Oh the Hubanity

Oh No---It's Finally Here

2012-01-30T06:26:00.000-05:00

It's what I've been dreading since Rhett was little: the end of his naps.

The past month or so, Rhett's been fighting napping. Not fighting me, but fighting sleep. I'll put him in his room and he'll be just fine. But about 40 minutes into the nap, I'll hear him, "Can I wake up?" Of course he means, "Can I get out of bed? I'm bored." Naturally I say no. But really, on those days when he doesn't nap, he doesn't do too badly. At least, he's just as disobedient and tantrum-prone as on the days he does nap, so the statistician in me says that naps are having no effect on his mood.

On Sundays, we now get home just before 2 p.m.--plenty of time for a short nap. Yesterday we told him he could forgo the nap if he'd sit on the couch and have quiet time until I took him visiting teaching. Since it meant no nap, he was totally for it. He sat on the couch for 45 minutes "reading" his books. All the while Chuck graded papers and I prepped dinner and read the newspaper. It was lovely; why can't parenting be like this all the time?

I know most days won't be this easy. I'll need to do more during nap time, like laundry, or say, watch "America's Next Top Model." I can't do that with Rhett just hanging out. So what am I going to do?

I know some of you have instituted quiet times. For how long are your kids in there? Do you just give them books and maybe coloring stuff? Anything other ideas? (I can't/won't resort to TV, but not because of Rhett, because of me. I have the issues, not him.) I'm just kind-of freaking out over here, if you can't tell.

Sunday's Quiet Time--He's just so darned cute.

A Dinner Table Squabble

2012-01-27T06:28:00.000-05:00

Let's say you're the one in charge of putting meals on your dinner table (and all other meals, for that matter). If there's something you like to eat but you know no one else likes, do you (1) never cook it, (2) cook it only rarely and eat it all yourself, (3) cook it only rarely since you like it and you're the one cooking and shopping and slaving over the meals and force everyone else to choke it down?

An "opportunity for growth" arose this week when I made a meal that I know the males (Bruno excluded) don't like. Before you throw tomatoes at me, I also know the meal can be stomached by said males, which is why I make it at most twice a year. (What is the mystery meal? Chicken salad sandwiches in a pita. Totally innocuous, right? Wrong.)

Anyway, at then end of the hour-long dinner (hour-long because choking it down takes a long time), I was fed up. But, of course, so were my menfolk. My defense: C'mon. This is only a couple of times a year. It's not that bad. The males' defense: C'mon. It is that bad. We eat it, but why should we have to?

Why do I make it? Because I really like it! I'd make it just for me, but scaling back the recipe anymore (I already halve it) would be difficult and time-consuming for something just for me. So I halve it and ask that they eat one dinner's worth and I'll eat the leftovers. Buuuuut...I know they dislike it. I do feel the tiniest bit guilty while making it, knowing it's not a favorite. Buuuuut...I'm the one doing all the work! All the planing, all the shopping, most of the making; don't I get to be menu tsar? Buuuuut...there are lots of things they do like to eat; why can't I make one of them?

You can see why I'm conflicted. Tomorrow night's dinner? Runts, Hot Tamales, and homemade wheat bread. Something everyone can agree on.

Grandpa G

2012-01-25T06:27:00.000-05:00

My dad called me from Japan last Thursday to tell me that my paternal grandfather died. He was my last living grandparent, and my sons' last living great-grandparent. Like when my grandmother died last May, I will dispense with the sappy stuff. I'm just not good at it. Suffice it to say that my grandpa was a pretty cool old man. He was a spry 96 years old when he died; I hope I'm lucky to live as long and as well.

These are the last pictures of me and my little family with him (taken summer 2010). Sadly, he never met Ollie, but someday he will. (Just please let it be a long, long time away from now.) In this picture, we are standing outside his Macks' Inn cabin, in front of Forest Service land. It is rumored that my grandfather would sneak out in the darkest night and cut down these trees for his firewood. Pretty sneaky, Grandpa!

At Old Faithful with my parents and son #1.

And how fun are these? I loves me some old pictures. I'm not sure who the man is in the upper-left (some relative to be sure), but the others are my grandfather and mother.

The top picture below shows my grandfather, mom, an aunt, an uncle, three cousins, my sister, and me. (No, I will not point out which is me. I will say that girl with the awesome bangs, turtleneck, matching handmade units belt, and rolled jeans is so awesome, however. ) The other two pictures are of my cute grandmother and my dad.

See much nicer tributes to my grandfather here and here (and my sister's blog, if you have permission).

Ollie in the Movies

2012-01-23T06:25:00.000-05:00

In addition to all the fun things (birthday parties, craft nights, baby showers, and fantasy football parties), we started Ollie on solid foods. Well I should say, Chuck started Ollie on solids. I haven't fed him one spoonful. But Chuck was excited to do it, so I said, "Go forth."

Also, the little man seems to think he wants to start crawling. He gets up on all fours and then either face plants, or goes into "model on top of showroom car" pose. Both make us laugh. And how I love his "talking."

Random Thoughts

2012-01-19T06:23:00.000-05:00

Is this outfit meant to be pajamas or no?

If you make a hard-boiled egg, do you need to wash the pan in which it boiled?

Recently, a friend was aghast that I haven't ever eaten Spam. I was aghast that she was aghast. What about you: have you ever eaten it? And if yes, please be honest about how it tasted.

I was finally convinced to remove my maps and put up the Christmas cards. We got exactly enough cards this year to fill the chandelier and I love it! But (1) for how long can I keep Christmas cards up there and (2) with what do I replace them...in July...when I finally get around to taking them down?

Do any of you read Dooce? I wish I was lying when I say that this post made me tear up when I read it. Do you think it's weird I got that emotional over someone's separation/divorce when I don't know her? In fact, never even met her?

Do you think you could live here and deal with this much snow? My brother is insane (in a good way).

One last thought: When I went to register my new serger, I was asked the date of purchase. Guess how far back their drop-down menu thinks I could have bought the machine. 1851. They seem to think that people who bought sewing machines in 1851 (1) are just now getting around to registering them and that (2) people at least 161 years old know how to use the internet. I don't think so! My parents aren't half that old and they struggle internetting. (Kidding Elder and Sister Dad and Mom! I'm only making fun because you're just so gosh darn far away.)

P.S. Excuse the non-Monday/Wednesday/Friday posting this week, but hey. It's my blog. I do what I want.

New Front Door

2012-01-16T06:27:00.000-05:00

Our door has gone through a couple of transitions. This is how it looked when we bought the house. White (and notice the white shutters).

Then we decided we wanted a black door, so we painted it. But because our door faces west, the paint bubbled in the afternoon sun, and then the bubbles hardened, and then I accidentally popped them and the door looked pretty rough.

So finally we got the new door and the new shutters. I'm pretty happy.

I Got Nothing Except a Compulsion to Post

2012-01-13T06:29:00.000-05:00

My brain hurts. I am exhausted and have the busiest four weekends ahead of me that I've ever had (I think). Thankfully it's busy with things I want to do, but busy still. Count it: three baby showers, two little kid birthday parties, one craft night at my house, two babysitters' club nights, and one pug group. See? Fun but busy. And of course, I have this compulsion to make gifts instead of buy them. (But if I'm honest, I'm not sure it will happen for all of them.)

In addition to these things, today we're getting a new front door installed, so we're banished from our house. Also, there is a preschool open house I want to attend for Rhett. Can we just take a second to freak out now, please? I have a (nearly) preschooler! A kid that goes to preschool! I have one of those! Yep, tired.

In other news, we're going to start giving solid foods to little Ollie soon. The high chair was brought down from the attic and I'm re-researching solids as I forgot everything from when we did this with Rhett. How long did everyone do some sort of cereal before going to the real stuff?

My return to work was pretty easy. Since Chuck does all of the pick-ups and drop-offs, I don't have to have emotional breakdowns that they would cause me. Both boys are doing great there, and Ollie is napping like a champ, which is always a worry for me.

I bought a new workout video. I get tired of being able to word-for-word repeat what Jillian is telling me and I want to mix it up. So we'll see what Lindsay Brin has to do for me and my post-pregnancy body.

Okay. That's all. Goodbye.

But I always have pictures of super cute boys.

Oh What Do You Do in the Wintertime?

2012-01-11T06:29:00.000-05:00

I will admit that our winter has been pretty spectacular so far. Only a couple of days have really necessitated the down jacket, and we've even had a handful of days in the 60s. SIXTIES! I'm not lying people. It's been pretty great. But because I have nothing else fun to share on the topic you get the following three pictures.

What we have here was taken on a recent cold morning when going out wasn't really a good idea. I came up with a great idea of playing "Pin the Tail on Something" which ended up being, "Mom, cut out more things!" He pretty much loved it. And you can love that I didn't take a picture of the paper Rhett the day after we created it...when a penis was added. I made Chuck do that one. Oh my anatomically-correct son. (And in case you can't tell, those are ears above the eyes and a pocket on the ribs. The later-added belly button is at armpit level.)

The other day after Rhett's nap, I went to get him and he asked if I knew what he was sleeping in. I replied, "No." He told me it was an iceberg. My first thought was, "Oh c'mon. Our house isn't that cold." But then he showed me this, and I got it. You know, it's ~~a bed~~ an iceberg that broke off from the ~~wall~~ glacier and is now floating ~~on the floor~~ in the ocean.

And this one. Just out for a walk with the dog, but I had to document Ollie's reindeer outfit. So stinkin' cute.

My Hair

2012-01-09T06:24:00.000-05:00

Oh dear. The post-baby hair loss has begun. Why it took five months to start is an enigma to me, but whatev. I'm trying to brush my hair more often, but it's still coming out in clumps. Maybe I shouldn't complain about Ollie pulling it out because he's only speeding the process.

Also, let's be honest, shall we? It's not the biggest tragedy that my hair is falling out because it's pretty hideous. For some reason, I just let it go during pregnancy and the ensuing months, and then I come out with the same results: complete blah-i-tude. I present the evidence:

(Do you love how I cropped out my muffin top? I'm working on it, remember?)

It seems like last time I "woe-is-my-hair"-ed, people suggested a blunt cut at the shoulders. Does everyone still agree that this is the best course of action? What about this hair from a recent "What Not to Wear" (see video below). If I did this, how soon before I tire of bangs? (Skip to about 2:00 to miss the bra fitting and just see the final reveal. Although, the bra fitting is pretty spectacular and should be watched if you have time. I can not wait to get a proper fitting.) Anyway, if you have any constructive criticism, please share! If you have any plain ol' criticism, keep that behind my muffin-topped back, please.

Boys' Room Scrabble Wall

2012-01-06T06:21:00.000-05:00

There are a couple more things I want to do to their room, but I had to share this. I love it. As in LOVE. It's one of those things I walk by about twenty times a day just to look at it. I love it that much.

I found it via Pinterest and then this blog, and actually did it; can you believe it? I did something I pinned. Cool. Of course I roped Chuck into helping me, but he did so willingly.

There were a couple of tricks to it. One, don't use nails. Use the little 3M wall-hangy-thingies. (Good description, eh?) This helps with not having tons of nail holes in your wall and also keeps them straight. Second, use a template to attach them to the wall. I had some large butcher paper that I used to wrap Christmas gifts, and I traced the squares and drew it out just as I wanted. Using an X-acto knife, I cut out the places where the tiles would be. Then we taped the template to the wall, and stuck the tiles to the wall (using aforementioned wall-hangy-thingies). Then we ripped away the paper and...voila! A beautiful, straight Scrabble wall.

Five Months

2012-01-04T06:27:00.000-05:00

Of course I love this baby. Look at him. Such a happy little boy, unless he's not. Thankfully, he's mostly happy. We all love him and only rarely does the older brother treat him unkindly. So far, so good!

I'm pretty sure if I said that babies are hard for me, you'd all stop reading because I say it only about, oh, 50 times a week. But don't go! This is new! Of course, the night wake-ups are hard. Of course the spit up on every single outfit is hard. Of course the thrice-daily naps are hard, only because they limit our outings. But now I have a new complaint: I'm scared to death of babies.

I worry about everything when it comes to my little guys. At least with Rhett I get some feedback. He can tell me when he's sick or tired...or just sick and tired. But with Ollie? Who knows?! Is he just tugging on his ear because he can or because he has a raging ear infection? I don't know!

Also, with Rhett, it's pretty obvious that he's meeting all his "standards." Sure he has speech issues, but we're working through those. But on everything else, he's doing fine. I can't say this for Ollie. I mean, sure he grabs my hair when it's right in his hand, but does he grab other things like he should? I don't know! Does he include the appropriate consonants in his babble? I don't know! It's just so hard to know if he's okay. And I'm constantly worried that he's not.

Just grow up already! Love, mom.

Bad News, Good News

2012-01-02T06:30:00.000-05:00

Bad News: Just found out that my eyes aren't "stable" enough for me to get Lasik. And due to an eye disease my mother has (which means I might inherit it), I might never be able to do so.
Good News: I got $5,000! I got $5,000! We saved to pay cash for the procedure, but because I can't (see above)...now what to do with it? I'm thinking a self-driving tour of Ireland...

Bad News: We tried to play with Ollie's sleep schedule to see if something different would help him sleep at night (so that we could sleep at night). Sadly it didn't work and was much, much worse than what we were doing.
Good News: We successfully went back to what we were doing and are happy again with our once-nightly wake up.

Bad News: Our anniversary was the lamest we've had yet. It was just like any regular day with the boys, which is normally fine, but not what you hope for your anniversary. (Thanks to friends we were able to go out the night after our anniversary, but still.)
Good News: ~~We're not divorced!~~ We have many, many more chances to make up for it! And all of them without a small babe!
Update: I typed too soon. Our Saturday night date turned out pretty great. We went to Matchbox and had yummy sliders, pizza, and three totally awesome desserts (chocolate chip ice cream cookie sandwich, lemon tart, and fruit pizza). We even had good company join us for dinner. Then we went to Chuck's parents' house to play some Super Scrabble wherein my last word (we had to cut the game short) was "topcoat." That's right: a seven-letter word.

Bad News: I go back to work tomorrow after my five-month maternity leave wherein I have a new boss. This also means the death of my "just me-and-Ollie" days.
Good News: I reclaim my adult time, my "Erin" time, my fancy-dress time. My "easy" days return!

Bad News: I lost zero weight in the two weeks spanning Christmas.
Good News: I gained zero weight in the two week spanning Christmas.

Bad News: Ollie is not even close to going to nursery.
Good News: Rhett is a Sunbeam! A SUNBEAM! I am old enough to have a Sunbeam! (Note: this is meant as a joke seeing as though (1) I'm 34 and definitely old enough to have a Sunbeam and (2) girlfriends I grew up with not only have Sunbeams, but also have kids in the youth programs. They might have got a bit of a head start on me, however.)

Happy 2012! Here's to a year with more good news than bad.

P.S. Don't worry if you didn't receive a Christmas card from us this year. No one did. I'm hoping we get a pass given the new baby and Chuck's surgery. We might try to get out a "Bubble Bath Day" card or a "Dress Up Your Pet Day" card or maybe even "Measure Your Feet Day" card. For tomorrow, I leave you with Happy Fruitcake Toss Day everyone!

P.P.S. Check out my parents' cute blog here. How awesome is Japan?! Chuck and I want to go on a couple's mission right now seeing as though it seems like my parents are only (1) sightseeing, (2) sleeping in, or (3) going to Costco.

Seven Years!

2011-12-30T06:29:00.000-05:00

Happy anniversary to us!

Christmas Gifts

2011-12-28T06:24:00.000-05:00

Here are the Christmas projects I made this year.

These are niece Emmy's matching dresses for her and her doll. Oh how I hope they fit. Rhett decided he was too old to try on dresses I make. I used this tutorial from Red Dirt Mama.

Some finger puppets for niece Lucy. I started these when I was in the waiting room during Chuck's back surgery, and finished them minutes before finding out about the great basement flood.

A crayon roll from this tutorial at Skip to my Lou. The iron-on vinyl sure was interesting.

A fun little drawstring bag for a nephew. I think it was a great use of this totally awesome fabric. Tutorial found here at Yarnmonster.

A funny little cross-stitch for me. It makes me laugh.

A little skirt and diaper cover for a friend's friend's baby. Don't worry; I charged a lot for this commissioned work. One frozen yogurt, and the friend must take me out to get it. I told you I'm expensive.

Potholders for my sister-in-law.

2011 family ornaments. (From Dana's tutorial at Made.)

Although I didn't have the energy for pajamas, I did do some shirts for the boys. These were opened Christmas Eve.

What's next? Figure out how to use my new serger! Aiyiyi. So intimidating.

Christmas Day

2011-12-26T09:58:00.002-05:00

I hadn't planned on posting anything today. In fact, I would prefer to post something totally un-Christmasy. Not because I'm a Scrooge, but just because I like to be different. (I'm such a brat, right?)

But I love this picture of my little family too much. I love my little family too much! And I love how Bruno eased his way into the photo shoot totally unnoticed until I was looking at the pictures on the computer.

And this one's great because the binoculars were Rhett's favorite gift of the day. And my favorite gift was watching Rhett play with them! Isn't Christmas so great with little kids? It is.

And that Bruno. Always in the midst of the action.

Christmas Advent

2011-12-24T12:21:00.000-05:00

In addition to putting up an ornament on our Christmas tree advent calendar, this year we had little daily "activities." I really enjoy doing them, and every day Rhett wakes up asking, "What fun thing do we get to do today?" Here's a little taste of what we've done:

We made and decorated Christmas cookies.

We made ice cream one night. And then a couple of nights later, we made a "new dessert" and this year that dessert was a waffle cone in which we ate the ice cream.

We visited the temple to see its lights. (A visit to the temple always includes dinner at Continental Pizza and Subs.)

We saw the trains at Brookside Gardens.

And maybe, just maybe, we opened the Christmas Eve presents already. Seeing as though they were Christmas clothes, I thought it was okay.

Finally, we decorated a gingerbread house. I did get a picture of Rhett smiling, but I had to post this one because it's just so him. (First time I made a real gingerbread house. Please ignore the sliding roof and collapsing wall. We're still learning.)

Other undocumented (but not illegal) activities included: sang carols by the tree, had hot chocolate by the tree (which should be cider since only one person in our house likes hot chocolate), donated some food, read a book together as a family ("Greatest Christmas Pageant Ever"), had a red and green dinner (more like pink and green, but whatever). Overall, I am very pleased with how it turned out. Only eleven more months until we can do it again!

Merry Christmas!

A Picture is Worth a Thousand Words

2011-12-21T06:20:00.000-05:00

Unfortunately I don't have a picture, but I'll try to keep this to less than 1,000 words.

Picture it: a trip to Home Depot. It's just me, Chuck, and Ollie, as Rhett was with the babysitter. We're looking for lumber so we can construct something to help keep water out of our window well. We didn't bother with a lumber cart because we knew it was only one two-by-four that we needed. We find the piece of wood and have it cut in half. But because of Chuck's back, he is unable to carry it. Instead, he's pushing the stroller while I have one piece of wood over each shoulder.

