My blog got reviewed today! Check out what they had to say here. :)

The Sears washing machine installation guy just asked me for a screwdriver.

Let me say that again...

The Sears washing machine INSTALLATION GUY just asked *me* for a SCREWDRIVER.

I'm no installation expert, but uh... isn't a screwdriver among the basic things he should carry? Just wondering...

(high decibel warning) ;)

Am I the only one out there who cleans for the delivery guys? We're having the new washing machine delivered today I just emerged from the basement where I vacuumed up all the cat hair, straightened up the laundry room and did a quick run-through of the bathroom. Luckily, it wasn't too bad down there because I cleaned for the Sears repairman two weeks ago. ;)

I realize, of course, that this is ridiculous. The delivery man does not care what my basement looks like, only that he can get to the laundry room unobstructed. (which is why I moved the air hockey table for him...) But... I dunno... I just don't want him leaving and saying to the other guy in the truck, "That was the messiest place I've seen all DAY!" Again, I realize this probably never happens, but I'm a little nutty, in case you haven't noticed.

Also, am I the only one who thinks old people are some of the most inconsiderate, rude human beings among us? Krystyna ranted yesterday about the audacity of mommies with strollers in amusement parks. (and some of them ARE bad, but sometimes it really gets frustrating when people see you are struggling with a baby and a huge stroller and they just ignore you and continue on obliviously... we'll see what happens at Disneyworld in March, but I'm sure I'll ram an ankle or two) ;)

But back to the old people... I am forever holding doors, letting them cross the street and generally watching out for them and what do I get in return??? A door slammed in my face and almost run over by a boat-sized Buick in the PetSmart parking lot. They just act like the OWN the world...

"Nevermind the mommy with the 5-month-old and the stroller, just run 'em both down! We're late for senior day at KMart, Bessie!"

Grrr... I don't expect to be helped and waited on everywhere I go because I DON'T think I am the most important person in the world just because I travel with a baby... but GEESH, a little consideration now and then... at LEAST stop at the crosswalk (and for that matter, at the big red signs that say S-T-O-P.) Trust me, granny, I move faster across the street than you do in your walker and *I* wait for YOU!

Whew. Done now. Ben shouldn't nap this long. It gives me too much time to rant...

I think I deleted it before most of you got to it... I decided that audioblogger thing is just dumb and it defeats the purpose of blogging, which is to write. So write I will, speak I won't. Though I may use it once or twice when Ben starts making some cute, new sounds. ;)

And RBelle, CommentThis doesn't allow you to edit or delete comments. It's my only complaint about them. :( Sorry!

Just gave the boy his bath. I love this time of day! Now he smells all fresh and clean and Tom is giving him his warm, bedtime bottle. This kid has it good. Seriously.

Today is my friend Jen's little boy's first birthday. Happy birthday little monkey! He and Benjamin are best friends. They just don't know it yet.


Jen was the first of my friends to entertain the idea of becoming pregnant and actually make good on it. Our initial plan was to do it at the same time, but I chickened out until seven months later. So by the time she had her beautiful baby boy, I was just starting to feel the effects of being about 10 (9?) weeks pregnant with Ben.

I got to see Ryan just about eight hours after he was born. I remember thinking it was very strange that this baby had come out of one of my friends -- someone MY age -- and that a baby was going to come out of ME just a few months later.

I got to hold him, all wrapped up in hospital receiving blankets with a little handmade knit cap on his head. I felt awkward holding a baby for the first few moments and wondered if I'd feel the same holding mine when it was born. I got used to it after a few minutes though and started to explore ... everything about him was perfect. His beautiful little face ... with its tiny little nose, teeny lips that met in a little bow ... the knit cap fell off revealing a round head of downy baby hair. When I moved the blanket and saw his little hand I almost cried. How do we MAKE this things? And how can anyone look at a new baby and not feel like God had something to do with it?

Other things made me laugh... Jen showed me his baby "Lowjack." (That little box that the hospitals strap on their ankles that will set off alarms if anyone tries to wander off with the baby) Tom tried to hold him and was even more awkward with him than *I* was... I secretly hoped he'd miraculously improve his baby-holding skills by the time ours was born. Thankfully, he did. I asked who they thought he looked like and Jen ran down the list of genetic traits they'd already checked out: her husband's detached earlobes, her lips... (A year later, I'm still not sure who he looks like!)

Of course I grilled her on what labor was like. I wanted every detail. She had a rough labor that ended with a vaccum extraction. That sounded horrible at the time. (little did I know that's what I'd end up with too) I did NOT leave feeling encouraged about the whole pain/labor issue... but I did get a good look at the reward you get out of it. I needed those extra seven months to really wrap my brain around the whole thing.

I have been amazed every step of the way as I have watched Ryan grow... amazed that one minute he was that newborn baby, then he could crawl and sit up and all kinds of things! He learned to walk about a month or so ago. It's nice having a friend who went first ... I often look through her photo albums to see where what I can expect Benjamin to be doing in any given month. I was looking through her albums from this past spring the other day and I can't believe Ben will be that big in just a short time! It really is amazing how fast they grow.

So ... enough with the mushy stuff. Happy 1st birthday Ryan! Can't wait until you and Ben are old enough to really play together. I think you're going to make great friends!

Washing machine shopping is blah. Shopping, as an activity, is great. Shopping for washing machine is boooorrring. Am I excited by this purchase? No. Was it necessary? Yes.

This lovely machine will join our dryer in the basement on Tuesday.


We wandered through acres of washing machines and settled on this one because it has a big tub and pretty colors. ;) I think we were the salesguy's easiest customers of the day.

Let's talk about how my baby is pretty much sleeping through the night! I've been hesitant to write about it, because that usually jinxes it... but for the past three weeks or so, Ben's sleeping has just gotten better and better! Last night was the best. He slept from 7p.m. - 2a.m., ate, then slept from 2:15a.m. - 5a.m.! It's 6 now, and I put him back into the crib with the hope that I can squeeze yet another hour of sleep out of him.

Today's plans are pretty boring. We absolutely, positively can't put off buying the washing machine anymore. So we're off to do that today. Tom and his brother Taylor might do guy stuff in the afternoon. (this usually either means basketball or playing video games)

:: sigh :: The boy doesn't seem to be buying into this whole "one more hour" of sleep thing. So I should go get him. Fun fun. Over and out for now.

Okay, the zoo was a bit sad... the tigers had died (not the lions), there WERE elephants, but they honestly looked a little sick, and a lot of things were closed. But Benjamin seemed to enjoy the walk anyway. :) Here are pics as promised. The rest are here.


