I Gave Up.

I had been reading like mad, trying to get all my library books finished before I started the new job in a new town, and so had been making myself wait to crack the cover of my brand-spankin' new copy of Twilight. Every night I would look at it longingly and then put it down - yes, it's true, I pine for a good book and a cup of coffee like the alcoholic pines for the bourbon. Hi, my name is Megan, and I'm a readaholic. **Applause**

Anyway, after seeing the movie, and listening to the soundtrack, I started and stopped three other books before I finally gave in and said, "All right! Crap! I'll read you!!" And so last night after Lil' C went to sleep, I snuggled up under my electric blanket with a mug of hot apple cider and fell into Twilight. It's not the type of book found in my usual repertoire - although I did, once upon a time, find myself obsessed with Ann Rice's "Interview with a Vampire" before she got all crazy and dark in her other books - but I like it so far. It's definitely an easy and quick read, but it's super long, so it should keep me occupied for the next couple of days. I'm sure once I'm finished, BabyDaddy will be heading back to the bookstore to get the next installment for me. (Did you hear that BD? It would make a lovely stocking stuffer if you're not done yet!)

I. CAN'T. STOP.

Send your own ElfYourself eCards

Merry Christmas from the Elves!

Send your own ElfYourself eCards

Old Friends, New Music, and the Joy of the Season...

We had a splendid weekend - I would have written about it sooner, but my job is determined to suck every last drop of me before I leave, so I have been there more hours than I'd care to mention in the past two days. Only 6 more working days to go!

So now, for your pleasure, -- here are some highlights of the past few days --

Spread the Joy - but not too much.
We had our "Holiday Luncheon" here at work last Friday. It was preceded by a lovely email from our boss-man, that went to the tune of: "I hope you have a wonderful holiday...blah blah....please enjoy our holiday lunch today...blah...blah.... DON'T FORGET TO CLOCK OUT. IF YOU FORGET TO CLOCK OUT, BE AWARE WE WILL DOCK YOU ONE HOUR. THIS EVENT WILL BE CONSIDERED YOUR LUNCH BREAK. Have a delightful holiday season, and remember how much we appreciate you!" Wow. I'm totally feeling the love.

Happy Birthday Pa!
Both my nephew and my grandfather, whom Lil' C lovingly refers to as his "Pa" had birthdays on Friday, so we made the journey home that evening to celebrate with them. My grampa is now 79, but could probably blow the wheels off BabyDaddy at 30. He still goes to our family's store every day to work, and continues to farm - not taking much time to slow down. It was great to see him. Lil' C was very excited to wish him a "Hap Birday Pa!". :)

Old Friends -
We were so lucky to be able to see both of my dear friends Laura and Jess while home - it was so nice to catch up! Lil' C got introduced to Jess's mammoth of a dog -- (Love you Branson!), and show off for Laure', (it of course had the desired effect - she immediately emailed me after I got home to ask if it was normal for a not-even-two-year-old to count to 15, and know all of his colors and shapes - and speak in complete 3 to 4 word sentences, but whose bragging?) We also got to meet one of BG Town's bravest -- I know you're not into status Laure', but I think he is a delightful boyfriend/friend/date/occasional companion/person. :)

New Music --
Beloved Ames came through again. Since I have absolutely NO luck - she donated the tickets to the Philharmonic Orchestra's Children's Christmas Concert that she and DaddyJ won on the radio. So on Sunday, Lil' C and I loaded up, along with our friends J-Mama and C2, to head to the city. They had some fun pre-concert activities - including a whole section of Percussion instruments for the kids to play, which further cemented my plans to get Lil' C a miniature drum set for his birthday. Don't start with the "Are you serious?! You must be crazy!" comments. Been there, done that. Plus, I've already purchased myself a set of fabulous blue jelly-like ear plugs. Don't forget that music runs in our genes, so we're quite used to noise. Lil' C has already mastered the keyboard and harmonica, and with BabyDaddy on the big drums and me on the sax or vocals, we are slowly building our own band! We kick butt at Rock Band world tour, just in case you were wondering. When are we going to play again Ames? Anyway, the Philharmonic was awesome! Lil' C was transfixed by all the instruments, and sat on the edge of his seat the entire time. Along with the music, there was a local dance troupe who performed a Broadway-like production of Dickens's "A Christmas Carol", complete with little crippled Tiny Tim! We thoroughly enjoyed ourselves.

Now I'm ready for Christmas!

In Honor of My friend J.....

Wednesday Confession:

I just got copies of BOTH! (Oh yeah, oh yeah!) Don't tell BabyDaddy or he would so steal the Britney. I am normally what you would consider a hater of all things Brit-Brit, but I actually found myself nodding my head a little to the "Circus" single. So, one of my oh-so-lovely-and-compassionate office friends burned me a copy of her new album, along with the Twilight Soundtrack, which I am certifiably obsessed with. Thanks JD!

It's a Great Day for a Pap Smear!

Come on now ladies -- don't we all just count down the days until our next annual exam?! Right. Not so much. I had put mine off for so long this year that they cut off my pills and refused to give me any more until I marched my happy butt into their office. (I took off work yesterday to go and get it over with.) As I was signing in and filling out the little info sheet, one of the questions was when my last cycle ended. I started to think back, AND THEN I REALIZED I SHOULD NOT BE THINKING BACK, BECAUSE IT SHOULD HAVE BEEN HAPPENING RIGHT THAT VERY MOMENT. Ummm, kay. Houston? Are you there? I think we have an issue here. My face immediately started to heat up, and I could feel my heart start to race. I hadn't been on my pills for a few months, because of this whole, "you have to come in for your appointment, and we mean it this time" thing, but.....surely not! It would be such bad timing with the new job, and Lil C still in diapers, and, and, AND I JUST AM NOT READY!

