Upon Reflection - Revised

Oh ... and that new (new to me) furniture that I was getting today, for the finished basement, wouldn't fit down the basement stairs. For realz!!!!! The Hubby-Man and father-in-law tried and tried, but it just wasn't going to happen. Basically trying to shove a really BIG square peg into a round hole. BUMMER! I was really looking forward to having something to sit upon in my basement. Guess we'll have to get out the bag chairs again.......

Really, didn't people in the 50's (that's when our house was built) need couches in their basements?

This is just one more thing that you can add to the list of "complications" that go hand-in-hand with living in a older home.

Man..... I really wanted some couches too.

Dear reader, what furniture, decorating, remodeling "complications" have you had with your homes?

Upon Reflection

As we edge closer to the ending of another year, and a decade, I was briefly reflecting upon things that were new this year.

- We have a second child, a son.
- I am finally an aunt, I have a sweet little nephew.
- Joe refinished our basement (and we're getting some furniture for it today).
- We bought a new vehicle (which I luv, luv, luv)

Dear reader, what were some of the new things for you this year? What big changes occured in you life?

I'm Not Super Mom

Funny that I should feel compelled to write this today as I have just begun 12 days of blissful Christmas vacation, but.... an event has sparked the anxiety within me and I shall henceforth vent.

I am not Super Mom. I know many women that are Super Moms. They work full time, bake, provide nutritious hot meals, volunteer, find time to workout, attend multiple social events and still devise solutions to solve world hunger. That is not me.

Personally, it is all that I can muster to keep my head above water from week to week just getting to work every day and taking care of my family. I'm not sure if I'm not motivated enough, smart enough or strong enough to manage all of the things that the World expects me to do, but I know that I am doing the best that I can at this moment in time. Pardon me World if I choose to focus on my children, my husband and I squeak my friends in there from time to time ;) Pardon me if I refuse to over commit my children and my family.

Yes, I should be more committed to work events. Yes, I should volunteer and share the MANY blessings that God has given me. Yes, I should say "yes" to everyone who needs something done. Yes, I should be both a mom and a saucy super model. Yes, I should be able to juggle "life" better. But again... that's not me.

Having kids is HARD! Working full time with kids is HARD! Trying to be a good mother, supportive wife, dutiful daughter, fun time friend, devoted employee, and still have time for me is REALLY HARD. The catch is..... that I wouldn't give up anything in my life. I love having children and really love the Hubby-man. My family is wonderful, but it's just flippin' HARD.

And so I acknowledge that I am not all that, and I know that I can't be all that. I am doing the best that I can and I refuse to be pushed into more than I can handle. So if that makes me a slacker, or lazy, or difficult, or unsupportive... so be it.

Does anyone else feel this way?

The Heart of Childhood

Yes, Virginia, There is a Santa Claus

By Francis P. Church, first published in The New York Sun in 1897. [See The People’s Almanac, pp. 1358–9.]

We take pleasure in answering thus prominently the communication below, expressing at the same time our great gratification that its faithful author is numbered among the friends of The Sun:

Dear Editor—
I am 8 years old. Some of my little friends say there is no Santa Claus. Papa says, “If you see it in The Sun, it’s so.” Please tell me the truth, is there a Santa Claus?
Virginia O’Hanlon

Virginia, your little friends are wrong. They have been affected by the skepticism of a skeptical age. They do not believe except they see. They think that nothing can be which is not comprehensible by their little minds. All minds, Virginia, whether they be men’s or children’s, are little. In this great universe of ours, man is a mere insect, an ant, in his intellect as compared with the boundless world about him, as measured by the intelligence capable of grasping the whole of truth and knowledge.
Yes, Virginia, there is a Santa Claus. He exists as certainly as love and generosity and devotion exist, and you know that they abound and give to your life its highest beauty and joy. Alas! how dreary would be the world if there were no Santa Claus! It would be as dreary as if there were no Virginias. There would be no childlike faith then, no poetry, no romance to make tolerable this existence. We should have no enjoyment, except in sense and sight. The eternal light with which childhood fills the world would be extinguished.
Not believe in Santa Claus! You might as well not believe in fairies. You might get your papa to hire men to watch in all the chimneys on Christmas eve to catch Santa Claus, but even if you did not see Santa Claus coming down, what would that prove? Nobody sees Santa Claus, but that is no sign that there is no Santa Claus. The most real things in the world are those that neither children nor men can see. Did you ever see fairies dancing on the lawn? Of course not, but that’s no proof that they are not there. Nobody can conceive or imagine all the wonders there are unseen and unseeable in the world.
You tear apart the baby’s rattle and see what makes the noise inside, but there is a veil covering the unseen world which not the strongest man, nor even the united strength of all the strongest men that ever lived could tear apart. Only faith, poetry, love, romance, can push aside that curtain and view and picture the supernal beauty and glory beyond. Is it all real? Ah, Virginia, in all this world there is nothing else real and abiding.
No Santa Claus! Thank God! he lives and lives forever. A thousand years from now, Virginia, nay 10 times 10,000 years from now, he will continue to make glad the heart of childhood.

Busted

Hmmmm, well I am a horses backside. Apparently, you shouldn't write/vent about family members in your on line version of a not-so-personal journal and then link it to other blogs. I'd talk smack about my husband too (hehe) but he reads this blog ALL THE TIME!

Dear Brother,
Please know that I love you sooooo much, but like all brothers world wide you frustrate me sometimes, and sometimes I write about what frustrates me. Nothing personal, it was just a bad day that you happened to be involved in. Please forgive me for blogging about you and your Christmas list style. In retrospect - at least you can formulate a list...... forget about Hubby-man ever creating a decent one to shop by. Jeez!
I'd understand if you gave me one of H's dirty diapers for Christmas.
In an act of penance, I shall delete my surly posting.

Your jerk sister,

Me

The Male Influence

Tonight the hubby had to pick up some "truck parts" and needed to swing on in to Tractor Supply. C luvs to go with Hubby-Man when he goes so she was more than pleased to take a trip to Tractor Suprise (as she refers to it - snicker) with him. Indeed there are many new and surprising things there for a 4-year-old so I see why she calls it this.......

Apparently Hubby-Man has been teaching her the lyrics to an old song from the 50's entitled, Ballad of Thunder Road, it's about red-necks running moonshine across the South. So she came home and started running around the house shouting "moonshine, moonshine, moonshine!" Sure, Hubby, that won't come up in a note from preschool tomorrow.... EVEN better, they stopped at McDonald's for their tradtional strawberry shake after visiting Tractor Surprise when C asked her daddy, "What do they use to make in with the strawberry shake?" "Is it moonshine?"

