I usually aim for about 50 books a year, so this year was a little disappointing. In my defense, I did have a baby and move across the country, but still. It's kind of lame. And the quality of books is also lacking this year.
I think the books I would most recommend off of this year's list were all from my book club in Texas. A Piece of Cake was one of the most unforgettable, fascinating books that I read. It was one of those books that I was inexplicably riveted by and just couldn't put it down. It was also one of my favorite book club meetings to discuss.
For fun, I loved the Mary Kay Andrews books and wish there were more of them to read. For education, I liked the Overachievers. It's amazing how much the high school/college application scene has already changed so much since I went through. Middlesex was another book club book that I was kind of morbidly fascinated by, and Michael Crichton's Next was really good too. So, that's my kind of lame 2008 rundown. Hopefully next year will be more productive.
Please leave me a book recommendation in the comments for 2009. I'm going to finish the Twilight series, but that's about all I have on deck at the moment.
33. Unforgettable, by Cecily von Ziegesar
32. Twilight, by Stephanie Meyer
31. Legally Blonde, by Amanda Brown
30. Bless Your Heart, Tramp, by Celia Rivenbark
29. Secret Society Girl, by Diana Peterfruend
28. Reckless, by Cecily von Ziegesar
27. Don't You Forget About Me, by Cecily von Ziegesar
26. Would I Lie to You? by Cecily von Ziegesar
25. Certain Girls, by Jennifer Weiner
24. Vanishing Acts, by Jodi Picoult
23. Names My Sisters Call Me, by Megan Crane
22. A Piece of Cake, by Cupcake Brown
21. Deep Dish, by Mary Kay Andrews
20. Plain Truth, by Jodi Picoult
19. Notorious, by Cecily von Ziegesar
18. Blue Christmas, by Mary Kay Andrews
17. Remember Me?, by Sophie Kinsella
16. Miss Julia Takes Over, by Ann B. Ross
15. Water For Elephants, by Sara Gruen
14. Hissy Fit, by Mary Kay Andrews
13. The It Girl, by Cecily von Ziegesar
12. Middlesex, by Jeffrey Eugenides
11. Miss Julia Speaks Her Mind, by Ann B. Ross
10. The Overachievers: The Secret Lives of Driven Kids, by Alexandra Robbins
9. Happiest Toddler on the Block, by Harvey Karp
8. Girl in Hyacinth Blue, by Susan Vreeland
7. Only in Your Dreams, by Cecily von Ziegesar
6. Marley and Me, by John Grogan
5. The A-List, by Zoey Dean
4. Next, by Michael Crichton
3. Savannah Breeze, by Mary Kay Andrews
2. Red River, by Lalita Tademy
1. Little Bitty Lies, by Mary Kay Andrews
Wednesday, December 31, 2008
Monday, December 29, 2008
Pleeeeeeease!
Piglet got a new book from Santa Claus this year called Excuse Me, A Little Book of Manners. I've been looking for it for a while, as we are working hard on the pleases, thanks, and excuses. I read it to him tonight before bed and was rolling in hysterical laughter before I left. Here's how it went:
Me: [reading aloud] Mommy says, "Do you want peas for breakfast?" What do you say?
Piglet: Please!
Me: No....how about No ,thank you? You want peas for breakfast?
Piglet: Cereal!
Me: Okay, next page. "You burped! What do you say?"
Piglet: Mommy pooted!
Me: Um, no. You say "excuse me". Can you say that?
Piglet: Please!
Me: Okay. "Daddy asks, "Do you want a treat? What do you say?"
Piglet: Lollipop! Piglet wants lollipop right now! [jabs finger at page]
Me: No, Piglet, this is when you say please.
Piglet: LOLLIPOP!!!
Me: Right. "You broke your brother's toy. What do you say?"
Piglet: That's Pigpen! [points] Uh oh! Pleeeeeeeease?
Me: You can't say please for everything. Are you paying attention? Try this one: "Grandma gave you an extra special gift. What do you say?"
