Farewell to 2006

Ah, New Year's Eve, when we all take stock of the year behind us, make resolutions we rarely keep and revel in the moment. For me, an exciting year is drawing to a close. Better than the last few, even with its roller coaster action. The big news, of course, we became parents. The husband was promoted, and promoted again. My company went belly-up. My family suffered some hard moments, some still in progress. The Steelers won the Super Bowl in February and then somehow turned into the team that couldn't make the playoffs. Eddie grew from a charming blob who could just barely roll himself over, into the running, climbing scream-machine who can clearly and passionately demand fruit snacks. Last year on New Year's Eve, the Husband and I imagined this year's Dec. 31st. We'd have the baby home! I set aside my disappointment for him not being home by picturing the wonderful time we'd have this year. Ironically, while last year I couldn't wait to get him home, this year I am eagerly anticipating dropping him off at my parents' house. Don't get me wrong, I adore him and have a great time with him, but somehow the idea of an adults-only dinner, followed by a stroll to the pub and watching the ball drop without worrying about waking the whirling dervish, well, that has its charms, too. No resolutions for me, not my style. My hopes for the New Year? I hope to become an aunt, again, but on the other side of the family. I hope that the two highly anticipated weddings this year (Craig and Cheryl, Rachel and John) will be as wonderful and festive as anyone could hope and kick off wonderful, lifelong marriages. I hope I find the perfect not-full-time job. I hope we all grow closer, smarter and happier. I hope to make a new friend and keep the old ones close. I hope this year contains great surprises, many belly laughs and a million memories to add to may growing collection. God bless you all in this New Year, have a happy, healthy prosperous 2007!!

The Joy of Clean Carpets

My father, who used to clean carpets professionally, cleaned the carpeting in our downstairs, the stairway and the hallway. They look lovely and the house has that rug shampoo smell. All the juice stains are gone. Somehow, I am now MORE concerned with the carpets than when they were first installed. About a year-and-a-half ago, we got new carpeting, thanks in part to a gift from my parents, who wanted to prevent their only grandchild from crawling around on the filth-encrusted germ carnival that was our original carpeting. The color of that foam left on the beach after high tide and liberally covered with various unidentifiable stains, the carpet had barely survived the family of eight who'd previously lived here. However, being poor and anticipating spills from our own children, we hadn't replaced it. When becoming a mother began to loom more real, I realized that putting a child on that carpet would be the equivalent to letting them play in a fast-food restaurant bathroom, and I'd been relieved when my parents offered to help us replace it. I love the carpet, I love the color, the texture - all of it. I really didn't worry much about it getting dirty, our dog is housebroken, the Husband and I don't spill much. By the time we brought Eddie home, I'd gotten over the whole new carpet feel, so again, didn't think much of it. But now that the carpets are new again, my little man is mobile and leaves a trail of sticky crumbs in his wake. I'm considering new rules for the carpets - no shoes, no food, no drinks, no pets, no babies and no Husbands on the carpet. It might be tricky, since that covers most of the first floor, but it leaves them the kitchen and bathroom, provided we install a ladder to the second floor from the outside. I'll make it work.

Friday Feast

Feast One Hundred Twenty-Four Appetizer How do you usually celebrate on New Year's Eve? We don't usually do much - the Husband's jobs have almost always included having to work New Years Day. We usually watch some movies, have cheese and crackers and pepperoni. Sometimes we have people over. Soup Name one thing unexpected that happened to you in 2006. My company went out of business. Not shocking, but I didn't expect it when the year was starting. Salad Where was your favorite place that you visited in 2006? Guatemala. Warm, lovely, great food and oh, yeah - got my son there. Main Course What resolution is your top priority for 2007? I don't really "do" resolutions. I am more of a continually working to improve kinda gal. Dessert Using just three words, describe 2006. life-changing, busy, loud