Daddy's response, "Uh no (Hubby laughing), they use strawberrys and ice cream. No moonshine."

Great. Thanks for teaching her about moonshining, "white lightening", and "mountain dew".

Bedtime Prayers

The prayers of a 4 year old....

"Dear God, thank you for Bert, Big Bird, Elmo, Oscar, Grover, Ernie, Zoe, Snuffy, and Beauty and the Beast. Aaaaaaaaaa-men."

Amen indeed. I mean what would childhood have been without Sesame Street and Disney?

Pride

Seest thou a man wise in his own conceit? there is more hope of a fool than of him.



(Proverbs 26:12)
 
So today started out great! I mean really great! The kids were content, well rested, and I wasn't a sweat ball by 9:00 from running around the house. We did some grocery shopping and it went sooooo smoothly. After procuring some groceries for the family to survive upon this week I proudly call the husband to relay my joyful news.
 
Golden nugget #1 - The store had the powder Similac (I've been buying the premixed stuff since the recall due to the fact that Sweet Potato's guts couldn't manage the other brand).
 
Golden Nugget #2 - At the store, I scored a coupon for $.60 off per gallon and the cashier handed me an additional coupon for $.10 of per gallon. Since the Pilot was running pretty much on empty I scored a full tank of gas at $.70 off a gallon. Ka-ching!
 
Golden Nugget #3 - The Pilot has a leaky tire which needed a bit o' air and the gas station had FREE air! Whooo-hooo! Last time I had to fill the tire (I know. I know, it would be easier just to get it fixed) I went to a station that charged $.50 and I don't carry change often so I had to haul the kidlets INTO the gas station just to get change to turn the flippin' machine on! I know.
 
I was living the high life after these 3 events since it's not often that a Saturday morning goes so well in our house. Clearly God saw that I was feeling a bit upitty and just couldn't let that stand.....
 
Because.... we were anticipating a play date in the afternoon with a friend and her little man. Sweet Pea was so excited that her friend was coming over... and yet when they arrived she turned into a crazy monster child. I REALLY wasn't sure what got into her. One hour and two time-outs later our friends left and I was exhausted from watching my daughter bounce off the walls, scream, yell, and talk some smack. I found myself dumbfounded..... She has her moments, as most 4 year olds do, but....... sweet Jesus, this one TOPPED THE CAKE! Yikes. I felt so bad that her friend has to witness her circus act - it was one of those moments when you feel like a complete failure as a parent and you become convinced that there is something wrong with your child. Several hours later, and I still shudder when I think about it.
 
Have any of you ever experienced this; be it God "putting your pride in check" or your child flipping on you?
 

Fall Fun at the Apple Orchard

This past weekend, God graced West Michigan with some amazingly beautiful weather for early October. We pounced on the opportunity to take the wee ones to a somewhat local apple orchard for the fall festivities. Let's just say that you have to wait in line to park and there's a wrist band invovled in this trip.

Anyway, it was packed, but we had a great time in the festival atmosphere. The daughter is the PERFECT age for such nonsense and was on a rave like high this entire time - complete with the kitty cat face painting. Although they offer wagon rides to pick apples and pumpkins, we kept it more low key this year because of the baby. So we hit all of the "rides" and dropped a guap in the orchard's store on apples, pumpkins, doughnuts, and hotdogs.


Sweet Pea on the pedal tractors  Hubby-Man insisted she ride only tractors that are Case or International Harvester. As if they are real or something.....
 


Racing Hubby-Man on the trikes.

Barrel train ride

(Who knew you could reuse a barrel in such a manner!)



                                                        Sweet Pea and Sweet Potato


 Hubby-Man  & Sweet Potato looking handsome for the camera!

Wednesday Whoo-hooo!

Having two kids makes for a lot more playing and a lot less working around the house. If you can read between the lines then you will understand that my house has fallen into complete disarray and is in deperate need of regular cleaning now that I am working. I NEVER thought I'd see the day when I truly didn't have a moment to clean! Now, in all fairness, the Hubby-Man is willing (I think) to do some more cleaning here and there - let's just not talk about the laundry "wink, wink, hubby-Man", but I know the man likes to get some things accomplished on his days off too. So enter the cleaning lady that will be beautifying our house every other week starting this week. Squeeeee! I am so geeked about this. She is super nice, we know her family, and she comes at a bargain of a price. I am feeling less stressed already knowing she will be cleaning and that I won't be living in a pit for all eternity. The only downer is that I will feel compelled to clean up before she comes - so that evening before will be a bit spaztic while I attempt to make our scattering of children's toys look somewhat tidy.

Cole is 5 months old today! He is growing so fast which is in sharp contrast to our first child.... we just sat around and stared at her for months on end until she finally decided to roll or sit up or scoot. Now, with baby #2 time zooms past - I don't anticipate every milestone and obsess over his tummy-time, or plan out his baby food trials in some sequential manner. We're so much more casual..... Not sure if this is a plus or minus. We sure love him a lot though!

Caitlyn is almost 4 - where did the time go - and just as brilliant as ever. * I'm not biased in the least. * In a couple of weeks, she is going on her 2nd field trip ever, and I am so excited for her. I will totally be drooling all day long waiting for her at the end of the day to hear how it all went. She of course is most excited about riding on the school bus!

And finally -------- there are only 2 more days until Friday, which is BY FAR my favorite day of the week!

Tuesday Torrent

So.... there are two things... WAIT... four things that are sticking in my craw today.

1.) The staff member that "threw me under the bus" today during the staff meeting. Thank you soooo much for saying that I am not teaching my students critical thinking skills based on your hear say obtained from someone who may now be teaching one of my former students.....( Apparently the student's previous literature teacher (me) never taught them critical thinking skills which was discovered while they were reading The Odyssey in freshmen literature. What??????? For realz... you just said that in front of my boss and peers with a straight face.... and The Odyssey for freshmen? Kinda a bold statement to put out there don't ya think...... It's on girlfriend!

2.) The bikers that insist on riding along the side of the narrow and curvy road instead of riding on the bike trail 6 FEET AWAY. Oh yes, I DID honk at you! No...... it must be so much more gratifying to hold up traffic than to be courteous and get your buns out of the way. Passive aggressive butt-heads.

3.) Students with their fingers knuckle deep in their noses. Gross.

