Happy 4 Month Birthday, Turtle!

Yeah, it was yesterday, but I couldn't upload pictures, so the post is today. Clearly, Turtle's birthday resolution is to smile for mommy more. Couldn't you just eat him up?

It has been pointed out to me by my dear friend, L, that there are a lot of tonuges displayed in my household. One of my pugs, Oscar, has the world's longest tongue, which continuously flops out of his mouth. DH thinks he's some form of 80s rocker, which compels him to make the "rock on" gesture while sticking his tongue out as far as he can. And now this. Oh, well.

So let's review. At Turtle's pediatrician appointment yesterday, he was declared "perfect." He is 17 pounds, 25" long and his head is 17" around. He is in the 70th percentile and everything is proportional. Yay. He got his shots, and only cried for a few minutes, although he was a bit cranky yesterday, but I can't blame him. He had no reaction, besides a lack of appetite (which caused him to wake up at 3am).

Since he has been doing so well with his rice cereal, the pedi cleared us to try sweet potatoes, green beans and bananas. I plan on making his food, but we picked up a few gerber stage 1 organics just so I could get a feel for the consistency, and also to figure out what he likes before I get all gung-ho with my blender. We tried out the sweet potatoes at lunch today and he LOVED them. He probably would have eaten the whole tub if I had let him. He had about 1/4 of it with his bottle and he is a happy camper.

As far as the rest of the week, we were busy. He went to his first baseball game on Wednesday, and did a great job cheering for the Suns. He lasted 7 innings, which was awesome. Next year, I'm sure he'll be far more agreeable.



And even more fun? It's football season! The Hurricanes totally trampled Charleston Southern on Thursday night. Of course, Turtle had to root for Miami in his precious little orange jersey. He had to go to bed about an hour into the game, but I think he enjoyed what little he saw.


Today is a lazy day. We are thinking about going to a wine tasting, but he's a little fussy this afternoon. DH is building him an activity center that was given to us that he might enjoy. I finished decorating the cupcakes I am going to enter in a cupcake contest on Tuesday (wish me luck, and please vote for me when I post the voting link!). And that's it.

Oh, finally, check out the great deals we got at Target yesterday! Swim trunks - $5.99. Sunhate - $5.99. Baby pool - $8, baby pool float - $9. Everything was on clearance! Can't beat that!

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Smile on camera!

And it's about darn time! Every time mommy grabs her camera, little Turtle puts on his most serious face. However, when introduced to Baxter, the blanky bear, he couldn't contain himself. Gotcha!



The exersaucer has been brought out and added to the rotation of things to do during the day. Clearly, as you can see, it's a hit. He's all possessive of his buttons and levers though. They are "his" and he gets special joy at pushing and pulling and getting the sounds to come out. I, surprisingly, have found myself able to tune out the rather loud tunes and voices. Go figure.

He has a second exersaucer thing that we are building this weekend. Nothing like a little variety in Turtle's life.

We are taking him to a minor league baseball game tonight. It should be fun. On the downside, he's been super clingy the last few days, and has been demanding to be held (NOT in his sling), while refusing to nap. My biceps are rock hard. DH has graciously volunteered to carry Turtle in the baby bjorn tonight, which I think is sweet. Turtle likes it, although I'm still going to bring the sling, just in case.

We plan to ask the pediatrician about teething at his appointment on Friday. He's been fussy, not so interested in his bottle (although TOTALLY more than interested in his cereal), drooly, and he's been grabbing at his gums and his tongue. I didn't see or feel anything in there, but that doesn't mean too much. It could explain his behavior. He's just growing up so fast! (Yes, I know. You all said it would be that way).

Another fun thing: a group of us are starting a dinner club. It will be a great chance to get together (girls, guys, kids) and share great food and recipes. I'm going to host a Halloween themed one in October, and I am so excited. I'm such a nerd about Halloween. I told DH we are doing pumpkin painting for the little ones and a pumpkin carving contest for the parents. I am really looking forward to getting everything in place for it.

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Blogger's back!

I have been trying to post pictures for a few days but was having some issues. I'm thrilled to say we're back in business!