Piglet: Birthday present! Piglet wants birthday cake. Please?
Me: You're very good at please. I think if grandma gives you and birthday present you should say thank you.
Piglet: Birthday cake! [turns pages back] Lollipop!
Me: What do you say when someone gives you a present?
Piglet: Tank toooooo!
Me: Good. Last one: "Mommy and Daddy tuck you in with a kiss every night. What do you say?"
Piglet: [points] That's baby! Please!
Me: What do you say when we tell you night night?
Piglet: I'm sowwy.
Me: [laugh] [give up]
Me: [reading aloud] Mommy says, "Do you want peas for breakfast?" What do you say?
Piglet: Please!
Me: No....how about No ,thank you? You want peas for breakfast?
Piglet: Cereal!
Me: Okay, next page. "You burped! What do you say?"
Piglet: Mommy pooted!
Me: Um, no. You say "excuse me". Can you say that?
Piglet: Please!
Me: Okay. "Daddy asks, "Do you want a treat? What do you say?"
Piglet: Lollipop! Piglet wants lollipop right now! [jabs finger at page]
Me: No, Piglet, this is when you say please.
Piglet: LOLLIPOP!!!
Me: Right. "You broke your brother's toy. What do you say?"
Piglet: That's Pigpen! [points] Uh oh! Pleeeeeeeease?
Me: You can't say please for everything. Are you paying attention? Try this one: "Grandma gave you an extra special gift. What do you say?"
Piglet: Birthday present! Piglet wants birthday cake. Please?
Me: You're very good at please. I think if grandma gives you and birthday present you should say thank you.
Piglet: Birthday cake! [turns pages back] Lollipop!
Me: What do you say when someone gives you a present?
Piglet: Tank toooooo!
Me: Good. Last one: "Mommy and Daddy tuck you in with a kiss every night. What do you say?"
Piglet: [points] That's baby! Please!
Me: What do you say when we tell you night night?
Piglet: I'm sowwy.
Me: [laugh] [give up]
Monday, December 22, 2008
Merry. merry.
Aw, man. It's really all or nothing with me, isn't it? I was doing so well with the regular blogging, then...wa-BAM! I vanished again. But I really have a series of Very Good Excuses. First, the obvious, Christmas shopping which I left until the last minute, something very unlike me. Second, I got my bandage off my slashed up finger which left me with a creepy typing sensation in which I feel as though I'm using someone else's finger. Apparently, I did quite a number on the nerves in my fingertip. Third, and probably most significant, Pigpen simultaneously got his first tooth, entered his six month growth spurt, ceased sleeping through the night, and contracted RSV last week.
Needless to say, that kind of tore things up for a while. He was just starting to recover when he started to get his second tooth, a stage which we are still in. Just to add to the fun, though, we are doing this stage at my inlaws with Pigpen in the room with us at night. Did you know that babies with respiratory infections snore? Did you know they snore like full grown men? Sleep was lacking last night, to say the least. Which brings me to my interesting inlaws story of the day.
If you don't know, my husband is an only child. In normal life, he doesn't really act as though he is an only child, but when we go home to his parents' house, it's amazing what happens. Here's how last night went down:
I fed Pigpen at 10pm and put him to bed. We went to bed also, as he is in our room and there was no light to be had. I can't sleep without reading, so I laid there for a long time. Sleep until 12:25 when Pigpen wakes up. I didn't feed, but but waited for him to put himself back to sleep. After a few minutes he did (husband slept through this), but I was left awake for a good 30 minutes. At 2:30, he awoke and firmly told me that he wanted to eat. He went a long time in the car without eating on our drive to SC and may have been making up for a lost feeding, so I fed him. Put him back to sleep. I dozed off sometime after 3. (Husband slept through this.) At 4:45 he woke up and was ready for the day. I was not. The only way to get him to keep sleeping is to lie down in the bed with him and feed him, but I won't do this unless husband is out of the bed as he has no awareness of baby's presence (clearly). Sent husband to sleep on couch in den. Got no sleep from 4:45 to 7:00 while Pigpen snorted and snored, coughed and sneezed, and used my boob as a teething device. Got up to find husband blearly-eyed and dazed as Piglet had just awoken, bright-eyed and bushy-tailed. This is the conversation that followed:
MIL: (to husband) Are you tired, honey? You poor thing, you just don't get enough sleep.