4.) Neighbor kids that show up once a week (at least) to sell stuff. Neighbor kids that show up RIGHT at dinner time - in the midst of my chaos - and expect me to leaf through their pamphlets of candy and magazines while their siblings wander around my house and pull toys out to play with only to then leave a mess. Oh and DON"T TOUCH THE BABY"S FACE (please)!


Aaaaaah - that felt good to get that out.

Hitting the Fan

Good lord! Last night was not a banner night for the P family. It was DEFINATELY not a good night for the hubby-man either. I had a meeting at work last night and therefore the man was on his own with the two wee ones.

Our evening took the first twist in the downward spiral around 4:50 shortly after I arrived home with the tots. Our neighbor had popped over to chat and the kids naturally went about their playing. Well, my almost 4 year old has this thing where she will hold her bladder until absolute bursting if it means that she can stay outside and play with friends for a minute more. Anyway, as soon as her friends headed home she ran to the door (which is still locked from the day) and yelled that she had to "go". Frantically I tossed the hubby-man the keys to open the door only to look over and see the guilty tot straddling an imaginary line and peeing a river in our garage. Fun! All over her new shoes too.

Trying to shake that off, I helped get supper around and prayed for a good night. I took off for work and rushed home as soon as my meeting was over in the hopes of catching little man before he went down for the night. Let's just say the evening had not gone well..... at all.

Long story short this is what went down over the course of 2 hours:
     * C spilled her milk all over the carpet at dinner.
     * C.A. had back poo that creeped out of his pants and all over his back and the baby bouncer.
     * C knocked over a glass torch lap in the living room which shattered into a hundred million pieces just
        as I was walking in the door. When I said, "Could you tell me how this happened?" she had quite the
        elaborate, but true, story.

Neeless to say, as a parent, just one of these events in a night can cause a bit of irritation, even some rethinking of the procreation thing. But 4 SUPER irritating kid events in one night??????? The husband looked defeated and who's to blame him........ Poor man.

This leaves me wondering..... what's your story? Has everything ever hit the fan in one night for you?

What's New?

Dear god it's been like a month since my last post. I should totally be in bed right now attempting to catch up on some sleep. I love sleep by the way....... scratch that - I am wildly passionate about sleep mostly because I don't get much (I know hubby man - you don't either). Anyway, I was reading the fantastic posts by some of my friends and I felt so guilty for not posting in well.... quite a while. Apparently I feel at the mercy of my blog, as if it might actually get jealous of the other blogs and begin whinning about feeling neglected and that I like the other blogs better than it.

So what's new.......

1.) Working full time rots.
2.) My kids are fantastically cute, but I wouldn't know because of item one.
3.) I've really been into chocolate lately.
4.) I have to now eat breakfast in the car if I want nourishment in the morning. There simply is no time in the 
     morning otherwise.
5.) I have a meeting at 7:50 in the morning next week and have no earthly idea of how I am going to get me
     and the kidlets there in time.
6.) Cole got Baptized last weekend and that was fun.
7.) A newly single friend of mine has a date tonight and I hope is goes well. I can't imagine "dating" at the age
     of 34 (So don't go anywhere Hubby-man).
8.) The husband planted some grass on a spot he has had ripped up for a couple of months and I am
     delighted to see little tufts of grass growing there.
9.) I may actually get to see one of my friends (without the kids in tow) this weekend. Yippee!
10.) I truly LOVE my Honda Pilot and may run off into the sunset with it. (Just kidding, but I do love it).
11.) The Hubby-Man installed a beautiful storm door for my birthday.
12.) Hubby-Man has been sending me all sorts of funny emails lately. My favorite is Eddie Murphy talking
       about his mother making a "McDonald's" hamburger.

Cole's baptism: Us and Fr.

Little man slept through the whole Mass.

He only opened his eyes for a moment when Father poured the water in his head.

What??????????

Today as I was pulling out of McDonald's sipping on my sweet tea sugar bomb I happened to notice a Jeep Grand Cherokee pulling out of the bank across the street. What caught my eye, and caused me to do a double take, was one of those bright red Rudolph noses attached to the Jeep's grill. You know how people like to stick that stuff on their car with a pair of antlers around CHRISTMAS TIME. For the love of all that is holy lady - it's August! Take that faded out, tacky looking Rudolph nose off of your car. Thank you.

Also, the husband made me watch this lame John Cougar video from the 1980s (?) that they were talking about on Free Beer and Hot Wings this morning. They were right........ it's pretty bad.

Boundaries Please!

So why is it that total strangers (and their grimy kids) think that it's okay to touch my baby? Why is it that having breached baby touching etiquette in the first place they have to push the envelope even further and touch my baby on the face and his hands??? This makes me wonky and uncomfortable. I have SUCH a hard time saying, "Please don't touch my baby," to adults because I feel like they should know better for the love of pete. Now, when they let their germy kids paw my kid, then I have less of a problem, but it's still hard for me to speak up - it feels so rude. But hey, who's invading personal bubbles in the first place?

Being that I have kids and teach kids, I should understand that children don't always understand boundaries as well as adults and their personal space is much smaller than many adults. Still - I don't like it.

What would you say to a child or an adult (that you don't know) when they touch your baby on their face and hands??????? Oh and I've even had strangers put his pacifier in his mouth!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! So what would you say to that?????

Guess I need one of these signs.

Summer Pics

C.A. at 2.5 months of age. Looking very cheeky and slinging smiles all around.

C.A. nearly 3 months old.

He has recently discovered his hands and LUVS to maw on them.

In July we spent 2 days at the cottage of a family friend on Sapphire Lake. C discovered her love of

Sea-Dos and made her dad take her for ride upon ride around the lake.

Clearly this girl shares a love of things with speed and motors in them - just like her dad.

Oh, and since I've had a lot of free time this summer -

 I threw in a picture of me lounging around by the pool in my bikini and heels.

*Who wears heels to the pool anyway???? Oh that's right, H.M. does.

Cluck!

FYI the chicken sitting is going well. We have acquired several eggs from the K's chickens and C luvs to chase and pet them. We had a double dose of poultry this week when we visited the county fair. C insisted that we go through the chicken barn to see the hundreds of clucking birds. As we were walking past some cages I felt some moisture spray my arm which I can only hope and pray was actually water.