First off, i am overrun by critters again. On Sunday, I killed three wolf spiders, the last of which (the one which I photographed so you could all see the godzilla-ish creatures with which I deal) actually leaped at me. And then, as I was scouting the perimeter for more, I found this ballsy frog, sitting on top of our house numbers.

The spider (and all her spawn) died. The frog lived. Of course, if he continues leading the Froggy Tabernacle Choir outside my bedroom window, I may rethink my magaminous decision.

After Fay's dumped so much horrible weather on us, we absolutely had to get out. We went for a nice stroll around SJTC. We got a book for me, some ice cream, and enjoyed the fresh air. We also stopped in Total Wine and picked up a bottle. DH picked it out, based on the label, but I'm all for trying new wines.

And last but not least, pictures of my Turtle. He is doing such a good job with his eating and holding up his head. Today, we put him in his exersaucer for the first time and he LOVED it: laughing and squealing and everything. I can't believe how his little personality is shining through. And how he gets more and more precious every single day.

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In a funk

This is what I've been dealing with for the last week.

I mean, everyone has been dealing with this, but YUCK. I was so happy to wake up this morning and see the sun. Even better? We got to go out to dinner tonight; the first time I've been out of the house since Monday. And, a woman complimented me on how well behaved Turtle was (sound asleep during a football game - he's a champ!)

Of course, my good mood didn't last too long. I'm having some issues with some family members. It breaks my heart that they are so difficult, and I just don't know what to do about it. They're just toxic. And the sooner I can move on from that, the better I will be. I know that, but acting on it is so much harder.

However, how can I be upset when I have such a great little helper? Look at his face. Already, he loves to bake.

Oh, yeah. He rolled over again. It was awesome.

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That's how I roll

Today, we were visited by Tropical Storm Fay. She's a nasty little witch, sloppy, bringing lots of rain, and of course, a three-hour power loss. Not fun, Fay. Not fun.

Oscar, who is normally a little scaredy-cat, wanted to spend his dayoutside. For some reason, he didn't care about the wind or the rain. He just wanted to be free. Whatever. As long as nothing was blowing around out there, I let him have his run of the yard. And run he did...



It was also the perfect opportunity for Turtle to try out his new raincoat. You can't tell from the pciture but it has a little turtle on it. So cute. He loved it, too. How could he not - it was precious.



Our neighbors invited us over to try out their new Wii, and then invited us to stay for dinner. We ended up dragging the grill out of the garage to cook up some of our frozen meat when the power went out for three hours. We had a nice dinner of chicken, hot dogs and zucchini, and just as the guys were finishing up, on came the lights. It was perfect timing.

However, none of that comes close to comparing the big news for today. Turtle was laying on his tummy on a blanket, "playing" with my neighbor's two year old, when all of a sudden, he put his arm out, and oh-so-slowly rolled belly to back. He looked up at me and giggled. It was so nonchalant and unexpected! Yay!

Later, he told Mr. Flamingo all about it. I can't wait to see him do it again!

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Fail. Take Two.

I am far more good-natured about our latest failure. In fact, I probaby just like looking for loldogs fail pictures and need a good way to showcase them.

So the plan was to capitalize on Turtle's sleeping through the night while trying to establish a strong bedtime routine and 8ish bedtime. His current bedtime is 9:30/10. Seemed easy enough. He's been sleeping for about nine hours at night, and I was hoping we could carry that through.

Rather than cereal and a bottle at 8:30, we moved it up to 6. He gobbled everything up, and then got a nice bath and into his pajamas. He sat in his bouncy seat while DH and I had dinner, and then DH took him upstairs for a nighttime bottle and his bedtime story. He was nice and dozey and was out by 8:30.

And woke up at 3:30.

Boo.

DH fed him again and then it took him a while to get him back down to sleep. I will bite my tongue on the many reasons why. 5:00 he was back in bed, and at 6:30 he as ready for action again.

Boo. Oh, well. It can only get better. Who needs sleep, anyway?

In the meantime, we are bracing for Fay, currently a tropical storm, but looking like it will be a category 1 hurricane by the time it hits us. Um, Mother Nature? This is why I moved the hell out of South Florida. Because storms don't hit St. Augustine. DH is all freaked out about it. I'm ok - sure, we might lose power, but we're on the FPL priority list because of Aiden's heart monitor, and, after all, our house and a/c units are bolted to their foundations (bwhahahha - yes, I laughed my ass off when this was pointed out to us during construction as "hurricane safety").

