of course we talked about the worms

First: my life has been taken over by Christmas. That’s where I’ve been. Wrapped in tinsel and paper and running around like a crazy person.

Second: if my in real life friend reads this, this is to you: all in good fun…no offense meant and we still love you…both. Always. Thank you for giving us a good laugh – we needed it – and this only makes you that much more fun.

So, the other night, Tim, Kellan and I had dinner at a friend’s house. Let’s call her B. And her husband – we’ll call him K. And their kiddo will be N. I’m not divulging names since they aren’t mine to divulge…

Anyhow, so, dinner. It was pretty inauspicious. Pizza with ground turkey tomato sauce and boiled artichokes. Kellan and N had peas, too, but Kellan was more interested in dropping and placing his food everywhere except his mouth. Their floor, table, chair, probably wall…all got a special pizza sauce treatment.

I don’t like leaving messes. B doesn’t like messes, period.

You can imagine the horror that went through my brain when she was like, “No. Don’t clean it up!”

And inside I’m like, “BUT. BUT. BUT. MESS!!!!!!”

Then B was like, “It’ll be a good lesson for all of us.”

BUT!

K ended up cleaning the Kellan mess.

Wait. I’m getting way ahead of myself, here. Waaaay ahead.

During dinner, conversation somehow turned to how B got worms for K for a gift.

Yes. Worms.

Real, live, squiggly ones.

They live in the basement and eat leftover food and make compost.

I’m not even kidding.

I’m pretty sure they don’t roam free or anything. B wouldn’t be able to deal with that – nor would I. Worms give me the ebee geebies. Shudder.

B had to take delivery of them worms (oh, yah. You can ship these puppies.) and about had a panic attack because WORMS. The first set didn’t make it – the “move” from wherever they came from was too stressful (I cannot believe I’m using “worms” and “stress” in the same sentence). The second group seemed to survive, I guess, because as we were all putting our artichoke leaves into a bowl, K was all, “I wonder if my worms will like these?”

(that’s how the conversation started, by the way. It’s all coming back to me, now)

Tim and I looked at each other and then looked at B and then K like, “WORMS?”

That’s when K explained the delivery story and compost, yada yada yada.

As B was about to pick up the bowl of artichoke leaves to set aside for the worms, K was all, “Wait…no. I don’t know if they can eat all of that…and besides, I’m not sure what they’ll like…”

We don’t want to stuff them. Or give them something that they will reject. Travesty!

Then, in the middle of the worm shenanigans, Kellan decided he was DONE WITH DINNER and I had to take him to the sink, food falling off of him with every step.

The rest of the evening…wasn’t about worms…though as we were leaving, Tim was holding Kellan and K was upstairs in the loft area that overlooks the downstairs, getting a bath ready for N (their kiddo). Tim started doing a slow wave all, “Goodnight…gooooodniiighttt…..gooooodniiiighhtttt!” and then K stopped and was like, “Isn’t that from the Sound of Music?”

Tim: Yes!

K: I’m not sure what is more disturbing. You singing that or the fact that I knew what you were singing. Let’s never mention this again.

(oops?)

So, on Tim and my way home?

Of course we talked about the worms.

Tim was all, “Did you hear K when N was trying to help and put pieces of ground turkey into the artichoke pile?”

Me: No?….

Tim: Oh, right. You had already gotten up. First, he decided to take N’s leftover peas to give to them worms. Then, as he was picking them out from the pizza pieces on her plate, N decided to try and help and put pieces of ground turkey into the worm food pile and K was like, “N! No! No! The worms are vegetarian! They can’t have turkey!”

This, coming from the same man who received a grain mill for Christmas so he can make beer.

Tim is going to join in on that bit of fun, though, because what guy doesn’t want to MAKE BEER?

Also?

Let’s go back to the worms for just a second.

Someone on this planet one day was like, “Hmmmm….I think I want to sell something on the internet. What should I sell? What should I sell?…Hmm…I KNOW!”

WORMS!

And then there they were.