No emtpy nest at our house!


Benjamin makes a cute penguin! ;)


Benjamin with mommy and daddy on the turtle


Benjamin with Aunt Debbie and the lion

How 'bout you you you...
you can come to to to...
we're goin' to the zoo zoo zoo...

It's a pretty day, so we're going to the Baltimore Zoo. Should be fun, despite the fact that there are no reptiles, I think the lions died, and the elephants were shipped off to another, better, cooler, more financially stable zoo. ;)

There will, of course, be photo documentation of our trip posted later. Would you expect anything less?

In the meantime, here'a funny article from the Wall Street Journal yesterday about potty training. I am SO not looking forward to those days...

I know, I know.. two videos in one week is overkill...but I HAD to share this one. And you wouldn't be reading my website if you weren't just a tad interested... right? ;)

Anyway, the boy did something new this afternoon. I had pulled up the sofa cushions so he could reach the couch better and Little Mr. Determined pulled himself up to a stand! Click below for the action! (oh, and this one's only about 20 seconds long)

I was just looking back through my blog entries from last August. This time last year, I was puking my guts out every morning. I remember the day it started it totally took me by surprise. I was sitting at the computer and actually had to catch it with my hand while running to the bathroom. I didn't learn my lesson, because the next day I puked all over myself in the car on the way to work. From that day on though, I ALWAYS had some sort of plastic bag with me in the car. Yummers. I think I was also rubber-banding the buttons on my pants by now and I had gained 8 pounds. (!)

The joys of pregnancy never cease.

But yet, I still can't wait to do it again... (I say this over and over again because it totally amazes me) Tom and I were talking last night about how to use our Disney timeshare points... he was talking about a trip in 2006 and I said, "Uh... I'll probably be pregnant again by then." Freaky deaky. But true. We will probably start trying sometime next summer after Marc and Krystyna's wedding(gotta fit in a bridesmaid's dress)... early 2006 at the latest. By then, Benjamin will be at that exceptionally cute, walking, talking stage where I REALLY won't even be able to remember how awful the first few weeks with a new baby are... :D

Benjamin and daddy celebrating our new status as members of the Disney Vacation Club. It's about time we got in on the action! We're so Disney obsessed it's almost scary.

I took Ben out in the front yard today for a change of scenery. I haven't taken him outside much this summer at all, except when we go swimming. It's just been so horribly hot and humid. Ick. And he goes to bed at 7:00, so by the time it's cooled down and we could take him for a walk or something, he's asleep.

Anyway, it's a little bit cooler this morning so out we went. His favorite toy lately seems to be my car keys. He cried everytime I tried to take them away, so most of this morning's pictures have my keys in them. ;)



I got stung by something in the wilds of our neglected yard, so I didn't have much fun. but he seemed to enjoy the outdoors. :) It's hard to tell really because he's so SERIOUS about everything lately. Lighten up kid, you've got it easy!

Here are the rest of the pictures I took. The random ones of the tree are because that tree is being chopped down today. I'm so sad... but it's taking over our tiny little townhouse. Someone should have known better than to plant a maple tree right against the back of a townhouse. :(

It's been awhile since I did one of these video thingies... so here's a new one. Just click on my little jumping bean.

My baby boy is five months old today! Happy five months Benjamin Bunny!



In honor of his monthday, he rolled from his back to his tummy for the first time this morning! :D Yay Benjamin!

I almost lost ALL of the customizations I've made to my blog because I am a such a moron. I actually thought that I could tweak html at 3a.m. What is WRONG with me?
I was attempting to make my old blog address a simple redirect... but things got all muddled somewhere in there. Oopsie.

I spent many an hour at my old job working on this template and I went and deleted the ENTIRE thing in half a second. I would have CRIED if it was gone forever. Luckily, I had my blog up when I did it, so I was able to do some copying and pasting and get most (all?) of it back.

Anyway, I have a new address. You like?

This is one of the funnier, more-accurate birth accounts I have read... and by accurate, I mean I could have written it. Ask my friend Mandy, I believe she was the first person who heard my version of what this other blogger calls "she-nuts." Yeah, it's bad, it's uncomfortable, it's icky, it's bloody and you lose all dignity.. but hey, ya get a cute kid out of it.

I just got back from the grocery store. I had the funniest experience while waiting in line at the deli counter... I actually thought all the way through the rest of the store about what an interesting example of human social behavior it was. Someone really should do a study on communication between moms of babies. Read on...
------------------------------------------------------------------------------

So there I am standing in line at the deli with Ben in the cart... he's trying to eat my coupons and I'm trying to get him excited about an envelope so he'll stop eating the coupons. Behind me I hear:

"Look sweetie! Another baby... that's a LITTLE baby, he's younger than you!"

I turn around and give the obligatory smile at the mommy and her baby. I can't tell what sex it is, either way, it's really pretty. So I make a benign comment to Ben about the baby's shirt. "Look Ben, that baby has a Disney shirt on! We like Disney!"

To which the other mommy replies to her baby: "Tell the baby you're 10 months old and say how old are YOU?"

Me: "Ben, say, "I'm gonna be 5 months old tomorrow!"

Her: "Wow! Say, you're TWICE as old at him!"

The baby squeals... (at this point I have somehow inferred that it is a boy, by the way)

Her: "Ohhhhh... that's not an inside voice! ShhH!"

Me: "Say, "My daddy's teaching ME how to scream like that!"

Her: "Uh oh! Say, "My daddy plays the screamin' game with me too!"

At this point, the deli lady hands me my cheese and I say: "Ben, say bye bye!"

Her: "Bye bye baby! Say bye bye baby!"

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You'll notice that at no point did the other mommy and I address each OTHER. It was very VERY weird once I walked away and started realizing this. I'm telling you, there's a sociology student's thesis in here somewhere...

Benjamin got his first bath in the big boy tub last night. ;) I figured it was time after he tried to climb OUT of the baby tub the night before. I was a little worried since I've heard all sorts of stories about how to "slowly introduce your baby to the wide world of tub" and how traumatized babies can be. We ignored it all and just stripped him down and plopped him in.

Excuse the cliche, but he took to it like a fish to water...

...looked around for a second, smiled at me, giggled at Tom and then started splashing up a storm. He chased the yellow ducky all over the place and laughed when we dumped water on his head. (which was entertaining for us too!) I know you're all probably amazed that I don't have a picture, but we were just having too much fun to take the time to get the camera. Of course I'll make up for it but taking a dozen pictures tonight. ;) Yay for the big boy tub!

