When jake woke up an hour early this morning, I found out that what I thought was a diaper rash......isn’t. It’s a full blown rash. Now it’s all down his legs.
Since he’s got three teeth pushing through, he’s been crazy clingy and it’s been exhausting so we went out to play before we had to leave for story time. It was great fun until jake started playing with his ball and fell on the concrete while trying to go after it. Not only is his chin scraped up, but his poor bottom tooth that is (was) trying to push through was bleeding. Guess it’s through now.
After story time and lunch, it was time to get ready for a nap. jake and I did our regular routine. I nurse him. He starts playing. I announce that if he wants to play he has to play by himself. I leave the room, he poops, and then calls me back into the room. Well, this time he pooped and it got all over his bed and rash riddled legs. That calls for some bath time fun. Hmmm…but, the pilot light is out so there’s no hot water. Nothing like a cold bath to get a kid ready to take a nap.
After getting jake and the bed clean, he was still playing. So, I announced if he wants to play he has to play by himself. Ten minutes later, I go back to his room to find every toy he has in his room laying over the floor. It was a holding deck, really, because 25% of them had already been thrown out of his room and into the hallway. I walk up to the doorway, he sees me, and starts laughing hysterically.
He finally fell asleep 45 minutes after normal naptime. The toys are still in the hallway and will stay there until someone else picks them up.
p.s. I have some great pics from this morning. He had fun with this car and at storytime. I'm way too tired for all that right now.
Friday, August 28, 2009
Tuesday, August 25, 2009
Hangin' In There
Things are going ok around here. It seems that there is always something that needs to get done yet we never really feel like doing it.
Trev is still focused on the basement. It's tough for him to get the energy, though. He pretty much grabs jake from me when he gets home so that I get a break which, unfortunately, doesn't leave much of a break for him :) or :( ...depending on which side of the coin you're on for that one. :)
I'm trying to wean jake. It's hard. One minute I feel like I can't do it at all anymore the next I feel like I'm losing my baby. I wish he'd just decide for himself that he doesn't want to nurse anymore. That's so not happening. He's all about it. I'm still holding out hope, though. I think it would be easier for me if he was just ready. It sucks because the boob solves everything. If he's crying or hurt or just cranky, it doesn't matter once you start nursing. The whole world is better again. It's hard to stop that huge convenience. We're getting there, slowly but surely. I will say that I never thought I would still be nursing a 15 month old. I know all my friends that don't have kids are probably thinking that I should be done by now. As my friend Tina once said, motherhood is nothing what you think it is. You think you know how you're going to feel but, you totally don't. I always hated her for saying that but, she's right.
Ironically, I haven't had the camera with me during the day all too much lately. I'm going to try and make a pointed effort to bring it with me everywhere....or most places. I need the practice. So here's the last of the cell phone pictures for a while...
While we were visiting grammy and gramps, jake got his first ride in a bicycle cart. I don't think he was too keen on it. The look on Ryder's face is hilarious. He's like, "get me away from this kid."
Trev is still focused on the basement. It's tough for him to get the energy, though. He pretty much grabs jake from me when he gets home so that I get a break which, unfortunately, doesn't leave much of a break for him :) or :( ...depending on which side of the coin you're on for that one. :)
I'm trying to wean jake. It's hard. One minute I feel like I can't do it at all anymore the next I feel like I'm losing my baby. I wish he'd just decide for himself that he doesn't want to nurse anymore. That's so not happening. He's all about it. I'm still holding out hope, though. I think it would be easier for me if he was just ready. It sucks because the boob solves everything. If he's crying or hurt or just cranky, it doesn't matter once you start nursing. The whole world is better again. It's hard to stop that huge convenience. We're getting there, slowly but surely. I will say that I never thought I would still be nursing a 15 month old. I know all my friends that don't have kids are probably thinking that I should be done by now. As my friend Tina once said, motherhood is nothing what you think it is. You think you know how you're going to feel but, you totally don't. I always hated her for saying that but, she's right.
Ironically, I haven't had the camera with me during the day all too much lately. I'm going to try and make a pointed effort to bring it with me everywhere....or most places. I need the practice. So here's the last of the cell phone pictures for a while...