Mr. Pigs: I am tired. Pigpen had a rough night last night.
MIL: Aw, you just don't get enough rest. Why don't you go back to bed? Don't worry about us, we'll take care of Piglet!
Mr. Pigs: You know, I think I will. [saunters to bedroom to sleep until - are you ready for it? - ELEVEN THIRTY!]
Aghast, I chugged some coffee and slogged through my morning, getting Piglet and Pigpen ready, playing super-hard with Piglet to get him to wear out properly in hopes of getting a nap our of him today, even going outside in the 20 degree weather to look at the tractor. Are you KIDDING ME?? Only children are a different breed altogether when around their parents.
Tonight? Mr. Pigs said offhandedly, "Do y'all have any Russian tea made?" They did not. Usually, they do at Christmastime, hence his question. Within five minutes, both parents had rushed into the kitched, grabbed the cookbook and made him some Russian tea. I'm not lying. I just can't wrap my head around this.
Anyway....tis the season to be merry. (That's my name! Ten points for movie reference, but if that's all you have to say about this post, you lose.) I'll try to do better about posting. I did actually post over at Eddie's place, go here to read her second edition of Mensicle Monday. Ho ho ho!
Needless to say, that kind of tore things up for a while. He was just starting to recover when he started to get his second tooth, a stage which we are still in. Just to add to the fun, though, we are doing this stage at my inlaws with Pigpen in the room with us at night. Did you know that babies with respiratory infections snore? Did you know they snore like full grown men? Sleep was lacking last night, to say the least. Which brings me to my interesting inlaws story of the day.
If you don't know, my husband is an only child. In normal life, he doesn't really act as though he is an only child, but when we go home to his parents' house, it's amazing what happens. Here's how last night went down:
I fed Pigpen at 10pm and put him to bed. We went to bed also, as he is in our room and there was no light to be had. I can't sleep without reading, so I laid there for a long time. Sleep until 12:25 when Pigpen wakes up. I didn't feed, but but waited for him to put himself back to sleep. After a few minutes he did (husband slept through this), but I was left awake for a good 30 minutes. At 2:30, he awoke and firmly told me that he wanted to eat. He went a long time in the car without eating on our drive to SC and may have been making up for a lost feeding, so I fed him. Put him back to sleep. I dozed off sometime after 3. (Husband slept through this.) At 4:45 he woke up and was ready for the day. I was not. The only way to get him to keep sleeping is to lie down in the bed with him and feed him, but I won't do this unless husband is out of the bed as he has no awareness of baby's presence (clearly). Sent husband to sleep on couch in den. Got no sleep from 4:45 to 7:00 while Pigpen snorted and snored, coughed and sneezed, and used my boob as a teething device. Got up to find husband blearly-eyed and dazed as Piglet had just awoken, bright-eyed and bushy-tailed. This is the conversation that followed:
MIL: (to husband) Are you tired, honey? You poor thing, you just don't get enough sleep.
Mr. Pigs: I am tired. Pigpen had a rough night last night.
MIL: Aw, you just don't get enough rest. Why don't you go back to bed? Don't worry about us, we'll take care of Piglet!
Mr. Pigs: You know, I think I will. [saunters to bedroom to sleep until - are you ready for it? - ELEVEN THIRTY!]
Aghast, I chugged some coffee and slogged through my morning, getting Piglet and Pigpen ready, playing super-hard with Piglet to get him to wear out properly in hopes of getting a nap our of him today, even going outside in the 20 degree weather to look at the tractor. Are you KIDDING ME?? Only children are a different breed altogether when around their parents.