Here's a picture of Tom, Ben and I today from Kristi's open house. It's one of the few pictures we have of all three of us! (and some of those are preg pics!)

For various reasons, we never made it to the picnic we were supposed to go to this afternoon...

I found this over on the Hackworth's site. (congrats on the brand new baby boy by the way!). I heard more than a few of these during labor... so they made me laugh.

We're off to a housewarming and a picnic this afternoon. Wish us luck... the boy is in a less-than-pleasant mood. :\ Pics later if I take some! :)

This morning we set out to get new cell phones... we have this cell phone plan that lets us get new phones every two years. Sounds great, right? Well, there's a little bit of a complicated catch that means only ONE of us gets a free new phone. Gr. Anyway, so from there we were off to Ben's Nan's house to let him visit for awhile since she hasn't seen him in two weeks. Unfortunately, we got there just as the boy was getting tired so it wasn't an ideal visit... bust, c'est la vie with a baby I suppose. After that we went and looked at washing machines at the Sears outlet (interesting place, btw). I mean who the heck cares if your washing machine has a scratch on it? Not me. It's not like anyone ever sees it. We didn't buy anything yet though...

After all that, we came home. My allergies are HORRIBLE yet again today and I fell asleep on the couch while Ben slept upstairs and Tom played computer games. Apparently, Ben was so tired he fell asleep playing in his exersaucer... that has NEVER happened. Of course, the family photographer (me) wasn't around to capture it. Dang.

So that's been my boring day so far... the boy is up now. He screamed when I tried to feed him his carrots (which is odd) so he's now quietly watching Baby Mozart. Not sure what to do about the carrots. Hm.

Hooray! Tom is home safely from Texas... the boy was overjoyed to see him. Seriously. Lots of drool and smiling = baby joy.

I just plopped Ben down on the floor for a minute so I could check my email... he managed to grab the remote control and change the channel to Cartoon Network. He's now laying on his stomach, transfixed by Dexter's Lab (I think). It's sorta funny... in a scary kind of way.

Well, Benjamin and I are back from our trip to the mall. My main purpose there was to look at washers, but we spent about an hour and a half just wandering around. A lot of people like to talk to you when you go out with a baby. It's sort of annoying... and the little kids with their grimey hands who want to reach in and touch "the babeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee mommy it's a babeeeeee!!!" -- yuck.

I do like talking to the other women who have babies though. You feel sort of an automatic bond with anyone pushing a stroller around. I must have had "aw..how cute, how old is yours" conversations with eight women today. Also, I have come to the conclusion that I have THE trendiest stroller of the moment. Gr. I can't go anywhere without having matching stroller buddies all over the place.

Oh, and all those people who see me approaching a door with a stroller and let it close in my face anyway... you all SUCK. Inconsiderate, rude, sucky people! I bite my thumb at you! (a little Shakespeare for my readers this lovely day)

I decided to come home for awhile because my allergies are getting the better of me and I have a killer sinus headache. Plus boy fell asleep in the car, so he's napping. We might run back out to the store later for some basics... should be another fun adventure. It always is when the boy is involved.

oh nooooooooooo... Tom's flight is delayed because of thunderstorms! :: cry cry ::

Tom gets home today from his business trip to Texas. He has been in Fort Worth since Wednesday for a silly conference. I actually sort of I wish I could have gone because, as it turns out, one of my best friends from high school who moved out to Oregon when she got married, was going to be in Fort Worth at the same time to visit her family who have since moved there. (did you follow all that?) But... between the baby and the price of plane tickets, it simply wasn't possible. Oh well... maybe next time. :(

His flight back today is American Airlines flight 2096. If you're really bored, you can can track his flight home with me. (this is a holdover from my severe fear of flying days.)

Ben and I are going to try to kill some time today... we'll probably go to the mall and get some various other errands done. I need to get my oil changed... blahhhh...I've been trying to teach him "da da da da" for when Tom gets home, but to no avail. He just laughs and then spits raspberries at me. He's been good company, but I'm really ready for some adult conversation, I gotta tell ya.

I hope you have enjoyed my lovely, linky first post of the day. ;) Off to play with the boy for awhile. :)

The author of one of the blogs I read faithfully has just come out with a little bit of news on her other blog... I'm excited for her... I've been following for awhile now and it's been a long time coming! :)

Argh. Blogger has been acting weird today. Wouldn't let me update until just now. Dunno what's with that, but I'm back now. You can all rest easy my little blog stalkers. ;)

Some random thoughts from someone too tired to form an actual post:

* Ben REALLY likes his doorway jumper thingy all of a sudden. He does this little Irish jig-type move in it that looks like Riverdance. Will have to take video of this because it's very amusing...

* I am so thankful that I am not a single mother. I have had some practice with this for a couple days and it's no fun not having a teammate to pass the baby off to once in awhile. More on this later.

* Ben is a very good napper. I am also thankful for this. He is napping now. :) Yay.

* My friend CarrieJen (a.k.a. Ryan's mommy) has been at the beach all week and I really miss talking to her. :(

* My child has an obscene amount of clothing. Today I bought him more. It's becoming a problem. Someone keep me OUT of Toys R Us...

* I'm tired of the Olympics pre-empting Dr. Phil

That's all for now... Over and out. It's naptime.

I am awake and yet, strangely, Benjamin isn't. Darn kid, I'm his very own trained seal. He has conditioned me to wake out of a wonderfully sound sleep at 3a.m. for no particular reason just in case he might want some company, should he, in fact, decide to wake up. Gr.

Oh, and it seems that sometime during the last few hours, this little blog had its 10,000th visitor since January. Wow! :D

The Sears repair guy just left after telling me that the reason my washer is leaking gallons of water onto the floor is because the pump is broken. :: sigh :: It's $120 to fix the pump but the washer, as it turns out, is 21 years old and will probaby have something else wrong with it any day now. So we pretty much need a new one.
Oh well... there goes the table from Pottery Barn I was going to get. (in cream, if anyone cares) It's times like these I miss our little apartment... the dishwasher died once and the next day, while we were at work, someone installed a new one... no $$ out of our pockets. :: sigh ::

So now I'm off to research washers. :( Ben seems excited about this proposition... either that or he just pooped his diaper again.

Over in my multimedia section: a 40-second snippet of my 4-d ultrasound. (made with my Nikon Coolpix camera pointed at the tv with the video running ;) OH so high-tech.

