7 years and still going strong!

Happy 7th Anniversary to us!!

A belated congratulations...

Happy 1st Anniversary (December 22nd) to our friends Justin and Zipporah!!

A few new photos...

Hope this works... using a new site.

Back by popular demand....

You like me - you really like me!!

Wow, all! Thanks to all of you who have persisted and kept inquiring "when are you putting a new blog post up?" Now you have your answer. :)

Things have been good here, Liam turned 6 months and went for his 6 month checkup... he was 27" long and 16 lbs. 15.5 oz. (We'll call that 17 lbs.) He is thriving, rolling over, sitting up some of the time, he laughs heartily and smiles often. He is a total delight most of the time... save for the 5 times he's still getting up during the night. I have had many a bleary eyed morning. But, it helps when I remind myself that it won't be for long that I'll still have a wee baby to snuggle, cuddle, and have all to myself.

Riley is doing well in school. Due to his disability several issues have popped up along the way, but we are taking them as they come. He is very overwhelmed when they have assemblies and more than a couple classes are gathered at a time. He ended up ears covered, crying in his teacher's lap last week. Still, he's eager to get up and go back the next day, so that's promising. He also continues to be wacky on both the full moon and new moon. Makes you realize that with the words for moon in french and spanish (luna and lune) the word "lunatic" really does have something to it after all. Riley does everything but howl!

Elliot is in the midst of a defiant streak that we never dealt with when Riley was young. This is new and foreign territory, and every day is a guessing game for what will work and get him cooperating. He is still REALLY scared of a lot of stuff - just today I had the kids outside because it's in the mid 50s (REALLY mild), and Elliot thought he saw a couple tiny holes in the ground and made me carry him clear across the yard. Still, he's my snugglebug, and loves to get under the covers next to me and watch TV. I can't believe he'll be 4 a week from today. 4 just seems so much older than 3.

In other news, we have one final new addition - a furbaby. Well, not so much a baby, he's actually 3 1/2 years old, so very much an adult. His name is Casey, and he's a retired racing greyhound. (Okay all, pick your jaws up off the ground) We have been looking into getting a dog for several months now, and after our first prospect didn't work out, we were turned on to retired racing greyhounds. After having several common greyhound myths debunked (I thought they were hyper, required tons of exercise, etc.) we realized that it was actually quite a suitable match for our family. We applied and had to wait a while to have one come along that matched our family dynamic (one well suited to young children and cats -each individual dog is profiled and matched with a suitable family) but now that we have Casey, he was worth the wait! Greyhounds are called "40 mile per hour couch potatoes" - and it is SO true. They can get up to 40mph in just 3 strides (we have seen this first hand and it is jawdropping, they can stop on a dime as well) but after just a couple minutes of running, they come inside and basically sleep the rest of the day. We are happy to have been able to give this guy a home, he is everything that our previous dog Milo was not. Casey never barks, never jumps, is gentle as a breeze, and just wanders pleasantly around the house. The kids absolutely love him, and he loves them. He can now live out the rest of his days in happy retirement, after a racing career of several years that took him from Tampa Bay to Fort Meyers and eventually to New Hampshire. He ran a total of 62 races, won several, and placed 2nd and 3rd quite a bit. But once the wins stop rolling in, these dogs are no longer wanted at the track. In the past, they were often just euthanized, but thanks to increased awareness about just what outstanding pets they are, there are now many rescue groups nationwide that take them in and then rehome them with adoptive families. Anyway, enough about him - I'll try to put up a photo soon, he really is beautiful if a horse! He looks very handsome in his coats as well. Best of all, he seems very content and happy to be home.

That's it for now, it's still not ferociously cold here - so that's a happy thing. I'll take every warmer than average day I can get.

Over and out. (and photos to come hopefully a little later today)

Something shady in Stormville....

Lampshady!! Poor Elliot, he is scared of everything. Always saying "did you hear that?!?!", or saying that he sees things outside his window, etc. Shakes like a leaf sometimes. So yesterday when he came screaming to me telling me "Mommy, there's a FACE in the lamp!!!" I played it down. "Elliot, there is NO face in the lamp." "No, Mommy, Mommy come LOOK!!" I guess there was a high enough level of pleading in his tone of voice that I agreed. And when I walked in our room, this is what I saw!!! I gave him a hug and showed him that the lights from the mini blinds were making the "face." But we had a nice big laugh about it, and I figured I'd show you our mystery face from yesterday as well. :o)

Another list of stuff about me...

Oh what the hey, here's another one.

5 Things Brannon Has Tried to Like, but Still Can't Manage To

1. Goat Cheese
2. Josh Groban
3. Monty Python
4. The Princess Bride
5. Winter

Howdy doodle do...

Hello all. Well, we've gone from Indian Summer to New York Winter around here over the course of a couple of days. Ack. I suppose it was inevitable, but I'll be putting up a countdown to spring ticker soon! Anything to keep me sane.

Saw a great movie last night, Wall-E. We'd originally thought of taking the kids to see it in the movies, then heard that it was a bit dark for children. After seeing it, I'd definitely agree that it's not for the preschool crowd. But an enjoyable way to look at an important topic, and the movie definitely makes a statement without saying much at all. You'll understand that if you've seen it.

In other news, no, wait - there is no other news. Maybe I'll toss up a few little known facts about myself!

5 Things Brannon Used to Hate but has Grown to Love

1. the Blues (the music, not the emotional state)
2. Salt & Vinegar Potato Chips
3. French Onion Soup
4. SpongeBob Squarepants
5. Diamonds (yes, that's right, up until months before my engagement I swore I wanted a pearl engagement ring)

What about you all? Anything you used to hate but you've come to love? Feel free to post a comment and share!!

Greetings from the land of the lost...

Sorry for the posting lapse again. Busy last week, busy weekend, busy this week. But, stopping by to post here and change the poll.

Boys are all doing well - Riley is still enjoying school, Riley and Elliot went to library storytime yesterday with Nana and Pa and made really cute paper bag owl puppets which I'll try to photo. Liam is just a little chunk, but still cute and is starting to laugh and be more engaging. He also loves playing in his exersaucer which is good news for Mommy! He has also slept through the night twice in the last week, which hopefully means good things ahead.

Riley said something that cracked me up the other night. We had had company the night before and I made these meatballs I love to make that have spinach in them. Well, Riley made a face at them once he saw the spinach and declared them unfit to eat. I said "Really? Because everyone last night loved them, some people even liked them so much they asked me for the recipe." At that Riley decided to try them, and ended up eating them all. He then said: "Mom, these meatballs are DELICIOUS! Do you think I could have the recipe?" I burst out laughing. What a hoot, that kid.

The most trivial of trivia...

So as I was just looking at the two new kitchen sponges I bought today in the kitchen, I thought to myself: "That might be an interesting feature on the blog, little known facts about me." Not that I consider myself to be terribly interesting... but even those of you who know me well might not know certain things about me. So let me take a few moments to share some random tidbits about moi.

• I have a REAL thing for kitchen sponges - I replace mine frequently and love buying stylish ones with fun designs
• One of my favorite sounds is the sound of gravel popping under car tires
• I can pick up MANY things with my toes
• I had a miscarriage before Riley
• I am a total sucker for plaid
• I am also a total sucker for anything peach scented/flavored
• For part of my mid-teens I was a total Beatlemaniac

And that's probably all you care to know about me at the moment, but I'll try and share some more soon!

Oh what a night...

Late October in 2008... little Liam didn't sleep so great... what a baby, what a night."

Okay, sorry for the Four Seasons stretch.

