Guess Who Can Say Da-Da!

Maybe it's because she finally got to spend a whole weekend with her daddy, that our little girl became obsessed with the word da-da yesterday! After fourteen days of straight working, A got a weekend off - at last. C had so much fun playing with daddy and getting princess kisses from him. She was "ever so pleasantly" surprised when he would be the one to pop in her room during the night or in the morning.

So all day yesterday - in the house, outside, in the car, from her crib - I could hear her saying her new favorite word.

"A da-da-da! A da-da-da! A-ba-ba-ma! A-da-da-da!"

She has such great communication skills. She also told me that she's looking forward to spending this weekend with her favorite man too.

Mulch

I was deceived by the pleasing aesthetics of the landscape when we came with our real estate agent to look at this house. Oh, everything was beautifully edged, mulched, planted, arranged! It was a new homeowner's dream! The ivy draped over the fence was a blanket of luscious green.

Only just after living here for a few weeks, we moved in in June 2006, the height of the growing/drying out season, everything started to look...well...not as pleasing to the eye. Who the heck knew you had to water all of this stuff? I thought you had to water FLOWERS, but the greenery? Before I knew it the vibrant greens were slowing morphing into brownish-tinged weeds.

So we enjoyed getting to know that lay of the land that first summer. I took a hack saw to many things I did not like, only to learn the next spring, that what you cut back grows in thicker and stronger. Damn those ferns. So really I cut my nose to spite my face, because the summer of '07 brought about a garden of all the things I hated.

I should rewind and tell you that I started having literal nightmares about how I would clean up the mess from the fall/winter AND mulch the yard in '07. I began asking around to the people at work who were noted for having a green thumb. Bags of mulch vs. delivery (in yards? huh?) by truck. Landscaping company vs. doing it alone. Red mulch, black mulch, brown mulch...who knew this project had an endless array of selections...I wished there was one answer, cut and dry, that would have just made my life easier.

I sweat through doing it myself in '07. The truck dropped off some ungodly amount of mulch yardage on my front lawn and I went at it little by little. SO little by little in fact, that the lump in the front yard started growing mold and passerbys started making comments as if we were the neighbors with the 15 junky cars propped up on cinder blocks on the lawn. Jeez...don't they know I'm doing this alone? I should mention that my husband works 1,000 hours per week and was unable to assist in this project.

Luckily, my knight in shining armor, took some time on a weekend off in '08 to get this project DONE - man style. He decided bags would be easier so he went to Home Depot and bought 25 bags of red this time. 25 was enough to do only the backyard. So the backyard got done. Remember, man style, one weekend. What didn't get done that weekend, didn't get done. So who cares if we have two sides to our yard and a front? No one will notice! Gosh C, every little thing bothers you. The weeds in the other flower beds grew so tall that year, I could barely find Finster out there. I was pregnant at the time, 7 months along, so all I felt able to do was give the mulch in the back a little shush with my hand to flatten and spread it out. I don't mean to sound ungrateful, I was VERY grateful that I could look out the back window and see my beautiful yard. I just kept the shades on the sides and front drawn that year. Heck, it was only a year.

We live on .17 of an acre and .16 of it is mulch. The other is grass which we pay a landscaper 20 dollars per week to mow. Come to think of it, I could probably cut the one blade of grass with a scissors, and use that 20 bucks to get a manicure every week...I'm going to revisit that "property upkeep" portion of the budget and consider some tweaks...

Here we are 2009. Post-baby, with my pre-baby body, fellin' strooong. I'm a parent now. Practically superhuman. This yard is gonna look F-I-N-E this year. Again, my husband planned to use this weekend off to tackle this job. Only he approaches gardening a little like decorating a dilapidated house. Imagine walking into the grossest house ever. Mold, rot, cobwebs. You take a throw pillow, put it on the dusty couch, put your hands on your hips, breath out, stretch your back and yell, Home Sweet Home! You would NEVER, right? So why on God's green earth would we approach landscaping like that? He wants to take EXPENSIVE mulch and throw it on top of weeds, leaves, pieces of newspaper that blew into our yard, dog poop - you name it - and call it beautiful. ARE YOU KIDDING ME? Mulch was NOT designed to be strategically placed around dandelions. They are not flowers we want to accentuate!

Long story short. The yard is mulched, some dandelions still in place. If you were to remove the mulch, half the yard is clean. The other half might be growing newspaper trees and weeds in a few weeks. I'll give him the benefit of the doubt this year. If no weeds grow in the "dirty" parts of the yard, then next year I say screw it, I'm not edging, raking or cleaning a darn thing.