Interesting article on MSN about the "dangers" of ultrasound. It's really long and I haven't finished reading it yet but I will go on record as saying I think this is ridiculous. I will still get a 3-d sonogram with my next baby (unless of course the government steps in and makes it illegal). Bunch of hooey, I say!


**editor's note**
As I finish reading this article, I'm watching the video of my 3-d ultrasound. It's so amazing... even though I've seen it a hundred times. I can't wait until Benjamin is old enough to watch it and understand that it is pictures of him in mommy's tummy. How cool! Does anyone know how I could go about getting this transferred to DVD and/or a Quicktime'esque file?

1) My name is Erin
2) I used be a writer at an advertising agency
3) I hated just about everything about it
4) When Ben was born I became a stay-at-home mommy
5) I love it.
6) No, I don't miss working
7) I am 27 years old
8) Just about the only place I ever go on vacation is Disneyworld
9) The first time I went, I was 18
10) I love just about any kind of music
11) I like to sing really loudly in my car
12) REALLY loudly
13) I believe in God
14) I believe everything happens for a reason
15) I love yellow roses
16) I haven't weeded my garden in over a year
17) There are some big weeds out there
18) I hate shopping for clothes, I'm no good at it
19) I panic everytime I have to go somewhere where I have to dress up
20) When I go places by myself, I feel like everyone is watching me
21) Apparently I'm paranoid
22) If I had my career to do over again, I probably would have become a nurse or something like that where I could help people
23) I have lived within the same 10-mile radius my entire life
24) I don't like change
25) My favorite author right now is Anne Lamott
26) This is the first time I've had a favorite author since I was 10
27) I'm not entirely sure what it is my husband does for a living
28) It involves investing money for people with too much of it, that's all I know
29) I am 10 years older than my brother
30) This is why I want to have my children two or three years apart if I can
31) I'd like to have four, but I think I only have time for three before I turn 35
32) My favorite color is blue
33) I have two cats, Anakin and Milo
34) My birthday is March 16th
35) I always used to get green cakes and shamrock decorations
36) And my name is Erin, yeah, isn't that a hoot?
37) I don't like talking to people I don't know
38) My friends get annoyed with me because I never want to do anything
39) I like being at home, A LOT
40) I am a registered Republican
41) But my husband's influence has turned me into more of a libertarian
42) I have NO idea who I'm going to vote for in November
43) I hate blueberries
44) I have lots of favorite movies
45) Among them, Aladdin, Sleepless in Seattle, American Beauty, and Finding Nemo
46) These days, I am also a fan of Baby Mozart
47) Someday, I'd like to live in a big, victorian house
48) I probably never will because there aren't any around here
49) I'm the handy one in our house
50) I like the IDEA of being outside, but once I'm there, I get annoyed by the bugs and the weather
51) I love routine
52) I hate roller coasters
52) I hate feeling scared
53) I recently got over my fear of flying
54) I love french fries
55) I have never touched a snake
56) And I never will
57) I collect music
58) I have over 500 cd's
59) A lot of them suck
60) I miss Napster
61) I hate being the center of attention
62) Most of the time, I just wish people wouldn't notice me
63) I need a nap
64) I can play the piano
65) I bought myself a violin a few years ago and started teaching myself how to play it
66) I didn't get very far
67) I can cook a few things very well, other than that, I'm clueless
68) I'm addicted to the Discovery Health Channel
69) I love Sesame Street and so does my husband, this was brought up during our wedding ceremony
70) I sort of wish I were pregnant again right now
71) But then again I don't
72) I'm obsessed with pregnancy and childbirth now, in case you haven't noticed
73) It drives me insane when someone doesn't update their blog for a long time and I check it over and over again
74) I realize that this is probably not healthy
75) I hate clutter and I'm constantly fighting it
76) I am left handed
77) For this, every gym teacher I ever had hated me
78) My middle name is Spring
79) No, my parents weren't hippies, it is my mother's maiden name
80) I like it best when it's cold outside
81) I can't draw ... ANYTHING... even my stick figures leave much to be desired
82) Swimming is one of my favorite things to do
83) Otherwise I hate exercise
84) I get bored easily, especially when I'm exercising
85) I like when it rains all day
86) Then I don't feel like I'm missing anything if I stay inside
87) I have a degree in mass communications
88) I guess this will come in handy when trying to communicate with my eventual four kids
89) I have always loved to write
90) Just not when I was being paid to do it
91) I enjoyed school
92) I'd go back if I wasn't still paying for the first go-round
93) I kill plants
94) Even the ones people say are hard to kill
95) I'd like to go to Ireland and England one day
96) Maybe go to France for a day or two
97) I've never been out of the country
98) Or even out of the timezone
99) I can understand a lot of French, speaking it is another matter
100) I never realized I had 100 things to say about myself-- this took two days to write

Is there no end in sight? :: yawn :: Maybe Ben will be an only child after all...
Although everyone keeps telling me "the second one will be the opposite of your first." So my second child will sleep 12 hours straight by six weeks old? Not sure I buy it, but we'll see. I have absolutely nothing of interest to post today so far. Maybe later... Ugh. I just wish wasn't so TIRED.

Last night was rough, especially for Tom who took the last shift. So this morning I volunteered to take Ben out of the house (to church with my parents and his godmother) so Tom could catch some uninterrupted Z's.

Ben was amazingly good through church. Not a peep was heard out of him, despite the fact that he was awake the whole time. He seems to really like the music. Yay!

After having lunch at my parents' house, the boy and I returned home and Tom watched him while I took a little (somewhat involuntary) nap. Then we took the boy for a walk around the block (facing forward for the very first time in his stroller!).

Boring, huh?

The boy is asleep, so going to take advantage of it and go bed now. Over and out!

Ben loves his daddy. Even now, at barely five months old, he REALLY loves his daddy. And already I can see that it's a different relationship than the mommy/baby bond. It's so funny... As daddies go, Tom has always been pretty into the baby. But for awhile there, he wasn't getting much in return -- a gassy smile here and there mostly.

Lately though, the kid LIGHTS up when Tom walks in the door from work. Usually he's in his exersaucer in the kitchen... as soon as he hears the key in the door, he whips around, sees Tom and just grins from ear to ear. He gets so excited, his whole body moves. Then Tom'll say, "Who's my little boy?! I haven't seen you ALL day!" and then he'll reach down to grab him and Ben laughs and laughs. It's the sweetest thing in the world to see, and I know Tom looks forward to coming home to it every day.