Let's just say it wasn't Chuck's manliest moment. It might have been mine, however.

Me vs. Baby Weight

2011-12-19T06:21:00.000-05:00

For the first three months of me versus Baby Weight, BW kicked my butt. BW didn't feel like going anywhere, rather just hanging out and making me feel chubby, and ain't no one who likes to feel chubby. Turns out I'm really good at maintaining my weight, but not so good at losing it.

Eventually I got tired of losing the fight. To combat it, I decided that I'd do five days a week on a "weight loss" diet, followed by the weekends which would be my regular "maintaining" diet (but certainly not a binge diet). Also, I made weekly weight-loss goals, alternating between one and two pounds a week. (I'm no "Biggest Loser"--thank goodness!). And of course, I'm exercising every day but Sunday. Because I can't run with Ollie yet and because I prefer to exercise in the morning, I've been doing a workout video on weekdays and then running on Saturdays. It's worked out well.

I then spent a LOT of time planning daily menus that were completely balanced and not filled with too many fats, oils, and sugars (my ultimate downfall). Know what I learned? A couple of things. First, it's HARD to plan these menus! Seriously, new-found respect for nutritionists. Second, it doesn't take nearly what I thought it would to get my daily recommended amounts of vegetables and fruits, making it slightly easier. So I'm trying to find ways to get more protein and vegetables, since I naturally excel at fruits and whole grains. Finally, the dishes! All these "healthy" foods require me to cook at times when I normally don't (lunch mostly). But that tilapia fillet? Dirties a couple of dishes. That black bean and corn quinoa salad? More dishes. That snap-peas-and-chicken-and-strawberry to-die-for salad? Dishes! Ugh. I'm running the dishwasher and doing tons of dishes by hand. Peanut butter with jelly and a granola bar was so much easier.

And how's it going? Well so far, I'm down 7 pounds. At five pounds, I rewarded myself with a McDonald's ice cream cone. At 11 pounds, I get a pedicure. At 16 pounds I'm getting out my pre-pregnancy clothes. And the grand finale of 21 pounds? My shopping spree...a spree for which Chuck and I have saved money for ~~months~~ years. Oh how I want and need this. It'll be my own little "What Not to Wear," but without Stacy and Clinton (although I'll definitely have help). Who knows? Maybe I'll throw in a new hair cut too. (That is, if I still have hair after Ollie is done with me. Man, that kids has a kung fu grip!) Anyway, it's hard, but I know I can do it. I'm just really really missing my daily Hot Tamales fix.

P.S. I'm not kidding about that snap pea salad. Seriously. Get you some NOW.

Love this Baby

2011-12-16T06:29:00.000-05:00

This ever-drooling, ever-spitting-up baby.

This ever-hand-eating, sometimes finger-sucking, ever-feet-eating baby.

This ever-attentive, ever-patient baby.

It's unfortunate these little people can't know how much you love them until they have their own. 'Cause DANG.

P.S. What are you getting for Christmas? Don't know? How about an ice cream maker? Because seriously, if you don't have one, this ice cream alone is worth the purchase. So good. So so good.

What's Getting Me Through

2011-12-14T06:24:00.000-05:00

I feel like it's been a long time since we went on vacation. After this very trying week, I feel vacation-needy. We were in Utah last January, but that feels like it was so long ago. And now with Chuck's back and baby Ollie, traveling is just not in our near future.

But there's hope. Summer 2012: I think and am pretty sure that we'll be spending about a month in Utah. I've been cleared to work from "home" (yes, my work knows I'll be in Utah) for that long, and with my parents on a mission, well, we might just invade their house. If they were there, I'd feel like a month would be a bit of an over-stayed vacation. But since we won't be bothering them at all, let's do it! It'll make all the Utah-weekenders (like Tetons, Moab) so much more doable. I am pumped.

Then, about a year after that when my parents finish their mission, Chuck and I (sans kids) are heading to Japan! We're definitely going to take advantage of my parents being over there; how could we not?!

And finally, about 18 months after that, Chuck and I celebrate our 10th anniversary. We're already saving money for this trip (along with the Japan one) and think we'll do a cruise. Chuck really wants to experience a cruise and since we'll have done Japan, I'm okay with it. If we go over our anniversary (late December), we'll do Caribbean. If we don't, then...maybe Alaska?

I know these things are forever away, but a girl can dream, right? Don't worry though; these days are not dragging as I pine for my trips. I mean, how can they when I have a son who declares the occupants of his underpants to the Bishop?

P.S. I should mention, for Rhett's sake at least, that he did not actually have poo in his underwear at tithing settlement. He never really has had a poo accident. But anytime he has any little streaks, well, it's all or nothing for that kid.

P.P.S. Also helping me is this! I won! I used my major award just hours later and spent WAY more than I won, but that's what they hope I do, right? I'm just doing my part for the economy. Winning! (And that's winning in the I-won-a-contest way, not in the yucky-Charlie-Sheen way.)

P.P.P.S. It kills me that I wore hot rollers for three hours before church on Sunday only for the curl to fall out before sacrament meeting was even over. Kills.

Things Rhett Says

2011-12-12T06:21:00.001-05:00

He's drawing a picture of his cousin, Emmy.
Rhett: I'm not going to draw a penis because I know girls don't have penises.

We're driving in the car and sun is getting in Ollie's face.
Rhett: Sorry Ollie, but there's nothing we can do about it. Jesus built the sun that way.

I'm trying, for the millionth time that week, to get Rhett to say things for which he's grateful. I'd been pretty successful, until now.
Me: Rhett, can you tell me something for which you're thankful?
Rhett: Mom, I'm pretty tired of that. My heart's just not in it.

On the way home from Thanksgiving dinner, Rhett's trying to decide if he wants books told on the couch, or two stories in bed. Normally we do both, but it was late, so he had to pick only one.
Rhett: I'm going to choose books. Know why, Mom? Because I'm bored and books beat boredom!

Rhett: Can I have a cookie?
Me: No.
Rhett: Can I have a snack?
Me: Yes.
Rhett: Can the snack be a cookie?
Me: [laughter]
The kid got a cookie. Can you blame me?

I'm opening a can of black beans. I finish.
Rhett: Good job you!

On the terrible, horrible, no good, very bad day of bedroom carpet wetness, I got tired of happy Christmas music so I checked Chuck's CD player (remember, my car was covered with a carpet pad). It turned on some (edited) Eminem.
Me: This is called rap music, Rhett.
Rhett: Oh. Who likes rap music? Oh, right. Mummies.
Get it? Wrap music? Laffy Taffy wrapper maybe? Halloween joke book? Who knows.

In the Bishop's office for tithing settlement. Because Chuck couldn't be there, I'm juggling both kids after a long, napless Sunday. Any charade that I'm giving off to the Bishop that I can handle this situation surely faded once Rhett said this gem.
Rhett: I have poo in my underwear.

Just in Case You Need to Feel Better about Your Life

2011-12-09T06:24:00.000-05:00

I give you mine:

The day of Chuck's surgery we had a rainstorm which dropped more than 2" of rain at our house; that night, we headed for bed as per our usual old, lazy selves. I was feeding Ollie because Chuck is not really supposed to lift anything, plus he was in a considerable amount of pain (but happily no leg pain!). Chuck walked into the bedroom to find his feet squishing in the carpet. Not what you want to happen on a dark, cold, rainy night. After surgery. With a baby at home. Let's be honest: you never want this to happen.

What did I do? What do you think I did? Cried! Ha. Then, because I had no choice, I finished feeding Ollie, put both Chuck and Ollie to bed, and got dressed in rain clothes and boots to go bail out the window well, which had filled with 8" of water during the storm. For 30 minutes I bailed. All the while, I composed my pithy Facebook status update. Chuck and I knew there wasn't much either of us could do about the floor until morning.

Morning came and we borrowed Chuck's parents' wet vac to help get up the water on the carpet. Unfortunately the wet vac put almost all of the water I vacuumed back onto the carpet due to a leak. Out with you, wet vac! Thank goodness it was trash day. It was then that we knew we needed outside help. We called a friend who happens to be a student with classes mostly at night, who easily and quickly came to our aid. (Many, many thanks be given to the Merrills!) Jon and I (mostly Jon) moved all the furniture, disassembled the bed (which won't come out of the room until it's completely broken down), and then pulled up the carpet, and the soaking wet pad. The one fun surprise was some green tile underneath everything! What a treat! Jon cut out the carpet padding and at this very moment, it's drying on my car. (But I must mention how the carpet pad came to be outside. Soaking wet, the thing weighed a LOT and was very drippy. So instead of haul it through the entirety of my house, we opted to shove it through the window well, which was now dry. Fun times.) The carpet downstairs is drying with a blower I rented from Home Depot. And all of the stuff from our bedroom (minus our two dressers) is sitting all amok in the basement. I want you to guess how this makes me feel. (A mess that I can't clean up? I dare you; take a guess.)

See? Aren't you glad you're not me? Thank goodness I have three of the sweetest boys on earth in this crazy house. Strike that. I have two sweet boys and one smart, funny, cynical man whom I love very much. You know, I think I still want to be me even through all of this. So, sorry, but no, you can't have my life. Now, now, there, there. Don't cry too hard.

However, be very glad you're not Chuck. While his surgery was a total success and his leg pain is completely gone, he's suffering now because, well, someone cut open his back and did stuff. With knives and other sharp objects. He's in a lot of pain and does not like feeling useless. Hopefully this pain will resolve itself quickly so that he can enjoy such things as putting on socks! Lifting his boys! Cleaning the bathrooms! Jogging with me and pushing the double stroller! (Yep, it's all about me.)

P.S. Has anyone ever paid for a cleaning service? Since my parents left, I feel like I haven't been able to really clean and it's starting to drive me crazy. And with Chuck out of commission, I don't see it happening any time soon. I think if I see a deal come up on Groupon, I might just take it.

Apparently Chuck Doesn't Have a Problem with Matching...

2011-12-07T06:24:00.003-05:00

...if they're wearing this:

P.S. How cool is this tree (the one in the back)? Sorry about the one in front, but it's a little awkward to take a picture of someone's tree in their backyard while you're driving by in a car. But I love this tree. Rhett wants it in his backyard so he can climb it. You might need to click on the picture to make it bigger; it's worth it.

P.P.S. Surgery today! I'll be at the surgery center with Chuck while a woman (to whom we are extremely grateful) from church watches the little ones. Update later...

A Four-Month-Old Ollie!

2011-12-05T06:26:00.012-05:00

Four months! We're that much closer to two years old! (I know, I know; I'm supposed to cherish these baby times because "they grow up so fast." Not true in my house; these days are sloooow.) But oh how we love this baby. We love him almost as much as he loves putting his little baby fists in his mouth and rolling onto his belly.

So far, so good. Sure, we'd love it if he slept through the night like Rhett did at this age, but it could be worse. He could be night-waking AND not taking great naps during the day. So we'll keep our reality, thank-you-very-much. The little one is definitely a solid daytime napper, even quickly adjusting his schedule so that nap #2 coincides perfectly with Rhett's nap. And he's going to bed at 7, which also happens to be Rhett's bedtime. Slowly but surely, we're returning to our lives, but with an additional member whom we love all the way to Pluto (and back to Earth, and then back to Pluto, and then back to Earth, and then back to Pluto, and then...).

Stats
Length: 24 1/3" (25th percentile)
Weight: 13 lbs. 11 oz. (25th percentile)

P.S. My parents check into the MTC today! Awesome! Goodbye parents! See you in 18 months!

I Spy, Chuck Doesn't: 2.0

2011-12-02T06:26:00.003-05:00

Is it too soon to make fun of my still-ailing husband? Hope not because...it's time again for another rousing game of "I Spy, Chuck Doesn't!" [Cue game show music, preferably "Wheel of Fortune."] This time you are looking for light bulbs. And please don't judge the state of this cupboard nor the ceiling above it. It stresses me out but I haven't yet made time to organize it.

Anyway, GO! Feel free to click to enlarge.

P.S. How sad is this pizza? You know which quarter is mine, right? Sigh. These boys. They kill me. Doesn't it look one-fourth yummy?

A Dissertation: Differences between Male and Female Activity on Pinterest

2011-11-30T06:29:00.002-05:00

A couple of weeks ago I noted that Pinterest seems to be inhabited mostly by women. A friend noted that maybe there were men out there, I just wasn't following them. Touche, Natalie, touche. But it turns out she's right! Who knew?!

So I took it upon myself to check out males who are pinning and see what types of things they're pinning compared to the females. I took a totally non-random sample of females to get a general sense of their boards. Then I looked at another totally biased sample of men. (I only know one and he apparently pins only root beers.) Then I did no sort of valid statistical analysis at all yet I will draw statistical inference on what I found because I'm cool like that. Well-designed surveys can stuff it!

Women: Common boards were crafts, recipes, gift ideas, organizing tips, holiday stuff, home decor, travel, and quotes. Not much variation there.

Men: Much more entertaining boards than those of the women. I found one board called "Cuteness" that contained an 18-pound bunny (uh, "cute," really?). Another board titled, "Dear wifey, please make this." And another titled, "Mushy Stuff." Even one called "Manly Stuff." Most common boards were travel, products, books, technology, video game stuff, music, and movies, virtually no overlap with the women's boards. I will add that many of the men I clicked on had only one board with things pinned onto it, and many had no pins whatsoever. Women were definitely NOT that way.

Finally, and somewhat surprisingly, the Pinterest team? It's a small, California-based team made up of 10 people, and only TWO are women!

Conclusion: Like most other arenas, men and women are different. Finis.

(If only this could count for a dissertation, because I did it while the boys were napping and I was watching Biggest Loser. I'm pretty sure real dissertations are a bit more difficult. But just a bit.)

P.S. I must disclose my method for finding the men. I checked baby names from the year I was born (1977) to find the top five boys' names from that year. Then I searched for them on Pinterest and looked at a couple. Totally scientific and valid. It would pass any peer review; I guarantee it.

P.P.S. DUUUUDE. I got a $2 bill in the mail the other day, in the hopes of swaying me to answer an upcoming phone survey! Will I ever! They just bought me a McDonald's ice cream cone--I owe them much more than a phone survey. I'd likely have done it anyway. To think I almost ripped that envelope in two and threw it in the recycling.

My Poor Husband

2011-11-28T06:22:00.002-05:00

Things have been a little rough around here lately. Back in August, Chuck was helping a family move when he felt a tweak in his back. It was annoying for weeks until he played some pretty intense racquetball (the only kind he knows). Later, the tweak tweaked harder. It was not good. Then bad turned to worse, and Chuck's been in wicked pain ever since. After a plethora of chiropractic visits, orthopedic visits, more and more pain, and finally an MRI, we found out what was wrong with him: a herniated disc in his back. And not just any herniated disc, the "worst herniated disc" his doctor had ever seen. Yikes.

Surgery is scheduled for Wednesday, December 7th, which is about two weeks later than we had hoped. It's apparently not that risky as far as back surgery goes, but still. It's back surgery. That can't make anyone feel 100% comfortable. But we feel like it's the best decision. We're also secretly hoping for a cancellation to get him into the O.R. sooner rather than later.

I know it's hard for Chuck. Obviously. He's in serious, near-constant pain and is frustrated with all the things he can't do, namely, play with his kids (kidS--we have children! not just a child! I still am not used to this), help me with the kids and around the house, and sleep (quite possibly the most frustrating). He feels helpless and powerless and worthless. It's not good for his morale.

But it's also hard for me. We all know how much help I need around the house and not having that help is really wearing on me. If I didn't have a new baby and was getting eight straight hours of sleep, maybe I'd feel better, but it's been ridiculously hard. I'm tired. Like permanent red eye tired. I'm emotional (translation: I'm crying a lot). I'm just spent.

I know, I know. This should be about Chuck. He's the one in pain, pain worse than his kidney stones and more constant. But I've never been good at being a compassionate caretaker. When Chuck had one of his first very bad episodes and was laid out on the floor for awhile, I basically threw his iPad at him and told him to keep himself busy. Pretty loving, right? I love my husband, but this is just not how where I excel in showing it.

So needless to say (but I'll say it anyway), we're looking forward to the 7th. Most patients wake up from the surgery having none of the previous pain, only surgery pain. He'll take off from work for a bit and hopefully he'll recover quickly.

I guess when they say, "For better or worse" in marriage vows, this is what they're talking about. I'm just hoping Chuck will forgive this, my "worse."

Chuck's MRI. Pretty awesome to see, right? Disc oozing into nerve = NOT GOOD.

Happy Thanksgiving

2011-11-24T06:20:00.002-05:00

What our family is thankful for this year (among other things, of course):

Chuck:
1. The healthy birth of his second son.
2. Good health insurance.

Erin:
1. Giving birth to Ollie in the way I never knew I wanted.
2. I was going to say Chuck's job, but turns out I used that last year. Dang. I will forever be grateful for it. Okay then. I am grateful for my return to running.

Rhett:
1. Bruno and his sticking out tongue.
2. His Little People.

Ollie:
1. Family.
2. His three favorite foods: his hands, burp cloths, and formula (in that order).

Happy Thanksgiving!

Can you tell that Rhett's shirt is the Mayflower on the ocean? How about now?

Making Me Laugh

2011-11-21T06:20:00.002-05:00

Because we need a little bit of laughing over here.

This is almost my job!

Last One with All Three; I Promise

2011-11-18T06:27:00.004-05:00

I don't want to know how Chuck really feels about the matching outfits. But to his credit, he makes me believe that he doesn't hate it. I guess that shows just what a good sport he's been while I insist on making ridiculous matching ties and suspenders for him and his sons. But sadly, now that Rhett has a brother, I will match the two little boys to each other and leave Chuck out of it. I do know that he's very happy about this.

But honestly, is this not great?

Pretty awesome the sock puppet on Rhett's hand, yes? Stake Conference can get a little long for a three-year-old. Does it make it awesomer that he was pretending it was Nag from Rikki-Tikki-Tavi? Yes, I thought so too. And awesomest? Our stake conference was watched from the Visitors' Center for the D.C. temple. Sweet. But least awesome is how OLD I think I look in that picture. Dang.

Random Thoughts

2011-11-16T06:25:00.007-05:00

When you open a box of cereal, do you rip the bag all the away across, or just halfway?

Let's say it's not the day after Halloween, but just some random day. You're out walking your dog and see a nice piece of candy (Starbursts, e.g.). It's completely sealed. Do you eat it?

Is there a food that you detest but you're pretty sure most people love? For example, Chuck hates fish. Hates. But I think most people like it. I think I like liver, but I'm pretty sure most Americans hate it.

On a scale of 1 to 10 (1 being totally inappropriate and 10 being totally appropriate), how appropriate is it for you and your significant other to wear a costume made up of: she wears a t-shirt with an electrical outlet on it and he wears a t-shirt with a plug. Does it depend on whether kids will see you? Is it ever appropriate for this?

