The Heehawer and the Class Clown

We went to the park again this morning. It was muddy and gross but the equipment was relatively dry and W was in another good, laughy mood. Two friends came too and they seemed to all be having a ball. C was pretty much rolling around in the mud, at the sheer panic of his mom. But he didn't seem to mind. and ME was just happy to be outside, toddling around, squealing in delight at the nature. C was being really funny, almost like the class clown and W was heehawing at everything he did which certainly egged C on. He'd throw a stick in the air and W howled. He did it again and he howled louder. and if C didn't pick up the stick fast enough, W would get it and hand it back to C for another round. It was so fun to watch. At this age they usually don't play together that much but today they were definitely a team.

Wet Nursing making a comeback

I ran across this article about wet nursing in J's Time Magazine. If I've run out of reading material I'll pick up his Time or if something on the cover catches my eye. Well, this issue was about the massacre at VTech so I started reading and finally landed on Milk Maid. It seems wet nursing is making a minor comeback. And not only that, some mothers are sharing milk. For instance, if my friend and I have babies at the same time we can share our nursing responsibilites between us. Blah. I think it all sounds more than a little bit freaky.

The Little Buddy and I go to this great program. It's really his first time in a classroom setting. We sing and play and he generally likes it. But I am soooooo boooooooooooooooored. Oh my gosh. The first few times were super fun. I loved seeing his reaction to what the teacher did and his reaction to the other kids, especially since he's one of the youngest. The novelty has worn off. I so did not want to go this week. and to tell you the truth I don't think he did either. He didn't seem that into it the last time. But J scolded me and told me it was good for him. So I reluctantly and every so slowly got us dressed. We ended up being late. Oops. Totally unintentional. When we arrived we rang the buzzer but no one answered. You can imagine my dissapointment when we had to pile back into the car and go home.

Bugaboo strollers

If you're thinking of buying a bugaboo stroller you better read this.

I cried for them

For us locals, the reopening of Camellia Grill was a long time coming. I've imagined almost everyday stuffing down a chili cheese omelet with french fries, oozing with hot cheese and covered with the perfect of amount of chili. and when I'm imagining it, I am eating the whole thing. Deeeelicious. I'm worried about how long it will take me to get over there. We can't bring the Little Buddy because you sit at a counter on a stool and I don't think W would sit for very long. I think we're going to have to go on a night when we have a babysitter. That's okay though. as long as I get my omelet. or should I have a Camellia Grill special, or just a cheeseburger, or all three?

Uncle RaRa and Aunt JoJo went today. They waited in line for 30 minutes. Not too bad. Probably the same amount of time you would have waited pre-Katrina. They finally sat down and ordered. They waited patiently, while they gazed around at everyone biting into their juicy burgers and licking the last bites of chili off of their plates and slurping down their milkshakes. and then it happened.......................

The transformer blew across the street. The lights went out and they kicked everyone out who hadn't received their order.

They ended up at O'Henry's. I find it one of the dirtiest, most pitiful, incompetent places in town. I shed a tear for them.

Crawfish on the Patio

We just finished eating crawfish, the first time for me this season. Golly, I forget how good they are. We didn't boil them ourselves, we let the Little Fisherman Big Fisherman (he grew up, I guess) do the dirty work. The LB wouldn't eat any but he ate gingersnaps 3 at a time. We only got 5 pounds, it was enough but definitely not too much. I had to eat slowly because J, not being a local and all, isn't as fast as me. Every time we eat crawfish, I offer to give him a few helpful hints. He never takes me up on them. He's a proud man. When we were still dating my parents had a crawfish boil birthday party/Bacchus party for me. It was the first time I'd seen him eat crawfish. I was embarrassed for him. It took him forever to peel five. Maybe I should have been embarrassed for myself considering the gluttonous pile of shells I had in front of me. To his credit, he's gotten a lot faster since. He said tonight that he would be the one to teach W how to peel crawfish. Little Buddy, I'll show you when he's not around. We'll just let him think that he taught you how to be the expert peeler that you will be.