When they pulled me back I asked if they could test me before we got started. Sitting in the room waiting for them to come back and tell me what the heck was going on was like sitting on nails. (Literally -- I had forgotten to shave my legs that morning. Could things BE any worse?!) Beside the fact that I can never remember from year to year if you are supposed to tie those "gowns" in the front or the back -- I'm always afraid to have it wrong and look like an idiot.

My OB/GYN sidles in and asks me how I'm doing.

"Fine, but I'd be better if you could tell me whether or not I've gotten myself in a family way again..."

"OH!" (She seemed surprised, and began frantically rifling through my chart). "Are you all trying to have another?"

"Not really, but I couldn't find my brand of BC on the black market after you cut me off."

"VEEEEeery funny. We had to do this last year too if I recall? I know you hate these appointments, but they really are for the best. Now, do you want me to go find out, or would you rather finish the appointment first?"

I shot her the super stink eye.

"All righty then. I'll just be right back."

I heard her squeak off down the hall in her doctor clog things.....mumble mumble. Have results? Mumble, mumble...(I had my ear pressed to the door, but that's all I could make out) Sure? Okay, thanks! Mumble, Mumble. (Squeaky shoes approaching the door again - I hopped back onto the table.)

"The test results were negative."

Surprisingly, I felt..........sort of disappointed. What the heck? I didn't want this -- I wasn't ready! I didn't think I was ready. But what if I was? Realistically, I don't think we're ready yet for another one. I want to get good and settled at my new job and then look at getting a bigger house before we're ready for numero dos, but for a second, the thought of being pregnant again kind of made me happy. I really did love being preggers with Lil'C, but it's that thing that happens after the pregnancy, (no sleep, crazy expensive infant diapers, no sleep, spit-up, no sleep), that I have a problem with.

So, no bebe' for now, but you never know what may happen. I may just boycott those pills for another month.... :)

This is why it's frustrating to be a (relatively) new, young, non-celebrity mommy.....

Please see Exhibit A (Above Left), and Exhibit B (Above Right). The original raw picture is at left, and the picture that was actually published is on the right. Granted, Jessica Alba is not the ugliest gal on the block, and is in completely fabulous shape after giving birth 6 months ago, but even then -- they airbrushed her hips away, gave her a shimmery St. Tropez tan, slimmed her legs and arms, and did you notice her boobs are like three inches higher? How are the rest of us 'average' schmucks supposed to compete with that?! (Not that I am - trust me, I am not delusional. I understand that I am not even in the nosebleed section of the same ballpark with Jessica Alba, but it's the point darn it.)

I WANT TO HAVE LOTS OF MONEY TO HIRE MY OWN PERSONAL NUTRITIONIST TO MAKE MY FOOD, AND A PERSONAL TRAINER TO MAKE ME SKINNY, AND A PERSONAL SHOPPER TO BUY CLOTHES THAT MAKE ME LOOK SKINNY, AND A PERSONAL STYLIST SO I HAVE CRAZY BOMB HAIR, AND AN ASSISTANT TO SCHEDULE IT ALL.

And so I say, for all of us (relatively) new, young mothers -- is the above too much to ask really?

Photoshop Experiments

So exciting -- I finally started grasping this thing! (Thank you Public Safety Brandon!) Here are just a few of the pictures I have been messing with. (And yes, I did mean to have those black stripes on BabyDaddy's helmet -- I don't want any frenzied feme' fatales hunting him down for his firefighter hotness. He's mine hussies!) Now that I've got the basics down, I'm looking at some online tutorials for help with more features!

Yay Me!

As a result of my newly acquired job, BabyDaddy treated me to a "Yay Me!" weekend. I had to work on Saturday morning, (the last of those, thank goodness!), but after I got home, he took me to the town Christmas Parade. As most of you can guess, this is a big deal -- BD would just about rather be anywhere than outside on a snowy sidewalk watching the county marching band play a barely-in-tune version of Jingle Bell Rock. The Muffin got to ride with my in-laws in their snazzy 1930's coup, so I insisted we go for moral support. He was so cute! Both he, and our nephew C-Al wore little matching Santa hats and threw hard candy at the unsuspecting spectators. We met up with Ames, Daddy J, and my fave Lil' Diva, (they're gluttons for punishment too), and conveniently set ourselves up right outside the local coffee shop. My dear Ames and I of course immediately demanded hot cocoa, for which the boys were more than happy to scamper inside into the warmth to get for us. Once the cold turned us numb, we had a delightful time, really - but I was happy to get home and thaw out. My lovely in-laws took the muffin on to spend some QT time with them at their house, and BabyDaddy and I got spruced up and headed out for a date night. We made our first stop at Best Buy, (I love you BD!), and picked up a new camera ---I hadn't got the chance to mention the unfortunate demise of my beloved Kodak Easy Share last weekend. Lil' C found it and was just a little too enthusiastic in his foray into photography. He pretty much broke it to bloody pieces. At the thought of the upcoming holidays and no camera, I began to hyperventilate, but luckily Mom found a fabulous deal at Best Buy, and I am, (thanks to BD and my Yay Me! weekend), the proud owner of a new Canon Power Shot! I love it! The pictures are amazing.