I'm not thrilled about the whole thing, but again, what can you do? I got to walk the dogs in a feeder band this morning and that was just awesome fun. They were not impressed. For those that know my pugs, you are aware that they are the prissiest, most spoiled pumpkins in the world, and are extremely opposed to the idea of getting their little paws wet. Going out in the rain is an atrocity, and you should have seen the look Molly gave me when she realized that she wasn't going insoe until she had marched her curly-tailed ass into the wet grass to pee. Ah, the joys of motherhood on all levels.

To those in the path of the storm, good luck and stay safe. Let's hope it's over quickly and without any damage.

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Bed at last

I don't have much to share today. I'm exhausted and need to take some time to watch the Olympics and veg.

I went to see A&J and their new little baby today. Mommy and Daddy are doing wonderfully and N is sooooo sweet. I wanted to eat him all up. Turtle was pretty excited to see his new buddy, too. I'm glad that he's going to have so many nice little boys to play with. And it doesn't hurt that all these boys have such great mommies for me to hang out with!

It was a nice way to cheer up my day. We have a tropical storm coming, and the weather is dreary. I'm also feeling just a bit claustrophobic, but I really don't have too many places to go, so I feel stuck. I do want to get together with N this week, and I have to do a batch of mini cupcakes for my neighbor's friend's bridal shower on Friday, but other than that... I think I just have the blahs.

I wish Turtle would agree to spending a day in bed watching movies. It would be such a nice gift to me. Oh well. Maybe when he's a little older, he'll understand the meaning of lazy days. :)

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::Waves hello::

And the cutest baby EVER award goes to....






Things are getting back to normal, slowly but surely. I was a bit under the weather this week, and that made it hard, but DH really stepped up to help me. He has also been wonderful with Turtle, really getting very involved with him. It's wonderful and I absolutely appreciate it.

Some cool things going on this week. Turtle's sunglasses are thisclose to fitting. Soon, buddy. Soon. You can tell he likes them, though.



Even more fun, with all the laughing and the smiling, Turtle is also growing more independent. He wants to hold his own bottle and his own spoon. My little man is growing up, that's for sure.





He's doing great with his cereal. He really likes it and he gets very excited when we pop him in the highchair. I'm really proud of his progress. :)

On a non-baby note, we've been watching a lot of the Olympics. Obviously, Michael Phelps is amazing. But DH is particularly fascinated with men's gymnastics. I guess he never really watched it before, but he keeps gaspin in amazement at the pommel horse and floor routines. It's hysterical. It's almost like he's watching football.

Speaking of which, I was thrilled to see Favre get laid out by the Redskins last night. The only thing that would have made it better would have been if JT got to do it. And while I would have been happy either way, the Dolphins beat the Jags. My whole universe is so screwd up. JT is in a skins uniforms with a number 55. Zach also had to take a 55 for the Cowboys. Favre is a Jet, Pennington is a Dolphin, and Ricky Williams is sober and playing well. Go figure. It's going to be one hell of a football season!

Extra credit points for today - can you find Oscar? He's a tricky boy - he's got the best hiding places.

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Kinda fun

From the National Endowment for the Arts and this blog.

The NEA estimates that the average adult has read only six of the following books.

1. Look at the list and bold the ones you have read (DH guesses my number will be 88)
2. Italicize those you intend to read
3. Mark in red the books you love
4. Reprint this list in your blog