Liam's sleep patterns have been getting worse, and worse. We just switched his stomach medication yesterday hoping that would help, but so far, no change. I don't know if it could be teething or what... but I really hope we figure it out soon. My eyes are even grossly bloodshot now... not a pretty look. Ah well, comes with the infant territory I suppose.

Liam is also TOTALLY in love with his Daddy. Me? Meh. But Daddy? All smiles and giggles. He hears Nick's voice and comes alive. It's quite endearing to watch.

So Riley is Student of the Week this week!! It's not merit based, it just rotates through all the kids in the class - but still, very exciting. Riley said he got to be the boys' line leader on their way to computer yesterday. He also got to pick the girls' line leader, and got to pick who walked the bus notes up to the Main Office with him. He brought in some photos and a few items for show and tell. I also got a notice home saying that I was welcome to pick a day this week and go in to read to the class. Well, thankfully Megan was able to watch Elliot this morning - so I got to take Liam in and read to the class. I did 3 books, and it was a blast! The kids were really attentive for the most part, occasionally interrupting with enthusiastic comments about random things from the story. And I brought in some rainbow chip cookies as a treat as well, which Riley tells me were well received.

Elliot is in the midst of a defiant streak that means business. We never went through this with Riley so it's tough to know what to do. We are going through a lot of trial and error to find what works. We'll just keep chipping away in the meantime. But in positive Elliot news, he has been playing some tee-ball in the backyard and boy can he nail the ball! He sends shots flying past me. He really does seem like he's the more athletic between him and Riley. On the other hand, Riley can sink baskets with incredible accuracy, so maybe they just excel at different sports.

We got our first taste of some flurries today, and it has me longing for two winters ago when we got no snow at all under January of the new year. Hopefully it'll be March before I know it, and we'll be counting down the days till Spring.

That's it for now - have a great day!

And for our dear family...

For our dearest friends...

We have lift off!!

Well, for the last day or so, the dreaded "tummy time" for Liam has finally paid off! He now pushes himself right up off the ground and holds up his head. He's also been occasionally rolling over from his tummy to back in both directions. Making up for lost time, I guess! Here's a few of him from this morning, one pushed up, one right after he toppled to the side, and one of him bargain shopping. :)

Out of the mouths of babes...

Ok. True confession time, I guess.

So this morning we are here cleaning the house. Riley just came up to me and said "Mommy, you are making the house look SO beautiful. Who is coming today?"

Nice. While it may not look like the Merry Maids just went through my house on a daily basis, I would consider my home to be pretty presentable. Especially considering that I have 3 kids. 3 BOYS. But apparently I have given the impression to my kids that the house only needs to be truly spotless when we are hosting guests. So, I just got up on my soapbox (no cleaning pun intended) and gave them a lesson about how we should keep the house clean and tidy for even just US to enjoy. Proud to say, Elliot is now scrubber in hand, and Riley is tidying.

On a somewhat side note about cleaning, I got a Dyson around a month ago. We had gone through around 6 vacuums in 6 years. Let me just say (especially if you can get it on sale), it is WELL worth it!! My carpets look and feel cleaner and it is so easy to handle. Love it!

The week in review...

So let's think. What has happened in the last week since I posted.

Well, our road is always the source of new and interesting stuff. You just NEVER know who or what you're going to see going down our road. We've seen people driving lawn tractors as leisure vehicles, we recently saw a big Honda CR-V with a little senior moped (complete with actual senior citizen) driving right next to it - looked like it was attached and riding sidecar. And then it went back in the other direction hours later. We also have an older gent who has been walking up and down the road playing some kind of deep brass horn. Smaller than a tuba, looks a cross between a trombone and a tuba, but held like a tuba, and deep sound close to a tuba range. Tried to find it, closest thing I can find is a Wagner horn. But anyway, this chap walks down the street nearly daily now alongside a lady who carries a metronome right next to his ear. Strange sight indeed, but, something about the jaunty little nature of this instrument and the sweet tunes that come out bring a smile to my face each afternoon.

Riley has school picture day today. And of course, at around 2pm yesterday, he walked head-on into a drawer that I had just opened, leaving a skinny near 4" bruise running down his forehead and into his eyebrow. Let's hear it for retakes... something tells me we won't want to hang an 8x10 of our black-eyed pea on the wall.

Liam is still not sleeping through the night, up twice a night like clockwork. You'd think by now I'd be used to it. You'd be wrong.

And Elliot still just never stops talking. It is literally exhausting listening to him. That Bigelow tea called "Constant Comment" should have his picture on the front. Oy vay. Take a breath kid. But really, it's very sweet - and just like you can listen to a Brit read a phone book for their accent, listening to Elliot speak is a delight due to his precious little lisp and odd pronunciations.

Yesterday I finally got fed up with being housebound and decided to take the kids to the pet store since we needed aquarium filters. But, we made a trip of it, and checked out all the animals - parakeets, all kinds of fish, snakes, iguanas, frogs, newts, a tarantula, ferrets, mice, rats, rabbits, hamsters, guinea pigs and even a couple of pet dogs were there - we met a beautiful greyhound named Golda who was as sweet as can be.

I know, I know - I still haven't put up pictures in a while. I'll get to it, I promise!! Have a great weekend, I'll try to check in at some point.

Yawn.......

You wanna know how I know I'm tired? Because I just loaded up the bookmark of my blog to check and see if there were any new posts. Hmmm. Yeah, apparently my brain didn't make the connection that I would actually have to have written something for there to be new posts.

But, at least my brain has now engaged somewhat, so let me update you on the last week! Sorry for the posting hiatus. Last weekend was apple picking and family dinner, which was lots of fun. I still have to resize photos but I'll put some up. Then starting on last Thursday, a cycle of colds started in the family. First Riley - who thankfully only had it for 3 days or so, but Elliot's going on around a week and Liam picked it up somewhere along the way as well. And of course my father, who can run but can't seem to hide from whatever the kids are brewing.

It's definitely fall around here, lots of changing colors, lots of leaves falling. And I'm REALLY in the mood to cook, which normally happens around this time of year. The other day I randomly decided to make corn chowder at 9:30 am. And here I am at not quite 11 am getting ready to make a double batch of quiche. (Same quiche as I posted the link for last year - here it is if you're interested...) Unfortunately along with the urge to cook comes the urge to eat. Which always seems to followed by the urge to diet.

Riley is doing great in school, loves coming home and telling us all about his day. We're so thankful that he wakes up every day, excited and ready to go!

Elliot has suddenly lost his toddler look and has much more of a kid-like appearance. He grew some and his face thinned out and matured some. It's so bizarre that even though I see my kids every day, sometimes changes are so dramatic they seem to have happened overnight.

And Liam is just a bundle of smiles, squawks and playfulness. He full on plays with toys, uses both hands really well to control things, and loves bouncing in his bouncer. He is also totally in love with Daddy, and just squawks and squawks for Daddy's attention and smiles when he gets home.

Photos to come soon - I promise!

In the meantime, have a great weekend. :o)

2 out of 3 ain't bad...

One of these days I'll get a photo of all three kids up... in the meantime, you'll have to just stick with 66.6(repeating) percent of the boys per photo!!

Here's a few from yesterday. Can you tell how into his brothers Liam is? He just gazes at both of them.

Mid-week update...

Hmmm, what to update, what to update...

Things are going well here. It has gotten really cool in the evenings/mornings and I can't stand it. Gosh do I hate wearing a jacket. Thankfully we're still in the 60s most days, but I know that won't last.