After our big purchase - which had BabyDaddy swooning a bit, I won't lie - we went to one of my favorite eateries, The Olive Garden. I had an absolutely perfect peach sangria along with my meal, and so was a bit giggly by the time we were finished and heading to the movies. I was so excited to see Twilight, as I have heard nothing but the most fanatic praise of both the movie and the book. I'll have to say, (don't shoot me), but I was a bit disappointed. I didn't really get into it until almost past the half-way mark. It all seemed a bit melodramatic for me. Lots of smoldering looks and biting of lips in teenage angst.....I was almost gone until they started fighting each other. THAT was kind of cool. Before all you Twilight friends of mine decide to boycott my blog, please understand that I didn't think it was a bad movie - just a little slow for me to get into. But I am obsessed with the soundtrack, and will be purchasing it on my next trip to the mall. BTW, in the midst of the movie, BD got a bad case of the "tummy upsets" and left the theater to go sit in the Trail Blazer. At least that's what he said....

Sunday, we had a leisurely morning. I worked on some Christmas crafts I had been meaning to get done, and ended up making a 'drum' for Lil' C out of an Oatmeal carton. It's amazing the things that interest kids - I bet he hasn't put that thing down all day.

We met up with the family S. again this evening to go look at Christmas lights. Dearest Ames, you know I adore you, but I believe I am going to start a closet hate group about your mini-van. We all decided to ride together in order to save money - you're charged by the car- and because of the way we had the car seats for the kiddos set up, there was a teeny-tiny opening between the web of seat belts and the door to get to the back seat. God love him, Daddy J had to lay down the seat to get our preggers Ames in, and then I had the joy of literally squeezing through the little seat belt semi-opening. I felt like Catherine Zeta-Jones going under the lasers in that Entrapment movie - only not near as attractive, and with no where near the butt. I had to exit the van in the same way, and Daddy J so helpfully pointed out that it looked like the van was giving birth. I'll have to admit, once we were all sardined in there, we laughed until our tummies hurt. Of course, the entire evening was narrated by BabyDaddy/Borat. (He found the DVD for $2 in a cart at Wal-Mart on Black Friday - no wonder they only wanted a couple of bucks. I would have paid somebody to take that crap.) "That-a veeery nice. I like-a you. That was-a great suc-seeessss!"

Let's Dance!!!

Cause I got a new job! Sorry to disappoint -- I got a ton of emails and messages asking if I was preggers again. However, this change may allow me to get started on that! This job has the potential to be amazing -- I will be working for the state, which means state retirement (Yay!), state health benefits, and most importantly, every bank holiday off! (I always did want to celebrate Flag Day....)

My hours are 8am to 4:30 -- no more nights and weekends -- I could just squeal! The responsibility is much greater than previous jobs I've had, so it makes me a little nauseous to think about it, and I will miss my friends here like crazy, but hopefully it will be wonderful. (Oh my gosh, Ames, what will I do without our mid-day jaunts to Applebee's for unlimited soup and salad?) I'm not starting until the first of the year, which is great; I get time to wrap things up here, and get through the holidays and our Disney trip.

I'll have to admit though, (and I know you'll all snark at me about this), the first thing I did after I got my job offer, (before I even called BabyDaddy), was to Map Quest the nearest library. :)

The times, they are a' changin'.....

Big news to distribute!

Stay tuned.........

"I Want!"

Lil' C is getting supa-psyched about Christmas this year, (as long as that dirty Santa Claus doesn't try to sneak up and give him a hug or anything - Just leave the toys and skram Santa!) Every time we go to Wal-Mart, BabyDaddy and I are peppered with the muffin's "I Want's". So, I thought I would share one of my "I Loves" and one of my "I Want's".

I LOVE -- I am obsessed, (read me, OBSESSED), with the new C.O. Bigelow Apothocary lip line from Bath & Body Works. Mom had given me a buy-something-get-something-free coupon, and so after the Santa debacle yesterday, we breezed through the B&BW. Country Jess is my go-to gal for all things lips -- I think it was even her that got me addicted to Burt's Beeswax in high school, the dirty tramp. Those dang bees better be living in a luxery hive with all the money I've spent on their lip products. When she came up for her last visit, I comandeered her chap-stick. She prefaced with, "If you try this, you will be addicted. Don't say I didn't warn you." Sure, sure Jess, just give me the darn stuff. She was right -- I picked up two tubes, (one of the plain "mentha-shine" and one with a medium pink tint). I am infatuated! They are the perfect combo. It's not sticky or gooey like other lip glosses. It wears really light and feels like chap-stick on, but gives a super-cute gloss that you don't get from a chapstick or other lip balm. Plus it's got a spendidly tingly feeling from a good dose of peppermint oil. You must all go out and purchase a tube!!!!

I WANT --

Fekkai Spray Hair Crystals (Also to be found at B&BW BabyDaddy -- It would make a lovely stocking stuffer!) These bad boys are the perfect thing for winter-yucky hair, which I happen to suffer from. When talking about my newest B&BW loves, a gal at my office told me about this product - and I have to say, her hair looked smashing! It basically looks like natural shine/sparkle. I'll admit, when I heard "spray-on crystals", I had an immidiate flash back to an unfortunate 80's dance-a-thon, but the name really doesn't do it justice. It really does just give your hair an extra umph. So, in Lil' C speak, "I WANT"!

I'm Thankful

As is usual with holidays, the past four days have just flown, and I'm now eyeballing another Monday. But the weekend was a splendid break. I got to spend oodles of time with the muffin and BabyDaddy, along with both sides of our family. Highlights of the long weekend:

Watching the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade - You know that I usually don't wax all sentimental in my blogs, but this is an exception. Curled up next to BabyDaddy and Lil' C in our favorite PJs, (we all had on our matchy-matchy flannels),and hearing the muffin chant "GOB-BLE! GOB-BLE!" as Tom the turkey headed down 5th Avenue was just about as good as it gets. I actually got teary when James Taylor sang "America the Beautiful". Seriously teary! It didn't help that Lil' C got up and was swaying and trying to "sing" along - God love him, all he needed was a little lighter to hold up!

