I Love Tim's New Job, It Makes My Life So Much Easier

Both of the boys have had colds this week and Collin has been digging at his ears. Normally, this requires that I take time off work and take him to the doctor, but not anymore. Since Tim got his new job and he works 4 10 hour shifts, he has a day off during the week. This morning he took Collin to the doctor to get his ears checked out. They are completely fine, however he has a sinus infection. Poor kid. I took Nick this afternoon (because he was doing OK when I made Collin's appointment yesterday) and he just has a cold. They said to use saline spray and a humidifier. Now is when I really miss the decongestants that you can't get for kids any longer. Saline spray doesn't do anything other than make Nick really, really mad. Despite being a little under the weather, he's been pretty smiley all week. I hope he stays this way and just keeps getting better instead of worse.

The Things They Say

The latest Collinisms:

Leaving the sitter:
No Mommy, go strait. Towards Grammy's house!
Not today kiddo
Are we on Rt 100?
Yes we are, very good! What road does Mommy need to take next?
He actually told me but since this is an Internet posting, I don't think I'll be posting directions to my house where anyone can read them.
Finally I asked what street we live on and he knew that too! As soon as we got to our exit he said "we ARE almost home, Mom!" like it was some kind of a surprise. Did he think I didn't know how to get there? We all know I'm directionally challenged but I thought it would take my kids longer than 2 years to figure it out.

This morning:
Collin, you need to brush your teeth.
I DON'T WANNA!-he climbs between the rocker and the wall.
Tim goes to reach for him and hears "No Daddy! Leave me alone!"
Who taught him that one? Fess up because when I figure it out, you are in so much trouble!

Finally the next time you see Collin ask him "how are you doing today, Collin?"
He will usually respond with "I'm doing great, wonderful, marvelous or (and this is my favorite) FANtastic." He really emphasizes the fan in fantastic. Its super cute.

The Best Birthday Present Ever

Yesterday was my birthday and I got some really wonderful gifts but one of them really topped them all and I wasn't even really sure I had gotten it until today. Last night I overheard my parents discussing whether or not they had heard Nick say mama. They decided that it was too soon for him to be talking and they probably didn't hear it. I was inclined to agree with them and didn't give it much more thought. Until this afternoon. Tim was holding Nick who was fussing and trying to reach for me. All of the sudden we heard amongst the fussing a very distinct "ma-ma". We looked at each other in shock as if to say "did you hear that too?". Then I did a happy dance around the bedroom because Collin said dada before he ever said mama. At least one of my boys said mama first. So even though it could just be that Nick has learned the m syllable and is repeating it, I prefer to believe that he said mama. I've heard him say it several times since like he's practicing. My baby boy is growing so unbelievably fast! Before I know it he'll be running around and talking as well as his big brother.

Nick's First Thanksgiving

Nick really enjoyed the mashed potatoes and sweet potato souffle. He couldn't seem to get enough. Collin's favorite thing this year was the jellied cranberries. He ate 3 slices and still wanted more!

Happy Thanksgiving

Thanksgiving is one of my favorite holidays of the year. I love getting up early and making the stuffing with my parents and helping my dad stuff the turkey. I love the kielbasa my dad makes in the morning. I love the smell of pumpkin pie and all the other wonderful things we have to eat with the turkey. I love that we watch the parade and always end up watching the dog show afterwards even though no one admits to wanting to watch it. We "just watch until the beagles come on, then we can change it"; somehow, it never gets changed. We have so much to be thankful for in our lives and its nice to have a day where we get together and celebrate those things. I'm thankful for my family and that I have such nice traditions to pass along to my sons. I'm thankful for my wonderful husband who puts up with all of my eccentricities and loves me anyway and who gave me the most wonderful little boys I could imagine. I'm thankful for those two beautiful little boys who show me everyday that life is full of things to marvel at. I am thankful that I get to view life through the eyes of a child again. I appreciate things so much more now than I could have when I was a child. I am thankful for all of my friends and the people I don't get to see as often as I'd like to. I wish all of you a very happy Thanksgiving. May it be filled with lots of friends, family and good food to share.