Bits and Pieces

This week I have been put in charge of watching some chickens, fifteen to be exact. A neighbor of ours is going to be away for a few days and they have asked us to let their chickens out in the morning. Being a girl from "the burbs" that I am I wasn't exactly geeked to do this. Chickens kinda freak me out. Anyway, I'm a spineless pushover and we're watching our neighbor's chickens and watering their plants - joy. After excessive moaning and groaning the husband reminded me that I may want a favor from them someday and I should basically just buck up.

This past weekend we did our grocery shopping at a store that is not D & W. It sucked. We only went there because I needed a new nightlight for our freakishly dark hallway. Both the hubby and I left the store peeved because 1) our daughter decided to turn into a devilish gremlin, 2) there were sooo many people there you couldn't navigate the cart, and 3) our cashier was a complete moron that lacked any social skills.

Recently in our marriage J and I have come to the realization that neither of us like Subway subs. For countless years we have bought Subway subs thinking that the other person liked them better than Blimpie. Apparently we both like Blimpie and thus never need to eat at the other place again. We also had a crazy mix up regarding Slurpee's this week. Joe was apparently unaware of my Slurpee preference. I will ONLY drink Coke in the frozen form and none of those other wonky flavors. I did during my first pregnancy have a brief period where I would drink the frozen blueberry kind, but hey I was pregnant and therefore not accountable. Anyway, he was trying to be a thoughtful husband and brought C and me Slurpees - the red kind (Ick!!!!). I didn't mean to be a creep, but that is one of the few things is this world that I won't eat. I know...... but truly I can't stand anything except the frozen Coke. You think you know a guy..... You think he knows you.....

C is going through a phase where she take FOREVER to get ready for bed and to get dressed in the mornings. It is seriously the most ridiculous battle! We have had several nights of screaming and crying which just wears me plumb out. It fries my brain to go to war with a 3 year old. So I've started an incentive chart - if C gets ready for bed without screaming or crying and doesn't take forever to wash up and brush teeth then she earns a smile face. Last night was our first success in 2 nights. We had a peaceful and relaxing bedtime routine (mostly thanks to the hubby). She did a great job getting ready for bed and as a result earned a reward from the "prize" bucket. Now I've upped the anti and she has to do a good job going to bed two nights in a row, then three, and so on. I'm accepting prayers on this one folks because frankly I can't handle the alternative. Any helpful hints on putting an end to bedtime chaos?

Laying Around

Here's C.A. hanging out with his dad at about 2 months of age.

He was much more enthused about this picture than his father.

I Was Desperate!

While at the mall the other day, I was stading in long line at the A&W waiting to buy some lunch when I honed my hearing in on the little chap in front of us. He was whining and throwing a bit of fit about something which I think was a sucker. Anyway - I saw his mother say no several times only to rip the plastic off the sucker and hand it to him moments later. Clearly a moment of desperation.

I always find it interesting to see what will put a parent past their limit. I'm not talking over the cliff, lost your ever lovin' mind sort of "lost it", but those everday sort of "cave ins" where you give in to the wee folk against your better judgement.

Personally, I know that C has gotten Apple Jacks, candy, and excessive amounts of Cinderella in moments of parental weakness.

I was just wondering what you all have given into, be it kids (or husbands), in moments of desperation?

Peace and Love

So sisterly love seems to prevail this week. There have been significantly fewer episodes of brother bashing this week. Perhaps is was the multiple time-outs that C was subjected too for hitting, squishing, and screaming in her brother's ear..... but whatever works because she has been super kind and sweet to him as of press time. I find her occasional aggression towards him baffling, truly is must be jealously or testing her boundries with him (please make it stop). It's so hard to punish her for it too because clearly it is not okay behavior and I can't let it go unnoticed, and yet she doesn't understand her actions may really hurt him. It's so hard to explain that it's wrong and yet not make her feel like dirt.

 I love this pic because it looks as if they were in the midst of plotting against me when I stumbled across their conversation. Hmmmm.

May peace and love continue to rein.

Had to laugh because some how Tinkerbell is in another one of our pictures. Can't tell if it's the Tinkerbell PJs or the pillow, but gosh darn that fairy is everywhere.

Slow the Roll

Well, we're 1/2 way through my "summer" and maternity leave. The first part really flew by considering CA will be 7 weeks old tomorrow. Now that both kids are home things have slowed down a little bit - way down. I kinda miss the easy-breasy pick up and go that we had with C. Now everything revolves around CA - EVERYTHING. Not that I don't love it, but it's a huge change that I think I underestimated when we decided to get pregnant again.

So if we get out once a day (I totally need to get out at least once) that's pretty good for us. Getting groceries is a huge trip for us. We love to hit the library, local parks and playgrounds. C REALLY needs to get outside each day or else she gets squirrely. I keep my sanity by reminding myself that next summer we can do whatever since CA will be more mobile and "easy-breasy". For now, one day at a time is how we role.

I miss my friends which I was just getting to know again, but I will have to try harder to maintain those friendships because I value each of them so much. They keep me sane.

What a life - sincerely. I love my hubby, kids, family, and friends - I just wish I had more time for all of them.

Where Did the Time Go?

C at 3 1/2 years old

C as a newborn

I had a Whoa! moment the other day when I was clipping my daughter's fingernails. I looked down and was looking at the hands and fingernails of a child - where had her little baby hands gone????? I was devastated as I looked into her face and stuttered, "You have really BIG hands!" She was a bit surprised by that comment, as was I, so I tried to cover with, "You're just getting so grown up."

Seriously though, when did my baby girl turn into a little girl? It must have been overnight because I never saw it coming. It must be that now we have C.A. to compare her to and next to him she's HUGE! Gasp, if this is hard, wait until my little girl turns into a teenager! If anything, this is helping me to appreciate all of the newborn things (like 3 AM feedings and TONS of poopy diapers) with our son because this has reminded me it's going to go faster than I expect. I'm sure it won't be long before I clip C.A.'s nails and he'll be a little boy too. God, they really do grow up fast. 

1 Month

Suprisingly, everyone actually was holding still for a second.

FYI - C hearts her Tinkerbell PJs and would wear them every second of the day if I let her.

Tomorrow Cole will be 1 month old. Holy Cow! Time seems to go much faster with the second one. However, ask me in two weeks when C is home full time and I'm managing two at once 24/7 and we'll see if I have the same feelings. Having 2 kids is so much trickier than I thought it would be. Perhaps it's the age difference - C likes to spend most of the day outside and is constantly on the move. Cole in the other hand is kinda a cute little lump that eats, sleeps, poos, and cries and would prefer not to be out in the sun (I keep him in the shade of course). Cole's needs are obviously demanding and C is trying to be patient when her outdoor play is interrupted by feedings and diaper changes. I have to say that although the age difference/activity level seems to be pretty tricky to swing, I am SOOOOOO glad that C is mucho independent and can feed herself and is toilet trained. OMG I can't even imagine having to change 2 children all day long. Just looking for the upside here folks.