The moral of this story is don't be tricked by beauty. The previous owners of this house were obviously given a talent by God for yard design and gardening. As for myself and A, we are one step above couch potatoes, with allergies and a fear of yucky bugs. Buyer beware, the gardener doesn't come with the house, but the nastiness of the insects and weeds, well, they do.

The next time you think, "Hey! Let's remove that patch of grass and plant some flowers and mulch around it!" Think again. Let's give the grass some overdue credit. It's a beautiful thing.

Oh HI!...My name is QUINCY

I'm the C family pet! I've been living here with these "ever so kind people" for nearly three weeks and something in my brain just clicked! They speak English so I've decided to start learning this language. They have one word in particular that is certainly very important in this language. It is the word NO. Most of the time, when they talk to me, their sentence starts with this word. But I must be doing something right, because today, more and more sentences have started with "good boy"! This might be because after my mommy washed the kitchen floor I DID NOT pee on it. I did, however, poop in the living room. I just couldn't hold it. I heard NO that time. I'll try harder to remember to cry at the door tomorrow.

I think the fresh air helped clear my head. It was 75 degrees here today! I thought I was on a vacation or something! After my bath, yes my kind mommy bathed me after washing the kitchen floor, I got to bask in the sunshine in the backyard. For a moment I went astray and rolled in some pee dirt, but mommy reminded me using her favorite word, that I shouldn't be doing that.

I live with a little tiny person who I am NOT allowed to bite. I try to be gentle with her because she's just a baby and all. She doesn't even speak English either. She kind of barks like me though. I like her a lot because when I am gated in the kitchen she always comes over to the gate and offers me her finger through the slot. It usually tastes like cookies.

Did you know that you were not supposed to pee on the floor, bite humans, play with other people's toys and shoes or cry during the night? Boy, that's a lot of things to remember!

BUT, did you also know that puppies get kisses and snuggles? They also get to sit in mommy and daddy's lap. Puppies get to play outside, get baths and belly rubs, and get lots of treats when they remember to follow the rules. I also have special times for resting. That's important because I need my rest too.

Did you also know that I am lucky to have my very own special name? Quincy. I like it. I just realized that it was mine.

Dogs Don't Eat Yogurt

Apparently, my dog is a health food junkie. Perhaps this is because he only eats the finest puppy food and all natural wild berry flavored puppy treats.

He is much different than Finster in the way that Quincy actually stands at his empty food dish and scratches the inside of the empty bowl and drags the dish across the floor. The clamoring, scratching, and banging of the stainless steel dish would be a clear sign to anyone that the dog is hungry. Fin NEVER did that. He ate when I put the food down and that was it. I'm perplexed because if Q is this smart, why can't he figure out the whole "cry at the door" thing when he has to pee or poop? He'd rather pop a squat wherever.

So mid morning today was no different than any other mid morning since Quinn came to our family. He's not a good breakfast eater so around 10, he's hungry again. I know I shouldn't give in and feed him until lunch, but it is heartbreaking to see a little baby puppy sitting next to his dish, head cocked to the side, staring into your eyes and whining. Ok, you win.

So I pour another scoop of dog food into his bowl and he begins to chow down. I decide that I too should have my mid morning snack. Today it was vanilla yogurt with a few frozen blueberries mixed in.

As soon as Q was finished with his second helping of breakfast he came to my feet and started jumping and barking and whining. This time I said absoutely not! You are not getting ANOTHER helping. Come to find out, he wanted MY yogurt. I actually found myself saying aloud, "Dogs don't eat yogurt." And then I started thinking that maybe since he likes his wild berry flavored treats, he'd enjoy a frozen blueberry. And what do you know?

At first he was puzzled by this little, cold, round ball that was touching his lips. Like any cautious doggie, he put it on the floor and danced around it for a bit. He'd bite it and spit it out and jump back from it. He rolled it around the kitchen floor and lost it once inside the mess of his rope toy. When he found it, he gobbled it right up. He had three others after that one.

Before you know it he'll be trading in the Eukanuba for a Jenny Craig Turkey Burger. Does PetCo sell tofu? I think that might be where we are heading with his diet.

I Thought You Were A Mom

A few weeks ago I realized that I broke one of the cardinal elementary school rules. My library books are over ten months overdue. Even though I took the 20 minute ride to work everyday for two years, now it seems like the school is on the other side of the country. So when I travel to that area I always have at least two things that need to be done. Luckily for me, the best mall around is also in that town, so that's one of my two necessary reasons to venture to that part of the country. Today I decided that we'd return the library books before hitting the mall. Isn't that mature of me to do the necessary errand first?

