Monday, October 26, 2009

this might not interest anyone else.

For posterity, i'm recording a few things in this virtual diary as it were. (sidebar: our kids are going to have such different methods of retrieving information about their childhood with all these blogging young parents, eh? what say you?) so anyway, here is a rambling of sort... because i have a feeling my memory will fade much more quickly than i would prefer.

J is three months old. last night she made all these goofy, gurgly grins for her daddy for a good ten minutes or so, while constantly trying to keep his gaze fixed on her and batting her bright eyes at him. suddenly, tears welled up in my eyes, and the last 2.5 months of screaming faded away. I felt a little more at ease, a little less stressed, a lot more in love with her, and suddenly very aware that we have A DAUGHTER. who is also a sister, and a cousin. And she maybe someday may be a wife, possibly a mother, or an aunt.

For the last few months I've thought about this girl in terms of our role as parents, or RM's role as a big, doting brother. and her as a colicy, lactose-intolerant, constipated little babe. and once the crying stopped, and her digestive system started to embrace my dairy-free lifestyle changes, i'm realizing what an amazing and rich ride we are in for the next few years.

Sunday, October 25, 2009

these are a few of my favorite things




yesterday afternoon, RM awoke from his nap and yelled, "mommy!"

i knew exactly what to expect when i entered.

"mommy! Wisten!!!" he exclaimed.

"Reddy, i hear that! daddy is using his blower outside."

We went outside, RM squinting in the sunlight, trying to keep his bleary eyes open to see one of his favorite pieces of landscaping equipment hard at work.

when he saw his own toy blower (thank you Black & Decker, you people are geniuses) the excitement just overtook him.

"Daddy, Daddy, CHEERS!!!"

They clinked the blowers together, and happily worked side by side.

bedtime stories





Now that J'bug has decided not to scream every evening without ceasing, she can join us for story time. Please don't get some crazy idea that this serene moment is a nightly occurance in our household. Hah. But it made me think about how delightful it will be to read to them both more frequently as they grow.

Thursday, October 22, 2009

so i can't tickle and take video at the same time

cousins

so, yesterday was my birthday. Floyd had to be out of town in NYC for a big show, and he has another radio interview up there today (wa-hoo!) But anyway, i had a lovely day with reminders from friends and family that i am dearly loved and loved well.

aunt nancy and cousins O,G, & C all came to spend the night! On a school night! I was so excited, i think i called her 4 times in one hour to find out if she was close. (and naturally, she had left her cell phone at home. hah.)

anyway, last night O announced to me, "Aunt Dan Dan, thank you for having us over. I'm SO excited! More excited than G."

Things that I loved about my day:

1. Lunch with co-workers whom I value highly.
2. A friend's mom who kept June for me and loved her all day while i worked.
3. Teachers at RM's school who took the time to call me and tell me there were milk and egg products in the lunch i packed for him. They are better than I am.
4. Having a tickle fight with RM, hearing his EXHAUSTED laugh.
5. Putting three kids in the tub together (O, G, & RM).
6. Listening to said three little musketeers giggle ridiculously while contained in the tub.
7. Absolutely TERRIBLE serenades over the phone of Happy Birthday from parents, husband, etc. Just because Floyd is a musician doesn't mean he can sing at 7am over the phone when he hasn't slept much. And just because Floyd is a musician doesn't mean his parents can sing. That's right - i'm calling all of you out! But loved EVERY second of it.
8. My mom stopping by and seeing me, N, and the 5 kiddos! Soooo great.
9. RM at the breakfast table, unexpectedly saying, "Happy, To You!" even though obviously he had no idea it was my birthday.
10. Having my sister to laugh with in my house on a cozy fall evening.
Going to sleep with my heart full and 5 babies asleep in the house. Delightful.

Sunday, October 18, 2009

Signs we're aging:

Floyd: "I like those shoes."

Evelyn: "You should, you gave them to me for Christmas."

Signs we're aging:

Floyd: "I like those shoes."

Evelyn: "You should, you gave them to me for Christmas."

Saturday, October 17, 2009

i think the heavens opened, God reached down, and patted me on the back

okay, so that title might be a bit overkill and blasphemous, but seriously...

this chicken noodle soup right here?

it'll make you wanna slap your momma.

have no fear mom, that is just an expression meaning, do something really stupid because you are so overwhelmed. i would never want to do such a thing. even after tasting my insanely delicious soup.

first. for those of you who aren't aware: i hate cooking.

there.
i said it. and it doesn't hurt one bit.

but.

i hate even more not being able to feed my family.
which creates a bit of a conundrum.

i could go on and on about this conundrum... the vicious cycle of empty pantry and bare fridge fiascos... the time during my first year of marriage when i fed Floyd some 'dinner' and a friend at the table said, "Dude, do you want me to take you to Taco Bell?" (This kind of embarassing moment doesn't dim well for such an unconfident cook.) Anyway... like i said... i could go on and on but i won't. lest i loose some of you valuable readers forever. So...

