New Thing #8

I am always looking for dishes that both my man and I enjoy. These are hard to come by, as I would rather eat Thai, Indian, sushi, or vegetarian dishes, and he tends toward steak & potatoes or Mexican. But yesterday, I made something new that satisfied my taste buds AND his!

I made beef stew!

My man went back for seconds, and even said that he wants to take the leftovers for lunch! Score!!!

What are your favorite dishes as a couple? I could use some more ideas...

Belly Laughs

If we can get this kind of reaction out of the punk when he's 16, we'll let him do whatever he wants. 

He crashes the car? We buy him a new one. 

He fails out of math? I do his homework for him. 

He wants $200 for prom? I give him $300. 

He asks his mom why she has cankles? Well, he's on his own there. I've gotta draw the line somewhere.

New Thing #7

Why oh why is it necessary to become an emotional mess after becoming a parent? Do the nurses hang a bag of Crybaby Serum to the IV while you're asleep in the hospital bed? Ever since welcoming my punk into the world, I have been unable to control myself whenever I hear any stories about people who may be sad or sick. Besides being a complete mess over actual heartbreaking events that some friends have had to endure lately, my poor maternal heart can't even handle it when I watch Extreme Makeover Home Edition. And when my baby was a week old, I happened to see a man with a disability trying to hustle across an intersection in the snow, and I started crying right there in the passenger seat of my car as we drove by. Before giving birth, I would have felt for the guy, but the tears would have stayed where they belong. In my eye balls. At least, I think that's where tears are stored... right?

So, for my new thing this week, I cried while taking a tour of the Make A Wish Foundation.

No, your eyes are not deceiving you. This psychedelic, purple room is magic! It is called the Wishing Room and it is at the top of the Wishing Tower in the Make A Wish building. As you can see, my little buddy was enthralled with our private tour. 

He's a tough little guy; he didn't even cry when we read a book about what it's like to have Cancer, illustrated by a 5 year-old Cancer patient and written by his mother. And I even managed to hold the tears back until, at the end of the book, my friend and tour guide informed me that the little boy died a few months later.

Can someone get me a tissue?

New Thing #6

This year, my man was in charge of planning Valentine's Day. (I get the anniversary - any ideas?) So on Saturday, after I fed the punk at 5:45 am, my valentine and I threw on hats and sweats and got in the car for our

Valentine's Day Breakfast!

We drove through the early morning snow to a place called Doug And Emmy's, which is a little cafe housed in a building with white siding and red brick; it used to be an old railroad station. It's the kind of place that serves dishes named for the regulars, like Bubba's Short Stack or Big Tom's Bacon & Eggs. I very much enjoyed my pancakes. They were cooked on a griddle filled with flavorful, fattening butter. I could tell because of the crisp, marbled outside and the almost-gooey inside. Mmmmm. And my hot chocolate came with about 6 inches of whipped cream on top! I couldn't ask for a better Valentine's celebration. I think we've found a new tradition! 

Hey, if I declare it an annual tradition, I won't have to plan our celebration of love next year! Done.

How did you celebrate your jour d'amour?

Cue Music!

This morning I woke up to find that I had lost all my baby weight! About 9 weeks ago, right after my epidural wore off and I could feel my feet, I jumped out of my hospital bed and started doing jumping jacks down the hall. The she-power music that began after Reese Witherspoon exclaimed, "I'll show YOU how valuable Elle Woods can be!" started playing for me, and after about 45 seconds of hard work snapshots, I came out the other end a new woman, just like in the movies. My arms are toned, my bootie is tight, my stretch marks have disappeared, and the outie belly button I've always had is now an innie, worthy of appearing in a Victoria's Secret catalog!

No, not really.

Love Birds

As mentioned before, these two are affianced. I think it's funny to watch how they interact at this young age. My little guy is trying to act cool, while his lady seems to be playing hard to get. Maybe he just doesn't want to seem too stoked about being on a pink blanket.

Mama Bear

When my friend BPG came to visit us in the hospital after the punk was born, she asked me if I had experienced the "mama bear instinct." I hadn't yet had the pleasure, and honestly, I didn't really think I had it in me.

Until now.

Yesterday, I was at a humongous family party with many people in attendance that aren't related to me, but to my cousin. My family and some cousins were sitting in a little nook, avoiding all the weirdoes that we didn't know, when a stranger came over to join us. She sat right next to my brother who was holding my little guy, and out of nowhere, she just reached over and took the baby! As she held him on her lap, my man, my brother and I exchanged alarmed glances. As I mouthed, "Who is that?!?" to my dad, my cousin said, "Don't worry. We know her." But that did not placate my shock. The strange lady just acted as if she were a part of the family while cooing to my precious bundle, but I was on high alert, and my man actually had to get up and leave the room so he wouldn't reach over and clock the woman. As the little guy started to become increasingly fussy, my man came back in and said, "I'll take him from you." He stood up and took the punk as the lady looked at him with surprise. I thought, "Really, Lady? You're surprised that the baby's dad is taking him from you, a crazy person with no social boundaries?" I breathed a sigh of relief as my baby was returned to his rightful owner.

Growl.

New Thing #5

I learned how to post a video!

Organ Failure

Today I reclaimed my seat at the organ after 7 weeks of baby vacation from church. After I played the opening hymn and the sacrament hymn, I sat down in the choir seats as the deacons passed the bread and water. As my eyes were wandering, I noticed the piece of scratch paper that I had placed prominently by my hymn book to remind me of today's hymn numbers. Scribbled across the page in large writing was a phone number and the words...

BREASTFEEDING HOTLINE!

I wonder if anyone noticed...