Tonight? Mr. Pigs said offhandedly, "Do y'all have any Russian tea made?" They did not. Usually, they do at Christmastime, hence his question. Within five minutes, both parents had rushed into the kitched, grabbed the cookbook and made him some Russian tea. I'm not lying. I just can't wrap my head around this.
Anyway....tis the season to be merry. (That's my name! Ten points for movie reference, but if that's all you have to say about this post, you lose.) I'll try to do better about posting. I did actually post over at Eddie's place, go here to read her second edition of Mensicle Monday. Ho ho ho!
Monday, December 15, 2008
Mensicle Monday #1
This post is the beginning of a new series over at the Eddie Speaks Whale blog. I have kept a strange a list of everything that’s wrong with the guys she's dated. We have decided to dissect her decisions. So, every Monday I will guest post about a boy she dated on her blog. We’ll go in chronological order (leaving out the ones that weren’t around long enough to warrant a post). Because my part is kind of negative, Eddie will try to add some positive things that she learned from each guy. At least for the beginning I'll post it on my blog too. So, here we go….
Pigs:
It’s an interesting study to chronicle the men of Eddie’s past. Perhaps someone can read these descriptions in an unbiased manner and advise Eddie on the type of man she should pursue. Or, you could do like me and giggle as we stroll through Eddie’s romantic history reviewing the winners that she has dated. I’m sure that these guys have good points as well, but as the best friend, I was always privy to the negative when she called me to gripe. Over time, I put together this collection which we will call The Best of Eddie’s Lovelife: the Cliff Notes.
We begin back in high school, with a boy we knew as Punjab*. Eddie was always very into drummers. She crushed heavily on every long haired boy in the school, even bribing me on the school bus to go to certain hallways where she knew her crush to be and spy on him each morning. These boys, however, were unattainable, as they did not actually know that Eddie existed, unless they noticed a giggling blur of blonde dashing away from them each morning before homeroom. This somehow led her to Punjab. Punjab was a bass drum player in the marching band for which Eddie performed in color guard. Punjab was about 5’4” (to her 5’7”) and a year younger. Their brief courtship culminated in Eddie wrecking her car (Punjab wasn’t old enough to drive) on the way to Homecoming.
Eddie:
Hmmm…I’m trying to think of something nice to say about this one. How about…he let me wear his very cool shark tooth necklace.
Pigs:
How about: You could see directly over his head, so he never blocked your view?
Eddie:
Har har.
*All names have been changed.
Pigs:
It’s an interesting study to chronicle the men of Eddie’s past. Perhaps someone can read these descriptions in an unbiased manner and advise Eddie on the type of man she should pursue. Or, you could do like me and giggle as we stroll through Eddie’s romantic history reviewing the winners that she has dated. I’m sure that these guys have good points as well, but as the best friend, I was always privy to the negative when she called me to gripe. Over time, I put together this collection which we will call The Best of Eddie’s Lovelife: the Cliff Notes.
We begin back in high school, with a boy we knew as Punjab*. Eddie was always very into drummers. She crushed heavily on every long haired boy in the school, even bribing me on the school bus to go to certain hallways where she knew her crush to be and spy on him each morning. These boys, however, were unattainable, as they did not actually know that Eddie existed, unless they noticed a giggling blur of blonde dashing away from them each morning before homeroom. This somehow led her to Punjab. Punjab was a bass drum player in the marching band for which Eddie performed in color guard. Punjab was about 5’4” (to her 5’7”) and a year younger. Their brief courtship culminated in Eddie wrecking her car (Punjab wasn’t old enough to drive) on the way to Homecoming.
Eddie:
Hmmm…I’m trying to think of something nice to say about this one. How about…he let me wear his very cool shark tooth necklace.
Pigs:
How about: You could see directly over his head, so he never blocked your view?
Eddie:
Har har.
*All names have been changed.
Sunday, December 14, 2008
Things I Will Never Pay For Again
shampoo
conditioner
toothpaste
magazines
dish soap
hand soap
chex mix
Totino's Pizza Rolls
razors
And probably some other stuff too. So there.
