New Skills

So, some hardcore bloggers out there are doing one post a day for the month of November. My underachiever arse will be lucky to get 2 posts done the whole month!

Ryan is in a metamorphosis as the calendar trudges onward toward his first birthday and toddlerdom awaits! Here is a summary of new skills and ways to manipulate Mommy.

• Say momma momma momma momma over and over again, even when prompted to say dadda.
• Says Clau? (with a lilting questioning tone) which means Claudia (our cat). I use the same tone to call her. He's a freaking genius!
• Has 8 teeth in various stages of growth and sharp jaggedness. I just noticed teeth marks on the remote control! GA!
• Stood up like a phoenix amongst the rubble of toys and family members all by himself the other night! Stood for a whole 5 seconds before returning to the rubble.
• Eats Cheerios like they are going out of style.
• Mooches food like a starving pet. Especially when it is something that he CANNOT have yet. (chocolate, ice cream, salty chips)
• He claps his hands! So sweet. He does this after simple things, or when he enjoyed what just happened to him. When blow-drying my hair, I give him a little bit of air too, and he clapped to show his appreciation!

He will be 11 months old in just a few days. I'm not ready to have a one-year old yet. Can someone please stop time so I can enjoy his babyness just a little bit longer?

More for Monday

yes, I stole this from the Five for Friday idea...

• We went cold turkey on the baby swing at 1 AM Sunday morning. So far, so good. I returned it to our neighbors, so the temptation has left the building!
• My darling son took a bite out of a bar of soap over the weekend-ON PURPOSE. So I guess the old idea of washing his mouth out with soap as punishment is out the window...
• My husband asked me out on a date for tonight. I heart brinner. He's going to woo me over waffles. :)
• My kid is Charlie Brown for Halloween. What's yours?
• Here are pictures, for those of you who have been so patient...

Macy's Rant

Dear Macy's,
I am very disappointed in you. I'm not sure how to retaliate against a corporate giant such as yourself, so I will post a rant that all 5 of my readers will take to heart, and possibly boycott you for a day or two. Probably won't break your bank, but I'm pissed off --so there.
Here's the situation: Last week, I received an ad for your men's sale. I found The Perfect Blazer for my husband amongst its pages, but had to wait until today for the sale to begin. My whole day today revolved around getting to Macy's to buy The Perfect Blazer.
I know that my husband's small stature sometimes requires calling other stores, and extra looking to find the right size, but your employees are always more than happy to help me, especially when they learn that I have the "black card". (Higher in status than platnum, I didn't know you could top that!)
Anyway, I walked into my local large Macy's, with the boy happily in his stroller to find The Perfect Blazer. I had a nice young man help me trying to locate it in several stores. This kid called all the way to CALIFORNIA and never found a Macy's store that CARRIES THE EFFING BLAZER THAT IS SHOWN IN THE AD!!!!!! (Meantime, my son plops the stinkiest poop of his LIFE while I'm waiting at the counter. Nasty little baby!)
Why advertise something that you DON'T EVEN HAVE!! After coming home, I checked online at macys.com, and they don't even carry this brand. Somebody in marketing needs to lose their job over this!! I'm furious!
Even though I couldn't find The Perfect Blazer in the store, I looked around to see if I could find one that is similar. No such luck. So, I went to the ladies shoe department to lick my wounds. I'm in the market for some sexy black boots, my current pair are older than my entire relationship with my husband, and need to be replaced. I found The Perfect Boots quickly, and after deciding that with the sale, my coupon, and my credit card, they would be BARELY three digits in cost, I tried them on. The Perfect Boots also let me down, as they were scraping the bottoms of my knee caps with each step. I asked the sales girl if I had short lower legs, or is this how they were supposed to fit? She said they are very tall boots. Now I've never had a blister on my lower knee cap, but if I tried to wear these for more than a few minutes, that is where I would be. So I looked at all the other boots to find equal or similar perfection. The only pair that came close cost $548, and were not eligible for ANY discounts. Didn't even try those puppies on.
Now I'm home, didn't buy a darn thing at the big Macy's sale, and I want to beat them up.
The End.
To my readers: call your local Macy's for me and see if they carry Andrew Fezza sportcoats. Then call me if they do. I will give you a treat if we can find The Perfect Blazer.