While we were visiting grammy and gramps, jake got his first ride in a bicycle cart. I don't think he was too keen on it. The look on Ryder's face is hilarious. He's like, "get me away from this kid."
jake has this obsession with watching people mow the lawn. I have no idea why. He really has an obsession with anything with wheels. He loves trucks. He's recently started noticing the planes in the sky, too. Anyway, grammy bought him his first mower so that he can practice. Little does he know how much he's going to hate mowing the lawn when he's a teenager.
We've moved on from the crib and have been in a big boy bed for a while now. It makes trips a little trickier since jake does not want to be in the pack n play. We did a test run of a blow up toddler bed. It worked out ok but, I think jake is used to his big full size bed because he rolled right off a couple of times. The last time was enough to tick him off. I think we're going to try a full size blow up bed next.
jakes new favorite toy is this box. He loves to get in it and have you push him around the house like it's a car. It's freakin' exhausting to do on the carpet, though. Trev and I have to take turns. Sad, isn't it?
Friday, August 21, 2009
Is that Ringo?
I am beyond lucky to have Trevor's parents in my life. They are beyond supportive and understanding. From motherhood to tdsnapshots, they have given me great advice and have respected my thoughts and opinions. What do you give someone that has been the best pops ever? Well, really you can't give him anything that could possibly be good enough so....well...you go for embarassment.
Yes, this is gramps and not Ringo.
Yes, this is gramps and not Ringo.
As Brian says, it takes a lot of time and dedication for chops like these.
awwww....
Best dad ever... (p.s. Trevor is giving him a run for his money. Learned from the best, I suppose)
Happy 60th, Colin!!!!!
Thursday, August 20, 2009
Random thoughts from people our age...
My friend Shannon sent this to me today. I had to share because it is hilarious.
-I wish Google Maps had an "Avoid Ghetto" routing option.
-More often than not, when someone is telling me a story all I can think about is that I can't wait for them to finish so that I can tell my own story that's not only better, but also more directly involves me.
-Nothing sucks more than that moment during an argument when you realize you're wrong.
-I don't understand the purpose of the line, "I don't need to drink to have fun." Great, no one does. But why start a fire with flint and sticks when they've invented the lighter?
-Have you ever been walking down the street and realized that you're going in the complete opposite direction of where you are supposed to be going? But instead of just turning a 180 and walking back in the direction from which you came, you have to first do something like check your watch or phone or make a grand arm gesture and mutter to yourself to ensure that no one in the surrounding area thinks you're crazy by randomly switching directions on the sidewalk.
-That's enough, Nickelback.
-I totally take back all those times I didn't want to nap when I was younger.
-Is it just me, or are 80% of the people in the "people you may know"
feature on Facebook people that I do know, but I deliberately choose not to be friends with?
-Do you remember when you were a kid, playing Nintendo and it wouldn't work? You take the cartridge out, blow in it and that would magically fix the problem. Every kid in America did that, but how did we all know how to fix the problem? There was no internet or message boards or FAQ's. We just figured it out. Today's kids are soft.
-There is a great need for sarcasm font.
-Sometimes, I'll watch a movie that I watched when I was younger and suddenly realize I had no idea what the f was going on when I first saw it.
-I think everyone has a movie that they love so much, it actually becomes stressful to watch it with other people. I'll end up wasting 90 minutes shiftily glancing around to confirm that everyone's laughing at the right parts, then making sure I laugh just a little bit harder (and a millisecond earlier) to prove that I'm still the only one who really, really gets it.
-How the hell are you supposed to fold a fitted sheet?
-I would rather try to carry 10 plastic grocery bags in each hand than take 2 trips to bring my groceries in.
- I think part of a best friend's job should be to immediately clear your computer history if you die.
-The only time I look forward to a red light is when I'm trying to finish a text.
- A recent study has shown that playing beer pong contributes to the spread of mono and the flu. Yeah, if you suck at it.
- Was learning cursive really necessary?
- Lol has gone from meaning, "laugh out loud" to "I have nothing else to say".
- I have a hard time deciphering the fine line between boredom and hunger.
- Answering the same letter three times or more in a row on a Scantron test is absolutely petrifying.