We're on schedule to have our annual Apple Picking / Family Dinner day this Saturday, so hopefully the weather will hold out. I'm still trying to plan the menu for the weekend, but it'll probably be the normal chicken dinner with yummy (if rich and fattening) side dishes. Is it just me or when fall hits do you just feel like sitting down to like 3 bowls of different kinds of potatoes? Maybe some garlic smashed, some sweet potatoes, and some au gratin... heck, throw in some scalloped too. Ah, carbs, how I love thee.

Riley just got back a bunch of his homework that he had turned in. He does a REALLY good job coloring! Stays incredibly within the lines, especially for a 5 year old. I'll have to take some pictures. And it would appear his teacher is quite strict about letter formation, she has included lots of notes about how to improve those... what a drill sergeant! Well, I guess that's what they're paying her for.

That's it for now, time to serve the kiddos lunch.

Love is in the air...

1 year ago today...

I'm pretty sure it was one year ago today that I discovered I was preggers. My how time has flown! I remember bawling and bawling that day, and being reassured by those I love that things would be okay. (I think one of my favorite of those was Tara saying "I'm trying REALLY hard to be sad for you, but I'm actually kind of excited!") And here we are a year later, and things, although tough at times, are definitely more than okay! Liam is a little ray of sunlight and we're honestly thrilled to have him. And if it weren't for that pregnancy, I don't think I would've started blogging... so you have Liam to thank (or curse) for that.

I can't believe tomorrow is already October. And then next month November, and then - you guessed it, DECEMBER!!! That just seems impossible. Wasn't it just January? Yikes.

At any rate, it's a pretty nice day here, and aside from rain tomorrow, looks like we're in for a steady stream of cool, crisp yet sunny autumn days. I can dig it.

Snap, Crackle, Pop...

Well, not exactly Rice Krispies... but another rice cereal!!!

Yes, a big milestone for Liam today. He'd been expressing SO much interest in eating that we figured at just a couple days shy of 4 months, we'd try starting him on solids. He took RIGHT to it! Well, actually the first try he ate 3 bites, then cried, had a teeny bit of a bottle and sacked out in his new little highchair. But then he awoke later and we finished the meal, and he seemed to love it! See for yourself, I love how his crooked little smile seems to tilt back and forth across his face like a little teeter totter!!

PS - if you need a password to view, it's photos

Here we go again....

Oh my achin' head. Yet another reason on my list of why I hate the Fall. Crisper air, while great for sleeping, is not so great for the rest of me. My lousy circulation starts acting up, and right around now my feet go into a continuous deep freeze until April. And as if that isn't enough of a drag, once the cold tootsies begin, so do my migraines. While I do have migraines year-round, they are mostly concentrated in the Fall/Winter. And last year I finally put a correlation between the two. So, it makes sense that considering my feet started going numb last week, the migraines were on their way. While standing and waiting for Riley's bus today, all the little black spots started all over my field of vision, and I knew the headache was soon to follow. Now it has arrived. Not full blown yet, but getting worse by the minute. The thing about my headaches is that sometimes they last for only a few hours, and sometimes they last for upwards of a month.

Oh well, it'll be Spring again soon, right?

Another pregnancy injustice...

NO I'm NOT pregnant again. Let's just clear that up from the get go.

However, having been pregnant during September twice and having horrific morning sickness, my body has come to associate this weather with feeling queasy. So, every September since 2002, whenever it starts turning to Fall (although I guess technically it IS Fall now and I need to change my graphic) I feel like I'm going to throw up. Fun, huh? I wonder when my brain will get the message that it doesn't need to make me feel sick anymore. Not fair, I tell you!!

Well, not much going on here. My dad returned from Cali safe and sound last night. It appears he has gotten his California dreamin' out of his system for the time being. But he did have some fun stories to tell - my favorite being that as he was finishing his ascent/descent of El Capitan in Yosemite National Park, he got to the bottom to find a family with a father dressed tip to toe as a pirate. You read that right. A pirate. Ruffled shirt, vest, hat, boots, even a (let's hope it was plastic) sword. So I said: "Gosh, I hope you greeted him with an 'Ahoy!'" To which my dad replied: "No, as I walked past I said to him 'Looks like someone lost a bet.'" Don't get me wrong, I wouldn't mind running into Jack Sparrow in Yosemite, or anywhere for that matter. But this dude sounds like a piece of work matey!! And so goes the legend of El Capitan Hook.

That's it for now, I'll try and take some photos of Riley's recent Kindergarten stuff. They're currently working on the letter "T" and writing lowercase letters. Riley writes his name quite well now and is really starting to READ! It is SO exciting.

Liam is snoozing and the boys are getting along peacefully for the moment so I'm going to try and put my feet up. Talk soon!!

Is it soup yet?

Well, not yet. I mean, it could be done at this point, but I want to take it to a higher plane. At this point, it's kind of like italian chicken vegetable soup. With some noodles. But I think I might just make it into a pseudo-stracciatella. Stir in some beaten egg/cheese, and possibly even a little spinach at the end. It'll have so much good stuff in it - I just might call it "Pot of Gold" soup.

Don't say I didn't warn you that I LOVE soup!!

Three's company...

Well, three of us are now sick. Namely Riley, Elliot, and me. Riley stayed home from school yesterday and today. I really hope he's well enough to go back tomorrow. It's such a shame to miss 2 days right off the bat, especially since he gets Occupational Therapy twice a week as well, so I'm sure he's missed one of his sessions now. :(

In the meantime, both boys are in my bed, mushed out watching tv. Riley had a little juice and a little tiny serving of chicken soup this morning. Elliot had juice and is currently snacking on a little rolled up sliced turkey breast. Liam is snoozing away in his room - thank goodness!! I'm going to try and make a giant pot of chicken vegetable noodle soup today. I'm trying to drop a few pounds, and soup always works well for that - plus with us sick, it's good for what ails ya. Mom is coming for dinner tonight, and she's providing fixins for garlic bread. I'm really looking forward to a steaming bowl of fresh soup and some golden, crusty garlic bread. The one thing about the colder weather that I like is that I get to eat LOTS of soup, my favorite food. I'm looking forward to making a nice big pot of spinach stracciatella one of these days. Sounds so yummy.

Well, even though I'm feeling lousy, I'm going to go take advantage of having the kids down for the count and try and get some housework done. Talk soon!

Good grief...

So Elliot has turned into Linus. He is constantly dragging some kind of blanket, big or small, behind him wherever he goes. And it's REALLY irritating. Mainly because my home is always strewn about with giant blankets. Ah well.

Poor Riley is sick with his first Kindergarten bug. He started getting sick two nights ago, and has been running a 100-101 temp ever since. I feel bad, but he'll have to miss tomorrow in order to stay home and rest. Plus, if their temp is over 99.5 they're supposed to stay home. Poor kid is gonna be really bummed in the morning when the school bus passes and he's not on it.

That's about it. Heard from my Dad tonight who is nearly done with the Yosemite portion of his California trip. I believe that he heads to San Francisco on Tuesday morning.

Oh, and my mom taught Nick how to make her deeelicious spaghetti sauce tonight. She has tried to show me in the past, but to no avail. It was a tasty batch, and we filmed it... so hopefully we can recreate it! My Nan was up to visit as well, so we all had some nice time together.

Other than that it appears I've been hit over the head with a writer's block... so I'll wrap up for now. Have a great rest of your weekend!!

Leavin' on a jet plane...

So my Pops took off this morning for the Golden State - he'll be gone for 10 days. But he has a fun trip planned and I'm jealous!! I count myself lucky to make it out to the grocery store for a little while. And a trip to the mall by myself? Perish the thought. Anyway, I miss him already - but I know he'll be back before I know it.