Poor Fussy Man, Teething Really SUCKS!

The past few days have been a little rough for Nick. I couldn't really figure out what was going on, sometimes he was completely happy and giggly and then suddenly he'd be a wailing ball of tears. He's been a bear about going to bed too. His 7:30 bedtime has turned into nap time and he's up again around 8:30 raring to go. The other night he was up at 11:45 until around 1 am. He constantly needs to be held and played with. Putting him down generally leads to instant hysterics. I know people say that you can't spoil a baby, but Nick is spoiled. He has a wicked temper and when he's not getting his way he lets you know about it in no uncertain terms. I've done as much holding and cuddling as I possibly could. I've given him saline nose drops because I think he also has a cold and I've given him Tylenol to ease the pain. Nothing has seemed to really help for more than just a little while. This morning I discovered the reason for all the crankiness. Nick has cut his first tooth! I knew he'd been teething; its hard to miss the drool faucet that has been running nonstop down his chin for a while now, but Collin started that around 3 or 4 months too and didn't get a tooth until he was 8 or 9 months. I never expected Nick to actually get a tooth so soon. I guess it just goes to show how different each child is and why you shouldn't compare them too much. I'm hoping that since the first little corner of the tooth is now through the gum, life will start to get a little easier for the poor little fellow. He's normally such a happy guy. He almost always has a smile on his face and it's just the cutest grin you've ever seen. I need to go get a portrait done quick before the tooth can be seen when he smiles. I'm so sad that I won't have that darling toothless grin much longer. Its another sign of how big my little guy is getting and how far he's come from that innocent bundle of joy we brought home not even 6 months ago.

Mmmm Chocolate

This is what happens when you turn your back on a 2 year old making chocolate cupcakes...Mom asked me to help her look for a cookbook in the closet. When we started, Collin was not at the table making cupcakes anymore. He was playing in the living room.
He must have been just waiting for us to turn our backs for just a moment because Mom went to grab a chair so we see what was on the top shelf and when she got to the dining room, literally 2 steps around a corner, Collin was already covered in chocolate.
He was having such a good time, we just let him go until the batter was gone and tossed him in the tub. His clothes are in the washer now and will probably never be the same again.
What a face!

Mmmmm.... Good!

Last night I made meatloaf and mashed potatoes for dinner. I knew Collin would eat the mashed potatoes but what surprised me was that he ate his peas first and then asked for more! Since Nick is just beginning to eat cereal and apple sauce he sits in his high chair at the table with us while we eat. It's really important to me that we eat as a family whenever possible. Anyway, I gave him a little scoop of mashed potatoes to keep him occupied while we ate. I figured it was soft and wouldn't hurt him to try it. At first he just played with it, spreading it all over his tray. Then, because he's a big thumb sucker, he got some in his mouth and realized it was really good!
He couldn't get enough mashed potatoes! I think I ended up giving him 4 little scoops of them. He had more on him and his high chair than in his mouth but he thoroughly enjoyed every mouthful.
I can't wait for Thanksgiving dinner! He'll have mashed potatoes and a little bit of stuffing (I'll have to feed that to him so I can make sure the pieces are small enough) and maybe even some jellied cranberry sauce. He's an excellent eater!

