Saturday Photo Round Up

This boy.  Oh, how I loves him.

Opinions and all.

He's not a fan of pants in hot weather.

Which means he's pretty normal.

Even if he is the world's ONLY child that doesn't like forts.

He does, however, like to nap in random soft places.

And, once again, not wear pants.

And I am huge at 29 weeks pregnant!

An Unsolicited Review: Addycase

I have this toddler.  This toddler who is an ipad hog.  And this toddler LOVES to get into the istore and try to install things at random.  Kids really do have magic little fingers that can do things on electronic devices in a split second and you have no idea how they did it!  He installed a skee ball game.  At least it's a fun game and it was free.

I've been looking for an ipad case designed to make the ipad more kid friendly.  Something that helped protect it from drops and slams, blocked access to the home button, and wasn't hideous.  After a few searches I found the Addycase!  The ONLY case I found that did all of the above without being military grade protection.  All the kid covers, with the exception of the Addycase, didn't even cover the home button.  Seriously?  That home button is the gateway to all things i-related that you don't want tiny fingers getting at.  What are they thinking when they design these things?

So yeah.  I bought one and have been using it for about 2 weeks at this point.  It's pretty ideal.  The soft rubbery cover has a handle to make holding and carrying it around easier for toddler hands.  It has ports in the case to allow you to use the camera (front and back), use the mute button, and plug it in to charge.  And even though the case does cover the home button, on/off button, and volume controls you can still access them with your adult fingers and a little pressure!  Plus there's no way he could get the cover off.  Not like the cover on my phone which he can remove in 1.3 seconds flat.

Sam has dropped the ipad at least 3 times, thrown in once, and spent probably too many hours playing the couple of apps I went ahead and purchased for him these past 2 weeks.  Nothing broken/cracked/etc.  Like I said, pretty much ideal in design.

Now if only the designers of apps would stop putting buttons in the kid games that lead you DIRECTLY to the istore!  And I'm not talking about just free apps.  Apps that I have paid for have tricksy little buttons attractive to tiny eyes.  But eh, at least the case solves half the problem!

Midsummer, Must Destroy Daddy!

Midsummer's Eve was Saturday!  Of all the odd feast meals the boys have each year this is the one I look forward to the most.  Usually there is dancing under strings of lights hung from the trees in Matt's parents back yard.  A fertility ceremony involving a fire barrel, torches, and flowers.  The possibility (or as Caitlin says the eventual) of an explosion/someone catching on fire/man related accident of epic proportions.  Good times!

However, this year tragedy struck when Matt's grandmother passed away on Thursday.  His only remaining grandparent was lost and his mother was understandably stressed and grieving.  Especially seeing as grandma was currently living at Matt's parents house.  All of this lead to us volunteering our house to be used for the feast meal since it was too late to postpone.  So this year there was no dancing under lights, dangerous fires, or fertility ceremonies.  There's always next year.

Instead there was LOTS of cake!

And then this morning (in between party clean up attempts) Sam and Morgan had a good 'ol fashioned tickle and face smash session.  Some things are too cute not to share.

Then Sam tried to run to me and Morgan pantsed him.

And he was very confused by it.

And Daddy had to help get them drawers back up.

Limos with Laughs

Yesterday was one of the best days ever.  I don't know that I've ever had so much fun with a group that I only knew a few people in.  Two of my close friends, Erin & Niki, have their birthdays within a week of each other.  Not to mention the like 7 other people we know born in March. What this usually means is the entire month of March is a big party.  What it meant for yesterday was a white limo, 10 ladies, Ray Ray the limo driver, munching cheeses and popping bottles on the move, and 6 hours of winery hopping.  So. Much. Fun!

Huge wine making thingies!

Drink this, taste that, drink again to note the change in flavor.  Repeat.

Fat cat from the one sketchy winery we visited.

Linganore Skipjack and her cousin laying across her lap.

By the end of the day we had gone to four wineries, stopped at one McDonald's for drunk food, and managed to load that limo trunk with bottles of wine.  This is something I want to do again!

Little of This, Little of That

Lets play a quick round of photo catch up.  Cause I likes it.

Nobody puts baby in the corner.  Except baby.

I'm loving this toy organizer.  He's loving the access to his books.

I'm also lovin this DVD steal.  Ho-tep in a tiny Elvis jacket!

