Baby Shiny

I can hardly believe that six months have passed since Riley joined our family, but its true. And although I whine a lot about her not being a good sleeper, not taking a bottle, and just being high maintenance in general, she is still an absolute joy and I am trying to enjoy every minute of this delicious baby stage. Right now she's all smiles, and is so generous with her silly grins and giggles. She is equally fascinated and amused by both of her brothers, although she already (wisely) regards Connor with a bit more caution than Casey. She's still a girl who knows what she wants (and, yes, that often includes not wanting to nap or be held be anyone other than me), but she also seems to be developing a very sweet personality. We still refer to her quite a bit as Baby Shiny, and I think it might be a nickname that she'll be stuck with for awhile. Which is OK, it seems to fit her just fine.

Baby Love

One of the victims of the "Hard Drive Crash of '08" was a newborn photo session I had almost finished editing. Luckily, the client was a neighbor and was super gracious about the problem and we quickly scheduled a make-up session. I couldn't resist sharing this one - so sweet and so cute!

P.S. The latest update on the hard drive recovery is that initial attempts to recover any data failed, but they asked for another week to keep trying. Everyone keep their fingers crossed for us.

Fair Game

I loaded up the kids this morning and joined some friends for a trip to the Indiana State Fair. I haven't been to a state fair since I was a junior in high school, and I have to admit that I recall the motivation for the visit was to gawk at all the rednecks. But it was a beautiful day here, and I knew the boys would get a kick out of the animals, so off we went.

And I was right, they did love the animals. Connor was especially taken with these baby chicks, and Casey was greatly impressed with the World's Largest Pig (to which he exclaimed, "That's the biggest pig I've ever seen!" as though he's spent a lifetime on a farm caring for livestock). As you can tell from the photo, the aroma of the fair animals offended Casey's delicate palate, and Connor hardly seemed to notice.

Casey's other favorite part of the fair? The rides. I cracked up at how serious they were riding these motorcycles - it was as though they had suddenly become junior members of the Hell's Angels. Fair rides are serious business, folks.

And of course, we indulged in some fair food. A pork tenderloin sandwich for me and a massive corndog for the boys. Riley had mashed pears, but I noticed when we got home that she still managed to somehow smell like a BBQ sandwich. All in all a good day, and I was so busy watching the kids that I barely noticed the rednecks.

Four

Guess who's four today?

Nope, not this guy. This guy:

Yep, today is Casey's 4th birthday, and I know I say this every time someone around here celebrates a milestone, but he seems so big. Like such a big kid all the sudden. Like a BOY. Almost all traces of baby are gone from him, and he's a boy. Sigh.

He started his day with chocolate chip pancakes, had pigs in a blanket for lunch, and now hopefully we'll all survive the day to make it out for ice cream this evening.

And if you looked at the picture of Connor and thought, "Gee, it looks like Jen put his PJs on backwards", then you thought correctly. And no, I wasn't half in the bag last night when I got him ready for bed. It is now the only way to keep his clothes on at night. So, thankfully, there's still enough baby going on around here to keep me from getting too misty-eyed over Casey's continued journey into boyhood.

Crashed

Last week our external hard drive mysteriously bit the dust, and took along with it the vast majority of our family photos & important documents from the past 2 years. There was a bit of miscommunication between Rob & I regarding the purpose of the external hard drive, and I think somehow we both thought that the back-up fairies were taking care of everything and making sure that our precious files were safe from destruction, but we were wrong. Now we are sending the drive off to a data recovery company and for a sum they will attempt to recover the lost data. If I told you the fee for the recovery it would cause you to shriek in horror, so suffice it to say that if the drive didn't contain every photo of Connor's first year of life that would otherwise be lost forever, we wouldn't bother. All I can say now is this: Back Up. Back Up. Back EVERYTHING up as though your life depended on it.

Promotion

While googling myself the other day (oh, like you've never done it), I made an interesting discovery. Apparently during the past 4 sleep deprived years, I found time to get a PhD in organic chemistry, as evidenced by my listing as a member of the Louisville Society of Coatings Technology. Wow, and I was just proud of myself for getting my teeth brushed before noon. http://www.lsct.org/membership.htm

Might be time to update the member list, folks. Just sayin' .

