Friday, March 1, 2013
Thursday, February 21, 2013
3 Months
I'm trying rather unsuccessfully to catch up on this here blog. I'm pretty sure that will never happen, so I am just going to try to stay up-to-date and maybe someday I will be able to back track and fill in some blanks. But really...who am I kidding?
Yesterday, Harper and Drew were 3 months old. It's really hard to believe so much time has passed since they joined our family. However, it's harder to believe that they haven't been with us forever.
I'm trying to document their growth and changes by taking photos each month. I'm not much of a photographer (one day, my sister Emily will have to teach me how she does it).
For their 3 month old photo shoot, I had them sit up in the recliner we bought so we could rock, and rock, and rock them to sleep. This was the first time I had sat them up (other than just sitting them on my lap). Unfortunately for the photos, they were way too impressed with themselves and the fact they each have a right arm to get photos that are any kind of good.
Here is the best I could do with them not obsessing over their arms:
Then, I had them pose with the Raggedy Ann and Andy dolls my Grandmama (their Nana) gave them for Christmas. I started this last month and will continue to do it to show how big they get each month. I had them lay down so they could stretch out and show off their lengths. Of course, that is one of the least flattering ways to take a photo of a person. I mean, think about it. Who wants gravity to work its "magic" on their body for photos?
Some fun things they have started doing in the last month or so:
Harper is trying super hard to blow raspberries. I've been blowing them for her for a couple of months and she has figured out that she needs to stick out her tongue and blow. She's pretty close to successful. I can't wait for her to finally get it since I'm sure she will freak herself out.
Drew loves to chatter and loves it even more when I chatter back. I "Oooh" and "Aaaa" at him and he will do it back.
They both giggle. But not that SUPER cute baby giggle. It's the heh-heh giggle. But I love it anyway.
They pretty much sleep through the night most nights. On the nights they don't, they wake up around 5 am, eat, and then go back to sleep pretty easily.
They sleep in the same crib still and I use their crib to change their clothes and prepare for diaper changes. When they are laying in the crib, Drew just stares at Harper as if she is the greatest thing in the world. He really thinks her ear is amazing. They tend to end up holding hands a lot. This is how I found them in their crib yesterday morning (keep in mind I am an awful artist. Drew is the baby swaddled in blue and Harper is in pink; however, the scale is completely wrong since Drew is truly the larger of the two and his head was really WAY closer to her head than the drawing portrays):
When they are being fed, they are so different from each other. Drew just stares up into the eyes of his feeder with a look that says, "I love you so much." Harper has to check out everything in the entire room. Keeping the bottle in her mouth is nearly impossible.
They really despise tummy time and either cry or whimper the entire time I force them to do it.
Darrell and I are both so loving these little babies and are so blessed to have them in our lives. Sometimes it still seems their real parents will come by and take them home. Hopefully that won't happen. Or at least not til they are 13!
Yesterday, Harper and Drew were 3 months old. It's really hard to believe so much time has passed since they joined our family. However, it's harder to believe that they haven't been with us forever.
I'm trying to document their growth and changes by taking photos each month. I'm not much of a photographer (one day, my sister Emily will have to teach me how she does it).
For their 3 month old photo shoot, I had them sit up in the recliner we bought so we could rock, and rock, and rock them to sleep. This was the first time I had sat them up (other than just sitting them on my lap). Unfortunately for the photos, they were way too impressed with themselves and the fact they each have a right arm to get photos that are any kind of good.
Here is the best I could do with them not obsessing over their arms:
Then, I had them pose with the Raggedy Ann and Andy dolls my Grandmama (their Nana) gave them for Christmas. I started this last month and will continue to do it to show how big they get each month. I had them lay down so they could stretch out and show off their lengths. Of course, that is one of the least flattering ways to take a photo of a person. I mean, think about it. Who wants gravity to work its "magic" on their body for photos?
Some fun things they have started doing in the last month or so:
Harper is trying super hard to blow raspberries. I've been blowing them for her for a couple of months and she has figured out that she needs to stick out her tongue and blow. She's pretty close to successful. I can't wait for her to finally get it since I'm sure she will freak herself out.
Drew loves to chatter and loves it even more when I chatter back. I "Oooh" and "Aaaa" at him and he will do it back.
They both giggle. But not that SUPER cute baby giggle. It's the heh-heh giggle. But I love it anyway.