You Will Be Friends and You Will Like It

The Husband is home after what was supposed to be a day of forced revelry - also known as "team building". Unfortunately - or fortunately, depending on your point of view - the planned activity was unavailable and the person organizing it failed to create a back up plan. So the day consisted of driving around, eating lunch and deciding to go home. The Husband had been dreading the entire event, so missing it and getting to come home a little early worked out nifty for him. However, the entire thing caused me to ponder this "Team Building" phenomenon, so popular in our corporate culture. Lucky for me, I've mostly escaped the "fun" planned style of team-building, though I have been a victim of the forced-march style of building a cohesive unit. Therefore, I need to ask you, my loyal readers and new guests, has anyone really ever: 1. Enjoyed and 2. Grown closer to coworkers thanks to a team building activity? I'm not talking about the voluntary after-work happy hour kind of fun where you invite the coworkers you actually like and everyone has a few drinks. I mean the "trust exercises", the silly games, the role-playing and such. From reports of my friends and loved ones, it seems that people seem to mostly dread these, survive them and immediately try to put the entire experience behind them. Don't get me wrong - if you are in a life or death situation, forced to rely on a near-stranger for survival and comfort while your lives flash before your eyes - sure, that can forge a strong bond in a short amount of time. However, I don't think that falling backward into the arms of your department members from a 3 foot stand counts. From personal experience, the best way for a team to come together is to have a common goal and a common enemy. The best way to raise employee moral is nmore respect, more money, more time off, free food and less managing. The best way to have fun with your coworkers is to hang out with the ones you don't hate and talk about the ones you do. I'm no business guru, but hey, I've been an employee, and I'm just saying.

My Personal Assistant, and Why He Doesn't Exist.

Why do celebrities get personal assistants and I don't? Seriously, how can Jessica Simpson's life be more complex than mine? Now, to some extent, I understand that someone who is not sure what animal kingdom the enigmatic tuna belongs to may need additional help with things like tying one's bikini, but I really can't believe that she has more things to keep track of than I do. Just saying. I've always wanted a personal assistant - mostly because I am the Idea Girl and I need that detail person to do the things that don't occur to me, and to carry out my brilliant vision. However, like super-powers, I suspect this would be something that I would quickly abuse and be rolling on down the dark side path before very long. The reason this occurs to me is that at various times, I think "if I had a personal assistant he would do this" or "would have taken care of that". Yes, of course my personal assistant is a guy. I don't need to risk someone else going hormonally nuts, or someone who is somehow more attractive than I am (I know, it's unlikely, but still) or someone who might be tempted to steal my shoes. So a straight guy. A smart, strong one. Strong, smart, unattractive, sane women who don't like my shoes will also be considered. Anyhow, most of the tasks I assign to Imaginary Personal Assistant (IPA) are the ones you'd expect: mail this package, remind me I have a meeting, pick up my library books. But then there are the things I know I shouldn't tell him to do, but in my head, I already did. Tie my shoe; I don't feel like bending over. Brush my teeth while I'm still in bed because even though I know I have to start getting ready, I don't feel like getting up yet. Oh, and while you're at it, pop my contacts into my eyes and start the shower. Do IPAs do one's hair and make up? Because I hate doing that crap (and yes, I know that explains my normal appearance). One of two things would happen - he'd quit because no one's going to want to deal with that, regardless of pay and benefits, or he'd give into one stupid request and they'd get increasingly ridiculous until eventually we ended up on the evening news because I convinced him to do something illegal, immoral or just really, really spectacular. "[IPA's Name] claims he invented the matter transporter because his boss insisted that the fries get cold on the three minute drive home from McDonalds." If you're interested, I can pay about $2 American per day, which includes being available 24/7 but you get off most holidays and when I feel like I can handle it.

Tid Bits

It's my fault the Steelers are out of the play-offs. See, Eddie has these great Steelers swishy pants, and every time he's worn them, the Steelers won. This week, I had him in his little Christmas Eve outfits. So cute, but not the winning pants, and sure enough, they lost. Sorry. Sadly, the Husband and his BFF are watching some reality show in which perfectly formed young ladies are trying out to be Dallas Cowgirls (cheerleaders) and are being called "fat", "slobby" and "bottom-heavy". I'm not going to make the obvious comments about these lovely girl's mental capacities (including a "book report" on a bio of Jackie O, during which the girl said "she made an effect on all the things she did"). Um, yeah. Why I am watching it? Because this is where the laptop was plugged in when I started typing, so yeah, my fault, too. Nothing interesting to write tonight, but I did get Seasons 3 and 4 of Scrubs on DVD, so I should be getting funnier soon :D Happy Boxing Day.

