who's your baby?

For Mother's Day, the Guys headed out with the new jogging stroller, leaving me to catch up on some long awaited ME time. It was exactly what I needed, but I couldn't have been happier when they rolled back in. This is what greeted me downstairs... Happy Mother's Day, indeed!

your daily dose of cuteness

Poster not responsible for injury due to licking the screen.

first a picture, then a love letter

(penance pic for Friday, May 12, 2006)

There are a few things I've always been sure I'd never do. Skydiving (scared of wetting my pants), nude sunbathing (scared I'd make someone else wet their pants), and internet dating (scared that I'd wind up being tossed nude from an airplane constructed out of cardboard boxes and a lawnmower engine) top that list. Then I got pregnant and we moved across the country from our friends and family. I discovered a great little pregnancy website and happened upon a thread devoted to other mommy-to-be's in my new home town. I started connecting with these ladies on a daily basis -- checking out their profiles, feeling out their opinions and attitudes towards motherhood. When I was satisfied we had enough in common, I introduced myself. We chatted from the safety of our computers. Then we started making plans to meet in person. Maybe we could all get together to walk in the park. Or we could all meet for lunch. Yah, sort of like dating. On the internet.

Long story short(er), I now have four new beautiful friendships with four amazing women I might not have met otherwise. And, for me, that's just where it began. I noticed one day that at the end of each of AmyJo's posts she had added the message "You've been invited to the Cheese Party! www.cheeseparty.blogspot.com". I had, of course, heard of blogs, but that was the first time I had ever been invited to one. And a party, no less. With cheese! My curiosity was getting the better of me, so I decided to check it out. And suddenly a whole new world was opened to me. Amy's vivid, honest, description of her pregnancy sent my head spinning:

I wasn't alone.

The concerns, the fears, the discomfort, joy, excitement, dread -- those feelings I didn't dare share with anyone else were right there in front of me in SOMEONE ELSE'S VOICE.

I wasn't alone.

I had found confirmation.

I WASN'T ALONE!!!!

From Amy's blog I found a link to Lora's. And again I found confirmation. Confirmation that led me to wander yet again outside of my comfort zone and check out some of the blogs they had linked to. And I continued to find confirmation. An amazing network of voices whispering, singing, shouting, and crying together. Supporting each other. Sharing stories. Trading heartaches. Holding and building each other up. A community.

On Mother's Day, I will celebrate my mother. I will celebrate her for her love and energy, for her patience and determination. I will celebrate those women (grandmothers, mother, sisters, aunts, friends)who have molded and shaped me into the woman that I am, shaving away little by little at my rough edges. I will reflect on where I come from -- the communities of my past. I will, for the first time, celebrate myself as a mother. I will revel in the knowledge that my life has inexplicably changed. I will celebrate my husband and my son -- my present community. And I will celebrate the Amy's, and the Lora's -- the amazing community of women who have selflessly put their experiences in motherhood out there for me to find and draw strength from. Also my present community, but more importantly, a community for my future.

Happy Mothers Day, Mommy Bloggers... I'm gonna raise my Koolaid glass high in your honor!

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philly boy!

We went to our favorite store in the whole wide world last night and Big Guy picked up this outfit for him. It's not the Dodgers, but hey, ya gotta support the hometown team, right?

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pennance picture

There you have it. Please note that he's not in his jammies, not in his high chair, and not in the tub. It may never happen again, so it really is note-worthy.


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announcing....

(Don't worry, the announcement is coming. Just a little set-up first.)

We went to the zoo on Saturday. It was Little Guy's first trip un-utero. We saw the primates, the rare animals, a couple of hippos (more accurately, a couple of hippo tails), and some odd looking critter that looked like someone decided not to waste the spare parts of the other critters. We saw cheetahs. We saw giraffes. We saw chickens. And we managed to capture the entire afternoon with this:



Yessiree, that is the sole image we took to document our first-born's initial visit to the zoo.

And so, in an effort to prove that we don't truly SUCK. AS. PARENTS...

(Cue drumroll)

I will take at least one picture of Little Guy EACH AND EVERY DAY until such time as I feel that penance has been truly paid for our suckiness. Further, I will post one of those daily pictures here each night. So don't go getting all excited when you (the two of you who actually have me bookmarked) see that I have new material up. Chances are it will be a variation of this:

or this:

or this:

as those are the last three things we do each night and chances are good I'll have forgotten to get a damn picture before then.