All wrapped up on B and K’s doorstep.

christmas shouldn’t be so complicated

I’m currently living in the world of transitioning from three naps to two. If you have zero children, this period of time can basically be described like this:

HI, CRANKY PANTS.

We wear our rally caps daily, now. Last night’s five-hour (!!!!!!!) rally included a family dance party. It worked…for maybe three songs…then we had to give in and start bath time. There’s only so much you can do.

I guess that’s where I’ve been? Along with Christmas shopping.  Just FYI – making an Amazon wish list is basically a gateway drug to full on whipping out the credit card and buying things. I’ve been getting shipping notifications for things I don’t even remember ordering. I’m not even sure what that says about me.

I’m struggling as to what I’m going to get Tim. He is the hardest person to buy for because he doesn’t want little things. He wants big things. Granted, there are only two “big” things he wants, but, still. Oh, wait. He wants “big” things and then stuff like a SHOP VAC.

Really?

Here. allow me to put that under the tree. I’ll un-box it and put it together and everything. How charming.

Buying a shop vac is zero percent fulfilling when it comes to Christmas shopping. I’m just saying.

We made an Amazon wish list that we both put stuff on so we would know what the other person wanted. Once we were mostly finished, I went to check the list and…um…

Me: Our budget is what, again? And you put a SIXTY INCH TELEVISION on it?! And a camera?

Tim: You said…

Me: ….and you said you didn’t want a new TV because of the reviews. YOU said.

Tim: Also? I go to check because you said you put stuff for you on the list and what do I see? Dog stuff. Kellan stuff. And ONE THING for you. ONE!

Me: You said you already knew what you were getting me AND you said not to say things I wanted because then if you were already planning on getting them, it would seem like you only got them because I said I wanted them when you were already planning on it…your words, not mine.

Tim: True…

Me: So, really, what’s the budget?

Tim: ONE DOLLAR. For you. Because I’m already over.

Me: OMG.

And then? We learn that Christmas lights are full of lead. Which? Bad, bad, bad for babies. We found a website who sells lights that are supposed to be RoHS (Restrictive of Hazardous Materials) compliant, which means the lead levels are nowhere near as bad as the lights you pick up anywhere around here.

The lights we ordered came last night and they are WAY TOO YELLOW.  So much so that we are going to have to return them.

Then Tim is like, “You realize that we have to pay to return them (WHAT?!) AND then pay for shipping on new lights (WHAT?!) if we want to order more.

WHAT?!

Dear Go Green LED Bulbs – that’s insane. It may be your policy but, still. IN.SANE. It will cost us almost $20 in shipping…or more. I don’t even know.

Also? Your picture of the “antique” lights is extremely misleading. This yellow you have on your website? MULTIPLY BY A HUNDRED SHADES OF YELLOW.

We haven’t re-ordered any lights from them, yet. I’m still debating because OMG. We have to pay to return them because they are WRONG. We also found a warning label inside the box, so now we aren’t even sure if they ARE RoHS compliant, even though their website says they are. We’ve already sent an email. Awaiting a response…

All this. For lights.

Last night, I was all, “Maybe we just won’t put lights on the tree because I’m not putting our old [lead filled] lights on.”

Tim: Then we aren’t getting a tree because I’m not putting up a tree without lights. That’s ridiculous.

Me: Might as well cancel Christmas, then.

Tim: Seriously? You’re going there? That’s a little over the top.

Me: And Christmas with no tree is better?!

[begin mutual silent treatment while we watch Homeland]

Christmas shouldn’t be so complicated, people. Yet, here we are. No decorations. No tree. No damn lights.

my little gluttons

Funny thing, Tim and I both actually lost weight over this little Thanksgiving break. I think it is probably the only time in my life I’ve been able to say that. Apparently, food – along with everything else – becomes secondary when you have a baby. Thanksgiving was no exception. I had one plate and one piece of pie and that was it.

Seconds?

There is no time for seconds.

However, I am sure that after seeing all of your plates, those extra pounds are going to just fly right onto my hips. It’s practically a given.