- My brother's Municipal League baseball team is named the Stepdads.
Seeing as none of the guys on the team are actual stepdads, I inquired about the name. He explained, "Cuz we beat you, and you hate us."
Classy, bro.
- Whenever someone says "I'm not book smart, but I'm street smart", all I hear is "I'm not real smart, but I'm imaginary smart".
- How many times is it appropriate to say "What?" before you just nod and smile because you still didn't hear what they said?
- I love the sense of camaraderie when an entire line of cars teams up to prevent a dick from cutting in at the front. Stay strong, brothers!
- Every time I have to spell a word over the phone using 'as in'
examples, I will undoubtedly draw a blank and sound like a complete idiot. Today I had to spell my boss's last name to an attorney and said "Yes that's G as in...(10 second lapse)..ummm...Goonies"
-What would happen if I hired two private investigators to follow each other?
- While driving yesterday I saw a banana peel in the road and instinctively swerved to avoid it...thanks Mario Kart.
- MapQuest really needs to start their directions on #5. Pretty sure I know how to get out of my neighborhood.
- Obituaries would be a lot more interesting if they told you how the person died.
- I find it hard to believe there are actually people who get in the shower first and THEN turn on the water.
-Shirts get dirty. Underwear gets dirty. Pants? Pants never get dirty, and you can wear them forever.
- I would like to officially coin the phrase 'catching the swine flu'
to be used as a way to make fun of a friend for hooking up with an overweight woman. Example: "Dave caught the swine flu last night."
-I can't remember the last time I wasn't at least kind of tired.
- Bad decisions make good stories
-Whenever I'm Facebook stalking someone and I find out that their profile is public I feel like a kid on Christmas morning who just got the Red Ryder BB gun that I always wanted. 546 pictures? Don't mind if I do!
- Is it just me or do high school girls get sluttier & sluttier every year?
-If Carmen San Diego and Waldo ever got together, their offspring would probably just be completely invisible.
-Why is it that during an ice-breaker, when the whole room has to go around and say their name and where they are from, I get so incredibly nervous? Like I know my name, I know where I'm from, this shouldn't be a problem....
-You never know when it will strike, but there comes a moment at work when you've made up your mind that you just aren't doing anything productive for the rest of the day.
-Can we all just agree to ignore whatever comes after DVDs? I don't want to have to restart my collection.
-There's no worse feeling than that millisecond you're sure you are going to die after leaning your chair back a little too far.
-I'm always slightly terrified when I exit out of Word and it asks me if I want to save any changes to my ten page research paper that I swear I did not make any changes to.
- "Do not machine wash or tumble dry" means I will never wash this ever.
-I hate being the one with the remote in a room full of people watching TV. There's so much pressure. 'I love this show, but will they judge me if I keep it on? I bet everyone is wishing we weren't watching this. It's only a matter of time before they all get up and leave the room. Will we still be friends after this?'
-I hate when I just miss a call by the last ring (Hello? Hello?
Dammit!), but when I immediately call back, it rings nine times and goes to voicemail. What'd you do after I didn't answer? Drop the phone and run away?
- I hate leaving my house confident and looking good and then not seeing anyone of importance the entire day. What a waste.
-When I meet a new girl, I'm terrified of mentioning something she hasn't already told me but that I have learned from some light internet stalking.
-I like all of the music in my iTunes, except when it's on shuffle, then I like about one in every fifteen songs in my iTunes.
-Why is a school zone 20 mph? That seems like the optimal cruising speed for pedophiles...
- As a driver I hate pedestrians, and as a pedestrian I hate drivers, but no matter what the mode of transportation, I always hate cyclists.
-Sometimes I'll look down at my watch 3 consecutive times and still not know what time it is.
-It should probably be called Unplanned Parenthood.
-I keep some people's phone numbers in my phone just so I know not to answer when they call.
-Even if I knew your social security number, I wouldn't know what do to with it.
-Even under ideal conditions people have trouble locating their car keys in a pocket, hitting the G-spot, and Pinning the Tail on the Donkey - but I'd bet my ass everyone can find and push the Snooze button from 3 feet away, in about 1.7 seconds, eyes closed, first time every time...
