cameron mills musings

Excer-saucy

2012-01-20T22:16:00.001-05:00

Oh yeah, we're there now.

Halloween

2011-12-09T13:34:00.003-05:00

In a nutshell......Halloween at the beginning

..............the middle....................

.........and the end of the night.

Super Summer: Part III-Massachusetts

2011-08-30T16:38:00.008-04:00

Cousins? Did someone say cousins? Hell yeah they did. The second major summer trip included a roadtrip up the East Coast to Massachusetts and a stay at Grammy & Papa's beach house where the gang of 6 (soon to be 7) soaked up the sun & sand in all its glory.

Meanwhile, the older gang of 6 wined and dined on one of Dan's gourmet feasts, most likely better than the Nantucket restaurant where he cribbed the recipe, but not that I'd know. And it wouldn't be a family affair without hearing about the Opamobile's trip to Notre Dame & Chicago over a dessert of rusty nails and white wine.

Super Summer Part II

2011-08-03T17:03:00.005-04:00

Super Summer: Part I- Lake Michigan Adventures

2011-07-29T19:27:00.013-04:00

Summer at the Rock with Nana! Whoohoooo!!!

Cousin love. There is nothing like getting together with cousins to ratchet up the excitement of a summer trip. They wake up with us, they eat breakfast with us, they have temper tantrums with us (usually after the sugar cereal rush has peaked), they go on adventures with us, they swim with us and encourage us to go out deep, they bathe with us (to a point), they talk us into ordering exotic foods we normally never would have chosen (fried chicken wings for dinner? superman ice cream?), and they stay up way too late with us. Pure heaven.

Although the Michigan trip started off with a rough weekend as we got the sad news of Grandma Rita's death, we carried on with the spirit of triumph over tragedy that she would have insisted upon. There were so many great stories to tell about Grandma's antics....all of which made us laugh. One of my favorites was the story about how she slid down the banister at Julie & Judd's wedding at age 79, but denied it until we bluffed that we saw it on a security video.

Of course, the major upside of the weekend was getting the opportunity to know Scott's girlfriend, Susan. Excellent baker? Six dozen chocolate chip cookies devoured by the gang in less than 36 hours says YES. Smart & gorgeous? Check and check. Creative and fun? I think talking Carly out of a personal Katrina and proceeding to play a lego game with the cousins for an hour counts for both. Cool hidden talents? Well did I mention that she was on a waterskiiing team growing up and can waterski while doing tricks? I mean seriously! Forget about the lake or beach, Carly wants to know when we'll see Susan again. Me too!

And it was great that Greg finally had a chance to relax. I mean relax. Hell, he deserved it after the long drive, the bonus roundtrip flight home, and the 5 days to himself at home. Okay, perhaps I'm just bitter because I couldn't partake in his tequila party this year. More like party of one!

We will miss the Rock...

Florida 2011

2011-03-31T21:15:00.007-04:00

Florida in March is always fantastic. It's great looking forward to the warm sun and even better once we land and see Nana's ridiculously tanned and smiling face awaiting us.

We get to try out our swimming skills that have been dormant all winter. In Teddy's case, we quickly realized that a lifejacket was a must.

We loved the beach. It loved us back. In fact, it followed us home. We are still finding shells in random places.

We braved the parking lot at the local geriatric ice cream shop to enjoy our own scoops.

And then there were memories to make on our first trip to Disney.

There was a bit of confusion when we first sat down on the teacups.

And then Greg took over the wheel and we couldn't stop laughing. Of course, I was laughing less at the excitement of swirling around at 86 mph than I was at Greg looking like a fool working so hard to go fast.

The evidence of a great Disney adventure:

A few more days in Naples before heading home to what would become one of the rainiest springs of all time.

March Visitors!!

2011-03-31T20:40:00.002-04:00

Who do you think had fun with their cousins Colin & Michael? Actually, this little big wheel competition was organized by Uncle Kevin, so I blame him for the competitive bug he planted in both Carly and Teddy. It has haunted me at this playground ever since.

Boston Xmas Party & Teddy's Bday 2010

2011-03-31T20:36:00.002-04:00

2010 Updates (PART 3 of 3)

2010-12-19T16:01:00.006-05:00

After that hellish summer weather, fall really rocked it. We spent most of it outdoors, taking full advantage. For some reason, this year we decided to hit the region's favorite pumpkin patch. I use the word "region" because we had to fill-up with gas and drive 10 light years to get to this place. It was more than a pumpkin patch however, in fact, I'd have to say pumpkins were the lowest priority.

By the time Halloween came around, we had really exhausted the costume preparation topic, which resulted in a homemade Super Carly costume and a Teddy the Sad Puppy costume (not homemade). In our neighborhood, Halloween is taken very seriously. Neighbors create haunted displays, set up beer tents, and hand out full-size candy bars. We even had a party of our own.

And, this year, as a fall bonus, I met my mom and sister in NYC for a little fun weekend. And fun it was. Great food, a hilarious show, some sightseeing, some pampering and many laughs. Also, I did not return home with bedbugs. Whoohooo!

Fire Day

2010-12-19T15:45:00.004-05:00

In early October, our little local fire house hosted a "Family Fun Day" at the station. Helllllloooo, greatest thing ever. Food, tours, moonbounce.

I think they knew the atmosphere of excitement that they were creating because they posted this:

Yeah, not a chance.

2010 Updates (PART 2 of 3)

2010-12-19T15:04:00.009-05:00

...continued

The Thursday before we left Michigan, as I was sipping a glass of white wine at the beach with the entire crew and waiting to hear from Greg that his flight was going to arrive on time, I got a call on my cell from my neighbor. Apparently a storm had come through. A tree fell. Within a few hours, I got numerous cell pics of the event from my friends who were doing drive-bys. So our neighbor wasn't kidding.

And that, my friends, was the end of the Mazdarati.

But, who had time to dwell on broken gutters, stairs, grill, and a crushed car when we had another roadtrip to take. Off to Massachusetts we went.

But our weekend stay just wasn't enough. Little did Grace & Wern know that we intended to stay all week. It was totally worth it, and not just because we got to see a real live shark. I'm not kidding. A FREAKING shark. It was alive while Grace & Carly were out on the kayak, or at least it was spotted soon after they came home, but then it didn't make it through the night. Sad. Also, terrifying.

The rest of August was painful. I am not going to lie and say we enjoyed the 99 degree heat and sweating our asses off at the playgrounds and sandboxes. But, I feel like God does this to parents in order to make sending off the little ones to school that much easier. Some may say irresistible.

Yet, the heat continued. And continued. And in late September, we ate outside in the scorching heat for Greg's birthday at our favorite birthday restaurant. Greg, not one to embrace the limelight, gave me the eye when I asked about doing cake at the restaurant. Guess who didn't give a hoot what her dad wanted? In fact, Greg and I weren't paying any attention when Carly mentioned to the waiter that it was her dad's birthday, so when the waitstaff came over with the sombrero singing "happy birthday" in Spanish, we were all a bit surprised. Well, all of us but one.

So you are almost caught up....

2010 Updates (PART 1 of 3)

2010-12-19T13:30:00.016-05:00

I've missed quite a few big moments this year, but [insert typical "too busy" excuses]. Bygones. Here's the Reader's Digest (does that magazine still exist?) update:

We began what became the hottest summer ever with Carly in camp and with Teddy and I hitting a sh*tload of sprayparks. Once July hit, the three of us got crafty with sprinklers, our backyard blow-up pool, and what my friend Julie dubbed "pool whoring". We are not members of a pool, but I have several lucky friends who are. And, let me tell you, that luck is contagious!! We found invites to various pools all summer long. So, here are some June & July pics:

July would not be complete without a major birthday celebration. And this year, we surprised Carly's friends by booking a zoo party on the hottest day of the year! Boy were they thrilled, as were their parents. In all seriousness, though, the zoo party was adorable as was the birthday girl's excitement.

We had to book the party a year in advance, so glad it worked out. For all of you scoffing at my ability to plan that far in advance, you can suck it. I must have had a babysitter the day I logged onto the zoo website and gave them my credit card info. Anyway, it was a very fitting party for a little girl who has dubbed her massive posse of stuffed animals her "team". This is another Carly-ism with an unknown origination. But you should know that the Team is a vital part of her life, an entourage if you will. She will carry a few of the Team to breakfast and they will watch her eat. She often asks the Team to do stuff for her. For example, when I ask her to keep an eye on Teddy so I can take a quick shower, the Team comes in handy. "Ahhhh, well mom, the Team will do it." She told me recently that it's a lot of work managing the Team. Oh, I know.

Summer 2010 did not disappoint when it came to our trips to Michigan & Massachusetts. Cousins, Aunt & Uncles, Aunties & Unclies (remind me to use this one), and Grandparents rock. Bigtime.

We began our journeys with a lovely 8 hour roadtrip to Michigan, where we promptly ditched our children (all but one, Sully made the cut to stay with us) and headed up north to celebrate our 10th anniversary with an adults-only weekend at the Rock.

I'm actually glad that these pictures don't tell the whole story. Let's just say that these hunks with their backs to us and very specific jukebox preferences ultimately joined our late night dance party. Let's also say that it's been 4 months and my mother has not found any evidence that things got a tad messy at the Rock. I'll leave it at that.

Carly and Teddy were so busy with Nana's social schedule that I don't think they even knew we were gone. She drove them up on Sunday and Greg, being the loving father and loving swimmer that he is, waited until they arrived before taking the relay back down state for his flight. My mom tried to get Scott and I to place bets as to whether he'd make his flight. Not a problem. Only fools bet against Greg's ability to drive recklessly.

Finally, the Pietrosante clan arrived, just to up the ante of fun...and loud enthusiasm. So, I could include a billion pics here, but I'll keep it down to a million, mostly to guilt my sister into bringing my nephews and niece out to visit their cousins who miss them dearly:

to be continued....

T is for Truck (& Teddy)

2010-07-23T15:48:00.004-04:00

Does anyone else find it ironic that Teddy (Greg's son) is a lover of cars & trucks?

July (I suck!)

2010-07-09T14:58:00.002-04:00

I suck. It's July and I've been absent. I partially blame my broken camera, but that's lame and it only broke last week anyway.

Bygones.

My anedote from today: Like most parents, I typically try to contain Carly's tv time to a few short shows while Teddy is napping. I try. I do not always succeed, especially if I have to get a lot done or shower or update the blog. You get the idea. Today we had a pretty active morning, but we were running errands, so when we got home and Teddy went down for his nap, Carly started begging me to watch tv. I told her "no." I explained that she had to exercise her imagination or else it would shrivel up and go away. Then she asked me what her imagination was and I explained that it was when she played with her animals, drew pictures, or read books and made up fun things in her head. She trotted off to the playroom and played for a bit, but then she returned. She again begged me to let her watch a show. I said "not yet." Then she sat down at the table behind me and said, "Well mom, look at me. I'm sitting here and pretending to watch tv. See, I'm using my imagination." She is still 3, for a few more days anyway, but she burns me like this all the time. After laughing for a few minutes, I caved.

