http://tastykitchen.com/r…ream-poke-cake/
OMG. I think this is the cake I fell in love with in 2001 at a military get together at the General’s house. I will be making this ASAP to see if it’s what I remember!!
Charlie & Katie
Charlie really likes the changing table…and apparently doesn’t mind Katie. 🙂
10 Things I Worried About Before Giving Birth That Didn’t Matter At ALL During Labor
http://blogs.babble.com/b…l-during-labor/
Hilarious blog post that anyone who has given birth will surely appreciate. Click through the link for the whole story, but here are a few of my favorites (even though I personally wasn’t worried about them):
My water breaking
I was utterly frozen with fear that my water would break at the most embarrassing possible moment. Like, in the middle of a business meeting, in the checkout line at the supermarket, while having sex with my husband (although, of course, who’s really having sex during the time in which they think they might be eligible for their water to break?).As it turns out, when I was pregnant with my older daughter, my water broke at 2 in the morning when I was dead asleep and it took me four hours, three books, two calls to my obstetrician and, ultimately, a test in the hospital to determine that, yes, in fact, my water had broken and I hadn’t just peed the bed.
In retrospect, given that only something like 13 percent of pregnant women actually have their water break, it was a pretty silly thing about which to worry.
What to wear
What to wear? What to wear? This isn’t the prom, people. The jig is up. I’m giving birth for chrissakes. What I’m wearing is whatever the hell is going to get that baby out of me fastest and with the least amount of pain.What I’m wearing? Sheesh.
Everyone looking at me down there
I was all insecure at my vagina hanging out for so many people to see, what, with nurses and doctors and other strangers walking in and out of the hospital room.
When it came down to it, however, I was all, like, “If you staring at my vagina is going to get this thing out of me faster, then let’s make it the 8 p.m. showing at the local movie theater. Hell, let’s turn it into a freakin’ national release.”
Owen trying to take his shirt off
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jDrpNUM4GYI
We were outside on the porch waiting for Tom to come home, when Owen decided he wanted to take his shirt off. Sometimes we do this when he plays in the sprinkler, but we weren’t doing that and he didn’t want to do that…so I have no idea why he wanted it off. So, I wasn’t going to take it off—but I told him that if HE could take it off, then it could come off. So he tried. And tried. Then asked for help. Then got more interested in watching himself (as usual) than trying to get the shirt off. Then got distracted by the spiderweb…
Cutie!
Even the mighty Thor needs a snack.
Yes, he asked to wear the costume already this morning. And of course he’s watching his favorite Avengers movie. 🙂
He’s waving at me!
So I’m in the office this morning writing blog posts while Owen is in his room and Katie is sleeping. Owen comes in to check on me, notices the baby video monitor by me, and says “Hey! That’s my room!” Yep, it was. Smart kid. 🙂 (Katie’s monitor is on the entertainment center in the living room.)
Then, he was looking at the computer screen and sees all the smiley face icons (that I have to choose from while posting) and he sees this one :wave: and says “He’s waving. He’s waving at me!”
Then he comes in and says “Costume please? Hammer, too?”
I love that kid.
Most frustrating part of my day…
Putting Katie to bed at night is probably the most frustrating part of my day. She’ll be dead asleep so we put her down and then (most of the time) it’s an hour or more of ruckus and trips into her room before she actually calms down and falls asleep. Tonight this process started at 9…and I was still going at 10:48.
For those interested, it went kinda like this:
- 8:30—Dead asleep napping on us, but we need to try and feed her before she goes down for good.
- 8:40—Wake her up enough to eat but she only eats 2oz.
- 9:00—Dead asleep, won’t burp. Lay down #1. Quiet.
- 9:15—Crying! Get a burp, she’s out. Lay down #2. Quiet.
- 9:30—Crying! Eats 3oz, burps, she’s out. Lay down #3. Quiet.
- Tom falls asleep.
- 9:45—Crying! Diaper change, cuddles/burping, and she’s OUT. Lay down #4.
- 10:00—Screaming hungry bloody murder! But she only eats 1oz and falls dead asleep, won’t burp. Lay down #5. Quiet.
- 10:20—Crying! Wide awake! Eats 1oz, lots of attempting to burp but nothing. Finally falls dead asleep about 10:45. Lay down #6…
At which point I wasn’t sure if she’d be up again or not, but luckily that was it. FINALLY. It’s such a good thing she sleeps all night (most of the time)…
Katie naps, faceplant style
Avengers assemble!