He's lovin the stuffin out of this $3 bunny I picked up at the grocery store.

Inseparable.

He's getting more sneaky in his pursuit of the trash can.

Butt Paste!  Shark Towel!  Red Crawler Knees!  Woot!

That is all.  Thank you.

I Need One of Those Drinks With a Tiny Umbrella

You know you don't get out much or get much R&R time when little things start adding up and ruining your every day existence.  Things that really shouldn't matter.  Things that make you consider murdering your husband, throwing the cats outside (as if), and burning your entire wardrobe.

Don't understand?  Lets see if this helps, if you're even still reading.

The following are things that pushed me to fits of shaking my pudgy fists at the sky and almost calling my husband at work to "properly express myself".  In reality very few of these couldn't be resolved with a simple 5 minute chore or a few deep breaths.

1.  While playing on the floor with Sam I keep finding toe nail clippings on the carpet.
2.  The ashtray was not put out the last time we had friends over and so our deck/yard has stray cigarette butts scattered about.
3.  I keep finding dirty socks tucked in between and underneath things because my husband is an animal.
4.  Is it really so hard to shut a kitchen drawer or a cabinet door once you have gotten what you needed?
5.  Does Weena have to pull down towels/coats/clothes from hampers to make nests?
6.  The high chair is not a good place to stack your folded laundry.  Upstairs is.
7.  Pick a designated place to put your shoes when you take them off.  Preferably not in my walking path.  Especially since I'm usually carrying a baby which even further limits my visibility.
8.  Belt buckles hurt when you step on them.
9.  Cufflinks ".
10.  Do I have to use a label maker to mark which one is my toothbrush?
11.  When having family time can I please walk away to use the bathroom without a panicked "What are you doing?  Where are you going?  You're coming back, right?"
12.  Watching the kid doesn't mean completely ignoring him while playing video games.  It also doesn't mean making a bed on the floor next to where he once was and falling asleep.
13.  If one has gross feet, one does not put said feet on couch/near my face/near baby's face.
14.  Is it normal for a baby to crap 5 times a day?  LORD.
15.  I might as well talk to myself even when hubby is home, cause he isn't listening.  Sometimes he doesn't even bother to smile and nod anymore.

I intended for that to be a short list.  I just couldn't stop myself.  And really, is any of that rage worthy?  Not really.  It's just annoying.  Proof that mommy needs a rub down, swaddle, and private nap in a dark & sound proof room.  A fruity, yet powerful, drink with a tiny umbrella would also help.

Wednesday of the No Words

Feel free to add your own captions.

Scissor Skills

Yeah, it's December and everywhere you look you see Pinterest, Facebook, and Blogs sharing the most adorable crafts you have ever seen.  And all of the little pretties are linked back to "easy" tutorials on how to make those things.  So I tried a few of my favorites, with mixed results.

First I tried this simple owl design which was indeed easy.  That still doesn't mean it looks right.  I'll try this one again and maybe #2 will look more owl-like.

Morgan named this one Pellet.

Next I tried a felt owl ornament, and where as this one involved much more work, it was still pretty easy.  But it's also not very pretty.  Every time I look at it I think about the retarded turkey from South Park.  

Gobbles

But it's all good.  Sam likes them both.  So instead of cherished crafts they will be tossable play things.  Also, the crafting story doesn't end here.  They just finished remodeling the fabric store I go to.  Which means I had to search out the items on my list.  Which means I stumbled upon other projects.  Which means I spent too much money.

For many months I've been thinking about making a shadow box with Sam's hospital newborn photo and a handful of things from when he was a tiny infant.  I stumbled upon everything I needed.

Hospital bracelets and his favorite binky.

I'm very happy with how the shadow box turned out.  I still have no idea where I'm going to hang it. Especially since Morgan said it would be weird to put on the first floor where company could see it.  But come on!  Look at that swollen "I was squeezed out of my Momma" face!  I lurves it!

And last, I finally put my scissors to good use and gave the boy a haircut.  I've given him a little snip here and there to get hair out of his eyes or get rid of the rat tail he was born with.  But this time I trimmed him up proper and hopefully he's not nearly as shaggy looking.  Little imp.

Who I Used To Be

My bestie posted this on Facebook.  This is a photo of us at the Renn Fest from 10 years ago.  It made me a little sad.  10 years ago I was 22, thin, and had not yet started dating my husband.  I was living in a craphole of an apartment by myself and living from paycheck to paycheck.  I was also incredibly happy.