I am already plotting when I'm going to burn her back. Next time she asks if she can have a treat, I'm going to tell her that I'm imagining giving it to her. Take that, sucker!

April Showers

2010-05-11T14:46:00.005-04:00

March Madness

2010-05-11T14:42:00.004-04:00

Our trip to Florida in March was pretty awesome. Greg breezed in & out for a few days, but we stayed for 10 days. Great weather, great digs, great fun. Thanks Mom!!

Have you ever checked out the website http://www.awkwardfamilyphotos.com/? Well, this would be my entry:

I took about 9,000,000 pictures on this particular day, trying to get a classic kid shot to send to all of my friends and family as sort of a make-up for my failed attempt to send Christmas cards. I just couldn't isolate one photo that captured both Carly and Teddy at their best. What the hell was I thinking? How badly do I try to idealize family with these color-coordinated outfits and combed hair? The crazy faces and awkward reactions are the reality of life right now.

Now, this picture makes it look like we were neglecting Carly as she walked into the surf. I have nothing to say, but just wanted to acknowledge that that's what it looks like.

You wouldn't know it from this angle, but I orchestrated an Easter egg hunt. Teddy just wanted to suck on the eggs and Carly just wanted to throw them...so Teddy couldn't get them. Jesus would be proud.

Tuesday's Update

2010-04-13T17:23:00.003-04:00

In the car yesterday, Carly asked me what Teddy and I had been up to while she was at school. I told her that we had gone to the grocery store and picked up some paint chips. She was quiet for a moment, then replied, "Well mommy. I bet those chips do not taste very good."

Over the weekend, after a brief discussion about the map hanging in her room, she asked me in which state the Easter Bunny lives. This is a good age.

Here are the results of the interview I conducted at dinner tonight:

1) What is your favorite room in the house?
A: Dining room.

2) What do you like best about Teddy?
A: I like when he smiles.

3) What do you like the best about Daddy?
A: He takes me to the playground and plays games and Teddy does all kinds of things.

4) What is your favorite holiday?
A: Mom, did you know that toys are better than candy? (Ed: this is an obvious slight to the Easter Bunny, wherever he may live.)

Then she got sick of the interview and told me that she just wanted to talk for a bit in brief declarative sentences:

Jewels fall on the ground sometimes.
Teddy eats daffodils.
Information gives you learning.
Bowling is fun because it is a game.

To borrow a Kelly Corrigan phrase, there is some serious genetic validation going on above.

How Much Did it Snow this Winter?

2010-02-27T18:05:00.000-05:00

Answer: way too freaking much. The month of February was a blur. Carly missed 6 out of 12 days of school, stretched out over 3 weeks. Add that to the inevitable flu season cabin fever issues and it made for a painful winter. It's only February 27th, but the sun is shining and it's over 40 degrees, so I feel like spring is on the horizon. Here are some of our winter wonderland pictures...

Winter Trip

2010-02-27T17:47:00.002-05:00

Greg's family has what some may call a competitive spirit. Thus, it was no surprise to us that Carly's cousins, Jack and Colin, each insisted on getting a new little brother when Carly got hers. Here they are seeing who can best hold onto the little brothers.

Holiday Pics

2009-12-28T21:05:00.009-05:00

They say this past Monday was Blue Monday. Apparently, people get depressed this time of year for many, many reasons, including the holiday credit card bills arriving in the mail, blown New Year's resolutions, crappy weather, and spending way too much time trapped in a small, cluttered, toy-overridden home waiting for a rude cable guy to come 2 hours late and do half the job he was supposed to do. Actually, that last one is just mine. Anyway, so here's my cure...posting some pics of the holiday madness. The 2009 holiday madness, just to be clear.

Let me start with Thanksgiving weekend. We kicked off the weekend with a kick-ass decision to coordinate our flight arrival in Michigan with Scott's flight from the West coast. Fannnnnntastic idea. Riding in mom's car with 4 (not small) adults, 2 kids in carseats, 4 suitcases, and 1 improperly attached, borrowed cartop carrier was a great way to get into the holiday spirit. It's all about quality family time, isn't it.

Once we got to Mom's house, though, we had a great time. The cousins spent Thanksgiving Day playing hard and making a hell of a lot of noise. When it was time to go around the table and say what we were thankful for, Carly looked down, thought about it and then grinned and quipped, "I'm thankful for coming." So damn sweet. Also sweet was Grandma Rita's attendance at dinner and the warmth & respect her great-grandchildren paid her. And, proving that her memory is not, in fact, gone, she stunned us all by inquiring about the origins of the beautiful silver on the table (it was hers). Oh, smack!

Of course, Greg again refused to let the 7 and under crowd win a card game.

Can you say p-o-o-p-e-d?

We returned home to the thick of the holiday season. It was time for me to step up and bring the Christmas treats to the 3 year-old preschool class. Last year, I royally screwed up the Easter treats and then made them worse by trying to decorate them, so I decided to stay in my comfort zone this time. And, I have enough self-confidence to admit that this includes baking with marshmallows. Again.

Sully, is that a green food-coloring stain around your mouth?

The Friday following Carly's preschool Christmas Spectacular (suffice it to say that our showboat did not disappoint), Carly and I had a very fun outing to see the Rockettes Christmas Spectacular. Carly picked her outfit (including the purse and pearls) and many of the night's details. We took the subway just for kicks (excuse the pun), we ate a massive cup of donut holes at the show, we went out for ice cream afterwards, and we thoroughly enjoyed the magic of the show. (One of us is still talking about the dancing Santas.) The main excitement for me, however, didn't really come until after the show when Carly entertained the entire ladies restroom line with her own version of high kicks and holiday singing. She had one lady in tears laughing so hard. I, on the other hand, actually a bit embarrassed and trying to calmly get the situation under control (why did I allow all those donut holes?!).

Of course, after getting her feet wet with the restroom line audience, she did the same thing on the subway ride home. This time, the crowd wasn't feeling it as much, so she decided to up the ante with some fake sightings out the window. "Look mom! I see Santa outside!!!" she said as she cranked her neck around to see who was listening. (No one.) Without much response, this quickly escalated to "Look mom, I see POOP out the window!!!!". I was mortified, but trying hard to swallow away my laughter. Well, you can imagine that this got the attention of the other riders. Mission Accomplished.

As we were making our way home that night, the snow began. WINTER STORM 2009. It was lovely, it was festive, it was magical.....while it was snowing. It killed our New England holiday travel plans, however, and let's be honest....getting snowed in with two kids and a large golden retriever loses it's romanticism after 48 hours.

If I had to pick the most excited family member....I would have to pick Sully. He is still looking for some of those snowballs we threw.

Sucks to get wet in the snow.

And, by the time Christmas rolled around, we were exhausted. It felt like we had done a lot of prep work this season. We made homemade wreaths for our bedroom doors (wouldn't advise using the glass balls that break into 8 million pieces when they inevitably fall and break), met with Santa, attended holiday parties, read endless books about Santa and baby Jesus, collaborated on gifts for cousins, picked out and decorated our tall & skinny tree....okay, this is admittedly sounding very vanilla and lame, but when you have a 1 year old and a 3.5 year old...they provide all the magic you need. And the drama. :)

Cheers to 2010!! xoxo Sara

Birthday Boy

2009-12-13T20:30:00.014-05:00

Happy Birthday T-dog!!

Ole' little man. That's right, Teddy had a very big week this past week. Thursday started off with a celebration at our local Mexican restaurant (we are 4 for 5 as far as 2009 family birthday celebrations go and I'm not feeling optimistic about Sully's chances at the sombrero and fried ice cream combo). As I mentioned, Teddy recently has become intrigued with silverware and his birthday night was no exception. It isn't easy to eat rice with a fork, but damn it if he didn't give it his best shot. The spoon/ice cream combo was much (much) easier.

On Friday night, we co-hosted a birthday bash for Teddy & Henry and 12 of their closest 3 year-old pals at a local hot spot. Okay, it wasn't a hot spot, but it was entertaining.

The ball pit was both fun and terrifying as Teddy realized it was deeper than anticipated.

And, then we headed home for a few gifts. Carly decided that she wanted to get Teddy a teddy bear for his birthday. Suspicious. She picked it out, wrapped it, and opened it for him. Later that night, when Teddy was already in bed, I found the new teddy bear tucked safely under Carly's sheets. When I quizzed her about it, she said that the teddy bear was going to sleep with her that night. I don't think Teddy has seen it since. And I actually doubt he minds. The big hits were the magnet set from the Pietrosantes, the fire truck from Nana, and the basketball hoop. Santa is going to have a tough time reinventing Teddy's wish list.

And, never ones to rush, we had Teddy baptized on Saturday. It was something of a guerrilla baptism with neither of the bicoastal godparents present, but that was the least of our worries.

Turned out, Mr. Fancy Pants couldn't handle his new shoes. He proceeded to use them as a drum set through the entire ceremony. Have you ever heard saddle shoes hit the sides of a wooden pew in an empty church?

And, not to be outdone or forgotten, Carly staged her own not-so-silent protest of the baptism. It was a bit unclear what the problem was, but she was definitely not happy when the 4 of us (Nana, Greg, Teddy and I) were asked by the priest to step onto the altar.

The drama continued, long enough for the priest to make a comment about children often not attending mass (I am not making this stuff up) and well into the post-baptism celebration at the same bar where we celebrated Carly's baptism.

All's well that ends well I suppose.

IMG00208.jpg

2009-12-05T11:31:00.000-05:00

Saturday morning view. I love when fresh snow covers up all the flaws in our lawn.

Updates at last

2009-11-30T09:57:00.006-05:00

I've had some requests for updates. Mainly from Carly, but that's cool.

We had preschool conferences a few weeks ago. Carly's teachers described her as a "social director." They also mentioned that she's the kind of kid that "would be fun at a party." As a parent of a 3 year-old, I thought that was sort of cute. Later that night, when I thought about what that meant for Carly's future, I had a panic attack.

Teddy is fascinated with putting things in containers and using utensils. As Carly mentioned to Nana on Thanksgiving, we are used to the boys in our house (Greg, Sully) being very messy, so this gives me hope that he will join the Clean Team (I'm president). He is a terrible eater, but just plop a tomato wedge on a fork and he will flash his million dollar smile and throw it down the hatch. His obsession with the trash can, while fun at first, has completely lost it's entertainment value. I'm fairly certain we've lost a toothbrush, a few packages of instant oatmeal, and at least one book to it. And Teddy, I hope you are listening, this does not help your candidacy for the Clean Team.

Sully continues to be an overly-energized pain in the ass.

...cont.