Maryland is the Arm Pit of the US

I am absolutely furious with our stupid Governor and our representatives in the House and Senate. Instead of cutting all the stupid crap that they spend our hard earned money on every year, they have decided to up our sales tax to 6% and tax computer services. So now not only has this state allowed our BGE bill to double in the last year, they're upping our sales tax too. We won't even mention that it costs me $45-50 to fill up the van at least once a week. Before I had 2 kids in daycare, we spent more on gas each month than on daycare! Where do they expect us to come up with this money? A few years ago, this might not have been such a problem. Sure it would have been irritating because nobody likes a tax hike but everything is going down the tubes now. The housing market is tanking and fuel and energy prices are skyrocketing. Its like the perfect storm for a recession. So all this extra money they're counting on from the sales tax isn't going to happen because all the money we'd have been spending on consumables is now being spent so that we can get to work and pay to heat our houses. They're going to let the people decide on slots. That's about the only thing they did right. If they had approved the slots plan a couple years ago when Governor Ehrlich wanted it, maybe we wouldn't be in the financial trouble we're in now. I can promise you right now Governor O'Malley, I didn't vote for you in the last election and I sure won't vote for you in the next one. Instead of raising the sales tax, why don't you try reforming some of the programs that people milk to no end like welfare? (In all honesty, I don't know all that much about welfare but this is the way I see it) Why not put a time limit on how long you can receive welfare? Give people 7 years to go through school, get some training and a job. Give them a hand up not a hand out. Right now there is no incentive to go off welfare except pride. Also, make it mandatory to practice birth control while on welfare. If you aren't currently pregnant when you apply for welfare benefits, any further children you have will not be covered. I know this isn't fair to the child, but why do we allow women to keep having babies when they can't even begin to care for the ones they already have? They have them for the sole purpose of getting more money from the system. I know, this is generalizing. I'm all for having lots of children, I love them and wish I could have a whole bunch more. My reality is that we don't make enough to afford 3 children in daycare but the government sure isn't going to give me any help with that. I work and make a decent honest living. If I was a crack momma, I could have as many kids as I want and they'd all have health care and food stamps. I just find the whole thing really frustrating. Why should we work so hard so that our kids can have every advantage we can give them when other people just get benefits handed to them? I don't want a hand out, I want the money I'm required to give the government spent better! I'm tired of all the pork barrel spending. Its time for the government to take a look at how they spend our money and start doing it efficiently.

While I'm on the topic of money and handouts I need to vent about work. Every year the office finds a "needy" family and collects money, which the doctors match, and then buys them presents. Last year I think they had $800 to spend on the family. These kids were asking for ridiculous stuff like ipods, video games and Ugg boots. I'm sorry but $800 is more than I spend on Christmas for my entire family and if you're so poor that you need to put you name on an angel tree, you need to be asking for clothing and shoes and educational stuff, not stuff you're going to hock for drugs. (OK, that was mean and unfair) I realize that some of the people in the family were really little and that was what they wanted from Santa and that's OK. Most of the family members were old enough to know better. This year, we made the suggestion of donating the money to the Maryland Food Bank. They could feed a huge number of people with $800! That suggestions was shot down because "the girls really like going shopping" Are you kidding me??? A few years ago, I was told that giving money for this cause was not exactly voluntary which is probably why I'm still so angry about the whole thing. We received a nasty memo in October letting us know that this was coming up and basically stating that we've been given time to save up to contribute. I can't decide if I'm going to or not just on principle. If we were giving money to a food bank I wouldn't have a problem. Even if it was presented in a nicer manner, I wouldn't really have a problem with it. I think its really nice to give to others when you have so much to be thankful for yourself, and I certainly have an abundance of things to be thankful for. I just object to the way its done and quite frankly I think the money can be better spent. I know I'm in no position to lecture anyone on how they spend money. I just wish people would quit asking me for money when they are going to waste it. I've got lots of things I could be wasting it on myself. I guess that makes me selfish but I worked hard for that money, why shouldn't I be the one to waste it if that's what's going to happen to it anyway.

Crazy Eights Meme

Kayris at The Great Walls of Baltimore tagged me for this meme.

8 Things I am Passionate About
1. My boys, Collin and Nick
2. My husband, Tim
3. My Family
4. My dog, Sadie and my bird, Jackson
5. Reading
6. Learning new things
7. Food
8. Scrapbooking

8 Things I Say All The Time
1. I love you!
2. One, Two, Three,....You're going to time out!
3. Please don't pull the dog's fur!
4. Do NOT play with Jacksonson's cage!
5. If Sadie/Jackson bites you, you are the one in trouble for bugging her/him.
6. Don't pull Nick's ears!
7. What is it about surgery that makes even intelligent people unbelievably stupid?
8. If only I had more time in a day!