Wednesday, December 10, 2008
Seriously?
You know my finger? The one with the open wound on it? Piglet bit it! HE BIT MY FINGER. What on this earth possesses a crazy child to BITE someone's bandage? So now there's been a set back in the healing process as it caused said open wound to, well....open more. I should've bitten him back. Mr. Pigs reminded me that that's what I used to do to Gus when he bit me as a puppy. I was reading Piglet bedtime stories at naptime and he just leaned over and BIT ME. I can't get over the insanity of it. There's a full moon Friday if anyone's keeping track.
Also, Piglet cut his head open at preschool today bashing it into the stage in the ballroom where they have indoor recess when he fell off of a bike. Into the stage, I suppose. Karma? I think so. Of course, the teachers coddled and loved on him so much that he probably did not recognize his obvious comeuppance.
Also, Piglet cut his head open at preschool today bashing it into the stage in the ballroom where they have indoor recess when he fell off of a bike. Into the stage, I suppose. Karma? I think so. Of course, the teachers coddled and loved on him so much that he probably did not recognize his obvious comeuppance.
Monday, December 08, 2008
2 digits down, 8 to go.
So the potato mandolin attacked finger continues to heal. Not to a point that I can remove the bandage or touch it without flinching, but I can see visible improvement. Remember, that's the left index. Last night, while cutting carrots for Piglet's dinner, I was cutting toward my thumb - I know, I know - and siiiiiiink went the knife into my right thumb. Shudder. I managed to avoid the ER on this injury, but come on! How many bandaids can one person wear? I look like I have some sort of phalange eating mange or something.
That reminds me, speaking of mange - there is also some sort of permanant rash under my wedding rings from too much hand washing. Maybe it's scurvy. Of the finger. So that sums up my hands.
I removed the bandaid from my knife wound this morning because it seemed to be doing better and frankly, I needed my thumb back. It's sore, but manageable. Over the course of the day, I kind of forgot about it. This afternoon, I took Piglet for a haircut since I can't cut it myself because a) I'm bandaged and b) I'd probably cut another finger off at this point. In we go to the haircuttery. I plopped Pigpen's car seat onto the floor and hefted Piglet onto the chair.
At this point, I noticed several people staring at me and the lady about to cut Piglet's hair said quite plainly, "You have blood on your face." My immediate thought was, "Oh my gosh. Adult acne strikes again!" but then I remembered my adult acne goes away when I'm pregnant or nursing. Couldn't be that. I peered into the mirror and had blood ALL OVER my face. Upon further examination, it extended to my shirt sleeve, Piglet's shirt sleeve and part of his ear.
Apparently, my knife wound had burst open under the pressure of carrying the 800 pound car seat and wrangling Piglet into the door of the store. I really could not be a bigger train wreck. I spent Piglet's hair cut swabbing myself down with wet Kleenex while the hairdresser snuck suspicious glances at me. She did not partake in my awkward self-deprecating conversation, but the 4 patrons waiting in line didn't mind staring at me, the walking bumbling blood bath.
I have to wear heels on Friday night for the first time in, oh...a year? Year and a half? Pray for my well-being.
That reminds me, speaking of mange - there is also some sort of permanant rash under my wedding rings from too much hand washing. Maybe it's scurvy. Of the finger. So that sums up my hands.
I removed the bandaid from my knife wound this morning because it seemed to be doing better and frankly, I needed my thumb back. It's sore, but manageable. Over the course of the day, I kind of forgot about it. This afternoon, I took Piglet for a haircut since I can't cut it myself because a) I'm bandaged and b) I'd probably cut another finger off at this point. In we go to the haircuttery. I plopped Pigpen's car seat onto the floor and hefted Piglet onto the chair.