Owen really likes the Avengers. It started with Iron Man and has grown into the whole crew, thanks to a kid’s movie on Netflix (Next Avengers: Heroes of Tomorrow
So when we were thinking about potential Halloween costumes, someone mentioned they had Avenger costumes at Costco…so on our recent trip, we got one. We wanted Captain America or Iron Man, but of course they didn’t have either one of those. So we got Thor…which he’s completely enamored with because he LOVES the hammer.
The hammer was played with as soon as we got home, and the costume sat there for a day before he had to wear it (which was fine because we also wanted him to try it on—it’s a size 7-8 but they run small so we wanted to make sure it fit). Luckily he loves it and wants to wear it all the time, but we limit the time so it will hopefully last until Halloween!
This is him saying “Avengers assemble!” (from the movie) and making the arm motion!
Toddler Plus Diapers
So in researching diapers for Owen in case he gets any bigger and the size 6s no longer fit, I ran across a site that I thought would be the answer: Dignity With Diapers that sell “Toddler Plus” sizes. Except what the hell? The sizes listed are 28-42# and then 65-85#. Of course, Owen is right in the middle at about 52#. And the regular diapers we currently use are listed as 35+ so I’m not sure how 28-42# would be any better. Ugh.
He HAS GOT to get potty trained. :**:
Helpful tip of the day
If you’re giving your toddler a bubble bath in your jetted tub and plan to turn the jets on, make sure the water (and not just the bubbles) is above the jet line.
Now excuse me while I wipe down the walls and change my clothes.
Target practice almost worked
Tonight, Tom asked Owen if he wanted to try target practice in the potty, and Owen was immediately excited. So of course we BOTH got excited, since this was really the first interest he’s shown in trying to use the potty. So we threw in some Cheerios, Tom showed him how to do it, flushed, let Owen throw in his own Cheerios…and then he just stood there. Nothing. We left the Cheerios in there and let Owen go bottomless, telling him to tell us when he had to pee and we’d go in there.
Well, it didn’t work, but there was a tiny bit of progress. I was downstairs while Tom had the eagle eye on him, and apparently at one point, Owen reached down and grabbed himself, Tom asked if he had to pee, Owen said yes and they tried to get to the potty, but Owen peed (well, dribbled) in the bedroom. But at least he knew the feeling.
So it looks like one of these weekends, we’re going to just bite the bullet, leave him naked all day, and keep trying to get him into the bathroom.
Happy 11th Anniversary
Eleven years. Wow. It just kinda sneaks up on you every year (and even moreso this year since we’ve been a little busy with Katie).
We didn’t even try to get a sitter to do anything this year, though I’m sure our friends would have obliged. Instead, we made a family trip to Wilmington to go to Costco…and have our traditional Chinese meal (we did lunch instead of dinner, though).
Katie was a complete gem, sleeping the entire hour ride down, our entire hour in Costco, and about 75% of our lunch…then took a bottle and slept the entire way home. Of course, Owen was just as awesome, sitting in the cart with stuff piled all around him, not even noticing really because he was having fun with daddy’s phone. 🙂
We had a slight brush with fame at Costco…we saw Keith from Top Chef Texas fame (we’ve eaten at his restaurant, Catch, before). That’s as close to famous as I’m likely to get living here. And he said hi to me in passing, likely because I was staring at him. 🙂
Our lunch was really, really good. I picked a place off Yelp pretty much at random…just going by reviews and proximity to Costco…and we couldn’t have been more thrilled. Everything on the menu at Double Happiness was tempting, but I ended up with the Dry Wok Chicken and Tom got the Coconut Shrimp with Candied Walnut (and we got a Double Steamer dim sum basket). And surprisingly good Hot & Sour soup—as close to mine as we’ve ever had. We definitely want to go back there to try more of the menu!
All in all we had a really good day. How can we not when we have such a great little family?! 😀 (The only downside is that I forgot to take a picture of us to celebrate the day!)
Little girls
Triple batch!
I have basil coming out of my ears, so I’m making pesto like a madwoman. (If you come to visit, you might get some sent home with you out of the freezer!) This was the triple batch I made today…soooo pretty!
And I don’t even use a recipe anymore. I just toss in some garlic. Roast some pecans and toss some in. Fill the food processor with basil. Add salt and pepper and olive oil. Voilá! Since I’m freezing it, I don’t add the parmesan until it comes out and I’m ready to serve it.