I always feel such overwhelming happiness when I return to the school. It's great to reconnect with so many adults and children alike. I'm always surprised at how much the kids have grown since the last time I have seen them. It's so fun to run into them in the hallway and to witness their stunned expressions when they realize it's me, minus the nine month pregnant belly, their long lost first grade teacher.

Today was no different. Except one of my little girls from last year spotted me holding little C in the hallway. I could see her wheels turning and her eyes squinting to see if she recognized this sort of familiar person in front of her. I said, "Hi G!" and she said, "Oh, Mrs. C! I thought you were a mom!"

Ok, let's stop for a minute and process this comment...

What exactly does that mean? Now that I AM a mom, I'm always very perplexed by this whole "you look like a mom" thing. What does a mom look like? Because everything I was wearing was a part of my pre-pregnancy wardrobe so does this "look" have to do with my aging face and dark under eye circles. Is it that obvious that a second grader can pick up on it?

So did little G mean that she thought I looked like a mom, but then she realized I didn't look like a mom, because that would make me sad if she thought I resembled an awkward teenager. Or did she mean she thought I was a mom, but then she got closer and realized that it was her youthful first grade teacher, meaning that I look way younger than a mom should look - in a good way. Or did she mean, I know you don't work here anymore because you are a mom now, but now you are here so I am confused. I'm sure she meant none of the above and if I were to ask her today, she'd put her hands behind her back, sway side to side, tilt her head to the side, smile at me and say, "I don't knooww."

Of course my reaction was, "I am a mom, silly! C and I came to visit you all!" And she just smiled and stared at me and said, "C is big."

If only second graders could make themselves better understood and 31 year old stay at home moms could be secure enough to realize that she meant no harm by her innocent comment.

It's a good thing my mall purchases consisted of items solely from Sephora. Hopefully Philosophy's "Hope in a Jar" moisturizer and "Hope in a Tube" under eye cream will help this situation of premature aging!

Simplicity

About five years ago I walked into my friend J's apartment and saw a sign hanging in her living room. It was a rustic wooden sign and in a plain font clearly painted across this piece of wood, was this word SIMPLIFY. Boy, what a concept! It became a personal joke between J and I. Because if I were to hang a sign in my house it would read COMPLICATE. It would be mirrored and bedazzled with bows and ribbons hanging off of it. At that time in my life, I didn't simplify. Everything I did had to be grandiose. I'm the kind of girl who thinks about the favors and decorations for a party a year in advance. That's what I mean by complicate. Things weren't usually done spur of the moment or on a simple scale.

Having a baby has changed all of that. I wear sweatpants out in public, and yes, I even wear athletic sneakers with jeans. Gasp. I don't run around crazy cleaning my house, lighting candles and putting out fresh flowers when guests are coming (alright, sometimes I still do), and I even have the furniture in my living room set up in a functional manner. To me, I am living my simplest life yet. I enjoy the simplicity that C has brought to me. Simple love is the best kind of all.

Kids are pretty simple if you think about it. It's the littlest things that make them happy. Being held, being fed, being loved. I can do those things and none of them involve bows or rhinestones.

C's brand new Little Tikes swing is a perfect example of this simple joy. I wish you could have seen her today when I placed her in the seat! She lit up like a Christmas Tree! She was squealing and kicking her legs and she was all smiles. She liked big pushes and she'd shake her head and take a big breath in when the wind would kick up and blow in her face. Oh it was priceless! The simplicity of the swing was exactly was she was up for this afternoon.

I would have run right in and grabbed the video camera, but as you know, I couldn't leave her in the front yard alone. By the time I got her out of the swing, went in the house, got the camera and got her back outside in the swing, the moment was lost. She was back to Little Miss Serious. Oh well. No footage to share the moment. I'll keep that little memory of her first swing ride etched in my mind forever.

As a former teacher, summer has always meant calmness to me. No routine, no schedules, just a whole lot of what I wanted to do - spur of the moment! I'm not sure I'd describe my current life as calm, however, I'm excited about this summer's adventures with little C (her choice, of course). I'm looking forward to whatever the simple days of summer bring, as long as it's WARM.

For My Poppy

Between us there are many miles
But, soon enough, we can share our smiles
Although not physically there, it’s true
My heart has traveled to be with you
May all that’s good come your way
I hope you feel better today.
Love, C

You know what they say,
An apple a day keeps the doctor away!