1. Pride and Prejudice - Jane Austen
2. The Lord of the Rings - JRR Tolkien
3. Jane Eyre - Charlotte Bronte
4. Harry Potter series - JK Rowling
5. To Kill A Mockingbird - Harper Lee
6. The Bible
7. Wuthering Heights - Emily Bronte
8. 1984 - George Orwell
9. His Dark Materials - Philip Pullman
10. Great Expectations - Charles Dickens
11. Little Women - Louisa May Alcott
12. Tess of the D'urbervilles - Thomas Hardy
13. Catch 22 - Joseph Heller
14. The Complete Works of Shakespeare
15. Rebecca - Daphne du Maurier
16. The Hobbit - JRR Tolkien
17. Birdsong - Sebastian Faulks
18. Cathcher in the Rye - JD Salinger
19. The Time Traveller's Wife - Audry Niffenger
20. Middlemarch - George Eliot
21. Gone With the Wind - Margaret Mitchell
22. The Great Gatsby - F Scott Fitzgerald
23. Bleak House - Charles Dickens
24. War & Peace - Leo Tolstoy
25. The Hitchiker's Guide to the Galaxy - Douglas Adams
26. Brideshead Revisited - Evelyn Waugh
27. Crime & Punishment - Fyodor Dostoevsky
28. Grapes of Wrath - John Steinbeck
29. Alice in Wonderland - Lewis Carroll
30. The Wind in the Willows - Kenneth Graham
31. Anna Karenina - Leo Tolstoy
32. David Copperfield - Charles Dickens
33. Chronicles of Narnia - CS Lewis
34. Emma - Jane Austen
35. Persuasion - Jane Austen
36. The Lion, The Witch & The Wardrobe - CS Lewis
37. The Kite Runner - Khaled Hosseini
38. Captain Corelli's Mandolin - Louis de Bernieres
39. Memoirs of a Geisha - Arthur Golden
40. Winnie the Pooh - AA Milne
41. Animal Farm - George Orwell
42. The Da Vinci Code - Dan Brown
43. One Hundred Years of Solitude - Gabriel Garcia Marquez
44. A Prayer for Owen Mean - John Irving
45. The Woman in White - Wilkie Collins
46. Anne of Green Gables - LM Montgomery
47. Far From the Madding Crowd - Thomas Hardy
48. The Handmaid's Tale - Margaret Atwood
49. Lord of the Flies - William Golding
50. Atonement - Ian MacEwan
51. Life of Pi - Yann Martell
52. Dune - Frank Herbert
53. Cold Comfort Farm - Stella Gibbons
54. Sense & Sensibility - Jane Austen
55. A Suitable Boy - Vikram Seth
56. The Shadow of the Wind - Carlos Ruiz Zafon
57. A Tale of Two Cities - Charles Dickens
58. Brave New World - Aldous Huxley
59. The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Nighttime - Mark Haddon
60. Love in the Time of Cholera - Gabriel Garcia Marquez
61. Of Mice & Men - John Steinbeck
62. Lolita - Vladmir Nabakov
63. The Secret History - Donna Tartt
64. The Lovely Bones - Alice Sebold
65. Count of Monte Cristo - Alexandre Dumas
66. On the Road - Jack Kerouac
67. Jude the Obscure - Thomas Hardy
68. Bridget Jones' Diary - Helen Fielding
69. Midnight's Children - Salman Rushdie
70. Moby Dick - Herman Melville
71. Oliver Twist - Charles Dickens
72. Dracula - Bram Stoker
73. The Secret Garden - Frances Hodgeson Burnett
74. Notes from a Small Island - Bill Bryson
75. Ulysses - James Joyce
76. The Bell Jar - Sylvia Plath
77. Swallows & Amazons - Arthur Ransome
78. Germinal - Emile Zola
79. Vanity Fair - William Makepeace Thackery
80. Possession - AS Byatt
81. A Christmas Carol - Charles Dickens
82. Cloud Atlas - David Mitchell
83. The Color Purple - Alice Walker
84. The Remains of the Day - Kazuo Ishiguro
85. Madame Bovary - Gustave Flaubert
86. A Fine Balance - Rohinston Mistry
87. Charlotte's Web - EB White
88. The Five People You Meet in Heaven - Mitch Album
89. Adventures of Sherlock Holmes - Sir Arthur Conan Doyle
90. The Faraway Tree Collection
91. Heart of Darkness - Joseph Conrad
92. The Little Prince - Antoine De Saint-Exupery
93. The Wasp Factory - Ian Banks
94. Watership Down - Richard Adams
95. A Confederacy of Dunces - John Kennedy Toole
96. A Town Like Alice - Nevil Shute
97. The Three Mustketeers - Alexandre Dumas
98. Hamlet - William Shakespeare
99. Charlie & the Chocolate Factory - Roald Dahl
100. Les Miserables - Victor Hugo

Whoa. I've read 72 out of 100. Well, the good news is I have some new titles to pick up next time I'm at Barnes & Noble. I have the urge to finish the list. :)

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DH Home, A New Baby and My Work of Art

First, a warm welcome to Baby Dubbs! He arrived today after about 12 hours of labor at 8lbs 8oz. Mommy, Daddy and Baby are doing well. Congratulations to the proud parents - we can't wait to see pictures of the family!

