Awards!?!

While I was gone some very sweet ladies decided to send some awards my way. I can't tell you how nice it was to come back home and find out that I was missed by more than just my cats!

Thank you very, very much to Sandy, YaYa, and Suz for your kindness. I will be spreading the award love soon!

On another happy note, Mommy got another great award today - normal Noah poop! I never thought I would be so happy to see a BM. He's definitely on the mend! (Note: didn't take photo of this as I didn't think others would be quite as excited by this occurence. I was tempted, however, to put in a photo of his red-concentrating face. Couldn't do it. The poor guy will already be in therapy for all the TMI I share about him.....)

Have a great week!

Explosion!

Firstly, I would like to say a huge"thank you" to all my bloggy buddies. I just saw my comment love while I've been away and it gives me a tingly, happy feeling inside (not unlike sipping some delicious champagne). And I have some awards - what!?!? You guys spoil me. Seriously, it has been a pretty sucky week and you have made me feel so much better. I am sending you all out some happy mojo right now. Do you feel it?

Here is a quick update about what's new with us.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------

Explosion!!!!

So do you want the good news first or the bad?

I am a good news first type person. Think of it as a sedative before the crappiness (literally). In the last two weeks little Noah has had a "word explosion." Something must have clicked in there, because now he says: mama, papa, cat, duck, ball, up, cup, ba-ba, and car. He has also become a pointing machine. He points to label things, he points when he wants more, sometimes he gets so excited he points two fingers in the air and screams with joy. (I call this his "touchdown" move).

Pointing to the ducks in Grammy's kitchen. He was obsessed with the ducks. Hurrah for distraction!

The OTHER explosion was not so fantastic. Noah got the stomach flu. The barfy, squirty, poo, stomach flu. I won't go into too much detail, for those with a sensitive gag-reflex, but it was bad. New pants needed bad.

I am sure you parents out there can agree that there is nothing worse than watching your little ones suffer. After 5 days of this I felt like I am going to need some therapy and it was just the stomach flu. No hospitalization required (though we did get him ready for the ER at one point).

Noah eating his "prison" diet of bread and water. Accessorized with nifty head-temp sticker.

From this experience I have learned two things:

1) My in-laws are saints. THANK GOD Noah got sick in a house with a nurse and a doctor. Grammy helped me clean him up and keep him calm and Lolo held him throughout the nights and gave him the best health care a Mommy could ask for. We are so blessed to have such loving grandparents.

2) I also need to be more THANKFUL for my son's general health. He gets a virus and I fall apart. I am so very grateful that he is blessed with good health and is usually very easy to care for. Mommies out there with constantly sick little one's, I have a new found appreciation for your courage and patience.

This Thanksgiving I got a chance to be very thankful. Thankful for my wonderful, caring family. I hope you all had a fantastic turkey day filled with yummy food, family, and happiness.

Off to check out your blogs!

AFK

Hello Bloggy Buddies!

Just wanted to say that I will be Away From Keyboard for a few weeks. No big deal, just celebrating the holiday then the big house move. I will try and take lots of pics so I can share when I get back.

Hope you all have a fantastic Turkey Day!

Hugs,
Rachel

My Absent Minded Professor

I don't think I have talked much yet about my dear husband, Brian, who hence forth shall be referred to as HH (Hottie Husband). While being completely adorable, HH has been blessed with an engineer's brain which makes him process information a bit differently than most folks.

He is FANTASTIC at all things electrical and computer related. For example, I asked him for a Marie Antoinette blog (Coppola version) and he provided me with my current header and background. Thank you, HH! He works as a software engineer (where they call him "The Brain")and takes computers apart for fun.

What comes with all this left-brained logic, however, is an interesting outlook on fashion. Note the following picture:

Me: You couldn't find the matching pants to these pajamas?

HH: They do match.

Me: And how's that?

HH: You know, they are horses and dogs.

Me: Ah, so it's and animal theme.

HH: Exactly.

I kid you not. He really thinks they match. He also believes that pajama-clad is a perfectly normal way for adults to leave the house (or take your son to the PUBLIC library in). Which may explain this:

I have no explanation, however, for the pimp-jacket.

-----------------------------------------------

Did I also mention he is a great sport? Love you Monkey!