Quite the Little Helper

The Little Buddy is making everyday chores not so boring. He's caught on to many of them and loves to help out every now and then. I actually have found myself laughing while doing things that I find so tedious. He thinks unloading the dishwasher is the greatest thing under the sun. If only I could let him do it all on his own. I don't think I hate anything more. The other day J went to empty the trash and as soon as he took the trashcans out of the cabinet, W opened the other cabinet where we keep the trashbags and pulled one out. Of course, being the ham that he is, he took the time to pose for the camera.

He also likes pushing the laundry cart to the washer, cleaning up his toys (although it's always short lived) and he likes making our bed. Playing on our big bed is a favorite pasttime but only if it's made up. and J thinks I am taking advantage of the LB when I ask him to go get my socks and tennis shoes so I don't have to walk any farther than necessary but he giggles the whole way there and back. So I don't feel so guilty. I do look forward to the day when he is able to rub my back.

Greyer and Greyer

I’m going grey. Really grey. My eyelashes, eyebrows and hair. and I feel like the more pregnant I become the grayer I get. I don’t really know what to do about it. I love my dad’s grey (white) hair , But his is very soft and shiny it’s very distinguished looking. I have a feeling that’s the way I’m going since I have his hair. But it doesn’t look near as good on me. It’s not soft and shiny like his. It’s just plain wiry. I’m only 36 for goodness sake. So I’ve given in. Yes, I’m an advanced maternal age and I’m grey. I’ve dyed my hair twice in my life. One time I got very subtle blond highlights, not even enough for anyone else to know the difference but expensive enough to make me want to throw up and just recently I tried to cover up the grey and the hair dresser used a sort of auburnish red, since I have that tendency. Again, not enough that anyone would notice the difference unless a. I told you about it b.you were me or my mom and this time it was so expensive I surprised myself I didn’t throw up. And I didn’t even like it. So what’s a girl to do?

I'm not sure what is going on with the Little Buddy. He's still the same sweet baby, leaning in for kisses and coming to me for hugs in between playtime but he fusses more often, especially if he doesn't get his way. I can't decide if it's because his molars are coming in or if he is coming into the terrible twos, or if it's a combination of the two. I'm leaning toward the latter. He is teething, I know that. He always has his finger stuck way back in his mouth and he's drooling like a dog. and he is definitely testing his limits. For example, he has been opening the kitchen cabinets just to bang them shut again. When I ask him not to do it, he looks at me with a mischevious grin and does it again, something he would never have done a few months ago. Then I use my "mom is serious voice" and he looks at me and then starts to yell. I remove him from the situation and it's over. It's really, really hard not to laugh. A few times I have, I can't help it, he's so darn cute, and that makes him belly laugh too.

The Little Buddy is really loving the park lately. We went to have coffee this morning. We used to do this every Sunday before the LB was born. It was such a relaxing time for us and we got to socialize a bit too. We've been told by a few people that we are missed, one of whom has a FABULOUS Christmas party every year. This year we weren't invited and we attribute it to the fact that we weren't on the top of his mind since he hadn't seen us at the coffee shop in awhile. We need to get back into that routine before Christmas. Anyway, we went to the park and W started laughing and running full throttle for the play equiment-he's getting fast-and whizzed down the slide a hundred times all by himself. It gives me such satisfaction to see the LB becoming so independent.

The power of music

I don't listen to music much anymore unless it's a kid cd. W has his favorite playing in the car and I find myself singing along happily. It's pretty good and he smiles the minute I put it on. Every now and then I can hear him singing the Hippopotomus song. Anyway, I came across a mixed tape that my friend, Katherine made me in 1990. She always made really cool mixed tapes. Maybe she still does, I don't know but the ones she made when we were in highschool and college were. I found one in all of the crap that we have piled up in our dining room from the move. It was like finding a treasure. I literally remember opening the package in my dorm room and being so excited to have something to drown out the country all around me (I'm a huge country fan now, though) I won't bore you with the playlist but just so you can get an idea:
Stones, Dire STraits, STeely Dan, Dan Fogelberg, CS & N, John Cougar, Joni Mitchell, Doobie Bros. and the list goes on.
I put it in this afternoon on my way to work out and golly, I felt like I was driving around the fraternity/sorority circle, in my hand me down Park Avenue Buick at TCU again. It's funny to think of what kind of music reminds of you of certain people.