Merry Christmas!

Do your hair,


Wrap the gifts


Grab a cookie or two


Find some friends


Decorate the tree


And have a Merry Christmas!!

Because God Knows When You Need a Laugh

Busy time of year, rushed day. Trying to make a left turn, no one will let me in. Finally, some nice soul stops, I merge, pull up to the next light and end up behind:



AND, I have my camera handy, because no one would believe me. Shopping. The Final Frontier . .. Sure, it's not Hi-larious, but I had a chuckle and forgot to be annoyed for while.

Tagged! By the Infamous PW

Tag of Four Four jobs I've had: 1) Avon Lady 2) McDonalds "crew member" 3) DJ 4) Project Manager Four places I've lived: 1) Finleyville, PA 2) Pittsburgh, PA (three locations) 3) Edinboro, PA 4) - sorry, that's it Four favourite foods: 1) Mac and Cheese 2) nachos 3) hot pretzels 4) nice, thick, juicy rare steak Four movies I could watch over and over: 1) The Princess Bride 2) Star Wars 3) Serenity 4) Dodgeball Four TV shows I enjoy: 1) The Simpsons 2) Scrubs 3) Boston Legal 4) Lost Four places I've travelled: 1) Guatemala 2) St. Maarten 3) San Fransisco 4) Toronot Four places I'd like to visit: 1) Cancun 2) London 3) Ireland 4) Italy Four websites I go to daily: 1) Gmail 2) CNN.com 3) the Dilbert Blog 4) Pittsburgh Post-Gazette Four people I tag to do this list: Hmm, how about Patrick, Jim, EDW and, uh, you.

Friday Feast

Feast One Hundred & Twenty Three Appetizer What is one of your Christmas traditions? After we get home from church on Christmas Eve, the Husband and I watch A Muppet Christmas Carol. It's probably my favorite Christmas movie, and it has the line "There's only one more sleep 'til Christmas" which is true then! Soup Who is the easiest person on your list to buy presents for? Probably Eddie because he's not really picky at this point. Of course, the hard part is not buying him everything I see . . . Salad What is your favorite Christmas scent? The tree! I love the live tree in the house, and the scent of it when I come downstairs in the morning. The close second is gingerbread! Main Course If you could give a fellow blogger a Christmas gift, who would it be and what would you give them? That's tough because I love to give gifts, so I'd give them to everyone. If I had to choose one, and I'm assuming here that it's like a freebie, that the cosmos or whatever will take care of the cost, I'm going to give PW a wish. I know she'd think it through and use it well. Dessert What's something on your Christmas wish list this year that you need (not just want)? Honestly, I don't think there is anything on there that I need. Tons of stuff I want. I could use a good high paying job with very flexible hours that I can do from home, or a winning powerball ticket . . . The truth is, I have all I need - my family, my friends, a warm and safe home, plenty of food (too much, really), a healthy body and more luxuries than I have a right to ask for. And God bless us, every one.

Very, Very Cold Friday Feast

Whoops, missed last week. This week isn't up yet, so . . Feast One Hundred and Twenty Two Appetizer What was your very first job with a paycheck? "Nursery Director" - I ran the church nursery during the church service. It paid $20 a week. Soup Did you ever lose something really important to you? I have, on several occasions. Sadly, what occured to me first was when I was pretty young, maybe 7? I had a plastic bracelet with pictures of Spock on it. Yes, Spock, I adored him - what of it?? I was very, very careful with it, because I tend to lose things and every day I put it in the same spot on my dresser. Then one day, it wasn't there. I really, honestly believed that someone had broken into our house and stolen my Spock bracelet. I even cleaned my room (!!!) looking for it and it never did reappear. Salad What is the best Christmas present you ever received? I think my waterbed was a Christmas gift. I miss my waterbed. I had to give it up when I got married because it was a twin. Aerie got it, so at least I know it went to someone who loves sleeping as much as I do. Main Course Tell about a favorite "hang out" place for you and your friends when you were in high school. We weren't into "hanging out" at too many special places, although after youth group we normally went to Skidgy's. Mostly we hung out at people's houses. Dessert Name something that always brings a smile to your face. The Simpons, Treehouse of Horror V - the Shinning, when Homer goes crazy.