At this point, I noticed several people staring at me and the lady about to cut Piglet's hair said quite plainly, "You have blood on your face." My immediate thought was, "Oh my gosh. Adult acne strikes again!" but then I remembered my adult acne goes away when I'm pregnant or nursing. Couldn't be that. I peered into the mirror and had blood ALL OVER my face. Upon further examination, it extended to my shirt sleeve, Piglet's shirt sleeve and part of his ear.
Apparently, my knife wound had burst open under the pressure of carrying the 800 pound car seat and wrangling Piglet into the door of the store. I really could not be a bigger train wreck. I spent Piglet's hair cut swabbing myself down with wet Kleenex while the hairdresser snuck suspicious glances at me. She did not partake in my awkward self-deprecating conversation, but the 4 patrons waiting in line didn't mind staring at me, the walking bumbling blood bath.
I have to wear heels on Friday night for the first time in, oh...a year? Year and a half? Pray for my well-being.
Sunday, December 07, 2008
Small World
So, I've moved around some in my life. I was born in NC, moved to Louisville, the Cincinnati, then Columbus. Returned to NC for high school, went to Raleigh for college. Somehow, I got married and wound up in Dallas and now Georgia. The point of that list was to illustrate how small the world is, even without Facebook!
So, from 4th grade through 8th grade, we lived in a smallish suburb of Columbus. Once we moved, I kept in touch with a few people, but mostly lost touch. Fast forward to my first year of teaching. I started my new job in a small town outside of Raleigh, teaching 4th grade. I found out there would be another first year teacher on my team who would be teaching next door to me. As you can probably guess, it was a friend from when I was in 4th grade myself - in Ohio! What are the odds, one thinks. So we re-friended and went to one another's weddings, etc. Wild! Who knew?
Fast forward to two years ago in Dallas. This one actually was MySpace related, as I found my best friend from (what else?) 4th grade living just 15 minutes from me in Dallas. We met up for lunch, double dated a little and started to hang out as adults. This is a strange, strange thing to meet up with your childhood best friend for margaritas in Texas when you last saw one another rollerskating in Ohio in 1987.
Then, then? This weekend, we took Pigpen and Piglet up to the neighborhood Santa social for pictures and breakfast (see gratuitous Santa pic below) We're standing in line, talking to people, meeting new neighbors and it comes up that this girl was from the same suburb in Ohio that I lived in! What's more, she's a year older than I am and went to the same middle school when I did! We're in one another's yearbooks and know all the same people. When I looked at her picture, I knew her 7th grade self. Is this not strange that I'm running into people I knew in this obscure town in Ohio all over the country?
It's a little shady. Surely that must be all the ones to come out of the woodwork. I'm sure lots of people are having Facebook events like this all the time, but only one of mine was internet related. Okay, done rambling. Here is gratuitous Santa shot. Try to ignore the fact that both children look alarmed because the Santa was quite photogenic.
So, from 4th grade through 8th grade, we lived in a smallish suburb of Columbus. Once we moved, I kept in touch with a few people, but mostly lost touch. Fast forward to my first year of teaching. I started my new job in a small town outside of Raleigh, teaching 4th grade. I found out there would be another first year teacher on my team who would be teaching next door to me. As you can probably guess, it was a friend from when I was in 4th grade myself - in Ohio! What are the odds, one thinks. So we re-friended and went to one another's weddings, etc. Wild! Who knew?
Fast forward to two years ago in Dallas. This one actually was MySpace related, as I found my best friend from (what else?) 4th grade living just 15 minutes from me in Dallas. We met up for lunch, double dated a little and started to hang out as adults. This is a strange, strange thing to meet up with your childhood best friend for margaritas in Texas when you last saw one another rollerskating in Ohio in 1987.
Then, then? This weekend, we took Pigpen and Piglet up to the neighborhood Santa social for pictures and breakfast (see gratuitous Santa pic below) We're standing in line, talking to people, meeting new neighbors and it comes up that this girl was from the same suburb in Ohio that I lived in! What's more, she's a year older than I am and went to the same middle school when I did! We're in one another's yearbooks and know all the same people. When I looked at her picture, I knew her 7th grade self. Is this not strange that I'm running into people I knew in this obscure town in Ohio all over the country?