Katherine listened to such good, different music than other people. A little bit of everything
Country definitely reminds me of Rowanne and "I can't sleep at all last night" from Animal House. I won't tell you why, because it's silly, albeit funny
and The Doors remind me of Jean just because the summer of our freshman year in highschool we were counselors at Valencia Day Camp and we rode around listening to them-Riders on the Storm specifically stands out.
Jennifer-she'll kill me but, Air Supply
Mathilde-the girl groups-she harmonized particularly well with them
Merriman-Grateful Dead and alternative
Ashley-Frank Sinatra
Melissa and Lessley-Crash Test Dummies-from the year that the party never ended
My dad-Kenny Rogers and Strolling Through the Park One Day
My brother-Kiss and Grateful Dead and Deep Purple (that was the first song that I remember him learning on his guitar and there's that one chord that will stick in my mind FOREVER)
My husband- each and every song on our honeymoon disc will always remind me of him-we took it with us and played it when we were getting ready to go cocktailing every night. It's all good, loud-singing music. I will ALWAYS love that disc.
and now the Little Buddy-Ticklish Toes, in addition to the made up songs I sing, all to the same tune of course with his "ha ha's" that he gives me for the chorus-always at just the right time.

It's crazy fun how much music can bring back memories. I've had the best time writing this remembering all of the songs that let us sing.

Makin' a List

W doesn't say many words yet although he babbles quite a bit. But I would put him up against any toddler in a writing contest. He holds a pen or crayon unbelievably well and enjoys making lists...and checking them twice. Har dee har har.

New Found Blog Alert

For all of those foodies out there I have found an awesome blog. The Breakfast Blog. I haven't delved too deep but from what I've read so far it's all about eggs. Give me 2 poached eggs, some corned beef hash (out of a can, you think it's gross, it's delicious) and some hashbrowns with cheese and I'll be the happiest person you'll meet for a very long time.

When the parents are away...

I read about this on Parent Dish. I would freak. A British couple leaves there child at home alone and she has a party that results in $54,000 worth of damage to the house. I guess it could have been alot worse. See article.

We had a very busy morning. We walked to the park and met some friends at the big boy playground. He is enjoying it much more as he learns to maneuver the steps up and down. The slide has become a huge source of fun, until he tumbled down the first part sideways. It has a dip in the middle so it stopped his fall halfway and we were able to right him for the second half. But after that each time he went down he whined all the way down the first part until he got to the second half. You never know how they're going to react.

It was a beautiful day. Breezy and sunny enough that I thought to put sunscreen on his face. My freind slathered it all over A and even on her head. I never even thought of doing that to my fair baby but I have noticed a few freckles on his scalp so maybe I should start since his mom is basically one big freckle. and me I was living on the edge, free and easy with no sunscreen. Mistake. When I woke up from a short nap (I'm pregnant, I have an excuse) I saw the new farmers tan. I mean, I'm not going to win any Coppertone contests but I didn't think on a cool spring day I needed to put it on.

Even after his slip down the slide, he now likes to go down by himself. He's more reticent than most kids. I am sure your 20 month old has been going down alone forever but W wanted to know all possibilites of danger before he did this. And you know? Good for him. So it was a bittersweet moment for me as he showed his independence.

I finally sat down on the bench to rest and he wandered around playing with random things. There was an older mom next to me with older kids, I don't know, like 8 to 10 years old. There were 3 of them and they were hovering around her. She yells, "Get off of me! Can you stop hanging on me. I just want 5 minutes to myself with no one all over me." I thought they grew out of that stage. I guess it never ends. On the way back from the park a friend called to invite us to lunch and I said, no way, it's naptime but we got home and he was wide awake and babbling so I took a chance and rushed to meet them. Anyway, I was telling them this story and she said she still hands her mom trash when they are somewhere together and M said that if they are at a party and she eats something she doesn't like she gives it to her mom. I do both of those things. Like I said, I guess the job of Mom never ends.