Riley got on the bus this morning, marking the end of his first full week of school! And he is LOVING it. Loves telling us about his day, bringing home important papers, etc. He already forgot his lunch pail at school one day, but thankfully it was marked with his name and so it was waiting for him the next day. So far I've lucked out with him willingly taking healthy snacks... my mom always used to pack me really healthy snacks/lunches - and only now do I appreciate it. At the time I was just bummed that I didn't have the junk food the other kids did. At least some of the other kids took pity on me and would bring in extra junk from home. Noone would actually TRADE with me, but at least I got the sympathy vote and scored snacks that way. I can't wait for all 3 of my boys to be in school and I get to pack their lunches. I'm such a food freak that it makes sense, I guess. Even from when I was young and I thought forward to possibly having kids, I always pictured a scene of me in the morning in a bathrobe lining up paper lunch sacks on a peninsula counter - with each of my kids grabbing one as they zipped out the door. Of course I don't have a peninsula, and I used to envision 2 sets of boy/girl twins... but other than that - the picture is starting to unfold.

Hoping to have a low-key weekend. This Monday marks my first PTA meeting, and the night after that is Parents as Partners night and Nick and I go in for a curriculum meeting. I can't even imagine how busy it will be once all 3 are in school. I'm already trying to keep a handle on all the kids Riley talks about in his class. I can't even keep my own kids' names straight for cryin' out loud!!!

That's it for now, I'll try and post a picture of some of Riley's Kindergarten art projects that he's brought home a little later.

Life imitates art...

Here's Liam relaxing with George from a few days ago. Okay, so it might not be "The Creation of Man", but it is sweet, right? If nothing else, I think this might be the beginning of a beautiful friendship.

And can't you tell from Liam's expression that he was thrilled to find out I'd be posting his photos online?

"And they called it puppy love..."

Man, what a stinky song that is. Of all the great songs the 1960s brought us, that was NOT one of them. Did you know that
it was written by Paul Anka in 1960 for Annette Funicello, with whom he was having an affair at the time? (Kinda takes the innocence out of the "puppy love" concept, eh?) His version reached #2 on the Billboard Hot 100 singles chart.

Twelve years later it was revived by Donny Osmond who took it to #3 on the Billboard Hot 100 for five weeks in July 1972. I guess it all makes sense - if there is any artist I can't stand more than Paul Anka (I mean, he wrote "She's a Lady" for Tom Jones, need I say more?) it's Donny Osmond. If you have 3 or so minutes to kill and some brain cells to sacrifice, you can catch Donny singing it here...

Anyway, "puppy" is the wrong animal in this case anyway. Looks like Elliot has a little (cartoon) crush. We were sitting together watching a LeapFrog movie, and Elliot says:

"Mommy, I wuv Wiwwy."

"You love Willy?"

"No, I wuv Wiwwy."

"You love Lily? Oh, you love LILY." (one of the characters in the LeapFrog movies - see photo)

"Yeeeah. She's pwitty."

"Yes, she is pretty. What do you think is pretty on her?"

"I wike heh bow. It's pink."

"That is nice."

"Yayuh. She's byoooootifuw."

You should've seen the little twinkle in this kid's eye when he was going on and on about his amorous affection for animated amphibians. Some of his looks were downright sheepish, and I was glancing over at him after he said all this, and he would get all embarrassed when she would come on the screen. Little cutie.

When did September get here?

Man. It just kind of hit me today that it's September. And that next month is October. I don't like it one bit. Winter is getting closer by the day, and that's bad news for me. Oh well, one day at a time.

It also hit me today that it's been one month since my Grandmother died. And yet it still hasn't totally sunk in. I wonder if it ever will.

On a lighter note, we had our bookstudy picnic tonight. It was great to be all together, share a meal and some laughs. The boys had a great time playing badminton and croquet, and Liam was even cooperative for long enough to be held by a few people.

Tomorrow is Riley's first whole week of school, we'll see how that goes!! I'm still getting used to waking up that early. 6:30am doesn't exactly agree with me. Welcome to the next 18 years for me, I suppose!! Hopefully by 2026 I'll have finally adjusted.

That's it for today, hope you all had a great weekend!!

Serenity now!!!

Oh boy. He did it. WE did it. He's on the bus. Well actually by now he should be in his classroom. There's another kindergarten boy on our street as it turns out, so they rode up front together. He actually got right on the bus and sat in his seat, and as I looked in, he was buckling his belt. He got buckled and looked over at me - I gave him a wave, and was expecting a big grin... but got kind of a deer in headlights look instead. *gulp* Oh well, too late now!! He should be arriving home around noon today, I'll try to snap a photo of that.

Photos from the first day!

Here's the link to the album: Riley's First Day

password is: photos

The first few are of this morning - Daddy was home for the morning and built one killer train track for the boys to play with!

I'll also get some of Liam up soon. Enjoy!!

I'm still standin'....

...yeah, yeah, yeah. (Sorry for 2 Elton John lyric references in a week, I know it's a bit much)

But, I am still standing after a big day! It actually went not quite as smoothly as I'd anticipated. I figured since Riley had attended 1 1/2 years of preschool that it would be a smoother transition than this. Once we got into the classroom, he kind of clammed up. Started losing confidence and getting really miserable. There were several crafts to do and he was mostly concerned with the fact that his hands were getting dirty from markers and such. Then he went potty and was afraid to flush because he anticipated it being very loud in a very small bathroom. He finally finished his crafts and had a fish cookie (fish was the theme of the day) - and we heard that it was time to get on the school bus for a trial. This was actually good news to me - a good way to try out the bus before his first actual bus ride to school. I asked if he wanted to go on alone, he said yes but quickly changed his mind once he climbed the stairs and looked down an aisle full of kids. We got him situated about halfway back, he was seeming uncertain but still okay. After about 5 minutes of just sitting I figured that maybe there was no ride after all, and considering it was about 150 degrees in there, I said - okay, let's make room for some other kids to try it out. But as we were just about to get off, the driver said 2 more minutes till we get going. So I told Riley, let's get you buckled back into a new seat (right behind the driver). He got all fastened and his breathing got strained and rapid. You could sense his blood pressure going up. He gave me a look that said "Whatever you do, DON'T leave me." So I did what I had to do. I left him. I told him he was going to be okay (despite looks from other parents to me that seemed to say "Is he going to be okay??") and that I'd be waiting for him when he got back. It would only be a 2 minute drive around the parking lot. The bus started, then the doors opened - I assumed it was Riley who was going to be escorted off in hysterics. But it was another little girl who'd broken down in sobs and was being brought to her mother instead. The doors closed back up, and off they went - with Riley presumably still in one piece. Around the parking lot rolled the bus, and back to it's starting point. The doors opened, I saw a pink shirt (what Riley was wearing) come my way, and I hesitatingly looked at his face for his reaction. Boy was I ever pleased when I saw a HUGE grin and heard him exclaim "Mommy, I RODE on the BUS!!!" He was really psyched, and it was then that I decided I will put him on the bus to school tomorrow morning. It's now or never.

I got a bunch of photos, I'm in the process of resizing them right now. In the meantime, here's my favorite. Enjoy. :)

Oh - and everyone was wrong on the poll!!! Neither of us cried, although if anyone came close, it was Mr. Riles.

Time flies like an arrow...

...fruit flies like a banana.

Yes, today Liam turns 3 months old. Holy cow. 3 months. Where did THAT go? And speaking of where did the time go...

It seems like just yesterday that Nick and I were in the hospital holding our firstborn, saying "Before you know it, it'll be September 2008 and he'll be starting Kindergarten." And truer words could not have been spoken. It really has happened before we knew it - here we are on Kindergarten Eve, staring the beginning of an era in the face.