Career Path

Casey announced at the lunch table that when he grows up he'd like to be a pirate. Or a rock star. Or a pirate rock star. Which has me fearing that he's destined to be the next Keith Richards. And I'm sure somewhere Keith's mother is quite proud of him. However,

I've seen Keith Richards in concert recently, and I think I'd rather if Casey's future didn't involve him stumbling around stage, mumbling incoherently, and chain smoking while playing "Jumping Jack Flash" for the 12,457th time.

Me Connor. Me Eat Blueberry Muffins.

Brothers

The lovefest between the boys and Riley continues, and they really dote on their little sister. Casey loves to make her smile, and is so proud of himself when she does ("Mommy! The baby smiled at me!!!"). Even Connor, who was slow to warm up to her, likes to help out with her, and hates when she cries ("Bebe cry, Momma!").
We've all been pitching in on the effort to get her to take a bottle, and it's been a battle. It seems like she wants to drink from the bottle, but for some reason can't get the hang of it, gets frustrated, and pushes it away. I feel sorry for her, she has developed no ability to self-soothe, and nursing is the only way to calm her when she's upset. I tried to let her "cry-it-out" a few times to get her to sleep, and she just cries and cries. When I go to retrieve her, she has tears running down her little cheeks and it breaks my heart. I don't think I have the emotional fortitude to try "Tough Love" with her, as has been suggested by the pediatrician and others. This being said, I am desperate for a little "me" time, and at this rate she might be in college before I get any.

Deceptively Cute

Hi. I keep my Mom up all night and refuse to take a bottle. Pacifier? No, thank you. I'd rather scream.

What? You don't believe someone this cute could cause so much trouble? You don't think I'm serious?

Believe me now?

Sushi for Beginners

I recently had an overwhelming craving for sushi, and seeing as how; a) I don't have anyone to go eat sushi with, and; b) I'm not nearly crazy enough to attempt to take all 3 of my kids to a sushi restaurant, I decided to try and make some myself. I bought a bamboo mat and nori (the seaweed outer wrap) at the grocery store and dug out an old article from Cooking Light that I had saved. I made these very basic California rolls with carrots, cucumber, and avocado, and they were pretty durn good. Next time I'll try to not get so heavy handed with the rice, but on the whole they were pretty easy and pretty tasty.

Nannie Camp 08!

We had a great time in AL last week. Highlights included a visit to the zoo and meeting Connor's primate cousin (a little monkey who climbed and jumped like crazy for our attention while his poor parents were slumped over napping in a corner), Grandaddy teaching Casey to "grip it & rip it" on the golf course & then taking him for a special lunch at McDonald's, watching (3 innings) of a Montgomery Biscuits baseball game, and lots of swimming while wearing their new pool shoes. Even Riley got in on the pool action for a few minutes. The 10 hour drive was a drag, but we came home better rested than when we left, and Casey keeps asking when we're going back.

Easily Amused

I know that a mature woman wouldn't still be giggling at how the top item from my Michael's receipt reads, but obviously I am not a mature woman.

Me Connor. Me Eat Yogurt.

Summertime Rules

We've had a very long weekend, and so for today I decided we would just take it easy and do whatever the kids wanted. Except all they wanted to do was beach out in front of the tv. Usually, especially in the winter, I might have let it slide for one day and given in to their desire to completely veg out, but since it is beautiful here and I spent the majority of the past two days in the van and a funeral home I thought we should get outside. I haven't quite worked up the courage to take them all to the pool by myself, so I hauled out the trusty sprinkler and let them have some fun.

Casey jumped right in,

but Connor wasn't sure so his brother helped him...

He wasn't convinced so he happily played in his clubhouse,
while Casey continued to enjoy the sprinkler action!

Together, Tomorrow

"I don't like to say goodbye,

I don't want today to end.

But we will be happy together tomorrow,

Together tomorrow again.

Together tomorrow, together tomorrow my friend.

We will be happy together tomorrow,

Together tomorrow again.

You may walk a rocky road.

My road may twist and bend.

We'll share all our stories when we get together,

Together tomorrow again.

Together tomorrow, together tomorrow my friend.

We'll share all our stories when we get together,

Together tomorrow again.

Every day must pass away,

Never to come again.

Tonight when I'm sleeping I'll dream of us being

Together tomorrow again.