Enjoy!

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randomness, facilitated

Now with More Gratuitous Linking Action

Disclaimer: Many of the links below belong to amazing bloggers whose writings have helped me get through my morning cuppa joe. Please don't hold the fact that I read them against them. They truly deserve your reading time and shouldn't have any connection to my blog held against them!

You want Eloquence? You want Insight? You want Wit and Humor? We've got it. We've got Playwrights, Techies, the Male - Point - Of - View, even some Big Guns. Lots of Pictures, lots of Diapers, and of course, plenty of Cheese. There's stuff to Get You Going, Stories, Quips du Jour, Recipes, even World Domination. Oh, yah, we've got the good stuff here at the 'logues!

And while I should probably just stop this post right now and let you go bask in all the bloggity goodness that we have for your perusing pleasure, I won't. Because the one thing we're short on around here is knowing when to quit. Leaving on a high note just isn't something we do well. Plus, my sister (the only sibling who has created a blog so I can link to it... Hint, hint, join the revolution, sisters dear!) took me to task for not having updated my blog for well over a week. And rightly so. I just got stuck in the silliness of thinking that the day-to-day ramblings of my life might do little to bring in readership. What was I thinking? I feel so terrible, having let you all down. I know you've been out there, waiting, wondering, periodically checking in to find out what nuggets I would leave you with next. So here's some tidbits from my weekend. Pace yourselves... we really pack the days full 'round here!

Saturday: Woke up w/ Little Guy. Coffee for him, bottle for me. Wait, wait, let me try that again. Coffee for me, bottle for him. (Gotcha wondering what I filled his bottle with, don't I?) Waited for Big Guy to get home (he had to work the night shift). Debated the merits of cream cheese vs. peanut butter for my sesame seed bagel. Outloud, more than likely. Can't remember, fed the baby, can't remember, changed a diaper, can't remember, Big Guy got home. Had lunch. Put Little Guy and Big Guy down for a nap. Can't remember, can't remember, can't remember, woke Big Guy up and had sex (hey, little sis, you asked for info!). Got ready to go to the zoo. Met some of the ladies who keep me sane and their big and little counterparts. Went to Amy's house for dinner. Brought my boys home, tucked them into bed (early night for the family... Big Guy had a race to run in the next morning!), and fell asleep wondering why people who worry about leaving appliances on don't just invest in those cool appliances that shut themselves off.

Sunday: Woke up BEFORE Little Guy to pack the diaper bag to get ready for Big Guy's race. Stupid diaper bag. Stupid racers. Stupid sunshine at stupid 6:00 in the stupid morning. Gulped down two cups of coffee. Grabbed a bottle for Little Guy. Fed, changed, and dressed Little Guy. Admired the job I did of packing the diaper bag. Admired the sunshine streaming through the windows. Ahh, the cathartic feel of caffeine streaming through the veins! Racers are still stupid. Drove across town and dropped Big Guy off at the start line. Drove back across town to the finish line and found a spot where we could park the stroller and not miss any of the action. Flirted with the grandfatherly gentleman standing near us (hey, you don't use it, you lose it!). Little Guy commenced screaming. Gave him a bottle. Covered his stroller with a blanket to induce napping. Napping failed. Held Little Guy while runners began crossing the finish line. Little Guy throws his entire body forward, catching me off guard. Caught Little Guy. Upside down. Head inches away from the pavement. Lost all blood to my head. Sat down, clutching Little Guy in grandfatherly gentleman's chair. Regained color and vision. Stopped replaying Little Guy's near suicide in my head. (Sorry, no links. No one nearby was quick enough with the camera to get a postable shot.) Stood back up to see Big Guy cross the finish line (with about 80 of his closest friends!). Met back up with a stinky, sweaty, slimey Big Guy (dontcha wish I had a picture of that?!) and went home for showers and a nap. Loaded back into the car and headed to the Strawberry Festival for juicy strawberry yumminess, faux Jimmy Buffet, and relaxation. Came home, headed for bed and fell asleep wondering, yup, you guessed it, why people who worry about leaving appliances on don't just invest in those cool appliances that shut themselves off.

Still not enough for you? Well, for more random randomness, try This on for size. We don't call her the Queen just for fun! Maybe you can give her some pointers on what to do with her tiara, though.


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