Brian and I were in the kitchen an hour ago, cleaning up after lunch, and Benjamin walked in from our "bar" with two wine glasses. Handed one to Brian, saying "There you go, Daddy"...and the handed me the other, saying "There you go, Mommy!"...Brian and I just started cracking up, and Benjamin's eyes get big as he announced:
"Mommy, Daddy...maybe it's time for you to have some wines!"
Hilarious.
I've been horrible with my blog lately, always thinking of things to write, things that are on my mind, etc...but the only time I seem to be able to muster up is for silly stuff like this.
I'll try to be better soon.:)
Sunday, January 27, 2008
Wednesday, January 16, 2008
Early bird...
gets the pre-school class!
So glad...got there ridiculously early yesterday and ended up being first in line! Was a long afternoon, but made a new buddy and hung out with several old ones, while we watched the line grow 50plus people deep. Crazy! But so happy bout our schedule for next year...teachers...pals in the class...everything.
Thanks Mom for hanging out on Santa Cruz while I waited!
Brian's off to Chicago and Minneapolis as of yesterday, returning tomorrow.
Feeling tough and ready to rock it out...
Finishing up breakfast--boys got up at 9am???!!! Freaks.
Off to Miss Treeaaassshhh in about an hour.
Good day!
So glad...got there ridiculously early yesterday and ended up being first in line! Was a long afternoon, but made a new buddy and hung out with several old ones, while we watched the line grow 50plus people deep. Crazy! But so happy bout our schedule for next year...teachers...pals in the class...everything.
Thanks Mom for hanging out on Santa Cruz while I waited!
Brian's off to Chicago and Minneapolis as of yesterday, returning tomorrow.
Feeling tough and ready to rock it out...
Finishing up breakfast--boys got up at 9am???!!! Freaks.
Off to Miss Treeaaassshhh in about an hour.
Good day!
Monday, January 14, 2008
What do eggs, broccoli and rice have in common?
Our dinner tonight.:)
It's funny what happens when you haven't been to the grocery yet for the week.
My challenge was, as usual, to find something that they both could eat...given Jonny's allergies. But the greater obstacle here was what our fridge and pantry had to offer.
I felt somewhat pleased with the ingredients, but as I started to put them together...felt differently.
Here's what I started out with:
steamed broccoli (organic--do I get points for that???)
shredded cheese
brown rice
eggs (also organic--am I rockin out or what?!?)
applesauce
Benjamin loves "cheesey rice", as we call it...which is when I combine brown rice, cheese, and shredded chicken into a dish. So when I woke him from his nap, I announced we were having "cheesey rice"...and then under my breath, mentioned that instead of chicken, he'd be having eggs. Waa-waaaa (insert "disappointment" noise from Three's Company here).
Anyway, I mixed up the eggs, cheese, rice and broccoli for them both (Jonny's minus the egg whites-can life get more high maintenance round here???)....and served it up.
THEY LOVED IT!!!
Benjamin even paused halfway through, mouth full of food and fork held high in the air, "Mommy, it's gooood!"
Ridic!
I was laughing so hard at how happy they were...and as I packaged up the leftovers in tupperware, I noted how much of a resemblance this concoction had to a compost pile...and this made me laugh even harder.
But you know what? I tried a bite...and damn, shit was good.
Anyway, this has me thinking. I'd love to know what kind of unspeakable randomness happens in my friends' kitchens. When you haven't gone to Meijer yet and all you have is garbonzo beans, salsa and maybe some frozen veggies. That kind of desperation!
And while I do strive to have lovely, wholesome meals each night for my family (in my next life I'll be Stephanie Doublestein!), there are just some nights where it doesn't happen.
So fess up, fellow blogger friends!:)
I know you have a few, too, Steph--or at least I hope! (insert smiley face nervously biting nails here)
It's funny what happens when you haven't been to the grocery yet for the week.
My challenge was, as usual, to find something that they both could eat...given Jonny's allergies. But the greater obstacle here was what our fridge and pantry had to offer.
I felt somewhat pleased with the ingredients, but as I started to put them together...felt differently.
