid cashier who couldn't grasp how she could possible refund something I bought online and was actually concerned I might make her head explode with my request. But, as it turned out, they are not ALL dumb. The transaction took three minutes. I was in. I was out. It was good. So thank you, W*Mart cashier for not being an idiot.

After that, it was off to The World's Biggest Liquor Store to get wine for tomorrow's party. I don't drink it, so of course I wandered around forever and was lost amidst the hard stuff when an employee finally asked if I needed help and offered to escort me to the Fetzer. (that's what the wine drinkers coming to the party told me to get... I don't ask questions). Thank you, World's Biggest Liquor Store employee. Thank you for helping clueless me and not making fun of me when you asked what kind I wanted and I said, "umm. red and white?"

Now home and no more errands today. I'll be spending the afternoon making pita chips (not this exact recipe, but you get the idea) and trying to keep the house clean. This is a near impossible task since the Head Clutter Elf is home and the toddler is running loose. Wish me luck.

This nap? Going on FOUR hours.


Valentine's Day wreath I just made since a) the Christmas wreath REALLY needed to come down and b) I couldn't find a V-day/generic Jan - March wreath I liked anywhere. Yay for mad glue guns skillz acquired from seven years of working at a craft store. ;) (actually I burned myself about 22 times)


He had to actually MOVE this bag of trash out of the way to get out the door for work this morning. Next time, maybe I'll put it on his driver's seat and maybe he'll get the hint?


Groceries for the Pampered Chef party... and this is not all of them -- the rest are in the fridge. Gah. Itsalotta stuff!

we interrupt this Baby Human blog to mention a wonderful recipe we tried last night that Laura posted on The Naptime Gourmet.

It was so easy and was really, REALLY good. I had two packages of that Perdue shortcuts chicken on hand, so I used that. I recommend it for a shortcut! Turned out great.

That is all! :)

I caught Ben's cold earlier in the week... it's on its way out, but now I'm left with ye olde sinus pain and pressure. I feel like I just did this. OH wait, I did, just last month. I used to have an amazing immune system, nothing like my husband's, (which should really be studied) but I rarely got sick. Now it seems like I get everything Ben gets. And I don't like it. No sir, I don't. I'm praying Ben falls asleep soon because I need to just go pass out upstairs in bed for awhile. If he doesn't fall asleep? Well then, I guess it's going to be another afternoon of "climb all over mommy and try not to hurt yourself while we watch toddler dvd's."

I didn't post a 22-month update yesterday. I kept meaning to, but there seemed to be no ideal time. Ben was cranky ALL day yesterday and when he wasn't cranky, it was already bedtime.

So yeah. Here goes.

Judging from the fact that he's come out with something like seven? eight? new words in the last couple weeks, I'd say we're finally at the beginning of the talking. My favorite of his new words? Hands down, has to be "mommy". He just changed the ending one day a week or two ago, saw the look on my face and has been saying it ever since. The best (though Tom would beg to differ) is when he calls me from his crib. How can I not go get him when, finally, instead of screaming, I hear, "Mommy!"

Other new, frequently used favorites are Nemo, NehNeh (Nanny), PopPop (Pap) and Poo Poo. He has learned a few new signs too... several of which he has made up on his own and it has taken us awhile to figure out. (one for "guitar", a particularly strange full-body one for his Uncle Marc, and one for "Blues Clues" all come to mind) Still can't get him to say his name though. "Ben". C'mon, how hard is that? It's not even like I'm trying to get him to say "Benjamin" yet, I'd be happy with "Ben." ;)

He walks up and down stairs now and does a pretty darn good job. I'm always right there, just in case. If he starts to feel uneasy about it (can't reach a railing or something), he'll sit on his bottom and bumpdeebump down which is adorable.

Our new Gymboree class (he moved up a level this month because of his age) centers around imaginary play and he totally gets it. The first week, one of the activities was to make "pizza" out of hoops, play scarves, diving sticks and little plastic rings. Wouldn't you know, he was the only one of the three kids that were there actually going with it... he even sprinkled "cheese" onto our pizza with a diving stick. (surprised *me*, even!)

I need to wrap up since it apparently "awake" time upstairs.

Stole this from Jen and since I'm just sitting around feeling all snotty and stuffy while the boy naps, figured I'd participate too.

An aside, I'm watching A Baby Story and there is yet ANOTHER mother on here who is smiling and laughing while there is a head hanging out of her um nether regions. Either she has a very high pain tolerance or I really got jipped in the epidural department.

Okay, back to the questions...