Next up, we picked up DH at the airport this afternoon, and then he took me to dinner at the Cheesecake Factory (his choice; I wanted PF Chang's), and then to Kilwin's for 2-4-1 apples. You know, since he threw out half of the one I had last week. For which I still have not entirely forgiven him.

I was sort of hoping it would be easier having him home, but... meh. Turtle really didn't want me eating dinner, so I had to pick at my food standing up (seriously, there is no chance of me gaining weight with this child - every time I go to plant my butt to get some food, he protests. I don't know whether to be annoyed or to thank him). DH wanted to feed him dinner, but he was a bit impatient about it. Yes, I realize you've had a long day on planes, but Turtle needs you to take your time and encourage him. So if you're not going to do that... actually, strike that. Do it.

And last, but certainly not least... I got to play with my copy of Hello, Cupcake today. These pug cupcakes are my work of art - I am so super proud of them. I had planned to make a few of them all black in honor of Miss Molly, but I forgot, so I promised her that the next batch would incorporate her beauty. They are delicious moist chocolate cake, with vanilla and chocolate frosting, and all sorts of yummy candy accessorizing. Aren't they so precious?

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Haven't been on in a while

I wish I had something fun and exciting to report, but alas... nothing.



DH comes home today. I never thought I would say this, considering how I used to relish my "alone time", but thank god!!! Turtle has been a lunatic since he left. Not sure if he misses daddy or if he hates me or if he's teething or what... but he has been having these fantastic temper tantrums. Boo. Please god let his flight not be delayed, or I may lose my mind.



On the plus side, I was able to get things done, short of getting the laundry baskets upstairs (more because I don't wanna, though). I have some cupcakes to decorate today and I have to file Turtle's nails. I told DH not to expect dinner (it's been challenging just to feed myself in his absence) - if for any other reason than I want a big, huge meal of something that I didn't have to cook. And/or ice cream. Or a Kilwin's apple. Yum.



I also started a bad habit with Turtle - rocking him to sleep. It only takes 5 minutes or so, but it's just so much easier than him fussing. He was always so good at putting himself out, but then he stopped taking his pacifier and I just don't have the energy to get up every few minutes to restart his mobile until he goes out. I'm debating whether to get one of those rainforest soothers, but maybe that will be better if he gets difficult to rock to sleep. Score? Turtle: 1,972, Mom: 0.



Some pics of our guy over the last few days - smiling, of course.

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Zoo

Today, we joined some friends for our first official trip to the local zoo. I had heard wonderful things about it, but we just never got around to going. We got up early and were there at 9 when the gates opened. PERFECT timing.

We spect a while at Stingray Bay - so very cool. I can't wait til Turtle's old enough to be able to enjoy feeling the stingrays, rather than sitting in his stroller! It was such a weird sensation - liek oily rubber. I loved it.





Then we wandered around and saw the monkeys/apes/gorillas, and some reptiles and big cats.



And the best part of the day was getting to feed the giraffes! DH bought me a ticket when I wasn't looking and it was so amazing. I could have spent hours there but it ws crowded and other people wanted a turn, too. Worth every penny!





Afterwards, I dropped DH off at the airport and headed home. It was a big of a rough night - Turtle was pretty hard to settle down, but I think I finally got it. Hopefully, he sleeps through the night again, and wakes up in a better mood tomorrow. :)

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SQUEEEEEEEE!!!!

I am still doing the happy dance from this afternoon!

We got tickets. To the Yankees White Sox. At Yankees Stadium. 9/17. The second to last regular season series to be played at Yankee Stadium. Good tickets. For reals!!!!