A friend gave you a meal. In the meal was a small rock (the kind you use to decorate bottoms of vases). You're pretty sure (but not certain) it was a mistake because the friend knows you have a little one for whom this could be a choking hazard. Thankfully an adult found it and no harm done. Do you tell friend or not, because more than likely, it would mortify him/her?

Do you judge Mormon moms' ages by the number of kids she has? As in, "Well, she probably got married when she was 21, had her first kid at 23, and second at 25. Since the younger child is 1, she's probably 26." I know it's hard not to do, but I really dislike it. Probably because my age does not correspond with regular Mormon childbearing ages.

Why is Pinterest populated mostly by women? (Todd--I love how the only things you've pinned are root beers.) I wonder what Chuck would pin? Maybe I should create an account and start pinning for him.

Just for fun...

What I'm Struggling With Now

2011-11-14T06:23:00.006-05:00

Because it's always something with me, isn't?!

Life is good. Parenting two children is getting (slightly) easier. I'm figuring out how to get out and do things with Rhett, all while trying my hardest to help Ollie nap. We've worked hard on our morning routine and have that down. I think that I'll even be able to get laundry done with Rhett and Ollie at home (although that's yet to be tested). We've been able to go to this crazy bounce place as well as the park and library, all while Ollie naps. And even if I haven't been running as much as I'd like, I'm getting my exercise done during Ollie's morning nap. Every day I'm feeling better about this mom-of-two thing.

But. There's always a big butt, right? (Name the movie, win a prize.) In the years Before Ollie (B.O.), Rhett and I were able to get our errands run together in the morning. Running, Target, grocery shopping, craft stores...he went with me! Sure, not his favorite thing, but we didn't do it every day so the kid survived. With exercising and errands out of the way, our afternoons were spent together as family: walking Bruno, playing, making dinner. Then, in the joyous hours after Rhett's bedtime (that beautiful three-hour block), Chuck and I did whatever we wanted: church calling stuff, sewing, reading, computering, watching television, whatever. But it was our selfish time. (Do you love how I listed TV last, as if it was a last resort?)

But in the months After Ollie (A.O.), not so much. I can't seem to figure out how to run errands with a boy in a car seat (that takes up an entire shopping cart) who can only stay up for two hours at a time. And when his evening nap coincides with walking the dog, well, what to do? And running? Not happening except on Saturdays because I just can't give up our afternoons and it's just too dark and dangerous to do it while kids are asleep. So I struggle.

For some reason, the idea of dividing and conquering has only recently occurred to me. For us, we've just always done things together. But I think, for a little while at least, I am going to have to reevaluate. It might just have to happen that only Rhett and I go to pug group or walk Bruno in the afternoons while Chuck stays with a napping Ollie. And maybe I have to spend Monday nights at the grocery store, alone, instead of working on my latest Pinterest project. Do I like this? Nope. Does it take hard work to think in this new paradigm? Yep. But it's my little life and I'm just going to have to adjust.

And really, when I have this guy looking at me, it sure does make it a joyful little life.

P.S. I've been to known to complain just the tiniest bit about Maryland's weather. So in order to be fair, I must state that Maryland has delivered the most amazing November ever. I'm not lying. Highs have been in the 50s and 60s and days have been mostly sunny. And the fall foliage! Simply breathtaking. I will always try to give credit when credit is due.

P.P.S. If I'm doling out credit, some must be given to Chuck. In the past week he performed three miracles: (1) picking up the weeks-old cricket carcass that I couldn't make myself do, (2) unloading the dishwasher unasked, and (3) getting a new bar of soap after he used up the last one. Hallelujah!

Scenes from the Floor

2011-11-11T06:28:00.003-05:00

You Tell Me

2011-11-09T06:29:00.003-05:00

I am horrible at saying whether my boys look like me or Chuck. Seriously, I still see neither of us in Rhett and he's quickly approaching four. I am also horrible at knowing whether the boys look like each other. I mean come on, Oliver's still a baby! He looks like a baby! Ollie does have Chuck's unequal-sized nostrils. But I don't think either boy inherited my unequal-sized eyes.

Anyway, maybe you can offer insight. What do you think? Here's Rhett as a baby...

...and here's Ollie just the other day.

Another pair of pictures. First, Rhett...

...and then Ollie.

One last one for kicks. Rhett..

Ollie...

A lot of people have said that my boys look like my father. Maybe that's because my dad just happens to look like a baby? (Kidding, Dad!)

Can I just add that this was one of my most favorite posts ever? I had so much fun picking pictures of Rhett that I wanted to duplicate with Ollie. I have TWO boys! How did this happen?!

Things Rhett Says

2011-11-06T21:38:00.003-05:00

Rhett: Excuuuuuuuuse me. Do you know why I said it in a long, squiggly voice?
Me: No, I don't; why?
Rhett: Because my fart was long and squiggly.

I'm wearing my hair in a sock bun and Rhett's seeing it for the first time.
Rhett: I like your hair, Mom.
Me: Thanks. Why?
Rhett: Because the back of it looks like a donut!

Rhett's eating lunch before church while Chuck and I are running around getting stuff ready. Out of nowhere, Rhett asks the following:
Rhett: Mom, what kind of woman are you?
When I asked him what I meant, I think he wanted to know what my job is. When I asked him what kind of woman he thought I was, he said, "President."

In the car on the way home from church, we were talking about someone yelling swearwords at a friend of mine. We obviously didn't say the swearwords, nor call them that. I think we referred to them as bad words.
Rhett: What are those bad words, Mom?
Me: Well, I'm not going to tell you!
Rhett: But I want you to tell me so that when you say them, I can tell you to stop saying them!
Rhett often reminds us that "hate" and "stupid" are not allowed.

P.S. My parents got their mission call to Tokyo! How cool is that?!

(Argh. ~~Stupid~~ Silly Blogger. I didn't mean to post this but I guess I have to now.)

New Countertops

2011-11-05T06:23:00.005-04:00

They're in! We're happy!

Countertops before...

Countertops after...

A close up of the concrete...

I can't wait to just swipe crumbs into that sink. No more lip!

P.S. Everyone saw this funny Jimmy Kimmel video about parents eating their kids' Halloween candy, yes? So funny.

P.P.S. I think those responsible for instituting daylight saving time could not have been directly responsible for the rearing of small children. And to think, "fall back" used to be the one I anticipated!

Three Months!

2011-11-03T06:23:00.003-04:00

The little man is three months old. And while baby stage is still hard for me, man, I do love this little boy. And I'm finding such a difference between two and three months. He's more baby and less blob--hooray!

What's he into these days? Well, he LOVES his hands. He sucks on them at all times, making them wet which means they're always cold. Poor dude.

And of course, the rolling over. I thought it would come and go, not to be seen again until he was about five months old. But no. The kid is a master roller-over. Oh well.

He's a great daytime napper. I put him down and he falls asleep with minimal to no crying. He'll sleep for quite awhile, unless it's evening time. And at nighttime, well, we could use some straight-sleep nights, but what parents of a new baby don't? He started falling into a routine last week, but then, of course, it totally went kaput Tuesday. Awesome. I remain hopeful, however.

He is such a happy little one. Unless he's sleeping or eating, he's pretty much smiling. Of course, as soon as I pull out the camera, he gets all camera-shy. But some day I'll catch a smile. Oh we love this little guy!

Month 1
Month 2

Happy Halloween (I'm so original, I know, especially since this is the second time I used this title)

2011-11-01T06:22:00.003-04:00

We made it more of a Halloween weekend, rather than just one day. It started with a Halloween party on Thursday night. Fun times were had by all.

After reading about bobbing for apples in one of our favorite Halloween books, Rhett was so excited to try it at the party. He was not as successful as Chuck. I did not try.

There was some pin the nose on the pumpkin...

And cookie decorating...(and eating, of course)

And even mummy-making...

...and mummy breaking.

The whole PacMan family.

Due to a storm that freakishly brought snow, we stayed in on Saturday. We carved pumpkins and make some batches of pumpkin seeds.

Argh. You can't see the snow coming down, but it was...for about a minute. Well, maybe 26 minutes.

We even got Ollie out in his first snow.

I had to add this. Ollie is really starting to watch us, especially Rhett. Here Ollie is straining to see his big bro.

On the way to Rhett's grandparents' house, we listened to some Halloween poems. One of those scares Rhett very much and this is how he deals.

Some of our friends have a much friendlier neighborhood so we went there. We'll go there next year. And the next. And the next. It was such a happy time to be trick-or-treating as most homeowners not only had on their lights but had done awesome decorations. Look at these fun kids! Sadly I cut off baby E's head at the top of the shot.

And the big one doing his thing. He led the pack and just had an awesome time. Ollie stayed in the stroller.

The loot. It is way better this year. The only odd ball candy was this "watermelon with chile:" too wacky to not try, but too wacky to keep in your mouth for too long. Strange.

And a Halloween video only family will watch in entirety; I'm okay with that.

See last year's post here. It's awesome how much Rhett has changed. Although I'm sad that he didn't demand chocolate again this year.

Happy November!

You Know You Want To

2011-10-27T20:57:00.008-04:00

BREAKING NEWS! As of 1:49 EDT on Friday, we are now at 10 people and 15 kits. I'm going to limit this to 15 since it is the holiday season and all (if you don't believe me, check out your local craft store). We. Must. Limit! Everyone else, you're in. I'll be sending out emails soon. And seriously, check out that picture of Ollie. I mean, really. It's awesome.

One pin on Pinterest led to another and what did I find? Only the second-coolest swap idea ever (second to the quiet book swap, of course). Jen from this blog did a swap for a toddler's "busy bag." I'd never heard of one before, but when I saw what she had in it, I wanted it.

So who is in? You: make x number of kits, mail them to me along with $10 to cover shipping (unless you're local and it'll be free!). Me: make my own set of kits, receive everyone else's kits, distribute, and then remail to everyone! Jen did 20, but with mail and all, I don't think that would be feasible.

If you want in, just leave a comment. If you think it's too busy of a time with the holidays and all, let me know and I'll think about doing it again later. But maybe having it now just in time for winter will be a good idea. Anyway, just comment and tell me you're in because, hey, it'll be awesome.

Again, for clarification. You would pick out which "busy" kit you'd like to make (see the above link for examples, but certainly you're not limited to this). However many people are involved with this swap is how many kits you'd make (as of Friday morning, that's seven). You'd have a couple of weeks to do this. Once you're done, you mail your completed part to me in Maryland along with money for shipping (probably around $10 for the priority flat mail box. If I didn't charge you shipping, I would lose a lot of money, something I'm not willing to do). I'd assemble them so that everyone has one of each kit. Then I'd mail them back. Let me know if this doesn't make sense.

P.S. Look at this totally awesome picture of Ollie. Doesn't he look like he's being attacked?! And yes, this is his Halloween costume. Any ideas as to what the rest of us are being?

It Will Get Easier, Right?

2011-10-26T06:21:00.025-04:00

I'm wondering if I'm laboring under a great delusion. I have never been shy to admit that being a mom to little kids is quite difficult for me. There's a lot that I don't like about it (the acting, the playing with Little People, the wiping of bums, the broken sleep). Of course there is a lot I do like (the cute baby voices, the cuddliness, the new baby smiles), but really, it's hard for me.

So I've been thinking about ways in which my life will be easier once the boys are older, and here's what I came up with:

1. Because it's on the brain, camping. No middle of the night feedings when it's freezing cold and dark. Ability to take longer hikes. Ability to take hikes without kids strapped to you. Backpacking! Need I say more?

2. Feeding. Older kids can feed themselves. If they're hungry, they can get themselves a sandwich or yogurt or an apple or whatever. Then they can clean up after themselves. I also have hopes that they'll be better eaters with better palettes.

3. Running. I am so excited for Saturday morning runs with my boys and weekday morning runs without them.

4. Shopping. Grocery shopping, while certainly more expensive with growing boys, will be accomplished without kids during the day.

5. Crafting. I know that as kids get older, bedtimes get later so I might not have my three-hour block at nighttime, but still. They'll be at an age where they can entertain themselves. (And by "entertain" I mean "do homework.") Or I'll just do it while they're at school!

6. Full-day outings. Certainly now I am committed to naps for both kids, but I am pumped for the day when they don't need them. Doing things like going to the zoo, visiting Smithsonian museums, hiking, or taking other day trips will be so much easier with kids who don't need naps. Sure, I'll occasionally forgo a nap now, but because Rhett still needs them, we pay for it in whininess and tears and tantrums.

7. Hanging out with them. As expressed, sitting on the floor with cars or blocks just isn't my favorite thing, no matter how much I love my children (all the way to Pluto and back, just in case you were wondering). But going to soccer games, school functions, back and forth to mutual, all sound like my kind of things.

8. Dating my husband. At a certain point, Rhett will be allowed to watch Oliver without requiring a babysitter. That means dates with Chuck will be more regular and frequent and free. Hopefully we'll still like each other then. Heehee. (Maybe we'll have to keep up that annoying kitchen dancing.)

9. Bathrooming. I won't have to constantly ask if they need to go to the bathroom. I won't have to wipe a bum after they go poo. No more diapers!

10. Driving. No more car seats! No more strap buckling! Heck, at some point, they'll be able to drive me!

Okay, wow. I should just stop now. It seems like everything will be easier. Maybe the only thing I can think of that will be harder is just the feeding of two teenage boys. So I'm sure I'm missing somethings where it will be harder. Cajoling kids to do homework? Suppressing teenage boys' hormones? What?!

Maryland State Park # 2: Cunningham Falls

2011-10-24T06:26:00.027-04:00

In my quest to camp at all state parks in Maryland, we went to Cunningham Falls this past weekend. Except for last year when we were rained out, we've camped on this same weekend in October since we've been married thanks to the Maryland version of UEA. Love it.

We had perfect, if not a little cold, weather. And really, a little cold is always better for me than a little warm. In addition to great weather, we had great company. This year, three awesome families joined us. (And no, I'm not just saying this because I know some of the co-campers read my blog.) Normally when camping, Chuck and I turn in around 7 p.m., willing ourselves to stay awake until at least 8. But because we had others joining us, we stayed outside and chatted and played games and froze and it was seriously so fun. Plus, I love love love seeing Rhett play with his friends almost as much as he loves playing with his friends!

While the preceding week was a bit difficult and going camping for just 24 hours is never easy, it was definitely awesome.

I'm pretty sure Ollie was the warmest of all of us.

Here are the four oldest kids eating breakfast. Sarah was kind enough to make Mickey Mouse pancakes for Rhett and he loved them.

Always with the Bruno bacon tongue.

Ollie was slowly sinking down in this photo shoot.

How Ollie spent the hike.

Exploring the waterfall.

Rhett still asserts his position of "no pictures until I'm four." But we still assert ours of "We don't care. You're getting your picture taken anyway."

On the hike.

Taking a rest stop with my little boys.

Look how pretty Maryland is in the fall. It's what keeps me here in the summer and winter.

I told you: Rhett is forever looking sideways. We thought for sure he'd fall asleep in the car on the way home, even placing a friendly wager between husband and wife on it. We both lost as he made it the entire way home awake. Oh well, at least he napped once we got home.

Latest Projects

2011-10-21T06:29:00.002-04:00

Now that it's getting colder, we thought Ollie might need a couple of sleep sacks. They also might keep his little legs from escaping through crib slats. Can you guess which fabric I chose and which fabric Chuck and Rhett chose?

One morning Rhett asked me for a cape. Since he loves being a vampire, I thought the skull fabric would be perfect for a cape so I whipped one up. Now to make a super hero mask to go with it.

My fun cousin Emily initiated a fun little craft swap and this is what I made for Shauna: a couple of necklaces for her and bow ties for her little boy.

Some time ago I made some library bags for two of my nephews. A friend of my sister saw the bags and commissioned me to make one for her little girl. I am super pleased with the use of the cute corduroy.

A fun Halloween wreath modeled after one I saw on Pinterest.

Once Ollie had a name, I could finish his stocking.

And more ties for another friend's baby. Gosh these things are addictive.

I've started on my Christmas gifts, but don't want to share those just yet. Going camping today--wish us luck!

And because it's been too long...one picture of Oliver.

Things Rhett Says (and an update)

2011-10-19T06:22:00.004-04:00

After I told him a pretty botched version of "Hansel and Gretel" where the only part I got correct was the part where the witch wants to eat Hansel and Gretel.
Rhett: Why does she want to eat them?
Me: Probably because she likes the taste of little kids. I like little kids. Maybe you'll be tomorrow's dinner and Ollie can be our lunch.
Rhett: No! That would bleed me! Don't you love me?

Chuck and I were channeling our ninth-grade selves and dancing in the kitchen while Rhett finished his third bowl of pasta. And just in case you were wondering, no, you couldn't have fit a Book of Mormon between us.
Rhett: Please stop dancing. It's really annoying.

Rhett: How much do you love Jesus, mom?
Me: Oh, Rhett, I love Him very much.
Rhett: I love Him more than you do.
Me: How do you know?
Rhett: Because He gave me [looking around...] that bucket.

This kid. This funny, energetic, forever-acting kid. While I am enjoying cuddling and snuggling with the small one, this big one sure keeps me laughing. For the first three weeks of Ollie's life, Rhett was fine because Chuck was home and we could play one-on-one defense. Then my parents came and the odds were even better if you were a little one! Rhett ate it up (although he did get a little too comfortable with them and started acting out just a tad before they left). But when it was just me with the two boys during the day...hoo boy. Rhett was not happy. Like five-or-more-time-outs-a-day not happy. It was not pretty. Was it because he was 3.5 or because he just had his world rocked with the arrival of Oliver? I'm sure both. We had some pretty rough nights where everyone in the house was in tears (well, maybe not Chuck).

But oh how much better it's gotten. Rhett still understand he can't really play with Ollie. But he's become so much more patient with us as we tend to Ollie's needs. And not only more patient, but it seems like he's grown up a lot too. Finally some of the things we've been teaching him have started to sink in.

For example, he's become a much more resilient boy. This quality is very important to me. I want Rhett to be able to rebound when he's disappointed. To hear him say, "That's okay, Mom" instead of having a tantrum on the floor just warms my heart.

He's still acting and it's still driving me crazy. But it's part of who he is and he loves it. He's especially into acting as Halloween characters: ghosts, vampires (good vampires who don't drink our blood and bad ones that do), whatever. He absolutely loves Halloween...and candy corns. Too bad his mom eats the whole bag before he gets a chance to have two.

He's becoming more and more independent: changing his clothes without help (sometimes) and going to the bathroom are his biggest accomplishments. But also helping with getting Bruno his breakfast and clearing his plate after dinner.

Oooh dinners. There's something that I could change. If it's not "noodles with white sauce" (pasta alfredo) or pizza or something with syrup, he immediately doesn't like it. He can eat three bowls of noodles or three tiny bites of pork chops and both fill him. And since I know he won't starve, sometimes all he gets is those three bites. But it's a struggle for all involved.