Tomorrow is transition day, meaning parents bring the children directly to the classroom and stay with them for 1 1/2 hours. Normally the day goes from 8:50 to 11:30, but tomorrow it'll go from 10:00 to 11:30. Parents bring the children home as well. The following day is when the bus will start coming, and honestly, I'm not sure yet if I'm putting him on the bus that day. Part of me says bite the bullet, part of me says both he and I need just a teeny bit more transition time. So we'll see what happens.

At any rate, stay tuned for pictures of the first day - I'll try to have them up by tomorrow evening. And here's hoping I, oh, er, I mean HE makes it through the first day!!

Whatchoo talkin' 'bout Willis??

You know, there are ways to say things, and there are ways to say things. Granted, we all have different ways of talking and speaking to get the same point across. But sometimes things just come out funny. Kind of like when foreign languages get put into subtitles. Juuuust doesn't come out quite right. Or then there's the church billboards you pass sometimes with their corny (if clever) sayings... "It wasn't the apple, it was the pair.", or my personal favorite "Moses was a basket case too." I even once saw a restaurant (which was presumably failing) with a signboard saying "Eat here or we'll both starve." I kid you not.

But I passed a really dumb sign today. REALLY dumb. It was outside our local fire department and it said:

"Kids hate going back to school.
But what they hate even more is being hit by a car.
Drive safely, school is in session."

For real. It actually said that. First of all, it took so long to read such a daggone long sign that by the time I finished reading it, my eyes were off the road long enough that I could've hit something. Second of all - that's REALLY the best they can do? Come on, you're the fire department, just put "SCHOOL IS IN SESSION - DRIVE SAFELY" on the sign. And actually, aren't there more kids out playing and walking when school ISN'T in session? Hmmmm.

At any rate, enough blabbing about the mediocre signage around here. Today is a splendidly beautiful day and right now 3 out of 4 of my guys in the house are outdoors playing. It's a bit sad - I feel like Labor Day is the unofficial end of summer (much as Memorial Day is the unofficial beginning)... and with Riley starting school on Wednesday it just feels like one whole season/era is ending and another is beginning. Which I suppose is true. At least I have one more day to try and make sense of it all!

Dahling I love you but give me Park Avenue...

Holy cow. I'm ready to pack up and head for the city. The wildlife situation here in the country has finally gotten to me after 28 years. Things started out nice, with our Great Horned Owl. Granted we get some Stink Bugs (also called Conifer Bugs or something) but not too many. Sure we get ladybugs, but they're downright cute. Then we got that bizarre weevil thing. And we have moths and butterflies - but I'm the only freak who's afraid of those. But then today happened. First of all, my dad had to handle a spider situation. This fella was bigger than any average household spider I've ever seen. Like probably 2 1/2 - 3" in diameter. Brownish black. And UGLY. Randomly showed up in my kitchen sink prompting me to exclaim "Holy heavens to mergatroid." True story.

Then tonight I run out to get kitty litter and milk. I get inside, realize that I have left the milk at the store - but figure I will double check my car to see if it's there. I flip on my front door light and go out onto the front stoop. I feel something brush by my arm, but pass it off as a moth since I turned on the light. I walk a few paces and feel something under my foot, so I don't bear down all the way. I turn around, it's a toad, a small toad. And yes, I was barefoot. So here I am, in the dark outside with just the front light on, having just stepped on a toad barefoot. I consider going back in through the house and out through the garage door when I catch a glimpse of what it was I brushed by on my way out the front door. A praying-ever-loving-MANTIS. I kid you not. It looked EXACTLY like this. Same color, same everything. And it was huge. Like HUGE. I wouldn't be surprised if this baby measured in at 6"+ from tip to toe. Or antennae to... whatever. At this point, I have started to make a slight whimpering wail in the middle of my front walk, suddenly envious of my cat George seemingly taunting me from right inside the living room window. Long story short, I braved the rest of the front walk in the dark, minding each step carefully and hopefully... and no, the milk wasn't in the car.

Someone tell me my wacky animal/pest experiences quota for the year is up???

"Get up offa that thing...

shake it, you'll feel better." How true James, how true.

If you don't know that song ("Get Up Offa That Thing" by James Brown), it's one of the most funky, groovy songs going. Great hook, and infectious little horn riff. Put that song on, and if you're not shakin' it within 3 seconds, better check your pulse.

At any rate, the reason I'm writing about it is that my kids love it. They first heard it at the end of the movie "Robots." (They play it when they have the "fusion of jazz and funk... it's called JUNK!") Well this morning I hear Elliot in his room changing his pants singing "Geddup offa dat fing, shayka shayka bedduh!" I decided to load up the real version on You Tube, and boy was he thrilled! He was a little shy to admit it at first, but then he really got into it. But not only him... I started movin' and groovin' my head to it as well, I was holding Liam. At which point I hear a little mini-laugh, and Liam is looking up at me gettin' down and smiling and laughing. I guess our family's got soul!!

So wherever you're reading this from today, take a moment for yourself and - Get up offa that thing, shake it, you'll feel better!!

So this morning I was laying in bed, all curled up like a startled caterpillar (it is COLD here overnight now!) and I overheard the boys having a little chat.

Elliot: "Hey Riyee, whayhs Mommy?"

Riley: "She's in her bedroom."

Elliot: "He's in his breadroom?"

Riley: "He's a her, Elliot."

Elliot: "Oh yeah, HUH. "(like the "hu" sound in "hurt")

Riley: "No, Elliot, say HERRRRRR, not HUH."

Elliot: "Hu...*gargling grumbling sound that sounds nothing like "her"*"

BOTH: *hysterical laughing*

So much for the early morning speech therapy!

Some photos from Saturday...

A couple photos from our wildlife adventure on Saturday - also soon to come, a (lousy quality) video of the turtle eating grass! (Scintillating, I know....a turtle eating grass.)

As always, click on them for a larger version. Enjoy!

Oh, and I haven't forgotten that I also have a third child...updates and photos of him to come soon. :o)

The dreaded question...

So, I posted recently about how the kids love this educational book/video series called The Magic School Bus. One of the episodes is about the human body, and the characters all get swallowed and travel around inside the body.

So this was my little conversation this morning - Riley asked:

"Mom, when I was in your tummy, there were TWO babies in your tummy?"

"No Riley, just one at a time, Elliot came later."

"Well where do babies come from?"

*gulp* "What do you mean?"

"I mean, do they go in your mouth and then down your esophagus and into your tummy?"

"Nope, they just start in your tummy."

"Oh, okay. Bye Mom!"

.....Phew.

"Saturday, Saturday, Saturday....

Saturday, Saturday"..... Yeah, I think Elton John did a little better with Bernie Taupin writing lyrics than when he came up with them on his own...

Anyway, welcome to Saturday. Or at least what we did today. Our local library had a special event for the last day of the summer reading program. This year's theme was "Catch the Reading Bug" and so today there was a special presentation called "Frogs, Bugs, and Animals" by some local animal enthusiasts. They brought along some really interesting and exotic stuff. Even I (and I'm sure some of the other parents as well) was totally entertained. We saw a tree frog, a bearded dragon, a flying squirrel, a fluffy Japanese chicken, rabbits, hedgehogs, beetle maggots, hissing cockroaches, rats, toads, and an African Spurred Tortoise (sulcata tortoise). It was pretty amazing! The kids had a great time, and after we sat through the presentation and even got to do some petting of the animals ourselves we headed inside the library. Inside there were prizes for the end of the reading program, each child got a certificate for a free ice cream cone from a local ice cream shop, coupons for free kids' meals, and the best part of all - they each got to pick a free brand new book from Scholastic! There were tables full of brand new books, it was awesome. Riley picked one where you have to find all kinds of different things hidden inside a city, and Elliot picked one about Clifford (the big red dog). We really had a lot of fun with the summer reading program and hope to keep up a good reading schedule. Right now the kids are really into this series called "The Magic School Bus" that has all sorts of fun stories about educational topics. And currently I have a bunch on loan for Riley about starting Kindergarten. You just have to love the library, especially in this economy!!