Through the summer, it will be interesting to compare with other friends that have two at home as to the pros and cons of having two close together or two farther apart in age. It's 6 of one and half a dozen of another I'm sure. What are your thoughts dear reader? Is it easier to have children close together in age, or is it better to spread them out by three or four years?

Sweet Baby Cole

Well, it's two weeks after the fact, but this is honestly the first night that the kids have gone to bed peacefully and the first night that I haven't slithered into my bed the moment that they settled down. Therefore, I'd like to FINALLY introduce Cole, or Coltrain as we've come to call him.

In my totally biased opinion - he is pretty darn cute. His sister is completely in love with him, although she is still a bit peeved that she now has to share the limelight. Thankfully she's taking it out on us and not on him.

Random Bits of My Life

Both the hubby and I are on maternity leave WAITING for little baby to arrive (C has been attending school to keep her schedule normal). Since we are both genrally go, go, go kind of people we're both kinda bored. Therefore, I will pleasure you with the random bits of our lives that fill our day until little baby gets here.

Attacked by window screen this morning. It fell out of the window and landed on our heads while we were sleeping. As quoted from 40 Year Old Virgin, "f****r came out of nowhere!"

Still waiting for little baby which the doctor was quite certain would have come yesterday. LIAR

Eating cruddy dinners since I don't want to tap into my stash of delicious frozen meals which were set aside for when the baby comes.

I would really love to start a new book, but am afraid to commit since I won't have time to finish it.
Husband is on leave from work so he has been mucho busy organizing. Recently he has:
     - painted & touched up the rough spots on the basement walls
     - organized his work room (thank GOD!)
     - installed fencing w/ his dad in the cow pasture
     - Craig's Listed his "Yammer Hammer" (a tractor)
     - varnished the closet door for the nursery
     - facilitated moving his dad's barn  - built in 1850 -200 feet (quite the process). See pictures below.
     - sold a butt load of motorized items that have been cluttering up our house and the barn

C is loving the wonderful spring time weather, so she has been super active and therefore sleeping like a champ. This morning I found her lying with her head at the foot of her bed. She was sprawled out like she'd been partying all night - blankets half thrown across her body. Too cute.

I've been doing laundry every day to keep up on it and so I am really tired of that.

I am also tired of having everything ready so that we will be all prepared for new baby. I guess that we'll survive if things aren't in perfect order. But I'm sure all you type A people get where I'm coming from.

Now I am bored of writing - so "Adios" on this Cinco de Mayo.

Beginning of move. Propping barn up.

Moving barn and turning it toward it's new home.

Home sweet home in the pasture.

The Final Countdown

5

That is the number of days until my due date for Baby P #2.
The days have started to be kinda hit-or-miss as to how I am feeling physically.
On Thursday this week I felt like a superwoman that could have conquered the world. I vacuumed, dusted, played outside, fixed a nice dinner and could hardly fall asleep I was so geared up. Friday through Sunday - not so much.

I hate just sitting around, and there is a ton that I'd like to do (just to keep from dying of boredom), but I get tired soooo fast that I have to rest. C has gotten pretty understanding that mommy is just a bump-on-a-log lately and so she's generally content to have me sit nearby while she plays or swings.

So, it's really anyone's guess as to when this baby decides to join us on the outside. I am planning on working until Friday, but we'll see.......

Waiting.....

Well dear reader,

We are finally situated over here (as much as one can be) as we await the arrival of Baby #2. The basement has been expertly remodeled by the hubby and father-in-law. The nursery is also done, also expertly by hubby and his general craftiness. C and I put up the crib and organized the dresser last weekend. She LOVED delegating which drawer everything was supposed to go into. J humored us and sweetly hung the valance over the window and the quilt hanger on the wall. Got to love the man!

So, I've attempted to take some pictures to express the warm loviness of the baby's new room, but it's kinda small, so you'll have to use your imagination with the pics. Here we go with a before and after.

Here is the yucky old office with teeny-tiny closet.

Fresh and clean baby room with light yellow walls and undersea creatures theme.

Whoops, not sure how to rotate this.

Love the new rocker that DOESN'T squeak!

Not sure I love the dresser. Kinda orangey for "maple", but it's

been in my garage for like a month and I'm too lazy (at this point) to return it.

Hope little baby comes out healthy and ready to rock and roll with his/her sister because she is soooo excited!.

When Mom Is Away, the Kids Will Play

It's been a busy week around here. I had spring conferences two evening this week so J and C spent a couple of evenings full of daddy - daughter time. Since the weather has been freakishly nice they relished in the opportunity to get their jeeps out. Clearly C has her father's LUV for machines with motors (or batteries at this point anyway).

   .

Paint it white and she could be Daisy Duke - the toddler years.

Bulbs

Recently, while eating lunch with C the other day at our kitchen table, she was admiring the purple hyacinth adorning the center of our table. Thinking I'd slip a little science lesson in I said,

Me: "Did you know that beautiful little flower came out of this little bulb sticking out of the soil?"

C: "Where?"

Me: (pointing) "See, that brown bulb, right there in the dirt."

C: "Like the ones in your shirt?"

Me: (pause) Um, nooooooo. Those are different. Those are mommy's, and they're not called bulbs.

C: (patting my chest) "Yeah, bulbs."

Me: (In an attempt to redirect the conversation) No, this is a bulb in the soil. We can plant this outside and it  will grow another flower.

Whirlwind

Wow, a lot of things seem to be piling up over here lately. It seems that although I'm busting my buns to get things done, it's all just hitting at once.

The hubby and I had meltdown over taxes the other day since we showed up at our tax appointment without 3 crucial pieces of paperwork. This then became the debate over whose responsibilty it was to keep track of all that crap and then later tearing the torn apart house apart in an attempt to locate said lost items. Rest assured, all items were found and El Hubby should be meeting up with the Tax Man within the next day to two to settle things. I've already made a list of necessary items for next years tax folder - trust me.

Spring break is JUST around the corner. However this year I'm not really anticipating any fun and relaxation. This year, it will be the much needed time that I need to wrap things up at work for the sub that will be filling in for me on my maternity leave. I will also be having the carpets cleaned and hopefully decorating the nursery which is still in the renovation stages. Everything for the nursery is "staged" throughout the house just waiting to be moved into the baby's room.