8 Books I've Read Recently1. My Sister's Keeper by Jodi Picoult 2. The Very Hungry Caterpillar by Eric Carle
3. The Berenstain Bears: In the Dark by Stan and Jan Berenstain
4. The latest Harry Potter.
5. Murder in Georgetown by Margaret Truman
6. The Lake House by James Patterson
7. K is for Killer by Sue Grafton
8. The manual to the new printer at work

8 Things I Want To Do Before I Die
1. Conquer my fear of failure
2. See my kids grow up to be happy and successful
3. Travel
4. Take dance lessons
5. Learn to decorate cakes
6. Dye my hair bright red
7. Buy a motorcycle
8. Smoke some pot (I'm waiting till I'm too old for anyone to care to do this, by then it will probably be legal anyway and no one will care, but I want to see what the fuss is about)

8 Songs I Can Listen To Over and Over

1. Keeper of the Stars by Tracy Byrd
2. Anything by the Big Bad Voodoo Daddies
3. Beautiful by Christina Agulara
4. The wedgie song they play on XM Kids, it's HYSTERCAL!
5. Anything my son sings
6. I Could Not Ask For More by Edwin McCain
7. Any Christmas song
8. Pachelbel's Canon


8 Things That Attract Me To My Friends
1. Their sense of humor
2. Common interests
3. Their passion for life
4. Honesty
5. Loyalty
6. Similar values
7. Their kids-I might not have met them had our kids not been friends first
8. A friendly smile

8 Things I Learned In The Past Year
1. Okra really isn't all that bad if its in soup.
2. One little boy can produce an amazing amount of stink!
3. Children love babies.
4. I CAN clean up puke-real puke not the baby spit up kind.
5. I can love 2 children equally (everyone said I would but I was still afraid until I had Nick)
6. Quinoa is AWESOME! Its full of fiber and nutrition.
7. Potty training isn't particularly hard, but it is tedious.
8. I really want a single family house but I don't want the mortgage payment that goes with it.

I'm supposed to tag 8 more people to participate in this so if you haven't already been tagged go ahead and post your meme. It makes you think.

Bathroom Humor

Its a good thing I find bodily function humor amusing because I'm going to be hearing a lot of it over the coming years. Last night as I was giving Collin a bath he suddenly stopped playing and looked down between his legs. After a few seconds I asked what he was looking at. He grinned, and kept looking. A moment later he farted. Then he giggled and said "Look Mom, bubbles!" Oh yeah, I'm in for it.

Some More Pictures Taken Recently

This little Santa cap must have been in one of the boxes of clothes we got down for Nick and somehow it ended up in the living room the other day so, of course, I had to put it on. And give him Collin's reindeer to play with. It sings and dances which fascinated Nick. He kept trying to eat the antlers.

Daddy wanted a picture with his boys but Collin was not in the mood for pictures. Nick cooperated quite nicely though. I think this shot turned out great! All this picture taking has made Nick quite sleepy. There is nothing more precious that a sleeping baby. He fell asleep sucking his thumb on Daddy's shoulder.
And finally, our other baby who often gets left out of pictures and my blog, but never our hearts. She made herself quite comfortable in bed with Tim the other night and wasn't budging when I went to straighten the covers on the bed so I made the bed with her in it. She is one pampered puppy! Sadie laid there for quite a while until Tim got up to use the computer and I crawled into bed and made her scoot over to his side. She was still laying there in bed when he finally came back to bed 2o minutes later.
Since that wasn't a very good picture of Sadie and I've never posted one of her I went looking for a better one. I found this one taken when Collin was just about Nick's age.I saved the best for last. When Collin was about a year old he figured out how to turn his eyelids inside out. I made the mistake of immediately fixing them and it turned into a game for him. Once I began ignoring it, he quit doing it for a while. Recently it has made a come back. For the life of me I can't figure out how he does it. I tried myself to show him how gross he looks but I just can't do it. You can see the grin on his face after he's done it.And how creepy he looks when he does it. It is absolutely disgusting! I've learned not to react to it anymore but I did want to get it on film so I could show him someday. Also, when he needs plastic surgery at age 6 because his eyelids are all stretched out, I want to be able to show him why. I'm hoping that if we keep ignoring this behavior it will go away again. I don't know why he brought it back in the first place.