-My 4-year old son asked me in the car the other day "Dad what would happen if you ran over a ninja?" How the hell do I respond to that?
-It really pisses me off when I want to read a story on CNN.com and the link takes me to a video instead of text.
-I wonder if cops ever get pissed off at the fact that everyone they drive behind obeys the speed limit.
-I think the freezer deserves a light as well.
-I disagree with Kay Jewelers. I would bet on any given Friday or Saturday night more kisses begin with Miller Lites than Kay.
-The other night I ordered takeout, and when I looked in the bag, saw they had included four sets of plastic silverware. In other words, someone at the restaurant packed my order, took a second to think about it, and then estimated that there must be at least four people eating to require such a large amount of food. Too bad I was eating by myself. There's nothing like being made to feel like a fat bastard before dinner.
-I wish Google Maps had an "Avoid Ghetto" routing option.
-More often than not, when someone is telling me a story all I can think about is that I can't wait for them to finish so that I can tell my own story that's not only better, but also more directly involves me.
-Nothing sucks more than that moment during an argument when you realize you're wrong.
-I don't understand the purpose of the line, "I don't need to drink to have fun." Great, no one does. But why start a fire with flint and sticks when they've invented the lighter?
-Have you ever been walking down the street and realized that you're going in the complete opposite direction of where you are supposed to be going? But instead of just turning a 180 and walking back in the direction from which you came, you have to first do something like check your watch or phone or make a grand arm gesture and mutter to yourself to ensure that no one in the surrounding area thinks you're crazy by randomly switching directions on the sidewalk.
-That's enough, Nickelback.
-I totally take back all those times I didn't want to nap when I was younger.
-Is it just me, or are 80% of the people in the "people you may know"
feature on Facebook people that I do know, but I deliberately choose not to be friends with?
-Do you remember when you were a kid, playing Nintendo and it wouldn't work? You take the cartridge out, blow in it and that would magically fix the problem. Every kid in America did that, but how did we all know how to fix the problem? There was no internet or message boards or FAQ's. We just figured it out. Today's kids are soft.
-There is a great need for sarcasm font.
-Sometimes, I'll watch a movie that I watched when I was younger and suddenly realize I had no idea what the f was going on when I first saw it.
-I think everyone has a movie that they love so much, it actually becomes stressful to watch it with other people. I'll end up wasting 90 minutes shiftily glancing around to confirm that everyone's laughing at the right parts, then making sure I laugh just a little bit harder (and a millisecond earlier) to prove that I'm still the only one who really, really gets it.
-How the hell are you supposed to fold a fitted sheet?
-I would rather try to carry 10 plastic grocery bags in each hand than take 2 trips to bring my groceries in.
- I think part of a best friend's job should be to immediately clear your computer history if you die.
-The only time I look forward to a red light is when I'm trying to finish a text.
- A recent study has shown that playing beer pong contributes to the spread of mono and the flu. Yeah, if you suck at it.
- Was learning cursive really necessary?
- Lol has gone from meaning, "laugh out loud" to "I have nothing else to say".
- I have a hard time deciphering the fine line between boredom and hunger.
- Answering the same letter three times or more in a row on a Scantron test is absolutely petrifying.
- My brother's Municipal League baseball team is named the Stepdads.
Seeing as none of the guys on the team are actual stepdads, I inquired about the name. He explained, "Cuz we beat you, and you hate us."
Classy, bro.
- Whenever someone says "I'm not book smart, but I'm street smart", all I hear is "I'm not real smart, but I'm imaginary smart".
- How many times is it appropriate to say "What?" before you just nod and smile because you still didn't hear what they said?
- I love the sense of camaraderie when an entire line of cars teams up to prevent a dick from cutting in at the front. Stay strong, brothers!
- Every time I have to spell a word over the phone using 'as in'
examples, I will undoubtedly draw a blank and sound like a complete idiot. Today I had to spell my boss's last name to an attorney and said "Yes that's G as in...(10 second lapse)..ummm...Goonies"
-What would happen if I hired two private investigators to follow each other?
- While driving yesterday I saw a banana peel in the road and instinctively swerved to avoid it...thanks Mario Kart.
