better late than never!

finally! i wasn't really tagged, but i said i'd do it so here goes...

Favorite TV Shows:

1. Ellen
2. The Cleaner
3. Family Guy
4. Intervention

Least Favorite Shows:
REALITY TV

Favorite Restaurants:
1. The Melting Pot
2. Jason's Deli
3. Macayo's
4. McDonald's

Least Favorite Restaurants:
1. Burger King
2. I
3. LOVE
4. FOOD

Things that happened yesterday:
1. Woke up
2. Showered
3. Took care of the monk
4. Went to grandma's

I lead a pretty damn exciting life, don't I???

Things I am looking forward to:
1. VOTING!
2. My parent's arrival
3. Craft fair tomorrow
4. "Adult time"

Things I am not looking forward to:
1. Negative temperatures
2. Being stuck in the house all day with a baby
3. Wearing 10 layers of clothing
4. Paying my mortgages

Things I love about fall:
1. Fall? Have I mentioned I'm from Phoenix???

Things I don't love about fall:
NOTHING!!!

Things on my wish list:
1. To raise a healthy, happy son
2. To reach my goal weight
3. For a certain presidential candidate to win the election
4. World Peace

Things I don't wish for:
1. For a certain presidential candidate to win the election
2. Ringworm
3. The monkey to grow up too fast
4. A mustache

People I am tagging
1. YOU!

snake update 2008

first of all, i stand corrected, it is a SUMP pump, not a sub pump. but whatever! all i know is it's a hole in the furnace room of our basement where water will drain should it ever flood. however, hiss did not go down the sump pump hole, OH NO, he slithered his way up into the rafters of the furnace room and curled up all nice and cozy around the hot water pipe. needless to say, all is well again, he is safely contained inside his tank, and i can sleep better knowing he is not running amuck somewhere in my house. and i am so damn glad that phil decided to check up there just in case. because seriously? if i'd have known he was not underground somewhere and rather chillin' in the rafters...i would have moved!

tonight...

we realized that the husband's 6 foot boa, sir hiss - or hisssssterectomy - as i liked to call him, is missing. as sad as i am for the hub i am secretly (or not so secretly once he reads this) hoping and praying that he did indeed crawl down into the sub pump and disappear into the sewer. even though every square inch, nook and cranny has been searched, i am still not 100% convinced i am not going to find him slithering around at some point.

*shiver*

month 5!

chunky monkey,

holy crap! you're 5 months old! that means that in 1 more month you will be 6 months old and then i think it's all downhill from there. you are getting bigger by the day, my baby boy, and i am not sure how well i am going to be able to cope with this. on one hand, i am so proud of you. you are absolutely amazing and your growth and development continues to astound me, but on the other hand, i can't help thinking that you aren't going to be my little baby for much longer. i know that sounds dramatic, being that you're only 5 months old, but what can i say? i am a bit dramatic at times. which you'll soon find out and then you and daddy can make fun of mama together. ;)

it was a couple of weeks after the first time you rolled over before you rolled over again, but now i can't set you on your belly without you rolling over. your favorite thing to do is roll halfway over and look around like, "hey ma! look what i can do." it is adorable. next step...sitting up!

i am probably going to jinx myself by saying this, but you have stopped squealing and boy am i happy about that! i mean, it was cute the first few times, but i was afraid it was going to become a habit that was only going to get worse. i am slightly relieved that you seem satisfied knowing that you can use your voice and that you now choose to do so quietly.

