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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?

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

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

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

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

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

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.