They have their daddy/baby time in the morning too. Usually they get up around the same time, so Ben gets carted around through his daddy's whole morning routine. Tom says he loves it, even though it takes him twice as long to get ready. The few morning's when Ben has slept through "daddy/baby" time, Tom says he's missed him. :)

In Ben's eyes, Daddy is definitely a toy. Mommy is an okay play partner, and she's fun and all, but she's mostly the safe place...dependable with the bottles, baths and cuddly time. When daddy's around it's PLAYTIME ALL THE TIME. In fact, on the weekends when Tom is home, we have trouble getting him to go down for his usual naps and the theory is that he's afraid he'll miss some valuable playtime.

I can't wait to see the relationship evolve. I know Tom is looking forward, more than anything, to playing baseball with him and teaching him all kinds of boy things. We already have a tiny set of plastic golf clubs. And while I'll miss my little boy when he's off golfing with daddy on a Saturday in 8 or 9 years, I'm just so grateful that he is lucky enough to have a a daddy who will teach him everything he needs to know and to help raise him to be a wonderful man too. :)

Benjamin is only a few pounds away from the weight limit on his infant seat and so I have been agonizing over the convertible carseat issue. There are WAY too many to choose from. It was bringing back baby registry flashbacks!

I started out looking at the ones with the best safety reviews and narrowed it down based on what would fit in my rather small car. (there's a handy-dandy database for such things) It came down to the Evenflo Triumph 5 Comfort Touch.

For those of you in my boat, I found the best price here. Amazon had it for only $5 more but wanted to charge me $29.99 for shipping. This website charges $3.95 no matter what you buy! So even if you're looking at a different brand, I'd check them out.

**editor's note** The seat isn't on sale on that site anymore. I've heard Target has it for $108 though!

Just put an ad in the Pennysaver!

As part of Operation Basement Cleanout, I am selling thisLOVELY piece of Ikea furniture with a free ad in the Pennysaver. Who knew what a strange assortment of people are out there in the market for a cheap, pressed wood entertainment center?

So far, I've gotten two calls: one from Bridget-- she has an accent I can hardly understand and what sounds like about 40 children in her house. I told her I could email a picture of it so she could look at it before driving all the way out here. I sent her an email yesterday and haven't heard back. Oh well.

Then, this morning, I got a call from this guy:

Me: Hello?
Guy: I'm calling about the entertainment center you have in the Pennysaver. Do you still have it?
Me: Yes.
Guy: Well where are you?
Me: Right off of Road "X" Actually, sir, do you have an email address?
Guy: Huh?
Me: Do you have email?
Guy: What? Huh? I can't understand you! I'm a retired senior citizen!
Me: Uhh... Do. You. Have. A. Com-PU-ter?
Guy: Oh no no no.. I'm a retired senior citizen.
Me: Ohhhkay... well, (I give him directions to our house, which I'm pretty sure he's not writing down and DEFINITELY not remembering)
Guy: Will you be home today?
Me: Well, yes, but could you come by after 6? My husband will be here then and he's the one selling it. (A lie, but I don't want strangers trapsing in and out of my house while I'm home alone with the baby!)
Guy: Oh yes yes... no problem. I'm a retired senior citizen... I have all the time in the world... retired senior citizen!"

Oh boy! I just LOVE dealing with Joe Q. Public. Can't wait to see what other interesting specimens my ad brings in today...

Here's a link to the permanent warning about this.

He was whining and whining and whining... nothing was working. So I took his clothes off. Strangely enough, it worked for awhile...


Here are the rest of the pics I took.

As mentioned in my previous post, we went to a wedding shower today at my old office. Benjamin was such a good boy... Suzanne (in the picture) asked to hold him... normally this results in a VERY unhappy baby... but... well... see for yourself.

Suzanne has the magic touch, apparently...

Amazon has the 25.7 oz. cans of Enfamil Lipil on sale for $18.99!
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/B00006FE25/104-4899962-6157517?%5Fencoding=UTF8&v=glance

It's a great deal... even beats Targets prices WITH my formula checks!

I heard Ben on the baby monitor at 3:30 this morning. Nothing particularly special about that... usually I go in and give him his binky and we all go back to sleep. I wandered into his room and looked into the crib and he was staring up at me laughing his head off. You see, in the past couple of days he's REALLY perfected the front to back rollover so he can pretty much do it whenever he wants to now, not just by accident. So when he wakes up in the middle of the night, I guess he flips over. He had found one of his toys in the crib, managed to get it and was just playing happily at 3a.m. When I came in, I'm sure he thought, "Yay! A playmate!" ;) Silly boy. I changed his diaper and took him down on the couch in the dark and convinced him it was still sleepytime. No easy task, let me tell ya...

Other tidbits of interest....

Today Ben and I are headed over to my old office for a wedding shower. Oops. I hope the recipient isn't reading my blog today. :\ Should be fun... and plenty of adult conversation. Hooray! :)

And in other news, my "little" brother (10 years younger) has his first date today. How cute! Her name is Lauren and they are going to watch Ferris Bueller together and "eat snacks" in the family room. Hee. :D

Grrr... now I'm just in a bad mood. I went to BJ's to get baby formula and diapers. They had every size diaper EXCEPT the size I need. (of course). And then when I went up front to pay for my formula, I got the nastiest cashier on the face of the earth. What is WRONG with people? If you hate your job that much, go find another one. She was just plain MEAN to me... and then gave me a hard time about using my formula coupons acting like I was going to get her fired or something. When I said, "Okay, nevermind, put the formula back I'll just go buy it at Target," she said (all huffy) "It's FINE!! I gave you the discount anyway!" Whatever.

We're home now and I'm not leaving the house **any more today.** Boy is playing on the floor and he's happy as a clam... I hope it starts to rain soon. Going to make a cup of tea.

I don't have any news, funny tidbits or anything otherwise interesting to blog about today. I'm just blah. Probably because I'm a little tired... Ben slept okay, but my allergies are getting the best of me. :( If it's not one thing, it's another.

I have to run out and buy formula at some point today (although I might not even do that). Other than that, I think Benjamin and I will just lay low and nap as much as possible. ::yawn::

Some pics from our pool playdate with Meghan and Conner! :)



Conner:"Wow, what are you USING? Your skin is as soft as my tushy!"
Benjamin: "Oh, a little Johnson & Johnson at night. Have you tried the lavender scent? It's simply divine."


Conner: "You have inverted nipples just like ME!"


Wadya say we ditch these moms and go get some strained peaches?

