Tuesday, December 28, 2010

Mashed Goodness

Hubs and I are sort of known for being, well... clean.  We tend to have more rules about cleanliness than most surgical suites do!  For illustrative purposes, if we find out someone that has been to our house succumbed to a stomach illness shortly thereafter, we will go around our house disinfecting every door knob, handle and commonly touched surface in order to prevent contracting the dreaded virus or bacteria ourselves.  We are even more "particular" than that. We each have our own toothpaste and have NEVER shared a toothbrush (I know, it doesn't have to make sense to any one but us), drinking glasses are only handled by the sides and never the top, and food is never shared between us.

Well, God has to have a sense of humor, and if he does, he must be rolling with laughter right about now.  He matched us well when he put the two of us together, but Miss T is about to break our rules and our sterile spirits.  Tonight, we let Miss T feed her dinner to herself! 

Gasp!  I know!  All of you must be in the same panic we were!  OK, maybe you weren't, but we were absolutely twitching.  Let it be clear that this was done with the premeditated plan of dropping her in the tub as soon as she was done and we conducted this torture treatment (to us, not her) in the dining room at Grammy's house.  Dinner consisted of roast beef, mashed potatoes and butternut squash. 


This was about half way into our meal.  Hubs and I are nearly losing it by this point!  Take a closer look at those hands, they are filled with potatoes and squash.  Miss T is quite simply enjoying her handy little lollipop as she brings the fistful of mashed goodness back and forth between her mouth and the tray.


We knew she was done when she started painting her tray.  It was lovely.  The girl has a natural talent for texture and color.  Once I saw those hands wandering near her head/hair, dinner time was officially over.  The good news is that my darling husband and I survived without hyperventilating or collapsing into the fetal position on the floor while rocking and repeating the soothing mantra "Lysol and bleach, Lysol and bleach".  Miss T thoroughly enjoyed her meal and the ensuing bath (complete with new squirting bath toys).  It was quite the exciting evening and probably one of many to come.  That poor little girl is just going to have to live in the tub I think.  I'm having visions of installing a garbage disposal into our bath tub and giving her meals in there (thanks Seinfeld)!

Here are more of my favorite pictures:
Just look at those hands!

I want to eat those cheeks!

Eyes that melt my heart!

Tuesday, December 21, 2010

Things you should know about me...

Inspired by another Momma Blog I follow, Little Miss Momma
(http://littlemissmomma.blogspot.com/), here's my list of things you should know about me:

I absolutely love any shade of green to the point that its almost ridiculous!

I make all kinds of crafts from crocheted scarves to pretty flower bows, yet neither I nor my darling Miss T wear any of them because I keep giving them away (not a very good business plan)!

I like to add interest to my outfits through my shoes!  I will wear the most boring clothes, but my shoes will be awesome.  My current favorite pair is a giraffe print flat.  My second favorite is a red patent leather peep toe 4" heel (hey, I'm only 5'1").

Even though I've lost all my baby weight, I still feel "misshapen" and don't like how I look in the clothes I used to wear pre-pregnancy.

I love a good pen - one that writes well, is cute, and has a good weight to it.  I won't let anyone use that pen!

I love that it is exactly 15 stairs from my first floor to my second floor. (have I mentioned that I like to count my steps in groups of 5?) It's another 10 steps from my first floor to my basement. :)

I like to scratch my doggie on the part of his nose where the fur is real short, right where the fur ends and it is soooo velvety.




I like to name my animals with people names because they really are like people to me.

I have the best husband in the world, he cleaned up the whole kitchen for me last night.  I didn't even know until I came downstairs this morning after he had left for work.  I was thrilled!



I hate to cook, but hate bad food even more, so I still cook.

I was a little insulted that Miss T liked the store bought baby food better than the food I make for her.

I turn into a monster now when my blood sugar is low.  When did that transformation take place?