Eating Granny's turkey (or not).
We had our first TDay meal with the in-laws. There was so much food spread out, you could just look at it and get full. We all sat down to eat, said the blessing and started loading up. The muffin is a bit of a picky eater - by picky, I mean nothing other than pizza, chicken nuggets, hot dogs, and PB&Js - but we thought he might enjoy some of Granny's home cooking. The first spoonful went in to Lil' C's mouth -- and then came right back out. My poor mother in law kept asking him, "Is Granny's food that bad?", as he proceeded to scrape off his tongue with his napkin. Oh well. I guess pizza isn't so bad after all.

Reading time.
I love to read, and thank the stars, my son does too. Some of my favorite times this past weekend have been sitting on the couch with Lil' C and 'reading' together - he perusing his picture books, and me with my novel. Whenever he gets tired of me paying attention to my book, he will find my bookmark, shove it in place, and say, "The End Mommy, Kay? Play wif me!"

The joy (and the pain) of Santa Claus.
So we've been pumping Lil' C up about Santa Claus like crazy. We decided to go to the mall today to shop a bit, and then thought we'd swing by and get the yearly picture with Santa. Lil' C was psyched. "Who are we going see today muffin"? "SAAAANTA CWAUSE!!!!" I was more excited that he was! We stood in line for about 15 minutes or so - he was still doing great. "Can you see him baby? There he is in that big green chair!" "Santa, Mommy! Santa!" He chirped. We got up to the front, and just as BabyDaddy was handing him over to Santa, I saw his little fingers dig into the back of BD's shirt. That's when I knew it was over. The screams that came from that little boy turned heads on the opposite side of the corridor. It sounded like we were pulling his finger nails out. God bless Santa - he really was a peach. BD ended up sitting on Santa's lap with Lil' C. So we have a picture of a ruddy-cheeked Santa, BabyDaddy, and squirming as far away as possible, a very perturbed looking Lil' C. A fast way to lose twenty bucks, I'll tell you.

Snuggle Time with BabyDaddy **ahem** I mean snuggle time with the FAMILY.
Lil' C has become a bit possessive of me lately. It's like he has this little internal radar system that beeps when BabyDaddy and I are in any way close. When we hug, he squeezes himself in between us, squealing happily, "Sam-wich! Sam-wich!" When we hold hands, he plugs himself right in the middle. We were watching TV earlier and BD had his arm around me. The muffin climbed up the arm of the couch, snaked down the back, and slid down the center. "Es OK - Here I am!" We just had to giggle.

Putting up our tree.
Don't give me smack about it either. I force myself to wait until after Thanksgiving. That's my mark - after that, all bets are off. I would have it up in November if I could! Regardless, it's up now - BD got everything down from the attic and we spent the afternoon hanging our favorite ornaments. Lil' C has been all right with it so far - he loves looking at the picture ornaments, and when we turned off the lights and turned on the tree, we even got a "Wow - COOL!", so I'd say that makes it a success.

I'm very sad that the weekend is over, but very happy that I have such a great family to spend it with.

I love these darn things!

Some completely fabulous, (and somewhat altered to protect the innocent), facts about ME! ME! MEeeeeee!



1. What time did you get up this morning?
5:45 in the AM

2. Diamonds or pearls?
Diamonds are a gal’s best friend! (Not that I freakin’ have any – diamonds I mean. I do have friends!)

3. What was the last film you saw at the cinema?
Gawd – probably The Dark Knight??

4. What is your favorite TV show?
Grey’s Anatomy, Brothers and Sisters, Desperate Housewives, Fringe

5.What do you usually have for breakfast?
Lots of Coffee

6.What is your middle name?
NOT ALLOWED FOR RELEASE TO THE GENERAL PUBLIC

7.What food do you dislike?
Shrimp

8.What is your favorite CD at the moment?
The Wiggles Soundtrack – Hey –it’s what in my car right now okay? I don’t listen to CD’s normally. Just the radio…

9.What kind of car do you drive?
’03 Toyota

10.Favorite sandwich?
Tomato and Miracle Whip

11.What characteristic do you despise?
Know-it-alls, (Which is ironic, because I consider myself to act like one sometimes – maybe I just hate to compete with another know-it-all…)

12. Favorite item of clothing?
My hubby’s flannel pajama pants – we fight over them a lot. After that, my college Hoodie

13.If you could go anywhere in the world on vacation, where would you go? Somewhere on the East Coast

14.Favorite brand of clothing?
Whatever is on sale at Kohls

15.Where would you retire to?
Where my family is from in God's Country

16. What was your most recent memorable birthday?
Twenty-freakin-first baby! (Not really, I ended up in the ER by 11pm, so it really wasn’t that great, but it was sure as heck memorable, even if for all the wrong reasons…)

17.Favorite sport to watch?
I hate sports. But if I had to pick, I kinda like that extreme fighting stuff now – is that a sport? You can thank Ames and J. for that.

18. Furthest place you are sending this?
Kalamazoo, MI. (Nah-I've just always wanted to use that location in conversation.)

19. Person you expect to send it back first?
I'm sure it will be quite the competition...

20. When is your birthday?
NOT ALLOWED FOR RELEASE TO THE GENERAL PUBLIC

21.Are you a morning person or a night person?
Morning

22. What is your shoe size?
6 ½ -- I've got "little person" feet

23.Pets?
Some fun house puppies and lots of fish!