I'm trying not to even think about it anymore, but I do have to note that Benjamin slept rather nicely last night. He went to bed at 7:30 and woke up at midnight long enough to have a bottle. I got up once to stick the binky back in and then at 4:30 he woke up. I thought he was hungry but noooooooooo, he just wanted to play. Luckily, by then I had had 7 straight hours of blissful sleep. :) Yay. So I played until around 5:00 and then put him back in the crib and he went BACK to sleep until 7:30! Wahoo! That's almost sorta kinda normal human sleep! ;)

(applause)

Today we're supposed to go to Meg's to swim with Conner... but right now it's looking a little cloudy outside. We'll see!

editor's note: Looks like a sunny day now! Swimming is on!

These started out as pictures of Benjamin's "sitting up" progress... then the bear got involved. ;)

(And before any of the mommy critics jump in, he is watching Baby Mozart, not trash tv... AND I was close enough to grab him if he started to fall. I got criticized on the message board the other day for my picture of him sitting up without anything cushy around him to catch him if he fell over.. let it also be noted that he didn't fall over ONCE the whole time I was taking these pictures... in fact, he watched almost the entire movie sitting up!)

Didn't realize my little book review was going to spark such debate. Yikes. By the way, the debate continued over at Leslie's blog.

Tomorrow's topic: The Very Hungry Caterpillar: Just a fun children's story? Or the dark tale of a bug with an eating disorder?

Bring your books and be ready to discuss. ;)

Annnnyway, please note the time of this post. As you can see, our sleep saga is not close to a happy ending. Ben is laughing in the face of any kind of schedule, and tonight decided to eat at 8p.m., 11:30p.m. and 3:45a.m. He's now practicing his new "putting himself to sleep" talent in his crib as I type this. Who the heck knows when he'll want to eat again... I'm sure he'll keep me guessing. :\

Okay, so it wasn't just a fluke. Benjamin totally puts himself to sleep now. He has done it every night for five nights straight and it's SO nice. Nice because it's not a struggle anymore and nice because I feel like I must be doing something right. Today he expanded his "putting self to sleep" repotoire to napping. He was acting tired so I plopped him into the Pack and Play here in the living room and in five minutes he was off to dreamland. It's a blissful mommy moment, I tell ya.

Now if only he could add "putting self BACK to sleep" to his skills we'd be in good shape.

The other boy (the big one) just went upstairs and put himself to sleep too. So it's very quiet in the house right now. I'm not really sure what to do with myself. Maybe a nap is in *my* future too...

One of tonight's bedtime selctions was "Love You Forever" by Robert Munsch. This one started out okay... a new mother rocking her baby boy and singing "I'll love you forever, I'll like you for always, as long as I'm living my baby you'll be."

That's all well and good. Until the kid turns nine and she sneaks into his room at night after he's asleep and does the same thing.

Nine you say? That's not so bad!

Oh, it gets much MUCH worse.

He becomes a teenager... the picture ACTUALLY shows the mother on her hands and knees creeping into his bedroom. ?! ?! ?!

But wait, there's more... in fact, I won't do it justice. How about I just quote directly from the book?

"That teenager grew... until he was a grown-up man. He left home and got a house across town. But sometimes on dark nights the mother got into her car and drove across down. If all the lights in her sons house were out, she opened his bedroom window, crawled across the floor, and looked up over the side of his bed. If that great big man was really asleep, she picked him up and rocked him back and forth, back and forth, back and borth... and while she rocked him, she sang: I'll love you forever, I'll like you for always as long as I'm living my baby you'll be."

Is that not SICK?

And just in case I haven't gotten my point across clearly enough, here's the picture that goes along with that part.


This book probably won't get a repeat reading anytime soon, or ever. Ew. I STILL feel icky!

We followed it up with "Goodnight Moon" which suddenly seems like a masterpiece work of children's literature.

Tom has been watching the boy since we got home from the harbor (mostly supervising his nap on the couch)... I've been using the free time to clean out (shovel, really) the basement. It's awful. We have a really nice finished basement but sadly, it has become the catch-all room for everything in the house that becomes displaced. You should SEE the pile of trash waiting to go out. I put some pieces of furniture in the Penny Saver and am going to put more in gradually in the coming weeks. (they have a limit on how much you can sell at once). How do two people accumulate so much CRAP in only three years? I'm not finished yet. I have another storage closet to clean out down there... but you can really only put so much stuff out for the garbage men before they start giving you major attitude and refusing to pick things up... so it'll have to wait until next weekend.

Whew. I feel very accomplished today! :D

We ended up taking Ben downtown for his first visit to the Inner Harbor. Highlights included:
* Ben discovering grass and flowers
* Getting ice cream (for mommy and daddy, not for Ben)
* Wandering around by the water on a perfect day

Mommy and Ben by the water


Daddy and Ben by the water


Ben finds some flowers

It looks like today is going to be another gorgeous day in our general area of the country.

We were thinking about going to the zoo, but apparently The Baltimore Zoo is really going downhill. I was checking out their website and they closed the reptile house! What's a zoo without a reptile house? It's crap, that's what it is.n Also, alot of the other animals have been relocated to other zoos or have died. (nice.) Plus, they charge $12 to get in. Now forgive me if I'm wrong, Baltimore Zoo people, but isn't there a much bigger, nicer, more "National" type zoo that is only about 40 minutes away? And, isn't it free? Yes, FREE? Hrm...

Oh well... I'm not really into the idea of putting Benjamin and all his gear onto the D.C. Metro to haul down to the Washington Zoo.... but the point is that we COULD and it'd be a much better experience.

So that leaves us with nothing to do today still. Any ideas? The Aquarium would be fun, but they don't allow strollers and the boy HATES that front pack thingy.

Can't let such a beautiful day going to waste! Must. Find. Something. Fun. To. Do.

Check this out.
So much for "Rubber Ducky, you're the one, you make bathtime lots of fun..."

Benjamin is sporting his "Very Hungry Caterpillar" ensemble today, complete with caterpillar hat (which you can't see very well int he picture) ;) Oh and LOOK! He just HAPPENS to be looking at his "Very Hungry Caterpillar" book. Quick! Get the camera! ;)

I give up... he's trying to type... so here ya go.

---------------------------------------------------
j, umj ni p[-pk,m'''''''''''''''''''''''''''''
{F;/.JJ?UUUUUUUUUUUUJNHBUHYJUGJM NGACZXC

The past two nights, something interesting has begun to happen. Ben gets his usual bedtime routine: warm bath, warm jammies, warm blankie, story with daddy... then, as usual, starts to get all fidgety and fussy like he's tired. The difference for the past two nights is that he has wanted NOTHING to do with being held. I discovered this quite by accident when I got frustrated and just tried putting him in the crib. He fussed a little while I was standing there and eventually just put himself to sleep.