It's a little shady. Surely that must be all the ones to come out of the woodwork. I'm sure lots of people are having Facebook events like this all the time, but only one of mine was internet related. Okay, done rambling. Here is gratuitous Santa shot. Try to ignore the fact that both children look alarmed because the Santa was quite photogenic.
Saturday, December 06, 2008
Twilight: My Review
Well, I finished the book and here's what I have to say. It was good, for sure. An interesting story, a quick read, I did want to go back to it and finish it up, even reading it in place of my taped Grey's Anatomy one night. But it should in no way be compared to Harry Potter. The writing is considerably weaker and the plot is much simpler. One thing that annoyed me while reading was the author's constant use of color. It's a good descriptive tool within reason, but it started to get on my nerves on every page. And the love story was pretty goopy. But, the story I liked and the climax was exciting, even a little scary. I'm a little skeeved that this 17 year old girl is technically dating a 90 year old dude, but I could look around that. I'll read the next book and I'll probably see the movie. You know, someday when I have time to do things like see movies again. There you have it: my humble opinion for those who inquired.
Thursday, December 04, 2008
Cinco
1. I absolutely detest Wal-Mart. When I walk inside, it makes me feel dirty and gross and sad. Words cannot express my loathing of the place. Call me a snob, but I'll pay the extra to go to Target. And you know how cheap I am.
2. Still reading Twilight. As I passed page 3oo, it began to pick up. It was rather humdrum to that point. I mean, it's good, but I'm questioning Eddie's statement that it might be better than Harry Potter. I will reserve official judgment until I finish.
3. Piglet has learned to say, "Mommy pooted!" I am no longer safe to be free with my, um, gas. Sometimes he accidentally says, "Mommy poo-pooed" and I have to explain the difference between gas and poop. Usually at the dinner table.
4. Speaking of gas, I ate a Big Mac meal and a Drumstick for dinner tonight after a Miller Lite. I was supposed to go to a dinner with a mom's group I joined, but Mr. Pigs got home late and there was no dinner planned. After consuming the aforementioned culinary delight, I was truly still hungry. I am absolutely bottomless these days.
5. The finger is still wrapped up and trying to heal. It turns out that it takes some time for an open wound such as my own gouged out fingerprint to heal. The typing is really quite speedy when you consider I'm going at it with 9 fingers. My left middle finger does a lot of work. It's quite challenging to not get an index finger wet for three weeks when you have two babies in diapers and it's cold and flu season.
2. Still reading Twilight. As I passed page 3oo, it began to pick up. It was rather humdrum to that point. I mean, it's good, but I'm questioning Eddie's statement that it might be better than Harry Potter. I will reserve official judgment until I finish.
3. Piglet has learned to say, "Mommy pooted!" I am no longer safe to be free with my, um, gas. Sometimes he accidentally says, "Mommy poo-pooed" and I have to explain the difference between gas and poop. Usually at the dinner table.
4. Speaking of gas, I ate a Big Mac meal and a Drumstick for dinner tonight after a Miller Lite. I was supposed to go to a dinner with a mom's group I joined, but Mr. Pigs got home late and there was no dinner planned. After consuming the aforementioned culinary delight, I was truly still hungry. I am absolutely bottomless these days.
5. The finger is still wrapped up and trying to heal. It turns out that it takes some time for an open wound such as my own gouged out fingerprint to heal. The typing is really quite speedy when you consider I'm going at it with 9 fingers. My left middle finger does a lot of work. It's quite challenging to not get an index finger wet for three weeks when you have two babies in diapers and it's cold and flu season.
Tuesday, December 02, 2008
Caption Follow Up
Well, the real event regarding my previous You Write the Caption post will now be revealed. I enjoyed your guesses immensely, but here's what happened. Mommy Pigs had to poop. You cannot leave a 2 year old loose in the house when the 5 month old is awake or terrible things might happen. You cannot leave the 5 month old up on the table in his bouncer as in previous days because he can now lift and drop his hips so hard that he nearly launches out of the thing.