Here's what I started out with:
steamed broccoli (organic--do I get points for that???)
shredded cheese
brown rice
eggs (also organic--am I rockin out or what?!?)
applesauce
Benjamin loves "cheesey rice", as we call it...which is when I combine brown rice, cheese, and shredded chicken into a dish. So when I woke him from his nap, I announced we were having "cheesey rice"...and then under my breath, mentioned that instead of chicken, he'd be having eggs. Waa-waaaa (insert "disappointment" noise from Three's Company here).
Anyway, I mixed up the eggs, cheese, rice and broccoli for them both (Jonny's minus the egg whites-can life get more high maintenance round here???)....and served it up.
THEY LOVED IT!!!
Benjamin even paused halfway through, mouth full of food and fork held high in the air, "Mommy, it's gooood!"
Ridic!
I was laughing so hard at how happy they were...and as I packaged up the leftovers in tupperware, I noted how much of a resemblance this concoction had to a compost pile...and this made me laugh even harder.
But you know what? I tried a bite...and damn, shit was good.
Anyway, this has me thinking. I'd love to know what kind of unspeakable randomness happens in my friends' kitchens. When you haven't gone to Meijer yet and all you have is garbonzo beans, salsa and maybe some frozen veggies. That kind of desperation!
And while I do strive to have lovely, wholesome meals each night for my family (in my next life I'll be Stephanie Doublestein!), there are just some nights where it doesn't happen.
So fess up, fellow blogger friends!:)
I know you have a few, too, Steph--or at least I hope! (insert smiley face nervously biting nails here)
Saturday, January 12, 2008
Benjamin Davis
My alarm went off, and the song playing on the radio that morning was "A New Day Has Come" by Celine Dion. Cheesey? Oh yes...but amazing how perfectly it fit that very day. It had been a week since the 6wk ultrasound, when the sonogram tech and the OB had said they were hoping, at that point, for a higher heart rate, and to prepare myself for a possible miscarriage. When my eyes welled up and I asked, in desperation, "could the low number just be normal?"...the OB (who I grew to avoid in that office during my entire preganancy) smiled patronizingly and said "Well, let's just say I'd like to see it higher, honey...we'll see you in a week, k?"
Anyway, the days in between that visit and the next were easily my most anxious of my entire life. We'd tried for almost two years to get pregnant...and there I was, finally with a positive pee stick in the house. 4 of them, actually. Just couldn't seem to tire of looking at that second line.
Something happened, though, over the weekend right before I had the follow-up appt...I felt unusually calm about it, even positive that things would be alright. The neurotic and "the sky is falling!!!" part of me wanted to just prepare myself for the worst, but somehow I felt different. And that morning, when my alarm went off for the 8am sonogram appt...I heard cheesey Celine belting out the following lyrics:
"..I was waiting for so long, for a miracle to come
everyone told me to be strong, hold on...and don't shed a tear
through the darkness and good times, I knew I'd make it through
and the world thought I had it all, but I was...waiting for you.
Hush...now...I see a light in the sky...
it's almost blinding me,
I can't believe I've been touched by an angel of love..."
Even as I type those lyrics I feel it's so cliche and ridiculous to be quoting Ms. Dion...but honestly, as I lay in bed that morning my eyes filled with tears at how perfect it was.
And sure enough, Brian and I went to the ultrasound, only to see little B's heart tick-ticking away at a rapid, healthy rate. It was incredible.
And would you know...nine months later, the very OB (there are twelve in that practice) that was so sour and condescending at that first visit...whom I avoided like the plague my entire pregnancy...was the one on call when B was born. And she kicked ass. Made me work harder than I knew I was going to have to...and truly kept my head in the game when things got crazy.
Anyway, I've been particularly close with Benjamin lately. It just happens sometimes with kids, I think...you go through cycles where they're a bit more "in love" with you than they are other times. It's been heaven, though. He truly is such an amazing individual...