26 Random Questions


1. You have $10 and need to buy snacks at a gas station; what do you buy? A fountain soda (Coke with some vanilla flavoring), some Andy Capp hot fries, and something chocolate -- a kit kat, maybe and some Reese Cups.

2. If you had to be reincarnated as some sort of sea dwelling creature, what would you be?
A clown fish. Who doesn't love Nemo?

3. Who's your favorite redhead?
Lucy!

4. What do you order when you're at a pancake house?
At IHop, I almost always get the Vive L'American French Toast platter, unless it's fall, and then I get the pumpkin pancakes

5. Do you own any naughty toys?
For awhile I had a feather duster that Mandy gave me as a joke before I got married, which is where I stole the idea to give Jen one too. ;) And no, it never got used as anything other than a feather duster, thank you.

6. Have you made out with anyone on your link list?
This is just a weird question. No.

7. Describe your favorite pair of underwear:
I heart my Cookie Monster underwear

8. Describe the last time you were injured:
Giving birth to Ben, don't get me started

9. Are there any odd things that make you feel comfortable?
Rubbing my feet together while I'm trying to fall asleep

10. There was no number 10, so the person that comes up with the best question in my comments will earn the number 10 spot.

11. Tell me a weird story from your high school years:
I hid in the bathroom during prom because I didn't like my date. He sent people in after me. It was very very traumatic.

12. What is the wallpaper on your cell phone?
I think it's kind of a peaceful meadow scene with green grass, blue sky and a tree

13. Soda?
Fresca or fountain coke

14. Flavor of pudding?
vanilla

15. What type of shirt are you wearing?
An orange striped cotton long-sleeved tee shirt

16. Prescription medication?
Prenatal vitamins (don't infer anything from this, I've been taking them since I got pregnant with Ben!)

17. If you could use only one form of transportation for the rest of your life what would it be?
airplane... I have no patience for long car trips

18. How many people are on your links list?
Don't know. Don't care. A lot.

19. How many people on your links list do you know in real life?
I THINK only one. ? Jen. I can't think of anyone else on there who I actually have met.

20. What are you listening to right now?
Some chick pushing on A Baby Story (this one doesn't sound as painless)

21. Most recent movie you watched:
It had to have been a Sesame Street one.

22. Name 5 things you have with you at all times:
1. Benjamin
2. chapstick
3. my Disney Visa card
4. cell phone
5. backup chapstick

23. Would you rather give or receive a foot massage?
too ticklish, I'd rather give one.

24. Name a teacher you had the hots for:
I can honestly say I never had the hots for a teacher. Ew.

25. What is a saying that you use a lot?
Crudmuffins!

26. What's one piece of advice that you think should be passed on to every child?
Everything happens for a reason and is part of a grander plan.

The scene:
Tom had just arrived home from work and Ben ran to greet him at the door. As he ran by, I detected that familiar poopy diaper smell, but figured if I ignored it, perhaps the second shift would deal with it.

I busied myself in the kitchen with dinner and Tom came in to chat for a minute. The next thing we know, Ben runs by us, and heads up the stairs saying, "poo poo!" We looked at each other and said simultaneously, "Did he just say what I think he said?"

And then? When Tom followed him upstairs? He ran into his room saying "poo poo!" and handed Tom a new diaper.

Maybe if I wait long enough, he'll just potty train himself when I'm not looking? What do you think?

Ben woke up this morning saying "Owee." When I asked him to point to where it was, he pointed to his throat and then later on, his ear. I don't know what to think. The ER doctor said his ears were on their way to better. His cough is still pretty bad though, I kind of suspect his throat hurts, and when he coughs, everything in the general region hurts. For the moment, I'm just watching it and staying the course with the antibiotic, trying to hold out until his appointment next Wednesday.

I'm tired and not feeling well, myself, which makes life even more interesting. The dirty laundry fairies, the wandering dish gnomes (they are the ones who leave a trail of mugs and cups all over hither and yon), and the clutter elves have been hard at work while I've been trying to rest. So I've had to give up on my couch date with a glass of orange juice to try to bring some order back to the kingdom.

It helps things immensely that the busiest clutter elf/wandering dish gnome is at work right now. :)

Took it in today to get the strange grinding noise looked at.
Ordinary routine brake pads replacement needed?
Nooooope... guess again!

Left brake completely GONE and must be replaced?
Ding ding ding!

Right brake worn down to a nubbin? (or whatever brakes wear down to)
Ding ding ding!

