Wednesday, March 31, 2010

The Great Outdoors

How we spent our afternoon:






















 First we played fetch with Ingle.



Then we ate some bark.






















Then we played with a gigantic ball that the backyard neighbor kids had bounced over our fence.

A full afternoon of The Great Outdoors! I think this was MB's Perfect Day. [Good thing she is very simply amused.]

Tuesday, March 30, 2010

Almost Famous

One of these days, I'm going to reach Nemo status. But today is not that day.

Let me explain.
There is a picture a lot like this one on the front of Mary Bullock's wipes box.


















Out of all of these fish, Mary Bullock never fails to point out Nemo. And we've only watched about ten minutes of that movie, maybe twice, and several months ago. But still, she is never confused on this point.

Ask her to point out in a picture who is Mommy and who is Daddy, though, and she's just as likely to point to the dog as to point to one of us. Just when we think SHE'S GOT IT SHE'S GOT IT, she points to me in a picture and says DAD-DY! Thanks. I thought I shaved my face this morning.













































Today she brought this book over to me pointing at the man on the cover.
DAD-DY!! She says.

I actually think he might be flattered, not unlike the time my friend Leigh's little girl said I looked like Jennifer Aniston. [Who am I to correct such an observation?]

So then, I just had to ask: Mary Bullock, which one is Mommy?

I'm the exotic one in the back, if you wondered.  I didn't like the look on that redhead's face anyways.

Monday, March 29, 2010

Why I Love Being a Twin




















This is Jen. [This was pre-pregnancy for both of us, where our hair just happens to be super shiny. Total coincidence, my choosing this picture.]

This is an actual phone conversation from this weekend:

Jen: Hey, what's up, did you call?
Suz: Yes, I did. Lee says he doesn't know what a duflatche is.
Jen: You mean like a thingamajig?
Suz: Yes.
Jen: Well, I don't know how common of a word that is, but I know what you're talking about.
Suz: SEE? SEE, LEE??????? I told you so.
Jen: Alright see ya.
Suz: Bye.

See? Having a twin means there's always someone out there who knows just what you mean.


Monday Morning Elliptical-ing Music


Lyrics | Yael Naim lyrics - New Soul lyrics

Thursday, March 25, 2010

Small comforts

Finding something to celebrate today has been a challenge. MB has a (NOTHER!) cold, which kept her up all night coughing, and kept me up all night listening to her cough and then rocking her in the nursery so she could sleep and not cough. On top of this, I've pulled something in my upper back, (cue lecture from Lee on lifting MB out of the crib with my back and not my legs) which is making me feel full-blown geriatric today.

So today I'm thankful that:

1. I get to stay home with my sick babe-a-labe and stay in pajamas till noon.  And I have a husband who is willing to work hard in order for me to stay in said pajamas till noon.

2. It's just a cold. Every day I read something that reminds me that even when MB wakes up with a face crusted over with her own snot, these are small matters.

3. I have a heating pad in the closet that is just calling my name.


















[And also: thank the Sweet Lord for Starburst Jelly Beans. Amen.]
[And the new issue of Southern Living that just arrived through the mail slot.]



Tuesday, March 23, 2010

Family Rules

Remember my New Year's Resolutions? One of them was to read a little every day. MAJOR FAIL. I've done just about everything else, I swear. But I have a lot of trouble picking up an actual book and reading during the day. Blogs? Check. Magazines? Check. Carolyn Hax? Check.

One of the problems is that I learn so much from reading blogs, and I don't even have to drag MB to the bookstore to find new material. Case in point: A few weeks ago, Hillary started a blog carnival on Fridays. A few hours and approximately three clicks later, I was contemplating the idea of Family Rules via Building Our Nest.