Our Tree

Well, the tree's finally up. The first year we were married, by the time the tree decorations had all been placed, the Husband and I were no longer speaking. See, we both had a very clear idea what a Christmas tree should look like and the other was not cooperating (by which I mean, giving in and doing it my way). We got over it quickly, being newlyweds and all, but it remains a great marriage memory. Really! We giggle about it now. The following year, we each did half the tree, with a line right down the middle. But something happened, as our marriage went on, we accumulated less generic ornaments and the tree stopped being something that tried to match the picture in our head from childhood. Instead, we now have a tree so weird, it can only be ours. Our tree has (besides lights):

• Boba Fett (can't have a Christmas tree without Boba Fett), Princess Leia, Han Solo, Darth Vader, Luke Skywalker, Chewbacca, R2D2, several ewoks and a plethora of ships.
• Mario Lemieux
• Several "year" ornaments, 1996 (first Christmas together), 1997, 1999, 2002. The reason there aren't more is that I don't always find one for that year that I love.
• Ralphie Wiggum and Apu
• The adorable ones my mother-in-law made for us over several years
• A bunch from my childhood that my mom made
• A candy cane reindeer a child made for me when I was volunteering with the youth group
• 2 VeggieTales ornaments
• 2 pictures of Eddie
• 1 picture of the dog on Santa's lap
• A large African-American Santa who is supposed to be in my office, except, of course, I no longer have one. I love him. I call him Black Santa because I'm so creative. My cousin gave him to me for Dollar Gift Exchange Christmas.

So, the tree is up, and the tree is us. It's our life together, piece by piece, year by year. It's lit up and we're sitting in the dark enjoying its twinkling lights and admiring our joint accomplishment.

Three days 'til Christmas!

Very Different Christmas

Last night I rocked Eddie to sleep, singing him Christmas carols and enjoying that clean baby smell. This Christmas won't be perfect, but it'll be a far cry from my last two. A year ago, I had to accept, right around this time, that there was no way my son would be home for Christmas. He'd go to bed in a foreign country with people I'd never met, and wake up to no tree or stockings. I'd wake up and know that he wasn't there. Sure, our family and friends gave us gifts for him, and we had some, too. Up until then, it was still possible he'd make it home for the holidays, but I recall the day I knew for sure he wouldn't. I sat in the finished nursery, on the floor, looking into the crib and I cried, because a baby should be with his mommy on Christmas, even if he doesn't know it's Christmas. Two years ago, I suffered the only bout of depression I've ever had. We hit a huge setback in the adoption process, something that made me worry it would never happen. Only a very, very few people even knew about it because it upset me so much, I couldn't even talk about it. I tore up our Christmas card letter which mentioned adoption and couldn't do the cards, just put them away, still in the boxes. I didn't want there to be a Christmas at all. How could it be Christmas when children needed families and we wanted one and circumstances were preventing us finding each other? I'm pretty decent at putting on a good face when I need to, but that Christmas, it almost killed me. I know Christmas isn't about gifts and cookies. I even know it's not really about families and friends and peace on Earth, though those are certainly part of the spirit of Christmas. It's a holy day, and should be remembered as such. But it's also a special time, a time we make memories with loved ones and a time we share, give, cherish and love. This Christmas won't be perfect. My grandfather won't be able to join us for breakfast and opening gifts. Things will go wrong. But for the first time in several years, I am looking forward to Christmas. Please Christmas don't be late.