And it takes a patient, special heart to truly get him some days...he's not as gregarious and aggressive as other boys his age, but when you make him comfy around you, he's the most hysteterical two year old you've met. And he's completely confident in his sense of humor...it's funny. He also has such a pure, unending well of sensitivity and affection right at the surface. I'm amazed at how much he studies other people's faces--their emotions, their reactions, etc. Nothing is lost on him...and everything affects him. He's like a human barometer of emotion.
Brian and I were in an argument last week (this happens from time to time...don't tell anyone) and Benjamin started crying. We were just talking, though admittedly in firm voices, in the kitchen...and when B walked in I immediately smiled and said "hey, Bud!"...and he nervously came to my side and took my hand into the tv room. We did a puzzle quietly...and after about a minute or two, he looked up at me and said:
"Mommy, you angry?"
"Nooo...Bud...not at you. Sometimes I just get frustrated with Daddy, and he gets frustrated wit me. But it's ok, and we love each other very much."
I felt like I was reading a teleprompter from an after-school special script. Especially because he looked completely unconvinved. But he didn't mention it again.
Until tonight. Brian and I were hugging and smooching a bit in the kitchen (ok, this happens from time to time, as well)...and Benjamin walked in and started jumping up and down and laughing...and shouted:
"Hahahaha!!! Mommy and Daddy! They love eachother again!"
I kid you not.
A week later, and that's the exact phrase that came out of this child's mouth.
Killed me.
Anyway...just feeling sentimental about my boy lately...how much of an inspiration he is to me, how much he has taught me about myself...and how much strength and confidence he's given me just by making me a mom.
I love you, sweet boy.
Anyway, the days in between that visit and the next were easily my most anxious of my entire life. We'd tried for almost two years to get pregnant...and there I was, finally with a positive pee stick in the house. 4 of them, actually. Just couldn't seem to tire of looking at that second line.
Something happened, though, over the weekend right before I had the follow-up appt...I felt unusually calm about it, even positive that things would be alright. The neurotic and "the sky is falling!!!" part of me wanted to just prepare myself for the worst, but somehow I felt different. And that morning, when my alarm went off for the 8am sonogram appt...I heard cheesey Celine belting out the following lyrics:
"..I was waiting for so long, for a miracle to come
everyone told me to be strong, hold on...and don't shed a tear
through the darkness and good times, I knew I'd make it through
and the world thought I had it all, but I was...waiting for you.
Hush...now...I see a light in the sky...
it's almost blinding me,
I can't believe I've been touched by an angel of love..."
Even as I type those lyrics I feel it's so cliche and ridiculous to be quoting Ms. Dion...but honestly, as I lay in bed that morning my eyes filled with tears at how perfect it was.
And sure enough, Brian and I went to the ultrasound, only to see little B's heart tick-ticking away at a rapid, healthy rate. It was incredible.
And would you know...nine months later, the very OB (there are twelve in that practice) that was so sour and condescending at that first visit...whom I avoided like the plague my entire pregnancy...was the one on call when B was born. And she kicked ass. Made me work harder than I knew I was going to have to...and truly kept my head in the game when things got crazy.
Anyway, I've been particularly close with Benjamin lately. It just happens sometimes with kids, I think...you go through cycles where they're a bit more "in love" with you than they are other times. It's been heaven, though. He truly is such an amazing individual...
And it takes a patient, special heart to truly get him some days...he's not as gregarious and aggressive as other boys his age, but when you make him comfy around you, he's the most hysteterical two year old you've met. And he's completely confident in his sense of humor...it's funny. He also has such a pure, unending well of sensitivity and affection right at the surface. I'm amazed at how much he studies other people's faces--their emotions, their reactions, etc. Nothing is lost on him...and everything affects him. He's like a human barometer of emotion.
Brian and I were in an argument last week (this happens from time to time...don't tell anyone) and Benjamin started crying. We were just talking, though admittedly in firm voices, in the kitchen...and when B walked in I immediately smiled and said "hey, Bud!"...and he nervously came to my side and took my hand into the tv room. We did a puzzle quietly...and after about a minute or two, he looked up at me and said:
"Mommy, you angry?"
"Nooo...Bud...not at you. Sometimes I just get frustrated with Daddy, and he gets frustrated wit me. But it's ok, and we love each other very much."