24. Any new and exciting news you'd like to share with us?
I JUST FOUND OUT I’M PREGNANT AGAIN!



---Not really, but everyone else around here is, so I thought I’d give it a shot…

25.What did you want to be when you were little?
An actress. Or a doctor. Or a lawyer.

26.How are you today?
Sleepy – what are those chemicals that are in turkey that make you want to pass out?? I can’t remember, I think it’s something with a T…..

27. What is your favorite candy?
Watermelon Jolly Ranchers

28. What is your favorite flower?
Stargazer Lillies, fall colored roses, gerber daisies…

29. What is a day on the calendar you are looking forward to?
Christmas!!

30. What's your full name?
NOT ALLOWED FOR RELEASE TO THE GENERAL PUBLIC

31. What are you listening to right now?
Little Drummer Boy on the radio!!

32. What was the last thing you ate?
Lord, too much. We had our office potluck today!

33. Do you wish on stars?
When I see a shooting one!

34. If you were a crayon, what color would you be?
Yellow, or maybe green, or blue? If they had a rainbow one, that would be me, because I’m so stinking indecisive

35. How is the weather right now?
Chilly-willy

36. The first person you spoke to on the phone today?
My good-for-nothing baby daddy

37. Favorite soft drink?
Not much of a soft-drink person. I’ve been in the mood for Pepsi lately, but I also like Cherry Coke.

38. Favorite restaurant?
Olive Garden

39. Real hair color?
Doodie Brown.

40. What was your favorite toy as a child?
Teddy Ruxbin or my Snoopy Sno-Cone Maker

41. Summer or winter?
Winter all the way!

42. Hugs or kisses
Hugs mostly

43. Chocolate or Vanilla?
Chocolate

44. Coffee or tea?
COFFEE – The more the better!

45. Do you want your friends to email you back?
Yes

46. When was the last time you cried?
This morning – a friend got some really great news!!!

47. What is under your bed?
Heck – I don’t ever look under there. I’m too scared!

48. What did you do last night?
Played on the Internet, complained about the laundry, made some hot apple cider, looked at the laundry, tweezed my eyebrows, decided to wait until tomorrow for the laundry.

49. What are you afraid of ?
Being alone

50. Salty or sweet?
Both

51. How many keys on your key ring?
I don’t know – who counts their freaking keys?!

52.How many years at your current job?
Too long already!

53.Favorite day of the week?
Sunday

54.How many towns have you lived in?
3

55.Do you make friends easily?
Only because I bully people into it, but usually it’s not too bad. You ARE my friend right? RIGHT?! Mm-kay. Thought so.

**You totally feel like you know me right?

Tinkle, Tinkle, Widdle TAAAaarrrrr...

So it's been a couple of weeks -- a couple of insanely crazy weeks I might add. I'll try to give you the backwards chronological highlights:

#1) The video above is of my little performer - for the first time, ladies and gentlemen, "Tinkle Tinkle, Widdle Tar"! (As interpreted by Lil' C/the next Chris Daughtry - he was born to rock!) He can't sing the song without bustin' out on some drums. Please be aware, I use the term "drums" very lightly. This term can be interchanged with highlighters, Pixie Sticks, carrots, or even, (on a bad day), unused pregnancy tests found under the bathroom counter. I do try to keep him out of my bathroom vanity, just so you know, only God knows what's in the dark corners of that thing. But seriously, what can I say, the boy loves to drum!

#2) My fave lil' Diva had a lovely birthday party at a local children's museum this past weekend. BD, Lil C and I all had a delightful time, and I shot up a quick thank you to my higher power when I ended up on the other side of the room from the kid that puked. (No offense Ames, but I'm glad I wasn't close to him!)

#3) Lil C is obsessed with BabyDaddy's hunting boots - Some of you have had the privilege of getting this story already, but for those of you who have not, Lil' C will not be away from the bloody things. He wears them around the house, he drives his hot wheels over them, they sit next to him at dinner, on the bathroom counter when he's in the tub, and he insists that they be tucked into bed with him too. Good Lord -- why couldn't he have chosen one of his 987 very suitable stuffed animals for his lovey? BabyDaddy is equal parts proud papa and annoyed hunter, because he hasn't been able to leave the house with them on in weeks.

#4) The Wiggles were fan-freaking-tastick! They could not have done a better job. We loved them! I don't think Lil' C realized what was going on at first, but my gosh, when the fog started coming around the stage and he saw the big red car drive out, I thought he was going to faint! He screamed and danced- it was worth every penny. We had really great seats right off the floor, and my favorite part was when the Wiggles came out into the audience - Jeff and Murray, (Lil' C's favorite) came up in our area to talk to all the kids. I don't think Lil' C quit spazzing until we were halfway out to our car after the show. Walking out of the arena, he kept waving his little hands at the stage saying, "Buh-bye Wiggles, I see you soon, kay?"

Don't pee on the rug!

Ah - the joys of potty training! We have started to travel down that long, LONG road. By the way, the lovely picture that you have the pleasure of viewing is of BabyDaddy during one of his favorite moments of the day, (even back then). I'm mad at him you see -- he's been puttering in his man cave again, doodling with glass eyes and stinky skins. (They really do smell terribly- BabyDaddy of course insists that I am imagining things. There is no smell!!!) Whatever. I've come to refer to it not-so-lovingly as "Hot Dead". I swear, he can be putting chrome rims on the lawn mower for all I usually know, but the second he starts bloody stuffing animals, I SWEAR I can smell it. "So, what hot-dead are you working on today?" I shout through the laundry room door to the garage. "IT DOESN'T SMELL! YOU CANNOT POSSIBLY SMELL ANYTHING!" His rantings are mercifully muffled by the dogs rolling around the crack in the door like maniacs. (Apparently Hot-Dead is something they like to roll in.) "Well, are you working on an animal or not?" I'm pretty persistent you know. I can distinctly picture him rolling his eyes as he lovingly airbrushes pretty pink ear centers into whatever Hot-Dead he's currently working on. "NO. I'M FIXING YOUR PICTURE FRAME OKAY?" "LIIIIIIAR!" I shout back. "LIE-ER Daddeeeee!" Lil C' usually concurs happily. This is usually a scene that's repeated about 4 times weekly.

