Our Impossible Adoption Story
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30 New Things Round-Up
My strategy for surviving winter this year – without succumbing to the melancholy of that viscous grayness that clings to everything – is 30 New Things.
The original idea is here, but it’s basically this: I’ve established a challenge for myself in order to strategically avoid winter. It’s potentially brilliant. The challenge?
I want to eat 30 new foods, visit 30 new places, and make 30 new things.
And November is generally considered autumn, but I included it because it started out fairly bleak, and it turns out I was right. It’s snowed several times already. The nasty white stuff is clinging to the sidewalks as I type.
In the same spirit, my challenge is turning out to be more difficult than I thought. Four down, 96 to go, but I’m inspired and I’m learning.
Turns out Al’s Cafe in downtown Elgin is not really a cafe, but they do have amazing malts.
I also learned how – and why – to adjust the tension on my sewing machine, and I have a better idea for my next attempt at a bunting.
The Fiesta Nacho Pizza from My Pizza Heaven would be famous if this were a college town. Yes, it’s topped with fresh lettuce, Nacho Cheese Doritos and buffalo sauce. I wish I could say Husband and I didn’t eat it all in one night, but Santa is coming soon.
Also, Mexican snacks always catch me by surprise. In a delicious way.
And as though I wasn’t already feeling like I need to pick up the pace a bit, Raynna is kicking my butt. These are a few of my favorites:
She also had to go and point out that 30 new things in three categories is pretty much one new thing per day.
But I’m down for it. I need it. This winter is going to be an exciting time.
You in? If you haven’t started yet, you’re just in time. Use #30NewThings on your social networks to play along. We want to see what you’re up to, share inspiration, and cheer each other on through the bleak (post-Christmas, especially) winter! If you’re blogging it, leave us a link in the Comments!
Thanksgiving Eve
So tomorrow is Thanksgiving. It’s like the opening games of The Holiday Season, especially on the side of my family that celebrates all three grandsons’ birthdays (plus one great-grandson, now) in December.
It’s an exciting time.
Short work weeks. Big meals. Family gatherings. Gifts and cards. Cakes and cookies. Lights, decor, parties and cheer all around.
It all kicks off tomorrow morning when we wake up and don’t go to work, and honestly,
I’m nervous.
My dad’s family is moving their celebration to Tennessee, for the first time ever. My mom’s side of the family is waiting to get everyone together this weekend, and we’ll be joining them – a mere four hour drive. Husband’s family is waiting an extra week in expectation that his step-dad will be home from the hospital.
That leaves tomorrow to our little family, at my mom’s house, with my brother (and hopefully his sweet girlfriend). Quiet. Intimate. Small. Simple.
And I love that.
But I’m nervous. Read more…
11 Month Outtakes
How did this happen?
He’s enormous. He’s a toddler.
He has opinions. He tries to throw temper tantrums. He unrolls the toilet paper. He’s getting molars.
And now I’m starting to think about a birthday party. Babies don’t have birthdays. Something’s not right.
I have to say, as far as knee-high people go, I think I got a pretty good one. He likes to sweep the floors. He likes to snuggle when he wakes up from a nap. He gives great kisses, and he has a hilarious sense of humor. Great taste in literature, sick dance moves, and he’s pretty awesome at hide-and-go-seek (the seeking part at least, he kind of sucks at hiding).
So far, he’s my favorite.
I Am The Greatest Mommy Ever
My toddler has a small patch of carpet burn on his forehead.
Because, look, I tell him not to try to escape diaper changes. I calmly explain that unless he’s ready to potty-train, diaper changes are it for a while. I try to help him understand that it will actually go faster if he cooperates. But he squirmed on the office floor the other day, trying to kick off his skinny jeans, and it’s just impossible to kick off skinny jeans while you’re wearing shoes. So when he made a run for it, his denim shackles brought him down.
Last night, he fell asleep in a button-up shirt and jeans.
Because while I really enjoy our little bedtime routine, he is not as impressed with it as I was led to believe he would be. These past two evenings have not been the first that he passed out before bedtime, and maybe I should have risked rousing him to get a nighttime diaper and some pajamas on him, but I didn’t. I have work to do, and that extra hour is gold.
Yesterday was the first time he ate a measurable about of solid food in a month.
Because for some reason, his “totally normal ten-month food strike” is lasting longer than … normal. Whatever “normal” means. He was doing great. Loved anything and everything I put in front of him for four whole months – even if he did make hilarious faces. Now? It doesn’t matter if it’s mashed, cubed, sliced or whole – he’s generally not interested.
So ya, it’s quite possible that I’m completely failing at this whole Mommy thing.
Our nurse practitioner told me to start brushing his teeth at his nine month check-up, and I’m still not sure if I should be using (all-natural) toothpaste or not. Read more…
3 Ways Toddlers Are Like Terrorists
Some of you are smiling already. You know it’s true.
1 – They create sleeper cells.
The move in quietly.
Okay, “quietly” is a poor choice of word.
They move in casually. Like nothing’s going on. Like it’s no big deal. They pretend everything’s cool – just here to hang out, be one of you guys, join the PTA. All friendly. All like, “Ya, we’re gonna have so much fun together.”
‘Cause hindsight is not always 20-20. You see all those neighbors and classmates on the news, and what do they say?
He seemed like such a nice, normal guy. A little quiet maybe, but not dangerous. I talked to him in class now and then, and he was always nice. We carpooled sometimes, and I just never would have thought …
Sound familiar?
He’s so small and cute. I mean, he poops in his own pants, sure, but he never seemed dangerous. He mostly just cooed and stared, and even when he yelled it wasn’t that bad. I might have encouraged the crawling, and then the walking, but I never would have thought …
They move in all stealthy-like.
2 – They tend to over-react
They don’t like the government, the system, their neighbor’s religion, a political system half-way across the world and suddenly things are exploding. And I don’t mean diapers. Read more…
Spits and Wiggles 