I Love a Good Story

We watched several movies this weekend, and if Eddie doesn't wake up soon, I'll review them on the Circle of Friends today. Otherwise, maybe tomorrow. I love movies. I love them because I love to be told a story - it's the same reason I love to read, and I think history is so interesting. I'm the person who doesn't mind if you tell me your good stories several times, because a good story is a good story. One of the movies we watched this weekend was Lady in the Water. M. Night Shyamalan is one of my favorite storytellers. I've really enjoyed every single one of his movies - the pacing, the symbols, the way things all tie together. People seemed disappointed when the Village came out and didn't have a big huge surprise twist ending. I think that's dumb - a good story doesn't have to have a whiplash inducing turn, it just has to, well, tell you a good story. I loved the questions posed by the Village, and I thought the whole thing was gorgeous. I didn't think that Unbreakable had a huge twist - any comic book fan saw that coming, but what a great story! Although the Sixth Sense rocketed Shyamalan to fame, allowing him more leeway to make the next couple films, it set expectations that each of his movies would rock you with a major twist. Each of his stories unfolds just right, some with surprises, some without. I feel bad for Night, more than living up to what he should be - writing great stories, and instead facing the demon of "it's not as good (READ: scary, surprising) as the first one". I hope he'll keep telling me good stories.

Where's the Shame?

I overhead someone the other day say "I'm not ashamed of my past, because I can't change it." Which is stupid. You don't need to spend your life obsessing over the shame of doing wrong, but that doesn't mean you no longer are ashamed of it. You work to repair it, you use that shame to prevent yourself doing it again, but you shouldn't stop being ashamed of it. I believe the lack of shame in this society is something that is truly bringing us down. Shame has a purpose! If you have 4 babies by 3 men, and never married one of them, you should be ashamed. If you cheated on your spouse, if you stole something because you wanted it, if you got yourself addicted to drugs, if you embezzled, if you tricked a little old lady out of her savings, if you hit your kid, if you are able to work but scammed your life off of welfare, if you sued someone for a million dollars because they called you "honey"- You SHOULD BE ashamed of that. These things are wrong. They break down our society - it's not just about you. You can move on, you can feel good about yourself and the changes you've made, but you shouldn't be proud of past bad behavior, no matter how far you've come. Someday, I'll do a nice long post about the "no judging" idea, but let me just say, what you do affects me. It affects my kid. It affects the world I live in. I don't have the right to legislate morals, but I do have the right to tell you - you should be ashamed of what you've done.

Bright Sunshiny Day

Three beeee-yutiful days in a row in mid-December - and no job to go to, too! It's been an absolute gift from God, and we've been enjoying it. Playing outside without even a jacket, going to the park, and just sitting and watching the cars go by. Yes, I'm way, way behind in shopping and decorating. I haven't even started my Christmas cards and I don't think I'll be doing any baking this year, but I'm happy to trade all that for watching Eddie gleefully fling himself head-first down his slide, when we thought we wouldn't be using it until spring. We're going for our tree tonight - that's when you KNOW it's Christmas. And the fact that I won't freeze my patootie off doing it just makes it even better.

My Very Late Adoption Month Post

November was National Adoption Month and I meant to post about it, but just never did. For those who don't know: 1. Our son is adopted from Guatemala 2. We are not infertile, we chose to adopt for a number of reasons, some very personal. Anyway, I had a lot of important and salient points to make but instead, I'd like to talk about a few things not to say to adoptive parents. Most of these, someone said to us. 1. Don't you want your own children? OR Can you still have real children? Yes, that's why we're adopting. Some people find this way more insulting than we did. If you want to refer to "non-adopted" kids, use the phrase "bio kids" or "natural children". Adopted kids are real (trust me, Eddie's way louder than my imaginary children would be) and they are the parents' own kids. 2. I know a family who adopted and they just loved that little girl. This one mostly just cracks me up, but also annoys some adoptive moms I know. Imagine for a minute, talking to a pregnant woman "Oh, you know, my sister had a baby and boy, did she love that little guy." Would you say that? Of course not. I know, you mean to be reassuring, but parents who are adopting pretty much plan to love the kid. 3. Which one of you is infertile?? I couldn't believe people asked us this, but they did. Sometimes people who were barely acquaintences! Dude, it's none of your business. And by the way, neither - it's SUPER insulting to me to insinuate that my son is the result of a second choice. Also, some people also expressed to us that it's "unfair" that we "got to pick" the gender of our baby, pointing out that had we had a child the natural way, we wouldn't have had a choice. I'd say my best response to that is, who said life's fair? If we'd had a child biologically, I wouldn't have had to fly to Guatemala to get him, now would I? Life is full of choices, each of which has consequences. People who've adopted generally don't mind talking about it (NOT always in front of their kids, though, remember) and answering honest questions about the process and the decisions they made. If you want to know, ask - but think first about how your question might sound, and be willing to accept "That's personal" as an answer. However you got to your family, celebrate and enjoy them. If you do have more questions about adoption, I'd love to answer them. I think everyone who wants to be a mommy should consider it.