INSERT: lightbulb-going-off-in-my-head at age almost-28, and realizing that i have SISTERS... with insanely good gifts... that i did not get. And this spotlight is gonna go to Shinny bin. The Toot. The sister 26 months older with the insanely competitive drive and goofy knees. (Sorry toot, i had to jab at you somewhere.)

So, I visit her house, and there is always a fridge, freezer and pantry just slammed full of food. But not with questionable expiration dates or random-purposeless-items. I mean, she can pull out something for every meal and fill the kids up, make the adults' bellies full, and keep her kitchen annoyingly clean while doing it. Yesterday I called her and said, "Toot, I want to make chicken noodle soup. I have chicken, broth, carrots, onions, egg noodles, but not the foggiest idea where to go from there." So she talked me through it in the most basic terms for the non-cook at heart, and i felt like, I can do this.

I did. See this pot below?



There's even a BAY leaf or two simmering in there.

HOLD ON.... I just had to refill my bowl.

So, I have decided I need to call Toot more often. Floyd will thank me. RM will thank me. And since this item is dairy free, even J-bug will be thankful when she "gets it" a few hours from now.

Friday, October 16, 2009

in my house, at 3:30pm this afternoon...

all was quiet.



and even when the furnace repairman came and had to go into this sleeping cherub's room to access the equipment, the two year old slept on.



and even 25 minutes later when i got around to uploading these shots and sharing them here. all is still quiet.

wait for it... wait for it... nope, no jinx yet.

Saturday, October 10, 2009

Being TWO today: Hammering on "Jimmy" (JH, III). Feeding Junie banana in her bouncy seat. Pushing a pint-sized cement truck & singing "Happy, To You!" (B'day?)

Thursday, October 08, 2009

End of season dinner: Summer Pie. Crumbled feta, sliced tomato, baby spinach, caramelized onion. Mmm... (And only a smidge of dairy really!)

2026 voter



That cute boy on the far right will be voting in 2026. The other munchkins somewhere around that time table as well. But at least they will all have proof that they were 'a part' of someone's 2010 election in a pint sized fashion.

From Left: Kinsee (related to a staffer in Columbia), Sawyer (also of Columbia), Sam & Drew (of Spartanburg), Ella Grace (of Greenville), Elloree & Jack Greer are cousins of RM.

Wednesday, October 07, 2009

Ever learn new random preferences of your spouse? Floyd likes driveways with the strip of grass down the center. Me too.

Saturday, October 03, 2009

smile




some of you know just how valuable these grins are to the whole family right now. at about 3 weeks old, j'bug started screaming and didn't stop for about 6 weeks. she's 10 and a half weeks old now, and she's just started to be a little more happy... i'm hoping that this is the tail end of things, and within a month or so, maybe it will be but a distant memory. right now she still cries -nay- screams like the devil himself is chasing her for a couple hours in the evening. I have been humming the tune to this familiar Michael Jackson tune lately, although i'm not sure who i'm trying to console more, me or her.

Smile, though your heart is aching
Smile, even though it's breaking
When there are clouds in the sky
You'll get by...

Thursday, October 01, 2009

'farm' themed birthday cake

These are in reverse order. Here are the 'adults' sitting at the table after the munchkins had fled the sceen. Although it looks calm and serene, i assure you someone is shrieking and giggling and running around in the background somewhere. There were 7 cousins aged 4, 3, 2, 2, 1, 2mo, 2mo. there.

a very happy little boy digging into his cake. the icing was a hit.

and here he was blowing out the 'candles' - he did real well.

and the half eaten masterpiece. food presentation has never been one of my strongest areas to say the least.

just to give you an idea of how much i DON'T have it all together, the boy had his special dairy-free cake at preschool in the morning, and the same one again at dinner time with the family. i just plunked the farm animals back into the 'grass' (coconut) icing and stuck a couple TEA LIGHTS on it because, naturally, i forgot about the necessary birthday candles. Good thing kids don't really develop a long term memory until they are a few years old... gives ameatur parents a chance to hone our skills. As if I'm going to have it together in two more years... Ah, hahaha!

the great mowie ride