2009-11-10T10:16:00.003-05:00

Did I forget to mention that Carly went as a butterfly cowgirl magician? If nothing else, the girl has her own strong opinions.

T-dog was happy to be an octopus. Even if his costume was dirty as hell after biting the pavement a few times, he wore that bad boy like a champ.

Guest Blogger: Carly

2009-10-29T09:34:00.004-04:00

A Halloween story, in Carly's words:

Once upon a time, there was a witch, a good witch. She blew away with no broomstick. She said "why is the broomstick so fast?". The wind was blowing hard and hard. Then it got sunny. There was a rescue frog named "Ga" and Ga was on the broomstick with the witch. The witch fell on the ground and that hurt her. The rescue frog's house is in Mexico. The rescue frog and the rescue Carly saved the good witch in Texas because she was on the ground and her hat blew away.

THE END.

She's Crafty!

2009-10-27T15:33:00.004-04:00

Oooooh la la! I bet you are thinking that this little crafty Halloween owl cookie lollipop delicacy is the work of my creative direction. You are dead wrong. Carly brought this little gem home from preschool today, only further reinforcing my insecurities in the area of all things crafty. So, it is really no surprise that Halloween costumes stress me out. On one hand, I love the idea of spending hours putting the perfect finishing touches on a simple (yet brilliant!) homemade idea. On the other hand, who needs to spend $75 on materials and then spend hours sewing or, in my case stapling, an ugly outfit together.

The Halloween excitement began early this year. I blame the ghost display at the library, but it just as easily could have been the candy corn I was forced to rescue from CVS right after Labor Day. In any case, we have been discussing Halloween costumes every time Carly gets knee deep into her dress-up clothes, which is daily. Of course, she doesn't think any of her dress-up clothes are good enough to be Halloween costumes, so this has been a hot topic. About three weeks ago, I began to get nervous. Old Navy costumes were selling out in her size and we had no concrete concepts. Dr. Carly Quinn Medicine Woman? No. Ga? No. Super Carly? Definitely not. But, then one evening before bed, she finally announced that she wanted to be a monkey. Sweet! Ahh, not so fast...the next morning, she declared that she would be a butterfly. At this point, the important thing was that I knew she had a vision of herself as a successful trick-or-treater buried deep within. We were moving in the right direction.

Fast forward to two weeks ago, when I decided it was action time. I began trying to get a final answer out of her, which was tough. Finally, one morning while getting ready for preschool, I told her it was time to make a decision. I needed to put the wheels in motion. After much deliberation, she announced that 2009's Halloween costume would be......a butterfly! Off to school she went, and off to find wings I went. I scored. I found $6 wings and came up with an idea for creating a fuzzy butterfly body and antennae. As a bonus, the butterfly wings came with a butterfly wand. We were good to go.

That is, until I picked up Carly from school. When I announced that I had wings in the car, a major meltdown ensued. MAJOR. "I want to be a monkey!!! I am goooooing to be a MONKEY MOMMY!!! NOT. A. BUTTERFLY!!". As the temper tantrum escalated, I decided to sweeten the deal by bringing out the butterfly wand. I could see the temptation in her eyes...the girl wanted to play with the wand. I mean, who wouldn't? It had streamers, sparkles, and a sweet little butterfly at the end! She grabbed the wand and I brilliantly suggested that she could be a magic butterfly for Halloween! No dice. A butterfly magician!? Not happening. So, I did what I had to do: I sent her to her room to calm the sobbing and I went downstairs with Teddy to reevaluate.

So, about 10 minutes passed and slowly I heard the crying and hysterics come to an end. There was some shuffling in her room. Then I heard the pit-pat of feet coming down the stairs. Carly confidently walked into the living room, grabbed her wand, and announced, "I know what to do mommy. I'm going to take my magic wand and I will turn my butterfly costume into a monkey costume!". Round one: Carly.

to be continued...

Teddy on the Move

2009-10-23T21:06:00.002-04:00

It has been a long *ss time since my last post. I commissioned a guest blogger and he really let me down. We'll call him "Craig". Thanks a lot Craig. Anyway, hope this video fills you in on what's been going on here. I've got a funny Halloween tidbit that I'll post this weekend, along with some pre-Halloween pics. In the meantime, TGIF everyone.

Summer '09

2009-08-02T22:14:00.013-04:00

How do I begin to describe part two of our summer travels (two of two, but wouldn't it be great if there was a part three, Greg!)? We started off with a week at the P's house. Carly attended bible camp daily with her cousins (amen to that $45/week fee!) and Julie and I got some much-deserved sister time. She talked me into a new blackberry and a new favorite Starbucks beverage. I talked her into a third frozen margarita.

And, let's just say that the P's backyard "playground" and basement full of transportation toys (I thought it would it be weird if I said "boy toys") made quite an impression with Carly. Teddy was impressed with the lush basement carpet for his crawling knees. As they are prone to do, they both settled in quickly with her cousins.

It was also very cool for Carly and Teddy to have the opportunity to spend time with their great-grandma Rita. Carly has some of Grandma Rita's spunk and a lot of her sweet tooth tendencies streaming through her veins.

Carly, Grandma Rita & Katie:

Charlie, Nick & Grandma Rita:

Katie, Gram & Teddy at Gram's new digs:

After the week of Bible camp ended, we took off up north for the Rock. I had hoped to post new pictures of us enjoying the beautiful scenery and beach on a daily basis, but we ended up indoors for a huge portion of the trip. Damn the weather gods! Did Carly misbehave at Bible camp? So here are my random selections...

Say "hi" to the Hay Monster at the end of our street:

Here we are making the most of a rare beach day.

And fast-forward two weeks when we were all glad to have the P's arrive for some playmates.

Harbor Days 2009, highlight of the up-north summer. We began with the festival. The kids loved the rides. Those of us who took physics- even the high school version with Sister Agnes- were terrified, but this was no time for focusing on the rusty nails, so-to-speak.

The parade was a drown-out, but the sun came out in time for us to have a party back at the Rock. And party we did. Here's a picture of the next generation of the Acme Athletic Club:

But the candid shots say it better...

Then we had another week of bad weather, Greg saved himself the return trip, and we said goodbye to Northern Michigan's summer.

Our Day

2009-07-26T00:41:00.002-04:00

Today went like this:

In typical fashion, Teddy was up at 11:00pm, 2:00am, 5:00am and ready to start cruising at 6:30am.

So, we started off slowly. The weather looked bleak again and I was in no mood for it. Apparently, neither was Ga.

Then Sully got us in trouble.

The sun broke through the clouds, however, so we headed down to the beach and contemplated our options.

Carly decided to jump off a bit of energy.

The waves were fierce, but we went swimming anyway. That's when our day really turned around. From our vantage point in the lake, we spotted a noble visitor in the highest point of the tallest tree near the Rock.

Do you see the magestic creature way at the top? It was a bald eagle! The National Bird of the United States of America! Mom said it was a sign. She would not elaborate on what she thought it was a sign of, but perhaps a reminder to always pay our taxes? A reminder to tivo the Colbert Report tonight? Maybe he was there to remind Sully where dogs stand in the hierarchy of the animal kingdom. I mean, this guy looked big enough to swoop down and grab the S-man with his talons and give him an ass-whooping.

...which reminded me to grab Teddy and make sure he didn't smell like or resemble waterfowl or large fish.

And, finally, another 10:00pm sunset.

Big Chill

2009-07-23T21:54:00.003-04:00

We haven't had the best weather on our trips this summer. True to form, today was a tad chilly. We are used to summers of tank tops and humidity, but today we found ourselves in jeans and sweatshirts...until my little stripper three year-old hit the beach late in the day. Thank you to the kind lady who saw my desperate plight as Carly exited the lake in the buff as a cold wind kicked in and offered us her towel.

We also hit the farm with the goat who climbs the ladder (see last year's post). Teddy found the rooster a bit intimidating, even before it bit Carly's finger.

C'mon sunshine, we need you!

Worth the wait

2009-07-21T22:04:00.002-04:00

So I've got a lot of catching up to do. First, we had the trip to Boston. Then we had Carly's birthday celebration. Next, we had the week with the Pietrosantes. Now we are at the Rock and I'm so far behind in my updates that this slow wireless connection will never be able to do my stories justice. Although I plan to go back and catch up (will blogger let me do that?!), for now, I'm just posting a few pictures each day to capture the essence of our trip. Laaaaazzzzzy mamma!

Happy Father's Day!

2009-06-21T21:17:00.005-04:00

Happy Father's Day to Greg! I'd tell him myself, but he's been sequestered downstairs studying for his LEED certification for the last two and a half weeks. Actually, we did manage to squeeze in a dinner out tonight at our favorite Mexican restaurant and do a few gifts upon our return home. Carly made Greg a father's day gift at camp last week and, since it came home wrapped, we were all eager to see what it was (including Carly, who had forgotten). It was a pencil holder. Old school! Apparently word has gotten out among Carly's teachers that Greg is a geek. Also from Carly, Greg received a badminton set, courtesy of the strategically 3-ft high Target dollar bin, which Carly never forgets to inspect. For the record, I beat Greg in an impromptu match while Carly quite accurately imitated his pathetic dive moves. Apparently all this studying has weakened his skills (are you listening Dan?).

So, off to more updates about the kids.

Carly recently has developed, how can I say this tactfully, a bit of an Attitude.

What was it that turned my sweet, helpful, smart little baby girl into an independent, push-my-buttons little diva? Dare I say it was the abrupt 48 hour (Memorial Day) potty training? Or is it just the fact that her baby brother is starting to be more of a threat with his move-it-or-lose it strategy toward her toys? I'm not sure, but you know you are in trouble when you pick up your daughter from her second day at day-camp (glorified preschool) and the teacher says to you laughing, "Carly mentioned that she didn't "cooperate" this morning for you. She explained to us exactly what that word means too. Ooooooooooooooooooh, I have a daughter like her. She's grown now, but....oh, I understand (wink wink)."

I'm moving to on to Teddy now, but with over 44 hours of roadtrips on our schedule this summer, I'm sure I'll have more on this topic later.

Teddy continues to be a mover & a shaker. He was up on all 4's rocking in April (4.5 mos) and took off crawling in May. He is now 6 mos and is pulling to a stand in his crib and climbing up on the dishwasher and any other supremely dangerous spot he can maneuver. Of course, he just locks his knees and does the Nestle plunge backward, so he's destined to have his mom's SAT scores.

What else? He is eating, but he isn't nearly as interested in food as Carly was when she first started. Maybe it's because I sort of burnt the first batch of red peppers and eggplant that I tried to steam & puree and, yet, I still attempted to get him to try it. I am already guessing that Teddy will be eating quite a bit more jarred food that his older sister did.

Oh hell, at 6 mos and almost-3, these two kids have it pretty damn good. I love this time of year when a good dose of "getting outta dodge" resets my parental insanity gage. We look forward to making memories with all the cousins this summer!