They pretty much sleep through the night most nights. On the nights they don't, they wake up around 5 am, eat, and then go back to sleep pretty easily.
They sleep in the same crib still and I use their crib to change their clothes and prepare for diaper changes. When they are laying in the crib, Drew just stares at Harper as if she is the greatest thing in the world. He really thinks her ear is amazing. They tend to end up holding hands a lot. This is how I found them in their crib yesterday morning (keep in mind I am an awful artist. Drew is the baby swaddled in blue and Harper is in pink; however, the scale is completely wrong since Drew is truly the larger of the two and his head was really WAY closer to her head than the drawing portrays):
When they are being fed, they are so different from each other. Drew just stares up into the eyes of his feeder with a look that says, "I love you so much." Harper has to check out everything in the entire room. Keeping the bottle in her mouth is nearly impossible.
They really despise tummy time and either cry or whimper the entire time I force them to do it.
Darrell and I are both so loving these little babies and are so blessed to have them in our lives. Sometimes it still seems their real parents will come by and take them home. Hopefully that won't happen. Or at least not til they are 13!
Tuesday, February 12, 2013
Thursday, September 6, 2012
You better Redneckognize!
So, the other night I went out on the town with three girl friends.
Just so you know, I will protect the identities of each of these women so no one is overly embarrassed. And since much of the evening's conversation revolved around the TV phenomenon known as "Here Comes Honey Boo Boo," I will refer to each of us as one of the family members from that train wreck. I will be known as Pumpkin since I am the only one who is pregnant; but that is where the similarities of the real people to the people on the show ends. The remainder of the gals will be assigned their names in alphabetical order.
We were getting ready to drive home and Chubbs called shot gun. I was perfectly fine with her in that position since I had assumed we would keep the same seats we had on the way to the evening's events; Chubbs in shot gun, Chickadee as driver, Honey Boo Boo in the back passenger seat, and me behind Chickadee.
We were settling in as Chickadee started the car. Chubbs was still chatting to other gals as she was getting in the car. I was in the back, trying desperately to buckle my seat belt (and not because Chickadee's driving scares me), while Honey Boo Boo was texting one of the Kardashians.
Suddenly, Chubbs started gasping, "Help! Help!"
I looked up to see the front seat's automatic adjuster moving the seat forward and the back of the seat to a much less reclined position. Sort of like a clam, closing up for the evening. Chubbs was in real danger of going through the windshield in slow motion.
Clearly, the seat had a mind all its own.
Chickadee jumped out of the driver's seat and ran around to Chubbs' rescue. Apparently, while Chubbs was getting into the car, she had leaned up against the automatic seat mover-upper without realizing it.
Fortunately Chickadee was able to put the seat in its correct upright position and Chubbs could re-attempt to get into the car.
But she did it again.
However, this time she was able to find the button to stop the forward action and right herself.
Somehow Honey Boo Boo was mostly oblivious to what was going on, although Chubbs was blaming Honey Boo Boo for pushing her seat forward to give herself more leg room.
Which is completely ridiculous since Honey Boo Boo has the shortest legs of all of us.
Somehow we made it home without further incident.
Or at least I did, since I was the first dropped off.
But beware that when you are with Chickadee, Chubbs, Honey Boo Boo, or Pumpkin, you may get way more than you bargained for.
Just so you know, I will protect the identities of each of these women so no one is overly embarrassed. And since much of the evening's conversation revolved around the TV phenomenon known as "Here Comes Honey Boo Boo," I will refer to each of us as one of the family members from that train wreck. I will be known as Pumpkin since I am the only one who is pregnant; but that is where the similarities of the real people to the people on the show ends. The remainder of the gals will be assigned their names in alphabetical order.
We were getting ready to drive home and Chubbs called shot gun. I was perfectly fine with her in that position since I had assumed we would keep the same seats we had on the way to the evening's events; Chubbs in shot gun, Chickadee as driver, Honey Boo Boo in the back passenger seat, and me behind Chickadee.
We were settling in as Chickadee started the car. Chubbs was still chatting to other gals as she was getting in the car. I was in the back, trying desperately to buckle my seat belt (and not because Chickadee's driving scares me), while Honey Boo Boo was texting one of the Kardashians.
Suddenly, Chubbs started gasping, "Help! Help!"
I looked up to see the front seat's automatic adjuster moving the seat forward and the back of the seat to a much less reclined position. Sort of like a clam, closing up for the evening. Chubbs was in real danger of going through the windshield in slow motion.