Hiatus

Yes, I've been gone for a while. I'm spending less time on the computer these days, therefore there will be fewer posts for a bit. Some things that have happened since I last posted.

1. Huge visit from my parents. We are separated by 2,500 miles, so visits are treasured. They were here for a wonderful week and got to know RJ, who can now respond to them when they talk to him on the phone, like he has a clue who they are.

2. The boy is even more mobile, hence less computer time for me. He loves to bang on the keyboard, which is making for some interesting spellings for spellcheck! He is fast approaching the walking stage, can pull up and push objects while walking behind them. He is also spectacular at the face plant and landing on the back of his head. This week, he is sporting a forehead bruise. Seriously though, he is getting good at SLOWLY lowering himself in a squat onto his padded tushie as a dismount from standing. He looks so serious when concentrating.

3. Fall has arrived in the Pacific NW. We've been to see the spawning salmon and to a pumpkin patch--both annual events for our clan. Our apple trees have a bumper crop this year, so I'm also busy in the kitchen figuring out what else I can do with apples. We planted an Italian Plum in the front yard and will be expecting a few plums next year.

4. We are officially a one-car family. Bruce, our 1998 Honda Accord, needed repairs beyond our current means. We had a good run with old Bruce, and will miss the convenience of a second vehicle. CJ is getting a little morning and evening walk in now, as he jaunts to the park and ride, 8 blocks away. I have looked into busing to my office, however it would take an extra HOUR over my current driving, because I do a reverse commute. That means no fast, express-like bus is heading north when all the "real traffic" is headed south. We're up for some new challenges here, but I am looking forward to purchasing only one car seat when Ryan graduates from his infant seat in about 4 more pounds.

That's all for now--I'm on the wrong computer to post photos, but I will when I get to the right one.

I'm not buying new toys anytime soon

My boy has reached the stage where all non-toys are more fun than real toys. I've posted photos of the most recent discoveries below.  Before anyone freaks about the plastic bags, please note--they are tied tightly inside one large bag, he can't fit it into his mouth, and I was there the whole time, so he did not suffocate. He is also obsessed with the computer and camera--see the last photo for evidence. 

Happy Hump day everyone!

Celeb-utards

Greetings virtual and real friends! We have just returned from an extended sunny weekend in Santa Monica. We were there under the pretense of attending a family wedding, however, I was really on the hunt for a real live celebrity! One would think that with the daytime Emmy awards on Sunday night that a celeb or two might just drift on over into Santa Monica for a bit, but NO!!

We came up a big fat goose egg on sightings.

My cousin-in-law's husband Josh claims to have seen a semi-famous man from the back, but could not produce the name of said famous one, and not even his wife could verify the sighting.

We even dined at the famous Ivy by the Shore, where everyone who is anyone goes to be seen. Apparently not for Sunday brunch though. The wedding family had a private room in the back, so scoping out who was coming in and out of the restaurant was not easy. I had to pick a certain seat, with a peripheral view of the bar/front of restaurant. The place was EMPTY when we arrived, and only half hopping when we left. NO CELEBS WERE PRESENT, or if they were, they were not famous enough to be recognized by me or my family.

In baby news...The Boy is standing! He even pushed a toy for a few steps in the living room today! He is also finally wearing 9 month sized clothing. No confirmation from the Dr. yet, but I think he might be catching up to "full term" babies in terms of size.

I've been trying to teach him how to fall. B/c we all know that babies love to stand up, but they don't know how to get down. I show him that his rump is a nicely padded landing pad, but NO, he prefers to dismount using the full twist with a face plant method. Thankfully we will not be posing for portraits anytime too soon.

Hey all you Lurkers!!

From Wikipedia: Lurker: In Internet culture, a lurker is a person who reads discussions on a message board, newsgroup, or chat room, but rarely participates.  

I'm in desperate need of a shout out. Who is reading this blog? My family only? A smattering of friends? Complete strangers? I have 3 consistent commenters, but I want to hear from ALL of you out there.