So after a fun day with Nana and the kids, we came home, spent some time with Uncle Pete and Aunt Buffy, and then it was off to Nana and Pa's for Riley and Elliot. They had dinner and each got their backpacks - Riley's is for school and Elliot's is for when we go to the library, etc. Well, when I went to pick up the boys, Elliot was nearly blue in the face from talking in circles and having raptures over his new possession. (It has Thomas the Train on it, by the way.) He was nearly beside himself with glee. And it hadn't worn off by the time we got home, at which point he bounded up the stairs exclaiming "Daddy, I have a surprise for you!" He whipped around and proudly displayed his backpack in all it's pint-sized glory. As I write this, the pack is nestled beside him in bed.

Well, that's about it for now. I'm hoping to get some pictures from our day today up soon. In the meantime, enjoy the rest of your weekend!

Junior olympics...

Anyone else watching the Olympics? Some of it has been quite exciting/entertaining...some of the gymnastics, diving, team volleyball and such - then there are things like water polo... yawn. Well today the kids were outside doing some sports and I managed to get 30 seconds or so of Riley shooting some baskets. This was shot on my cell phone, our video camera is really really high resolution, so high that our current computer's processor/video/graphics card can't handle it. So, in a few years we'll be able to enjoy all the footage we're shooting. In the meantime, for little things like this, I'll just use my cameraphone. Riley is actually a basketball natural (like his Pa) and has quite a talent for shooting backwards as well. As soon as this clip was over, he actually sunk one backwards dead on. Who knows, maybe THAT will be an Olympic sport some day - Reverse Hoops. Hey, it'd be more exciting than water polo.

Life outside the drive thru...

So last night I had a brief bit of independence. It was time to upgrade my cell phon.e After 2 years with my previous one, a freebie which wasn't much to begin with, and the fact that Elliot vomited on it about 3 months ago resulting in stuck and malfunctioning keys.... yeah, it was time. So, I was at Verizon Wireless here locally, got my new phone (an LG Voyager if you're wondering) - and decided to walk a couple doors down to get a coffee at Starbucks. Now, for me, when I'm out and about with the kids it's a huge treat to stop and get a coffee. Which typically means running through a drive thru. So last night I walk into Starbucks, go up to the counter to order, the "barista" asks me for my order and..... cut to Brannon staring at the menu like a deer in headlights. I totally had no idea what to do. It had been so long since I'd been inside one of these places, my brain just fizzed. I said to the lady "I'm sorry, I'm totally disoriented at the moment, I haven't been in one of these places in like 2 years, I ALWAYS use the drive thru." She laughed a sympathetic laugh, which put me just enough at ease that I was able to order. A grande decaf with two splenda, light with cream, and cinnamon powder on top. At which point she says "well, normally inside you fix all the cream and sugar and stuff yourself, but I'll gladly make it for you." Thankfully by the time I paid, left, took a sip and checked out my new phone all was right in the world - but how pathetic am I? Can't even order a cup of coffee like a normal person.

You know who you remind me of?

I get this all the time. And the answer is almost inevitably Molly Ringwald. Which I can see a little bit. But actually I think I look more like Anna Paquin, at least when I was younger.

Anyway, I was reading a blog today which had a web site you can go to and it will tell you what celebrities you look like, will even do morphs of your face into theirs so you can be convinced... So, needing a little levity, I decided "what the hey."

My #1 match... Jeneane Garofalo?!?!?! See for yourself. Other results included James Spader, Wayne Knight (Newman from Seinfeld), Philip Seymour Hoffman, Elvis Costello, and Calista Flockhart. Which PROVES this thing is off, because I really look nothing like her. And what's up with me basically looking like a guy? Maybe I'll try another photo. And I can't wait to try Nick too. :)

MyHeritage: Family tree - Genealogy - Celeb

When it rains it pours...

Well, these last several days have been rough. Normally I would've blogged about the fact that was having a bad day because my iPod stopped working (which it did), or that I hit a bird on the way home the other day (which I did), - but those don't even begin to compare to the real reason I've had to have a bad last several days, namely the passing of my grandmother Helen. Although not entirely unexpected, as she was 92 - you're just never really prepared or ready for it. I've had my good days and bad since. And some days, I'm doing really really well, and then for seemingly no reason, some little memory or thought of her will level me, sending me into sobs.

So I think that's where I'll leave it today. This coming week will involve preparations for her memorial and seeing some family coming into town. I'm not sure how much I'll be around, but I will try my best.

Make sure all your loved ones know just how loved they are.

Latest photos...

Here's the latest of our three musketeers!!


if you want to see the album full sized, click here: password is: photos

ZZZZZZZZZZ.....

Man oh man. I am POOPED. Liam had like 3 good nights 2 weeks ago where he slept nice long stretches (5-6 hours). I thought we had turned over a new leaf considering he was 7 weeks old at the time, and both Riley and Elliot started sleeping through the night at 7 weeks. Well, it was a big tease, and his sleeping has gone back to nearly a newborn schedule. I'm up 4 to 5 times a night again, and bleary eyed during the day. Normally by the time 11am rolls around and I've had a cup of coffee or two, I kind of get into a groove... but come 6pm or so - the bottom totally drops out.

Anyway, I got some photos resized last night, so I will post those today.

Time flies when you're having kids...

Or so I always say. Sorry for the few and far between posts... I guess life has just caught up with me! We had our District Convention two weekends ago, and then this past weekend my sister-in-law Sarah got baptized, so we headed to see that. Add on to that the chores that piled up from having two weekends with not much spare time, and my posting ability has been slim. But I'm here now... so let me see... what to say, what to say...

Riley starts school a month from yesterday. ACK!! We still have to buy his backpack - he has selected one from LL Bean, a "Critter Pack" which is red with a little embroidered shark on it. Very cute, and knowing LL Bean, this bookbag should last for quite some time. He received his class/teacher assignment also, along with his list of school supplies that he needs. I'll admit, I got a little misty reading through everything that came in that information packet - school supply list, letter from the teacher complete with little red schoolhouse sticker to place on our calendar as a 1st day of school reminder, info regarding bus passes, and a general letter about incoming Kindergartners. I am feeling such a wide range of emotions about him starting school - from joy and excitement to sheer terror and bewilderment. It's just such a new phase for all of us. At least I can do a little back-to-school shopping to calm my nerves. :) Let's hear it for retail therapy. Oh alright, not retail, more like clearance rack therapy. Whatever works.

Liam has started to smile some, which is nothing short of exhilirating and heartwarming. What started as a slight upwards curl of the mouth (unfortunately similar to an Elvis impersonation) has blossomed into full, wide grins - sometimes even accompanied by a little coo. Sheer bliss. He continues to grow, and he'll have his 2 month checkup soon.

Elliot has turned into our little computer geek. He loves to hop on my laptop during the day and navigate through online games. He's actually quite skilled with the mouse now, and can even type his name.

I suppose that's about it for now. Liam just konked out for a nap, and the boys are peacefully cohabiting watching a movie...so I'm going to try to get my feet up and rest for a few minutes. Tonight I'll try and get up some new photos.