Something about some defective metal brackets that have to be replaced?
Defective? My car? Really?
Ding ding ding!

OH, and I need two new front tires, which is my fault, really, for not keeping up with the tire rotating like I should. :\

* We ended up not going to see the house yesterday. The nap started early and ended late. I'm holding out for interior pics on the realtor website though. :)

* I'm getting Ben's cold. Hopefully I did not pick up anything ELSE to going along with it while we were hanging out in the ER last night.

* Something is up with the brakes on my Jetta. They are making a grinding sound. I hate this car. We had been going back and forth about whether to keep it or turn it in when the lease is up in April. As of last week, we were keeping it and Tom was going to take it but now? We're pretty sure we're turning it in. We're just sick of it and Tom's little Cavalier has never given us a problem even though it has almost 100,000 miles on it.

* I have been bribing Ben with chocolate chips to get him to take his antibiotic twice a day. Yes, he gets chocolate chips even in the morning. Hey, it works!

* He came out with a new word last night while being held down having his head stitched up. The nurse said, "Yes... you have a big boo-boo!" And he stopped crying, looked at her and said, "Boo Boo?" then resumed screaming, while intermittently inserting the word, "Boo Boo!"

* The only other people in the ER last night were two elderly people in wheelchairs. It was sad.

* They must hide the "real" ER somewhere else because both times we have been there, we have never seen anything more traumatic than a broken arm and a guy who sprayed fertilizer into his eye.

* As long as I can get my webcam to work, I'll be broadcasting my Pampered Chef party online on Sunday afternoon. ;) If you want to watch and don't have my Yahoo IM name, email me erinspring at gmail dot com.

* OH, and the new St. Patrick's Day tees are up in the Baby Human store. After a special request, I got them out a little earlier than I was going to. :)

Sounds like Stitch is awake now, so I should stop now. It's time for a chocolate chip and some meds. ;)

I know, can you believe it? We are old pros at this now.

I wasn't witness to it, but apparently Ben was trying to slide off the couch downstairs, got his foot caught or something and fell, hitting the top of his head on the bottom of the coffee table. The result was a pretty big open gash right on the top of his head.
:(

:: sigh ::

So off we went. We knew the drill. We called a ahead and took snacks and entertainment. They were pretty quick and had us in and out in about an hour and 15 minutes. Of course there was the part where we had to hold him down while they shot numbing medicine into his head and then the stitches (only two this time). He screamed, of course, but really did pretty well considering.

I told them the first time we were there to just reserve us a room... they should have listened to me! ;)

He's okay... happily playing in his crib right now after his bath. I'll say this... he may be accident prone, but he sure bounces back quickly!

... just until tomorrow, then I'll move on, I swear. Did I forget to mention the POOL?! It has a pool!

Click to enlarge the article...

I found my dream house... It showed up on the front page of the real estate section today. This is literally the house I have had pictured in my head since... FOREVER. It's even the right color.




When I finished drooling, I looked at the price and thought, "Wow... it's actually sorta in our price range!"

Then I thought... "Wow, it's actually in our price range, what's wrong with it?"

So I Mapquested it and I'll tell you what's wrong with it. It's about a bazillion miles in the middle of freakin' nowhere. BUT, nevertheless I'm keeping this listing and this picture because this is the house I want someday. Just located a little closer to civilization. (though I have no idea how we'll ever afford it... because, transplant this same house anywhere within a 15-20 mile radius of us and it's $900,000 EASY)

Isn't it so pretty? And the master bedroom? It's up there in that turret! And has its own fireplace!!! :: drool ::

Ben's still coughing, but on the mend. The ratio of "owees" to hours in the day has greatly decreased.

Tom's parents stopped by for a little while this morning to give us some advice on our hallway bathroom. Personally? I'd like to take a sledgehammer to it, but they suggested a more conservative approach. So hopefully we'll be getting that underway soon and I can stop be annoyed by its 80's grossness every. single. day.

Preparing for a trip to the grocery store... that's always fun. Yeehaw.

The boy slept a little better last night. That is, after the effects of the cough syrup wore off. We discovered the Children's Robotussin turns him into a whirling dervish. No kidding, he ran laps around the living room, dove off chairs and rolled around on the floor from 4-7 last night. He wouldn't even talk or make eye contact, he just kept RUNNING. It was weird and now I'm deathly afraid of the cough syrup.

He's still a miserable mess of snot and has a cough that rivals that of a 90-year-old chain smoker with pneumonia. I'd be shocked if we did not end up back in the doctor's office by Monday morning.