Overall, however, we've got one happy kid in our house. Because Maryland requires not only kindergarten, but full-day kindergarten, we think we'll need to put him in some sort of preschool next year. Registration for preschool starts in January, and it's already freaking me out. Who said my kid could be old enough to go to preschool? Who said my kid can turn four? Who said they wanted their kids to grow up? Oh right. Me. I guess I just don't always feel that way.

P.S. I just found out that sometime in 2013, there will be a Wal-Mart about 1.5 miles from my house. I don't know why, but I can't stop thinking about this. I'm not excited, but am so curious to know how it will change life in my small neck of Montgomery County. So weird.

It Takes a Village (at least for me)

2011-10-17T06:27:00.006-04:00

When I posted about my struggles with infant Ollie, it had been a hard couple of days. I'm sure what I am experiencing is no different from most peoples' experiences with a newborn; I just like to complain more than most.

Happily, things have improved. Ollie is back to once a night wake-ups and we have made a concerted effort to make sure when he cries at night it's due to hunger and not just something else. (Isn't it amazing the difference between once a night and twice? Seriously, with once a night I'm not at all tired during the day. But twice? Omy.) We've found a way that makes us all happy to deal with his rolling. He's napping pretty well during the day in the crib, and we'll keep him in the bassinet with us at night for a little while. We have every reason to expect good things. Life is good...and getting better!

But I'm just amazed at how helpful and caring my friends are! Just knowing that people care and want to help is, well, helpful. And just knowing that others have gone through the same struggles is again helpful.

I'm saddened that we don't live in a village-like atmosphere anymore. I think I could have done very well with that. I still have dreams of living in a cul-de-sac filled with my friends. We'd have bar-be-cues weekly, babysitting groups so I could date my husband, craft nights, girl nights, co-op preschools, running groups. And think of everything we could help each other with! Where I have talent, I can help you. Where I lack, you can help me. We'd know that we're not alone and that everyone hopes for the best for everyone else. Doesn't that sound lovely?! Yeah, I thought so too. Now let's just all find a cul-de-sac where all the homes are for sale. Then we'll all move there and all our problems will be gone. Who's with me?

This bunch of crazies is welcome in my cul-de-sac anytime. In fact, their presence is required. (Nikki and Frederick, just because you're not here, we still expect you.)

Random Thoughts

2011-10-14T06:25:00.017-04:00

Now that I've found Pinterest, I am so done with Facebook. Not really, but I rarely check FB anymore and am quite addicted to Pinterest. It's such a great way for me to store ideas and find new ones.

If I could be on any HGTV show right now, I'd totally pick "Curb Appeal." I saw the most amazing redo recently, and I want my house to look like that. (If you want to see the exact makeover I reference, click on the link and then click on the episode titled, "Great Enough." So beautiful.)

Related to home improvement, we're getting new countertops soon! They're being manufactured as I type and will be installed within the next two weeks. Turns out I don't like granite, so we chose a concrete instead. But it's not regular grey concrete; it's special concrete with river rocks in it. So seriously beautiful and cool. Can't wait. Until then, we're enjoying cutting on the current countertops...without cutting boards! Cutting boards be danged!

My use of "danged" just there reminded me of a recent SNL sketch about Mitt Romney. They parodied his Mormon swear words during part of it, but clearly they didn't do their research. I mean, "shucks," "fudge," and "cheese and crackers?" We don't talk that way. Where was "fetch?" Try again, SNL.

If Rhett could choose three foods to have every day they would be (1) pasta with alfredo sauce, (2) peanut butter sandwiches, and (3) some sort of chocolate as a meal. I would have French toast, but not sure what else. I really love French toast.

Do you think it would be horrible to give trick-or-treaters glow sticks instead of candy? I saw the idea in the paper and think it's not a bad one. Those things cost about ten cents a piece and we don't get that many kids. We'd spend about as much on candy and these things are still cool, unlike pennies or toothbrushes.

It's not set yet, but we might have the coolest summer plans ever: spend 3-4 weeks at my parents' house! (Sadly they won't be there; happily they'll be on a mission.) I think I'm okay to work from there part-time (someone's got to make the summer money) and being there that long would give us so much more time to see people and do things that our usual one-week trips prohibit. But what to do with Bruno? I don't feel comfortable asking people to watch our dog for an entire month nor do I feel comfortable putting him in a kennel for that long. Pug on a plane, anyone?

I'm looking for recommendations for workout videos. I have the Jillian Michaels one, but get bored doing the same one day after day. Let me know if you use one you like. Anyone try the Insanity ones? We have them and Chuck and I might give it a go.

Ollie Update

2011-10-12T06:29:00.006-04:00

Remember when I said it was about as good as it gets? Well, it's getting bad. I feel like Oliver's nighttime sleep should be lengthening, but it's not. In fact, he's waking nearly as often as he does during the day. This does not a happy mom make.

Our big problem is this: he's rolling over. He starts on his back and then rolls all around, often ending up two feet and perpendicular to where we initially put him. More often than not, he ends up with his face in the side of the bassinet (see below) or with limbs sticking out of the crib and face directly in the slats. This does not a happy baby make.

There are so many problems with his nighttime sleep and I don't know even know where to start. First, where to put him. Up until now, he's been in the bassinet in the basement just outside our "master suite" (it makes me feel fancy). During the day, we've been able to nap him in the crib in the room he'll eventually share with Rhett. But as we've seen, the bassinet sleeping is getting tricky. We've nervous about SIDS and suffocation with the padding in the bassinet. But I'm also nervous about broken limbs and woken brother with the crib.

Second, how do you stop him from rolling? I think some of the problems of multiple wake times at night are due to him rolling and not liking where he ends up. Then he thinks, "Well, I'm awake so I might as well eat." But when he does half a regular feeding, I know he wasn't that hungry.

Third, he won't be swaddled any more. Those [insert my maiden name here]-thighs are too strong and he kicks out and then the blanket ends up all over the place. Since we try to keep nothing in the crib but baby, this becomes a problem. I feel like if he was swaddled, we might have a better chance.

Once again, parenting is kicking me in the butt and reminding me that I know nothing and worse yet, that I have no control over anything. I'm tired and frustrated and missing my old life. I love my babies, and I may be breaking some sort of mom code when I say this, but here I go: Oh, how I do wish they'd grow up quickly.

Pumpkin Weekend

2011-10-10T06:26:00.021-04:00

Our annual pumpkin day turned into pumpkin weekend this year. We did the pumpkin activities on Saturday and feasted on pumpkin food on Sunday.

Saturday was the trip to the pumpkin patch. First was a ride on the tractor pull. (Chuck is happy to have Ollie around because he got out of having to wear a matching jack o' lantern shirt.) I now understand why my mom did this to my sister and me.

Ollie clearly loved every second of it.

The little ones with their pumpkin loot. Rhett loves his green pumpkins and insisted that Ollie's was also green...but smaller. Done!

Sunday morning we made pumpkin french toast. If you plan on making it, do it! It was fairly mild in taste, but the spices were yummy. Of course, pumpkin bread as snack during the day. And after dinner, pumpkin shakes! (Whoa. They made up for the "hint of pumpkin" flavor from the morning. It tasted like drinking pumpkin pie.) Can you imagine if I hadn't been able to find pumpkin? The horror.

A note about Rhett's refusal to smile in pictures: He told us during the hayride that we can't take his picture until he's four years old. He said that once he's four he'll want to smile for pictures, just not when he's three.

ISO...Preschooler Who Wants to Share a Love of Little People and Noodles with White Sauce

2011-10-07T06:26:00.002-04:00

Is it just me, or has mail gotten lamer and lamer? I love getting mail. Sure, junk mail is junk, but magazines, packages, letters, wedding and birth announcements...it all brings such joy. Living at the end of a route only heightens the excitement because I have to wait all day to know what will be brought to us. And now that I don't really get bills in the mail, it's either junk or good! Unfortunately, it's mostly junk.

I'm sad that Rhett will never experience such happiness from getting mail. I'm sure his joy will be replaced by some newfangled thing, but it won't be the same. So I thought, what about getting Rhett a little pen pal? You know, someone his approximate age with whom he can correspond on occasion? So, anyone want to volunteer their child? I was thinking it should be someone who doesn't live in Maryland and is about his age. Certainly Rhett can't read nor write, but I can transcribe and he can draw pictures. Does anyone (or, more likely, anyone's kid) want to be Rhett's pen pal?

Is this totally lame? Is this one of those things I'm doing more for me than for him?

Penultimately, a note from management: It's come to my attention that some were offended in the way they may have been portrayed in Wednesday's post. Plaintiff avers that he, in fact, was looking for the actual Moody Bear, not the bear's house. I'll give that to him. He also avers that he did not "pore over" the room, but rather "glance over." I will refute that. When it was revealed to Plaintiff that I found the bear after a one-second look into the playroom, he was visibly and audibly aghast. His aghastedness tells me that he really looked, because if he had merely glanced, as he asserts, then he would not have been so surprised.

Finally, some fun pictures. We took the chariot for its debut ride the other day (we've had absolutely perfect weather). I love this picture of Rhett because it's so him. The sideways glance is something I'll always remember, and hope he does it forever. And a picture of a smiley baby is just fun.

Can You Find Moody Bear? Because Chuck Can't

2011-10-05T06:25:00.004-04:00

Within the first year of marriage, I realized I'd married a man who can't find things. It doesn't matter where the things are (pantry, cabinets, closets), he struggles in all areas. For example, the other day we were trying to clean up and find Rhett's "Moody Bear" game thingy. We were all looking everywhere, but without luck. We even looked under the couches. This was serious. I made one quick trip to the playroom and SURPRISE! I spied it immediately. Mind you: this is a room Chuck had already pored over, searching for that blasted Moody Bear.

So now it's your turn. First I'll show you what Moody Bear looks like:

(Yes, yes, technically this isn't Moody Bear, but rather his house. So sue me.)

And here's the playroom exactly as it was when Chuck unsuccessfully looked for the bear. I'm going to bet that you can find Moody Bear, so please just tell me how long your search took. (And yes, you're allowed to click it to enlarge.)

P.S. I'd like to thank you all for the thoughts and prayers for our family during this very difficult time. You know, the difficult time of "no-canned-pumpkin-in-the-stores-whatsoever." All your prayers were answered yesterday when I found it at Safeway. I bought 12 cans and plan on buying more. Wait, what's that you say? You weren't praying for pumpkin for our sad family?! Hmmm...Prayer really seemed like the only logical explanation since I'd been looking for so long. Regardless it's MINE, all mine. [Cue evil laugh.]

Two Months!

2011-10-03T06:20:00.010-04:00

The little one is two months old. I am happy to report that time is moving much more quickly with Oliver than with Rhett, which for this non-baby woman, is a good thing. He's doing great. Sleeping, eating, and being awake--he's mastered them all. Sometimes he requires being held to get to sleep, and if it's after Rhett's gone to bed and before I do, I won't complain. I love just staring at him, wondering, "Who are you in there? What kind of person are you going to be? Mathematical, like your Mom and Dad? Or someone totally different?" I love the excitement of watching kids as they unfold, and he's no different.

Two-Month Stats:
Length = 22.75" (50th percentile)
Weight = 10.75 lbs (37.5th percentile)
Head Circ = 15.33" (37.5th percentile)

Some Things

2011-09-30T06:21:00.003-04:00

Other than a new baby, there are some other new things in our house. Most exciting to me are two things that belonged to my grandparents. When my grandmother passed away earlier this year, I was fortunate to be able to attend her funeral. I also got to pick out some things from her house that I'd like to have. And then I fortunate again that my parents offered to drive them out to me so I didn't have to ship them.

First is this old sewing table. I mean, really. How cool and beautiful is it?! Yes, it still works but no, I have no plans to actually use it.

Second is this awesome painting that my great-grandfather did. After we hung it, I felt like it was just meant to be there, like it had been there since the house was built. It just fits. I've been wanting some art work (not photographs) in my house for quite some time; so to have something that was created by a family member? Sweet.

I also got some awesome china and need only an excuse to get it out.

And totally unrelated: I "found" (meaning I saw it in my YouTube account) this video of Rhett the other day. This captures everything I loved about this age (22 months), an age that is truly my favorite of Rhett's. Isn't he just so cute? I love how he says "Yeah" to everything.

P.S. It's almost October!!!!

Life is Good

2011-09-28T06:21:00.003-04:00

I know I can complain with the best of them. But I am the first to admit that I shouldn't. When people ask me how I'm feeling and how life is with the two boys, I honestly answer that it's probably as good as it gets. I mean, here are the facts:

My husband is awesome. I feel that most people I know have awesome husbands, and I love that. However, not only is my husband awesome, but his schedule is awesome. He has a very short commute and is home nearly every day by 3. So when people ask how I'm doing with the two, I reply that really, all I have to do is get to lunch with Rhett. After lunch comes nap, and frequently Chuck is home before Rhett wakes. I'm so very lucky.

Unfortunately I can't breastfeed. Fortunately, I have a husband who handled late-night feedings for the first three weeks and now on weekends. Also fortunately, the baby is only waking once at night (well, most nights at least). We feed him at 10:00 p.m. (our bedtime), once in the night, and then usually again around 6:00 a.m. (our wake time). It's enough so that I don't even need naps during the day.

My good friend Natalie recently posted about why she loves day care. I'd copy and paste the post, but am too lazy. Rhett resumed his twice-weekly schedule at his babysitter's a couple of weeks ago. So now I get two days a week in which I can actually accomplish things like errand-running, house cleaning, and most importantly one-on-one time with Ollie. I love these days and so does Rhett. It also means that on the other days when Rhett's home, I can focus on playing with him and Ollie rather than agonizing over all the stuff I'm not getting done. It's been wonderful for me.

My body is recovering phenomenally. Aside from the inability to lose weight, I feel great. In fact, last Saturday I ran an 8K race and did pretty well, if I say so myself (and I do). In previous runs, I'd been averaging a 13-minute-mile pace of run-walking. My goal for the race was to finish before one hour, ten minutes. My time? 56:07--this is an average of 11:15-minute miles! I was really excited about this and am now excited to get to training to better it. (Also body-related is that now that I'm back on birth control, the acne is getting better!)

See? I am fully aware of how good I have it. I mean, unless I had a personal nanny, I don't think it could be better.

And So it Begins...

2011-09-26T06:28:00.005-04:00

Oh happy day.

And a couple more pictures just for fun.

I Feel 20 Years Younger!

2011-09-23T06:28:00.018-04:00

Unfortunately 20 years younger puts me at 14 years old. This was not a good time. Sure, I was in 9th grade dance company thinking I was hot stuff. But I was still 14--one of the hardest ages to be, in my opinion.

So why this flashback? First, the acne. I'm blaming this on pregnancy as it happened with Rhett, but man is it gross. Thankfully it's not on my face, just on my neck, but it's still yucky. I don't feel good about it and it makes me very self-conscious. Too bad it's not cold enough for turtlenecks. (Does anyone have any good products they like to use? I can't find anything that works well. And by "works well," I mean "gets rid of the crap on my neck.")

Second, baby weight. I know, I know, I just had a baby, but I'm still not feeling good about the rest of my body either. I'm struggling to find times to run and can't stop the eating. If I felt like I could get both of those in control, I'd be more okay with my current size. But as I see no end to this, it is just depressing. A corollary to this is that until I can fit in my pre-baby clothes, I can't finish all the organizing I've been going nuts with. And you know this drives me crazy.

Finally, friends. I'm learning that I'm just not very good at making friends. I can do small talk (What do you do? Where are you from?) and I can do big talk (Would you ever go to a nude beach?), but it's the medium talk where I fall apart. Sadly, I think one needs medium talk to forge friendships. And sadder still, I'd like more friends. Oh well.

I think when I'm 45 saying "I feel 20 years younger!" will be a good thing because 25 was a very good year. But just not now.

I finally got around to doing a birth announcement for Ollie. If you'd like one, let me know. And then email me your address as I just can't seem to keep those organized.

Really?!

2011-09-19T06:22:00.024-04:00

Sorry cousin Emily but I'm actually on the other side of the headphones-while-driving issue. Hi. My name is Erin and I drive with headphones plugged into my iPod. Why? Because I'm really far behind on my podcasts and Rhett's really attached to his Veggie Tales CD (amongst other music albums) so he doesn't give me much time with the SoundDock. To be honest, I do not see how it's any different from driving with the radio on or driving while talking to someone. I listen to podcasts (so no music, just conversation) and it's turned down very, very low. So low, in fact, that when driving on the freeway I can't hear it. I just don't see the problem. Sorry. (Chuck doesn't agree with me, FYI. And sister Emily, I love your western/Republican/small government attitude about the whole thing. It made me smile.)

Chuck's school pictures have been safely put away in our files. He doesn't have any friends to whom I could send them. I did have to translate the "INVU..." for him. Ha.

To those "no skulls at church"-sayers, does seeing the fabric change your mind? Chuck thought you might think it was more Jolly Roger-esque than actually is. And if it doesn't change your mind, please tell me what I should do with it. It's just too great to let sit. (We already have a trick or treat bag, so while a great suggestion, it's just not practical. And as you know, I only sew practical items, like ties for very little boys. Totally practical.) To be honest, I'm really not sure how I feel about the ties at church, so everyone wins.

Oh no, here it comes. Trying. To. Resist. But can't. Temptation too strong. Mommy blog alert! Look how cute my baby is! That tuft of hair kills me.

Another Vote, Another Day that I'm Too Tired to Post Anything Interesting

2011-09-16T06:24:00.006-04:00

I am too exhausted to post anything too deep or thoughtful; sorry. You get this instead:

Do you think it's bad/unsafe/dangerous/should-be-illegal to drive a car while listening to headphones? I won't try to convince you (well, not now) of the correctness of my side of the issue. Just tell me what you think.

Only one P.S. today: Let's say your husband is a school teacher and therefore has school pictures done yearly. And because he's a teacher, he gets the prints for free. What would you do with them? Hand them out to all his bffs? Mail them to his grandparents?

P.P.S. (So what if I lied about the number of addenda.) I bought some super cute skull fabric. What should I make out of it? Are skull ties appropriate for church?

Exercise Your Right to Vote!

2011-09-14T06:24:00.016-04:00

Now that we've got Rhett and Oliver's stuff in the ~~goon~~ boys' room, we can start working on the library. I really want a map in there, but am torn between these two. (They would both be created to be an appropriate size for the wall space.) Please vote.

A.

B.

C. Other: ____________ (please give me other idea)

And while you're busy voting, why not tell me if I should do a birth announcement for Ollie. We did one for Rhett, but I'm feeling less than motivated to do one for Ollie. Thoughts?

P.S. Any Marylanders seen canned pumpkin in stores yet? If so, please tell me where so I can go get it. Why is this not carried all year long? Seriously, when I find it I'm buying a case or two to last me through the year.