A Beautiful Day at the Park

Today was, by far, the nicest spring day we've had yet. Unfortunately, I woke up on the wrong side of the bed. I plodded through my morning routine which consists of me standing outside in my pjs waiting for Q to do his business only to return inside and have him poop on the floor, change C's diaper, clean the floor, change C's diaper, take the puppy outside, you get the picture. It didn't get any better when I got the expected news from my Jenny Craig consultant that I had gained a pound this week. Damn chocolate Easter bunnies! I knew I shouldn't have given myself the privilege to indulge on Easter. It ended up being a three day eating fest. Well not a total eating fest, but the chocolate was calling my name before, during and after Easter, and I was answering.

After C's morning nap we went out for a walk. Things were looking up. I was embracing the sunshine and enjoying the fact that she was enjoying this ride in her stroller, because that is not always the case. As we walked, I was trying to think of something fun that we could do for the afternoon before she needed to take her afternoon nap. There is a very pretty park near our house and I've been wanting to take some outside pictures of C and Q together. This sounded like the perfect, free way to spend this beautiful afternoon - free of calories and cost.

C got dressed up in a pretty white and brown polka dot dress - to match Q's coloring, of course. I loaded the baby in her car seat and the puppy in his crate and we hit the park. It was a bit tricky carrying the puppy in one arm and pushing the stroller through pine cones and needles with the other. I managed to reach my desired location and take some cute shots. My subjects were very cooperative and enthralled by the pine cones and needles. What a great afternoon! And free! I love free things, especially when I really enjoy myself. I couldn't wait to get home and upload the photos to the computer and check them out.

As I schlepped the kids to the car my cell phone started ringing from inside my sweatshirt pocket. I managed to reach in and check the caller ID. It was M, my dear friend and bride to be. Being her matron of honor and knowing that she was at Crate and Barrel registering for plates, I NEEDED to take this call despite the fact that I could barely juggle holding the puppy and pushing the stroller. I mean, this could be a bridal emergency. The call only lasted a few seconds before I lost service. I returned, I thought, my cell phone to my pocket and packed up the kids in the car. We took a leisurely drive to the ATM and then back home again.

It wasn't until I was home for a while that I realized she had never called me back to consult over the seasonal plates. When I went to my pocket to retrieve my phone, guess what? It wasn't there, or in the car, or in the kitchen, or in the pack and play, or the toy box, or outside.

I immediately emailed M, because I do not have a land line, and had her call me. Not a ring to be heard in my house despite her three calls. The phone was gone. I lost my life line. Thoughts were racing through my head - now I can get an iphone!, ugh! now I have to put all the contact information in AGAIN, now I can get an iphone!, where is my pretty eggplant colored phone, now I can get an iphone! Although this was terrible I bet you can tell there was a little bit of excitement over this tragedy.

Then I get another email from M with this subject line SOMEONE HAS YOUR PHONE. Now I feel violated! Someone is holding my purple phone. MY purple phone, in THEIR stranger hands. This is scary. Before I could get the info out to M to NOT give them my address, she gave them my address. Now scary strangers are coming to my house not to bring me my phone but to steal me and C and Q and take us to a strange place. I'm sure of it. Bad people stalk parks and find phones and then do terrible things to their owners. I mean could there really be kind, thoughtful people out there in the world? People who would be willing to help a stranger? No. They are going to kidnap us. I'm scared.

Luckily B, my neighbor, was home and she came and sat with me until the scary people came to return my phone. I waited nervously until the navy blue Honda Accord pulled into my driveway. I peered through the sheer curtains, as if they could not see me, to survey the situation. They look like normal people. Here she comes, up to my door, purple phone in her hand. I go outside and get the phone. Low and behold she was nervous to meet ME and SHE didn't want ME to have her address. Imagine...not having enough faith that I would be normal. The nerve of people...

So it did turn out to be a beautiful day after all. A beautiful photo opportunity, beautiful sunshine and beautiful strangers. My purple phone is home at last sitting beside me on the couch. My life line, returned. Life is good.

Blonde Ambition

Some of us are on meaningful, important quests in life. These quests lead to discoveries, inventions, and ways to make the earth a better place to live. I, on the other hand, am on the quest to find the perfect shade of blonde.

I was born to be a blonde, only my parents and God forgot to give me a blonde gene that would last past the age of 16. Just in time for me to become old enough to drive to the local CVS and buy some L'Oreal dye.