South Bend or BUST

2009-05-27T18:20:00.008-04:00

We're back from the Bend. Actually, we've been back for two weeks, but it takes me that long to settle back into our lives here. A quick photo recap...

Carly & Teddy visiting with Grandma Rita at her new sweet digs. Carly was in rare form, as you can tell.

It was a last minute line-up at the Pietrosantes on Saturday morning, but alas Nick & Katie made the cut (along with Carly & Teddy), so we loaded up Julie's minibus and set off to South Bend. With two pack-n-plays and two strollers and several bags, we were still jammed. Charlie and Joey were left behind to torture their dad, but little did they know how much better it would be at home as opposed to roughing it in Zahm Hall (not for the faint of heart thankyouverymuch).

Carly & Nick taking a break from the Architecture commencement reception to take a walk around campus. Here they are at the Manor, hopefully they both have updated tetanus shots.

Across the quad at Pangborn:

A picture of Air Force One flying over campus about an hour before the ceremony. Note that Touchdown Jesus is pointing to the plane, not to the supposed protesters, so I guess we know who he picks in that debate.

The proud graduate. Has anyone heard me talk about how Scott has claimed to "be failing out" at least once per semester since he started his path of higher education? This semester did not disappoint. Of course, we learned at graduation that he was **almost** valedictorian. Oh shoot.

The proud commencement speaker.

This picture captures Carly's first experience with a belgian waffle topped with whipped cream and strawberries...at Bibler's no less. Lucky, lucky girl. Too bad she had a total meltdown just moments later and ruined her mom's dutch baby pancake breakfast. I still am holding a grudge.

Back at my mom's house....the cousins went nuts with nana's toys. The discussion between Katie & Teddy went something like this:

K: Soooooo....what hair products are you using these days?
T: Mostly baby barf, but it doesn't seem to help with hair growth. You?
K: Yeah, that stuff is worthless, my bro Charlie tells me that we should stick with peanut butter.
T: Not until I'm 18 months, bummer. Sunscreen on the scalp is going to be a bitch this summer.

Katie, Carly, Teddy, Joey, Nick & Charlie...

The only thing Carly willingly shared the whole weekend was the hairclips that came with the purse Aunt Julie bought her. One day, Joey, this photo will haunt you. And, Aunt Julie, one day Katie is going to point out that there was a beer on her highchair tray.

And......the day after we arrived home.....Carly graduated from the 2's class at preschool (I'm withholding my rant about the graduation trend, but I've got one buried inside me). Good thing she had just learned from Uncle Scott what graduates do with their mortar boards. Ta da!

Happy Trails

2009-05-14T11:06:00.003-04:00

Guess who is excited about our trip this weekend? (If you are wondering what Carly is doing in the clip...that is Ga singing - he doesn't annunciate words because "his mouth is sewed shut mommy").

CONGRATULATIONS UNCLE SCOTT!!!!!!!!!!

Scene at the Rock (2004 I think)

2009-04-27T15:15:00.001-04:00

Kid Rock & Charlie. I really have nothing to add.

Noise

2009-04-21T20:50:00.003-04:00

So, parents of boys, are these roaring noises that Teddy is making normal? Maybe he is taking his name a bit too literally.

See ya!

2009-04-20T22:39:00.003-04:00

Say "adios" to the binky! Today was Carly's first dentist appointment, during which we learned that Carly has beautiful teeth. Also during the visit, as prompted by the "what can we do for you today" portion of the patient intake form that I carefully completed, the dentist mentioned to Carly that she should stop using her binky. Carly nodded in agreement, perhaps encouraged by the glistening coin that the dentist gave her to retrieve a prize from the prize machine, and we left the office happy as clams.

The rest of the day went something like this: We arrived home. Carly ran to tell Greg the good news that it was time to throw away the binkies (I should note here that she rejected the idea of mailing them to needy children, so we really need to get on the wagon as far as attending mass more regularly). She ran upstairs, retrieved the 4 binkies from her binky bucket and threw them in the trash can. We left and went to an activity-filled playgroup. Upon returning home at naptime, she promptly headed upstairs, grabbed Ga, and had a total all-systems failure binky meltdown. We quickly went through the 5 stages of grieving (again, that Death & Dying class from Marian comes in handy!):

Denial - "I am not a big girl, I am a baby!!!"
Anger - "I will not take my nap. No nononononononononononononono mommy!"
Bargaining - "You stay here mommy, I'm going to get my binkies out of the trash." "Pleeeeaaaaase mommy, I neeeeeeeeeed my binky!"
Depression - hysterical sobbing
Acceptance - "Okay, I'm happy mommy, you can leave." This was a fake-out, since she never went to sleep and continued the previous 4 steps for about an hour and a half.

I was prepared for a similar experience this evening, so I armed myself with two very, very useful tools.

1.

(This was for me, not Carly.)

2.

Some may say this was an unfair scare tactic. Dr. Dentist might not approve of me using her brochure about tooth decay to falsely convince my toddler that binkies will rot her teeth and make them fall out. They are both right, but sometimes you just have to do what works. I had my little talk with Carly and you can be damned sure that that picture had her asleep without the binky in less than 5 minutes.

Ta da!

Happy Easter

2009-04-12T20:53:00.002-04:00

I spent a lot of time and energy today trying to relax and enjoy the day, so naturally I'm exhausted. Happy Easter everyone!!

35

2009-04-09T19:33:00.005-04:00

I had a fantastic birthday. Teddy was sick, we are still unemployed, and we have a new "white picket fence" (not the good kind), but the day was still great. Greg outdid himself with the birthday gifts this year after turning up empty handed last year. I got two bottles of tequila ("one for margaritas, one for sipping"). Hey, this is from a guy who once bought me a box of Duraflame logs for Christmas. Not bad! Carly helped bake the cake, as evidenced by her handprint in the chocolate frosting and a really guilty look on her face when I noticed it. We all thought it was delicious.

So here it goes. Things I've learned this year.
1) Miracles do happen. In a word: Teddy.
2) I should not feel guilty about booking a three week trip to the Rock. It always goes by too quickly.
3) It was a bad idea to show Greg that I can get ready in 14 minutes or less.
4) Even though friends move away, they are always in my thoughts.
5) The 24 hour stomach flu lasts more than 24 hours, even if it's Christmas Eve.
6) If you build it, they will come. People cannot resist our sweet guest quarters (a pullout couch). Visitors this past 12 mos have included: Nana, Grammy & Papa, Michelle & Dan & Jack, Julie & Katie, Duffy & Katie, Scott, Bridget & Kevin & Colin, Ten Frame, and BI & Melissa. (Keep 'em coming!)
7) Enrolling Carly in preschool at age two was brilliant.
8) You should always check to make sure the new eyebrow pencil you are about to use is not dark blue.
9) Because I renewed my 5 year-old driver's license online, I will not need to get a new driver's license photo for 8 years. I will look 30 until I'm 43. Better than Creme de la Mer!
10) Happiness comes from within.

Cheers!

Who sucks more?

2009-04-05T21:10:00.003-04:00

You be the judge. Whose attempt sucks more:

Greg's pork & (flavorless) couscous dinner. Keep in mind, this was exactly how it was presented to me at dinner last week.

My attempt at Easter treats for preschoolers. Preschoolers. And, not to make excuses or anything, but the grocery store was out of peeps and jelly beans.

T Diggity Dog

2009-04-01T16:39:00.003-04:00

Why we end up calling him this, or T-Dog or Teeny Tiny Teddy, I have no idea. These names just come out of my mouth in the most chaotic of times when the phone is ringing, I'm trying to watch some random clip on the Today Show, Teddy is screaming, Carly is TALKING LOUDLY ABOVE EVERYONE ELSE telling me that Ga's birthday is coming up and he would like a chocolate cake and Sully is sniffing dangerously around the peanut butter jar left open on the counter. Teddy takes priority when I am in triage mode during these daily events. (Of course, triage is another one of those skills that stay-home-moms all have on their imaginary up-to-date resumes, you know, the ones that they swear they will fire off to 100 employers the next time someone screams or throws food on the floor). As I scoop him up, and try to find humor in the situation, I find myself singing the wrong lyrics to any tune that comes to mind or, in the case of Teddy, calling him some ridiculous name. I'm explaining this so that, one day, when he is 12 or something and he can't shake one of these ridiculous nicknames, he will understand.

Spring Break 2009 - PS

2009-03-27T11:34:00.003-04:00

A quick follow-up to share what I learned on our flight home.

Here's a quiz: see what you can find wrong in these pictures:

1) When you are traveling with a child on your lap, do NOT ORDER COFFEE. It will spill on you and your child. It may also create an unsightly large brown spot on the burp cloth, completely alarming fellow passengers who did not see the aforementioned coffee and who assume it is something else.

2) Do not assume that strategically seating your husband next to your toddler will mean that he will entertain her, especially if you are flying home during March Madness.

Spring Break 2009

2009-03-19T11:53:00.009-04:00

We are back from Spring Break 2009. You may wonder, with Greg unemployed and me a stay-home mom, what the hell were we breaking from this year? I guess we were escaping our miserable lawn, Greg's job search (some may say this was ill advised), and the gray weather. To say that we enjoyed ourselves on our vacation is to put it mildly. And, hey, one broken flat screen tv and one duvet cover adorned with purple crayon add up to just a small price for fun, right?

It took Carly all of 3 minutes to acclimate herself to Nana's spring break world: the tough decision of beach, big pool or little pool; tons of new friends just waiting to play; and ice cream and pina coladas on demand from the pool cafe.

At just 11 weeks, Teddy also caught on to the spring break lifestyle quite fast.

Greg working on his job search:

All-in-all, Nana took very good care of us. Thanks Mom!

Humor Me

2009-02-24T16:46:00.006-05:00

We've taken a few hits around here lately, so I've been especially reliant on humor to make the best of things. That's why I am pleased to announce the emergence of Carly Quinn's amazing aptitude for comedy.

Example One: Back on New Year's Eve, while my sister-in-law and I were trying to herd 3 kids and 2 husbands out the door to a party, I quickly tossed on my faux fur coat (see, folks, I really do try). Carly announced, "Mommy, you're dressing up like a bear!" She was right, the black faux fur sort of resembled a bad bear costume and my 3 weeks-post-baby bod helped define the ferocious silhouette. Michelle and I lost it, laughing hysterically (the pre-departure cocktails helped), and Carly announced proudly, "Mommy, I made a joke!!" And, she did. It was her first.

Example Two: Carly and Teddy were sitting in one of our chairs as I grabbed a book to read to them. I turned around and said, "Wow, you guys are like two peas in a pod." Carly smiled and said right back to me, "Two peas in a potty!" and we both cracked up. Repeatedly. This, her second joke, sealed the deal for her. Making jokes is another way to get attention and, thus, totally worth the effort even if you have to repeat the line 100 times before mom or dad or 550 lawyers via video conference (damn that sound delay) gets that it's a joke.