Finally, Picutes of Halloween

Nick was a Baby Merlin. He was going to be a pumpkin like his brother was his first Halloween but then I saw this costume and knew he'd look adorable in it. Collin was a dragon. I thought it went perfectly with Nick's wizard costume, plus it was only $12 at BJ's.His little tail just cracked me up! His butt was padded too so it made it that much cuter.Here are my magical men sitting together before they went out for an enchanted evening of trick or treating,

And finally, a picture of me with my magical men. Halloween is so much fun!

B is for Blue Crab

I found this book at Borders the other day. It cost $17.95 so it was a total splurge but I got a coupon from them the other day for 30% so I think I'll return it and buy it again. Anyway, B is for Blue Crab is a really neat book that will grow with your child. It's an alphabet book about the state of Maryland. In the typical alphabet book way it says A is for Annapolis and a little rhyming blurb about Annapolis, however it also has a couple of paragraphs about Annapolis along the side and it is beautifully illustrated. It was worth the money because it teaches the alphabet and state trivia. They have an American book and some for many of the other states as well. I highly recommend it if you're looking for a good book for your child or if you need a gift for someone elses child.

It Must Be A Guy Thing

The Annapolis Mall has opened a new section with about 60 new stores and some places to eat so the other night we took a drive and went to check it out. In my opinion, it looks like an addition and its very disjointed. You have to walk through Macy's or Lord and Taylor to get to the new stuff and its not even all connected. If you don't know that, you're pretty likely to miss half the new stuff. Also, the stores are high end and mostly overpriced, not really places I'm likely to shop. There was a kids store where the adorable little sweater I liked for the boys was $45. I'm not spending that much on a sweater my kid's going to grow out of in 6 months! Yes, if I buy it for Collin, Nick can wear it later but he could wear a $20 sweater just as well.

The highlight of my trip was the walk back to the car. We stopped to get a fruit shake to share. Collin informed us "This is the best fruit shake ever!". We had to periodically stop to give him sips because we didn't want to let him carry it himself. It just so happened that we stopped just as we were passing the Victoria's Secret store, conveniently right in front of the life size picture of a model displaying the store's wares. My little Nick Nick looked over, saw the model and got the biggest smile on his face! It made me laugh. It probably made him think of dinner because it was time to feed him again. Whatever made him smile, it made me laugh to see him smiling at the Victoria's Secret model. He's starting early!

My Tongue Hurts

About a week ago, Collin managed to fall down and bite his tongue. Anyone who has ever tried to hold ice anywhere on a 2 year old knows that it's nearly impossible. The exception to that is when they bite their tongue because you can hand them a nice cold popsicle. They think they're getting a treat and you've got ice on their tongue for a little while. I always wrap a paper towel around the stick to catch whatever drips as Collin eats his popsicles. The other night he was at my parent's when he informed us that he hurt his tongue and needed a popsicle. I had been watching him the entire time. At no time did he he hurt his tongue, so I called him on it. "Collin did you really hurt your tongue or do you just want to have a popsicle?" "I want a popsicle!". I explained that if he wanted a popsicle, all he had to do was ask. I don't want him to make up injuries just to get a popsicle. We did end up letting him have one but my mom made the mistake of trying to hand it to him without the paper towel. He wouldn't take, instead telling her that he needed the paper towel. They really do pay attention!

Just SHUT UP Award

I know I just posted this award the other day but in honor of the day that I had at work following that post, the next award goes to none other than yours truly. After my little rant about all the stupid things people say and do related to surgery, I went in to work the next day feeling like I had vented, gotten it off my chest, and it was going to be a good day. I couldn't have been more wrong. I had 10 patients, 8 were crazy/stupid and the last one yelled at me and told me I ruined her day. No kidding, they managed to do every single thing I blogged about the night before. So from now on, I need to Just Shut Up before I set myself up this way again.