- MapQuest really needs to start their directions on #5. Pretty sure I know how to get out of my neighborhood.
- Obituaries would be a lot more interesting if they told you how the person died.
- I find it hard to believe there are actually people who get in the shower first and THEN turn on the water.
-Shirts get dirty. Underwear gets dirty. Pants? Pants never get dirty, and you can wear them forever.
- I would like to officially coin the phrase 'catching the swine flu'
to be used as a way to make fun of a friend for hooking up with an overweight woman. Example: "Dave caught the swine flu last night."
-I can't remember the last time I wasn't at least kind of tired.
- Bad decisions make good stories
-Whenever I'm Facebook stalking someone and I find out that their profile is public I feel like a kid on Christmas morning who just got the Red Ryder BB gun that I always wanted. 546 pictures? Don't mind if I do!
- Is it just me or do high school girls get sluttier & sluttier every year?
-If Carmen San Diego and Waldo ever got together, their offspring would probably just be completely invisible.
-Why is it that during an ice-breaker, when the whole room has to go around and say their name and where they are from, I get so incredibly nervous? Like I know my name, I know where I'm from, this shouldn't be a problem....
-You never know when it will strike, but there comes a moment at work when you've made up your mind that you just aren't doing anything productive for the rest of the day.
-Can we all just agree to ignore whatever comes after DVDs? I don't want to have to restart my collection.
-There's no worse feeling than that millisecond you're sure you are going to die after leaning your chair back a little too far.
-I'm always slightly terrified when I exit out of Word and it asks me if I want to save any changes to my ten page research paper that I swear I did not make any changes to.
- "Do not machine wash or tumble dry" means I will never wash this ever.
-I hate being the one with the remote in a room full of people watching TV. There's so much pressure. 'I love this show, but will they judge me if I keep it on? I bet everyone is wishing we weren't watching this. It's only a matter of time before they all get up and leave the room. Will we still be friends after this?'
-I hate when I just miss a call by the last ring (Hello? Hello?
Dammit!), but when I immediately call back, it rings nine times and goes to voicemail. What'd you do after I didn't answer? Drop the phone and run away?
- I hate leaving my house confident and looking good and then not seeing anyone of importance the entire day. What a waste.
-When I meet a new girl, I'm terrified of mentioning something she hasn't already told me but that I have learned from some light internet stalking.
-I like all of the music in my iTunes, except when it's on shuffle, then I like about one in every fifteen songs in my iTunes.
-Why is a school zone 20 mph? That seems like the optimal cruising speed for pedophiles...
- As a driver I hate pedestrians, and as a pedestrian I hate drivers, but no matter what the mode of transportation, I always hate cyclists.
-Sometimes I'll look down at my watch 3 consecutive times and still not know what time it is.
-It should probably be called Unplanned Parenthood.
-I keep some people's phone numbers in my phone just so I know not to answer when they call.
-Even if I knew your social security number, I wouldn't know what do to with it.
-Even under ideal conditions people have trouble locating their car keys in a pocket, hitting the G-spot, and Pinning the Tail on the Donkey - but I'd bet my ass everyone can find and push the Snooze button from 3 feet away, in about 1.7 seconds, eyes closed, first time every time...
-My 4-year old son asked me in the car the other day "Dad what would happen if you ran over a ninja?" How the hell do I respond to that?
-It really pisses me off when I want to read a story on CNN.com and the link takes me to a video instead of text.
-I wonder if cops ever get pissed off at the fact that everyone they drive behind obeys the speed limit.
-I think the freezer deserves a light as well.
-I disagree with Kay Jewelers. I would bet on any given Friday or Saturday night more kisses begin with Miller Lites than Kay.
-The other night I ordered takeout, and when I looked in the bag, saw they had included four sets of plastic silverware. In other words, someone at the restaurant packed my order, took a second to think about it, and then estimated that there must be at least four people eating to require such a large amount of food. Too bad I was eating by myself. There's nothing like being made to feel like a fat bastard before dinner.
Monday, August 17, 2009
A nice ... relaxing weekend...