Wish us luck for the weekend. Gah.

On the bright side, I got an hour off yesterday to go lay in the dentist's chair and have my teeth cleaned. When I told the hygenist how wonderful it was, she told me I *really* need to go on vacation.

Thanks for the all the feel better wishes! It's kind of hard to gauge how much better he's doing because I have heard these things are so much worse at night. He was saying "owee" on and off this morning but pointing to his throat and chewing on his fingers. I half think the pain he has right now is from his two-year molars. I even took him to Gymboree this morning... he wasn't quite as active, but otherwise, he seemed to enjoy getting out of the house.

The pediatrician called in the anesthetic eardrops, so we'll have those for later if things go downhill... She said if he's not a little better by tomorrow, we'll try another antibiotic.

:: sigh ::

Last night was hands down the hardest experience I have ever had in my 22 months as a parent. Yes, I'm counting the 16-hour labor, the first horrific night home and the time I had to help hold my child down in the ER while they shot needles into his head and sewed him up and he screamed like they were killing him.

Sometime around 5p.m., this whole "mild ear infection" thing started getting more dramatic. He got really subdued, I felt his temperature climb (it was almost 102) and he didn't want anything to do with dinner. He started grabbing at BOTH ears and saying "owee!" while looking at me like, "Fix it!"

He had already had the antibiotic, so I gave him a dose of baby Motrin, which, looking back, appeared to have the same effect as giving him say, apple juice.

He was still MOSTLY himself by bedtime... but at 9, he started calling us from the crib. "Mommy! Daddy! Mommy! Daddy!"
He wasn't upset, in fact, he was downright WIRED. I figured his ears were feeling better, but he just needed a little extra attention, so we brought him to bed with us to watch Lost.

Sometime during the scene where Michael was pointing guns at John Locke and the doctor (yeah, so like 5.5 seconds into it), he started saying "owee" over and over and over again.... that turned into him crying "owee" and then the full blown screaming began. I called the pediatrician, who said I could give him Tylenol on top of the Motrin and then a double dose of Motrin at 11:30 .Tom ran to the store for more Tylenol... Ben and I watched various episodes of Sesame Street and he screamed pretty much constantly. This continued until 4a.m.

FOUR A.M.

And there was NOTHING we could do about . NOTHING. It was the saddest thing I have ever seen. All he wanted was to go to sleep and he couldn't even lay his head down because it hurt so badly. Poor little guy. :(

Luckily, something seems to have kicked in (extreme fatigue? the Motrin? the antibiotic? Who knows!) beacuse he has been sleeping since four. I did just get him up for his next dose of meds but he passed right back out.

Please, someone with ear infection experience tell me tonight is NOT going to be a repeat... :( :(

... ear infection!

I can't believe it. This child has never in his 22 months had more than a sniffle (with the exception of the roseola saga). I took him to the pediatrician this afternoon to have his cough listened to because it seemed to be getting worse and he is not a happy camper. She checked his ears and voila, ear infection in the left one.

Good times.

It's mild, but she sent us for an antibiotic to clear it up. I'm just glad we didn't discover this over the weekend!

It's pouring outside.

Ben is sick. (gross cough/cold thing)

We were up all night with him because he couldn't breathe.

Yes, I think I'll stay in my pajamas today, thank you very much. I also think we'll watch a lot of the Disney Channel.

**update**
Oh drat. The rain stopped. Now I'm not feeling so good about staying in my pajamas. Argh.
Ben is down for an early nap... he's feeling pretty icky, I think and feels a little warm. :(

The painting is MOSTLY finished... The last wall is probably going to need a second coat. There is some white showing through that's going to bug the heck out of me unless I fix it. I'm also still working on the outlet covers. The "paintable" ones I got from Home Depot didn't really work out so I'm going back and just painting over the white ones that are already in the room. I don't normally paint those things (to address a question in the comments from yesterday), but I'm kind of going all out with the coordinating decor in this "big boy" room, so I'm painting them the same navy blue that is in the bedding. (different from the walls).

I accidentally got a smudge of blue on the ceiling in one corner which is also bothering me... I have some ceiling paint downstairs and I'm hoping to be able to kind of cover it up just enough without having to paint the whole darn ceiling; because I now know from experience that ceiling painting really isn't so much fun.

I hung up some of the wall stuff this morning and it looks adorable. Still trying to decide where to put the airplane shelf (which Ben won't let out of his sight because it has a propellor on it he can spin) and the print I have.