Bribery!
Sometimes it takes a bit of bribery to get a cute picture. I promised him an ice cream sandwich if he sat nice with Katie… 🙂
Just Katie
Surprise Shopping Success
OMG OMG OMG!!
So I was shopping at Ross the other day and just happened to pull out a shirt on clearance that I liked. I tried it on and it fit perfectly so I bought it even though I didn’t need it. I come home and just now looked at the tag and it is the exact brand of my favorite shirt in the world that I can apparently not find online anywhere but can find at Ross and Marshall’s every five years. It’s long-sleeved as opposed to my favorite short-sleeved one but I’m still thrilled. THRILLED.
Leashes as guns
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bQKBRJdWyGw
Owen discovered Maggie’s leashes today…and, well…they apparently look like guns. 🙂
Happy birthday, Gramma Jean
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E4xkYEQT7jQ
I love the ending…I was whispering for him to say Happy Birthday again…but he says CAKE! 🙂
No, Charlie!
As Charlie walked across the map: “No Charlie, that’s for my cars!”
As she walked off: “Thank you!”
Baby B and Papa B
They each have their own B. 🙂
Gray. Gray? Gray?!?!
I just saw gray baby poop. Gray. That’s a first.
Facebook Status Updates
- There’s nothing quite as disheartening as losing weight, going to buy new pants, and NOTHING fits—even in your old bigger size. WTF?!
- I’m ready to call it quits already today. Everything is driving me insane and I want to scream. It’s a good thing these days are rare…
- I just watched Brokeback Mountain. Welcome to 2005.
- I finally finished a book at Shutterfly only to realize upon final edit that I had two empty pages in the middle. #firstworldproblems
- One thing I miss about Michigan? Not being able to easily get my favorite Traverse City wines.
- How long would 25# of rice last in your house? Our last bag was about three years. Recipes, anyone? #samsclub
- Oh my gawd. 21 Jump Street was freakin hilarious.
- It wouldn’t be a normal night at our house if we didn’t have to go in and get Katie at least four times after we put her to bed. I don’t know HOW she can store burps like she does…
- I never imagined the most productive hours of my day would be from 6:30–9:30am.
- Where do all the pacifiers disappear to?! We started with four and are down to two. In two weeks.
Owen likes taking pictures!
Left to his own devices, you never know what Owen will get into. He recently found my little point-and-shoot camera, figured out how to turn it on, and was snapping pictures like crazy. Here’s the best of the assortment.
And I finally got him his own camera app on my phone so that I don’t get hundreds of pictures in my own photo album. Here’s the best of that bunch.
Cars on our cat
Owen was playing with these Cars cars when his buddy Charlie came up and laid down next to us. I took the opportunity to stack the cars on her and she actually let me! Of course, I was stacking with one hand and had the camera in the other to make sure I got the photo op! Owen was having a blast handing me the cars and watching me. Unbelievably, he knocked them all off before she got fed up and left!
Kinda maybe a first smile…or smirk?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2nVkqsRODJE
Or maybe it’s so subtle only a mom can see it? :b
Where’d all the pink go?
Owen, looking at my badly-chipping toenail polish: “Mama, where’d all the pink go?”
Most challenging day-with-a-newborn yet.
I really wish I knew what made babies spit up. We just switched to a new formula, and it seems that she’s spitting up more. But it’s not all the time after every bottle which makes me think it can’t be the formula. (For example, at her 4 AM feeding she drank 5 ounces, didn’t burp, and went to sleep no problem. The bottle I’m giving her now, she drank an ounce and spit up. She drank two more ounces and spit up again. Same formula.) Sooo frustrating.
That said, I think today is my most challenging day-with-a-newborn day thus far. And I know it’s nothing even bad or rant-worthy because it could be soooooo much worse… But all morning it’s been eat, spit up, eat, nap for 5 min, screech, spit up, spit up, eat, spit up, 10m nap, screech, eat, spit up, lather rinse, repeat since 7a.
I think it’s just feeling worse because I got so little sleep last night (the least amount of overnight sleep I’ve gotten since she’s been home)—she didn’t fall asleep until after 11, was up at 3:30, and I didn’t fall back to sleep until around 5:30 (the last time I looked at the clock it was 5:20), then she was up screaming to eat at 7:15.
Man, I did/do NOT miss this. She’s been spoiling us (me) for sure…