While on the quest for the golden shimmer, I went astray at times and had hair that covered the brown through platinum spectrum. Unfortunately as my highlights got lighter, my natural color got darker and darker. I was at the peak of perfect highlightedness when I got pregnant. Which poses an important decision for a "fake" blonde. I'm sure highlights are fine while pregnant, but since I didn't want to take any risks, I decided to let them "grow out" while I was pregnant.

Do you have any idea how long it takes to grow out any unnatural hair color? Well I can tell you, it's been a year and 8 months and there's still some old blonde hanging around. That was just long enough for me to throw my hands up and give in to the light side. I went in yesterday to begin the process of returning to the golden shimmer. When the stylist showed me the "hair samples" that I have grown so fond of and the words caramel, golden, and honey started rolling off of her tongue, I felt the familiar comfortableness and excitement that you feel when you are about to see an old friend, a me that I recognize and miss.

I should say that there is nothing wrong with beautiful, rich dark hair. I admire it very much - on other people. My daughter has brown hair which encouraged me to embrace my natural side. After much contemplation, I decided that she would agree that mommy looks better with highlights and she'd forgive me.

Besides, it's been a long time since someone has thrown a blonde joke my way. I've come to miss those insulting little buggers. I'll know I've reached the perfect shade when someone has the nerve to tell me a new one.

March 8, 2009

Don't recognize this date, do you? If you have small children I know you are still feeling the effects of this day. I didn't know at the time, but it turns out that March 8, 2009 would be the cause of stress and dark under eye circles. Let me remind you, it was Daylight Savings time. Now I know all the reasons behind the changing of the clocks, and I should mention that I used to enjoy the extra sunlight that this "spring ahead" change granted. However, little C, has not, in the least, adjusted to this new schedule. How does her little body know there's a difference? How in the world is it still effecting her WHOLE day?

At five months I read the sleep books, you know the ones. Dr. Ferber, sound familiar? I kept a log, I did the sleep training thing. I sat with a timer and followed "Progressive Waiting Approach." I toughed out the agony of the crying, all alone. I wrote in C's baby journal all about it. The entry looked like a formal lesson plan for an observation day for crying out loud! I had goals and objectives written for her short term and long term sleep schedules. I took and still take this sleep thing very seriously.

So it comes as no surprise to me that I am absolutely FREAKING OUT over this deviation from our old schedule. I know that kids change all the time and you can't count on the "perfect schedule" because once you have it down, it's bound to change. This is obviously no exception. I just thought after this many weeks we'd be doing better with it. Could it be at only 9 and a half months she's converging her two daytime naps into one? Except that if it's one, it HAS to be longer than one hour.

All the extra sunlight means now is that I'm trying to put C to sleep with a beam of sunlight in my eye. The school aged neighborhood kids are out playing and we're singing "Twinkle, Twinkle." She's been buying the act because she's exhausted from not taking proper naps, but every mother knows that a child that goes to bed at 6:05pm is bound to awake before the sunrises the next morning. Which brings me back to my point that Daylight Savings time was invented to torture parents.

Little Quinn has been sleeping just fine. He's taken up residence in the basement during sleeping hours. I felt terrible putting him down there, but it turns out that he likes his little bachelor pad. The hum of the dehumidifier really does the trick form him. Now if I can only get him to stop peeing in the house...

Dare I say that I slept semi-well last night? My husband ended up working overnight which means I could sprawl out across the bed and I took the scary plunge and turned the baby monitor off. Gasp, I know. Remember, this is a small house. If I can hear the dog whimper from the basement, I can certainly hear baby C from one wall over.

Last year during our first grade grandparents' day social, a parent, Mr. S., stepped right up to my very pregnant belly and said, "Get some sleep now." I've heard people say that your sleep changes once you have a child, but there was something in the urgency of his voice that really struck a cord with me. I did an about face turn and was no longer thinking of the delicious refreshments that I was about to devour, I started becoming increasingly anxious about my future lack of sleep. I think that man cursed me.

Anyway, today I decided that I was in charge (chuckle, chuckle) and that C was going to take two naps. I dusted off the 'ol Ferber book and back to Progressive Waiting we went. I checked in on her after 3 minutes, 7 minutes, 9 minutes and...

I'm happy to report that just almost 30 minutes later, the baby monitor is no longer rattling with the sound of my screaming child. Silent. Asleep, at last. Maybe we are turning a corner here. I think I just might have some laundry, dishes, or dog walking to do. OR I could watch last night's DVRed Medium... I choose the latter.