I'll post some pictures later... I think I'll sneak in while Ben's napping and try to get a few. :)

**update**
A few pictures of the progress...
View from the bedroom door


Other side -- changing table not staying, armoire moving, toy shelf going where changing table is and the airplane shelf is going on the wall


Closet/book corner - airplane print still needs to be hung up over here

We have two baby monitors around here that stay on all the time.... one is in the basement and one is in the kitchen. Lately, they have been picking up signals from someone else's baby monitor. These people must have a newborn because the kid cries
ALL. THE. TIME.

Yesterday, I timed it and it went on for an hour and five minutes. It's not really clear enough to be totally annoying, but it's clear enough for me to hear it and think,

"Well, the baby's lungs are healthy!"
"Try swaddling!"
"Someone needs to call grandma and get the heck out of the house for awhile." and
"Wow. I'm glad that's baby is not my responsibility." Because as much as I want another one at some point, you really just can't HELP but think that when you hear that crazed, inconsolable newborn 'I-hate-this-place-put-me-back-in-you-are-all-a-bunch-of-incompetent-idiots!' cry.

It was much more entertaining when we were picking up other peoples' phone calls.

Anyone else notice the disappearing post? I have no idea why Blogger chose to eat my post from yesterday... it's right there on my list of posts, but then doesn't show up here on the blog. Maybe it will come back when I publish this time. Hrm.

Still plugging away at the boy's room. Three walls done, one to go. While he is napping, I'm painting the outlet covers. Waaaaaaaaaaaahooey.

(plus trim)... right, I remember now. I hate painting! My hands are blue. There is blue in my hair. There is blue paint all over the sink in the bathroom that's next to Ben's room. And I'm going to be dealing with it for awhile because I can't do his whole room in one day, both because of lack of TIME and because he has to sleep in there.
**update**
TWO walls done. (AND I learned how to clean the trap under the bathroom sink. Go me.)
Here's an attempt to take a picture of the color... the crib will get moved out when the bed comes and I'm taking down those shelves behind the crib too.

So we got this DVD for Ben... Once Upon a Potty. Maybe you've heard of it?
No one told me it was going to be the most annoying movie on the planet.

It's also very short, and Ben likes it A LOT, which means we have watched it about 32 times today. It ends with this lovely little diddy that worms its way into your brain so that you can't go anywhere without humming it or worse, singing it.
I could not find the mp3 to share with you, but here are the lyrics. You'll quickly see my problem.

Oh, but on the bright side? Ben can now say "poo poo". Oh joy!

One step at a time...

Found an area rug:


Found a shelf:


Today I spackled the holes and then sanded. I also put up the new window treatments and bought paint for the walls and the trim. (I decided to start with the blue and try one wall to see how it looks, the trim is just getting a fresh coat of bright white)

Tomorrow, I'll tape off and do the trim and maybe trim out my test wall.

Here's the challenge that makes this project particularly interesting:
I can't work on it during naptime beacuse it's in THE nap room.
And working on it while the kid is awake? Toddler + paint + power tools = mess + trip to ER.

Hrm...

Ben and I went out to Home Depot this morning to pick up some paint swatches for his room. I can't decide whether to paint it blue to match the new airplane stuff, or just give it a fresh coat of the neutral cream color it already is. Argh. Can't decide, can't decide. I might put all the new stuff up first and see if that makes the decision any easier.

I also have to repair two big issues with his walls, one of which is going to be REALLY annoying to fix. One of the seams in the drywall is cracked and is pulling away from floor to ceiling. It's up to me to fix it, unfortunately, because I did not marry a handyman.

And speaking of handymen, I've been waiting THREE months on mine to come and install my attic stairs so I can start loading the attic full of baby paraphernalia and clothes. It sucks when you find a good handyman, because he inevitably gets too busy to help you in a timely fashion.

You guys, the Gymboree teacher confessed to me today that the first time I came there with Benjamin, she thought I was the nanny because I was obviously not old enough to be his mother.

THE NANNY, people.

Again, I really REALLY need to start wearing some makeup or a shirt that says, "I'm almost 30!" or something.

Please note that this post is not intended to be a backhanded brag about how wonderfully young and vivacious I look. (and I SO do not look vivacious, I look a a tired teen mom) Frankly, it's creepy to be almost 29 and mistaken for 14,15,16. It's a real and true complaint about how hard it is to be taken seriously at first glance because everyone thinks you're just some kid.

(all the rage in the blogosphere right now!)