I've been waffling between where to have little baby sleep when we bring him/her home. Do I pull out the antique cradle, sleep baby in the traditional crib, or buy this new fangled sleeper/rocker from Fisher-Price?
Tonight C and I ran out to the local baby mega store and picked up this infant rocker/sleeper that is inclined and I think I love it. It seems kinda untraditional, but I think it will be a keeper.

Good Lord! It's almost Easter too, and I've been trying to get Easter basket supplies, decide on an Easter egg hunt, attempt to remember that C needs white tights and some white sandels to match her Easter dress, while assuming that one of my relatives (Mom or my Aunt) will host Easter brunch and just tell me when and where to show up.

I've got a couple of social events to attend here in the next few weekend and we're trying to keep all of that straight.

Oh, and yeah we're having a baby at the end of April!!!!!! So...... trying to do the mental and physical preparation for all of that. I am really not sure how I'm going to survive 2:00 feedings. I am set on trying to nurse this time around. I am scared to death about this because it went really badly with our first child. Still I am resolved to try and be the super breast-feeding mom that so many of my friends seem to be able to be. I really wish newborns could sleep through the night though. I a mess without 7-8 hours of good sleep.

Strike a Pose

C is all about "strinking a pose" these days. When I say, "Smile....." I never know what I'm going to get.

Making Room

With my due date fast approaching the hubby is working hard on Major Project #2 (the first being the basement which is now complete). We are attempting to turn our former "office" into a room for child #2. My big beef with this room is that there is only one closet and it is somewhat small with a freakishly smaller door. One must actually turn sideways to reach into the closet and retrieve the contents stored within.

ONLY because he loves me, the hubby has consented to expanding the closet so that it can actually be used in a realistic manner. Of course, being that our house is about 50 years old, a home project is never without its roadblocks. Being the handy man that he is, the hubby has outwitted the construction obstacles and is now making some serious headway on the closet. Yeah!

I'm sure this will all be wrapped up before the baby arrives, but I'm a wee bit nervous since we still have to patch drywall, paint, clean the carpets, hang stuff on the wall and set up the room.

Anyway, here are some rather non-exciting pictures of the room as it currently is, with the plan that I will follow through and post the "after" pictures when we are done. Which reminds me I STILL have to post the
"before" and "after" pictures of our basement. In due time.

Teeny - tiny closet before hubby to a power tool to it.

New wider opening which created some need for drywall patching.

All's Good in the Neighborhood

After a rather boring Monday morning at the lab, 3 hours to be exact, I passed my second glucose test. Hurrah! So good to just have that off of my mind. I also had an ultrasound on Monday which showed that the baby is developing as expected and almost 4 pounds at 32 weeks. Near the end of our session, the technician offered to do a 3D scan so we were able to see our baby's face. So weird, but yet so cool. The hubby's first comment was, "That looks like a boys face." Well, I agree, but either that or you just called our daughter mannish.

Today I had my regular visit to the Obgyn and things were quick and dirty there; all news was good news.

Sugar, Sugar

Although I have been super fortunate during my second pregnancy, I've hit a bit of a wobbly spot. Last week I had my glucose test and was actually surprised that I didn't pass it. Perhaps it was the way the nurse delivered the news, so casually tossed in with some other tidbits of information.

"Your hemoglobin looks good, blah, blah, blah and you DIDN'T pass your glucose test."
"Didn't?" Did I hear that right?
"Yeah, you'll have to take another, more intensive test......"

Clearly, this isn't the worst thing that could happen, not even close, but STILL gestational diabetes isn't great. Anyway, once I talked some reason into myself I hunkered down and went with the mind set that I'd just have to wait and see the results of the second and much longer (3 hours at a lab) test. So I'm proud to say that I've been SUPER good with my diet since then in the hopes that I will pass this second test on Monday - no sweets, reduced carbs, fruit in moderation, etc. I am freaking out inside my little section of the brain that I reserve for such occasions and REALLY hoping that I am one of the 95% of people that pass the second test. Granted it would only be 2 months of dealing with the big GD, but still no thank you.

On the lighter side, I also get to have a second ultrasound on Monday while I am taking the dreaded glucose test. I am tempted to find out the gender of the baby this time, but I shall stick to our resolve and let it be a surprise. Am a tiny bit worried they'll say that the baby is coming in March instead of April. Not quite sure when the Man's men completed their mission, soooooo that has left us wondering on a due date a bit. (Yeah, I know, you think I would have paid more attention to that sort of thing.) Origianally we had a due date of May 12 which then was moved up to April 30. I am hoping there are no date changes and good news all around on Monday.

The 3 Year Old

For a moment, let's consider 3 Year Olds:

Pros:
1. They say things like, "Tootie butt head." Therefore giving you
a perfect comeback to use at the next staff meeting.
2. Their independence is refreshing.
3. They understand that there are rules.
4. They are quite honest.
"Did you pull the kitty's tail?"
"Yes, because ........................."
5. They outshine any stand up comedian - hands down.
6. Their dance moves are outstanding.
7. They posess an impecable sense of fashion & style. Really, who knew you
    could were a swimsuit over your Cinderella dress?
8. Their affectionate kisses and hugs melt your heart.


Cons:
1. They say things like, "Mom, you're a tootie butt head."
2. Their will to be independent is frustrating.
3. They understand that there are rules and freely point out when you
don't follow them. "Mommy, we don't say stupid."
4. They are quite honest "Yes honey, mommies maternity underpants are big."
5. They know to ask dad if mom says "No".
6. If there is a mess to be made - they will find a way.

Home Improvement

Over here in our little neck of the woods, the P family (rather the hubby) has been fervently remodeling the basement in preparation for little Baby P #2 whom will be arriving in about 2 short months. Actually it's a means to an ends because we had to finish our basement in order to move our "office" so that Baby P #2 would have a room.

Hubby J (and the father-in-law) have done a beautiful job downstairs and I am soooooo excited because we are installing the carpet this week. Whoooo-hooo. For all practical purposes that means the basement will be finished! I will have to do a big reveal for you all including some before shots to give you the full effect.

That will lead us (rather the hubby) to project #2 - the nursey. We're planning on doing a job to enlarge a closet and some painting to freshen it up a bit. I'm afraid to commit too much in the decorating department since we don't know the gender of the baby. I plan to decorate appropriately in a year or two when we hit toddlerhood - again. I'm also on the hunt for a dresser which will double as a changing table. It's turning into kind of a pain in the butt because #1 I'm cheap but don't want cheap quality and #2 I am searching for a light pine or maple finish while the rest of the world is apparently only buying cherry wood.