Good Night

I hesitate to even write this post lest I jinx us but bedtime has seen significant improvement lately. Tim came up with this brilliant new plan where we put Collin on the potty, brush his teeth, read his stories, the sing his night night songs and turn out the light just like before. The we tell Collin that as long as he stays in his bed, we'll be back in 10 minutes to check on him. 10 minutes later we go back in and check on him as promised and tell him we'll be back in 15 minutes. Usually by this time he's asleep! He's still not crazy about bedtime and there's still a lot of "I don't wanna go upstairs. I don't wanna go to bed" but he does it and we don't have to listen to him scream for a half hour anymore. Nicholas also seems to be doing well with the read a story, sing a song, and go to bed routine. Keep your fingers crossed that I didn't just go and screw the whole thing up!

My Guys

I love this shot! I can't even tell you exactly why, I just do.

What a great smile! Man I love this kid!

I love these guys too! We took the boys to the aquarium for our anniversary. Since it got crowded, Tim ended up carrying Collin. I don't think either one of them was particularly thrilled with the arrangement.

Just Shut Up Award

I give this week's Just Shut Up Award to every stupid patient that has ever called me and whined about their surgery time and/or instructions. In honor of them, I am posting the list of what not to say to the person who gives you your surgery time and instructions. Remember, it is our job to pass along the information, we didn't make the rules.

1. When you say nothing to eat or drink after midnight, does that include water too?

DUH!! What part of nothing don't you understand? I can't tell you how many people don't get this. This rule was made for a reason. If you eat or drink, even water, they will cancel your surgery!

2. My child can't possibly go from midnight to 7:10 without eating or drinking. They will be crying when we get there.

This is not a threat to me, my kids cry all the time-it doesn't bother me if yours do too. And if you think your kid is crying before surgery, wait until you see them afterwards! Also, I can assure you that your kid will not starve if you don't feed them for 7 hours! As a side note to this, in all the years I've been doing this, I've only seen maybe 2 kids come in really upset and their stupid parents had coffee and donuts. The vast majority of kids come in and they are not hysterical because they're hungry.

3. That time doesn't work for me, can we move it back a half an hour?

No-this is not the hair cuttery where you can pop in and get your hair cut any time you want. There is a schedule for a reason and a lot of thought goes into arranging it. I can't fit your surgery in between you manicure and your massage.

4. I don't have anyone to watch my kids while my spouse is in surgery so I'm going to bring them.

Uh, NO! We are not babysitters and children are not allowed in the surgery center. This is on all the information you are given ahead of time. It's up to you to make arrangements for someone to watch them, get them off the bus, etc. Your spouse needs your undivided attention so that the nurse can teach you how to care for them after surgery, otherwise you're calling us back with questions that we already answered when you weren't paying attention.

5. Can I request my anesthesiologist?

Yes, you can but not at 3:00 the day before surgery. Just like our schedule, theirs is set ahead of time and a request at the last minute requires many, many people to change things around.

6. Why does my ride have to stay?

Because we said so. Its in the paperwork you're given before your surgery. Again, we are not babysitters, when you're ready to go you need to leave so another patient can have your recovery spot. Not to mention, God forbid something should happen to you during surgery, we need someone to contact in an emergency!

7. Why can't I bring my whole family?

You do not need a cast of thousands to visit you immediately after surgery. It is elective surgery, you are only going to be here 3-4 hours total. They can visit you at home. Do you really want everyone viewing you right after surgery? You really won't be looking or feeling your best.

8. How much does my surgery cost?

Unless you don't have insurance and I've looked into this ahead of time, I have no idea what to tell you. The fee for surgery is based on the code used for the procedure. We can bill 2 million dollars if we want, your insurance company will only pay what they want to pay and you will owe whatever your portion of that is. For instance, if your insurance company will only pay $300 and you have a 90/10 plan, you'll owe $30. Each insurance company pays differently and since I don't know what your insurance company will pay, I can't tell you what you'll owe. The day before is not the time to try to figure these things out.

9. Why is my co-pay so much?

Call your insurance company. It is your responsibility to know what your copay is when you have surgery. Don't tell me it wasn't that much 2 years ago when you had surgery. Insurance plans change every year, you need to know what the changes are. Its not my job to figure that out for you.