But, how is it, I've gone completely off subject? The matter at hand is potty training, and the reason I have posted the not-so-flattering picture of BD. Oh yes, how silly of me. He made me angry because tonight was the one night that I had to do my homework. Lil' C has been in a weird bedtime phase ever since daylight savings time began, and so it's taken me a little longer to put him down than normal. I had asked BD to help me put him to bed so that I could get everything done. "Sure,"he says, "I'll just be in the garage for a minute," he says. Ugh. After turning on my tart burner, lighting three candles, snuffing out two matches, (I heard somewhere that the match snuffing deal would erase stinky things. Not so much.) I yelled to remind him of the time. "Yup! Be right in!" he says. MMMMMm-hhhmmmmm. Lil' C and I had bath time, looked at his flashcards, and read his bedtime story twice before I finally gave up and started putting him to bed. Another long process. By the time I finally got him down and had just sat down with my lap top, BD strolls in the door. The look I shot him made him walk right back out. So, I figured the least I could do was post the above picture. Take that! (Cyber vengeance is so much less taxing that actual physical violence, which is what I had contemplated first.) But -- back to the potty training. The Mom-In-Law has started working with him on potty training, which is completely fabulous, as he doesn't do squat for me. She's been trying to get him to go potty in his little chair for the past couple of weeks now, and he's making progress. One afternoon this week, when he got up from him nap, she noticed that his diaper was dry -- so she knew that he needed to pee. She took off his diaper and sat him on the chair in front of the t.v. Nada. So she gave him a Popsicle. Still no dice. Finally, exasperated, she walked back into the bedroom to get another diaper. She hears him clapping and cheering, so she hurries back to the living room, ready to praise him for using his potty. "Ya-ay me! Granny -- I Pee-Pee!!" He exclaims this proudly from the far corner of the room-- where he has just peed all over the end of her couch. :)

Why I love my husband...

After a long day at work, I came home to this. How could anyone ask for more? I know, I know -- you are gagging a bit, and contemplating throwing your coffee mug at the screen, but please, restrain yourself. I'm sure he bought this as an advance apology for something that he knows I'll be reeeeeeeally ticked about. So, if you'll wait patiently, you can knowingly smile and shout in triumph, "I KNEW it was too good to be true!"

The Newest Blues Brother

So we got the Muffin a harmonica when we were in Gatlinburg the week before last. He has hardly put it down! I had a brief moment of attention whore-dom, and decided that I must post a video showing his innate talent. The best part is that now, when he is finished playing his little ditty, he will take a bow, (involving looking like he is preparing to do a head-stand), and nod his head to the crowd saying, "Thank you! Thank you!!" BabyDaddy said last night with a sigh, "There's just no hope is there? He is going to be musician after all...." All I could do was smile.

Updates

1) I watched Fringe tonight. It was fabulous. Again. (I love Walter!)

2) I ordered our costumes yesterday. They should be here by tomorrow. (Based on the votes - thank you by the way - we chose to be Dorothy, the Scarecrow, and the Cowardly Lion. I'm pumped!)

3) BabyDaddy and I just celebrated our 3rd anniversary this past week, (he sent me my favorite flowers, God love him.) You're a good man to put up with me this long BD. :)

Inspiration, schmenspiration

So I haven't been feeling inspired. Apparently, you need to feel inspired to blog - it's makes for better reading, I hear. However, I've been feeling kind of crappy lately, so I avoided it. Who wants to hear someone whine and complain anyway? And what self-respecting blogger wants to advertise her problems? Well, if you don't want to hear someone whine and complain and talk about non-fun, non-inspired things, you might as well just push your browser's back button and check the headlines on MSN.

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Still reading? Okay, here we go. But be aware that this isn't going to be pretty.

I want to find myself again. I think that somewhere in the mix of diapers, meatloaves, work, and dirty laundry, I have lost, at the risk of sounding like that God-awful Nick Lachey song, I have lost a piece of me. I used to be passionate. I used to be motivated. I used to be funny as crap. Now, I count the hours until I have to leave for work. I count the hours until I get to go home. I count the hours I have left until I collapse into sleep. In the midst of all that, I have to try to sandwich in all the things that really matter. Time with my son. Time with my husband. My real life. I'm tired. I feel like I'm washed up at the ripe old age of 25. My son deserves better. My husband deserves better. I deserve better. How did I get so drained?

I want to stay home. I want to spend every possible moment with my son.
I want a career. I spent years getting a degree that I loved. I want to do something with it.

There's no way to get it all right - either way you go, there are sacrifices to be made. Which choice is the right choice? I realize that I am regurgitating the inner argument of every mother since the dawn of time. But that sure as heck doesn't make it any easier when I'm the one having the argument. There's really no deciding. I love my family, but I also know that I am the type of person who needs to have a career. But, I think the key is for me to have a career that I am able to feel joy in. I think that just like a mate, everyone has a job (and I do consider being a stay at home mom a job, thank you very much, even if it isn't right for me,) that is completely perfect just for them, and I just don't think I've found mine yet. I do realize that I'm still quite young, and not many are lucky enough to find a great job this early in life, but that doesn't mean I shouldn't try. One of these days, I will find it, and then life will be good. Oh, there will still be frustrations, bad days at work, but I will be able to justify going back every day, because I will enjoy it. In the mean time, I will continue to change the diapers, make the meatloaves, go to work, and wash the dirty laundry. I will snuggle my son, I will kiss my husband, and I will keep a good book on hand. And, I'll complain on my blog when I need to get the sillies out.