Writer's Workshop - Dude Looks Like A Lady

The Mama Kat assignment I chose this week was to write a haiku about what I saw out my window. The first thing I saw was a ladybug crawling across my window screen and I thought about how funny it is that male ladybugs are still called "ladies" (Do you think they get insulted?)Here's my haiku devoted the cross-dressers of the insect world.

Creeping ladybug

You're not a "lady" at all

Sex changes aren't cheap

Ok, I think this post proves I need more sleep. Off to bed soon to dream of ladybugs with mustaches. Can't wait to read what you all wrote tomorrow!

Wordful Wednesday - Just Chillin

Hello up there Mama!

You sure have been running around a lot the last few days. I just wanted to remind to to relax every once and a while and pay attention to me. See how I am just chillin' here on the carpet? Come on, lay down. I will forgive you that you haven't vacuumed this week, or that I have to wear my pjs because all my clothes are dirty. It's ok. Let's lay down and snuggle. I will even let you give me big kisses and nuzzle my cheeks.

I promise, if you take this moment to sit with me, you will feel better.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Note: This totally worked for Mommy. Thank you little guy. You are very wise!

Home - Accents and Attitudes

So if you read my previous post (rant), you know I am frantically trying to get organized for the move. I have been searching through magazine after magazine for furniture and art for our new place. Most of our current stuff was bought in our college days and still carries the faint musk of Coors Lite and possible throw up. Now that we are home owners, I feel the need to "grow-up" and get some adult furniture.

After hours of searching I can upon the only piece of art I MUST HAVE. I found it in the Uncommon Goods catalog and its handmade by the artist Erin Smith. In case you can't read the text, it says:

"Your boots may be made for walking

but mine are in case I need to

kick your ass."

I think this just may become my new motto. So much for being grown up!

Brain Blitz

Firstly, I would like to say I have had three cups of coffee already this morning, so bare with me.

The reason behind this caffeine splurge has everything to do with some exciting and overwhelming news. Our little family is moving! In one week we will be the proud owners of our very first home.

I know there is never a good time to move, but boy are the holidays going to be chaotic with a new house. It's Noah's first turkey day and first Christmas, so I have that crazy, "everything must be perfect for him" mentality. Will I be able to put up a tree? How will we get the lights up in time? Where can we find a Santa Suit for Daddy to dawn on Christmans Eve? The holiday anxiety continues despite the fact I know he won't remember any of it. Oh, rational thought, why have you forsaken me?!?

Last night I plopped into bed, exhausted from some pre-packing organization. To my utter dismay, I couldn't fall asleep for four more hours. My mind was involved in what I like to call a "brain blitz" - a spiral of non-productive thoughts and worries that only leads to sleeplessness and unanswered questions.

I closed my eyes and saw the new house. Then I saw the puke-like paint in the family room. I started listing new paint colors and made a mental note to check for low-toxin paint at Home Depot. Then I thought, when will I have time to go to Home Depot, before I do the laundry or after I feed Noah breakfast? What should I feed Noah for breakfast? He has been a bit "plugged-up" so maybe I should try the flax seed oil I read about...but first I should call his pediatrician. Damn, I forgot to schedule his one-year shots. ACK! One year shots! Need to do more research on the MMR vaccination........ By this time 20 minutes of sleep has flown out the window.

Tell me please that this happens to you as well. I will then be comforted in the thought that I am not suffering alone (not in a "nah-nah-nah, schadenfreude sense", but more a "phew, I am not the only crazy one" type of feeling.)

----------------------------------------------------

*Note: Wanted to somehow impart that I feel completely blessed that I have a new home to live and make memories in. I don't think I did that very well, so here is the addendum to try and convince myself I am not such a whiny biatch after all.

I've Been Picked!

Noah's mommy over at Project Mommyhood has picked me to be a part of her game of TAG.

Here are 7 tidbits about me:

1. I am a sci-fi, fantasy novel junkie. If the book has vampires, witches or werewolves, I am all about it. I am currently reading "Sorcery and the Single Witch." It's super cute.

2. One of my favorite qualities in a person is enthusiasm!!! I love to meet passionate people (even if they are schooling me in which diaper brand to buy *wink*).

3. Whenever I hear someone with an accent, (especially a British accent)I inadvertently start talking like them. Words like "blimey" and "have a go at it" start creeping out of my mouth. This usually ends in at person thinking I am mocking them. I can't control this. There must be a syndrome with this name.