So, first, thank you to everyone who took a few minutes to take a picture of your plate and then take another few minutes to email it to me! They all looked amazing and I want all of you to come over for dinner next year and we’ll have a giant feast of all things delicious.

Second?

THE PLATES!

The lovely Lucinda. You can check her blog out, too, after seeing her perfectly proportioned plate., extra potatoes (I think?) and stuffing, hold the turkey. My kind of gal.

Next. my actual-in-real-life friend, Jessi. She texted over a picture…and no, I didn’t have a chance to try any of the deliciousness, which she described as “Turkey, ButternutSquash-Apple stuffing, sweet potato mash, Parmesan-almond cauliflower, and broccoli salad.”

YUM.

And next, my bloggy friend since almost the beginning of my blogging adventure, Maureen. First? You need to come teach me how to grow sweet potatoes. Second? I love her in real life job. As in, I’d love to do a “day in the life.” Go check out her blog once you see this giant, gorgeous sweet potato she grew IN HER GARDEN. I don’t even have a garden, Maureen…I don’t even have a garden. Also, this is what is on her plate: Turkey breast, green bean casserole, croissant and organic baked sweet potato from our garden <— still jealous, Maureen.

Another bloggy friend of mine since almost the beginning is NySoonerGirl. I know her name in real life but her blog is kind of anonymous so we’re going to keep it that way. Maybe if you read her blog and make nice, you’ll know her name one day, too? Anyway, the important part? She gave me a take two of her dinner plate (better half eaten than never, right?) and also her dessert plate, which I’d like to shove right into my face because I LOVE DESSERT.

Her dinner plate *was* filled with  was turkey, mashed potatoes with turnips and cream cheese and a few turnips. Just so everyone knows, she wasn’t a fan of the turnips.

I don’t think I would have been, either.

Dessert totally made up for those turnips, though. Who wouldn’t love a chocolate torte with homemade whipped cream, a pumpkin whoopie pie, and a chocolate peanut butter oatmeal bar.

Nysoonergirl, I’m coming to your house the next time we’re in town.

Up next? Britni from Rhode Island. First? Hi, Britni!! I love the way your name is spelled and I love that you are along for this crazy ride AND sent a picture! It is so fun to learn when someone I didn’t know about reads the blog…it makes me smile. Yay!

Ok, enough on me. On Britni’s plate? Roasted turkey, Mashed potatoes and gravy, Turkey stuffing, Cranberry sauce (jellied), French onion soup (our tradition). She called it a simple dinner for two but french onion soup? YUM. My favorite. Seriously. I love that stuff. Secondly? We do jellied cranberry sauce, too. Wobbly all the way!

Next, Ms. Elvira from Western MA who blogs over here. She wins for the prettiest plate. I pretty much wanted to trade plates with her the second I saw it. I’m not even sure what everything is, but is doesn’t matter. She’s coming to my house for Thanksgiving next year. She is also someone I didn’t know read my blog  didn’t realize I knew read my blog, so I am extra, extra happy today!

My father-in-law also sent his plate. Except…I think maybe he got confused as to the request of a “before” picture. I’m getting a hint of some kind of sweet potato…possibly stuffing?…well, whatever it was, he obviously liked it enough to become a member of the clean plate club!

And lastly, my dear friend who I have known since forever (legit like since we were three), sent me pictures of her THREE Thanksgiving plates.

THREE.

No judgement, Whitney. No judgement.

(Read: sarcasm)

I have no idea what all if on these plates or if they happened in one day or in multiple days but, still. I’d like them to all be recreated and put in front of my face. They look amazing. Drooling over here, excuse me.

Oh, wait. You didn’t think I forgot about MY PLATE, did you?

Wouldn’t that be funny if I had forgotten to take a picture of my own plate when I’m sitting over here asking you to hold off on digging in before you snap a shot?

Truth is, I did ALMOST forgot and Tim was like, “Wow…that would have been bad…”

On my plate? Homemade bread (by Tim), turkey, cranberry sauce (wobbly all the way!), Brussels sprouts (recipe), stuffing (recipe), and whipped sweet potato.