Clearly, the seat had a mind all its own.
Chickadee jumped out of the driver's seat and ran around to Chubbs' rescue. Apparently, while Chubbs was getting into the car, she had leaned up against the automatic seat mover-upper without realizing it.
Fortunately Chickadee was able to put the seat in its correct upright position and Chubbs could re-attempt to get into the car.
But she did it again.
However, this time she was able to find the button to stop the forward action and right herself.
Somehow Honey Boo Boo was mostly oblivious to what was going on, although Chubbs was blaming Honey Boo Boo for pushing her seat forward to give herself more leg room.
Which is completely ridiculous since Honey Boo Boo has the shortest legs of all of us.
Somehow we made it home without further incident.
Or at least I did, since I was the first dropped off.
But beware that when you are with Chickadee, Chubbs, Honey Boo Boo, or Pumpkin, you may get way more than you bargained for.
Thursday, August 23, 2012
Don't mess with me!
I consider myself a mostly patient person.
Sometimes even too patient.
I have been known to wait and wait and wait for customer service representatives because I can sympathize with them. They are doing a mainly thankless job and take a lot of crap for it.
I also do not like confrontation one bit.
I will allow others to walk all over me instead of telling them to be nice.
But not the other day. No sirree!
Darrell and I went to Staples to get a few supplies for his business. There were quite a few other people with only one cash register open. So we got to stand in line. For a long time.
Usually not a big deal.
After several minutes, the cashier was helping the people in front of us. All looked as if we would be out of there in two shakes of a lamb's ear. (Whatever that means)
Oh. But they were returning a big ol' bag full of stuff.
The cashier did a great job of scanning the thousand items, finding each on the receipt, and made quick business of this transaction.
But then, the bump in the road happened.
They had apparently paid for the items with a pre-paid VISA card but wanted cash back. The computer did not like that. Not.One.Bit.
The cashier explained they needed to provide her with the pre-paid card and I think they said they didn't have it any more.
She explained they could then receive a store credit and began to finish the transaction.
But now, all of a sudden, they were easily able to produce the card and did not want a store credit.
Too late. The computer did not want to allow the cashier to switch methods of refund.
But, they HAD to have the money back on their pre-paid card.
The cashier had to get a manager override.
By this time, the line had grown enormously and the poor cashier was seriously freaking out.
She told the crazy customers to wait for the manager while she helped the other customers.
She moved from one register to the next, announcing, "I'll help the next person in line over here."
A man, who was either 1 or 2 people behind Darrell and I, bolted for the new open register.
Normally, I would just steam on the inside.
But not that day.
I don't know if it was that we had waited for so long or if it was that I was hot and 25 weeks pregnant with twins (yes...you heard correctly), but a said very loudly, "Excuuuuse ME!"
To which Mr. Buttinski replied, "I wasn't trying to cut!"
SURE!
I don't know who was more shocked by my outspokenness...me or Darrell.
But I will tell you what...."That was easy!"
Sometimes even too patient.
I have been known to wait and wait and wait for customer service representatives because I can sympathize with them. They are doing a mainly thankless job and take a lot of crap for it.
I also do not like confrontation one bit.
I will allow others to walk all over me instead of telling them to be nice.
But not the other day. No sirree!
Darrell and I went to Staples to get a few supplies for his business. There were quite a few other people with only one cash register open. So we got to stand in line. For a long time.
Usually not a big deal.
After several minutes, the cashier was helping the people in front of us. All looked as if we would be out of there in two shakes of a lamb's ear. (Whatever that means)
Oh. But they were returning a big ol' bag full of stuff.
The cashier did a great job of scanning the thousand items, finding each on the receipt, and made quick business of this transaction.
But then, the bump in the road happened.
They had apparently paid for the items with a pre-paid VISA card but wanted cash back. The computer did not like that. Not.One.Bit.
The cashier explained they needed to provide her with the pre-paid card and I think they said they didn't have it any more.
She explained they could then receive a store credit and began to finish the transaction.
But now, all of a sudden, they were easily able to produce the card and did not want a store credit.
Too late. The computer did not want to allow the cashier to switch methods of refund.
But, they HAD to have the money back on their pre-paid card.
The cashier had to get a manager override.
By this time, the line had grown enormously and the poor cashier was seriously freaking out.
She told the crazy customers to wait for the manager while she helped the other customers.