10. Is Dr. (fill your Dr.) a good doctor?

The day before your surgery is not the time to investigate this and what do you expect me to say "I wouldn't let him operate on my dead dog?". Remember, they pay my salary. (Fortunately, the doctors I work for are all great and I can honestly tell people so). I know you're nervous, but someone trusted your surgeon enough to refer you to them, if you're still unsure about their qualifications perhaps you shouldn't have surgery.


If you haven't guessed, this little rant was prompted by yet another annoying patient today. I probably sound a little harsh and unfeeling but my biggest pet peeve is these parents who think their children just can't possibly go without eating for a few extra hours and they whine and moan at me about how they're only 2 or 5 or whatever. Basically they just don't want to deal with their whiny kid. All I can say is please remember when its you/your child who has to have surgery one day-we don't make the schedule with the intention of making your life miserable. Children are scheduled first, but when you have a day with 8 kids under the age of 3 someone is getting a lousy time. Invariably, the ones who really do have a crappy time (and I truly do feel sorry for them) are usually the nicest. Its the ones with the first slot of the day (7:30 am) who whine about their time being so late that make me want to reach through the phone and strangle them. Kids are amazingly resilient and will surprise you with how well they do without eating the moment they open their eyes. I'm a firm believer in the saying "if you don't ask, you'll never know" and "Ask, the worst that happens is they tell you no" so if you must ask these questions, please do it nicely and don't jump down the person's throat when you don't get the answer you want. And if they do jump down your throat, its probably at least the third time they answered the same question today.

Dancing with the Stars

I admit it. I'm a Dancing with the Stars junkie. I love the dances and I wish I could move like that. I am not a fan of the results show, however. Its too much other crap that gets dragged on way to long. They could do the whole show in about 10 minutes, they don't need an hour. Tonight I gotta say it's kind of funny. They are doing "Dance Center" with Jerry Rice, Kenny Mayne and Len Goodman. Its an obvious spoof of Sports Center on ESPN and very funny. But what the heck is up with Kenny Mayne's make-up? I swear he's wearing green glitter eyeshadow and his eyebrows are way over done. Jerry and Len both look completely normal. I'm not sure if he's just trying to be funny or if someone actually thought this looked good but Halloween was last week.

5 Months Already!

Today Nicholas is 5 months old! It's going by so fast. He's got the sweetest little personality. He's inquisitive and funny. He smiles at anyone and everyone. He can roll from his back to his belly and his belly to his back. He reaches out when he wants to be held and for toys he wants to play with. He eats rice cereal and applesauce like there's no tomorrow. Before long, he'll be walking and talking just like his brother and I'll be left to reminisce about these days. I love watching all the new things he does and seeing the delight and wonder as he realizes he's accomplished something new. Tonight we had pizza for dinner and since Nick was sitting on my lap while I ate, he had a good view of the yummy pizza as I ate it. He kept reaching for it so when I got down to the crust, I gave it to him. I know, I know, there's probably a hundred reasons why this is bad but I did it anyway and he went to town on it. He held it in his little hand and put it right in his mouth where he gummed it and gummed it and then looked up at me with the biggest grin. I can't wait until we get to start trying other fruits and veggies next month. I think he's really going to enjoy them.

Who's the Better Cook?

My Dad makes AWESOME homemade macaroni and cheese and he made it for dinner last night. Collin refused to eat it. I had some leftovers today since I didn't have any last night because Tim and I went out for our anniversary. We tried again today to get Collin to try it, again no dice.

I don't like Grampa's mac'n'cheese!
Ok, What do you want?
Mac'n'cheese
You can have Grampa's mac'n'cheese.
No! I want Grammy's mac'n'cheese!!!!

Grammy's mac'n'cheese is the velveeta mac'n'cheese from the box, but Collin swears Grammy's is good and Grampa's is yucky. Sorry Mom, but I'll take homemade any day!

Reflux, Teething and Potty Training SUCK!