We decided to try a new stuffing recipe, since we can’t seem to get the family recipes right. Ever.

And Kellan’s plate. His has…a little turkey, stuffing, butternut squash, peas, cranberry sauce and blueberries.

He mostly just ate the blueberries. They’re his new favorite.

And the pie. Pumpkin, of course. I love pumpkin pie like whoa. That’s a little homemade whipped cream on the side, too.

And my day after meal plate. It’s tradition and it’s also a croissant with turkey, stuffing and cranberry sauce. THE BEST SANDWICH EVER.

If you have any leftovers, I implore you to try it.

We also eat pie for breakfast the day after Thanksgiving.

Just thought you should know.

Thank you again, everyone who shared their plates! If I forgot someone…yell at me. It’s entirely possible.

The rest of the week? Stories from vacation! And boy, do I have some stories that involve yogurt and cars and crazy “it’s the end of the world!” sunsets. And art projects. Let’s not forget those.

my memory recall sucks and take a pic of your plate!!

So, I had this fun idea! And it came to me in the middle of the night…how I remembered is anyone’s guess. Anyhow, for all of us celebrating Turkey Day tomorrow, wouldn’t it be fun to see what everyone’s plate looks like before we dig in? We all probably do it up a little different and regional fare and whatnot…so lets share!

If you get a second tomorrow, snap a pic of your plate and then email it to me (jessicabold at hotmail dot com  - or just click the “give me a shout!” button on the top right of the blog) sometime before Monday. It can be the picture by itself of you can list what’s on there, too.

Then, on Monday, we’ll all get a virtual food coma together, checking out everyone’s eats! I’ll post them here with a link to your blog (if you have one/give it to me) and where you’re from.

And if no one plays along, we’ll just forget this ever happened…so maybe you should share this and get your regular/bloggy friends to tell their regular/bloggy friends to tell…you get the idea.

So, yay! Play along! It’ll be fun!

Also? I should probably tell you Happy Thanksgiving today because, honestly, I’m thinking this is the only chance I’ll get. Tim will be home for the rest of the week and we can all imagine where I’ll be for the next five days.

(and if you can’t imagine, I’ll give you a hint: NOT SITTING AT THE COMPUTER)

I do hope everyone – who is in America and celebrating Thanksgiving – has a wonderful time with your family and friends. Tim, Kellan and I are celebrating solo. As in it is just the three of us. It’ll be fun, I hope, and we may or may not have gotten Kellan a turkey bib…

Also? Did I mention Kellan is not crawling, pulling up, etc? I’m pretty sure I did but if not, well. Here we are. Still rolling everywhere.

I know. It’ll happen. I’m not worried. I just…thought we’d be there by now is all.

(this is totally unrelated but one of our dogs, the golden retriever, just walked into the computer room, farted, and then walked out. I guess that’s my cue to let her outside. NICE.)

I kind of realize I fell off the thankfulness wagon. Not intentionally. I’m thankful for things every day. I just don’t make it a habit of sharing them. Like yesterday, I was thankful because it was Tim and my eight year (!!!!!!) first-date-a-versary. Wow. Look at us now.

I’d say I was thankful today for Starbucks but when the dude at the counter was like, “Didn’t you get something already once today?” and then I was all, “Um…No…but I did yesterday.” and then he gives me this random smile and I was immediately confused.

When I got into the parking lot, still trying to figure out what that whole exchange was all about, it hit me and my face started burning red and I was like OMG. OMG OMG OMG.

I’M WEARING THE SAME SHIRT AS YESTERDAY AND HE REMEMBERED.

Now I can never go back there again.

Mortified.

I didn’t even realize I had done it. I guess that’s why I should always put my dirty clothes on the bathroom floor instead of on the side of the bathtub, right honey?

Because I obviously cannot remember anything.

Like what I wore less than twenty four freaking hours ago.

I just put the shirt on this morning without giving it a second thought. And I always used to give my clothes a second thought like, “When was the last time I wore this? Is it too soon to wear it again?”

Yah. That apparently doesn’t happen anymore.