Hope all is well wherever you're reading this from - talk soon!

Bee advised...

So Nick and I just watched Bee Movie the other night. It was quite enjoyable, possibly due to the fact that I'm a big Seinfeld fan (the voice of the lead Bee and brains behind the movie) - plus it was about bees, something near and dear to my heart. However, aside from being a clever and entertaining little movie, it had a strong message. Something I happened to have read an article about recently, which is that here in America, the honeybee is facing some major problems - and, in turn, we humans! Our food supply is largely affected by pollination, and no bees = no food of certain kinds.

Here's an article that summarizes it a bit - you can even see how Haagen Dazs is involved in all this.

At any rate, if you haven't seen it yet, Bee Movie is definitely an enjoyable little ride - and long live the bees!!

Made up a new recipe tonight, as a departure from the way I typically do my salmon fillets. It was DELICIOUS, and a big hit. Figured I'd share. :o)

Sweet and Tangy Glazed Salmon

This recipe makes enough glaze for roughly 1 to 1 1/2 pounds salmon, fillet(s) about 1 1/2 to 2" thick give or take. Serves 2 or 3.

1-1.5 lbs. salmon - fillet(s) cut around 1 1/2 to 2" thick
2T balsamic vinegar
3T brown sugar
2T honey
1/4t ground ginger (or grate a teeny bit of fresh if you have it & lightly sautee w/ the garlic)
2 cloves finely chopped garlic
1/2t maple syrup
1T teriyaki sauce
juice and zest of 1 medium lemon
2T butter

Preheat oven to 350. Melt butter in small saucepan. Lightly sautee garlic. Mix together balsamic vinegar, brown sugar, honey, ginger, maple syrup, teriyaki sauce, lemon juice and zest in a small bowl. Add to sauteed garlic. Bring to boil, then simmer for 3 minutes, stirring occasionally until mixture reduces and thickens. Allow to cool. Brush tops of salmon fillets generously. Bake in baking dish (sprayed with nonstick cooking spray) covered with aluminum foil in 350 degree oven for around 20-25 minutes (for about a 2" thick fillet). Baste fillets with glaze that has run off to bottom of the pan. Remove foil, then return to oven and heat under medium broiler (400 degrees or so) for 5-10 minutes, until the top gets a bit browned and crisped (not enough to char or burn it, just enough to give it a light crust). Finally, baste with any remaining juices and serve with rice and veggie.

NOTE: The glaze smells pretty funky when you're cooking it, even tastes a little odd, like makes your mouth pucker and your brain say "hmmm." Trust me, it comes out nicely sweet and a little tangy. Both Nick and I LOVED it. I will definitely make it again!

Buggin' out...

So whilst I was mowing our lawn yesterday, I drove by one of our fence posts and noticed there was a small toad hanging on to the side. Only, on second glance - it wasn't a toad. It was a rather LARGE insect. Like, the size of a really big date - maybe 2" long by 1" wide. Looked kind of like a beige praying mantis, mixed with a beetle, carrying a miniature brain on it's back. I went back when I was done mowing and snapped a couple shots of this baby. I haven't got a CLUE what it is, but I can tell you it has no business being in New York. After looking for 3 hours online at whatsthatbug.com (and even sending them an e-mail with photos which I still haven't gotten a response to) I still don't know what this thing is. My guess is some kind of weevil, judging from the 85,000 bug photos I looked through. Any of you have any guesses? All I know is I have a sudden desire to wear socks and closed toe shoes in my yard.

Update: The redemption...

Well, I am starting to suspect Elliot might be one of my loyal blog readers, because yesterday he wised up and paid me a compliment:

"Mommy, yaw tummy is gettin' smawwah!"

"Why, thank you for noticing, Elliot."

"Shih (sure), Mommy."

Phew! I'm glad that's behind us. My abs had started to get tired from sucking it in every time Elliot walked by. The ironic thing is, he's got a total gut. A real Buddha belly. I'm pretty sure I've even seen people close their eyes, rub his tummy and make a wish.

But for now, this case of the pot belly calling the kettle black is done.

My gut runneth over...

So around a year ago some of you may recall that Elliot poked his little pointer into the gush that is my abdominal region and snidely stated:

"Uh oh, Mommy."

Gee thanks, kid. But, I suppose he just didn't quite have the vocabulary at that point to say "Hey Mommy, maybe you should start doing some more crunches."

Well, he's back at it. At least for 9 months there I had the excuse that "there's a baby in Mommy's tummy" as it steadily grew. But here I am, 6 weeks postpartum, and although I've lost some weight, my midsection has apparently not quite snapped back to its former self yet. That and I guess the way I sit tends to displace the gush into an unforgiving formation. Last night, Elliot asked:

"What's in your tummy now, Mommy?"

"Nothing."

And at that he shot me a look as if to imply I was lying.

In the end, I decided to just laugh it off and make a graphic about it. I know it's quite rudimentary, but I reinstalled Windows recently and still have to put all my fonts back on- and I just don't have the patience to do that or make a fancy graphic at the moment. But, you get the picture. :)

So, that's it. My ever so observant middle child. Give him one more year and he'll be asking: "Mommy, have you called Jenny yet?"

Oh, oh, oh, it's magic...

....you knoooow...

YAY! We've found a binkie that Liam likes. It only took about $30 worth of sampling various varieties, but I finally zeroed in on a winner!! And it works magic, he settles RIGHT down. The previous two boys were partial to the Mini Mam variety, and Liam has been mildly interested in those, but I just got some Soothies yesterday and boy oh boy - he nearly takes them every time I offer one, even for a nap. Which is what I'm looking for, since the American Academy of Pediatrics says the risk of SIDS goes down even more (in addition to having baby sleep on its back) by using a pacifier during nap/bedtime. So, time to buy out the Soothie section of the next store I go to!! Granted, they're not the most aesthetically pleasing little doodads - but ask me if I care.

King Friday...

Remember him from Mr. Rogers? In the Land of Makebelieve? Oh right, I was the only one who watched that show- nevermind.

Well, these were my kings last Friday. We spent half the day with Nana and Pa doing some errands, and made a pit stop to fuel up at Burger King. This Burger King has kind of a retro car thing going inside, which is right up the boys' alley - at home they're always driving around the house pretending to be vehicles of every sort. Anyway, there's one here of Elliot in his crowned glory, and then the two boys in one of the car booths, "driving" away. Enjoy. :o)
P.S. - these were obviously taken on my cameraphone and not my good camera, but lucky for you (and me) I'm eligible to upgrade my phone in just a month, so I'll finally be able to take some not so horrendously grainy photos!!

Checking in...

Sorry for the lapse in posting. Was feeling pretty rugged over the last several days. Thankfully the antibiotic has kicked in and I'm somewhat back to normal. The bad thing about feeling back to normal is that I tend to do too much, and then end up feeling lousy again... but so far so good. We have a full weekend with a bunch of people helping with some landscaping here tomorrow.

Oh, and I forgot to post that at Liam's checkup on Monday he'd gained a bit more, as I expected - he's now 10 lbs. 6 oz. - and 22" long. My growing little weed!!

An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure...

This saying, along with "sleep when the baby sleeps" are both examples of good advice you should listen to. And shame on me for thinking otherwise. Last night, while I was baking away into the wee hours - I should've been sleeping. When I awoke at 4:30 to care for Liam, it became immediately apparent that I was coming down with something. Fatigue, aches, weakness - I wasn't even sure I could pick him up. Now when I woke up this morning I feel even worse, and I have a slowly rising fever that is currently at 100.