Trevor headed to a bachelor party this past weekend. Since I have no desire to be a single mom, if even for 48 hours, I hightailed it to grammy and gramps' house. Besides, a weekend with the grandparents is supposed to be relaxing for mom, right? Let's just say I came home on Sunday exhausted.
I tried to pack Friday morning with activity to make sure that this kid would sleep (not cry) during the drive. We walked to story/music time at 9:30 then headed off to the lollipop concert at 10:30. At about 12 we got home and ate lunch really fast. We were on the road at 12:30. jake was asleep by 12:45 :) and stayed asleep until we got of the interstate. Love it when a plan actually works.
We made it to grammy and gramps' at about 3 and relaxed for about an hour. I swear it seemed like 10 minutes, though. After a quick trip to Target, we headed to gramps' company picnic. While there, jake renewed his love for watermelon.
I tried to pack Friday morning with activity to make sure that this kid would sleep (not cry) during the drive. We walked to story/music time at 9:30 then headed off to the lollipop concert at 10:30. At about 12 we got home and ate lunch really fast. We were on the road at 12:30. jake was asleep by 12:45 :) and stayed asleep until we got of the interstate. Love it when a plan actually works.
We made it to grammy and gramps' at about 3 and relaxed for about an hour. I swear it seemed like 10 minutes, though. After a quick trip to Target, we headed to gramps' company picnic. While there, jake renewed his love for watermelon.
He fit in some time with grammy.
Some more time with gramps.
jake always makes time for water play.
Elmo made an appearance. We weren't too sure about him.
jake soon decided...
that grammy was way cooler than Elmo.
jake did take some time to stop and smell the flowers.
Saturday we ran some errands in the morning. Then in the afternoon, jake and gramps decided it was definitely time to hang out on a hill.
Most importantly, though, it was time to hang out at the pool. Grammy and gramps grabbed jake (I stayed home!) and enjoyed some pool time together.
After pool time, we all headed to the Z's for a quick drink so I could see Chad and Ryder. But, as many know, you never go to the Z's for a quick drink. You go for a party. We ended up having a pizza party while Ryder and jake amused us with fish and bike rides.
Sunday was a mad rush to see everyone that needed to be seen!
I think jake is still recovering!
Wednesday, August 12, 2009
Keepin' Busy
It seems like something new is happening every day. Some of our favorites...
While we're holding him, jake will grab your face, give you a big 3 tooth smile and follow it up with a the sweetest kiss.
He walks up to Duke, gives him a few pats and looks up at us with that big 3 tooth smile.
We are cotinually surprised that he actually understands us. I asked him to go get his water in the other room and he actually did it. Trevor asked him to get his cow puppet in the other room and he actually did it.
He loves to throw his hands up in the air and do a high step while making a sound that can only be described as he gearing up to take off.
So what have we been doing to keep busy?
Taking walks with grammy at the golf course. (sorry all the following photos were done on the camera phone)
While we're holding him, jake will grab your face, give you a big 3 tooth smile and follow it up with a the sweetest kiss.
He walks up to Duke, gives him a few pats and looks up at us with that big 3 tooth smile.
We are cotinually surprised that he actually understands us. I asked him to go get his water in the other room and he actually did it. Trevor asked him to get his cow puppet in the other room and he actually did it.
He loves to throw his hands up in the air and do a high step while making a sound that can only be described as he gearing up to take off.
So what have we been doing to keep busy?
Taking walks with grammy at the golf course. (sorry all the following photos were done on the camera phone)
You can't go to the course without practicing your golf swing. If you look closely at the bottom of the bathroom mat, you can see that he was actually trying to hit the ball with his club!
We bought a new car.
You can't buy a car without test driving it.
We made friends with the tiger.
We found a love for strawberries....
and cupcakes!
The Lake
Every year our friend Tony has a lake party. We were excited to take jake this year. We were a bit nervous about how he would handle the day but, he loved it. Being down to one nap really helped. We drove there during nap time and partied for the rest of the afternoon.
We strapped the life vest on jake.
We strapped the life vest on jake.
So that he could hop on the boat for the very first time ever!! As we pulled away from the dock, he sized up Tony.
I think he decided that he was an ok captain. At first we thought maybe he was falling asleep but, it was just the wind through his hair.