Someone posted these family rules in her comments section [I have no idea who Gregg Harris is. But if this is yours, THANKS!]:

The 21 Rules of this House
by Gregg Harris

1. We obey God.
2. We love, honor, and pray for one another.
3. We tell the truth.
4. We consider one another's interests ahead of our own.
5. We speak quietly and respectfully with one another.
6. We do not hurt one another with unkind words or deeds.
7. When someone needs correction, we correct him in love.
8. When someone is sorry, we forgive him.
9. When someone is sad, we comfort him.
10. When someone is happy, we rejoice with him.
11. When we have something nice to share, we share it.
12. When we have work to do, we do it without complaining.
13. We take good care of everything that God has given us.
14. We do not create unnecessary work for others.
15. When we open something, we close it.
16. When we take something out, we put it away.
17. When we turn something on, we turn it off.
18. When we make a mess, we clean it up.
19. When we do not know what to do, we ask.
20. When we go out, we act just as if we were in this house.
21. When we disobey or forget any of the 21 Rules of This House, we accept the discipline and instruction of The Lord. 

I like these. Pretty simple, I think. MB is a little too young for rules [except NO PLAYING IN THE DOG'S WATER BOWL, which she routinely ignores] but I can think of at least two people who sometimes act like big babies who could benefit from rules such as these. 

What do you think?

Monday, March 22, 2010

If You Give a Bug an Apple

If you give a bug an apple...


















































































You might not ever get it back.

Friday, March 19, 2010

She is a Dancing Queen

Favorite anything of the week


Yes, this is dancing in Mary Bullock's world. Go ahead. Play it over and over.

Happy Friday Everyone! I hope you get to dance a little this weekend, too.



Thursday, March 18, 2010

I Need a Cupcake

[Sorry. That title was completely irrelevant. But I really do want a cupcake. Anyone want to meet me at Sivada's after MB's nap?]

I just spent the last hour re-organizing my picture files. To call them a mess would be a gross understatement. In my kitchen photo file, for instance, I found pictures of A) Jude Law B) Taylor Lautner C) my girlfriends at He's Not Here.

As much as I would like to have Jude Law and Taylor Lautner and even my girlfriends in my kitchen for a while, those are not quite what I was looking for.











































Ah. Here we go.

We are starting to meet with builders to start bidding out our remodel project [so cross your fingers that we'll actually be able to pay for this]. The first one, today, asked a lot of questions for which I had no answers. But I'm working on it! I plan to gather pictures of things that I like and then dump it all in Rachel's lap and ask her what it means. I don't think she'll mind.

Wednesday, March 17, 2010

Why I Love Modern Family
















Alex: What’s Jägermiester?
Phil: Well, um, you know when in a fairy tale there’s always a potion that makes the princess fall asleep and then the guys start kissing her? This is like that, except you don’t wake up in a castle, you wake up in a frat house with a bad reputation.

This is Just to Say*






































Dear Lee,

This is just to say
that I drank
your last Prima Pils
while you were at the Beach
with Barry.

I am sorry.
It was so delicious,
so cold and so
pils-y
when it hit
my lips. 

*With apologies to WCW.


Tuesday, March 16, 2010

It's Science

Say your baby has one of these.
















And then say the pig butt gets stuck under the fridge.
















Speaking of the fridge, the bottom of ours is gross and dusty. Ew.

But then say your fingers won't fit under the fridge to retrieve the pig butt.
















Did you know that you can use one of these
















to retrieve it?
































because it's a magnet.

It's science.


Monday, March 15, 2010

Listen to what That Baby did

Tonight before dinner, MB really wanted to go outside. This is nothing new. The girl would sleep outside if we would pitch her a tent. Seriously.

But we couldn't go outside, because I was making pesto sauce [from a packet, don't get all excited] and I needed to stir constantly.  Just as she started her fake cry [which is really just a cute version of whining], I scooped her up to show her her dinner cooking on the stove [which is just a way of distracting her from the fact that mama can't go outside right now.]

Tantrum averted. But then, she started to reach for the pots on the stove.



































No no, don't touch, I said. Hot.

So she blew on them.




