Fail.

dear kellan month 9

Mister Kellan…nine months old!

It probably wasn’t very nice of us to schedule your well baby check up today, on your nine month birthday, but there it is…and the crazy part?  Your next pediatrician appointment we made for you was for your one year check up.  Wow!

You are growing up so quickly.  You cannot get enough of being outside. It has been your favorite place to be pretty much since birth. You are also beginning to really enjoy slides (on mommy’s lap) and swings. It is probably good I’m always rightthere, since you have gotten a bit clingy. You will grab onto my legs when you are sitting on the ground or will bury your head into my shoulder if you don’t want to go to another person you do not know well. Separation anxiety at its best. It’s ok, though. Totally normal and expected. It is also kind of nice and sweet sometimes. It feels like you’re saying, “No! I only want my mommy!”

I know it won’t always be like that, so I’m trying to cherish this time while it lasts.

You’ve decided to work on everything except crawling or pulling up or going from a sitting position to your belly. Granted, you did do the sitting-to-belly a few times early on this month, but then, after a couple of awkward falls forward with your leg getting pinned underneath you, you seemed to say, “I’m done with that for now” and you haven’t attempted it again. I think you want to figure it out, though, because you’ll sit with your legs in a “V” shape and lean all the way forward until your belly is on the ground. Your daddy is amazed at your flexibility. So, for now, you aren’t crawling, though you do this plank-type maneuver where you’ll get up on your toes and your belly will be off the ground. You are also juuuust starting to try and get on your knees while on your belly. You aren’t quite there, yet. At your doctor’s appointment today, Dr. P said you probably wouldn’t be walking until 13 or 14 months. Ah! You’re already 25 pounds!! Hopefully you start crawling soon so you can get to all the things you currently want your daddy or I to take you to – like lamp shades (your favorite) or mirrors or the security system panel on the wall…

So, the things you are working on?

Talking.

I’m not even sure how you have such an extensive vocabulary already. When you want to see something while we’re holding you, you’ll say “DAT!” and hold your arm out towards it while opening and closing your hand (Case in point – note from 11/13: No question on Kellan’s use of “DAT.” This morning he almost leapt out of my arms while yelling daaaaat!!!!!!!!!!!!! and wildly bouncing/motioning/staring at the security system). I think that is your version of pointing. You also say “touch” when you want to touch something and “cat” to Chloe and “dada” to daddy. You also sometimes, in frustration, usually, will yell what sounds like, “I DO IT!” When daddy was playing with you on the floor one afternoon (10/22), you were reaching for something and he was trying to help you while I was making dinner. All of a sudden, you yelled out, clear as a bell, “I. DO. IT!!” It stopped us both in our tracks like, “Wow, kiddo. Yes, you do it!” You also had one day, in your high chair, when you tooted and daddy and I were like, “Phew! Kellan! Did you toot?”

You looked at us so matter of factly and said, “I toot.”

Well, ok then. Yes, you sure did.

You also had a moment in the grocery store (11/2) where I was pushing you in the cart and you decided NOW was the time to start a very loud conversation. We do this back and forth thing where I will mimic what you say, which you love, but the more I do it the louder you get. That particular day in the grocery store, you were at level ten – almost screaming status. People were staring at us and I was cracking up because you were having a blast and had the biggest smile on your face. What else could I do but laugh? It was quite funny.

Other mommies who we have play dates with have also commented on how communicative you are, so I’m pretty sure it isn’t just mommy and daddy who think you’re a talker.

Ok, I’ll move on, enough with how much you talk, even though I could go on and on….like how you bless yourself? After you sneeze you will say “bless you” – the words you say don’t sound exactly the same, but they have the same intonation…ok…moving on….

We had to take you for a CT scan (10/23) at the behest of Dr. P.  Your head keeps growing and growing (it is currently 20 inches in circumference…mommy’s is 21.5 inches…), so he wanted to make sure nothing more serious was going on. Fortunately, you are perfect and your head is fine. Just giant. And you did a great job at the Children’s Hospital during the scan. I laid on you on the scanning table and we sung “Old MacDonald” so you would stay still for the scan. It worked, though you were a little scared. The scan only took a few minutes, though, because you stayed so perfectly still.