She moved from one register to the next, announcing, "I'll help the next person in line over here."
A man, who was either 1 or 2 people behind Darrell and I, bolted for the new open register.
Normally, I would just steam on the inside.
But not that day.
I don't know if it was that we had waited for so long or if it was that I was hot and 25 weeks pregnant with twins (yes...you heard correctly), but a said very loudly, "Excuuuuse ME!"
To which Mr. Buttinski replied, "I wasn't trying to cut!"
SURE!
I don't know who was more shocked by my outspokenness...me or Darrell.
But I will tell you what...."That was easy!"
Saturday, January 28, 2012
House of Card Sharks
When we were little girls, my sister, Jennilyn, and I played together for hours on end. All day. Every day.
We played house, school, Primary, Barbies. We really liked to pretend.
We also loved games. We played Sorry, Hi-Ho Cherry-O, Old Maid (that's a story for another day), and Candyland, among numerous others.
But we also wanted to play the Big Kid Games. You, know, the games that parents played. Our Mom and Dad had Backgammon, Thinking Man's Football (yes...that's a real game), chess, and a bunch of others which I'm sure had names but I never really learned.
Like I said, we loved games.
So, when we were sick or home during summer vacation, we loved to watch game shows. And, I'll admit, I still like to watch some game shows that are on TV now.
It goes without saying that somehow we would be able to combine the best of both worlds...playing "Pretend," playing games, and game shows. I guess that's more than "both" and should be "all."
When I was about 8, we figured out the perfect way to play Wheel of Fortune. Keep in mind that this was the pre-Pat-Sajak-and-Vanna-White days. It was back when Chuck Woolery hosted and Susan Stafford was the letter-turner. (Thank you, Wikipedia!).
We went into the "kids'" bathroom that had a wall of cabinets with four or five doors. One of us played the contestant and the other played Susan Stafford. "Susan" stood at one side of the cabinets and thought of a four or five lettered word...we were, afterall pretty young and could only spell a few words longer than that anyway. The contestant called letters to guess the word and Susan would elegantly glide from one side of the cabinets to the other and "turn" the letter over. In reality, she opened the cabinet door as she walked by. Of course, since neither of us dreamed of writing on the cabinet doors (for real...we were really good kids and never even tried to damage the house or furniture) and we were only 6 and 8, the contestant could never really figure out the word Susan as thinking of. Plus, it got boring really fast.
We decided there had to be another game show that would better translate to the real world.
And then we figured out a way to even include one of our parents' "Adult" games in the mix...Card Sharks!
Now, don't be crazy and think my parents had real, live face cards. Nooooo. We only had Rook cards. And not just one set, but two. And I don't think anyone even knew how to play Rook. And I'm pretty sure no one in my family has learned.
But they were perfect for Card Sharks.
Again, one of us played the contestant and the other played the host (Wikipedia isn't as helpful with this one). The host asked the contestant a question like, "We asked 100 teachers, how many of you have caught a student cheating?" The host always made up the questions on the fly and since we were kids that lacked the reasoning skills that most adults possess, the answer would usually be something like 47.
I don't remember any of the questions or answers I came up with, but I certainly remember one that Jennilyn asked me:
We asked 100 married men, How many of you were bachelors before you got married?
I was oh-so-excited since I knew the answer to that one without even thinking...it was definitely 100!
Jennilyn, however, disagreed.
An argument ensued.
I insisted that all men were bachelors before they were married.
Jennilyn emphatically said no.
I told her that even Dad had been a bachelor before he married Mom.
She became rather disgusted and indignant.
We got Mom involved in the disagreement who sided with me.
I think Jennilyn started crying.
Come to find out, she thought a bachelor was a bad thing. I'm guessing sort of like a six-year old's version of a gigolo.
Who knew that 30-something years later a bachelor would, in fact, be a gigolo?
We played house, school, Primary, Barbies. We really liked to pretend.
We also loved games. We played Sorry, Hi-Ho Cherry-O, Old Maid (that's a story for another day), and Candyland, among numerous others.
But we also wanted to play the Big Kid Games. You, know, the games that parents played. Our Mom and Dad had Backgammon, Thinking Man's Football (yes...that's a real game), chess, and a bunch of others which I'm sure had names but I never really learned.
Like I said, we loved games.
So, when we were sick or home during summer vacation, we loved to watch game shows. And, I'll admit, I still like to watch some game shows that are on TV now.