4. I love cleaning, but HATE to cook. Anyone want to trade a toilet scrub for some lasagna?

5. My junior year in college I lived in Madrid, Spain. There they have a scheduled siesta (nap) every day. Why doesn't the US jump on this?

6. A very long time ago I used to play Belle @ Disneyland (pre-wrinkles and baby).

7. If I could eat one thing all day, everyday it would be bean and cheese burritos. The man I share a bed with has something against this idea....

Thanks for reading my TMI. Now go visit these ladies, because they are IT next!

• Summer @ Le Musing of Moi
• Jenn @ Random Thoughts
• Yaya @ Yaya's Stuff
• Tiffany @ Alabama Redhead Adventures
• Bmommy @ Bishop's Room

Wordful Wednesday - My Little Mcconaughey

Noah has a quirky mommy. I work for the arts department of my local school district. I love theater, music, and teaching creative movement to kiddos. Because of this passion, Noah and I spend a lot of our day finger painting and dancing to James Brown. So its no surprise that at 9 months my little guy started to groove.

What has been surprising, is that my son has become a djembe playing maniac. He sees the drum and MUST play. He also appreciates playing them in the buff (ok, well with a diaper on). I think this makes him A LOT like Matthew McConaughey, without all the creepy, shirtless-old-man action.

Here's a pic of him in-between sets.

My only hope is that he doesn't grow up to live in a trailer by the beach and be famous for doing pushups in little more than a Speedo. A mother can dream, right?

This post was brought to you by:

Toxic Baby Bums?

Have you ever stood in line at a grocery store and felt like the person behind you was peeking into your cart, evaluating your choices? I have, but maybe it's just my guilt over the Oreos, white bread, soda and other items in a nutritionist's nightmare I have hidden under the veggies in my cart. However, while I frequently get this creepy feeling, I have never actually had someone comment OUT LOUD on my cart contents. Today I did.

I had just finished placing a bottle of California Baby Bubble Bath on the register when the woman (accompanied by a toddler) said to me, "Good choice! That brand is paraben-free and my son loves the essential oils." Well thank you strange lady, I appreciate your approval. But, paraben -free? Ok, so I knew it was something they put into lotions, but it didn't sound like such a bad thing to me. I had plucked the Bubble Bath from the shelf because it said, "For Cranky, Overtired Babies," and thought -hey, that's right up my TIME CHANGE alley!

She then gave me a 10 minute lecture on why paraben is horrible. I sorta listened with one ear because to be honest, I was in Whole Foods. The people there can be a little, well, "granola" some times and I can't afford to listen to a rant on why I need to buy re-cycled toilet paper, when Costco sells the cheap stuff in bulk. (Speaking of Costco, she told me NEVER to buy the wipes, apparently they are like pouring bleach on baby bums - funny, Noah seems fine).

When I got home I did a little research on paraben and came upon the site Safe Mama. I should have just watched a SAW movie or the Excorcist for the amount of fear it instilled in me. Yes, I had the BPA free bottles, no I didn't have a BPA free teether. My wipes had enough toxins to peel skin off, but my Sippy Cups (the ones without Chardonnay :P ) were ok. My head started to spin.

After a half an hour of freak-out, I finally decided to take a deep breath and GET OVER IT. I do what I can to keep my little guy happy and safe. I've read the books, I watch out for recalls, I don't let him take candy from strangers, etc. And seriously, I should be more worried about the crappy air quality of SoCal, I am sure paraben is nothing compared to a little green house gases.

So if I have the pleasure of seeing Whole Foods Mama again, I am going to whip out my Costco wipes and offer her some. I may even suggest a good bottle of chardonnay for its therapeutic relaxing qualities- organic, of course!

A Tall Glass of Saucy!

Today "my cup runneth over" - Sippy Cup has been nominated as a Saucy Blog!

After peeling my eyes open to baby cries at 5am (what Noah, you don't understand the time change? neither does Mommy....) I stumbled into my office to see the great news.

I have to give a shout out to all the lovely bloggers I have met so far through SITS, what a wonderful support network you have become. To the newcomers, thanks for stopping by, I can't wait to visit you all soon!

Cheers,
Rachel

Halloween Parade - Our Little Pirate

At the door and ready to plunder some treats!

You know you just gave candy to a baby, right?

Ice cream too? Being a pirate is AWESOME!

Sug-AR High!

Come on over to SITS and join the Halloween Parade!