Friday Feast

Feast One Hundred Twenty One Appetizer Which language would you like to learn and why? I want to learn: Mandarin, because it's the language more people speak than any other and I want to be cool, too. Spanish, because I think I can pick it up. When we were in Guatemala, I felt like I was getting a little bit of it. Sign Language because it's not well enough known by non "native speakers" and I'd like to be able to communicate. Maybe Japanese, no real reason. Soup What's the funniest thing you've heard or read so far this week? Hmm, that's hard. Nothing is coming to mind,though the Dilbert Blog is usually good for a chuckle. Salad Which movie was so bad you couldn't watch the whole thing? Let's see - Mad Dog and Glory, Donnie Darko (sorry, all you poetic cool people, I just couldn't get into it), THX 1138, and The Pink Panther, which I actually did watch all of, but I had to because the baby had fallen asleep on me and I couldn't reach the remote. The new one, which should have been good. Movie, not the baby. Main Course If there were a holiday in your honor that didn't use your actual name, what would the day be called? Curly Girl Day - a celebration for those who love their curls? Slug Day! Celebrate by sleeping in and then laying in bed reading and watching movies. Dessert Name one movie which is coming out soon that you would like to see. Probably The Pursuit of Happpyness. Mmmm, Will Smith goodness.

Another Life Lesson From Pop-Pop

My grandfather is in a nursing home. He probably won't move back to his home; his body is breaking down, his mind is failing. Today as I visited him, our pastor also arrived to visit. After we chatted for a bit, the pastor asked my grandfather if he could pray for him, and what he'd like prayer for. I thought of all the things I'd ask for in his position: to be healthy and strong again, or at least pain-free, to go home, for a clear mind, to at least be able to walk and care for myself. My grandfather gathered his thoughts, and said that he'd like to thank God for the things he still does have and can do, and that he'd like to be a blessing to the people around him. He didn't phrase it quite that clearly, but that's what he wanted. Even in pain, frustrated by his helplessness and confused by his situation, Pop-Pop gave thanks, and hoped to make someone else feel better. It's so easy to pile our troubles up around us, a blockade against the needs of others. I need, I hurt, I want. We forget how much we have and how much we have to offer. My grandfather may be fuzzy about a lot of things, but maybe he sees other things more clearly.

Let It Snow. . .

No, I lie. STOP IT!! I like snow Christmas Eve. I like it to look pretty on Christmas. Then I want it to go away. Stupid global warming, where are you?? I'm going to go spray some aerosol.