I felt like I was reading a teleprompter from an after-school special script. Especially because he looked completely unconvinved. But he didn't mention it again.
Until tonight. Brian and I were hugging and smooching a bit in the kitchen (ok, this happens from time to time, as well)...and Benjamin walked in and started jumping up and down and laughing...and shouted:
"Hahahaha!!! Mommy and Daddy! They love eachother again!"
I kid you not.
A week later, and that's the exact phrase that came out of this child's mouth.
Killed me.
Anyway...just feeling sentimental about my boy lately...how much of an inspiration he is to me, how much he has taught me about myself...and how much strength and confidence he's given me just by making me a mom.
I love you, sweet boy.
Thursday, January 10, 2008
"Out of office message"
I am currently away from my desk doing any one of the following:
*sneezing
*wiping my nose
*wiping my boys' noses
*administering Tylenol, amoxicillin, or cough syrup
*refilling humidifiers
*taking out trash after trash full of used tissues
*holding Jonathan, who is whiny, whimpery and CLINGY
Anyway, I'll be back when things return to normal (which will still include Jonny being clingy). :)
*sneezing
*wiping my nose
*wiping my boys' noses
*administering Tylenol, amoxicillin, or cough syrup
*refilling humidifiers
*taking out trash after trash full of used tissues
*holding Jonathan, who is whiny, whimpery and CLINGY
Anyway, I'll be back when things return to normal (which will still include Jonny being clingy). :)
Friday, January 4, 2008
Wednesday, January 2, 2008
Well, it's officially over, kids.
And honestly? I am, among many things, relieved.
I'm also melancholy, a bit sad, but mostly just reflective and completely happy to be done with the holiday season.
As for 2007, that's where the melancholy comes in...what a year it has been. So many happy memories!
But as for today, I am one hundred percent GLAD to be home, with nothing on the schedule. Nowhere to run off to, no one to meet, no one to buy presents for, no bags to pack (but holy shit, several to unpack)...basically, no "c'mon, we gotta go...time to go...hurry up!"
I am SO done with that.
Ready to play with new toys, hang out in pjs, drink coffee while my little guys find new ways to destroy the house and eachother, sort through magazines that have been collecting over the past few weeks...and perhaps even build a snowman with my 2yr old this afternoon after his nap. That is, if we can keep his 1yr old brother from barrelling into it and making the 2yr old cry in frustration.
Isn't this just our life these days...the ongoing juxtaposition of joyful and sad, happy and frustrated...the yin and yang (spelling, folks?) of toddler emotions.
Building a snowman in amazing, freshly fallen snow: extreme joy
Younger brother jackin up yet another activity: overwhelming frustration
Mommy wasting the day away with simple activities with boys: indescribable joy
Mommy tired as F from the holidays and wanting a nap: holy frustration, batman
Off to consider the possibility of clothes today.
I'm also melancholy, a bit sad, but mostly just reflective and completely happy to be done with the holiday season.
As for 2007, that's where the melancholy comes in...what a year it has been. So many happy memories!
But as for today, I am one hundred percent GLAD to be home, with nothing on the schedule. Nowhere to run off to, no one to meet, no one to buy presents for, no bags to pack (but holy shit, several to unpack)...basically, no "c'mon, we gotta go...time to go...hurry up!"
I am SO done with that.
Ready to play with new toys, hang out in pjs, drink coffee while my little guys find new ways to destroy the house and eachother, sort through magazines that have been collecting over the past few weeks...and perhaps even build a snowman with my 2yr old this afternoon after his nap. That is, if we can keep his 1yr old brother from barrelling into it and making the 2yr old cry in frustration.
Isn't this just our life these days...the ongoing juxtaposition of joyful and sad, happy and frustrated...the yin and yang (spelling, folks?) of toddler emotions.
Building a snowman in amazing, freshly fallen snow: extreme joy
Younger brother jackin up yet another activity: overwhelming frustration
Mommy wasting the day away with simple activities with boys: indescribable joy
Mommy tired as F from the holidays and wanting a nap: holy frustration, batman
Off to consider the possibility of clothes today.
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