Seven things I want to do before I die:
1. Have at least two more children
2. Have one of them be a little girl
3. See Disneyland
4. Travel to the UK and go to France for a day
5. Live in a pretty victorian-style house (minus the victorian decor)
6. Tour the set of Sesame Street
7. Sing in a choir again

Seven things I cannot do:
1. Dance
2. Anything that involves math that is more complex than adding and subtracting
3. Jog (I have ZERO endurance)
4. Give birth with no epidural (I'm fairly sure... unless of course, I'm given no choice, in which case, we'll see)
5. Stop biting my nails
6. Match shoes to outfits
7. Jump out of an airplane

Seven things that attract me to my husband:

1. His sense of humor
2. His smile
3. His love of all things childish, including Disneyworld and Sesame Street
4. His daddy abilities
5. His intelligence
6. His jeans and t-shirt dress code
7. His morning coffee-making abilities

Seven things I say most often:

1. Get that OUT of your mouth!
2. Did you make the coffee yet?
3. Did you poop?!
4. I HATE that cat.
5. OH Pickles! (thank you, Higglytown Heros for this one)
6. No! no no no no no!
7. Can I have a Ben kiss?

Seven favorite series/books/authors:

1. Anna Quindlen
2. Anne Lamott
3. Madeline L'Engle
4. The Girlfriend's Guides (to pregnancy, to the first year, to toddlers)
5. ?
6. ?
7. ?

Seven movies I watch over and over:
1. Muppet Movie
2. Sleepless in Seattle
3. Finding Nemo
4. Aladdin
5. Princess Bride
6. Sesame Street "Let's Make Music" with Stomp
7. Indiana Jones (and of the three)

... to the next level of Gymboree. LOL. ;)

I'm not really sure what that means except that we now go at 11:10 instead of 9:20.

Even the Gymboree website is sort of vague about it.

Level 4:
At this stage, toddlers use all their skills to become good problem solvers. They begin to understand the patterns and actions they need to perform, and in what order, to reach a goal--this is known as "motor planning." Through imitation, they come to understand the functional use of objects and use that knowledge to be effective in the world. They learn some behaviors lead to certain reactions. For example, putting away toys will earn a hug from Mom or Dad.

Level 5:
Children at this stage use words and symbols such as pictures and objects to communicate and develop their own ideas. They can form mental images of their desires. For instance, they picture the cookie they are craving-what it looks and tastes like-then use their words to demand, "Cookie!" They enjoy make-believe play, such as using a spoon to "feed" a stuffed bear. Blocks that previously were simply for stacking now can be arranged to become a house for their toy animals.

Eh. Who cares. He gets to go burn off a ton of toddler energy. Woohoo! ;)

As I'm sure many of you do also, when I walk through a store I have a constant (mostly one-sided) dialogue with my toddler. Today, I was in Target and we wandered past some towels that had Nemo (of Finding Nemo fame) on them. I pointed them out to Ben, saying, "Oooh! Look Ben! Nemo!"

He looked up from whatever random item I had given him to keep him busy and said, "Nemo?"

I said, "Excuse me?"

"Nemo! Nemo Nemo Nemo!"

Why is it that words that he hears every day of his like like, I dunno, his NAME, elude him. But "Nemo" he hears ONCE and there it is part of his vocabulary?

I tested it again when we walked by the DVD's. "Ben, who is that?" I said, pointing to the Finding Nemo box.

"NEMO!"

Then he proceeded to babble on about Nemo this and Nemo that all through Target, causing little old ladies and other mommies to melt into little puddles with his adorable utterances.

There is no rhyme or reason to the language acquisition thing, is there?

Actually... I'm plugging my friend Mandy, who just became a Pampered Chef consultant. I get to be one of her first parties! Woohoo! Anyway, I'm having it on January 29th (a Sunday) at 2p.m.

If you'd like to come, please let me know. I'm so self conscious about inviting people to these kinds of parties because I don't want my friends to think I'm just hitting them up to buy stuff. I really REALLY like Pampered Chef stuff though and the parties are fun (and yummy). And you'll be helping out my wonderful friend Mandy who is trying to get this side business of hers going.

SO, if you want to come and think I might not have you on my standard list of "people who I invite to everything" please leave me a comment or drop me an email. Apparently, I can take orders even if you don't come to the party. So check out the Pampered Chef website and let me know if you have a sudden need for any cooking utensils. As for me, I'll be ordering a new set of bamboo tongs since Ben broke mine, I also need a new pastry brush, a dough roller and a rectangular baking stone. My needs are simple, really. ;)

Oh, and if you don't want to come to my party, but you'd like to have your own, you suck email me because I have a great consultant for you. :)

I discovered when I was changing Ben's sheets yesterday that he has been biting holes in his binkies. This is not good. I had to throw all but one of them out. If he keeps doing it (I got four new ones), we're going to have to go cold turkey with them because I'm scared he'll bite the end right off and choke. I'm sort of hoping he just won't take to the new ones and it will be an easy end to the binky saga.