Because that's what you do when stuff is hot. Duh.

Bath Night

Last week, and for many weeks prior to that, MB and I had a game that we played on Bath Nights. I would hoist her out of her high chair after dinner and say: MB! It's BATH NIGHT! And then I'd say: WOO! WOO! like a train, and if I'm telling the truth, I might have pulled an "air" horn while I said it. This made her laugh, which was better than crying, which was what she had been doing for a while on Bath Nights.

Then, I'd herd her into the bathroom to start the tub, then herd her into the nursery to take her clothes off. Once she was down to her diaper, though, the chase began. Her little bare feet would hit the floor in the special way that bare feet do, and she'd be off. Into our bedroom and behind the bed she would run, giggling and giggling, until she had nowhere else to go. Then she'd dodge me and run back to the nursery and climb up in her chair. Finally, only because I was chasing her, she'd run into the bathroom. But when I got her diaper off, she'd invariably try to do the Naked Baby Escape by darting through my legs. Eventually, I'd wrangle her into the tub.

But last night, another Bath Night, she ran right into her nursery after dinner and once unclothed, ran right into the bathroom and tried to climb in by herself.



















Lee wonders why this makes me cry.

Sunday, March 14, 2010

River Run Recap

Well, we didn't die! It was actually nowhere near as bad as I thought it would be, especially for my super-duper three weeks of sorta training.

































A lady running next to us started rifling through her fanny pack at the top of the Main Street Bridge. We noticed because we heard her car key go plinking through the grates and into the river below. Note to Kate: this is why fanny packs are terrible.  I carried my what-nots [including my iphone, obvs.] in a gallon size plastic bag and got ribbed for it. [But look who had pictures and car keys in the end.]

















What a sense of humor on that priest, huh?

















Going up the Big Green Monster isn't nearly so bad when you're walking. Running down the other side nearly incited a riot from my knees, though. Ouchies.























This is a picture of Leigh and me. No, not the shoes. The shadows. It's hard to walk, pant, and picture-take at the same time.

















So good to have my running buddy back stateside [that's her on the right]! She has this little thing she does with her arms when she's tired that is for some reason really funny to me. I didn't realize how much I'd missed it until last week when I saw her little arms start pumping out of the corner of my eye.

















Leigh and I followed up these post-race beers with burgers from Five Guys. Yes, I have already more than made up for all calories burned in the pursuit of that medal.

Our chip time was 2:02 something or other, so 2 minutes short of the goal in the back of my head. [Although, I'm sort of skeptical of this since the reported Final Time was about four minutes different than the time on the clock when we passed the finish line. Did anyone else notice this on their times?]

But I'm really just proud that we did it, and that I didn't puke at the finish line even though I really really wanted to. Next year who knows? Maybe I'll even train.

Saturday, March 13, 2010

Spring Clothes for Baby Bennie

I just now realized how grim the retail landscape is for baby boys.  It's all blue plaid, brown plaid, and denim. You know what else I realized? Boys don't wear dresses. So much harder! You have to pick out multiple pieces that all go together? Way hard. [But I guess it's a little easier since the bottoms are all plaid and denim.]

But Jen asked very nicely for some virtual shopping, so here you go: [I promise this is the end of the shopping posts!].
 















Gingham button down- Gap
Board Short- Mini Boden












Applique Tshirt- Mini Boden












Stripey Hoodie- Mini Boden








Striped Polo & Plaid Cargos- Crazy 8












Shark Applique T- Crazy 8






















Gingham Button Down- Ralph Lauren
Khaki Cargos- Old Navy















Gator Applique T- Mini Boden
Gingham Shorts- Ralph Lauren

Also, I find that in life, in general, people fall into two camps. The Critter Pant camp and the Non-Critter Pant camp. Apparently babies are no different:




















Old Navy 

Good luck shopping! And if you need a warm place for Baby Bennie to wear these clothes sooner rather than later, I hear Florida is nice and warm.