And, perhaps best of all, Carly now laughs at my jokes. For example, she thinks my impression of Ms. Hannigan in "Annie" is hilarious. I can make her laugh amidst the greatest of meltdowns. She also thinks it's funny when I change the words to some of her nursery rhymes and songs, like when I changed the lyrics of London Bridges to "take the Ga and lock him up, lock him up, lock him up, take the Ga and lock him up, my fair froggy." Insane giggles. I'm working on some new material, so I'll keep you posted with the results. Suffice it to say, we are going to hit the bigtime when her appreciation for potty humor kicks into high gear.

And for those of you wondering what Teddy thinks of all this humor business...

The "Ga" Ha Moment

2009-02-01T16:55:00.004-05:00

Things are busy here, so my entries have been short and sparse (not unlike my eyelashes), but this story is a must-share. If you've been following this blog at all, you know that Carly's best friend is froggy. It's a little half blanket/half stuffed frog that has been her constant companion since she was about 6 months old. It's ridiculous how much she loves this guy.

Last fall, seemingly out of nowhere, froggy acquired a name. All of a sudden, she started calling him "Ga" or sometimes even "Ga Ga". It was an odd name, slightly babyish for a 2 year old who speaks well and who previously had named her favorite dolls "Greg" and "Sara", but we just went with it. We couldn't figure out if she picked it up from a new tv show (whooops, now you know, my child watches tv) or a book or from a friend. Maybe she just made it up in her imaginative little head? In any case, she made it clear that we should all call froggy "Ga" and we followed in suit.

Fast forward through fall, through Teddy's arrival and the Christmas season, all the way to preschool starting up again in January. On the way home from school last week in the car, I asked Carly if she enjoyed her lunch. She said, "yes mommy, I ate all my graham crackers and my cottage cheese." She was lying and actually only drank her juice, but that's beside the point. I said, "was it yummy?" and she said, "yes, but first we said our saying."

"What saying Carly?"

"The one that Father Dan says: God is great, God is good, thank you for this yummy food."

"That's nice Carly. Now, who is God?" I asked this question because, as a Catholic who hasn't been to church in awhile, I've been looking for an opportunity to bring up the topic.**

From the backseat, I hear, "Mommy! Ga is froggy!!!"

Ah HA! So, my child deduced from the rest of the prayer that whomever this "Ga" person was, he was both great and good, and, of course, it must be froggy.

So, I may not be proud that Carly worships her frog every time she says grace at preschool, but I do find it hilarious.

**If you are not my mother or my mother-in-law or father-in-law, you should know that this is actually not true, I was just making conversation.

Comparisons

2009-01-05T15:52:00.004-05:00

It has only been three and a half weeks and, although I know they are different little human beings, I already can't help myself from comparing Carly and Teddy. Carly never needed to be burped. Teddy is a puker, constantly burping and spitting up. Carly was either crying, eating, or sucking on her binky at 4 weeks. Teddy will have periods of just chilling out and he sometimes snoozes without the binky. Teddy snorts a lot, Carly did not. I freaked out when my go-to baby book said that babies should be able to react with a social smile by 6 weeks and Carly would just look at me confused. Teddy is already smirking when I say his name. Carly would go for week long stretches without pooping, Teddy is very different.

So you can understand my excitement when, lo and behold, we finally found some evidence that they really are siblings.

Teddy's first bath:

Carly's first bath:

The Best Christmas Gift

2008-12-25T21:55:00.006-05:00

On December 10th at 4:44pm, we welcomed Theodore Gregory into the world. We are thrilled to have another boy (Sully being our first "boy") and Greg is already demanding some redecorating of the nursery. This little guy has a lot to learn before he starts choosing sides, but let's just say if Teddy has to choose between the Patriots and the Lions, well, it's not hard being a child of 2008.

It has been two very quick weeks and it already feels like he has been a part of our family forever. Things are busy around here, and it's Christmas, so I'll keep it short. Below are some new pics of Carly & Teddy. Merry Christmas!!

Some people have been asking us who Teddy looks like...

Anyone who remembers Carly's performance last year will understand how happy we were with the Santa visit this time around. The morning of her visit, she even referred to Santa as "a scary monster," setting our expectations low, way low.

And it had nothing to do with Christmas cookie bribery. I swear.

Christmas Eve was the pinnacle of excitement.

Everyone enjoyed their gifts today too.

I hope Santa was good to all of you too!

December 9th

2008-12-09T14:19:00.004-05:00

The significance of today is twofold: it's my dad's birthday and it's the last day that Carly and I will be hanging out just the two of us (tomorrow is Induction Day). As I'm currently completely hormonally overloaded and anxious about the impending hospital visit, I thought I might take a deep breath and comment on how much fun I've had with Carly over the last 2.5 years.

The kid is hilarious, which I knew upon first meeting her in the hospital. Check out her face in this photo:

I knew I was a candidate to be a stay home mom the first day I left Sully as a puppy and thought entertaining him would be a better use of my time than reading contracts. Hanging out with Carly involves a bit more than entertaining her, but honestly that's a big part of it. Today we danced to several itunes selections, including a few of her favorites ("Sweet Caroline" and anything mentioning the ABC's) and a few of my favorites, some of which I'd be condemned by Parents Magazine for exposing to my toddler. The girl can really throw it down. I also read her a few books, she read me the "Go Irish" book and got most of it right, we chased each other around the house, we kicked around some leaves outside, we went and got "milkshakes" (smoothies) and I got to explain to her why Michigan looks like a mitten (not a glove!) and how Santa will come regardless whether it is snowing outside or not (thanks, Charlie Brown Christmas). We discussed in what order Santa would visit all of her friends and, somewhat related, which of her friends are boys and which are girls (Greg needs to stop chanting "I'm a MAN, I'm a MAN" everytime he does some household job involving the teeniest bit of strength or this gender discussion will never end). In any case, admittedly, my new role entertains me just as much as it demands my David Brent talents.

Many people have asked me whether Carly is ready to be a big sister and whether she understands the idea of a new baby. A few months ago, the answer probably was no. Today, I think the answer is yes. Tomorrow we will find out.

38+ weeks

2008-12-01T13:22:00.002-05:00

What does it feel like to be this close to delivering? Well, it sort of feels like I'm getting ready to run a marathon, but I have no idea when the gun is going to go off, and it could be at any second. When we sat down at a local Mexican restaurant last Wednesday, the waiters clearly were terrified of me. I shave my legs every day, just in case. When I call friends and family (even Greg, the notorious screener), people pick up, sometimes on the first ring. As I waddled around the playground this morning, I got knowing nods of empathy from other moms. I told Carly this morning that the reason it was taking me a bit longer to hop out of bed was because "mommy is kind of like a cow, with a big tummy, and it takes cows awhile to stand up when they are lying down" (at, which point, she promptly went into her bedroom and grabbed her cowgirl hat and said "Carly's a cowgirl too.").

The only thing I know for sure at this point is that we are going to have a December baby.

Happy Turkey Day

2008-11-29T21:21:00.003-05:00

Happy Turkey Day! As Carly would say, "you DID it mom!". That's right, for the first time in 12 years or so, Greg and I (and Carly, and much to his delight, Sully) stayed home and cooked Thanksgiving dinner ourselves. We've been freeloading off our respective families for so long that it actually took some serious research effort to figure out how to pull off a meal worthy enough of such a fantastic holiday, but we did it. Greg chopped a few onions and grated a little gruyere cheese and I made the garlic mashed potatoes, cranberry sauce, gruyere chive biscuits, my mom's stuffing, gravy, sauteed green beans, roasted turkey and, well, we bought the sweet potato pie from a local bakery. All in all, it rocked.

Of course, we had our share of drama...

...and still.......no baby yet!!

Cold, so cold

2008-11-12T14:20:00.009-05:00

First of all, I should mention that I started writing a whole entry about Sarah Palin and her controversial $150k wardrobe expenditures...clearly it wasn't enough to remedy the 80's prom updo, the broken earrings, the modified construction safety glasses...but then I looked in the mirror and decided it was best not to comment. I mean, I subscribe to "Vogue" because deep down, underneath the cheap maternity t-shirts and Banana Republic Outlet denim, is the soul of someone who actually does care what she looks like. You just wouldn't know it by looking.

November 23rd, 5:44pm, 48 degrees, the outskirts of my neighborhood: woman in her mid-30's wearing full length fur coat and pushing bugaboo stroller with child. Did someone score big at an early black Friday sale? Was she walking to the airport on her way to Moscow for Thanksgiving? Was she making fun of Sarah Palin?

For those who've been asking, I've got about two weeks left before baby #2 arrives, via induction if it comes to that. I will keep you posted. Suffice it to say that I would be cool with the baby saving me from ruining my favorite holiday with a poorly planned menu.

Happy Halloween & other confessions

2008-10-31T14:59:00.005-04:00

Today is Halloween. The month of October is virtually gone and I'm a sleepless wreck. So as not to dwell on my pathetic physical state, however, I would like to announce that Carly Q is now officially in her new bedroom. It took a swift lie ("oh NO! the crib is broken!!") coupled with anecdotal evidence in the form of a disheveled crib mattress devoid of its usual cute crib sheet and haphazardly topped with an empty laundry basket (genius!). Greg doubted that this scheme would work and I was a bit tentative when, after I announced to Carly that the crib was broken, she gave a doubtful glance over her shoulder to the crib and said, "no, not broken, needs a new sheet mommy." Yet, the allure of the swanky new digs must have been secretly taunting her, for that very evening, she succumbed to the broken crib theory and made it through the night in her big girl bed and even slept in late the next morning.

So far, we haven't looked back.

On to the big Halloween confessions. I was up late reading Time when I came across an article about online confessions (http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,1853325,
00.html?iid=perma_share) (no, I can't figure out how to get this to convert to a link). Now, I think this is a fantastic idea, even if the Catholic Church doesn't. Since I used to be a good Catholic and generally buy into the idea of reconciliation and forgiveness (I'm married to Greg, after all), it made me think: what would I confess online if I could? As it turns out, I came up with many things sitting there reading at 3am, but I didn't write them down, so here are the remnants of what I remember:

1) I am a stay-home mom and I hate being at my house during the day.
2) Carly once walked down our steep staircase wearing my 2.5 inch heels and I didn't notice until she was at the bottom.
3) I envy (had to throw in that mortal sin reference) creative people.
4) I say I don't like dressing up for Halloween, but secretly I wish I had a reason to go nuts with a costume. (This year, I'd wear a green hat, green tights and a huge orange sweatshirt over my massive pregnant belly and go as a pumpkin.)

Anyone else have a confession or two you'd like to share?

Movin' on up - or not.