Once we had that monkey off of our back, we all felt much better. We figured you just had a big head, but it was nice to have that verified as fact.

Other really awesome things you’ve done this month? Let’s break them down, list style:

You push your arms through your sleeves. You were so proud of yourself when you first started doing and thought it was a game. You would smile and laugh when I would say, “Where are your arms?? There they are!!” Now…it’s just kind of ho-hum. The newness has worn off.

We have come to a happy place with the bath! Yay!! You finally started playing (10/23) in the water instead of just sitting there, getting bathed. You now love to splash and play with toys and try to reach the faucet. I cannot believe we are finally here! To this happy place!

You are getting better at putting yourself to sleep (11/5: almost fell asleep initially without nursing – you were laying with feet to my belly and I patted you for awhile and thought you were asleep but weren’t…but you were close!)

Along with that, your sleep has been up and down. Some nights you sleep six hours straight (YAY!!) and others you are up every few hours. Some nights you are very fussy…I think it is because of your teeth that are still not in but are soooo close! I’m sure that is painful. And I hate that it is painful for you.

You’ve started “sharing” your toys (11/14). And by sharing I mean you kind of hand them/drop them to mommy and daddy. You will also do the same thing if we ask if we can have/see whatever you happen to be playing with.

Good thing we are baby proofing cabinets because you have figured out how to open any and all drawers with knobs after us showing you one time. It started with the kitchen cabinets (we say “open” when you open them and “close” when you let go and they shut by themselves. You love it )

You started a game of peek-a-boo with mommy after a nursing session one afternoon (11/16). You pulled the covers over your head and I’d say, “Where’s Kellan?” and then you would pull the covers down and I’d say, “There he is!” And then we’d do it again. And again. And again….you loved it.

Your pincher grip is getting really, really good. I mean, you practice on me all the time when you’re nursing. My chest has tiny little bruises to prove it! It’s ok, though. You don’t pinch as hard anymore, more like a light pinch to practice versus a “WOW! I can do this cool thing!” pinch. I think it is paying off, though, because you pick pieces of food off of your high chair and feed yourself like you’ve been doing it all your life. Once morning I just stared at you like, “Wow. When did you grow up?” And let me mention food here, for a second. You only want to eat what mommy and daddy are eating. I don’t even make you your own food anymore. I just give you whatever we are eating because, really, that’s all you want. You’ve tried all kinds of food, though you aren’t into eating huge amounts at one sitting, yet.

Lastly? My little monkey. Your feet are like a second set of hands. One night (11/4) while we had friends over for dinner, you were handed a toy and instead of dropping the one you had in your hands, you lifted your feet up, put the toy (a pedometer) you had in your hands in between the soles of your feet and held it there and then grabbed the toy being offered (bath starfish) and just kept on playing like it was no big thing. We all just stopped at laughed because really kiddo? Really? So funny.

I’m still blown away that this is the last single digit “month” before we’re in double digits. I still remember when I had my 10th birthday and I was out of the single digit years – I know. That was so long ago and now, here we are, one month away from celebrating your ten month birthday! Dr. P says you should be pulling up by then…I guess we’ll see what happens.

I love you so, so much! You teach me more and more every day and you are such a joy to be around. Your daddy and I feel so blessed. You are happy and inquisitive and always patient when we have to run lots of errands. We are constantly amazed by you. Because of you, our life has been forever changed in the absolute best way possible. You are our little man and we love you more than you will ever know.

Mommy

i know. who am i?!

So, let’s talk about my little par-tay that happened last week but I’ve been so busy I haven’t had five seconds to write for a second, yes?

YES.

First, my wreaths.

I know. Super crazy/wild and super cute, right?

And the food/drinks/hot tea bar….hot tea bar I totally forgot to mention to anyone.

Fail.

But, still, cute.

I. KNOW.

WHO AM I?!

Related: I’m totally available for hire.