Next time I'm faced with the bake/sleep decision... I think I'll choose the latter.

Update: The meringue that wasn't...

Well folks, the verdict is in.

Brannon vs. The Meringue - Final Score: Meringue - 1, Brannon - 0.

Yeah, so my meringue didn't really happen. It came out of the oven looking glorious, voluminous and airy. And 10 minutes later, flat as a pancake. Apparently I should've done a wee bit more research on how to make the perfect meringue, as pretty much what I did reads like a list of what NOT to do when making a meringue. I got the first part right, namely, separate the eggs while cold, but then let them come to room temperature before whipping. But, I dummied up, and first off, added my extracts to the unbeaten egg whites (BIG no-no), then I used regular sugar (where you should really use superfine), I added it WAY too quickly (you should only add a tablespoon at a time), and then nature was also my enemy, considering it's over 80% humidity, and you're supposed to make meringue on a dry day - it inevitably wilts on a humid day. That being said, it still tastes pretty darn good, and the actual cake portion of the recipe is DELICIOUS. Moist and buttery. So, Nick and I just brewed some decaf here at a quarter to 11, and we're going to slice on some bananas and squirt on some Reddi Whip. Hey, I'm not complaining.

Bake when the baby sleeps...

"Sleep when the baby sleeps." This is what many a new mother has been told by scads of other older, wiser mothers. Mothers who know that considering you won't get a lick of sleep at night with a newborn, you might as well catch some shuteye during the day if the baby naps.

Well, this pearl of wisdom pretty much flies out the window once you have more than one child, and in my case now - when you have THREE children. So, once you've resigned yourself to the fact that you will never regain any measure of somnolent liberty - you come up with other things to do while the baby sleeps. In my situation, since I have to tend to Riley and Elliot during the day while Liam sleeps, I only have the nighttime to do anything interesting or productive - when all 3 are asleep. So, what did I do tonight? Baked. Yes, at around 8:00pm, I decided to tackle a new recipe. A new recipe with meringue at that. No, I'm not Wonder Woman. I'm psycho. So, this thing is still in the oven baking, and then once it comes out - it has to completely cool before I can even make any kind of filling for it. But this recipe was the subject of much enthusiastic conversation yesterday among my family, and so I just had to try it! Plus Nick pretty much begged me to make it tonight. There are a few little variations on it - here's the one I did. While I don't have strawberries or whipping cream, I think I'm going to fill it with some pudding and bananas. Plus, instead of just vanilla extract in the meringue, I added a splash of almond extract. It's probably better with just the fresh sweetened whipped cream, but hey - it's 9pm, and although I might have the ambition to bake at this hour, I do NOT have the ambition to go to the store to buy whipping cream. Call me lazy.

Anyway - I'll let you know how it tastes. If how my house smells at the moment is any indication, this should be GOOD.

Cause for celebration...

Or should I say causeS! Yes, two things to celebrate.

First, and foremost - Liam slept a 5 hour stretch last night! From 11:45pm to 4:45am. And thank goodness for it. Of course, it came after his standard issue 6 hours of crying in the late afternoon / evening (colic anyone??) - but still, I'll take it!!

Second, I finally made it to 10 lbs. lost! Granted, I still have 9 to go, but now I've officially made it more than half to my goal weight, so I'm excited about that. I guess walking a screaming baby back and forth for 6 hours a day must count as some sort of exercise regimen.

Let's hope the rest of the day follows suit in being so great!!

1 month old!

Can you even believe it? Man, that month flew. It certainly wasn't without its days that seemed they would never end, but for the most part - the time went all too quickly.

Liam has his 1 month checkup this coming Monday, and I think his stats will have increased a bit, just like last time. My mommy sense thinks he's already over 10 lbs. at this point - he just seems bigger to me. He's also a lot more alert, lifts his head and looks back and forth now, and just seems much less like a helpless little newborn, and more like an infant. Liam has also transitioned out of the bassinet, and is sleeping exclusively in the crib at night. Yay! I have my side of the bed back, we're moving the bassinet out and my bedside table back in tonight. Nice to get back to some sense of normalcy.

That's about it for now, weather has been decent here. Tonight I'm making what is quite possibly Riley's favorite meal - broiled salmon with brown rice and some steamed yellow squash and zucchini. I also got a really tasty looking recipe for Peach Pound Cake, but I have all the ingredients except the peaches... which means that will have to wait a few days. But if you know me, you know I love EVERYTHING peach - so I'm really excited to try that.

Anyway, I'll try to get a one month photo of Liam later - so check back!

Please excuse the technical difficulties...

Blogger seems to be experiencing some issues with the Poll feature... so, I've taken this week's down. Hopefully it'll be resolved within the next few days - and you all can start voting again!!

Sweet Dreams!!

 

Family day...

Well, actually all got out as a family today. A morning run to Target for some essentials, then to the playground, and then to the local library for Riley to sign up for a library card and for both boys to sign up for the Summer Reading Program! We even ran into Nana and Pa (geeks that they are) there, relaxing for the afternoon and doing some reading. Pa even got a library card too! (Although I don't know how it's possible that he's a Harrison and didn't have a library card!! Sacrilege.)

Anyway, here's a few from the playground. Click on them for larger versions. The boys had a great time.

Crafts ahoy!!

I've been looking for more summer craft ideas to do with the kids, and figured as I find them, I'll share them with you all as well (since there are a few of you with kids in the preK-K category like me. This one, named the Paper Plate Porthole, says ages 6 and up, but I think with some parental supervision, younger kids would do just fine. Let me know if you try it!!

Find the instructions here.

Fun & easy summer craft idea! Sponge Balls!

Just saw this and thought it was pretty cute, and a fairly "green" idea at that! Uses much less water than water balloons, and you don't have to buy them and have all those popped balloons littering your yard, and in turn the landfills when you clean them up.

Anyway, a fun craft to do with the kids and then enjoy to beat the heat!

Check it out here.

I'm so tired...

I haven't slept a wink - I'm soooo tired, my mind is on the blink... (a very good Beatles song if you're not familiar with it, it's on the White Album)

Anyway, feeling the ravages of lack of sleep at the moment. Got around 4 hours of sleep total last night between 10:45 and 7:30. A very cranky and gassy Liam just couldn't quite settle himself down, and so I got to carry and rock him for hours, and hours, and hours. He was actually very fussy for a while this morning as well, but as of around noon finally calmed and so he's snoozing for the time being.

It's been raining heavily here for around an hour, which is nice and peaceful to listen to. However, counter that with whines and protests from Elliot, and the peace is all but shattered.

Let me share a new photo or two for Liam for those of you checking in for recent photos. He is 3 weeks old today!

Melt in your mouth... and your hand.

So today we told the kids that if they were real good this morning, we'd take them to get a treat at our local little convenience store/quick mart. They have a soft serve window, so we figured we'd walk the roughly 3/4 mile to get there and that would work up enough of a sweat that a nice ice cream would hit the spot. Well, we got there, Nick brought them in, and they both decided on a nice refreshing... package of M&Ms. So, while Nick and I each indulged in an Italian Ice (complete with authentic wooden paddle), the boys ate their candy coated chocolate delights. Then after another 3/4 mile home, we all had a tall glass of iced tea. It was a beautiful day, 80 and sunny, so it was quite a nice outing. Even Liam just lounged in the shade in his stroller.

Of course, Nick and I were pretty much tuckered out by the excursion - so we're just resting now. But it really was a nice little adventure.

2 packs of M&Ms - $2.00
2 Italian Ices - $3.00
Taking the family out without having to pay at the pump - priceless -literally.