P.P.S. As I was typing the title of this post, I initially wrote "Exercise Your WRITE to Vote!" I kid you not. Clearly someone needs to go back to school. And you know, I actually miss math class.

P.P.P.S. I'm running this race next Saturday. Anyone care to join me? Before you think I'm crazy, I just want to get some sort of baseline so I can work hard and see large improvements!

P.P.P.P.S. Has your mail become boring? Guess what?! My cousin Emily has the solution! Just join her little swap and soon your mail will be exciting once again.

P.P.P.P.P.S. Did post-partum brain bring ADD to anyone else besides myself?

What We're Up To

2011-09-12T06:27:00.003-04:00

I've turned into a regular mommy blogger. Sigh. Sorry. Hopefully I'll soon return to the drivel I usually type.

I've completed my first week of "mom to two." I know it doesn't sound like much, but it is to me. Of course I know that I have it easy. I just have to get to lunch time and then get Rhett down, and Chuck comes home before Rhett awakes. I really am aware of my blessings--believe me. And thankfully, the mornings have been the easiest times around here. Even with the rainy days, Rhett's been pretty content and didn't seem to develop too much cabin fever. Ollie is getting into a semi-routine at night: eating around 10 p.m., again at 2 a.m., and then again around 6 a.m., which means only one nighttime feeding. Like I said, it could be much, much harder.

In addition to all that help I get from Chuck, the second child is easier for me in many respects. First, I am much more confident in this parenting thing. Second, I knew to expect the loss of some of the things that make me "me." For example, the schedules. I love schedules and routines, but with a new baby in the house, they don't exist. I also love feeling accomplished, but that's achieved now when I brush my teeth 15 minutes before Chuck gets home. Also, I love my evenings with Chuck...and only Chuck. Sadly, we've had to share them with an infant. But again, I know they'll return. As I am prepared for this loss of "me-ness" I am better-equipped to handle it now.

I am struggling with feeling like things aren't getting done. You know, like dusting or sweeping. But that's about the hardest thing for me now. Wait, that's not true. The hardest thing is the crazy acne I have on my neck and chin. It just doesn't seem to want to clear up. Then there is the persistent tendinitis. I kind-of ran with my mom once while she was here, but had my first real solo run Saturday morning. It was slow, painful, and jiggly, but it was a run. We're trying to figure out when a good time for a regular run is and aside from early in the morning (which Chuck is not a fan of due to safety issues), we think that as soon as Chuck gets home from work could be okay. Hopefully weather will cooperate. If not, I'll be running with my umbrella. (Can you imagine? I do love the umbrella almost that much.)

Chuck continues to be a champ. He helped me make the switch for the boys' room on Sunday morning and we're getting the house almost as organized as I'd like. I feel like we don't have as much "couple time" and I miss that though.

Saturday Rhett and I went on a date to a small local theater for their "A Year with Frog and Toad." Oh my. Rhett was adorable. Watching him clap after each musical number was the cutest thing ever. I was dying. The play itself was pretty cute and Rhett and I both enjoyed it. We also loved the McDonald's ice cream on the way home.

Ollie has been seen taking rides on "Goldie." Isn't he a fine-looking horseman? Oh, I love this baby.

Old News

2011-09-09T06:21:00.002-04:00

First, I interrupt the regularly-scheduled post for one short note about the weather. First it was the earthquake. Then Hurricane Irene. Now remnants of Tropical Storm Lee and the rain. Seriously, it's crazy. We've had non-stop rain since Tuesday. Rainfall totals are probably around 5-6". Remember, Utah usually gets around 15" over an entire year. This rain just does not stop.

And let me tell you about yesterday's and Wednesday's thunderstorms. Ker-ay-zee. At times I had to ask if it was an earthquake aftershock or just thunder. To be honest, sometimes I wasn't sure. I'm saddened by how much of a pansy I've become with this second baby and homeownership. So not cool, erin, so not cool.

I guess the only good thing about the rain is its timing: I'm still kinda scared to go out with two kids and this rain has definitely kept me in the house and not feeling guilty about it. Can you imagine if this week was 70-degree weather with sun and no humidity?

Returning you to your regularly-scheduled post...

Even though I wasn't up for taking Oliver to enclosed spaces when he was two weeks old, the county fair seemed like a great way to get me out, get Rhett out, and not expose Oliver. Of course animals are cleaner than people: DUH! Anyway, we went to the fair and couldn't have had a better day. Even weather-wise, it was a beyond-beautiful Maryland August day. Honestly, it was one of my favorite days ever with Rhett. He was so happy and loved everything he saw. He wanted to ride every ride, but wasn't upset when we had to say no. It was just so great to see him so happy.

P.S. Have I mentioned how Rhett loves loves loves to act? Oh yes, I did. He continues to love to act and wants to do it incessantly. Chuck refused to be Sister Bear on his birthday though. Ha. Anyway, I found out that one of his favorite things to act, "Frog and Toad," is an actual real play! Why did no one tell me? Anyway, it's playing here and I got tickets for Rhett for tomorrow. We downloaded the music from the play so that he'll be familiar with it and we'll make sure to re-read the book multiple times before then.

P.P.S. Related to Rhett's theatrical skills, we also enrolled him in a little acting class through the county. In a couple of weeks, he'll join other kids and learn a little bit about acting and act out some classic children's lit. Oh my. I'm just hoping others sign up for the class!

Now for the Blessing Post (and other stuff)

2011-09-07T06:25:00.003-04:00

I probably should be embarrassed that with all this big stuff going on, I go ahead and post about shopping. But I'm not.

Anyway, within the past couple of days, little Ollie turned one month old. How are things going with this little man? Well, he's a baby! I mean, he eats, is awake for a little bit, sleeps, and repeats. We love him, but this is about his life right now. He has rolled over (both ways) a couple of times and it weirds me out. I mean, the dude is barely five weeks old!

We made sure to include him in our "Birthday (observed)" celebrations, however. He proved able to party with the best of us. We did not have a dinner of formula though.

And the only D.C. thing I did with my parents: a trip to Eastern Market. Man, how I love their french toast. Don't you just love my dad's expression?

Chuck's birthday (observed) was flank steak with apple pie a la mode for dessert. And maybe for a subsequent breakfast as well (yes, it too was a la mode).

We blessed Ollie on Sunday and this is how the poor little man arrived at church. Chuck gave Ollie a great blessing and Ollie was reverent for the whole thing. Rhett, however, not so much. He chose to read the hymnal and then bring his sandwich to me during it. Classic.

Oh Rhett, how we love you. What style.

Here are some lovely things he's said recently. When my dad asked him if he was going on a mission, Rhett replied, "No. I'm going to stay with my mom and dad forever." And to get the full effect, you have to picture Rhett saying it in a soft, quiet, slow voice. He threatens to never leave us.

Also, during testimony meeting, our sweet friend Edna was bearing her testimony and was crying a bit. Rhett leans over to Chuck and says, "Dad, can I go up there and help Edna be happy?"

And can't not do some family pictures on the blessing day.

Finally, some family pictures from Labor Day.

What now? Well, my parents left yesterday and so now I'm all alone during the day. With two kids. Aiyiyi.

I Bet You Thought I'd Have a Post on Ollie's Blessing

2011-09-05T06:23:00.004-04:00

But I fooled you! Instead I'm posting about my latest shopping spoils because they are incredibly exciting to me. Saturday night my parents volunteered to babysit while Chuck and I went on a date. Both of us desperately needed new shoes and I wanted a new dress, so to the mall we went. We both got shoes and I got a new dress. The umbrella was just an added bonus.

Holy smokes do I love these. They make me feel like a different woman. A sexy TALL woman.

Even Rhett loves them.

Then I got these. I have large calves and finding boots is hard. So when I saw these, I got them.

And then this umbrella. Seriously. How could I not buy this thing? I mean, really. It even has a great plastic smell to it. Bonus: this week's forecast is rainy every day. Sweet!

Does anyone else just really not like pictures of them? Do I really look that bad? Oh, on second thought, don't tell me.

Latest Happenings

2011-09-02T06:29:00.004-04:00

My mom probably won't like her face, but look at Ollie's!

Ollie helping me make chocolate ice cream.

Chuck putting my baby's life at risk.

Between my dad, my mom, and Chuck, their three birthdays occur within a five-day span. Since two of them will happen after my parents leave, we thought we'd celebrate them in an "observed" manner. And if we're having "Dad's Birthday (Observed)" why not have an observed birthday for everyone? So Rhett got his special birthday dinner the other night (alfredo pasta), I got mine the next night (carrot cake pancakes), last night was my dad's (chili), tonight is Chuck's (steak and apple pie), and tomorrow night is my mom's (broccoli lemon pasta). And yes, the hat is necessary.

P.S. Answers to Monday's random post:
1. I wet mine before. I feel like if I do it after I put the toothpaste on the toothbrush, the water might knock off the toothpaste. Chuck does not wet his at all. Yuck.

2. This one kills me: If someone says their kid is a "rising junior" it means it's the summer before their kid's junior year. I guess this makes sense. But for whatever reason, I thought it meant more like what my cousin Nicole said, that the student was a high achiever, so clearly, I thought it was a very snooty thing to say. But now I learn it's not. Phew; I didn't want a reason to dislike my doctor.

3. Swimming is HUGE out here. All of the eight kids in Chuck's family were on the swim team for, like, 100 years or something. Me? Not at all. Sure we'd visit the pool a few times during summer, but we in no way lived there like Chuck did. It's weird to me.

4. I drop heavy things on bugs and then let (yes, "let") Chuck do clean up. Two summers ago when we had lots of crickets in the basement, it wasn't unusual for Chuck to come home to four randomly placed heavy books on the floor.

What a Week I'm Having

2011-08-31T06:25:00.002-04:00

Of course I don't feel like life with two sons is "real" yet. I mean, I've had non-stop help for all of Ollie's month of life. I am starting to freak out at the thought of being alone. I mean, what if Rhett is acting up while Oliver is crying? What if I need to run to the grocery store? Seriously. I am not ready for all that.

Otherwise life has been pretty dang good. Sure, I'm ready for the end of a routine-less existence, but that's life with an infant, right? Until then, my thoughts have been as random as my movements, desires, and moods. Here are some of the things I've been thinking and experiencing.

Chuck loves putting our babies in funny positions. Could Bruno be a more patient dog? No. Could Ollie be cuter? No.

Moms are awesome. I mean, who would think to wash not only my shower curtain liners but also the bath mat in my bathroom?! That bath mat is now so luxurious that I am determined to wash it again--and at a point in time less than three years from now.

My dad is worse than a teenage girl when it comes to telephone use. It's pretty dang funny. What can he possibly have to say?!

Speaking of my dad, my house is freezing (ask me later if you don't know why). But the good thing about a freezing house is that sweatshirts can be worn! Soup in the summer isn't out of the question! Remember when I asked about what temperature you'd keep your thermostat if money were no issue? Well I know now: I'd keep it higher than 70, maybe 72. Emily, 65, really?!

While most of my body is feeling pretty dang good after giving birth, I'm still having problems with my wrists and hands. I think the carpal tunnel is getting better, even though I can't wear my wedding rings yet and still need the braces at night. However, I developed a case of tendinitis (yes, that's really how it's spelled even though I have tendons and not tendins) of the wrist. This tendinitis really hurts. And I mean really. I can barely feed Oliver, or lift him out of the bassinet. It's pretty depressing.

Oliver is being blessed on Sunday. It's pretty exciting.

Before Oliver was born, I wisely thought we might want cookies but that I might not feel up to making them once he was out. So I made two batches of dough (yum 1 and yum 2), rolled them into balls, and froze them for later; I got ten cookie-sheets-worth. Do you know how many bags are left? Less than two. Do you know how many actually made it to the oven? Exactly two. Frozen dough is awesome.

Rhett said something awesome the other day. After finding his car smashed by a tree (okay, maybe I exaggerate), my dad said, "Well, I need a Coke." Rhett, from the kitchen table yells, "No, you don't need a Coke, No Google, you just want a Coke." Do you think he's heard that before? I love kids. Well, I love my kids.

I really and truly pined to experience a natural disaster. Not one in which people were hurt, but a real one nonetheless. But I wish that no longer: not as a mom and not as a homeowner. Too scary and too much at risk. I mean, sure the earthquake experience is kinda fun now, but certainly not when it was happening. And the hurricane at first just seemed like a regular rain storm, not too unusual for Maryland (hence the picture of Rhett of playing in the rain). But at Oliver's 1:00 a.m. feeding, that wind no longer seemed so innocent. And at 6:00 a.m. when I found the tree on my dad's car, not innocent at all. In fact, quite guilty. Amazingly, the 6" of rainwater in our window well caused no damaged and my dad's car suffered only small dents on the top. It could have been so much worse!

Shallow Thoughts by erin

2011-08-28T19:37:00.003-04:00

1. Do you wet the toothbrush before you use it? And if so, before or after the toothpaste application?

2. Do you know what the terms "rising junior" or "rising sophomore" mean? Have you ever used the terms?

3. Swimming: did you do it? And I mean, was it a large part of your growing up? Did you have a membership to a pool and/or belong to a swim team?

4. Do you catch the bugs in your house? If not, what do you do with them if your bug catcher isn't home when a bug is found?

P.S. I promise an update of what's happening here, but you know...

Please Excuse the Blog Absence

2011-08-26T08:25:00.003-04:00

while we get ready for the hurricane! Ugh. So done with natural disasters.

I Know I Said I Liked Natural Disasters...

2011-08-24T06:21:00.006-04:00

...but I prefer them of the "non-scary" variety. Maybe you heard about D.C.'s 5.9 earthquake yesterday, probably because D.C.'ites love to overreact about everything. And maybe you even remember when we had a small earthquake last summer. I loved that one.

But yesterday's was different. I was home and all other adults were gone. Ollie and I were doing laundry while Rhett was "napping." When the shaking started, I simply thought the washing machine was unbalanced. It was soon clear that this was not just the washing machine; that's when the freaking out started. (It was also when I started hearing crashing upstairs, mind you.) I was downstairs, you know, the floor upon which first floors have been known to collapse. Not only was I downstairs, but I was downstairs holding my newborn son while my three-year-old was upstairs, clueless as to what was going on.

Yes, yes; I'm fully guilty of freaking out when (thankfully) nothing bad happened. But I'm also fully guilty of just wanting to make sure my little boys were okay. So sue me.

Bring it on, Hurricane Irene! (And by "bring it on" I mean, bring on a rainstorm that doesn't flood my basement or cut my electricity, but does bring some fun thunder and/or lightning and maybe some good puddles for Rhett.)

Projects

2011-08-22T06:23:00.002-04:00

Bruno's food container. We started with a hideous plastic thing when we lived in the apartment because we didn't want squirrels on the porch but nor did we want a bag of dog food in the apartment. When we moved into the house, we just kept it in the same hideous plastic thing. But when I saw Kiki's tutorial here, well, we've been looking for that canister ever since. We finally found it the Saturday before Ollie's arrival and I Silhouette-vinyl'd it that very same day. I'm super pleased with it.

Chuck painted the boys' room the week before Ollie was born, so then we were ready to hang the curtains. Now it's just a matter of moving the boys into the room (which won't happen until after my parents come and go). I love how the grey walls turned out. I saw this absolutely lovely room and just copied the color, since I thought it was perfect. And hey, Marylanders, anyone looking for a queen-sized bed?

When I couldn't find Rhett's old burp cloths, I wasn't that sad because HELLO! Another project!

Chuck recently acquired a new iPad2. I don't often get to do projects for Chuck (if you think little boys are hard enough, try adult boys), so when he asked me to make a cover for his new toy, I quickly said yes. A quick internet search led me to Candice's tutorial here and I adapted it for the iPad.

And just for fun, one pic of Ollie:

A Mathematical Statistician

2011-08-19T06:20:00.002-04:00

Apparently no one knows what a mathematical statistician does. (I'm pretty sure this includes my parents, so don't feel bad if it includes you.) My friend Todd is a neuroradiologist (see his family's blog here) and he recently did a series of posts enlightening people to what it means to have his job. Oh yeah, even this neuroradiologist doesn't even know what I do, so now you can feel really good about you!

Anyway, I won't say much about exactly what I do because I like keeping work and this blog very, very separate, if for no other reason but to protect myself. So forgive me for being vague.

At a minimum, most statisticians' jobs require a bachelor's degree in math or stats. If you end up being a biostatistician, then you likely need a master's in it. Anyway, I have the bachelor's in math (with an emphasis in stats) and a master's in stats. Which on paper, should mean I'm qualified for most jobs. In practice, I feel qualified for none. The second Bachelor's degree in Geography was just because I like maps.

Anyway, I happen to work on one particular survey that goes out every year (think Census but instead of every ten years, mine goes out every year). And it surveys businesses, not individuals. We don't survey all businesses in the United States as there's about seven to eight million of them in existence, so we do something called sampling. This means sending forms to a selected group of businesses that we hope represent the entire population of businesses. After we send out the forms, data start coming back in. Then we enter the data and start analyzing.

But what does that mean for me and what I do? Well, before we can decide which businesses to sample, we need to decide how many units we're going to sample. That process is called allocation. So I work on that too. After we allocate, we get to select the units, or do the actual sampling. Of course, all of this is done with computers, but there is some manual intervention to make sure we're not taking too many units in some industries and too few in others. The data are collected and entered into a computer, but not by me. Once they all come in, we start the analysis. Actually, as a government agency, we don't do much analysis, just a lot of reporting facts. However, because sampling was involved (as opposed to getting data from every single business), we need to do something called significance testing. If we claim that something increased, we need to make sure it did, rather than just the numbers changing due to differences in sampling. So I test statements to make sure they are correct.

Because our survey is annual, I get to repeat these tasks yearly. Every year things change and we have new things that come up, so it's not as monotonous as it sounds. Tweak this here, tweak that there. It's all very exciting.

Sometimes I get to work on other "pop-up" projects as well. I really enjoy the ones where I get to learn new things, especially when it comes to programming in SAS (a statistical package that's super cool). I also get to take courses on stats stuff.

And sometimes I even get to travel. When I do that, I'm usually giving some sort of training to the non-D.C.-based staff working on the survey.

So that's my job. Clearly there's more to it, but I don't want to lose you. Oh yeah, and I get to enjoy a lot of air conditioning.

Rhett Update

2011-08-17T06:28:00.063-04:00

The other day I was cooing with baby Oliver when I looked over at Rhett, who was sitting on the couch "reading" a book. He had stopped reading and was looking at me with the saddest eyes I've ever seen on his face. I immediately started crying for this poor boy whose life had been upended with the addition of a new baby. Even now, it makes me cry just thinking about that sad face of his, and his what-he-thinks-is-sad new reality.

And sad he is. As much as we try to make time for him and do fun things for him, it'll likely never be enough--simply because it will never be 100% again. Sadly, I think he understands this. On some level, my poor older child knows that from here on out, he has to share his parents with a crying, pooping, sleeping baby. His life is hard right now. (Of course Rhett doesn't think of poor Oliver who will only get his parents to himself at a time when he doesn't want parents at all!)