[insert sound effect: Chorus of angels]

It hasn't changed the waking up during the night but still it's an amazing leap, considering we didn't DO anything, he just did it on his own.

[insert sound effect: Hallejuah chorus]

Here's a question for all the other new mommies out there. Does anyone else's baby ever have to be "rebooted?" LOL. Ben does, at least once a day. He'll wake up from one of his naps and apparently not be quite ready to be awake yet. He screams bloody murder (like he's in pain) with his eyes closed until I manage to get him to be fully unconscious again. Then, without fail, he wakes up about two minutes later and grins ear to ear. It's so predictable that when it happens when Tom and I are both home, inevitably, the one with him when he starts to scream will bring him to the other one and announce that he needs a reboot. It's very amusing to witness... the other day when the "crash" was particularly bad, I told Tom, "It looks like we have a blue screen of death on our hands... we need a total restart... may even need to reinstall Windows." We are such dorks.

I got this fortune with our chinese food tonight.


Does it mean Ben will eventually sleep? That he will grow up to be a genius? I wonder... because I sure am putting forth a lot of effort. ;)

As mentioned several posts ago, Charla from The Amazing Race was in Tom's high school class. I found her junior year pic. ;)

I like drama and this debate could use some lively opinions... check out Krystyna's blog today.

What goes better with oatmeal and plums than... big toe?


See how the rest of breakfast went...

I love Ben. I really do. We just woke up from a little morning siesta on the couch. Basically, I wasn't ready to be awake for the day yet at 7a.m., so I willed him back to sleep with my magical mommy powers. We both got almost two more hours of sleep. Ahhhhhhhhhhhhh.... anyway, it's so wonderful to wake up snuggled next to a baby. Babies rule. :)

I also love Tom. :) We have a new bedtime routine with Ben where I give him a bath and then Tom reads him a story. The other night they read The Little Engine That Could. I was in the other room and over the baby monitor I heard him reading it in all different funny voices and explaining the pictures to Ben. It was quite possibly one of the most adorable things I have ever heard.

On to less warm and fuzzy things... I was watching the AMazing Race at 4am (I had TiVo'ed it) while I was feeding Ben. Is anyone else watching? I've gotten hooked... I needed something to replace The Apprentice and Survivor while they are on hiatus for the summer. Anyway the midget er... "little person" on the show, Charla, and her partner and cousin, Mirna, live about 15 minutes away from me, very close to my in-laws as a matter of fact. And Charla went to highschool with Tom! (he says she's just as annoying and stupid as they make her out to be on the show) I swear, if I ever run into her, I just might have to smack her. She's such a little twit! I think it's hysterically funny that the producers take every opportunity to show her running. ;) I keep saying they need to subtitle the show "Watch the Nasty Midget Run." If she wins I am swearing off reality tv for a very long time. Or at least until Survivor comes back. ;)


**editor's note** This link from Krystyna re: The Amazing Race is hysterical!

Okay yeah, so this is pretty funny. Thanks to Rangeley, from whom I stole this.

"I can't ride in my little red wagon
the axle's broken and the bumper's draggin'
And let's face it, my legs are too chubby and my butt's too big." ;)


He's got that "yeah mom, WHAT!?" teenagery look ALREADY!

Gotta make sure he's going to stay asleep... so going to answer this survey I found on Rangeley's blog. (btw, Rangeley, I am STILL in shock from your comment on my last post... HOLY FREAKING COW.)

Anyway, without marriage, there would be no Ben... so I figure this poll is baby-related in a sort of round-about way.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------
First off: Pics. ;)



You married: Tom, my first boyfriend (how sweet). ;) March 31, 2001... and have now moved on to the "Here comes Ben in the baby carriage" part
How many times: Just the once was enough for me, thanks

The Wedding Party

How many bridesmaids/groomsmen did you have? Four and a junior bridesmaid
Who were your bridesmaids? My friends Jen, Mandy, Kristi, Kandace and my little cousin, Elizabeth

Are you still in touch with them? Yep, although not as often as I'd like. I really need to get more social and learn to enjoy driving more. ;)

How many wedding parties have you been in, besides your own? Umm.... three maybe? I was a bridesmaid twice and a flower girl once.

Who was the most fun in the wedding party? Christina in Jen's wedding. That girl cracked me up the whole time. In MY wedding party... probably my brother. He's a riot on the video tape.

Who drove you nuts? During MY wedding hrm... no members of the wedding party but several members of the family did.

Any booty call with the groomsmen? EW. NO! First off, ick. And secondly, they were Tom's brothers, my brother and a cousin.

The Clothing

Did you like the bm dress? THere is no piece of clothing I look worse in than a bridesmaid's dress. They almost always have thin straps and I have amazingly disproportionate, fat arms so I always look like a stuffed sausage. I did mostly like the styles of both of my bridesmaid's dresses though, and especially the color of the one for Jen's wedding.

Did you wear it again? Uhh... no. I hate dressing up.

Best bm dress you've seen or worn? I generally hate them all, so I have no answer for you.

If you were a bride, did you like your dress? LOVED my dress. Plus, it had entertainment value, I couldn't kneel in it without getting buried and couldn't go to the bathroom without help.

Describe. Come on, full newspaper-wedding-profile description? Sheesh... I haven't laid eyes on the thing in over three years.... it was WHITE (duh), A-line with pretty beading on the torso and floral detailing on the skirt and trane. The bustle had three little white roses on it.. they were my favorite part.

Where'd you get it? David's Bridal. No wild goose chase or anything... it was the first dress I tried on.

Did you stay in your budget? What budget? hahahahaha!

Where is your dress now? Hanging at the back of my closet... waiting for some as yet, undetermined second purpose.

The Ceremony

What part makes you cry? The whole thing... especially the part where the parents/father give the bride away and the very end where the couple is announced.
Who officated at your wedding? My favorite minister from the church I grew up in
Did you like him/her? LOVED him, he made it so special and didn't do a lot of the boring, expected "These are rings. A ring is a circle blah blah blah" stuff...

Best officiant you've heard? Definitely mine.

Worst officiant you've heard? Mandy's was pretty funny during rehearsal anyway... he was drunk. ;)

Where were you married? The chapel at the college where Tom and I met
Best location for a wedding? I prefer a church that LOOKS like a church... but whereever inspires you I guess...
Worst location for a wedding? Outside weddings are WAY overrated...
What were your flowers like? BEAUTIFUL and, looking back, WAY too expensive. We had all roses.... yellow and this awesome blueish purply color.
Did you have flower girls or ring bearers? Ring bearer
Live animals? Not that I'm aware of...