we have started giving you a little bit of solid food. for a little while, i would let you taste certain things...a piece of bacon, a french fry, ice cream, but that seemed to get a little out of hand, and i didn't want it to become a habit that everyone thought was okay. although i'm sure you would live if i continued to allow you to try that stuff, i don't want to upset your sensitive tummy, nor do i want you to choke, or end up overweight, so i decided that we would only give you baby food...rice cereal, veggies, or fruit. but don't worry, just as soon as you can start eating that stuff, grandma m will be right there feeding you! she is a bit obsessed. so don't worry, my little monkey, she's there for you. =)

the reason i said that i was afraid of jinxing myself as far as the squealing was concerned, is because as soon as i told people you were sleeping thru the night, you stopped. not only did you stop, but you started getting up TWICE a night again. and more recently, over the past few days, you have started getting up THREE times. THREE TIMES, MONKEY! at 11pm, 2pm, and 5pm. whew! you don't get up for long, and you just eat a little and pass right back out, but there's really no reason for it. i had daddy rock you to sleep without the boob once and it took you 20 minutes of crying to do so. not so bad, but i just find it easier to feed you than to let you cry. it may only take a few times of letting you cry to break you of it, but you did wake up again 2 hours later wanting to eat again anyway. it's not too big of a deal to me at this point, so we'll see what i decide to do about that.

i think another reason i don't mind getting up with you is that i have become very, very attached to nursing you. i am so sad just thinking about the time that you don't or won't need my boob anymore. it is a special time for us and something that only i can do with you and i am going to have a hard time giving that up. i guess it will be my first lesson in learning to let go. even when i am away from you for an hour i start to feel a little empty, like something is missing. don't get me wrong, i need time to myself and i love being able to take an hour or so here and there, but it never feels quite right. i don't even know what i would do with myself if i couldn't stay at home with you. daddy has created a monster.

i am not sure how much you weigh since you didn't have a doctor's appointment this month, but i can tell you that you are wearing some 12 month clothes and will not fit in your snugli for much longer. that is a shame, but i think we can hold off for another month when you will be sitting up on your own. then you can sit in the grocery cart, and will hopefully be more content to sit on the floor and play with your toys. we will see!

keep smiling, my beautiful boy. it makes my day.

love,
mama

it was NOT happening if you ask me...

dear m. night shamomalomanon,

please stop making movies. signs was good. the sixth sense was awesome. the village? please. and the happening? AWFUL!!! no, not just awful. FUCKING AWFUL. whatever it is that goes on in that head of yours...well, i hate to break it to you, but you're the only one that gets it. and was it really necessary to make mark wahlberg talk like a big pansy ass? i will never watch another of your crappy movies again.

also, you suck.

regards,
me

p.s. and what kind of name is m. anyway??? get a real name, loser!!!!!

month 4!

hi monka,

i am quickly running out of variations of the name monkey. i guess once i run out i will have to call you by your name? imagine that!

oddly enough, your nickname suits you perfectly because you are in fact a monkey. you like to hang upside down, sit on your daddy's shoulders, and hang over his back. when i tip you backwards off the couch you giggle every time. and speaking of giggling, you do so much more often and have also started squealing like crazy. sometimes these squeals of yours are not so cute. in fact, they are often ear shattering. and on top of that they can sometimes be filled with what i can only imagine is a small fraction of what your teenage attitude will be like. assuming you take after me, of course. ;)

monk, you are the only child i know that appears tortured by their toys. it is getting a little out of hand. grandma and grandpa d came for a visit a few weekends ago and while at sam's club we found you a baby einstein walker. we sat you in it in the middle of the store and you loved it. sometimes when i put you in it at home you scream like crazy and i can't figure out what the problem is. i lie you on the floor surrounded by toys and you end up crying each time. i am going to continue trying, but if you grow up and wonder why you never received toys as a small child this is the reason why. waste. of. money.

i would have written this on your actual birthday but your 4 month check up wasn't until yesterday so i waited so that i'd be able to post your newest height and weight. you are now 18 lbs, 10 oz and 25 1/2 inches long. i can't believe i ever worried about your weight because you are a champion eater and you can certainly tell by the size of your thighs. they are very chunkalicious indeed. as is the rest of you, my darling boy. i know everyone thinks their baby is the cutest baby alive, but you really are. i have no doubt what a handsome man you will be. hopefully you get over your desire to cry so often though because chicks don't dig whiners.

truthfully, you don't really cry that often unless you are waking up from a nap and are hungry, tired, or overstimulated. you are quite demanding though and if you don't like something you make sure to let me know. you love to observe...to walk around and take in the scenery and people around you. you smile for anyone who talks to you and are most content when in the snugli attached to mama.

we got your fat butt a new car seat last week and miraculously i think the endless screaming jags while in the car are over. i am crossing my fingers, legs, arms, and toes right now though because chances are as soon as i put that in print i will have jinxed myself.