Maybe because I have too much time on my hands, or perhaps because I spend most of my day with someone who I can't really have a conversation with, I've been thinking about the good ol' days a lot.  Wednesday night at the bar with my girls, playing pool while avoiding the can lights that made your shirt see through, and my ex-boys.  You know, that magical time in your life when sex was still fun.  

Don't get me wrong, I like my life now!  I've got this great kid, nice house, hilarious husband, etc.  But I do miss the old me.  Anything was possible.  I would go on road trips on a whim.  Driving a few hours to visit friends was nothing.  Other than my job, I had zero commitments.  I lived for the weekends and there was ALWAYS something happening EVERY weekend.  Perhaps most of all I miss that slender waist.  Damn, I miss being thin.  

But I apparently don't miss it enough to use that elliptical upstairs.  Yup, Queen Lazy.

It's Over: Indecision 2012

Yesterday the hubby, baby, and I loaded up into the car and went to vote.  Fastest and most efficient voting location I have ever used.  Ever!  We were in and out in 10 minutes tops.  This I was very thankful for as I had forgotten to pack a bottle for Pud and it was creeping up on his next meal.  

I'm not going to wax endlessly on how I'm glad about the various outcomes of the election.  I'm not going to yell and spit about any shady behavior I saw or heard about involving the election.  Instead I'm just going to say how happy I am that it's finally over.

Over the past 3 months I have had so much political bull crap shoved at me from every imaginable angle that I was ready to pull my hair out.  It was making me hate my own political party and hate those who supported even the causes that I agree with.  That's how apathy comes to be the general reaction from the masses.  And with apathy no one wins.

I'm proud to be an American.  I am thankful of my right to vote.  I despise the political animal.  

Bon Voyage and Such

Oh, the things that have been happening.  Given, it's all been happening at a nice slow pace that I am spoiled with knowing it's November and at any other November in the past 8-10 years I would have been training seasonal hires and prepping for holiday staff meetings.  Hmmm.  Give me a moment while I read that last sentence 20 times and really let it sink in.  Life is good.

1.  Just as Sam's PT for his Torticollis has been trucking along great and his head tilt is almost completely gone, he has started something new.  Something I'll have to talk to his case worker about on Friday.  Spasms and head shaking that I don't like one bit.  I think it's a reaction to his latest stretches we've been doing, but I want to make sure of that.

2.  My cousin and his lovely wife leave in 6 days to go live in Belgium for 3 years.  Can you imagine?  Going to live in a foreign country and what an adventure that would be?  I'm wicked jealous and forced them to give detail after mind numbing detail on the entire process of finding an apartment, preparing to move across the pond, and what they didn't expect to become an issue with this process.  I can't wait for stories to start trickling back about their new life.  Rumor has it there's a pastry shop a block away from their doorstep.  Hmmm. . .Belgium pastry shop.  And I mean, come on.  LOOK at how adorable their European apartment building is!  Three floors of living space and a rooftop patio!

3.  I spent 6 hours trapped at the mall while Sears put tires on my car.  And you know what?  I didn't even care all that much.  Normally I would have been climbing the walls and shooting daggers out my eyes at the mechanics.  But not this time.  That's how stress free my life is now.  I was like, "Oh, car's not ready yet?  Well, I think there's a Lego play table in Barnes & Noble that's calling Sam's name!  Doo dee dooo!"  Recognize!

4.  Speaking once again of the kid - he's in that phase where he's only happy on his belly.  But he's also gonna complain and cry while on his belly.  So yeah, Morgan drank an entire bottle of wine Saturday night.  I ate about 30 pieces of leftover candy.  We all find comfort in our own way.

5.  I made at least 9 quarts of Vegetable Beef Soup on Sunday.  It's so damn good.  We'll be happily eating it for an entire week.  This after I made 4 quarts of Chicken Noodle Soup the week before.  Soup is good.

6.  My friend had a baby boy on Saturday!  I look forward to being able to visit and get details.  I can barely remember what a tiny newborn looks like.

7.  Sam ripped a couple keys off the laptop that we can't get back on properly.  First expensive baby damage.  Daddy is not happy.

Ok, I'm rambling.  Laters!