I read on some message board recently that this mom was cutting the tips off of the binkies and that made her little girl just not want them. I may do that with the "holey" ones and see how that works out...

Well, my friends. I did it. I ordered the teeny tiny bed.


I also ordered new big boy room decor to go with it.


Looks like airplanes it is!

I've been wanting to move the changing table and rocking chair out of Ben's room anyway, since we don't use them much anymore and it would free up some room for another bookshelf/toyshelf. So I figured now's as good a time as any to move out take apart the crib and get that out of there too. His crib actually turns into a toddler bed, but if we used it like that then when another baby comes along, we'd need to buy a new crib and trust me, that is WAY more expensive than the $100 toddler bed.

A new video. This is of Benjamin's own personal dance party he had last night in the basement. In case you're wondering, the cd playing is some ESPN soundtrack.

It's a little over two minutes long.

I can't believe I didn't update yesterday! That is probably the first weekday EVER that I haven't posted SOMEthing. Wow.
I guess I just got busy... I took Benjamin to Cartoon Cuts yesterday afternoon because I had just HAD it with his hippie locks. He was starting to get the mullet look of which I am SO not a fan. He cried and tried to get away, but the woman there was great with him. She let him watch The Wiggles and eat a lollipop, so there were periods of NO tears, until he'd remember she was there. All in all, not SO bad. And his hair looks adorable. I'll post a picture later.

I WAS going to post a cute video yesterday that I took but my camera is not playing nice with ANY of the computers in our house right now. For some reason, the software that came with it just randomly deletes itself from whatever computer you install it on, so the camera isn't recognized. I'll try reinstalling and posting the video again later. It's a good one. ;)

Thanks to all who have linked to my store over the last few days! I'm getting tons of hits on those Valentine's shirts! They are some of my favorite ones up there right now, and yes, my own child will be sporting one or two of them in the coming weeks. ;)

Speaking of baby clothes, I caved and ordered some of the Gymboree froggy stuff yesterday. Ah! Couldn't help it. It's just too darn cute. I restrained myself though and only got the hat, the socks and a tshirt.

Okay, the freshly shorn toddler is now awake, so I need to go. But I promise a DOUBLE update today to make up for yesterday!! :)

Four jobs you’ve had in your life: Junior counselor at a daycamp (for the 3-5 year olds), Birthday party hostess at a place called FunJungle that was like Chuck E. Cheese. There, I also doubled as the monkey who came to see the kids at the parties, cashier at MJDesigns and Michaels, advertising copywriter

Four movies you could watch over and over: Aladdin, The Muppet Movie, Sleepless in Seattle, American Beauty

Four TV shows you love to watch: Gilmore Girls, Flip That House, Moving Up, Lost

Four places you’ve been on vacation: Disney World, Bethany Beach, Williamsburg, Vero Beach

Four websites you visit daily: obscurestore.com, cnn.com, mail.yahoo.com, cafepress.com/tobh ;)

Four of your favorite foods: garlic mashed potatoes, chocolate chip cookies, sweet potatoes, brownies

Four places you’d rather be: nowhere... I'm home and home is my happy place.

Four albums you can’t live without: Sleepless in Seattle soundtrack, Charlie Brown Christmas soundtrack, and also right now The VeggieTales Toddler Tunes and Backyard Party cd's

... who do you have to know to get your kid baptized by the POPE at the SISTINE CHAPEL?

Just wondering.

Benjamin's Nanee and Pap wanted to take him to the B&O Train Museum downtown today, so Tom and I jumped at the chance to run a few errands by ourselves. Apparently Ben enjoyed the museum, but not as much as he enjoyed the ceiling fans IN the museum. Hee hee... seriously, if anyone knows of a fan museum, please let us know, we're there! ;) Of course, they made fun of us because we beat them back to their house which makes us LAME LAME LAME. ;)

During our baby-free time, we went to Wegman's, Kohl's and the mall and had lunch at Cheeburger Cheeburger. YUM. Milkshake, frings... the whole nine yards. Then we just kinda ran out of places to go!

Came home and Ben and I BOTH took naps while Tom played on his laptop. Aren't we exciting?