I am really fearing November 1, 2009. Can you guess what happens on that day? You got it, fall back in time. Oy vey.

Hoppy Easter!

Somebunny has a runny nose...

I can't believe that it only took 9 months 2 weeks and 5 days for me to become "that mom." Our friends A and J had their first child this past week! Little baby L! He's just 3 days old. I wanted to stop by and bring them a gift for the baby, but then I remembered back to when C was born and it was great when friends dropped off dinner. So after getting little baby L a storybook, because I believe in literacy, I hit the Ravioli Shop to grab dinner for A and J. A box of 5 cheese ravioli, a container of vodka sauce and a fresh baked loaf of semolina bread, delicious.

I pulled up to A and J's house, unannounced, because I am only dropping off dinner. I was so happy to see the car in the driveway and find out that they were home. ONLY as I was gathering my bags of goodies from the car and schleping them to the front door, I looked at little C and the boogers coming from her nose. How can it be that I've turned into that mom that's about to bring her snotty child into the home of a newborn??? I can't believe this. I would have died if someone entered my home 9 months 2 weeks and 5 days ago with a runny nosed almost toddler. Gasp! What do I do now? Well, I'll be honest - as if they won't be able to tell for themselves that C isn't feeling her best. It's amazing how you learn to dismiss the common cold so quickly. As A opened the door I announced that C had a runny nose and I promised I wouldn't stay long or bring her near the baby. Luckily, A is great with babes and he gladly played and held little C so I could go upstairs and congratulate J and marvel at beautiful baby L.

C successfully never went on the same floor as the baby and I made sure to wash my hands before even entering the nursery. And as for my earlier comment about "dismissing the common cold," that comes after a visit to the doctor yesterday and a $20 copay. I guess that's the going rate for the piece of mind that your child is just fine.

Sharing Time

I'm beginning to realize that I blog because I'm the kind of person who likes to share. I think that's why I loved teaching first grade. First graders LOVE to share. They love to share everything and anything. From a new sibling to slivers to snacks to birthdays. A first grader will start telling you about their birthday 364 days before it's going to happen. It will continue with a daily countdown :)

First graders also love when adults share too. The difference being that an adult elaborates on their sharing. Sometimes too much so, and the kids' attention is totally lost. So for the sake of time, C's nap is almost over, I'm going to share today as if I were a first grader.

This is my Easter bread recipe that I got from my mom and I like it.

1 package dry yeast
1/4 cup luke warm water
3/4 cup scalded milk
1 package lemon instant pudding
1 stick margarine or butter
1/2 teaspoon salt
4 - 4 1/2 cups flour
2 eggs beaten

METHOD

Put butter, pudding, and salt in bowl. Add milk. Stir until butter melts. Let cool. Add 1 1/2 cups flour. Stir in yeast (diluted in the 1/4 cup luke warm water) and 2 beaten eggs to cooled mixture. Use electric mixer to beat until smooth. Add remaining flour (a little at a time to work it in). Put dough on floured table and knead until soft not sticky (8-10 minutes). Wash and dry bowl and butter it on the bottom and sides. Put dough in the bowl and turn upside down 2 times (perhaps to butter the dough?). Cover the bowl with a towel and place on the counter to rise for 1 1/2 hours. Punch the dough down after this time and let rise another hour. Separate dough into three equal parts. Make strips out of each section and braid together. Let stand on greased cookie sheet for 15 minutes covered. Bake on 350 degrees for about 30-40 minutes or until golden brown. Enjoy and Happy Easter!

If Only...

It didn't snow in APRIL!

Fin could see this.

This gate weren't in our way.

I could sleep this soundly.

New Life

My babies keep me busy. I have an even higher level of respect for parents who successfully managed to stay alive while raising multiples. I mean, how do you do this with more than one human baby at a time? I'm running circles caring for and tending to the needs of one human and one canine, I can't even imagine if they were both human...

Today I left C, for the first time, with our babysitter (who is now on my favorite person list)for a couple of hours. Are you thinking I went to the spa, or hung out at a fancy coffee shop chatting it up with some friends? Think again. I had a cavity (6 months overdue) filled and my teeth cleaned. I feel like a new woman. I have to admit though, I had 34 minutes to spare after the appointment so I did dart (literally ran through the parking lot) into Marshalls and shopped like I was a part of one of those "fill your cart in one minute" game shows. I grabbed everything I thought that I (and C) would like and paid. What a rush. A complete high. The shopping trip coupled with my clean teeth - I feel like I can conquer the world. I might even be awake for American Idol tonight, that's how pumped I am.