I think pretty much in that order too, or at least they did today. Poor Nick has reflux just as bad as Collin did which means he yaks up everything he eats. Bless his heart, he does it with a smile though. I'm not kidding, if he gives you a huge grin, you better watch out because in another moment you'll be wearing whatever he ate last. He spent most of today puking all over everyone who held him. It doesn't help that he's teething so he's drooling all over the place and incredibly cranky. He just wants to be held and sometimes, that doesn't even make him happy. Now on to his brother. Collin is really just starting potty training and we haven't really forced the issue too much. Tonight I was changing him before we headed home and I asked if he wanted to use the potty. He said no so I finished dressing him and, of course, as soon as I finished he changed his mind. Great! We run to the bathroom, pull down his pants and I get his diaper off. I start to take him out of his pants (he sits on the big potty and he can't spread his legs far enough if I leave the pants on) and he begins to pee. I let out a yelp because I'm right in the line of fire. Unfortunately, he thinks this is funny so while my yelp startled him and he stopped for a moment, he begins to go again. Now a smarter Mom would have scooped him up and dropped his little butt on the toilet and let him finish there. I make no such claims. All I could think to do was try to catch it in my hands before it was all over everything. I wound up with a handful of pee, pee on my pants, pee on his pants and pee on his sweatshirt! Then after I dumped the pee in the potty and washed my hands, Collin sat on the potty and peed some more. I really can't wait to be done with potty training!

You call that green?

I'm watching the Eagles/Dallas game tonight and in honor of their going green week, CBS has changed their logo to a green peacock and during half-time they turned out all the lights in the studio. They said if everyone watching the game turned out the lights in their homes while they watched they would save enough energy to power 2,000 homes for a year. Great! However, they left the score ticker and the many many TV's in the background running. If they were seriously committed to saving energy they could have left half the lights on and turned off all the other junk.

I'm all in favor of conserving energy if it doesn't cost me extra money and it isn't hard to do. I buy the funky spiral light bulbs and recycle everything we can. Collin even knows which items belong in the recycle bin. The lights and TV's get turned off when we leave a room. Tim even insists on turning the computers off when its not in use (I admit I wasted energy here but it takes them FOREVER to boot up). We also make sure that when its time to buy new appliances we look for the energy star logo. This past summer we replaced all of our windows with energy star windows and all these changes have made a difference. I'm always looking for new, easy ways to save energy and ways to teach the boys the importance of conservation. I'm always on the lookout for good lessons so if you have any fun ideas leave me a comment.

Seven Random Facts Meme

Kayris at The Great Walls of Baltimore tagged me with the 7 Random Things About Me meme, so here is my list of things you may not have known about me.

• I LOVE coffee ice cream and the smell of coffee but I can't stand coffee not even with a ton of sugar and creamer. I just can't stomach it.


• My hair used to be poker strait but since I had my kids I've got curls. Not enough to look pretty, just enough to make my hair completely impossible. Apparently pregnancy changes your hair. Who knew?


• The two toes next to my big toe on each foot are connected at the first knuckle. My husband calls them my mutant toes.


• My favorite flower is the star gazer lilly.


• I actually like the smell of rubbing alcohol. It smells clean to me. Weird, I know.


• I love cheesy movies like The American President, 13 Going on 30 and 10 Things I Hate About You.


• When I get old, like 75 or 80 (keep in mind, old is a state of mind more than an age-75 or 80 is only as old as you feel) I intend to dye my hair bright flaming red, drive a motorcycle and smoke some pot. Its all stuff I've never done and besides, who's going to throw an old lady in jail for trying pot once. My luck, it will be legal by then and that will take all the fun out of it.

I'm supposed to tag 7 people to post their facts but most of my friends don't blog so if you've come across my blog and haven't done this one yet, feel free to post your own fun facts.

Rollin' Rollin' Rollin'

For a long time, I kept finding Nick on his belly but I never got to see him roll over. He finally did it for me and now does it quite easily. Tonight he was playing on the floor and he rolled over onto his belly. I just watched him to see what he did. He rolled over onto his belly! I got to see him do it! Once he figured out he could roll over, he kept rolling from his back to his belly and back to his back again. He was quite pleased with his new found mobility.