Also related: I know it looks simple but OMG. It took me a week to get everything in order and the entire morning the day of the par-tay to get the house ready.

However. The party went so, SO well. All of the kiddos – and there were LOTS of kiddos – did great. Even Kellan, who decided to skip a nap and go something like five hours before he crashed and burned.

I mean CRASHED.

He was so tired he fell asleep in my arms while I was standing, holding him. And he never does that.

NEVER.

When he woke up, still in my arms, the party still happening, much to his chagrin, let’s just say he was not exactly thrilled.

Let me paint a picture: HYSTERICAL SCREAMING WHY ARE THESE PEOPLE STILL IN MY HOUSE?!

Yah. Fun times.

So fun I had to take him upstairs to nurse him and calm him down before we could rejoin the fun.

All in all, though?

AWESOME. PAR-TAY.

So awesome…I should do it again.

Maybe.

Once I recover from this one.

Also?

Happy Nine Months Kellan!!!!

More on that huge milestone later…this week…sometime…I swear…even though Thanksgiving is Thursday…

chaos and ‘merica

I know.

I missed a day of thankfulness. Yesterday.

But look at the title.

So, there.

Yesterday was a rare day.

A very rare day, indeed.

A day Tim arbitrarily took off of work JUST BECAUSE and it somehow resulted in a morning run that turned into a walk/talk for over an hour because Kellan fell asleep and we wanted to keep him moving so he would get a good nap versus going inside and him immediately waking up and getting a crap nap.

Crap naps suck, people. You want to avoid them at all costs. If that means you walk for an hour, it means you walk. For an hour.

So, we walked. And we talked…uninterrupted…for an HOUR.

It. Was. Awesome.

Tim and I rarely have that luxury anymore, since Kellan likes to be the center of attention – as he should be.

Yesterday, however, all the stars aligned. It was a beautiful day (see below) and the nap gods were smiling down upon us. We got to actually spend time together…just Tim and me and a beautiful day.

That doesn’t sound at all chaotic, quite the opposite, really, but without all the chaos that is our life, now, we would not be able to appreciate that blissful hour together. We would have taken it for granted. We would have thought nothing of it. It would have been just another day. Just another run. Just another blah.

Except, we didn’t. We saw that hour for what it really was and we appreciated every single minute…every second…we lived the moment, we loved the moment, and we were so grateful to have had it.

I would not have been able to say that and appreciate what Tim and I had yesterday without all the chaos that surrounds me daily.

I have so much chaos in my life, it’s become normal. You become used to it. You have to just relax, calm down, take a deep breath and try to see how you can make things work rather than complain about how they’re wrong.  Tom Welling
****

As for today, I am thankful for the right to vote, as we all should be. Granted, Tim andI voted weeks ago via our mail in ballots, but, still. We voted. We made our voice “heard” and WE DIDN’T GET A STICKER.

I WANT MY ‘I Voted’ STICKER.

Dear Colorado – FIX THIS.

Anyhow, if you haven’t voted – GO DO IT. If you have, YAY, YOU!

I honestly do not care what your stance/opinion/whatever is as long as you actually act on it and vote.

That’s what matters.

That’s why we’re ‘Merica (I hate that word, by the way. It just seemed to fit but I would just like to let my opinion be heard – it is AMERICA, people).

Nobody will ever deprive the American people of the right to vote except the American people themselves and the only way they could do this is by not voting. Franklin D. Roosevelt

fraaaaands

Remember how I didn’t have any friends?

For like, ever?

And then, all of a sudden, I did?

I kind of realized I was going about the whole friend thing from the wrong angle.

This is how you make friends: If you go looking for a friend, you’re going to find they’re very scarce. If you go out to be a friend, you’ll find them everywhere. Zig Ziglar

That quote is what I started doing, even though I didn’t even know that quote existed until a few minutes ago, and I started having friends. They may not be BFF4EVA or anything right now, but I definitely consider them a friend versus an acquaintance.

And that’s nice.

Today I am thankful for the friendships I have made this year.