How's he dealing with it? As expected. Thankfully he's gentle with Ollie; it's my buttons he's pushing. He knows what angers me (yelling in the house, running in the house, opening the door during a time-out, not obeying, etc.) and he does all of these things with such intensity that it's maddening.

But through this, I'm still so glad to have him around. I didn't expect this, but oh, how I do! When Rhett was a baby, I was so bored most of the time. I had no idea how to entertain a child who couldn't even see 12" in front of his face. But now, I have Rhett to entertain me while Ollie is doing his baby thing. I am so relieved that even through Rhett's antics, I can enjoy having two sons.

Here is what Rhett is up to (between button pushing): Acting. Oh my land. The boy absolutely loves to act. In fact, if he makes noise before 6:00 a.m. Rhett Daylight Time (6:30 a.m. EDT), his punishment is that he doesn't get to act for the day; that's how much he loves it. What does he act out? His books, of course! His favorite is anything by Berenstain Bears. More often than not, it's the "In the Dark" or "Messy Room." Chuck LOVES (sarcasm anyone?) acting as Bears because he frequently gets cast as Sister Bear. I get to be Mama Bear and Rhett is always Brother Bear; in fact, on Monday we made a trip to the thrift store to get a red shirt and blue pants--you know, so Rhett can have Brother's outfit (it was totally Rhett's idea). In addition to the Bears, he loves acting out any story of Frog and Toad. He's always Frog. Chuck or I gets to be Toad. As repetitive as this acting can be, he loves it, so we do it.

Also, he loves playing with anything Little People. We found this Little People set at the thrift store and gave it to him one time-out-free day and he just loves it. He makes up stories, sends people to time out, has police chases...anything. I love the kid's imagination and am quite happy to sit around and just listen to him.

Finally, he has really grown to love music, especially kid music. But he has some variety in his taste. For example, he loves the song "Knock, knock, knockin' on heaven's door" by Guns 'n' Roses. That's right: my boy is listening to some Axl and Slash. Although I shouldn't be, I am pretty happy about this.

So while yes, in some ways having Rhett around has been hard because he has been acting out, but in other ways it's been so nice to have the little dude around. Chuck and I love both our boys!

The prince and the pea?

Eating birthday cake batter.

Although we didn't know it, this picture was taken only hours before Ollie joined us. Look at that belly! And my sing-a-ma-jig birthday present.

At the hospital.

How this kid plays. The cars are lined up for some crazy reason.

Therapy?

What I Learned from My Calling

2011-08-15T06:22:00.002-04:00

It's over. I was released. After more than 2.5 years, my Wednesday nights are empty again.

When I read obituaries in the Salt Lake Tribune, I see this text often: "LaRue loved serving in _____." I'm really not sure I could say that about the Young Women. To be fair, I'm not sure I could say that about any calling, really; it's just my personality. I'll do it because the Bishop asks, and I'll try to do the best job I know how. However, I'm pretty sure I'll never be one of those women who really loves doing any church job. I'm okay with that.

I will say, however, that I really did enjoy it. Yes, it took a lot of hours and feelings of guilt ("Am I doing enough?"), but I love that age of person. Even though I don't want Rhett to be a teenager now, I still really look forward to when he is. I feel I relate to them so much better than to Primary-aged kids and sometimes even better than I relate to the Relief Society. So now that I'm released, I really do fear what comes next, because for me, the new calling could be so, so much worse.

What did I learn? To be honest, most of what I learned was about parenting teens. Or, sometimes, how not to parent teens. (And just so you know, most of this is recorded for my sake, since obviously they are the things that bothered me. Please take no offense as none is intended. I know I have no teens yet and therefore my stances could totally change in the next ten years. Won't this be a funny post then?!)

1. Teaching the Gospel at home really does matter and make a difference. If I didn't know anything about the parents of my girls, I could easily split them into two groups: those who got Gospel instruction (meaning FHE, scripture study, prayers, discussions) at home and those who didn't. It really does make a difference. So sometimes when I feel like I don't want to do that kind of stuff at home with Rhett and Ollie, I am reminded of how much they'll need it in 10-15 years and I'm pulled right back to it. Seriously people, it makes a difference.

2. Church stuff (mutual night, Sunday classes, youth conference, girls' camp) isn't optional. I'm sorry if you don't want to go, but you're going. You're going because you need to support leaders who planned activities. You're going because you need to learn that that's just what we do as church members. You're going because you know that once you get there, you always have a good time. The end.

3. Electronics are not necessary when you go to these church activities. Okay, okay, I may not have a fancy iPod with my scriptures on it (whoops--now I do!), but do I really need it? No, I have them in hard copy. To have the electronics (phones or MP3 players) is simply a distraction (in my experience). And your phone? Honestly? You can't go three hours without texting your friends or playing Angry Birds? These things simply don't belong at church for the youth. I went through YW without it all and I survived. If there's an emergency, adults will have the ability (re: legs) to contact parents (who are likely just upstairs in Relief Society/Priesthood/Primary).

4. Manners matter too! It's amazing to me how many of the girls when given a treat or after a lesson, don't remember to say thank you. Really?!

5. I'm not sure if this is a function of living outside of a heavily-Mormon-populated area or just my ward, but when the youth don't see each other often (most of my two dozen girls were spread out over 12 or so schools, meaning only one or two at each school), the cliques that I experienced during YW days in Utah don't exist here. These girls never get tired of seeing each other. I had very little (if any) backbiting, for which I am truly in awe. The girls really amazed me in this.

6. Youth will never know what a sacrifice it is to be a leader of youth until they are such a leader. Sure they love (for the most part) attending mutual, camp, sleepovers, etc. But they really don't know how much you don't. They don't know how much the leaders would rather be at home with their own families (you know, spouses we chose!), than at _____ (camp, mutual, youth conference, etc.). Especially when going to _____ requires either the mom or dad to take off work to watch kids or be at camp. It's a sacrifice for sure. A sacrifice we'll do willingly, but a sacrifice nonetheless.

7. Learn how to commit to things. If you say you're going to do something, do it. Don't pull out of something big (cough cough, Girls' Camp, Youth Conference) two days in advance. You know, after monies have been paid and meals planned and transportation arranged. On the flip side, if you want to do something, tell planners in advance! Two days notice is bad enough to pull out of something, but it's even harder to want to go in. Make a decision and then stick with it (emergencies excepted, of course).

8. To have a youth in the YM/YW programs might mean that you as parents have to get involved (should work/family schedules allow). It means that you might have to go to camp; it means that you might have to go to youth conference; it means that you might have to chaperone a youth dance. I feel so strongly about this that Chuck and I have already had conversations about the activities we'll be attending once the boys are old enough (he: Boy Scout camp, me: pedicures while the boys are at Boy Scout camp).

9. Finally, laugh. Seriously, teenaged girls are about the funniest things on the planet. Remember the hyper? It still makes me laugh. These girls are energetic, creative, and just plain hysterical. I will miss them.

Maternity Leave: Flashback Friday!

2011-08-12T06:22:00.001-04:00

How awesome is this picture of Chuck and his family at Chuck's mission farewell? And really, that red hair? Linda, what were you thinking?!

Week in Review

2011-08-10T06:23:00.002-04:00

What to say? Actually, my problem is what NOT to say.

1. Rhett. Sometimes he's absolutely lovely and completely understanding of what has happened to him. But other times, oh boy. Who can blame him? This is the biggest change he's ever had to deal with in his short three years. We're trying to be understanding, but that doesn't mean we can ignore the hitting or kicking (us; not the baby, thankfully). I think he'll be okay though. We're definitely trying to get in the "mom and me" or "dad and me" time, and yesterday we even got a Frosty out of it.

2. Bruno. Certainly gets the worst of it. Poor thing hasn't been on a walk in weeks until yesterday morning. He's getting chubby. As soon as I feel up to longer walks, Bruno will definitely be joining me.

3. Chuck. He's really been the superstar through all of this. Last night was the first night I gave Ollie a middle-of-the-night feeding, and it wasn't even that middle of the night. He's been up with Ollie for every single thing since Ollie was born (which means that I've been getting full nights of sleep--totally helping my recovery). He's played hours of Little People with Rhett. He's taken Rhett to church, the park,swimming, and likely the movies today. He's incredibly supportive and helpful and just completely amazing. AND he doesn't have to go to work for nearly two more weeks. Everyone (and I mean everyone) should be this lucky.

4. Me. I can't believe how much better this recovery has been compared to Rhett's. With Rhett, I could barely walk for what felt like weeks; this time, I was fine two days later. (But as before, my first trip out was to KMart; why oh why do I continue to go there? How I detest that store.) With Rhett, I felt like my whole world had changed, and mostly for the worse. This time, life's pretty much as it was, just now with two lovely little boys instead of one. It's just been amazing and such a tremendous blessing to feel as good as I do.

5. Ollie. Sweet, sweet Ollie. For obvious reasons, Chuck and I have so much more confidence about this one than we did with Rhett. With Rhett, we relied very much on books and people to tell us what we should be doing. But this time, I think we trust ourselves so much more. I don't know; maybe we're not that different, but it just feels different because we're not doubting ourselves and our decisions all of the time. It's nice. He's a great little baby who is napping well during the day and sleeping at night. He gets a little fussy come evenings, when he wants to be held. I can't complain about having to hold a sweet infant though.

6. Everyone else. Seriously, I feel so guilty about accepting everything that everyone gives us! There are so many more that need help when compared to us. I mean, I have a husband who is home for weeks. As soon as he goes back to work, my parents come to stay. And beyond that, Chuck's parents are 3.5 miles away. Meals? Got that covered. We have the fridge more full than it's ever been and a freezer that's packed with frozen dinners. Rhett? Again, with two adults, we're good. If Chuck was back at work, I could see needing the help, but really, we have only two kids and it's totally manageable when both are home! I just feel so dang lucky. If I wasn't so sure we were done, I might consider having another--just not in August.

Ollie's first successful thumb sucking.

Ollie's first tummy time. The kid doesn't actually hate it! This one is going to love stomach sleeping.

Grandpa came for a visit!

Maternity Leave: Things to Not Take Advantage of Ever Again

2011-08-08T06:26:00.001-04:00

Not needing four pillows (one for head, one body pillow, and two for feet raising) in bed
Not needing wrist braces (well, I still do, but some day, maybe...)
Being able to reach things (like from cabinets or the sink) because belly is no longer in the way
Wearing normal clothes
Running and exercising
Being able to sit like a lady
Being able to use my lap for things (like holding children or binders)
Not having a basketball on my lap or hanging from my body at all times
Being able to wrap a towel around my body and be covered
Sleeping on my stomach!

Ollie's Newborn Pics

2011-08-05T19:29:00.000-04:00

When I saw this post over at Amy's Idea Room on taking pictures of newborns, I knew I wanted to try it. So I made the diaper covers just for this event. And this morning seemed as good a time as any, so here are a few of the best. Isn't it amazing that things sized for newborns are still enormous?!

The Birth Story that Did NOT Go as Planned

2011-08-04T06:25:00.017-04:00

The Original Plan
I was scheduled for an induction that would yield a birth on Wednesday. I was to go in Tuesday morning to be checked, and when no progress was found, I would be told to check in to the hospital that afternoon to start the process. Chuck and I would spend the Tuesday night hospital stay watching TV and playing Scrabble. Fun times. All of this would predict a baby being born the next morning with my regular doc. And with drugs. Very nice, eh?

The All-New-Planned-by-Oliver Plan
Tuesday morning I wake up with what seem to be real contractions. Interesting because I didn't think my body knew how to do this on its own. Go to the a.m. doctor's appointment to find that I'm dilated to a 2--awesome! The doctor doing the check (who is not my regular doc) thinks that a regular induction from this stage would give a too-early labor, which is not what I want because I want my doc. So we make a slight schedule adjustment and I go home.

At home we finish getting things ready: packing for all three of us, and of course, birthday cake making for me. We finish all the last minute preparations as well as some dusting and sweeping by me. But by noon, I'm not feeling great...AT ALL. When Rhett goes down for his nap, so do I. I lay on the couch watching TV while Chuck finishes laundry and times my what-have-now-become regular contractions. For all of nap (nearly two hours) the contractions are between five and six minutes apart and getting stronger. Chuck is pacing while I'm saying, "Are you really pacing?" At 2:45 we decide we've had enough and go wake up Rhett. We still need time to eat that dang birthday cake! So eat we do, and then get Chuck's mom to come pick up Rhett so we can head to the hospital.

We get there at about 3:45 and head to registration. We tell them that we were initially coming in for an induction, but don't think we'll be needing those services as my contractions are regular and strong. We're told to sit in the waiting room and they'll be with us shortly. SHORTLY MY FOOT. 45 minutes later, probably a dozen or so contractions later, and a visit from Chuck later, we are finally called back and put in triage. The triage nurse checks me and says, "Ooooh, well, you're a good seven." A SEVEN?! Are you kidding? From her face I was hoping for a four, but a seven?! That's ridiculous. The first words out of my mouth are, "Well, I'd like drugs if that's at all possible."

I'm wheeled back to a labor and delivery room and things are moving quickly. With the needles and blood draws and registration questions, oh yeah, and all those pesky drug-free contractions coming every couple of minutes, I'm not the happiest camper. When the doctor comes to check me (8!), she says that she doesn't dare check me again for fear she'll rupture my "bulging bag" and that would make this happen even faster. So I try to breathe through my contractions, and through my yelling. Not sure how great a job I'm doing. I keep asking for drugs and am told the anesthesiologist is coming, but who knows when. I'm also told to not ignore any feelings of "I have to push." Gee. Thanks.

Then I get one of those feelings, so I have to start pushing. I really really don't want to, but I can't not. Doctor breaks my water so there's nearly no turning back now. The pain gets so intense that I say I want to stop and wait for the epidural so they try to accommodate me, but once again, baby and body have different ideas. I start pushing again and after two contractions' worth of pushing, little Oliver James was out.

The fun continues. Sewing my tear and pushing my uterus through the table are nearly as painful as the labor. Sheesh! But finally, I have that baby in my arms. And while I may not forget the pain that brought him into the world, I know it's worth it. Awwww.....

Okay, Lay it On Me

2011-08-01T06:28:00.004-04:00

Okay people. With my due date falling sometime this week, I think I can handle it. If not, well, too late, right?! I want the good, the bad, and the ugly of adding a second child to our family. Don't be afraid to scare me. Go crazy. 'Cause really, even if it does scare me, maybe it'll just scare this baby out of me!

P.S. For any local Marylanders wondering if there's anything you can do to help at this time, really the only thing I'll need is visitors after about two weeks. I am the sort that doesn't like to take new babies out much, which means I end up staying in. Understandably, I get bored. And if you live far away, just call. If I'm feeding the baby or sleeping, I won't answer the phone, but I'll know you called and that will make me feel better.

Shallow Thoughts by erin

2011-07-29T06:20:00.002-04:00

Have you ever avoided cleaning something because you thought it would take too long or too much hard work, but when you finally did it, you saw it took about 10 minutes and used no deodorant at all? I do this all of the time. Seriously, always.

Let's say you're getting on a Metro elevator. (Note for those of you who have never ridden D.C.'s Metro system: The elevators have two levels only.) You get in the elevator and there are two buttons: "M" and "P" with no other text besides them. You're trying to get on a train to go downtown. Which button do you push? Or let's say you're done with work and you want to get to where your car is. Same question: which button do you push? Just what do those buttons stand for??

I'm about to inherit a much newer iPod than the one I have now (my Laurels would be happy). But I've never ventured into the world of apps. Any recommendations?

You know how if you're napping on the couch, you wake to drool on the pillow? Come on, admit it. But what I don't get is why do I drool only during naptime? Or is it that I drool just as I'm falling asleep regardless of whether it's for a nap or night, but with naps I don't have enough time to let it dry, but with nighttime sleep, I do. What say ye?

If Congress and the President can't agree on this debt ceiling thing, then it's possible...AGAIN...that I might be furloughed. Thank goodness this one comes at an okay time. And thank goodness for savings. Sheesh. And I thought government jobs were stable! Silly me.

Rhett's request for a story last night: "Tell me a story about a little boy who hit his dad and then maggots ate his fingers."

Penultimately: My sister rules. She sent me a birthday package (with instructions that I may open it at any time) full of my favorite things: Hot Tamales, Air Heads, and Luna bars. Perfect for the delivery room...if they last that long. Is "penultimately" a word? Oh well. I don't care.

Finally, how can Blogger still not recognize "internet" as spelled correctly?

Pew Forum's Survey on Religious Knowledge

2011-07-27T06:21:00.000-04:00

I am always up for a good internet quiz. I saw this one the other day, and being Mormon and a mathematical statistician* and all, I took it asap.

Anyway, I found the results of this survey so interesting! I mean, the top-line result is that, "Atheists and agnostics, Jews and Mormons are among the highest-scoring groups on
a new survey of religious knowledge." Cool!

Hooray for Mormons on this one: "On the full battery of seven questions about the Bible (five Old Testament and two New Testament items) Mormons do best." I also like this result, "On questions about Christianity...Mormons and white evangelical Protestants show the highest levels of knowledge."

Where Mormons aren't so strong is our knowledge of other worldly religions (Buddhism, Islam, Hinduism specifically), although we still didn't do too badly.

It was also of interest to see who knew the least about Mormons. Black Protestants and Hispanic Catholics had the lowest average scores when asked the three Mormon-specific questions. Thank goodness Mormons knew the most about Mormons (phew!) but did you know that next-smartest [sic] about Mormonism are the atheists/agnostics? I didn't.

The survey also asked some general knowledge questions. Mormons, on average, did third best, coming in behind Jews and atheists/agnostics. Apparently less than one-third of Mormons know what the Scopes trial was about (evolution) yet we do know Darwin developed the theory of evolution. Weird.

If you're interested in seeing all 32 questions asked in the phone survey, click here and go to page 19. I did fairly well, but struggled on the general Christian questions. Awesome.

*I'm learning that people close to me don't know that I do, in fact, know more mathematics than Chuck does. (This doesn't mean that I'm better than he at all things math-related. Quite the contrary: he kills me in geometry and logic puzzles. But you want differential equations or number theory or statistical inference or linear models? Talk to me. I can point you in the right direction. KIDDING...kinda) I think this is in part due to the fact that I get lazy and don't tell people my full job title "Mathematical Statistician;" rather, I just say "statistician." It's my mid-year goal to give myself the proper math respect. We'll see if it helps.

Scenes from a Heat Wave

2011-07-25T06:23:00.007-04:00

It seems nearly the whole country, well maybe the whole country east of the Mississippi River, recently experienced a heat wave. We were definitely not immune. Some temperatures were:
1. Thursday evening at 9 p.m. = 90 degrees.
2. Friday morning 5:50 a.m. = 82 degrees (with wicked high humidity).
3. Friday morning 10:30 a.m. = 90 degrees + 70% humidity = a "feels like" temp of 105. At 10:30 a.m. Awesome.
4. And then this one from Friday afternoon: (Note the "feels like" temperature.)