Pretty Dern Happy

I'm a bit late on writing this post. We've been very busy, going to the park, hosting playgroup and seeing friends new babies but 2 days ago I tevoed Oprah. And while lately, actually since her horrible Katrina series way back when, I have been deleting her. In college I truly believed that Oprah could hang with us, be our best friend, if you will. I looooved her. She could do no wrong. Now I don't put her up on such a high pedestal but I do enjoy a show every now and again. Anyway, she seems to be on this "pursuit of happiness" kick and this show was about how to be happy. It didn't tell you anything new but for me it just made me think. I took a 5 question quiz along with a million other people which you can find at Oprah.com. and what it told me was I'm pretty darn happy. I just don't consciously think about whether I'm happy or not on a daily basis. So what this show did for me was to kick my consciousness into gear so that I can be thankful everyday for not just what I have, because for that I am always thankful, but for being this happy. I am a true cynic. I complain a lot. It's in my nature. But since watching the show I realized that that's not even fun anymore because there's no reason for it. So if you feel like being happy, or feel like knowing that you're happy check it out.

These are a few of W's favorite things

When he finds a stoop on our daily walk that is just his height so that he can easily pop a squat and take a break.

When he climbs up in our big comfy chair all by himself and lounges.

When he walks down big stairs like a big boy (he claps for himself)

When Daddy comes home. (one of my favorite things too!)

When I blow raspberries on his belly.

When I start undressing him in the bathroom because he knows a bath is inevitable.

When he sees me getting his bottle. (I know, he shouldn' t be drinking out of bottles)

When I go in to get him up from his nap.

When Papa gives him a smidgeon of chocolate Easter bunny.

When he does "a little dance" and everyone laughs and claps.

Sweet and sad.

The Little Buddy is a sweet baby. Truly, he is. But sharing is tearing him apart lately. He does not like it at all..if it's not his idea, that is. In the past, when another baby took something away from him or encroached on his territory he would just walk away, move onto something else. The past week or so he's been getting very upset. I'm not sure I would call it a tantrum because it doesn't come across as anger. He pokes out his lip and cries so hard. It just kills me. If it were anger I wouldn't feel so bad. He's just unbelievably upset and it's pitiful. I'm not quite sure how to handle it. I guess all kids go through this but if anyone has a suggestion it would be greatly appreciated.

Other Blogs

I've added a new link. Yvestown. It's kind of retro and cool. From what I gathered it's a decorating blog but I loved her photos.

Oh, and check Reality TV News Blog. He has some good scoop.

And I wish I had checked out Delicious Days before Easter. He makes some egg shaped muffins right in the egg shell. So neat.

Follow your nose.

Okay-so we dyed eggs, had an easter egg hunt, ate a few of them and put the rest in the icebox. This morning W was playing in the kitchen banging around with pots and pans. I looked up and he was eating an egg-or trying to. It was the yellow one and it was room temp. Not sure where he got it. The icebox is too heavy for him to open and even if for some reason it wasn't all the way shut and he got in the eggs aree up on a high shelf. So I threw the egg away and figured we were lucky to have found the forgotten egg. Then we were in the den and here he comes bringing me a blue egg. Where is he getting these eggs? We thought for sure they were all put away. I guess our noses will tell us how many more are missing...in a few days.

Happy Easter!

Happy Easter! It's freezing here-like in the 40's. Yesterday it was sleeting over here. Very strange. We couldn't have our Easter Egg Hunt as planned this morning before church because it was raining. So we got dressed, W in his new big boy shoes and went to church. He fell flat on his face and skidding across the floor. His lip was all swollen and his eye had a bump. Needless to say church wasn't a pleasant experience for him. I should have had him practice in the shoes a few days before. or just let him wear his Keds. No one would have cared. He had a grand time at lunch. Wandering between the tables, getting all of the attention. He didn't eat anything but he made it all the way until 1:15 to see the Easter Bunny.

We finally had our Hunt this afternoon. The eggs were beautiful-courtesy of Mimo and Me. and delicous too-courtesy of J and me. J swears his taste better. They may peel easier but they tasted just the same.

Happy Birthday, Lucy!!!

This is a shout out to my cousin, Lucy.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!!!!

I hope you have a wonderful day full of fun surprises.

Love,
A, J and Baby W

p.s. It's not until tomorrow but I wanted to make sure to get in my birthday wish.