Together tomorrow, together tomorrow my friend.

Tonight when I'm sleeping I'll dream of us being

Together tomorrow again.

Together tomorrow, together tomorrow my friend.

Tonight when I'm sleeping I'll dream of us being

Together tomorrow again."

"Together, Tomorrow" by Tom Chapin

David P. Schneider

1964-2008

School's Out!

I find it very hard to believe that today was the last day of Casey's first year of preschool. They celebrated with a Songfest where we were treated to them all singing hits such as "Itsy Bitsy Spider" and "I'm a Nut". He's grown so much since he started last fall - physically and in lots of other ways too. For instance, when he started school he couldn't dress himself or pick out his clothes, but he did both this morning. Although after further examination of this photo, perhaps we were better off when he wasn't quite so independent.

Morning Coffee 2.0

The fact that I love (and also survive by drinking) a good cup of coffee in the morning is no secret - the title of this blog is not a random choice. And a special treat for myself is to occasionally stop by Starbucks on the way to dropping Casey off at preschool and order a grande non-fat latte with a packet of Splenda. Ahhh, the modern Mom's answer to Calgon ("Starbucks, take me away!"). So to make my indugence a little extra special I made myself a cup sleeve out of some of the leftover fabric from Riley's room. I made a few of these as gifts for Christmas, but hadn't gotten around to making one for myself until now. I even jazzed mine up by hand embroidering my initial, as machine embroidery still confuses and confounds me (although I've had my eye on this bad-boy that I think would help). I suppose this is also a "green" project as it probably saves .000001% of a tree by me not taking the sleeve that Starbucks provides. See, I am environmentally friendly. Yay, me.

Fabric Finally and More Patience, Please

The fabric for Baby Shiny's room that I have been patiently waiting on finally arrived yesterday. OK, maybe not so much "patiently waiting" as much as boring every poor soul in earshot about the saga of my missing nursery fabric and how UPS was engaged in a great conspiracy against me. I ordered the fabric from ebay, but PayPal (also involved in the great conspiracy against me) sent the seller the wrong shipping address, and the fabric was delivered to our old house in Louisville, and then UPS sent it back to New York before they accepted the interception request and finally sent it on to me. I'm sure after reading this abbreviated version you are so wishing you had been within earshot to receive the daily updates of the saga over the past two and a half weeks - "Yesterday it was in Lexington, but today it's in Parsipanny, NJ!". Fascinating.

Anywhoo, I'm all ready to get going on the window treatments, painting, and other assorted projects I have planned for the very girly nursery for my very girly little girl (which virtually guarantees that she will be a hard-core tomboy). All of this on top of the basement finishing project scheduled to begin next week, and landscaping also on tap for next week. I think all this distraction is actually good for me because it allows me to forget how tired I am. At 3:30am this morning while nursing Riley for what seemed like the 100th time of the night, I calculated that I have spent 45 of the past 48 months either pregnant or nursing. Yikes! No wonder there are days I walk around here like a giant raw nerve with a ponytail, snapping at anyone in my path and not acting at all like the Patient Mom I strive to be, forcing Casey to ask, "Mommy, why are you so fusterated?". I want to be all zen and calm and constantly nurturing, but there are days where having spent the vast majority of the past 4 years attached to a little person takes it's toll on me, and in my weakened state I give in to the overwhelming desire to just be grumpy.

Patience, or lack thereof, seems to be a common theme around here lately. I suppose that is what I should ask for as my Mother's Day gift. More patience. And maybe a nap.

All Dressed Up

I found this pattern for a baby dress on the internet and had some scraps left over from another project, so I decided to give it a go. Thanks to the assistance of Mom's sewing machine (which I am currently borrowing to make some projects for Riley's room) it was pretty easy to put together and I had the bulk of it done during a nap time. Some of the detail is obscured by her extra chins, but really, how cute is she? I love this chubby baby stage - probably the only time in your life when someone can remark, "Look at those fat little legs!" and mean it as a compliment.

I'm telling you folks, this little girl stuff is alot of fun. You know, when she's not screaming or nursing endlessly or driving me insane from sleep deprivation. And even when she's doing all those things she is completely adorable and I continue be smitten with her - especially when she's wearing a pink dress.