See? That wasn't so bad. You got to be my sympathetic ear, and I got to unload. We're all winners. :)

Halloween 2008 -- Help us choose!

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Feel free to suggest if you have another idea -- I'm getting desperate! We have a Halloween Party to go to, so we all need costumes. Surprisingly, BabyDaddy is fairly enthusiastic about the whole thing. Maybe I should be a little alarmed....

We are going to see......

THE WIGGLES!!! I'm excited! (But I bet you could tell from the all caps...) :)

Caden is SO going to pee his pants!

Yay for Fall!

I think I've mentioned it before, but I LOOOOOVE fall! We went to the Apple Orchard today, and had a simply fabulous time. Among other things, we rode a camel, (and a pony -- you know how Lil' C is about those ponies), got to pet a zebra, crawl through a straw maze, and watched some racin' pigs. (I got a video just for you Mom! Bless her heart, she was so disappointed when there weren't any racing pigs at the fair this year...) Lil' C was just plumb exhausted when we left, and promptly fell asleep in the car on the way home. BabyDaddy and I spent the rest of the afternoon putting out some fall decorations. Did I mention he bootlegged a design for a pumpkin lamp? It's just a plywood box with a jack-o-lantern cut into it and a light inside. We saw one at the festival we went to last weekend - it's one of those Primitive type decorations that I love, but BD refused to pay $20 for it and insisted he could make one on his own. He did a really good job, except for the fact that we got the dimensions a little bit wrong. The thing is huge! I'll post a pic when he's done with it. Other than the fact that it looks like it could eat a small child, I think it's lovely! And it's a welcome respite to see him working on something that doesn't smell like it needs to be hauled off by the Dead Wagon. (Those of you who aren't from the country won't know what the Dead Wagon is -- and don't ask. You wouldn't want to know anyhow.) I WOULD have a husband who thinks mounting dead animals is tantamount to art.
Things could be worse I suppose -- and he is generally good, so I try to just stay out of the garage. Anyway, we had a good weekend, and I'm already about half-sick thinking about my alarm going off in the morning. It's always fun to get to hang out with Lil' C all weekend. BabyDaddy and I laugh to watch how he is changing as he gets older. You can definitely tell that he has a bit of us both in him. He picks up every minuscule particle of dust/dirt/food that he finds on the floor and will bring it to you. "Trash Mommy, yuck." (That's BabyDaddy's extreme distaste for dirt shining through.) I tend to buy lots of cute decor items for our house, and then never do anything with them, because I can't decide where to hang/sit/set up anything. You know those primitive stars that everyone hangs on the front of their houses? Well, I picked up an adorable small set of them for inside, but have never decided what to do with them. Last night, Lil' C got them out and went over to the wall. Baby Daddy and I almost peed our pants watching him. He would say "Here!", and place one of the stars on on the wall. Then he would move it a fraction of an inch higher. "No, Here!" Then he would go across the room to another wall. "No, Here!" God love him, he's going to grow up to be indecisive just like me!

"Ain't nothin' gonna hold me down..."

This is a cussin' moment right here ya'll. (When I get angry, my Southern roots start findin' their way out of the ground and into the sunlight.) But, my Mama reads this, bless her heart, so I will refrain. But that doesn't mean that I'm not really angry. Actually, it does -- because now, I'm not angry anymore. Now, I'm just determined. If you can't tell, I had a darn crappy, pretty near disastrous day at work. I don't normally blog about my job, because I don't want to waste one more milisecond than I have to on it. Most days, it is tolerable. Some days, it is even rewarding. Today, it was none of the above. I won't go any further, cause Lord knows who all is reading this thing, but suffice it to say IT. WAS. NOT. GOOD. Anyway, I got in my car after leaving, (10 minutes late -- par for the course), and I turned on my 'angry' music. This is the most ol' school, ghetto rap that I have access to. To look at me, you would never suspect I have a closet obsession with Notorious B.I.G., but he rocks my world. (My brother would have been so proud.) So, I plugged in my iPod, scrolled over to "Hypnotize", and became a duck -- I just let it all roll off. To his credit, when I called BabyDaddy in a panic threatening to walk out of my office, and asking him to check our account balances and see how long we could survive, he immidiately packed up Lil' C, and came to my rescue. We had a delightful, but painfully short lunch, followed by some playtime in the children's section at the local library. Then, when I got home tonight, he had dinner ready and had baked me my favorite cake. (Yellow with white icing and rainbow sprinkles if you really want to know). Aww, shucks, THAT'S why I married him! :) So, now, it's all better. Life is too short to waste time being angry.

Fun at the River

Getting schooled on rock skippin'...

All I Wanna Do is Dance!

Friends, inspiration, and other sappy observations...

First of all, let me just begin by saying that reading Randy Pausch's The Last Lecture should be a life requirement. I'm adding that to my Life Requirements list. #1). Bootie dance in your car at least once per week. #2) Read The Last Lecture. I am putting this book on my Christmas List. (Take note Mom.) Being that if I bought every book I read, I would have to take out a home equity loan, I normally take advantage of the free services of our local library. However, this one is a keeper. In fact, I would do well to have a copy in my car, on my desk at work, and in my bedside table drawer. It's THAT good. I would love to list all my favorite quotes from the book, but if I did, it would be pretty much the whole thing. Just go out and get yourself a copy.