Sadly, even swimming doesn't sound good in this weather. Our poor air conditioner can't keep up with the rising temperatures, even with running non-stop for three days but only in the early mornings attaining our set temperature. Thankfully the basement provided some relief.

So what did we do? Well, of course I worked in a cooled, air conditioned building for two of the worst days. Chuck and Rhett ran some errands on Thursday, but then chose to stay home on Friday. Chuck even pulled off the wallpaper in the boys' room. And Rhett bowled on the Wii for the first time. (It didn't last long. He got bored.) Rhett also had a total "melt"-down all day Saturday. Oh my. As parents, we tried to explain why he would be so terrible, but all we came up with was (1) too much sugar, (2) too little sleep, (3) he's three, or (4) he suffered from cabin fever. Whatever it was, the dude was intolerable. Thank goodness Sunday was better!

Side note: When I told my mom that Chuck removed the wallpaper, she was disappointed. It's her greatest joy in life to peel things. If I were a good daughter, I'd sacrifice my back to the sunburn gods just so it would peel and just so she could peel it. She's crazy!

And do you want to see what this kind of heat and a little bit of walking (a necessity to get from the metro to my car) does to very pregnant feet? Caution: The following has been approved for Mature Audiences Only.

And finally, how awesome would it be if this four-day forecast were correct? See if you can spot the problem.

Here's hoping for a cooler week for all!

Ah, Now I Remember

2011-07-22T06:29:00.005-04:00

I'm the first to admit I have a bad attitude towards pregnancy, especially my own. I wish I could be happy and enjoy it and see the pain and discomfort as just means to an end, but clearly, I struggle with this. Sometimes my attitude is so bad that I wonder why I chose this, why I tried so hard to have another child.

And then, just when I need it, Rhett reminds me. Oh how I love this little boy. Oh how I can't believe I have any more room in my heart for another, but nor did I think I had the capacity to love this guy like I do. I imagine that much like the Grinch, my heart will grow more when the new one decides to come out.

Here he's making me a soup, more specifically a vegetable soup...just like Martha (whoever Martha is).

Rhett was walking around like some sort of bandit, albeit a bad one. Might help if he could see where he was going.

In a moment of rest for me (maybe a moment of trying to unswell (de-swell?) my feet so they could fit into my shoes), Rhett came to join me and share a "foot kiss."

Finally, Rhett eating his favorite dinner, pasta with alfredo sauce. He loves it so much he wanted to use two forks. And so he did.

P.S. Anyone else digging my outfit in that picture up there? Wednesdays (my work-at-home days) are not the most fashionable of days. Just be lucky I'm covering my body in this picture. I can't guarantee that on other Wednesdays.

P.P.S. Just in case you haven't heard, D.C. (as much of the country) is in quite the heat wave. Yesterday at 3 p.m. it was 99 but felt like 109 (due to humidity). And today is supposed to be worse. Pretty awesome, right? If only you could see my feet now...

Hey! We Grew Something!

2011-07-20T06:22:00.004-04:00

Chuck and I have dreams of one day having a lovely garden in our backyard. You know a place where we grow Fun-Dip and freshly baked whole wheat bread. For whatever reasons, it has yet to happen. This year we were close, but man, I am sure glad we didn't. Can you imagine me out there weeding, with this body, in this heat and humidity? Uh no.

When Rhett planted a squash seed during preschool and brought it home in a cup, we kept watering it just for fun. But then it grew. And kept growing. And then Chuck transferred it outside where we have a little unused dirt. And then it turned into this:

And on the plant grew these:

And then Rhett appropriately used one as a phone:

Phone call may or may not have been made to a monster in our house wherein Rhett was tricking the monster by having the monster mow the lawn and then we'd lock him out. Sneaky sneaky!

Latest Projects

2011-07-18T06:21:00.006-04:00

Even though it kills my wrists to do anything dexterous, it helps (1) keep my mind off my pregnancy and (2) move the rest of my body. So I work through the pain. Although, I can happily report that my attitude is improving. I think weeks 34-35 were so hard because I felt huge, but also like I still had so much time left. But now that I'm closing in on 38 weeks, it feels like I'm huge for a reason. So don't worry about me; I'm surviving. That is, until this week when Maryland kills me with heat.

Here's what's been happening in our house. First, the curtains for the boys' room (oh how fun that sounds!). After some dreadfully wrong calculations and subsequent design changes, I was able to pull off these curtains. I love the fabrics (Kate Spain's "Central Park"), and I think they'll look great next to grey walls. I backed them with blackout fabric and am amazed at how well they darken a room: just what I need for little boys to sleep. Then there is the book sling out of some coordinating fabric. I found the tutorial at Megan's blog, "Penny Carnival." I know it doesn't look like much now (fabric rectangle anyone?), but just imagine how cute it will be hung next to Rhett's bed. I'm so very excited.

Then this. This is mostly Chuck's project since all I did was measure stuff and sand a bit. He cut, primed, painted, drilled, screwed...everything. It's totally his project. But we both love it. I saw it on Jenny's blog "Anything Pretty" and knew it should be ours. I mean, come on. Have you ever met a bigger couple of math ~~nerds~~ geeks? Rhett loves playing with the extra beads, although to him, they make a better microphone ("Ladies and gentlemen...") and ice cream cone. (oh and you can't really tell, but this is about 2' x 3'. It's pretty big.)

Remember this table runner I saw at that adorable Utah quilting shop? Well, here's mine. I thought about adding something to the middle but Chuck said, "Oh no, that's where all the flowers I buy you will go." Isn't that the funniest thing you've ever heard?! That Chuck, always making me laugh.

And finally, because it's summer in Maryland it's humid (have I mentioned that Maryland is humid? I can't recall). Humidity means sweating glasses. Sweating glasses means stains on wood if there are no coasters. So coasters we must have. I found a couple of tutorials and think these will be great for our house! We haven't finished them yet because I want to use some sort of varnish that could harm the baby. So it's on Chuck's list.

Random Thoughts

2011-07-15T06:22:00.005-04:00

1. Chuck and I have a couple-friend. We really like both of them. The male of the couple called Chuck the other day with a mathematical question. I was offended. Sure sure, Chuck is a math teacher. And he did do better than I on the math part of the GRE. But I am a mathematical statistician and I have a bachelor's degree in math AND a master's in statistics. Chuck's degrees, on the other hands, are computer science and education. I digress. While they were calculating on the phone and I'm fuming downstairs, the only excuse I would allow male friend as to why he asked for Chuck instead of me was that it was awkward to call a married woman. When Chuck came downstairs and said that male friend said exactly that, all was forgiven. (Then I solved the problem just to prove I could.) Question: Is it weird for a married man to call a married woman? And if so, why?

2. Project Runway comes back on July 28th! Summer television suddenly got 10,000% better. Question: Why is summer TV the worst? Who is outside playing in this heat and humidity? No one. We're all stuck inside wishing for better TV.

3. No matter where I live, I feel like I'm always the last to get the newspaper and the mail. Seriously. On Monday our mail was delivered at 6:00 p.m. There can't be that many people after us, right? And almost every single morning when we were in the apartment, our paper arrived at 6:30 a.m., the latest it could be delivered without me getting it free. And now that the time moved earlier for the Post (it's now guaranteed by 6), there are still some days when I'm leaving for work at 5:50 a.m. that it's not here yet. Question: Does anyone else have this problem, or do I just gravitate to living at the end-of-the-route places?

4. Let's say, hypothetically of course, that you have a countdown chain for something. Let's continue hypothetically speaking and say that you counted up for 20 weeks to create the chain, and now are counting down the remaining 20 weeks. But now that the chain is down to only three links, do you change it to count days, putting 19 links on the chain? You get to remove them much faster that way. Or do you leave it measuring weeks because, HOT DOG! there are only three links on it? Decisions!

5. Question: Is "Charles" one syllable or two?

Finally--some nice pregnancy comments! According to a stranger on the Metro platform, you can't even tell I'm pregnant from the back. That's what I'm talking about! This woman has never been pregnant, yet she knows exactly what we-with-child want to hear. Bless you metro woman, bless you.

Pregnancy, Oh, Pregnancy

2011-07-13T06:28:00.013-04:00

I'm at the stage now where I just don't want to leave the house: not for work, not for church, not for fun. I know I'm big. I know. Yes, I'm worried the doctor missed a gestational diabetes diagnosis. Yes, I'm worried something is wrong with my fluid levels. Yes, I'm worried that I really have twins in there. (Well, that's more Chuck's worry, but still.) Even if none of that's true, I'm worried I just have a big baby in there. (Okay, but let's get real: I'm not going to have a baby this big, am I? Seriously, check out the link. NOW.) Fortunately I'm having another ultrasound on Friday. Unfortunately it won't make me smaller.

I repeat: I know I'm big. But it's still upsetting to have to hear it over and over and over again. Said the woman walking by me on the way to the metro, "[DANG]*! When's that baby due?" Said I as I kept walking, "Oh still four weeks away." Said the walking woman, "Seriously? You're HUGE!" Thank you. Thank you woman I've never met nor do I want to meet, for telling me this heretofore unknown fact. *Edited for language.

Also, everyone seems to love to say any version of "Any day now!" or "Looks like you're ready to pop!" Both of which are not helpful when I still have three weeks. Instead, these comments make me embarrassed and self-conscious when I have to explain that I still have three weeks to go. My sister said I should make a t-shirt that says, "I know I'm huge. SHUT IT." I might have to do that.

Even my feet are wide. I usually have pretty wide feet (thanks to a father with quintuple-E width shoes, or something thereabouts). But now? Dang. They're like full rectangles. I'm down to one pair of flip flops. It's pretty professional at work, believe me.

One last thing: I just checked when the next full moon is, and sadly it's this Friday, the 15th. I'm afraid that's just too early to push my body into an early labor. Sigh.

Yes, I wish I could be more positive for the sakes of all around me. Yes, I wish I could have a more eternal perspective about the pain I'm in. Yes, I wish I could just lie about it and tell everyone I'm doing great. Yes, I understand that so many women can't get pregnant so I should be grateful. Yes, I understand that so many have/had/will have it so much harder than I. But I can't think of that now.

Before you stop reading and never come back, the next three posts (and maybe more!) have nothing to do with me complaining. Lucky you!

Keepin' Busy (oh no, not me, my parents)

2011-07-11T06:28:00.045-04:00

When Rhett was born, I knew I was going to be a mess...and I was. I really didn't see having my parents there right away to witness this, so instead they showed up six weeks later. By that time, I was feeling better and they got to enjoy a more-alert baby and attend his blessing. It was the right decision for us.

Things are different now. Before, I didn't have another child running around; now I do. Because of this, I see the immediacy of extra helping hands. Fortunately, I have a husband who will be home for the first couple of weeks after Betamax joins us before he even has to go to work. But you better believe that as soon as Chuck returns to the classroom, my parents are coming to help with the new baby.

What should I have them do? I mean, sure, they can hold the baby and look at the baby, but really, they're not baby people...hmm...I wonder where I get this?! (Note: This just means I can't pass off the baby all day, not that they don't love their grandchildren as babies, because they do.) Here are my ideas for ways to use my parents:
1. Play with Rhett.
2. Grocery shop and make meals (both regular and ones to be frozen for later).
3. Take off the wallpaper from the goon room walls and then repaint.
4. Chores.

My dad will be content to sit and take in all the scenery. But my mom is a woman who likes to stay busy so I'm not sure this is enough. What tasks am I missing? What did you find most helpful from extra hands right after you gave birth?

Halfway Through the Summer

2011-07-08T06:28:00.003-04:00

Well halfway for us. Today I complete three of the six full-time work weeks that I'll do this summer before he-who-should-be-named-but-isn't arrives. And how is it going?

1. I need to be easier on Chuck. Yes, sometimes he doesn't think, but it takes time to get in the stay-at-home groove. He does a great job. And besides, he's doing a job I really just can't do right now so I should stop criticizing.

2. Sitting at my desk for 8.5 hours isn't horrible, as long as I remember to get up and walk around a couple of times during the day. Sure beats those 10.5-hour days.

3. I am sad that I have to miss summer things. My sister emily is busy doing these fun "summer merit badges" and I would have LOVED to do them with Rhett, but just can't. Maybe I'll at least make Chuck do them next summer.

4. Working from home is hard because I just want to be playing with Rhett, but can't because I am working. I really could not do it without Chuck being around. Of course my "playing" this summer is limited, but still.

5. I'm feeling a bit better. I think week 34 was really hard because it felt too early to feel so bad. But now that I'm 36 weeks, something in my brain says that it's okay to feel so icky. (And for the record: I do feel icky still. Both hands are now sporting braces. Do pro bowlers ever wear them on both hands? But I did find some cute maternity shirts at Target that actually cover my belly therefore making me feel better!)

6. Working full-time and then coming home and having to parent is HARD. With these shorter days, I'm home by 4 p.m. (compared to 6 p.m. with the part-time schedule). That's three hours with Rhett, that while I cherish, totally exhaust me. How do other working parents do it?!

7. Really, it's only six weeks this summer, with only three remaining. I can do it, right?

Least Exciting July 4th Ever

2011-07-06T06:23:00.001-04:00

At one point we thought we would spend the 4th at a state park enjoying the lake; but when we found out you need to be there be 7 a.m. just to get parking, we thought again. So what did we do? Not much. Trips to Target and Safeway. Lunch. Nap time trip to a fabric store for me, which proved to be a bust. Afternoon trip to Chuck's parents' house to enjoy their backyard pool, but also to endure the mosquitoes. (I think I forgot to mention them in my "Maryland Summers Suck" post. But yes, another downside to a Maryland summer--BUGS and lots of them.) Then we went home and had dinner, which wasn't even done on the grill (although Sunday's steak and corn were). We watched the fireworks on T.V.: much better seating and no Metro crowds to fight!

The three redeeming points of the holiday were:
1. That I was off and able to spend the day with my boys.
2. We ate homemade raspberry ice cream. Which, unfortunately is a bit sour for the boys, but fortunately, is a bit sour for the boys (which means I get it all to myself!). Next time I'll make sure there's some chocolate in it for Rhett.
3. I organized my craft closet. Oh my. It's lovely. I keep wanting to reopen the door just to look at it again and again. This means that almost all of the closets in my "sewing nook" have been reorganized, except for one. That one contains a bunch of my clothes that I won't bother touching until I can wear them again.

I am blaming my lack of holiday spirit on the 5-pound fetus growing inside me, that and the heat and humidity. Next year we vow to get Rhett to see fireworks.

Date Night

2011-07-04T06:24:00.002-04:00

Although I've alluded to it, I've never really documented the beauty that is our babysitters' club group. What is it? Major bullet points are:
1. Five couples with a total of 7.9 kids between us.
2. We meet every other Saturday night at one couples' residence.
3. Three couples go out, while the other two babysit all seven kids. So within a five-week period, Chuck and I go on three dates and babysit twice.

Simply put: It's awesome. Everyone loves it, at least in our house. Rhett frequently tells us he wishes it was Babysitters night because he likes being with his friends, and he likes being without us. He actually wants us to go on dates. (What type of dates does he suggest? Well, the zoo, of course!)

Even the nights when we're "stuck" babysitting aren't horrible. We get to share them with another couple and since we like all the other couples, it doesn't feel like we are "stuck" doing anything. We get to chat while watching the little ones. It really works well. And since two of our seven kids are just over seven months old, having four adults is a necessity (at least to Chuck and me).

And what do Chuck and I do on these date nights? Well, I've mentioned the swimming. Of course there's dinner (we went here once and got to feel so cool without having to go all the way downtown). Sometimes it has to be stuff that is normally so hard with a three-year old, like shopping for baby gear or furniture. But really, does it matter?! No. We're on a date! Although our final date before the baby comes is couple pedicure night. I'm pumped.

How great is this comic? Seriously so funny. And really, to me, this wouldn't be a horrible date night. Remember this date bread?! It's AWESOME. Maybe I should make some the next time we host...

P.S. Happy 4th of July!

Just in Time for the 4th

2011-07-01T06:27:00.009-04:00

I saw these chairs over at Simple Simon and Co. and wanted to try them out. I've never experimented with PVC pipe but since she made it sound so easy, I thought, why not.

We made our trip to Home Depot last Saturday, even though I'd already started working on the fabric seats. For some reason, I couldn't get her measurements to work out just right on those seats. When I checked her blog again later, she changed them to something that made more sense. I actually recommend cutting the rectangle to 7.5" x 19" (and if you want more details on how I finished them, let me know). I just prefer to work with thick hems, if you know what I mean.

Anyway, the chairs weren't quite as easy as she said and I would have struggled to finish them on my own (Home Depot laughed at us when we asked for help cutting the pipe). Was this just me or pregnant-me or pregnant-with-carpal-tunnel-me who struggled? Who knows. But with Chuck, they were no problem. We still haven't quite figured out how to get the printing off the pipe, however. Her acetone trick didn't work for us.

Now to find a parade and maybe even fireworks show wherein we can test them out! (They look kind of lopsided in this picture, but they're not. I promise.)

It's now July! I can now say "next month" when talking about when the baby's coming! Hopefully this will keep peoples' jaws on their faces when I tell them August. Hopefully, but not likely.

Anyone out there have a telescope or know anything about them? I'd like to get one for us, but other than knowing they're super cool and I want one, I don't know much.

Why the Face?

2011-06-29T06:26:00.022-04:00

Who can guess why I've been thinking about the following scripture lately?

Genesis 3:16 "Unto [Eve] he said, I will greatly multiply thy sorrow and thy conception; in sorrow thou shalt bring forth children; and thy desire shall be to thy husband, and he shall rule over thee."

Let's ignore the last clause, shall we? That's not where I'm focused today. Rather, I'm looking at the statement wherein women's sorrows are multiplied and we're told that women will bring forth children in sorrow. I thought we weren't supposed to be punished for Adam's (or Eve's) transgression.

I guess I just don't understand why women were given this "punishment." I'm not saying I don't want to bear children, but why does it have to be in "sorrow?" Because really, right about now (35 weeks), I'm definitely sorrowful. My hands hurt (the carpal tunnel is migrating to the right hand as well), my torso hurts (uterus jammed into rib cage anyone?), my back hurts, my belly is heavy and tight, my back is acne-filled, I am quickly running out of clothes that cover my belly, my body is under-exercised and exhausted. Like I said, I'm sorrowful. I usually blame a lot of this on being short, but I'm pretty sure tall women get sorrowful during pregnancy too. And let's be honest. The sorrow doesn't end right after delivery. I'm not leaving the hospital in my size 2 jeans (hahaha--did you catch that hilarious joke?! Size 2. I kill me.). The sorrow continues for a long time. Childbirth is just not easy.