When he was facing the other direction he was smiling up a storm. I was stressed out that he was going to try and jump out the boat so didn't get any pictures of that. Tony and Trevor tried to pressure me into letting jake go on the jet ski. Ummm, no. Definitely not. Maybe next year.
Most importantly, jake took the time to prep for football season...
and practiced some corn hole in hopes that Uncle Donnie invites him to tailgate.
We had a blast!
a boy, his dog, and the backyard
I learned some new things on the camera so I decided to take Duke and jake out for some camera fun.
We have this gum ball tree in the backyard. It's a beautiful tree in the summer. Come fall it's a real pain. There are these spiky gum ball things that fall everywhere. jake found one on the deck and that started the fun.
We have this gum ball tree in the backyard. It's a beautiful tree in the summer. Come fall it's a real pain. There are these spiky gum ball things that fall everywhere. jake found one on the deck and that started the fun.
Duke tends to think that these things are little balls to chase around so he gets real interested when one is picked up.
There's hope that maybe one day they will be the best of friends.
Apparantly these little spiky gum balls are really interesting.
And in case you were wondering, jake is a true to the boyhood. He likes the dirt.
Friday, August 7, 2009
Fridays
No doubt, whether you work or not, there's nothing better than a Friday. Just the word can bring a smile to your face. For months now, our Friday routine has included meeting our friends for coffee and a little play time. Since jake has gone to one nap, we've had to search out another Friday routine. Come to find out the local coffee shop owner conducts his own story time/music time every Friday. So at 10 in the morning, I grab a musical instrument and we head out for some fun. I really enjoy the walk to the shop. I'm going to be super bummed when winter comes and we can't walk there anymore. I guess I have a few months before the tears start to come.
Today was craziness. There were a ton of kids...most with musical instruments. I don't know who gets more overwhelmed by the whole thing...me or jake.
I've been working on my own little project. I'm super nervous about it. I've been thinking about it for months and have just now gotten enough nerve to start the ball rolling. After having to beg for pictures of jake's first birthday, I was kicking myself for not taking more pictures myself. It's hard when you're trying to be a hostess and to enjoy the party (gasp!) to remember to pick up the camera. I kept thinking that it would've been wonderful to have the means to hire someone to come and photograph the party. Professionals are way to expensive for our limited budget, though.
So I've been tossing around the idea of starting my own little side business photographing parties on the cheap for people like me. I've thrown out the idea to some people and the response seems to be positive. I think I had one friend that was a little negative about it. The thought is for $50 you can have me come to your party for 2 hours and I'll present you with 75 proofs to choose 20 pictures. Once you choose, I'll send them to you on a cd (high res, of course).
Tomorrow I'm using our friend Tony's lake party as a practice run. The following weekend, I'm using gramps' company picnic as a second go around. I figure it will give me a chance to see if I can actually produce the pictures that I see in my head. To see if I'm actually good enough. I'm super nervous. I've never been known for my artistic ability. I feel like a kid on her first day of school again.
My friend Rachel emailed me the following, though. I think of it every day when I start to get really nervous and when I start to doubt myself.
First things, first. Repeat after me:
"I am a talented phtographer with a keen eye for composition, and a rare gift for capturing my subject's true essence."
There. I truly believe that statement applies to you, and you should too :)
Could I ask for a better friend?
So send me a note through email or comment. What do you think?
I leave you with even more story time chaos!
Today was craziness. There were a ton of kids...most with musical instruments. I don't know who gets more overwhelmed by the whole thing...me or jake.
I've been working on my own little project. I'm super nervous about it. I've been thinking about it for months and have just now gotten enough nerve to start the ball rolling. After having to beg for pictures of jake's first birthday, I was kicking myself for not taking more pictures myself. It's hard when you're trying to be a hostess and to enjoy the party (gasp!) to remember to pick up the camera. I kept thinking that it would've been wonderful to have the means to hire someone to come and photograph the party. Professionals are way to expensive for our limited budget, though.