And I wouldn’t have made any of these friends had Kellan not come about. I promised myself – and Kellan – that I would stick my neck out and put myself in uncomfortable situations in order to make mom friends so Kellan would have a chance to make friends and socialize and have his own little buddies to play with and go places with and experience kid life with.

I did that. I made myself do it.

Looking back, I am so glad I did.

a dog teaches a boy fidelity, perseverance, and to turn around three times before lying down

(The title of my post is a quote by Robert Benchley)

Look how I’m posting on the weekend!

That should be your thankfulness for today.

Jessica gave me something to read ON A SATURDAY.

You are so welcome. I know. I shouldn’t have.

Today I am thankful for all of our fur-children – even though they drive me up the wall crazy sometimes…all the time…? Ever since we had Kellan, all of the animals took a huuuuugggeeeee backseat. Like, borderline neglect, probably.

I mean, we feed them and let them outside (dogs) and clean their litterbox (cats) and keep them up to date on vaccinations and heartworm medicine and take them to get a bath (dogs) and everything. We just don’t *play* with them as much or spend time with them like before.

Because, well, Kellan.

The funny thing, though, is that they are slowly getting more and more “involved” because Kellan LOVES them. He pets the dogs and Chloe (who is his BFF and sleeps on the bed by my feet because she always seems to want to be near him) and gets the biggest smile on his face when they walk by him.

Just wait until he’s walking, Maddie and Lexi. Just. You. Wait.

I try to be more compassionate…I try…but it is hard when so much of my energy goes to Kellan. I guess this is my reminder that the fur-children are part of my life…and Tim, Kellan and I are their whole life.

I need to remember that.

A dog is the only thing on earth that loves you more than you love yourself.  Josh Billings

embrace the quirk

I never really know what to write. It is a delicate balance, it seems, of giving you THE FUNNY versus me just all out complaining because, really, that’s what I’d probably do…all the time…I mean, this is my space to moan and whine about how UNFAIR LIFE IS.

Then, I realize how awesome my life really is…so then I feel bad complaining. Ever.

I started off November super buff. Kellan and I ran even though it was 30-something degrees outside. Thank you, Under Armour.

I just thought you should know. I’m still buffing it out even though it is no longer Bufftober.

You should *also* know that our antisocial neighbor put a pumpkin on his porch for Halloween.

This is groundbreaking, people.

A+ for effort, Lenny. A freaking plus.

I want to invite him over for dinner but I’m not exactly sure who would feel more awkward. I’m sure Tim would have a coronary if I told him casually all, “Lenny is coming over for dinner.”

[pin drop]

[crickets]

[more uncomfortable silence]

[......]

I’m guessing the dinner would go something like that, too, so I probably need to re-think that whole invitation…

So, turns out Kellan is a super vocal, communicative little man.

The child never. stops. talking.

It’s really awesome, actually.

Except, he’s so into talking that he forgets to do anything else and then two hours later we’re still standing at the front door, trying to leave but wait! One more thing!

This is Tim. To a T (OMG. Accidental punny).

It’s like he (Tim) gets so into talking that we’re

still.

standing.

here.

talking.

Instead of leaving or doing whatever it is we’re supposed to be doing, which isn’t talking.

Drives me batty, mostly when we have somewhere to go or when I’m trying to accomplish something. It’s like JUST STOP. That’s awesome. Really. Ok. Seriously. Stop.  I lost interest in the conversation forty five minutes ago.

Though, from the looks of it, I’m going to have to wholly embrace this particular quirk because HELLO, APPLE-TREE.

Patience. Kindness. Quell the antsy-ness. Breathe. Take time to smell the roses.

That’s what I’m learning.

He will crawl….when he crawls. He will walk….when he walks. He will TELL ME ALL ABOUT IT…all the time.

This kid…when he hits his head on things, like the coffee table? He will go into this litany of DUH-DUH-DUH-DUHDUHDUHDUH!!!!! Like he’s yelling at the table because IT JUMPED UP AND HIT HIM and he needs to be sure I know EXACTLY. WHAT. HAPPENED.

We can crawl later.

After I tell you about ALL THE THINGS.