I'm overwhelmed with just how precious new life is. My daughter, she's just plain amazing to me, and I can't imagine my life without her. I near cried when I got home from my afternoon out. When she saw me, her face lit up and she smiled from ear to ear. I purposefully stayed at the doorway to the living room and let her stare at me in awe. If she could talk I know she would have said, "Mommy! I'm so happy to see you! I was wondering where you were." Her body language said what she was thinking. She automatically plopped onto her belly from her sitting position and used all of her strength to slither/army crawl/pull/push herself towards me. I wanted to hug her and hold her so bad, but I was patient and I waited for her to make it all the way to me. Holding her on my lap was perfect. Marshalls was fun and my teeth feel great, but having her in my arms is always the best part of my day.

Are you wondering about little Quinn? That guy might as well be a piranha! Holy macaroni, those teeth are like razors! If you could see through my windows I bet you would think my floors are on fire. I'm hopping all over the place trying to get my slippers, shoes, socks, and pant legs free from his amazingly strong jaws. His head is no bigger than a grapefruit, but man, those jaws have some serious power. Which brings me to my next challenge. Q and C CANNOT be on the floor together at the same time. No way Jose. This has led to the discovery of my new talent! Uncovering new talents makes me feel so proud :) Well, I'M pretty good at being a human gate and providing an adequate barrier between the two of them! Good thing my living room is tiny because I'm only 5'2". So if I strategically place my head near the couch and my feet at the base of the coffee table (which is really one of those leather trunk things, but it basically is just a fireplace blocker now) I can separate the living room into two parts: one for C and one for Q! Perfect...until one of them learns how to jump hurdles...

It's been really fun to watch Quinn explore and discover new things on his second day with us. Today he found the infamous Mr. Potato Head. It was bittersweet to see Mr. PH back in action...

Sleep Tight, Little Ones

Sleep. What parent really needs that anyway? I mean seriously, I'm ashamed of all the times I dragged myself into school, DD coffee hanging from my lips, LL Bean monogrammed tote bag in tow, whining about how tired I was. What a wimp! Parents are like superheros. I needed to become one (a parent that is) to truly appreciate the strength of the human body.

So last night went PRETTY good! Quinn started off in his "oh so comfy" new crate in the living room. He was exhausted from his day so he was out like a light in no time at all. 9:00pm and the house was quiet. C, sound asleep for two hours now, Q, off in dreamland, husband lightly snoring by 9:01 and mommy - awake.

Story of my life. I was past exhaustion, but up and worrying about how many times each little one would wake me throughout the night. It must have been somewhere around 10pm when the exhaustion took over and I finally drifted off to sleep. 11:00pm, C needs a new diaper, a binky, and a whirl on the 'ol mobile.

11:44pm, Quinn beqins crying. As promised, my husband, A, got himself out of bed and headed downstairs to see what was up. Now, I too got up to check on my four legged baby, but NOT to take him out.

Gotta love husbands. There's mine in his PJ pants, no shirt, shoes and a jacket. We've been working for, oh, maybe 10 years now, on possibly being prepared and ready for situations. Going out to walk a dog in upstate New York in PJ pants and a jacket in April isn't going to work. I mean you'd only be able to stay out there for a few minutes before you realized you were, um, let's say, COLD. Those few minutes would not be enough for a new puppy to do ALL of his biz-nass. After they went out, we played with him to "tire him out" for a bit.

Ya know, as I think about it, maybe sleep is important because even though these events took place less than 12 hours ago, I can't quite recall the exact series of them! I may have to edit this later or tomorrow once I can consult with A, my partner in parenting crime.

Anyway, stay focused Christie. There was poop somewhere in the night. This poop led me to be doing laundry at some ungodly hour of the morning and Q's big move to the "not so comfy" big wire crate in the basement. I gave him a quilt and a rope toy and turned on the dryer. He cried for a bit but then he was out. I know I mentioned in an earlier post that our house was small. Just to give you a little more insight, it's so small, that Q's helpless whimpering was heard from the basement as loudly as if he were in bed with me. As promised, A walked him before he went to work, around 5am and Q drifted back off to dreamland until I went down to get him at 7am. Not too bad of a night! Oh, let's not forget C's bottle at 4:45am either.