2008-10-14T19:35:00.008-04:00

Check out Carly's sweet new room. Books, toys, new bed, tea parties, dress-up clothes...the works! Who wouldn't be excited to move out of a baby nursery into this fab room, right? As in all things I think I've got nailed down parent-wise, I am way off base. Don't get me wrong, she loves her new room as a playroom. The bed is a great place to practice jumping skills or to read books. She likes putting her dolls to bed over and over (more on that later), but as far as putting herself to sleep, well that's a no go. After we read books in her big girl bed every night, she quickly pops up and prances her pajama'd little self into her old room and demands help getting into the crib. We even caught her referring to the new bed as her "couch" recently, so clearly we are heading in the wrong direction.

I am soliciting any and all advice on getting her to make the move, so bring it.

With all the media hype over gender issues in politics these days, I'm proud to report that Carly does not yet recognize gender differences in her dolls. Hence, I introduce to you (below) Carly's doll "Sara" (to her far right, in the pink) and "Greg" (to her immediate right, also decked out in pink). She picked the names and let's just say dad isn't as happy about this development as I am (maybe because "Greg" looks smaller and weaker than "Sara"?). The good news is that she treats them both really well. Does this kid need a sibling or what?

It's a Zoo here

2008-09-17T16:46:00.006-04:00

We have no cleaning person here on Cameron Mills (besides yours truly) and there are many (MANY) days I feel like we live at the zoo. This had me thinking, if we were zoo animals, which animals would we be?

Carly:

....mostly because she has turned into a show-off lately

me (in my current state, lethargic and always hungry):

Greg:

** photos courtesy of our zoo trip last week.

Where to begin?

2008-09-12T13:49:00.006-04:00

Where shall I begin? Well, I should really begin by giving a quick update about baby-to-be, due in December. Already, this baby is getting the shaft on the blog because I assume our tangible happenings are more interesting than the pregnancy updates (to summarize the last 28 weeks, I've been stiff, fat, sleepless and hungry all the time). In any case, I had the opportunity for some bonding time with the peanut last Friday as I gazed at a sonogram screen for thirty minutes during my latest appointment (now conveniently scheduled during preschool hours - awesome news if you've ever been privy to my Carly-humiliates-me-at-the-OB's office stories). I usually can't help but prematurely try to make guesses about his/her personality during these sessions and this was no exception. I'd say, with the baby's constant movement, that he/she is not a big sleeper and possibly thinks that that is funny (it's not). The one concrete trait I did learn from the doctor is that this baby has big feet. And, yes, I am concerned.

In any case, here are the latest shots:

Switching gears now to preschool, glorious preschool (God bless those home schoolers). All summer, we talked up the idea of school to Carly. Every time we drove by her new school, we'd make a big deal about it being "Carly's school" and point out "Carly's playground" and tell her how exciting it would be to meet new friends & new teachers, read new books, and play with new toys, albeit, without mom, dad, binky or froggy. We practiced rocking out to a school bus song anytime we drove by the school. You get the idea.

Well, good news, my brief stint at child psychology worked. Day One came and Carly was so excited, she could barely eat her breakfast. She had her frog backpack over her shoulders before she was out of her pajamas. She even totally refused to pose for the traditional first day photos.

And, as we pulled up to the school, she screamed "bye bye mommy, Carly's school, yeeeeeah, see ya!" Once inside, she found her way to her classroom, walked right in toward the train set, and didn't even look back to say goodbye. (A bit over the top, don't you think?) Then, when I went to pick her up, she threw a fit and refused to leave. I'm talking total temper tantrum. I had to carry her kicking and screaming to the car and toss out a few fake laughs for the benefit of the staring moms when she did the 'ole arching of the back to avoid the carseat trick. As a new preschool mom, precariously navigating the world of late policies and volunteer "opportunities", I found myself a bit humiliated. I mean, seriously, I was surrounded by moms conversing with the teachers about how little Mary finally adjusted after snacktime and how little John spent his day looking longingly out the window for his mom. And damn it if she didn't do it again the next day.

The following week, our pick-ups were a bit more successful, perhaps because I knew to bribe her with the promise of a lollipop in the car and a return to school for the back-to-school pizza party on Friday night. In any case, I think we'll just use this photo as her official first day photo. Of course, I had used my free time the previous week to buy those mums.

Fantasy

2008-09-03T08:57:00.003-04:00

Does someone you know fantasize? My husband does and his season kicked off last night with a ridiculous auction or draft or whatever that lasted over 3 hours. Greg was on a conference call with the rest of his league of, excuse me guys but, dorks and demanded complete silence within the house and absolutely no interruptions. Carly was lucky to get a "goodnight" from him as he studied his 6 pt font spreadsheets of names and stats as if he was reading his Mazdarati manual. In any case, like the dutiful wife that I am, I complied and tried to shut out the periodic laughter and accusations of cheating that emanated from the back room. Normally, I would have poured myself a huge glass of wine and called up my sister in law, Michelle, to make fun of the scene, but alas, no vino for me right now. Instead, I kept my distance and surfed for some crappy pre-season (that's right, I get the lingo) tv show to watch.

Lucky for me, the new 90210 was making it's debut during the fantasy draft, in what appeared to be a two hour gift from God on this particular night. And, folks, I will admit here that I actually was eager to tune in. (First, I need to concede that I shouldn't be admitting to this on my blog, especially after Levi Johnston's unfortunate self description on myspace. You really never know when you are going to be the center of a political scandal, though, do you?) I'm not sure what I really expected because, as Greg later pointed out, I didn't even watch the first 90210 and this version is on a network neither of us have ever heard of, but guys this show is really, really bad. It is laughable, it's so bad. Last night's pilot episode managed to steal a plot from Pretty Woman, badly imitate Sweet Sixteen, and pathetically pluck the Lucille Bluth character from Arrested Development (God I miss that show, when is the movie coming out anyway?) It was so bad that I actually think watching Fred Thompson speak at the republican convention may have been a better choice.

On an unrelated note, did you happen to catch this last week?

End of the Innocence

2008-08-21T17:33:00.008-04:00

Our summer vacations have come to a close and it's almost time to get ready for preschool (yee-ha!). There are too many hilarious stories to recount from our trip to the Rock, but suffice it to say that one of them involved Grandma Rita strapping a maxipad to her ankle. In any case, Carly had a great time making memories with her cousins, so below I'm sharing a few more shots.

Sully - either protecting Katie as she slept by the bonfire or waiting to see if she had an extra s'more.

It did not take old Sully boy long to locate a better spot, directly under the chair holding the marshmallows, chocolate and graham crackers. Score.

This shot captures exactly how I'll remember Charlie at meals this summer.

Carly finally convinced her cousins that Annie isn't a "girl movie," but a classic to be enjoyed by all....over & over & over when necessary.

Okay, these two shots are from the "donut place" as we refer to it, even though the donuts there are not that great (you can bet I still ate them). That is actually a goat on top of that platform thing, and Charlie is using the pulley to entice it up there to eat. Pam Anderson and PETA were protesting in the parking lot while Kid Rock was singing "All Summer Long." Just kidding.

Carly & Sully were pumped when Greg finally arrived...but not so happy when he made us head home early.

Carly & Mitchell at the Fredrickson's beach, just a few houses away. On a related note, if anyone has contacts at the Army Corps of Engineers, my mom is interested in bribing them to clear some of the grass away from her beach.

And it wouldn't be a family vacation without a ridiculous amount of time spent trying to get a group shot. This year, mom & Julie actually set up a poor professional photographer with the challenge of trying to get beach glamour shots of 5 kids under the age of six, one great-grandma with very fussy hairstyle taste, one matriarch who thinks that the coordinating white outfits make us resemble the Kennedy family, and 5 other pessimistic adults. Painful does not describe it. Did I mention that Carly had some type of crib accident just prior to the shoot and emerged with a swollen, bruised nose? In fact, the only one who honestly enjoyed the photo shoot was Nick, who, when it came time for individual family shots, instructed the gracious photographer that "since Scott doesn't have a wife, I will just be in his photo."

And, finally, a photo that my dad would love....he would have also loved every minute of chaos with the family this summer. Cheers dad.

No rules, no worries

2008-08-07T16:39:00.009-04:00

Summertime is the perfect time to reevaluate all the rules that I've been instigating in our game of parenthood/familyhood. Okay, maybe I'm just feeling really lazy about keeping track of things like, let's just say, lollipops for breakfast. Last night, after Carly's ice cream cone at 8pm, the poor kid had to ask me for "cheese? fruit mommy?" She accurately observed that we had forgotten dinner.

Other things that we have been loose about include bedtimes, bathing suits on the beach, ferris wheel rides for kids under 40 inches (she's 36), binky habits (sorry Greg, but we'll all work on this when we get home), and sitting down in restaurants during dinner (my mom assures me that people don't care if my little maniac runs around saying hello to each table...and I'm usually happy to pretend they don't either - mama's got to eat!). Perhaps the biggest departure from our home rules, though, involves the amount of time I allow to ellapse between the moment I hear the screen door slam and the second I go chase the escape artist. At home, faced with a busy street and strangers outside our front steps, I give it about 10 seconds. Up here, I'm more laid back. Most times, I hear an announcement ("my stroller!" or "tea party at nana's beach!"), a giggle, or the pitter-pat of her feet that betrays her whereabouts. And, if I don't, I just send Sully or great-Grandma Rita to go track her down.

Yeah, I'm not that lazy.

More pics from our trip:

Carly (right) joining Nick and our friends Riley and Mitchell to stretch out for the fun run.

My pre-5k photo...trust me when I tell you that the post-5k photo was much less flattering.

Action shots from the post-run parade. Another rule down the drain: don't let child eat candy thrown at her by strangers.

And the fair...

That's my massive 21-week prego self flanked by Carly and my nephew Nick on the ferris wheel. For future reference, Nick cannot be trusted to follow the "DANGER!!! DO NOT ROCK CHAIR WHILE RIDE IS STOPPED!" sign when hanging 100 feet in the air above Lake Michigan. And, no, pregnant women are not supposed to be on the ride either.

More shots of Carly with her beach buddies (Joey, then the whole crew eating dinner).

yesterday's cold spell

Finally, I thought I'd include this photo, even though it is not particularly great, because it captures a typical screw-up on my part. Yesterday, we stopped by the farm across the road to get a closer view of the cows that Carly had been waving to for the last 2 weeks. If you look closely at the photo, you will see that we inadvertently stopped by the bull pen. No wonder those damn animals had steam coming out of their noses and were aggressively charging back & forth. Suffice it to say, Carly is "all done" with the cow close-ups for now.

Small town charm

2008-07-31T14:40:00.005-04:00

How do you know you are in a small town?

1) The Ms. Any-Small-Town-USA and her court are going to be in a tug-of-war contest against the local firemen at the town fair this weekend. It may involve a fire hose and water.

2) They will throw you in a homemade "jail" if you are not wearing a $2 button that helps pay for fireworks at same said town fair.