Thursday, December 16, 2010

The Great Enterprise

Those who know me well, know that I love to make things. Call me Suzy Homemaker, call me Granny, but I love to learn how to do things like sew, crochet, etc. and then make adorable and useful things with my hands. Every year for Christmas, I make a plan to give away something that I can make. This year it's.... (sshh! I haven't given them all out yet!). In years past it's been crocheted hats, scarves, baby blankets, quilts, etc. This years gift really has me wondering if I could do more with it than just little gifts to the (little) people I love. Could it be time for me to open an Etsy shop? Am I that brave? Is it worth becoming a (gulp) busines owner and pay quarterly taxes??!! Do people really like what I make or are they just very appreciative of the thought that goes into it? I am encouraged when I see the things I make for people being used year after year. I had given a blanket to my friend JD for her son R when he was born. I noticed in a picture of her kids the other day that her youngest daughter was using it and her son is now 5! So, here's my question to my bloggo friends and beyond... what do you think? Do you think this is something you would purchase for a beautiful little girl? I really need some feedback. So let me know. If this is something worth pursuing, I need to invest some time and moolah into branding, packaging, shipping, etc. My wonderful husband even came up with an idea of how we can turn a little space in our house into a "workshop" of sorts for me (he's the best!) since Miss T took over my craft room! Here are some pictures of the latest creations. I'll add to the facebook album as I take more pictures of other creations that I have made. I look forward to hearing from you!
Link to the facebook page with more pics:




Wednesday, December 15, 2010

SLOW - holidays ahead

It seems that everyone I talk to has a ridiculously busy schedule this time of year. I thought ours was uniquely busy - so busy that even though our Christmas tree is up and the lights are on, we won't have time for a week to put the ornaments up (seriously?!?!). However, every person I talk to has a similar story. Every single night is filled with things to do, gifts to buy, parties to attend, etc. It seems like we are so busy with filling our Christmas season with "cheer" and "good will", that we can't even stop long enough to experience it! While this year is already a bust (I am physically unable to reneg on obligations that I have already committed to), I am making a resolution that in the future, I will make it a point not to make Christmas so busy and instead, slow down, stop even, and enjoy this time with the people I love and cherish most in the world. Little Miss T will only be a baby once, she will only be our only child for a short amount of time (no announcements, I'm just a planner), and I want to be able to look back and remember those special moments with her during Christmas, not the countless parties, events, shopping trips, etc. If it's not too late for you, I encourage you to make that happen this year. Cancel all those extra parties. Put aside all those extra little gifts you had planned to bake, make or buy. Spend that time with the friends and family that love you all year round, not just on the holidays.
Alright, with that, it's time to get ready for another work holiday party. Cheers!

Jury Duty

Not until living in one of the murder capitals of the county did I ever get summoned for jury duty. Now, it appears to be a yearly event. The last time I was summoned, I was #420-something. That translated into one of the 600 summons that required attendance, sitting in a cold room all day watching horrible movies (Last Holiday, Meet the Parents - ok, not so bad, and Home Alone - in February!). Of course, as fate would have it, I was summoned for the last trial selection of the day. At least I didn't have to watch Last Holiday - AGAIN!

It was probably the best civics/social studies lesson I've ever had, sitting in that courtroom, listening to the judge give instructions and watching countless people trying in vain to get out of doing their duty. The judge was great and actually said something to the effect of "Unless you're dying, you're not getting out of doing your civic duty." Love it! Being a reasonable person and not being able to lie (seriously, I can't do it!), I didn't make any objections and was actually seated as juror #11! This did concern me a bit since the defendants were arrested for illegal gun possession and were from West Baltimore - exactly where we mentor kids on Wednesday nights! Well, it didn't take too long before the the defendants' attorney vetoed my position and I quickly learned that even though the defendants had the same complexion as me, they didn't consider me a peer. Luckily I was dismissed and able to go home, but I learned some very valuable lessons that day:

1. Christmas movies should not be watched outside of the Christmas season.
2. There is no amount of reading material that can occupy a person for 8 hours in the same chair.
3. The waiting room for jury duty is quite possibly the best place to people watch.
4. I am worth way more than the $15 they pay you for showing up to jury duty.
5. You better have a really good reason if you are actually going to speak to a judge to try to get out of jury duty!
6. If your lawyer is going to give you a sweater to look presentable, make sure he gives you pants too so that you don't wear sweatpants. You will be standing up in court.
7. If you are educated and "fair", you're probably not going to be seated on a jury in Baltimore city.
8. Years of watching Law and Order forms my foundation for understanding legal jargon.

I review these lessons as I prepare myself to return to jury duty tomorrow. I am summons #921. In years past, this meant that I wouldn't have to report for duty. As such, I made plans for tomorrow, including a hair appointment to prepare for a fancy holiday work party tomorrow night. However, it appears that all 999 summons that were sent for today's jury duty were required to attend, meaning, all 999 summons sent for tomorrow (including my #921) will likely have to attend as well. I won't find out until at 5:00pm tonight when I call the hotline to see what numbers are reporting. My fingers are crossed, hoping that tomorrow's docket is light. Stay tuned for updates!