I have to say, it's awfully nice to have somebody sitting between my ankles when I wash dishes and chase my feet around while I do my mommy chores in the kitchen. I've never known anyone who thought sponge mopping the floor was such a hoot! I've successfully done some housework and put C down for her morning nap. I'm rethinking the whole "shower at the gym" thing. I was never into it, but now that the opportunity is lost for this morning and I'm thinking a shower isn't happening until late tonight, I might be packing a towel and some soap with my ipod tomorrow.

The three of us will make our first trip to the vet this afternoon. I can't wait for Dr. M to meet our new little guy. Our last interaction was on Fin's last day and let's just say, it wasn't a good visit.

Did I mention that I went to the post office, PetCo, and was running on the treadmill at the gym by 9:30am? Go ahead, you can ask. I was wondering too. Do you think LL Bean makes monogrammed capes? It's all the fashion rage among superheros :) Maybe you already have one...

Introducing...

Quincy Finster Cambio

"Quinn" was born February 5, 2009. He's 11 inches high and 15 inches long. He already weighs 14.4 pounds. I think we just may have another Finny on our hands!

What a day!

Fin's Favorites

As I sit here watching Elmo's World: Babies, Dogs & More, I can't help but think how much easier it would be to just have little Fin back. I'm really excited to meet our new baby, but boy am I worried about my sleep...

Anybody who knew Fin will get a smile and maybe a few tears out of remembering a few of his favorite things.

Tennis ball on a rope, peanut butter, sleeping, a fluffy bed, the couch, laying in the sunshine, sitting in the breezeway watching for A’s car or sitting on the deck in CT, playing with his daddy, tossing and fetching his ball (3 passes, max), going for long car rides, sitting/laying on the patio lounge chairs in the spring/summer, putting his face in the snow, dunking his head in a big bowl of water, laying under the dining table waiting for scraps, being scratched under his collar, belly rubs, the hair dryer, treats, his bone filled with peanut butter or the kong (when he was younger), his family – including his sister C, laying behind the gate in Grandma and Grandpa’s living room, his home in Connecticut, going in the woods in CT, sleeping under grandpa’s desk, eating grandma’s sauce and parmesan cheese on his food, noni’s food scraps on holidays, laying belly down on cold tile floors, sniffing and licking little kids (especially baby feet and hands), laying under our desk, crawling under the futon, licking dishes with people food clean, cheese, his family…

Is it weird that those are some of my favorite things too?

The Fence

Did I mention it was successfully installed on Tuesday? A smile :) and a wink ;), that's all I have to say...

Preparing For Puppy

So this morning, in the pouring rain, C and I hit PetCo. I have to say, I wasn't very impressed with our local PetCo. The service wasn't that great and they didn't seem to have a lot of "stuff." We managed to get our little puppy all of his necessities. A crate, food, toys, dishes, a place mat, a collar and a name tag. Do you know that they make puppy Kong Binkies? Too stinkin' cute. We picked him up a blue one.

Of course, C chewed all the chew toys as I put them in the shopping cart. Hey, if they are good enough for her then they'll be great for him! I took pictures of the baby every step of the way. I want her to look back and remember that she helped get ready for the little guy.

We've decided to take him home with us this weekend if all goes well with the visit on Sunday. There's no point in waiting until next week and driving the two and a half hours to the breeders again. I called the vet and booked his new puppy appointment for Monday afternoon!

I thought we had his name picked out and then my dad went and threw us a curve ball this past weekend. My husband and I thought it over and apparently we've decided on the name my dad picked! I found this out because my husband downloaded and saved a picture of the puppy onto the desktop and he named it by his name! It's official because I had it engraved on his tag. The nickname is what was really important to us. Both the original name and the new name can have the same nickname. Naming dogs and children is a stressful process but when you've made the final decision, it seems like it's been the right choice all along. I can't wait to hear it start rolling off my tongue!

We hadn't heard back from the breeder for a few days. We were waiting for her address and we both started getting nervous that maybe she sold him to someone else. He already feels like part of our family. We just need him under our roof to make it official. She said that he's doing really well with is potty training. That's a plus! Imagine if he's fully trained by Sunday...That would be amazing!

C is cruising the house these days. She was all over the kitchen floor this afternoon. I can already see that she's probably going to take a bath in the puppy's water dish by early next week. It's a good thing she's not into Cheerios yet, or I'd have to worry about her trying to eat his food too!

I can't wait to take pictures of her with the pup on Sunday. I'll be sure to post those. She'll surely be wearing her new t-shirt from Cafe Press. It says Hello Bulldog on the front - a spoof on Hello Kitty. Too cute.