Since I'm waxing all sappy, let me just go on to say a word about friendship and family. My mom is a pretty smart lady. She's my seemingly impossible to replicate example for life. I could not go into the amount of sacrifices she has made for me in my lifetime. (If I did, it would probably just embarrass her anyway, so I won't bother.) All that being said, her life experiences have given her a lot of good wisdom to share. I wasn't so much able to appreciate it earlier in my life, but now that I have my own family, I'm beginning to realize the great value she has to offer. Perhaps the most influential statement she has made to me recently is, "Your family is who you choose it to be." This has proven itself to be true, and now that I know what to look for, I am seeing it more and more. I did not have any sisters growing up, but karma has seen fit to put two in my life now. Just this weekend, we got to spend some time with some of our closest friends. It is a miracle to me to watch my son interact with his not-quite-biological "auntie and uncle", along, of course, with the Lil' Diva. I don't have any sisters, but if I could have hand-picked myself a couple, one would be Ames. She is one of the most fiercely loyal, honest, and caring women I have ever had the pleasure of knowing. And Lil' C adores her. Remember me describing THE BEDTIME WARS? Scattered showers compared to the hurricane that blows through when you try to take him away from her. When she watches him for us, he will cheerfully chirp, "Bye-Bye Momm-ieeeee", before he turns to get back to whatever they are playing. I came to pick him up one evening to find him snuggled up with Ames in the recliner, sound asleep. "Did he scream? Was it awful?" I nervously asked. With a nonchalant shrug, she replied, "Nah, he got his sippy and just curled up and went to sleep". He looked like a happy little cat. At least once a day, he will lead BabyDaddy or I to the door and look up hopefully at us. "Aim-ee? Jac-ub?? Ab-iiieeee?" God love his little heart.

The other "might-as-well-be-a-sister" who deserves some floor-time, is Auntie Jess. She is the picture of the quirky, fun-loving, contagious laughing auntie that every child should have. She, like Ames, would fight to the death for you. (I've found that a lot of people will come in and out of your life, but only a few will be there when you really need it, and these two women would.) It was great to spend time watching Jess and Lil' C "skip rocks" at the river last weekend. Not that there was a lot of skipping going on, no offense Jess.

So, whether they like it or not, these people will forever be "my family". And do you know why? Because my mom says so. That means it just IS. :)

Preparing for Battle

I just finished putting the Muffin down for the night. Apparently, only sissies go to bed without a fight -- at least that's what BabyDaddy says. But then, it's fine for him to say that. He gets to sit on his arse and play Perfect Dark on the gosh-forsaken X-Box, while I try desperately to hold on to what could quite easily be mistaken for a wriggling, wet baby seal. If I've ever wanted to chop off his man parts, it's during what BD and I "affectionately" refer to as THE BEDTIME WARS. (I must always type it in all caps -- that's how I picture it in my head.) THE BEDTIME WARS usually begin between 7pm and 7:30pm, when I start trying to lure Lil' C into the tub.

Mommy: Let's go play with your bath markers!

Lil' C: No No Mommy.

Mommy: Don't you want to go play in the water? Mommy
will get out Bath-time Tiger and Pooh!

Lil' C: No bath.

Mommy: What about Bath-time Little Einsteins?
Wouldn't that be fun? (This is usually where the tiniest note of
desperation can be detected in my voice).

Lil C: Playing Mommy! NO BATH!

At this point, I resort to brute force -- I pick up Lil' C, and carry him, usually screaming (he now has decided he will protest all unwanted actions by squealing OW! OW! Oooooow! Like someone is tearing his arm off -- It makes a lovely little scene at the Wal-Mart, let me assure you.) So, I finally get him in the tub. As soon as he hits the water, he is happy. He splashes, adds more Mickey Mouse bubbles, draws on the walls, and points out various body parts. "Knee, Mommy! KNEE!" Yes, sweetheart, but that's actually your elbow... Then, comes THE BEDTIME WARS, part deux -- Getting out of the tub. And Lord, if you think it was a fit trying to get him in, just thank your lucky constellations that you're not there to get him out. He knows what's coming when I start gathering up the towel, and he scrunches under the faucet to sit on the drain, so I can't unplug it. I usually lure him to the other side of the tub with a toy, and quickly pull the stopper. Lights, camera, action. This is where we get the stamping of the feet, shaking of the fists, and the screaming, OH THE SCREAMING. "Water! WAAAATTTTERRRR! NO BYE-BYE! NO ALL GONE! WAAAATTTER!" This little interlude is punctuated with Lil' C frantically moving bath toys, as if the water is hiding beneath them, attempts to cover the drain with his little hand, and flopping around on the tub floor like a wounded mermaid. As the last of the water swirls away, he will lay his cheek next to the drain, and sniffle out, "No more water....noooo more water." We go through this every night. Of course, the Battle of the Bath is not the end of THE BEDTIME WARS. We still have to fight the Please-put-on-your-Pajama-Pants Skirmish, the Your-Toothbrush-is-not-for-your-Hair Conflict, and the You-Cannot-Have-Another-Pickle Crusade. (He's really into pickles these days.) Then, when all of that is done, we head into his room, armed with his firetruck pillow and sippy. Usually, if I'm lucky, he's down in about 15 minutes. Then, I'm free to stomp, (albeit quietly), back to the living room, and that worthless BabyDaddy. A few nights ago, he looked over and said, "Well, it went a little easier tonight, don't you think?" I threw a Tonka Truck at his head. Lucky for him, I missed.