I'll keep you posted for the big basement reveal where you'll see the P family's basement go from disgusting to dynamic.

Evolution of a Box

I've been fighting some sort of insane cold for the past week; I suspect it may have morphed into a sinus infection. Anywho, on Sunday I was feeling rather crappy and sloth-like so I was desperate for a way to entertain Sweet Pea and, truthfully, keep her out of my hair while I spent hours blowing my nose and feeling like a germ. (Shout out to the hubby who took her to a family get together so that I could rest for a couple of hours!)

All hail the cardboard box!

After some quick thinking (a miracle with a congested head) I ran out to the garage and grabbed a medium sized box which our new basement cupboards had come in. I brought it into the living room and let the magic happen. C nearly spent the entire day in her box. Mind you it wasn't in a crazy kid kind of way like, "Curlygirl's kid never comes out of the box.", but rather she had a vested interest and curiousity in her work. I could write about the evolution of the box, but that would take awhile so I will give it to you bullet style.

1. Crawl into box and enjoy.
2. Have mom cut windows and doors into box.
3. Fill with stuffed animals and baby dolls.
4. Introduce a sleeping bag.
5. Decorate box with markers on the outside.
6. Decorate box with markers on the inside.
7. Introduce the flashlight.
8. Decorate box with stickers.
9. Empty box and attempt to roll around the room in it.
10. Play hide-and-seek in the box.
11. Play Starbucks drive-through with mom. "Tall decaf mocha, please."

Literally since Sunday this has been her most favorite thing to do at home. She runs to it as soon as we get home, and continues to adorn with stickers. Personally, I'm starting to get a little sick of looking at it in the living room, but hey, it keeps her interested. We'll give it a couple more days.
I highly recommend!

Babblings From Me

February is the month of birthdays around here. In fact, both grandmas celebrate their birthdays this month. When I asked C what we should get her Grandma P for a birthday gift, C responded with, "A chiropractor." Hmmmm. Well, that's interesting considering Grandma P is extremely spry for her age (not that her age is anything to balk at), and neither J nor I have been to the chiropractor in months. Hmmmm.


On Saturday, (yes, I know it's already Thursday people) when I asked C if you would like a hotdog for lunch she said, "Yes." Followed within a minute by this...

"Mom?"
"Yes?"
"Do we have quesadillas with ranch?"
"Um, sure I guess we do. Does that sound good?
"Yes, thank you."

So, apparently we have reached the age of requesting specialty items from the "Mom, can you make this" menu. Whatevs.

In other news we've dug out the baby stuff from the deep dusty basement to take stock in what we have and what we have to buy for baby #2. C stumbled across a bag full of her baby toys and played with them for like an hour. We had fun talking about her infant favorites and what not. Then of course she had to pull out every baby/stuffed animal she owned and give each one of them a toy to play with as well. Good to see that these toys are still well loved.

Potty Animal

I've been basking in the appreciation of the fact that my 3 yr. old is finally potty-trained. No doubt it makes life wonderfully more easy and free-spirited. HOWEVER - I'm beginning to  notice a trend with the little trickster. Any place we go, C has to try out their potty. Anyplace!

At first when she'd say, "Mommy, I have to go to the bathroom" I would drop whatever I was doing and make a mad dash to the nearest facilities in fear that she would have an accident in the most inappropriate of places. The panic of a mother trying to avoid a torrential flood in the middle of the grocery store is unique to any other. Throughout the potty-training process, I learned that my daughter can hold it for, like, hours on end. It's pretty impressive! Therefore, I learned to trust that we could leave the house for about 2 hours without having to make a stop.

Before we leave the house, everyone takes a potty break (in the hopes that we won't have to use public bathrooms). Usually this gets her through, but lately, it seems that wherever we go she "has to go to the bathroom." Last weekend at Meijer I had to take her to the restroom 3 TIMES!!! I tell you what, this added like half an hour to our shopping trip. Good lord!

The kid makes me take her to the bathroom at school before we head home, we have to check out the bathrooms at Lowe's, Home Depot, all grocery stores, the mall, grandparent's houses, and even Subway. Although I had to laugh (and shudder) about one time when she was with the husband visiting a bachelor friend of his. Apparently, she asked to use the bathroom twice. Come on - we all know how men live when left to their own devices. I could go into detail, but I'm sure what you picture is close enough to call it too gross for a little girl. Well she used his bathroom anyway, and BLESS HIM, my husband washed and sanitized her within an inch of her life post potty.

At the moment, it seems that my daughter has a facination with plumbing and bathrooms in general. If I had to choose, I guess I prefer having to take her to the bathroom everyplace we go over having her back in diapers. Those Pampers are expensive!

What obsessive behaviors did you have as a kid? What obsessive behaviors does your kid have?

Tick-Tock

Today I had my monthly visit to the obgyn. All went smoothly, we've quite blessed in this department. Blood pressure is still good, which is a blessing because with our first child, it went wonky and I had to make many a trip to the doctor and many a trip to the hospital for "stress tests" which really only stressed me out more. Anyway, blood pressure.... good. Baby heart rate... good. Ultrasound results... good. Due date, well that's been moved up from May 12 to April 29. Seems that little baby is bigger than one would expect from the given date of conception and since I'm fairly fuzzy on the where and when of several events I can't exactly pin down the date for the doctors. Let's just say the hubby and I were letting life happen and it, well...... it did. The doctor mentioned that she would like to order a second ultrasound in a month or two to make sure we're on track with the baby's development. So that puts me at about 25 weeks.

Great right? Except that it kinda put the mad panic on since our basement is still in the middle of a remodel, I can't work on the nursery until the basement is done (long story) and it needs to have a closet built, a paint job, and the carpet cleaned, further more I can't seem to decide on a scheme for decorating the nursery, I'm waffling back and forth about furniture for the nursery, I need to find a second hand (clean) glider, and I have to plan for a sub at work by writing about 2 months of lesson plans. Whoa! Oh, and I have to pull out all the baby stuff for round 2, while purchasing all that we'll need new for this wee one. Wait - what about names??????? I have this irrational fear that our child will be born and we won't be able to come up with a name for him/her.

Truly I am excited, but I'm also freaking out a bit. With our first child it seemed like we had all the time in the world to prepare. This pregnancy seems to have flown by and I feel so unprepared. I need a plan.