But here's my beef: Why does childbearing have to be this way? Why can't I lay an egg, Chuck fertilize it, we watch it for a couple of months, and VOILA! A baby! Or, why can't the baby develop faster than 40 weeks? Say a 30-week gestation? I felt okay at 30 weeks and would have been happy to deliver at that time if I knew the baby would be healthy. I just think that God, in all His wisdom, could have figured out some other baby-making method. But right now, I am left feeling punished and sorrowful, maybe just a little bit picked on because I'm a woman.

In an effort to understand this, I asked Chuck his thoughts on this scripture. Here's what he came up with.

Chuck: Maybe it's to build a bond between mom and baby.
Erin: Nope; sorry. I don't buy it. I mean, you bonded with Rhett and you didn't have to carry him for nine months. And look at all the moms who adopt and bond with those children. Most of those moms weren't around for the nine months at all, and yet, still bonded. DEBUNKED.

Chuck: Well, if you keep reading. God also gives a punishment to Adam, namely, "cursed is the ground for thy sake." So Adam gets his curse too.
Erin: Oooookay, but isn't this really a punishment on both Adam and Eve? To me, this curse is one that is saying instead of God providing all the food as He did in Eden, He was going to make Adam work for it. Taking a traditional view, men may be the ones harvesting, but aren't women the ones cooking it? If Eve wasn't cooking before, she certainly was after. Where's the Adam-only punishment? Not fair. DEBUNKED.

Chuck: That's all I got.
Erin: AHA! See. There's no good reason why this experience has to be sorrowful. Well, at least not one that I can see. In my world, it won't be this way. At a minimum, men will be the gestating ones. Time will tell if I decide to make their gestation a sorrowful one or not.

P.S. If you think I'm being a baby and a complainer, you're right. So no need to leave a nasty comment. If, however, you have some insight into this, please share. Otherwise just feel free to gloat in your head that you're better than I am.

Potty Training

2011-06-27T06:22:00.050-04:00

Oy. Not my favorite week parenting, and I've been at work for most of it. Seriously, Chuck was a superstar for doing this. I'm not sure if it's just my inability to do this, or the fact that I'm feeling quite pregnant; either way, let's just say I struggled. But I will say this hopefully-not-perverted thought: little boy bums in underwear are the cutest. Seriously. Okay, here's the recap:

Day 0: Although we hadn't planned on starting Sunday, we had been prepping Rhett for the potty training that would begin the next day. And for whatever reason, Rhett was up for going to the bathroom on the toilet before church. And not just once, but like four times. And not just pee either. It was semi-miraculous. But with church and a visit to grandparents' house after church, we weren't going to go full-steam quite yet.

Day 1: Here we go! Underwear on and diapers off. Rhett is really excited and enjoys sitting on the toilet. Or at least, he loves getting M&Ms every time he does. Chuck has him on a timer so that he visits the bathroom every ten minutes, just to see if he has to go. And for some reason (M&Ms?), he is down with this. We mark his charts (all three of them: one for just sitting on the toilet, one for pee, and one for poo). Our rewards are for every 20 visits, he chooses two new books; for every 20 pees, he gets a new toy; and for every 20 poos, he gets an ice cream cone. Also, for every bathroom visit, he gets an M&M. Don't ask why those M&Ms are disappearing at an alarming rate, one much faster than his visits. Nighttime definitely involves a diaper.

Day 2: The day started out okay at first, but when it's clear that the kid needs to poo and he won't, he starts avoiding the toilet at all costs. He won't drink anything because he knows where he'll end up if he does. Although he has no accidents, we don't see much success either. Rhett and Chuck take their first trip out of the house to Chuck's parents' house. Nighttime is sans diaper--we'll see how that goes!

Day 3: A (mostly) dry morning! Sure, there was some pee, but not too bad. Considering the a diaper that he used to wake up with, you know, the one that hung to his knees, we were pleased with this outcome. Starts out pretty badly, Rhett still needing to poo and all. But once we got that out of him, he does great. He has one accident, but I blame that more on me (just waiting too long between visits). We definitely lengthened the time between bathroom visits compared to the first day. One time he starts to pee in his underwear, but I told him to try to hold it. Which he does! I get him to the toilet and he goes. We even practice stopping and starting: work that sphincter muscle, Rhett! He resumes his drinking and has his second dry nap.

Day 4: Chuck and Rhett got out of the house a bit and had no accidents. We did run into some minor resistance when needing to poo again, but once that was out, he was totally fine.

Pretty much our days continue like this. We've had no serious accidents and found that he can successfully go to the bathroom in places other than our house. He still hasn't perfected the "I need to go to the bathroom" yet, but the potty dancing and holding of the crotch tend to tell us when he needs to go. Maybe Chuck and Rhett will even get out of the house this week!

Please forgive the foray into complete mommy-blogging. Sometimes it can't be helped. I am a mom, after all.

Oh my. This is hysterical.

Things Rhett Says

2011-06-24T06:24:00.007-04:00

Rhett started prepping us on what he's going to say for his prayers. For example, he'll say, "I'll say the prayer but I'll only say 'Dear Heavenly Father. Thank you for the day. Amen.'" So he said that the other night for dinner prayer but when he actually said the prayer, he kept going. "Thank you for our drinks and our milk. But we don't thank you for dad's soda." Pretty awesome, eh?! Especially since Chuck wasn't even drinking soda.

[Rhett's in bed; I thought he was sleeping so I took advantage of the time by sweeping.]
Rhett: [Starts crying out--something he never does, so I go right in.]
Me: What's wrong, bubba?
Rhett: Who is sweeping?
Me: I was sweeping. Is that okay?
Rhett: I thought it was a monster sweeping.
If monsters came to sweep, I'd probably let them stay.

[Said while looking down my shirt]
Rhett: Why don't you have your boobs on, Mom?
Me:
I found out later that by "boobs" he meant bra. How did I find out? I was getting dressed and my bra was sitting on the bed and he repeated the above question. Then he wrapped my "boobs" around his neck.

[Rhett and I were talking about other names for me, his mom.]
Rhett: You can also be "babe."
Me: Really? I've never heard you call me that. Oh Rhett, I like you.
Rhett: I like you too, babe.

[Rhett's sitting on the toilet learning to go pee while talking to me on the phone.]
Me: Hi buddy.
Rhett: Hi Mom. I wish you were here and that you brought the weather page.
Me: Oh honey, I'm sorry I went to work with the paper and didn't leave the weather page for you.
Rhett: Can you bring it home?
Me: Yes, buddy, I will.

Rhett began this weird thing wherein he'll "pause" us whilst doing something. For example, yesterday I was singing the alphabet and when I got to M, Rhett puts up his hand and says, "Pause. Mom, I have to tell you something." When he's done telling me the something, he says, "Unpause" and I'm expected to resume my singing at N. We are living in a TiVo world, I guess.

Call it Nesting, Call it Whatever; I Just Call it AWESOME

2011-06-22T06:27:00.003-04:00

Of course I don't feel like I'm "nesting," but I guess because I'm pregnant and I want to organize stuff, that's what it gets labeled. But whatever it is, it's been awesome. We cleaned out Chuck's closet (any bets on how long before it's a disaster again?). We cleaned out the Goon Room (soon to be the boys' room, you know, once we have boys-plural). But the best one, in my opinion, was the cleaning and organizing of two closets in my basement storage nook.

One of these closets held all of my sewing stuff; the second one contained random stuff. We switched them because it made more sense and I find myself just opening the doors to look inside at the results.

This is the before pic of the sewing closet. Stuff is two-deep which means I can't even see a lot of the fabric I have. Which means I can't use it or I re-buy it. Dumb.

This is the random stuff closet and it's just yucky. I get bad feelings just opening the door.

And here's the after shot of the random stuff closet. All the packaging/wrapping stuff on the bottom two shelves, scrapbooks above them, and Chuck's stuff on the very top. It's just so nice.

And then, of course, the new and improved sewing closet. I love it. I found fabric I don't remember buying and now have projects for it! It's lovely being able to see everything I have (and don't have...).

Only four more closets to go!

Fathers' Day Thoughts

2011-06-20T06:27:00.022-04:00

(Excuse the dour thoughts. It was one of those days. But I'll try to also look on the bright side of things.)

Downside: Don't count on Amazon to deliver things on time. Chuck's presents consisted of a paper banner, homemade apple pie, and matching outfits with Rhett (although I'm pretty sure that's just a present for me).
Upside: Fathers' Day just gets re-celebrated when the actual gifts arrive.

Downside: Rhett kinda blew the surprise of what he picked out for Chuck for Fathers' Day.
Upside: He surprised him with an even better present: going to the bathroom on the toilet! What the what?! This is absolutely amazing for our child. Tomorrow starts the official first day of potty training, but hey, we'll take this for sure. I'm pretty sure the M&M's as reward are working.

Downside: Just because your son goes to sleep two hours late on Saturday, does not mean he'll sleep in the next day. In fact, he'll likely get up at the same exact time as he normally would.
Upside: There is none.

Downside: I look like a professional bowler with my wrist brace.
Upside: I look like a professional bowler with my wrist brace!

Downside: My calling nearly made me go into early labor yesterday with the stress.
Upside: My calling nearly made me go into early labor yesterday with the stress! (Oh, do I have a post in the works about this calling. As soon as I'm released, so will the post be.)

Downside: I have to start full-time work tomorrow while these boys get to hang out and play and potty train...without me.
Upside: I'll have these lovely pictures to look at all day and remind me of the complete happiness that they bring me.

Do you think once I have two sons, I can stop including Chuck in this disgusting display of matchy-matchy? I kind of hope so.

An Interview with Me

2011-06-17T06:25:00.066-04:00

Me: Thanks, erin, for joining us today.
Erin: No problem! Thanks for inviting me. I'm excited to be here.

Me: So, how are you feeling these days?
Erin: Well, I always say that it's about as good as it gets. Because I don't experience morning sickness, nor have I yet to be sentenced to bed rest, I feel pretty lucky. But that's quickly changing. As I did with Rhett, I'm starting to develop some severe pregnancy-induced carpal tunnel. It shows up when typing, driving, holding books, cooking, sewing, and the worst...sleeping. My hands go numb and wake me up about five times a night. Then I have to try to figure out how to get it to go away. It's extremely frustrating. However, at Wednesday's OB appointment, my doctor recommended visiting an orthopaedist who can get me a splint. Hooray! And hooray for not being in an HMO, because when I was pregnant with Rhett, the OB said there was nothing I could do for it. Man, I really really dislike HMOs.

Me: Is there anything positive about being pregnant during summer?
Erin: One thing. This week excepting, our weather has been pretty miserable: hot and humid. If I weren't pregnant, I'd still be running. Last week it's not likely I would have tried to run and I would have felt very guilty (and very fat). However, being seven months pregnant gives me an excuse to not run now, and I'm okay with that, and okay with feeling fat. We still try to get out often and walk Bruno, so I'm getting my pregnant-lady exercise.

Me: Are you feeling ready for this baby?
Erin: Nope. We've certainly talked about all the things we need (which isn't much, thankfully). We still need bottles, crib sheets, and a crib mattress, but that's about it. We're getting closer on the name front, so that's good. As for the reality of going from one child to two? No way do I feel ready. I'm scared to death. Scared to lose time with my little man, scared of taking care of two kids, scared of having a newborn in the house again. And no one's even tried to convince me I shouldn't be, which just scares me more.

Me: So this was Chuck's last week in school. How are you and Chuck feeling about your summer plans?
Erin: Pretty good. Given how exhausted am I now as a mom and pregnant lady (you women who do this multiple times, especially with multiple kids outside of the uterus, absolutely amaze me), work will be a welcomed environment. Blasted air conditioning and no running around chasing a toddler sounds dreamy right about now. I am sad that these are the last times we have as a family of three, though. I sure like that little man. Chuck is excited to start potty training on Monday. Wish them luck!

Me: Is there anything fun going on this summer?
Erin: Does sitting around waiting for the humidity to go and the baby to come count? No? Oh. Well we still have fun plans: we will be brushing up on our Algebra II. Chuck's teaching it for the first time this school year and neither of us has "used" it since we took it...21 years ago for me, probably 20 for Chuck! When you take as much math as I have, you can't remember what specific parts fit into which specific courses, so it'll be fun to find that out.

Me: How is Rhett doing?
Erin: Just fine. He really is a funny little dude. I am getting very tired of reading Berenstain Bears books, though. And telling stories about ceiling fans. But I do love him and am excited to see what type of big brother he'll be. He's so excited about his baby brother and is constantly telling us about all the things he'll do once the baby comes. For example, he's going to make him smile, feed him all by himself, hold him, play with him. He really is adorable about the whole thing--I hope it lasts!

Me: Anything else you'd like to add?
Erin: You know, I've got a pretty great life and am excited to meet this little one taking up residence in my uterus. And really, any time he sees fit to come join us (after about 37 weeks, of course), I'm all for it.

Thanks for indulging me as I do a bit of journaling.

Great Falls

2011-06-15T06:28:00.008-04:00

Maryland did, in fact, come through with weather on Monday: lower temperatures and a lot lower humidity. A couple of friends and our little ones got together and took a trip to Great Falls. I have to say, I love Great Falls. I love being on the C & O Canal; I love hearing the roar of the falls; I love seeing boats in the water. I also love seeing the poor people on the Virginia side, because clearly, the Maryland side is better.

Rhett seemed to enjoy it. He didn't want to spend as much time in the stroller as I insisted, but some of those bridges really, really scare me. And if you think I'm scared, you should see mom-me scared.

One of Rhett's favorite things there was the map of the area. He loves looking at maps these days (tear). I think he looks old in a ball cap.

Here is Rhett with two of his buddies. They all loved climbing on the rocks, maybe more than they loved looking at the water?

Me with my 1.8 sons. (And if you have eagle eyes, not to worry on the missing wedding rings. My fingers are quite chubby these days and the rings really hurt. I'm looking forward to the return to their normal size.)

More Projects

2011-06-13T06:25:00.028-04:00

You know it's been miserable weather when the only pictures I have are "inside" pictures. Really, it's been pretty gross. But today is supposed to be another "Hey erin--it's Maryland here. Please give me another chance" day. We'll see.

So we've been indoors, and I've been doing more sewing. These skirts were inspired from my visits to the super awesome quilt shops in Utah. I made these from one pillowcase bought at the thrift store, so the fabric was less than 75 cents. And now that I know what I'm doing, I'd try it again with better fabric, although these are pretty cute.

Chuck's mom recently bought a blow-up pool for her backyard and after our visit on Thursday, I kept thinking that Rhett needed a pool robe (from this tutorial at Sew, Mama, Sew). Sewing the terry cloth was easier than I thought, but DANG does it shed (all those raw edges)! Hopefully that will stop once I wash it. But I'm still pleased, and kinda wanting a serger.

Rhett is a bib kid. We use them all the time, except when we go to restaurants or other peoples' homes and forget to bring one. When at the dentist I thought that the clips they use to hold the "adult bibs" (what are they called?!) would be perfect to hold a napkin around a child. I was inspired by one I saw on Etsy and just created this one. Now let's go out so I can use it!

And finally, Chuck's tie. The hardware proved so hard to find, but I finally did and that made all the difference. Now if Chuck's neck wasn't so thick... It fits, but just barely. I bet you can't wait for next Monday's post wherein their matching outfits are revealed!

What's next? How about some super sweet infant gowns?

The Thought that Counts

2011-06-10T06:29:00.009-04:00

Remember when Rhett said he wanted to give me some "toy eyes" for Mothers' Day? Well, he definitely came through with these beauties.

As Fathers' Day is approaching, I asked him what we should get Chuck. Do you know what he said? Of course you don't; I'll tell you. A NEW OVEN. That's right: I get toy eyes and Rhett wants to give his dad a new oven. And telling me "it's the thought that counts" doesn't really help because still, he wanted to give me toy eyes. Toy eyes. A new oven. Not quite the same thing.

My Version of S.A.D.

2011-06-08T06:22:00.004-04:00

I know I shouldn't be, but every Maryland summer I am amazed at how affected by the weather I am. Modern (wo)man likes to think that we have Mother Nature conquered, but alas, we do not. Air conditioning and heating help, but can't do everything. I mean, at some point, I have to go outside. Remember the storms of 2010? Certainly no conquering then.

So every June (or, worse, May, or very worst, April), I am forced to face the fact that I am a WIMP when it comes to summers in Maryland. The heat alone I could handle. But add the humidity? No non-swear word can express how I feel about it. Early last week we got our first taste of disgusting. It was hot (record-breaking hot, in fact) and humid (with humidity equaling temperature at times). This does not a good combination make. But care to make it worse? Add a three-year-old, a seven-month-pregnant woman, a ton of laundry, and grocery shopping to do (if I wanted to serve dinner, that is). It was, quite easily, the worst day I had in a long, long time. Clearly Bruno felt the same way.

I was afraid that this terrible, horrible, no-good, very bad day would be indicative of the remaining 60-odd days of pregnancy. This did not make me feel good. I felt like a failure of a mother and wife because I could barely play with my son, nonetheless take care of everything else I had to do. I felt extremely guilty to all involved parties (Chuck, Rhett, and Bruno). I really didn't think I could blame it all on the weather...or could I?

Turns out, yes, yes I could. When Friday was gorgeous (high of 81 with almost no humidity), and I could suddenly do things again, oh the relief! And since weather was the only thing I could blame on the change, that's exactly what I did. We ended up having two of these gorgeous days (in a row!) wherein we played in the sandbox, swam in our baby pool, walked the dog, walked the dog again but went way farther than I should have, gave the boy a haircut, took in a birthday party, and even went on a date. It was awesome. Truly awesome.

So as long as the universe sees fit to throw me reasonably-warm summer days, I think I'll survive the pregnancy. Otherwise I'll just have to be thankful for a job that is uber-air-conditioned and a husband who will stay home and do ~~the laundry~~ everything but the laundry.

P.S. What did we do on our date? We went swimming! How awesome is that?! To go child-less swimming was such a joy. The only downside is doing it with contacts. Argh. Lasik...you will be mine.

P.P.S. Have you watched "The I.T. Crowd" yet? You can get it on Netflix (even the play it now version of Netflix). So if you have Netflix, do it. I don't do general media recommendations often, so when I do, you know it's For. Rills.

P.P.P.S. Today is going to be another scorcher. Ugh.

Year in "Max and Whiskers"

2011-06-06T06:29:00.001-04:00

This fabric line has definitely dominated my sewing year. I think this is the end of the projects I'll do from it for awhile, except for Chuck's tie which has been killing me due to hardware.

Oooh, maybe me using this line to death is a sign that the baby's name should be Max (the fabric line is named "Max and Whiskers"). Remember, Max is the genesis of the pseudonym "Betamax" after all. Hey, if it helps us make a decision, it helps. Who am I to say that baby-naming inspiration can't come from fabric? I am no one; no one I, tell you.

Anyway, here are the projects for Betamax from the line: pseudo-rag quilt, banner, and onesie to to match his brother and dad. (You know, for when they wear their appliqued onesies.)