Goofiest ceremony you've seen? Okay, not goofy, but definitely different... one of my cousins came in on a tractor/hay wagon

Best ceremony you've been in/at? Mine. Hands down. Will never be topped.

The Reception

DJ or band? Hey Mr. DJ put a record on I wanna dance with mah baby
Who picked the music? Me. I was a total control freak about the music
Did people dance? Heck yeah. Until the last possible second.
Y.M.C.A.? Yes. There is photographic proof.
Electric Slide? Yep. I had all the cheesy dances...
Macarena? I asked for it, but actually, I don't remember...
Other line dances meant for rhythmless people? does the locomotion count?
Who gave toasts at the reception? My maid of honor, Kristi, my best guy friend Phil and Tom's brothers
Best toast you've heard? Taylor's (Tom's youngest brother) probably... it was all very surprising coming out of him
Worst toast you've heard? The one at a wedding we were at recently, where one of the groomsmen made a reference to the bride and groom living together... the room (full of old people) went silent...
Who caught your bouquet? Alexandra Welsh
Did you throw your main bouquet or a smaller one? A little toss bouquet.
Did you dry/preserve your bouquet? tried.. but it fell apart. I have the bag full of yellow rose petals though
What food was served? I barely remember... spinach salad, some kind of beef, salmon, potatoes, some vegetable, lots of appetizers that I didn't get to eat
What was the cake like? My cake was GORGEOUS... they recreated it for me right out of a bridal magazine. I never got to taste it though....
Did the band/dj play that "Bride cuts the cake" song? I have no idea...
Was there cake-in-the-face smashing? Yes. A LOT.Embarassed to admit I started it...
Best reception you've been in/at? Mine... family members still talk about how fun it was.
Worst reception? The one we were just at where they wouldn't let us in for hours and it went on FOREVER and no one danced

The Honeymoon

Where'd you go? Disney World
How long did you stay? 6 days? I think?
Would you go back? Yes, and have, many times
Where would you have liked to have gone? That WAS where I wanted to go

The Marriage:

What piece of wedding planning advice do you have? Things don't matter as much as you think they do when you're caught up in the planning. Looking back, the whole thing just seems sort of silly. I can't even watch "A Wedding Story" anymore, it just annoys me. If I could do it all over again I would have been less selfish, less controlling and more sympathetic to how such a stressful, emotional event affects those close to the bride and groom.

What piece of marriage advice do you have? 98% of things you could argue and try to get your way about don't matter... figure out the 2% of things that actually DO matter to you and spend your time on working on those.
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I'm so tired today. Not sure why because I slept okay last night. It's probably the heat. I was cruising around all afternoon in my windowless car and could barely feel the a/c because of the heat outside. Yick. I went to my old office for lunch today... Ben was cute. I put him on the table while we ate and he just watched the world go by and chatted it up with the girls. Then I took him back to the office and fed him in the lobby. It was hard to get him to eat though because everyone who passed through stopped to talk to him... and the boy is SUCH A LITTLE FLIRT. He knows just how to get the chicks to say how cute he is. ;)

After that, we went over to my OB's office to drop off some insurance papers. (don't ask, basically my delivery and post-partum care have turned into a big fat insurance nightmare). There were two six-week old babies in the waiting room... so tiny! Ben was asleep in his stroller by this point so he didn't get to see them. ;) While I was waiting to talk to the receptionist, I was checking out the baby picture board and Ben's picture is not there. :( Actually, it doesn't look like it has been added to since my last appointment back in April so I'm not TOO hurt. ;) But don't you think the cutest baby in the world deserves a place in the doctor's waiting room?
Hee hee...

That was our day. Ben and I are both sleepy now. In fact, he's been fast asleep on the sofa for awhile now. I'm just zoning out and watching Oprah, surrounded by the squalor that is my house at the moment...

I still don't have a passenger side window. I dreamed my car got stolen last night because of it. This is a reasonable, non-paranoid fear. It has happened to me before and it was very traumatizing.

I called Volkswagen this morning and they can't take my car until tomorrow. Ugh.

They also won't give me a loaner car. Sucky.

I told them while they were fixing my window, they can also fix the brake light that was recalled, the armrest that collapsed three weeks after I got the car, and Tom's door opener which mysteriously kicked the bucket shortly thereafter.

And they better do it all. for. free.

Gr. Despite all this, I still love my Jetta. I love the way it drives, I love its blue dashboard lighting, and the trillion air bags it has. I will, however, give deep thought to upgrading to the Passat wagon someday soon as planned. (we need something with more room for the carseat) Anyone have any car recommendations? I do NOT like Hondas. I know they are reliable, but I don't like the way they handle. The ride is too hard and the steering is too loose for me.

Boy is very entertaining today. He's so cute when he's happy... talks up a storm and laughs these adorable little belly laughs all the time. Yeah, I like him. And I think we'll keep him, in spite of his erratic sleep habits. (which seem to be improving... thank you GOD.)

On the bright side, Benjamin slept a lot like a normal human being last night. He woke up at 12:30 to eat and then slept until 5:00. Hooray! :) It doesn't sound great, but trust me, it's an improvement. Also he is napping like a champ today here in the living room in his Pack and Play.


Okay, here's the crappy stuff.
1) It's August in Baltimore. It's feels like a tropical rainforest outside. GROSS. Baltimore in August is one perpetually bad hair day.

2) Here is my car.

That is a blue shower curtain where the passenger side window should be. No, it didn't break. I was putting it down and it literally DROPPED down INTO the door. This happened while I was driving in the pouring down rain with Benjamin in the car.
It was still pouring when I arrived home and told Tom to go check it out. He came back into the house and grabbed the first big, tarp-like item he could find to keep the inside of my car from getting soaked. (the shower curtain was on the floor in the basement waiting to be thrown out)

3) My house is a wreck, a cluttered wreck. It doesn't look like it on the surface, but *I* know where the messes are. And one of the cluttered places is my kitchen cabinet. Hence this Ebay auction for all of my Playtex bottles, supplies and bottle warmer. We switched to Avent and LOVE them, but prior to that I was apparently trying to collect every nipple and bottle Playtex makes. If you know anyone who needs bottles, direct them my auction. My reserve price is only $10.00. I just want the stuff OUT of my house.

Bottles, bottles everywhere...