Little Black Cloud

Today - I woke up grouchier than all heck and I immediately wanted to put on the most comfortable cotton clothing I could find, snap my fingers so that a decaf mocha would instantly appear on my nightstand, and I wanted to burrow back deep, deep down into the covers of my bed and cry. Why you ask? How the heck should I know! But... I was grouchy.

However, life slows for no woman so I dragggggged myself into the shower - still grouchy - and attempted to make myself feel pretty. Oh, did I mention that becoming more rotund with baby-belly with each day doesn't help. Somedays I have that maternity "glow" in which I feel like a Greek goddess in all her fertility. On other days, such as this morn, clearly I did not.

I must also mention that I love my daughter with my entire being, but girl.... don't mess with me... PLEASE, PLEASE, PLEASE just brush you teeth, like I asked so sweetly the first 5 times, and do it in under 10 minutes, and let's head out the door. I REALLY had to work at patiently coaxing my wee angel through her morning process so that, with a hope and a prayer, I could make it to work on time.

Praise the Lord, that my students are so lively and generally pretty sweet. They can usually drag me out of a funk. Sure enough they got me motivated and temporarily out of my grouchiness until I had to start dealing with the garbage that can sneak in and ruin a day - late assignments, other grouchy people, excuses, immaturity,professional demands, questions, questions, and more questions. Unfortunately, as the day wore on, the day began to ware on me and it was just down hill from there.

It was one of those days that when you climb into your car to FINALLY head home you have to make a decision. You let out a deep dramatic sigh and say "Am I going to take this home OR am I going to leave it along the road?" I littered my bad attitude all over the road and put on a winning smile for C when I picked her up.

Things finally picked up while we drove across town (listening to Crazy In Love, like 5 times per C's request) to pick up our honeymoon video that we recently transfered to DVD (courtesy of a lovely gift certificate from B). We haven't watched our video in two years, so the hubby and I decided to get Chinese take-out and to make it a family movie night. It was wonderfully fun and left no aftertaste of the morning's previous bad mood.

Perhaps it's the weather, the hormones, or lack of sleep. Who knows. Tomorrow is another day, and I think that I've shaken my little black cloud for now.

So dear reader, I wonder what can ruin your day and make you want to hideaway in your bed?

Good News & General Cuteness

Good news!. The hubby and I have been searching for the videotape of our honeymoon for about a month and up until last night had forsaken it for lost. We honeymooned in San Francisco and Yosemite National Park which was so fun and lovely that I'd hate to never see it again.

It all started when I had the brilliant idea to take our tape and to have it converted from video to DVD as a surprise Christmas gift. However, after looking for about 2 weeks by myself I gave up and asked J if he'd seen it. Of course he used this opportunity to say that I'd probably "organized" it into some place that I would never find it. Anyway, he looked and looked as well without finding it.

Then I had the wild idea that perhaps we had left it in the case for the video camera which we had borrowed from A. I ran the idea past A (She is super fabulous by the way) who said that she'd check with M, who had taken the camera with him when they parted ways. Million to one shot - the hubby thought I was nuts - but sure enough - the honeymoon tape has been tucked into the pocket of the camera's case at M's house for maybe the past 2 years. Yeah, I know, sounds like we REALLY missed it. Dude, we've been a little busy.

Whooo-hoo! M is going to drop off the long lost testament to our wedding travels to A later this week so that we can once again be reunited. I can't wait. Although..... guess we can't really watch it until we go ahead and have it transfered over to DVD. Rats. Anyone know a place that does this?

****************

In other news, C is being so very cute about the expected baby that is wriggling inside of me. Usually she will get very close to my belly button to jabber and talk to the baby within. Recently, the hubby was using a circular saw to cut and saw some whatnot while finishing our basement. As a general rule, C has always hated this sound and will make her "crazy face" while covering her ears. On this occasion when the hubby revved up the saw, C reached out and placed her two little palms flat to the sides of my tummy to "cover the baby's ears." Too flippin' cute!

***************

I also wonder if perhaps my daughter has a calling as a Gregorian Monk. It's become her habit, which admittedly I love, to "chant" for at least a half hour after church on Sundays. During mass she attempts to sing along by mimicing the sounds. If she's not singing, she's trying to dance in the pew. But the fun really starts after we arrive home and settle in. This past week she headed off to play Barbies and within minutes I heard what can only be described as Gregorian style chanting. I think she's trying to mimic the singing that we do in church. Since she doesn't know the words she chants similar sounds. It's pretty funny to listen to. In the meantime, all the Barbies are sitting in little rows at "church" whether they like it or not.

Welcome 2010

A new year is upon us. Welcome 2010. Let's make it a great year shall we? All in all, 2009 wasn't too bad, but it could have been better. It seems we know a lot of friends and family that have traversed, or are still in the midst of, some rough times this past year.

Thankfully, the Lord blessed us with a beautiful winter morning to start off the new year. The three of us took the opportunity to take C sledding at Richmond Hill, a local sledding hot spot. She has been sledding in the back yard before but that offers nothing to the magnitude or thrill quotient of Richmond. C and the hubby hiked up to the top of the hill several times. C was smiling ear to ear each time they came zipping down. Being the round prego that I am, I was deemed official videographer of the memorable event. C even tried sledding by herself once or twice. We started her off about half way up the hill and let her go. She LOVED it! Even better, at the end of the hill, the child actually got off her sled, picked it up (she's 3) and started running for the top of the hill! Imagine.

Following our sledding adventure, we stopped into Walmart to pick up a wall bracket for a flat screen TV. Two things here: Number one - I usually make fun of Walmart and how scanky it can be, but this was a Super Walmart and I was impressed by how much stuff they actully had. I can't say much for the quality of their clothes, but their toy and video departments were rockin'. Number two - I was under the impression that the hubby was just getting the wall bracket for future (like in a year or two) use to help him pre-install wiring for a flat screen while we are working on our basement and making a grand mess during a remodel. NO, he like actually means to finish the basement and install a wall-mounted (dream of dreams) flat screen within a few months. Squeeeeee! Those of you that know - we are seriously old school in the TV department. We get like 5 channels on our old school (let's call it classic design) TV. I will be so excited to move into the 21rst century with HD.

Otherwise, I am getting really eager to recieve my new book via Amazon for book club. We are supposed to read, Cleopatra's Daughter. I've been looking for a new read and I have it under good authority that this one should be a great read.

All in all, today has been a great start to the new year.