I can't believe it. DH and Dad had a haphazard plan for us to go up in mid-September to try to see a game, but we were really scrounging for tickets. Obviously, the Yankees mostly sell out ordinarily, but because it's the Stadium's final year... well, it was next to impossible. Unless you wanted to pay $75 for bleachers, most of which were alcohol restricted seats.

We should have the tickets in the next few days, and i'm not ashamed to say I will probably sleep with them while DH is at his conference.

In other news, I'm really upset by the whole Favre thing. You put your #4, you put your #4 out, you put your #4 in and you shake it all about. I love you, Brett. I do. But what are you thinking? You don't want to play, then you do. But you don't want to train or practice. But you will do it for another team? You're the last of a dying breed, Brett. Why you didn't choose to go out on top, I'll never know. I will love you and wear your jersey with pride, but I shake my head at your waffling. Hopefully you get it together soon.

Today, I introduced Turtle to Fantasia. He seemed to like it, with the exception of the dinosaur parts. And he's doing great with his tummy time. My neighbor says he should be rolling by next week. I'm both excited and nervous for that. Eating is going well, too. He still has moments of awful gas, but it's nowhere near what it used to be. When it hits, we just have to be ready with an endless supply of patience and soothing techniques.

More pics of my cutie patootie. I love how Oscar the Pug invades Turtle's private island. :)

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Excellent Weekend

It really was. I got to see some friends and their babies on Saturday, which was so enjoyable, and Turtle had the best time ever. It was so cute to see him with his new little girlfriends - completely melted my heart.





He can also push up on his little forearms so well now (yoga did not agree with his mommy, but it sure seems to be working for him)





And look at how he can sit up, with a little help!



Then we had a few drinks with some friends and DH got me a spinach calzone and some gorgeous roses (pics tomorrow, I promise). Just because :). He also brought me nilla wafers so I can try to make some banana pudding cupcakes - I would say he's thoughtful, but he's just trying to spur me along because HE wants banana pudding cupcakes. Silly boy.

DH was amazing this weekend. With his lack of patience, he was really having a hard time feeding Turtle - the cereal is a long, messy process, and Turtle did his best to make it as difficult as possible for DH. I actually had to leave the room at some points just so that Turtle would accept the fact that the only way he was getting that spoon was if his daddy stuck it in his mouth. I thought DH had given up completely, but this weekend, every time I started feeding Turtle, he stepped right in and handled it. He took his time, used every ounce of patience, and they are both doing so well.



I'm also going to do a small vent again. I must really be in a bad mood. :) The thing is, I'm getting really frustrated with people who just don't appreciate what they have. It aggravates me to no end. I am going to take this moment to mention the things for which I am thankful. My life isn't perfect and I'm not puppies and rainbows all the time (not even close), but I am lucky that I have the ability to look at my life and appreciate it.
* my loving DH
* my perfect son
* a wonderful mother
* my ridiculous yet precious pugs
* amazing friends
* a roof over our heads in a beautiful city
* good health all around
* financial security

The rest of the BS really doesn't matter much. I wish more people could see that.

And, thanks to N, I have some books again. Today I finished "Bringing Down the House," the story of the MIT card-counting team. We had just seen 21 the other day, so it was cool to read the book, even if it was totally different. I enjoyed it. There were things about the movie that were far more exciting, but I find the whole story absolutely fascinating. I was reading it out loud to Turtle with his morning bottle and he seemed to enjoy it, too!

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TGIF!!! And my announcement!

What a day.


Turtle was up shockingly early, especiallyconsidering his rough night. We tried to get him to go back to sleep, but no such luck. So, I got up, popped him in his stroller and called Mom. We talked for about 2 miles, and she gave me some great pointers on handling this latest growth spurt, as well as for keeping DH in a calm and patient state of mind. By the time I got home, I was feeling much better.

And everything pretty much worked. Turtle was smiling and happy pretty much all day. He's eating a ton, and more frequently than normal, but that's ok. And, most shocking of all, I got him to take a nap in his PNP. I couldn't believe it! He was down for almost 90 minutes. What a good boy!

Then of course, it was off to run errands. We did Michael's, Home Goods, Target and Publix in just under 2 hours. It was great. I had a 20% coupon for Michael's, which we used for cake pans, cupcake liners, a frosting spatula and some other little things. Then DH saw this and said he had to get it for me. Yay!