3) The cashier at the local pharmacy felt it pertinent to tell the elderly lady in front of me, who was purchasing what seemed to be a yearly supply of laxatives, that an easier way to combat her problem might be to eat more yogurt. The elderly lady was actually thankful for his advice.

So here we go, our first installment from the Rock..........

Carly having breakfast with her baby (this is the one she named "Sara") at the beach.

Their view of Lake Michigan.

Joey, Charlie, Carly, Nick and Katie (over under the pink balloon) eating Superman ice cream at the street fair.

Nick, Carly & Joey

Carly, Nana (and me taking photo) having lunch at the Town Club (a local bar)....check out the time on the wall.

Joey and Carly enjoying lunch al fresco on Wednesday.

By the way, does this look like a good way to greet your customers? Believe it or not, it's a local swim shop (not a gun or hunting store).

Off to the Rock

2008-07-24T16:04:00.003-04:00

Well, we are off to the Rock today. No biggy, just a 14 hour roadtrip with a toddler and a very large dog. But it is always worth the effort to enjoy the beauty & simplicity of life (mom, pay attention) on Lake Michigan.

I used to eagerly anticipate the geeky emails my dad would inevitably send to me, Greg, Scott, Julie & Judd before we would descend on the lake. They would always reference some teaser of an activity he was conjuring up as well as some super cheesy photos meant to get us psyched up for the trip. Some involved local fauna, many involved flags, and almost all of them included vistas of the Rock's beach. Below are just a few examples of his artistic talents.

Carly, Sully & I will be gone for three glorious weeks, so we'll try to stay in touch by blogging from afar...rumor has it that the Rock just got high speed internet, which is very exciting. THAT would have been helpful while trying to plan a wedding.

A par-tay!

2008-07-17T21:27:00.007-04:00

Finally, I'm just now getting around to posting the birthday party photos. This year, we opted for a joint venture between Carly and her good buddies Max, Bella & Amelia. Carly, Max and Bella share the same birthday and Amelia's is just a few days later. I'll admit that there were many moments leading up to the festivities during which I feared I was really being a lazy mom opting to co-host a birthday party at a park and not sweat the small stuff like I did last year. But, let me tell you, it was fantastic. Who says Costco can't make a decent sandwich? Certainly not the mom who spent 2 hours roasting red peppers over an open flame last year. Aren't all birthday parties all about the cake anyway? I can tell you for certain that Miss Carly thoroughly enjoyed her party, as well as her cake.

What are you doing guys?

2008-07-17T21:25:00.006-04:00

We've reached that point with Carly where the non-stop questions have begun. "Where are you going [mommy/daddy]?" is the catch-all question of choice. Loosely translated, it means "what are you doing?" This question forces me to account for every single thing I do during the day and, let me tell you, it can be quite humbling to admit out loud that "I'm spending 45 minutes cleaning up your strawberry mess" or "I'm surfing the cabinet to come up with some pathetic dinner" or "I'm freaking out reading this article about a lady who found a snake in her washing machine" (seriously, I would not recommend reading that story).

In any case, there have been a few recent gems over which I have found myself stumbling.

Where is the moon mommy? Greg said I wasn't being accurate enough when I said "it's sleeping, just like you will be in a few minutes", but the truth seems a bit out of her conceptual league at this point.

Daddy's car? She has been saying this anytime we hear a screeching noise outside. It refers to the fact that Greg has been ignoring the not-so-subtle belt issue with his car for several weeks now.

Mommy go running? Yeah, not really kiddo. Dad runs, but mom just huffs & puffs walking Sully around the neighborhood hills. And I really can't blame this on a huge belly yet.

TBeeee broken mommy? I may or may not have once told her that the tv was broken and unable to be changed to Sesame Street from HGTV.

More shots of the interrogator...

Carly's song

2008-07-17T21:00:00.005-04:00

A short video to illustrate how much Carly enjoys a certain song...

Happy 4th of July

2008-07-15T09:15:00.008-04:00

Celebrating the 4th of July with bonfires, Massachusetts style.

So, we are now home from a fantastic trip to Cape Cod Bay (not Cape Cod, but its bay, which I know because there was a map, conveniently located next to my bed and I had the opportunity to study it in depth while sick one day). Carly and Sully got to play with their cousins Jack & Colin, as well as thoroughly exhaust themselves on the beach. Grammy & Papa spoiled Carly with two early birthday celebrations, solidifying her love of the concept (was there really any other option?). Greg and I had a great time and one of us didn't even touch a beer all week (hint, it was not Greg).

Aside from the illness, we had one major hiccup on this trip. We left Carly's beloved froggy behind. To be totally accurate, Carly left her own froggy behind, after taking him down into the basement and forgetting to bring him upstairs, but let me just take the high road and accept the blame. Greg and I realized this error about 2 minutes before Carly did and about 60 minutes into our 9 hour drive. A quick call to Grammy & Papa confirmed our biggest nightmare and, despite their heroic efforts to get froggy to the local fedex office in record time, we knew it would be 2 days before he arrived home. Alas, our girl did fairly well with the idea that froggy wanted to take an airplane home instead of riding in the car (who wouldn't?) and she made due with froggy's brother. (I'll insert here that Greg is concerned about dubbing the second - and third and fourth- frogs "froggy's brothers" because he fears that she will forever associate brothers with inferior beings...too late!). Every single time she saw an airplane fly overhead on that Saturday, Sunday and Monday morning, Carly pointed to it and said "froggy's on airplane...soon Carly's house". Thanks for keeping him safe Grammy & Papa!!

(froggy on the left, froggy's brother on the right)

Excuses

2008-07-14T15:42:00.002-04:00

It's been awhile since I've posted, but I've been busy. First of all, I'm pregnant. (I spent a few weeks trying to come up with a cheesy/cute/significant way to communicate that on the blog and I failed.) In any case, this pregnancy has left me much more exhausted than the last one, likely because I spend my days chasing a crazed toddler instead of sitting behind a desk reviewing contract provisions.

I've also been busy moving my hundreds of thousands of dollars from my main bank to other banks. Seriously, though, folks, if you are one of these people with more than $100,000.00 in your bank like the out-of-luck sucker I saw interviewed on the steps of Indymac last night, you might want to consider (1) diversifying the location of your bank holdings and (2) using some of that wad of cash to get some professional help.

Onto more relevant items. Sometimes dogs can be a pain, I'll admit it. Sully periodically stinks, he tracks dirt in the house, he leaves wads of dog hair in unfortunate places, and he has horrendous breath. All that said, he really is Carly's best friend. If you have any doubt, check out these recent shots...

(coloring together)

(chasing balls)

(watching "Annie" on the long roadtrip home from Massachusetts)

Wheel Day

2008-05-27T21:15:00.003-04:00

So what did you do for Memorial Day weekend? We plucked our daughter from a peaceful slumber to ensure that she could participate in the highly acclaimed neighborhood Wheel Day.

As any other lazy parent would do, I failed to realize that Wheel Day is a competition involving the decoration of children's bikes (scooters, big wheels, you get the idea). And when I say "competition", I mean parental competition. Parents actually used nails (nails!), paper mache, remnants of Halloween costumes, old boat parts, portions of rose gardens...and that was just what I could see from the 0-2 competitors. As I followed Carly along from a safe I-don't-know-who- this-kid's-pathetic-parents-are distance, I really regretted attaching the two sad ribbons to the baby stroller that she so diligently pushed in the parade.

It took me back to the 5th grade science fair when my poison ivy project basically involved a photo of poison ivy I copied out of an encyclopedia and a few shots of my disfigured face with poison ivy. Experiment? What? Hypothesis? What the hell is that? I was a slow learner because I didn't fair much better in 6th grade with my "photos look better with light" (duh) exhibit involving 16 pictures of my dog in different light. I am proud to say, though, that my parents did not get involved in my projects (take THAT Kristin Bomberger, I mean where did you really get those exotic shells...could it have been your parent's trip to the beach that fall?). Okay, my mom did get a little involved when she accidentally exposed the film en route to get it developed, therefore requiring her to quickly retake all 16 shots of the dog before heading out the door. No wonder the judges couldn't distinguish the lighting differences. And, no wonder my mom is still fearful when it comes to using cameras.

But, I digress. Here are the photos from Wheel Day. Next year, Carly babe, we're going to kick some ass:

Back from Cousin Chaos

2008-05-24T22:07:00.004-04:00

We're back from Michigan (Carly & I, that is, Greg took the week off). We finally got to meet my favorite (and first) niece and, let me tell you, she is quite the demure little lady. She's got 3 older brothers screaming, crying, throwing toys, running around in circles, leaping up stairs and down stairs basically at all times and yet she peacefully chills out in her bouncy seat and tosses out the occasional adorable giggle. It's really divine justice that Julie & Judd have a beautiful, low maintenance little girl.

Here's our baptized girl!

...and her adoring family

...and the rest of the Fords

Were you actually wondering if Carly would have another cousin bath? At what age does Nick get kicked out anyway?

And a few of you asked whether Joey & Carly (6 mos. apart in age) were getting along, so here you go

Jack Attack!

2008-05-10T18:04:00.006-04:00

It's Cousin Season for Carly this month. First up, cousin Jack's visit with Aunt Michelle (pronounced "ahhhnt Michelle" as opposed to "ahhhn-teee Bridget" and "ant Julie"...Carly has a tough road ahead keeping up). We were honored to have the little guy in town during his all-important 1st birthday week, during which he exhibited some impressive moves. I don't think it's a coincidence that the little guy has a thing for baseballs, bats, and basketballs. Here are highlights:

Getting Reacquainted

Does this guy look like me or what?!

Checking out the ducks.

Jack & his bean talk.

Bathtime ritual.

A visit to the Zoo.

Final hugs/pushes & a tearful goodbye (COME BACK SOON JACK & MICHELLE AND PLEASE BRING DAN NEXT TIME!)

We're in Baby, We're IN!!

2008-04-27T19:54:00.005-04:00

FANTASTIC news this weekend: Carly got into Harvard Business School, em, I mean preschool!!!!!! After 1 preschool "fair" during which Carly got kicked out of the 30 min daycare option, 4 open houses, 1 precarious interview (and one pretty-sure-they-were-checking-her-out visit), 5 preschool applications, 1 expertly written essay (a 2-pager after 3 glasses of wine and I am thinking about selling it to next year's suckers), 5 lotteries yielding 1 rejection and 4 waitlists......... we got the call Friday that SHE GOT IN!!!

Obviously, we celebrated all weekend.

The Carousel Ride

2008-04-21T20:17:00.006-04:00

What did you do last weekend? Attempting to avoid our to-do lists, we headed downtown to walk around and check out a few museums. En route, we passed a carousel (a fancy word for merry-go-round)*, which caught Carly's imagination. Below is a quick overview of how it went:

*Clearly, I've been reading too many Fancy Nancy books.

Carly first catches wind of the music and the kids giggling on the carousel, within seconds we have bought tickets and have our kid seated on the dilapidated machine. Success, right?