I Am the Woman of My Dreams

I write about dreams fairly frequently, because I have such very vivid dreams, which I almost always remember, several nights a week. The last two nights I've had dreams of being in dangerous situations. This is certainly nothing new to me, I am in constant peril in the dream world. Generally, I wake up moments before my gruesome demise and then spend a few minutes going over what I should have done, or what I could have done even at that point to save myself. Scary as the dreams are, I've always figured that they're my brain's way of setting up contingency plans for bad situations. However, what made the last two nights different was one simple change. Both times, I took quick, decisive, appropriate action and saved myself! The dream Monday night involved a sudden violent situation, and, much to my waking delight, I reacted exactly as the self-defense experts recommend. I'm not going to go into too much detail, because 1. it doesn't matter and 2. it's actually somewhat personal, the event, so I'd rather not. Suffice it to say, in the moment I was in the most danger, I reacted, not necessarily without thought, but without the internal monologue and what-ifs. I was being attacked and I instinctively knew what to do, how to handle it, and I saved myself. By the time sirens rang in the background and the police arrived, I had incapacitated my attacker. The one last night involved a different sort of dangerous situation, one in which my relationship to someone had put us both in danger. Again, using the knowledge I've gained from my love of true crime stories and the like, I managed to get myself out of danger - the person who got us into that situation, well, it was his fault and since it became a me-or-him situation, I have to admit, I chose me. But I have a baby to think about and it was that guy's fault anyway. What does this all mean? Why do I think it's blog-worthy? Because it made me feel so strong. It made me feel more confident that I would be able to handle what comes my way. I don't plan to go out and put myself in grave peril to validate this theory, but my thinking is - that part of me knows how to respond. The "auto-pilot" is more prepared than ever before. Or maybe it means that I feel that I am finally taking control of other parts of my life that I should have. Or maybe my subconscious is getting tired of being murdered.

You Learned to Bounce a Ball

Today is my first official day as a real stay-at-home mom (abbreviated on all the cool mom boards as SAHM). Friday, I was technically not employed, but I have to admit I didn't do anything. I slothed about and fed and changed the baby as necessary. I shrank his brain by watching daytime TV while he was around. I think we ate Fruit Loops for breakfast. Ah well. I loved today. For the first time, we blew bubbles without me watching the clock and thinking about what needed to be done before work or bedtime. I did laundry and dishes and vacuumed, we giggled and played play-doh (and discovered that all the colors taste the same - bad). Eddie learned to bounce a ball. He constantly amazes me with how quickly he picks things up and how fantastic it is to see him "get" something. He found a rubber "super-ball" type ball and carried it around, most of the morning, unsure of what to do with it. He tried it out in a few of his toys, but since most of our house is carpeted, no bouncing. Then, we were in my bedroom. It's got hardwood floors. I took the ball from him, held it above his head and dropped it. From the first bounce, his eyes lit up - whooo hoo - look at that!!!! He chased it down and brought it to me to drop a few more times, before realizing he could do it himself. Oh the joy of a bouncy ball. Fantastic. When things like this happen, I think of writing a journal for him. 12/03/06 - Today you started answering the question "What does the dog say?". You say "Broof, broof, broof!" in a higher pitched voice that still sounds like Joxer. 12/04/06 - Today you learned to bounce a ball. But I know the way that will go, because I know me. This month, there'll be something every day. Then every few days. Then it will go something like this "03/11/07 - Today you did a somersault for the first time. 06/12/28 - Today, you graduated high school." And the next baby, his would say "You were born, then some stuff happened, now you're married." Poor subsquent children. My baby book has intimate details, letters my mom wrote to me when I was an infant, a lock of hair, a baby tooth, pictures, family tree, you name it. My brother's has his full name and the day he was born. Eddie learned to bounce a ball today. What'd you learn?

Happy Friday!!

Here's what we're doing today: Well, better get back to it. Eddie can't do all the lounging around, eating and watching TV by himself.

Friday Feast

Feast One Hundred Twenty Appetizer Have you ever flown in a helicopter? Not yet, someday. I have been in a hot-air balloon. Soup What color is your warmest coat or jacket? Brown fake-fur. Salad What is your favorite rainy day activity? I love to curl up on the couch with a big, fluffy comforter and a huge mug of hot tea and read a good book. Main Course Describe your hands. My hands are the same super-white as the rest of me. I have long, graceful fingers and usually long, painted nails. Packing up our office broke most of my nails and chipped off a lot of the paint. I wear rings a lot, always my wedding set. I have the teeniest, tiniest red mark on one of my middle fingers, a lasting scar from a fairly minor acid burn in high school chem class. I have great cuticles because I take care of my hands. Dessert If you could eat only one nut for the rest of your life, what nut would it be? The only kind of nut I like plain (not in butter-form) are pistachios. Peanut butter is okay in certain contexts. It's complex. So let's just say pistachios.