It's my new favorite book and I cannot wait to get going with it.

At Home Goods, I got a few dessert plates, and then Target was baby stuff (diapers & formula), cards, cleaning supplies, etc. I love Target.

I suggested to DH that we make some sangria and enjoy a romantic dinner outside on our patio - we had stuffed clams with fresh asiago and mozzarella, marinated olives, hummus and pita chips. It was so nice, enjoying tapas in the fresh air. The romance fizzled a little when Turtle had a huge spit up, so I took him in to clean him up and put him down to bed, and DH handled the kitchen clean up.

Here are some pictures of Turtle enjoying his cereal, his first attempt at the reclining high chair (it was a big, fat FAIL) and my cupcake decorating drawer. I'm going to have to branch out to a cabinet soon!







And now, for my annoucement: I just opened my online cupcake business!

http://www.redvelvetarmadillobakeshop.com/

At this time, I won't be shipping, so it's just local, but I'm very excited (as you can see from my drawer o' stuff). I will be updating with more samples of my cupcakes soon, on both the website and my blog.

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Passive Aggressive Rant

I ususally think I'm pretty positive and chipper on this blog, but I've had a rough week and need to let loose.

Here we go.

GROWTH SPURTS ARE THE BANE OF MY EXISTENCE
Seriously, people. WTF? Everything is going along smoothly. We get feedings and moods all figured out. We're practically sleeping through the night. And then WHAM. One day, it just all goes out the window. And for what? DH and I have been at our wits' ends the last few days - I know it's going to end but in the meantime... The only thing that keeps me holding o is the fat that he is perfectly reasonable between his bouts of ravenous hunger and the fact that he doesn't want to sleep at night. He's lucky he's cute.

PEOPLE SUCK. COWARDS SUCK MORE.
Long story short. Someone posted a few malicious comments on my friend's blog. That person may or may not have tried to get someone else to take the heat by signing a specific name. Grow the eff up. I despise when people can't be adult enough to simply address their issues and have to resort to childish, stupid (and let's face it, not super creative) name-calling. But karma's a bitch, and I have no doubt that the culprit will get hers. In the meantime, culprit, you're pretty darn pathetic.

QUITYERBITCHIN' ALREADY.
So I have a baby. He can be trying. There are days when I want to hide under my bed and sob myself to sleep. However, that's the joy of having a baby - they can drive you to the brink of insanity. The thing is, they can then look at you and give one of their little smiles, and pull you right back. Even above, I complained about Turtle's growth spurt, but then spun the positive - you know that he's cute and I love him anyway. But there's this blog. I'm not going to post it here because it's a trackable blog. The author of this blog has a son the same age as Turtle. And every post, from her birth story to now, is basically run-on sentences of misery. About how baby screams. And she doesn't sleep. And her husband's breathing is just loud enough to wake the baby. Who screams. And she can't go to Starbucks. Because the car seat makes the baby scream. And then he had shots. And SHE screamed. Which made him scream. And she hates breastfeeding, and dreads it. But she has to do it, even if he screams. At first, I felt bad for her (and did my prayer of there but for the grace of god go I). Then it hit me: this girl has not one nice thing to say about her son. There's not one hurrah for a milestone, not one update on what he does during the day. NOTHING. It pisses me off. She talks about having more kids. Really? REALLY??? You can barely seem to stand the one you have. You're not in the least bit enamored with your shrieking bundle of joy. Why, in the name of Zeus' butthole, would you even CONCEIVE of having more?

(DISCLAIMER: Yes, all babies are different. Yes, I do know the mind-numbing agony of a baby who howls and howls for no reason and the only way to calm him is by doing the hokey pokey at triple speed on one foot for hours on end. But I still adore my son and happily ooh and aah over his daily accomplishments. Sure, I vent about his unreasonable days, but the very next day I come back and balance it with something wonderful. It's not post after post after post of soul-sucking misery).

So that's about it. On the positive side, my friend is moving up here with her DH and DD for a few months! I will see her next week!!! Yay!!!

I'll have lots more pictures this weekend.

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