Carousel takes off at supersonic speed, Carly grabs on for her life and may have cried but for the fact that her parents were laughing so uncontrollably.

Ride concludes, all is well in the world. Carly vows to herself never again to ask her parents for a ride on a shoddy machine (except her dad's car).

Easter Fiasco

2008-04-16T21:19:00.004-04:00

Notice anything wrong with Carly's Easter outfit? Although I told the folks sitting next to us in church when I noticed them snickering that "her dad dressed her..hahahhahahaaha!", it was really all my fault. Hey-at least we made it to mass and got home in time to hunt down those eggs.

Spring on the Gulf of Mexico

2008-03-26T14:07:00.002-04:00

Ahhhhh, yes, the sweet breeze of humid sea air hit us like a ton of bricks upon landing in Florida. Our eyes bounced on colorful flowers and foliage in every direction. The nurturing sunshine felt glorious on our faces, the flip-flops felt inspiring on our feet. Alas, it was spring break baby!!!

Oh, we had our share of bad weather and mini-dramas, but springtime at Nana's beach generally rocked. Here I present a visual timeline of Carly's second spring break...

Day 1 at the beach: Carly not a big fan of the wind, Greg silently struggling with new Walmart shades

Did I mention Carly knows where her teeth are? (hey folks, the learning doesn't stop just because we're on spring break)

Day 1 at the pool: Carly's first strawberry daiquiri

Day 2 at the beach: fun with sea life

Day 2 poolside: I am my Aunt Julie's niece

**Ed Note: Here I must interject that, for those of us who know Carly's Aunt Julie Quinn, you will understand Carly's pool preference. Don't get me wrong, Julie loves the beach, so long as she is looking at it from 50 feet away while resting comfortably on a clean, sand-free lounge chair by a pool.

Sometime in the morning midweek: This photo is notable because it captures Carly's crib-in-a-closet: creative risk, yet total success.

Sometime around happy hour time midweek: looking for the damn seagulls with Grandma Rita

Glamour pose...

Sometime toward the end of the 10 days: a true water baby

(I have to just say, in my own defense, that I was not sunbathing or reading or drinking while she did these daredevil moves.)

And, finally, a quick video that highlights Carly's beach-to-pool progression...

St. Patty's Day

2008-03-26T14:01:00.001-04:00

March provided some outdoor entertainment in the form of the local St. Patty's Day parade, which is held earlier than most. Sully and Carly were equally excited to brave the wind and check out the crowds, including all the dogs that were marching in the parade and participating in the dog contests. When Greg suggested that Sully and I enter the "Dog's-Hair-Most-Resembling-Its-Owner's" contest, I didn't know who was more insulted.

Winter visits.

2008-03-17T21:40:00.013-04:00

It was a cold weekend in February when Grandpa (formerly known as "Grampy" a la "Pee Pee", instigating a return to "Grandpa" a la "Pa Pa") and Grandma made their trek down to see us. Not only did they bring a bottle of scotch and good coffee, but they also arrived with a whole bunch of goodies for Miss Carly. Let's just say that one of those gifts made me think very long and hard about why we care so much about the wheels of a bus. In any case, that toy has been temporarily sidelined.

Their visit included a trip to a local museum, a few outings, and a rock concert for the trio while Greg and I enjoyed a precious overnight in wine country. We can't wait until they return. Here are some photos from the fun weekend (one person refused to give me permission to use his image). These photos were taken mere moments before the 5 of us headed out to a denim parade.

I Guess It's Still Winter

2008-02-18T21:10:00.002-05:00

Last weekend we made the trip up to Boston for our nephew Colin's (nephew #5) baptism, stopping for an overnight in New Hampshire for some family skiing. And, by "family skiing", I mean Greg, Dan & Werner. Carly and I stuck to the spa pool and the tot tubing mountain. And, by "mountain", I mean glorified hill. I'm not sure what was more thrilling for Carly: tubing or dancing in the lodge. I know my vote and you can assume that the sippy cup in the foreground is not mine.

Did I mention that the Pats lost the Super Bowl? Ah shucks.

As many of you know (or, if you don't, you won't be surprised to learn) that Greg is not a fan of Valentine's Day. Neither am I in theory, but let's be honest, it's not like I'd turn down jewelry (babe, if you're reading this, just remember that Costco isn't a real jewelry store). Now that I have a daughter, however, Valentine's Day takes on a new meaning. No longer does it symbolize cheesy dates at crappy restaurants that hike their prices to humiliate amateur romantics. It is, in fact, all about the candy. Folks, it's hard to ignore the glorious pink bags of treats staring us down during every Target trip. Of course, Carly can't chew most candies, so we were left with a massive red velvet cake and Valentine cards. Not bad, but Aunt Julie really outdid herself with Carly's Valentine gift...

At first, Carly didn't understand why there was music coming through her cheeks.

By later that evening, however, she was a pro.

February 1st

2008-02-02T09:37:00.000-05:00

A quick video clip from yesterday...

Playdates

2008-01-29T15:53:00.000-05:00

Carly got a big dose of boy playdates last week. First, Ian (in Carly's Borat accent, pronounced "Eye-Yaaaaaaaaaaa") came over and, the next day, we went over to John's ("Jaaahhh"). Ian is a strong competitor in the never-ending game of toddler survivor, while John is maturing past this phase and is generally happy to let the drama queen get whatever toy she tears away from him. Geez, Carly could sure use a new girl cousin or something....

Carly hugging her buddy Ian:

John shrugging off his crazy visitor:

Recap of the Holidays: Part 3 of 3

2008-01-24T13:50:00.001-05:00

On the 26th, we headed out to Michigan for a late Christmas celebration and the wedding of my cousin, Sarah, in Toledo. Here are the photos to prove it:

Scott & Nick avoiding the bath time chaos

You guessed it, the bath time chaos (Charlie, Joey & Carly)

Joey & Carly continue to be competitive about pretty much everything. Here they compete over Carly's new frog chair and, once again, Joey's laid back sensibility trumped Carly's drama.

Friday night's dinner was at Casa P-boys, prepared in their highly anticipated designer kitchen. I think their "island" is more of a continent.

Saturday, we drove down to Toledo for the wedding, where Carly took her dance moves to new levels with live music and I got to try out my non-mom shoes.

Recap of the Holidays: Part 2

2008-01-22T13:57:00.001-05:00

This year, we spent most of our free time in December gathering up gifts for our families in Boston & Detroit, so when Dec. 23rd rolled around, we found ourselves at Toys R' Us with Carly in tow (for those who haven't ever tried to get a babysitter that close to Christmas, it's nearly impossible). So we were the pathetic parents dragging our confused toddler up & down each row of the toy store, waiving potential Santa gifts under her nose to gage a reaction. We got past the legos, the dolls, the dress-up clothes (is she my daughter?), and the leap frog ensembles without as much as a smirk.

Then, my friends, we strolled by the bike section. Holy Toledo, who knew the kid could say "bike" or comprehend the freedom this little machine could bring her? Yet, she promptly climbed out of the shopping cart and trotted over to help herself on a little radio flyer model, where she sat and said "biyyyyahhhkkk" (her accent is reminiscent of Borat's) over and over and over. The scene leaving the store--without the bike, as it was December 23rd and, of course, there were none left except the store model--was a disaster. And, yes, we felt like the worst Santas in the world.

On Christmas Day, Carly finally connected the concept of Santa/HoHoHo/YouBetterBeGoodOrSantaWon'tCome to the pot of gold tucked underneath our tiny tree (my mom always insisted on the largest tree in the lot, while Greg buys the cheapest in the lot). At first, she was confused by the eager expectations of her parents each time she touched a present. After just 2 unwrappings, however, she became a pro. She even helped Sully and Greg unwrap their gifts.

Here are the highlights:

Our tree with all the loot.

Carly meticulously combing Strawberry Shortcake's luscious mane of hair. Some may say this was a mean gift to give her (for obvious reasons).

A new book.

The little people farm, the most exciting of the Toys 'R Us purchases.

Her first Cabbage Patch kid, courtesy of Auntie Bridget & Uncle Kevin. Her name is Allie Luz and her birthday is February 1st (no pressure Bridget, but Carly and I plan on having a birthday party for her next weekend).

And, a week later........courtesy of Amazon Santa.....THE BIKE!!!

Greg's classic fatherhood moment of assembling his oldest child's first bike:

Carly's excitement was only tempered by the realization that it was too icy to take the bad boy outside for a real drive.

Recap of the Holidays: Part 1

2008-01-21T16:43:00.000-05:00

I am admittedly behind. I blame each of you who sent us a gorgeous photo of your child, self, or family last month. In mid-November, we (and by "we" I mean "I") actually began the Christmas Card Photo Process. Eventually, I gave it three, freshly-shampooed-and-coiffured, 4pm-clean-outfit, make-the-dog-happy-with-peanut-butter sessions and still failed. You simply set the standard too high.

Why do I even try to do these things myself? I need to realize that to produce the perfect holiday photo of a toddler and a mut, minimally it takes a hint of talent and, ideally, it takes two fully engaged adults. Alas, we spent the month of December receiving beautifully staged photos while becoming increasingly panicked about our own situation.

If you have yet to receive our 2007 Christmas card, you are not alone. Our amateur photo card is actually on it's way. For anyone who needs proof that I indeed made a good faith effort to get a good photo, here you go, our holiday bloopers 2007:

Exhibit 1: The Baking Shots
Problem: I couldn't get Sully in the photo without grossing out all the people who received some of these cookies.

Exhibit 2: Tree Trimming
Problem: This clearly was going to be a staged shot because we didn't actually keep any ornaments within Carly's reach. The subject refused to play along.

Exhibit 3: Taking It Outside
Problem: We were doing good with this photo shoot until Sully had a mild panic attack on the slide steps.

Exhibit 4: The Cozy Fireplace Shot
Problem: (A) We don't have a working fireplace (see faux logs); (B) Someone put ants in Carly's pants.

After a few shots, she had to take a quick drink break.

Then she tried to get her dad's drink & a few of his cheezits.

Then I had to fire my assistant.

Then Carly had to take a call.

I later realized that teaching her to hop up on the furniture for the photo shoot later was going to bite me in the you-know-what.

Several little gems

2007-12-10T15:22:00.000-05:00

Folks, the tree is up and Carly is in the Christmas spirit bigtime. Anyone like the Marian skirt?

Does anyone else recognize these dance moves from Greg's late night routine? (mom, hit "play" below and turn up the volume.)

Oh, and I forgot to post these last week after our first snow of the season. Of course, the storm came just in time to ruin my 3 hours of freedom with a babysitter, but who wants to Christmas shop when you can sit in traffic listening to Christmas music? Greg may have some competition at Costco on Dec. 24th.

Poor Sully. So much snow, so little time. He was devastated to discover that the snow melted the next day.