For some reason, I was WIDE awake this morning at 5:30a.m. I HATE when that happens and it has happened to me three mornings in a row now. Of course, being up that early, I got hungry early, so I went looking for breakfast and we had NOTHING. I managed to scavenge a stale English muffin to hold me but as SOON as Ben was up (7:00), we headed out to the grocery store. It is very strange to have been up and out and then back again by 8a.m. Very VERY strange. And now I am tired and it feels like late afternoon. I feel so jipped.

Benjamin has this Sesame Street DVD called Let's Make Music. It features STOMP. (the music group that makes music without using intruments. To say he loves it would be an understatement. We had to watch it SIX times yesterday.
And after the last time he watched it? He came into the kitchen where I was making dinner, pulled a pot out of the cabinet, asked for a wooden spoon and started marching through the living room beating the pot with the spoon in perfect rhythm. Quite the sight to see. Anyway, this one gets two thumbs up from our little music maker!

... Gymboree comes out with their first spring line.
I am in love with this Puddle Jumping stuff. I'll hold off until some of it goes on sale. But that little baseball hat with the leapfrog on it? I'm not sure I can wait for that.

...perhaps hacking a lung into the phone would do. That doctor never did call back. So I coughed and coughed again last night. I did have the humidifier on, so that helped a little. Why is it only at night? I don't know. Maybe it just my house and its dry Arizona air.*

Nothing new in BabyHuman-land, really. Hence, no interesting updates. It rained yesterday. We played. Ben napped. (hey, THAT'S news!). He was cute and adorable most of the day but got cranky around 4. Then after he went to bed and he looked very sweet again, I felt bad for being impatient with him all evening. (especially during dinner when he spit three mouthfuls of spaghetti and meatballs onto his lap and the floor.)

On that note, I hear the familiar calls of morning wakeup through the baby monitor. Time to go start the day! Yahooey! :)








*we do not live in Arizona! We live in Maryland! It's not supposed to be dry here!

... when you call a doctor and they are supposed to call you back, and you KNOW that the minute you decide to pee/change the baby's diaper/run out to the store for five and a half seconds/go out to check the mail that THAT is the moment they will choose to call you back?

(I've had a nagging cough and dry throat issues for the last few days and I'm hoping to get a prescription or SOMEthing to make it stop.)

So I've been sitting around twiddling my thumbs for the last five hours waiting for the phone to ring. I have carried the phone with me from room to room. I REALLY need to run to the store after Ben's nap but do I dare? Not till the doctor calls!! (which according to the other half of the Doctor Phone Call rule means she won't call until it's WAY too late for me to go to the store.

Lame lame LAME, I tell you.

I did however, get my house De-Christmased and that makes me happy.


update:
It's almost 5 and STILL no phone call. Ugh. Great. Another night of hacking my brains out. (that's really when it gets going... it actually doesn't bother me much during the day!)

Ben got a paper cut this morning and OHMAHGAH we are still hearing about it. Yes, I'm sure it hurt when he did it. And I'm sure it has been irritated on and off throughout the day but geez; whenever he notices it he starts to cry and talks about his ow-ee. We tried putting a bandaid on it and telling him that made it all better, but it only served to make him notice it more. And now he wants new bandaids constantly. :: sigh ::

He's also cranky because he woke up late this morning, which led to a late nap, which led to me having to wake him up to ensure uninterrupted 7:00 bedtime.

And now it is 6:53 and I'm counting down the minutes because when he goes to bed? I'M going to bed. It feels like it's ten o'clock at night!

---
edited to add: upon rereading this, I realized it sounded heartless and cold. Rest assured, I kissed the boo boo and hugged him a hundred thousand times and gave him tons of sympathy and attention because I do know paper cuts hurt. ;) I just wish I could have kept him distracted from it for longer than 10 minutes!

Last night the toddlers partied hard... there was much playing. The mommies and daddies enjoyed food and games. And one older brother was a good sport about the whole thing and played with the little ones, watched a movie and played his gameboy.

Here are a few pictures. The boys really played well together!

Here they are hugging, which was just the most adorable thing ever.


Here's Ryan playing while Ben steals some Chex Mix, which turned out to be his dinner.


This doesn't capture what was going on all that well but they were both dancing to a Sesame Street cd, which was almost as adorable as the hugging.


All in all, good times. Ben crashed at 7:30. Ryan hung in for another 45 minutes or so (maybe longer, I don't know). And we all toasted with some sparkling cider at 8, figuring it was midnight somewhere, right? ;)