MONKEY! guess what else happened?!?! on your 4 month birthday you rolled over! twice! and your papa and i missed it both times. you little stinker, i swear you did that on purpose and i can't coax you to do it again while i'm watching. you are scooting such far distances and so quickly now that i don't doubt you'll be crawling within a couple of months.

the doctor also told me yesterday that i can go ahead and start you on foods...rice cereal, veggies, and fruits. even though she said you will still nurse as much and it will probably cease your middle of the night feedings that you've unfortunately picked up again, i don't know that i'm ready quite yet. i think you are, but it's hard to explain the satisfaction i get knowing that all of your most chunky parts are due to me and the boob juice i provide for you. feeding time is also the one special time we share that no one else can partake in. and although at one time i found that slightly frustrating, now i love it. but, like i said, i think you are ready...you seem ready for a lot of things i'm not quite ready for. such is the life of a mom, i suppose.

you fell off the bed this month, monk. this is actually the 2nd time, but the 1st was daddy's fault and this was all mine. i cried and shook so hard that i could hardly breathe for an hour afterwards. thank god daddy was home because i did not handle it well. i do hope that when daddy is not home, i find a way to deal with situations like that more calmly. needless to say, you are fine, and i am fine and i can't believe how resilient you are. thank god you are okay, and please forgive me.

this month i have realized how truly blessed i am to be able to stay home with you. i enjoy our time together more and more each day and i am so glad i am the one that gets to be with you day in and day out to watch you grow. your daddy is the best and i am so thankful that he is doing this for us.

you amaze me more each day. but do me a favor? please stop growing up so fast. it makes my heart hurt. and i will try to never take one kiss, one nibble, one squeeze, or one smile for granted.

love,

mama

adventures in stay-at-home motherhood

oooooh buddy, was yesterday a fun day. since we've moved to north dakoooooota (i am already thinking with a north dakota accent. hopefully i will not start speaking with a north dakota accent) the monkey's papa has pretty much been around every day. yesterday was the first day he actually went to work for a full day so my new life as a stay-at-home mom officially began. it started out great, with the monkey smiling, screaching, and talking his butt off like usual. then the pooping began. and continued throughout the entire day. while i was feeding i felt and heard him take a huge poop so i finished feeding him and as soon as i sat him up to burp him i saw the poop. all over his back and all over the boppy. i immediately threw the boppy cover in hot water with some oxi clean laundry spray (best stuff ever!) and proceeded to clean the monk and attempt to clean the poop off the pillow itself. with my mission accomplished we went about our day as usual, had lunch with daddy and auntie and then came home. i decided a walk would be nice so i put the monk in his stroller and set off down the street. or i should say, UP the street as there were hills. in both directions. which is good for butt, but not so easy when your baby starts screaming bloody murder and you are trying to carry the baby and push the stroller uphill at the same time. when we got close enough to the house that i felt comfortable letting the boy scream the rest of the way, i plopped him back in the stroller and off we went. since we were so close, i figured there was no reason why he needed to be strapped into the stroller. i thought wrong. we made it home, i pushed him into the garage and just as i walked around to the front of the stroller, he comes sliding out the bottom just in time for me to catch him. note to self: never put baby in stroller unstrapped again. but don't worry, i was punished when i decided not to go to sleep until 1am and then heard the monk crying before i ever fell asleep. and then was woken up again at 3:30, 5:30, and finally for good at 7:30. needless to say, it's been a rough day! i'm hoping that he gets adjusted to his new home soon because i am not ready to revert back to the old days of waking every couple of hours.

in other news, i joined weight watchers today. and i start dance lessons on friday. in which i am supposed to wear a leotard. HA! and then i have the alzheimer's walk on saturday and mma fight on sunday. you could say i kind of love it here.

the end.