So I've been tossing around the idea of starting my own little side business photographing parties on the cheap for people like me. I've thrown out the idea to some people and the response seems to be positive. I think I had one friend that was a little negative about it. The thought is for $50 you can have me come to your party for 2 hours and I'll present you with 75 proofs to choose 20 pictures. Once you choose, I'll send them to you on a cd (high res, of course).
Tomorrow I'm using our friend Tony's lake party as a practice run. The following weekend, I'm using gramps' company picnic as a second go around. I figure it will give me a chance to see if I can actually produce the pictures that I see in my head. To see if I'm actually good enough. I'm super nervous. I've never been known for my artistic ability. I feel like a kid on her first day of school again.
My friend Rachel emailed me the following, though. I think of it every day when I start to get really nervous and when I start to doubt myself.
First things, first. Repeat after me:
"I am a talented phtographer with a keen eye for composition, and a rare gift for capturing my subject's true essence."
There. I truly believe that statement applies to you, and you should too :)
Could I ask for a better friend?
So send me a note through email or comment. What do you think?
I leave you with even more story time chaos!
Sunday, August 2, 2009
Book Club
The mommies of jake's playgroup decided to try and meet for a book club. The first book was to be "My Sister's Keeper" by Jodi Picoult. I've never participated in a book club before. I have to admit that I was a little excited. I thought about sipping wine and discussing the book with my friends. I decided I wanted to host the first one. Since I was super excited, I decided I wanted it to be fun and....well adult.
I spent Saturday morning making a little gift for each of the moms. All of our kids love pictures of other babies. To be honest, we have some of the cutest babies alive. Anyway, I decided to make each of the moms a book of pictures to give to their little ones. Each page is a picture of their friends. I loved how they turned out and was super excited to give them as gifts.
I thought it would be fun for each of the moms to actually have something to open so I wrapped the books. There's nothing like opening a prezzie!!
I wanted to make sure that we had an adult evening since we all spend the majority of our days talking to toddlers. I pulled out my mom's china, some wine glasses and made sure there were a couple of bottles of wine ready to be corked.
My friend April started a cookie business, Killer Dough Cookie Company. These cookies are the best you'll ever have. Sooooo good. I consider my self an expert in all things cookie and, well, these are tops. I made sure to have a bunch waiting for my friends to try.
I spent Saturday morning making a little gift for each of the moms. All of our kids love pictures of other babies. To be honest, we have some of the cutest babies alive. Anyway, I decided to make each of the moms a book of pictures to give to their little ones. Each page is a picture of their friends. I loved how they turned out and was super excited to give them as gifts.
I thought it would be fun for each of the moms to actually have something to open so I wrapped the books. There's nothing like opening a prezzie!!
I wanted to make sure that we had an adult evening since we all spend the majority of our days talking to toddlers. I pulled out my mom's china, some wine glasses and made sure there were a couple of bottles of wine ready to be corked.
My friend April started a cookie business, Killer Dough Cookie Company. These cookies are the best you'll ever have. Sooooo good. I consider my self an expert in all things cookie and, well, these are tops. I made sure to have a bunch waiting for my friends to try.
The table was set and I was ready for my friends.
Then people started cancelling. I was devastated. I spent a lot of time and effort trying to make a great little get together. I called Anya, the only person that didn't cancel, so upset. She was a wonderful friend and said not to worry because she was bringing guacamole. Amanda must have sensed how upset I was because she came eventhough her poor little Harry was having a rough go of it. I cried when I saw her I was so happy to see her. Together they made me feel so much better and we toasted to a beutiful evening with friends.
It ended up being an even better book club get together than I could've imagined. We talked and talked and even fit in a little discussion of the book. Those two are some beautiful ladies. Amanda left after two bottles of wine, a bowl of guacamole and over a dozen cookies were consumed. I think it was about midnight. Anya stayed until almost 2 a.m. I can't tell you the last time I sat with a friend just talking until 2 a.m. I'm so happy that I got the time to get to know her better. After a disappointed and upsetting start, I can honestly say that it was the best book club meeting ever. Anya and Amanda are amazing women!!
P.S. When I went up to bed, I was surprised to see jake cuddled up next to Trevor in our bed. Both had their arms in the same position and their leg bent in the same way. It melted my heart. The perfect end to a fun night.
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