Solution: make Piglet stand in teeny tiny half bath while you poop. Child abuse? Probably. To keep him out of trouble, let him get toilet paper for you. Once I had three large wads of TP, he got loose and knocked an entire dispenser of hand soap from the sink. Of course the lid came off and hand soap gooped all the way down the wall and onto hardwoods. This scared him and he took off, fleeing the scene.
After frantically taking care of my own business, I yelled for him to bring a towel, as though I thought this might really happen. In the time it took me to wipe up the soap spill with TP, Piglet had retrieved about fifty napkins and distributed them neatly on every surface in the downstairs. They tidily covered the coffee table, end tables, stairs, and of course, the bench. So, there he sat, petrified, as I emerged from the potty.
Who was the closest?
Solution: make Piglet stand in teeny tiny half bath while you poop. Child abuse? Probably. To keep him out of trouble, let him get toilet paper for you. Once I had three large wads of TP, he got loose and knocked an entire dispenser of hand soap from the sink. Of course the lid came off and hand soap gooped all the way down the wall and onto hardwoods. This scared him and he took off, fleeing the scene.
After frantically taking care of my own business, I yelled for him to bring a towel, as though I thought this might really happen. In the time it took me to wipe up the soap spill with TP, Piglet had retrieved about fifty napkins and distributed them neatly on every surface in the downstairs. They tidily covered the coffee table, end tables, stairs, and of course, the bench. So, there he sat, petrified, as I emerged from the potty.
Who was the closest?
Cackle
From my Babycenter email today:
Do I need to wash toys and pacifiers that fall to the floor before giving them to my baby?
Anything that falls to the floor needs to be washed with warm, soapy water and dried to remove germs and toxins that can harm your baby.
(Can you hear my uproarious laughter where you are?)
Do I need to wash toys and pacifiers that fall to the floor before giving them to my baby?
Anything that falls to the floor needs to be washed with warm, soapy water and dried to remove germs and toxins that can harm your baby.
(Can you hear my uproarious laughter where you are?)
Monday, December 01, 2008
The Dumbing Down of My Brain
It seems that having a second child may affect one's ability to read books. I always list the books I read on the sidebar of ye olde blog, but lately I have felt mildly embarrassed to write some of them down. I have lost my ability to read anything above about an 8th grade reading level and am pretty sure my IQ is shrinking rapidly. Usually I read 50-60 books a year, but this year I'm hovering around 30. Oh, the shame.
I'm currently reading four books, but trying to focus on Twilight so that I can see what that fuss is all about. Of course, Eddie flew through it in about 2 days and is impatiently waiting for me to finish so that we can discuss. The sad part is that I can only read about a chapter at a time because someone is always waking up or I am falling asleep. It's a real problem. This morning I squeezed in a chapter after feeding Pigpen at 5:45am while I waited for him to fall back to sleep. (Via the monitor, not in my lap, but I can't sleep while he's talking and carrying on.) Then I caught another hour of zzz's before Piglet awoke.
Well, that was a stimulating post I know, but I had to bring up the elephant in the room, that is my sad, sad reading list over yonder. Bless its heart.
I'm currently reading four books, but trying to focus on Twilight so that I can see what that fuss is all about. Of course, Eddie flew through it in about 2 days and is impatiently waiting for me to finish so that we can discuss. The sad part is that I can only read about a chapter at a time because someone is always waking up or I am falling asleep. It's a real problem. This morning I squeezed in a chapter after feeding Pigpen at 5:45am while I waited for him to fall back to sleep. (Via the monitor, not in my lap, but I can't sleep while he's talking and carrying on.) Then I caught another hour of zzz's before Piglet awoke.
Well, that was a stimulating post I know, but I had to bring up the elephant in the room, that is my sad, sad reading list over yonder. Bless its heart.
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