It goes without saying that somehow we would be able to combine the best of both worlds...playing "Pretend," playing games, and game shows. I guess that's more than "both" and should be "all."
When I was about 8, we figured out the perfect way to play Wheel of Fortune. Keep in mind that this was the pre-Pat-Sajak-and-Vanna-White days. It was back when Chuck Woolery hosted and Susan Stafford was the letter-turner. (Thank you, Wikipedia!).
We went into the "kids'" bathroom that had a wall of cabinets with four or five doors. One of us played the contestant and the other played Susan Stafford. "Susan" stood at one side of the cabinets and thought of a four or five lettered word...we were, afterall pretty young and could only spell a few words longer than that anyway. The contestant called letters to guess the word and Susan would elegantly glide from one side of the cabinets to the other and "turn" the letter over. In reality, she opened the cabinet door as she walked by. Of course, since neither of us dreamed of writing on the cabinet doors (for real...we were really good kids and never even tried to damage the house or furniture) and we were only 6 and 8, the contestant could never really figure out the word Susan as thinking of. Plus, it got boring really fast.
We decided there had to be another game show that would better translate to the real world.
And then we figured out a way to even include one of our parents' "Adult" games in the mix...Card Sharks!
Now, don't be crazy and think my parents had real, live face cards. Nooooo. We only had Rook cards. And not just one set, but two. And I don't think anyone even knew how to play Rook. And I'm pretty sure no one in my family has learned.
But they were perfect for Card Sharks.
Again, one of us played the contestant and the other played the host (Wikipedia isn't as helpful with this one). The host asked the contestant a question like, "We asked 100 teachers, how many of you have caught a student cheating?" The host always made up the questions on the fly and since we were kids that lacked the reasoning skills that most adults possess, the answer would usually be something like 47.
I don't remember any of the questions or answers I came up with, but I certainly remember one that Jennilyn asked me:
We asked 100 married men, How many of you were bachelors before you got married?
I was oh-so-excited since I knew the answer to that one without even thinking...it was definitely 100!
Jennilyn, however, disagreed.
An argument ensued.
I insisted that all men were bachelors before they were married.
Jennilyn emphatically said no.
I told her that even Dad had been a bachelor before he married Mom.
She became rather disgusted and indignant.
We got Mom involved in the disagreement who sided with me.
I think Jennilyn started crying.
Come to find out, she thought a bachelor was a bad thing. I'm guessing sort of like a six-year old's version of a gigolo.
Who knew that 30-something years later a bachelor would, in fact, be a gigolo?
Saturday, November 19, 2011
Call Me
In case you don't know too much about me, I'm what you could consider a night owl. I love nights and hate mornings. In fact, please don't tell me "Good Morning!" because I will probably tell you there isn't anything good about mornings. But given the fact that you will likely never have the opportunity to even greet me at all in the morning, rest assured, you should have no fears of the repercussions associated with such a folly.
So, it really doesn't bother me too much to have someone call me late-ish at night when I'm aware that they are going to call. You know, like we've made plans to talk later, or we've been texting or emailing and need to talk in person. But I'm not real good with unplanned late-night phone calls. Unless I'm not planning on it. Because, let's face it, no one calls after 10 pm with good news.
So, last night at 10:30 when my home phone rang (and yes, I still have a land line. I've been debating disconnecting the thing for years and can't let go of the kitschiness of it all), I was more than a little disturbed.
And then I saw that one of my parents was calling, and became even more concerned.
Darrell likes the idea of late-night phone calls even less than me and had followed me to the home office where one of the land line phones was.
I cautiously answered.
"Hello?"
"Hi, Steph!" said my mom, sounding very much like her normal self. "I was on Pinterest and checking out my boards. It will only show 9 pins per board and I am wondering how to see the other pins I have on those boards."
I gave Darrell a thumb's up to let him know all was well and asked my mom if she realized it was 10:30.
She started laughing and said, "I've been on the computer all evening and thought it was only 8:00! I'm so sorry! Is Darrell ok? Let him know that we are all okay. I'm so sorry! Oh, that's so funny!"
"Yeah, Mom, it's funny now, but 45 seconds ago, it was a little unsettling! So, here's how to see all the pins on each board...."
So, although it wasn't a matter of life or death, I'm glad I was able to help my mom with her Pinterest emergency. Because there's nothing worse than being unable to figure out one of the most addictive websites in the middle of the night!
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