The worrying

It's been an exhausting day. I'm pregnant if you didn't know and went for my 12 week checkup. I'm what they called an advanced maternal aged mother so I was supposed to let my doctor know if I was going to have the full battery of tests that ACOG recommends. I had made my decision (it's been a hard one with lots of worry and second guessing) but then he told me I had a few more days! AAAAHHHHH! I was a basket case. I cried. He thinks I'm a loon, I'm sure. Because I was a bitch the time before since I had to wait 3 hours (not kidding) and this time I waited for an hour. It's Ochsner. It's a nightmare. If I didn't love and respect my doctor so much I would be out of there. I had W at Memorial Baptist and it was such a pleasant experience, from the time I got pregnant to the time I delivered (luckily I delivered a few days before the storm, otherwise I may have another opinion). Sorry, I could go on for days about Ochsner so I won't bore you.

Back to my point. I finally talked to my good and wise friend, A. I should have called her to begin with. It was a relevation when I thought about calling her. So after 5 minutes I had made my decision and she was right. I just needed to make the decision, move on and not look back. I only wish that it were 40 years ago. Then I wouldn't have to worry about any of this. I could drink and eat tuna fish and deli meat and ceasar salads made with raw eggs. I could eat the stinkiest, most unpasteurized cheese I could find. I could take a steaming hot bath and soak for hours. I wouldn't have to think about which tests I were going to take. and since women had babies earlier in life, I wouldn't be a mother of advanced maternal age. I know. There are a ton of advantages to child bearing now. The advances in medicine are phenomenal and I certainly don't discount that. But it's the worrying that just may kill me.

I'm finally getting excited about the new house. We've gotten everything out of Upperline and we are almost finished distributing the junk in the dining room to it's respective rooms. Once we get our 8 foot ladder and our big screen tv we will be really on fire. I should probably take a picture of the curtains that hang in the den and the hallways. Blah. that way I can show you a before and after. I think I will. But anyway, they are coming down. I'm in the process of getting a bound carpet for the den that will be baby proof. We'll take down the curtains, put a dimmer on the "lodge like" chandelier, hang the big screen, get 2 new swivel club chairs and be good to go.

The Sunporch or the PortCachere-I call it one thing, J calls it the other is looking good too and I am super excited about my fabrics for the Living Room. Things are coming together.

The Bachelor

Can we talk about this? A few things.
1. The Bachelor is cute but too plastic for my taste.
2. He's a total dork but he grew on me the more he drank.
3. The girls, as my friend A said, were "buttass ugly". Now, there were a few cute ones and again after getting to know some of them I likes them much more. but their first impressions were nothing fabulous.
4. How about the trashy girl? They should have kept her if only for ratings. But I guess it would have been too farfetched.
5. The girl who got the first impression rose-again, at first I didn't think she was all that, but she grew on me.
6. Birthday cake made with Tequila. Sounds good to me.

I think it should be a good season. I am fired up!

I haven't watched the season finale of The Hills yet. I want to savor every minute of it. I cannot wait. But I'm sad that it's over.

It's The Little Buddy, here.

I thought I would fill in for Mom right now. She hasn't been blogging much. I think she's tired. That's what I can gather from the past few weeks. Dad has been waking up with me in the morning and we've been tearing the house UP! Boy, it's been fun. Then we go back upstairs and Mom is still in bed. Dad takes a shower and I play around until I hear the water turn off and then bust on in for the rest of our playtime.

I'm not really sure what's going on but some things I know that make me think something's goin' on around here:

1. Mom doesn't wake up until later.
2. Mom isn't drinking her 5 o'clock glass of wine. I kind of miss that. She was always really fun when she had her glass of wine.
3. And Dad's the only one getting a top shelf frozen margarita at Superior these days.
3. She's not really cooking dinner for Dad either. What's up with that? She always loved to cook. Now we go to the grocery and pick something up ready to eat and she just eats a baked potato and cottage cheese. Blah.
4. She's kind of let herself go. Don't get me wrong, Mom, I love you and think you're beautiful no matter how fat you get.
5. I overheard her talking about getting another crib. I already have a crib. Don't need another one. It does the job. Hear that?!
6. She wears the same clothes over and over and over again. Dad, you gotta tell her to go shopping.
7. She cries at silly things.
8. When they go out at night. They come home really early. I don't think they go out for that after dinner drink anymore.
9. They keep referring to someone called the Littler Buddy. Whatever that is. I'm the Little Buddy. I'm not getting any smaller. It's throwing me for a loop.

I'll keep you posted on anymore clues.