Happy Fall!

During nap time yesterday, Halloween vomited all over...I mean arrived at our house. Decorating with a cruising/crawling child is a bit of a challenge. Luckily, Grace took an extra long nap yesterday so I could get things just where I wanted them.

When Grace woke up, I toured her around the house to show her my handiwork. (When I have more time, I will post some more pictures.) To my disbelief, I noticed that half the lights on my Halloween tree were working and the other half weren't working. Needless to say, I was a teency weency bit frustrated. Putting lights on trees - even a tree that is only four feet tall - is not an enjoyable task. I thought this kind of thing only happened at Christmas.

Not the best picture but it was all I could manage this morning.

Happy Fall All!!

Damned if I Do, Damned if I Don't

After a long summer of dutifully mothering my darling angel, I was given a day off to "play"... sorta speak. Last week, I headed up to Yakima for a day of errands, "shopping" and lunch with friends. Grace was having a fabulous day herself - spending it with Grandma.

Earlier this summer, some friends had asked me to meet them for lunch and I happily agreed. On the day we had agreed to meet, I didn't show up. Not because I didn't want to. Not because an emeregency came up. Because I FORGOT! Baby brain strikes again! How does someone forget something as important as lunch with friends? No excuses but that is what a harvest season will do to a person. During harvest, there are no weekends, there are no holidays, there is no beginning or end of a day. Since that is the schedule Court and I live by all summer, there are times when a day or two slips by unnoticed. Factor in day after day of caring for an infant (who at the time didn't like to regularly nap OR sleep through the night) and maybe you can see how a mother like me might forget about a scheduled event. Not until several hours after our luncheon had passed, did I see the flurry of emails in my inbox about my absence. I felt horrible. It's not like me to just not show up. I at least have the courtesy to call and give some bogus excuse about why I can't be there.

So upon discovering that I was going to have a day to myself, I immediately lined up a chance to redeem myself with this particular group of friends and set up another lunch.

Don't get me wrong. I love staying home with Grace and wouldn't change that for anything, but I was REALLY excited for a "day off," not to mention a day off with friends. For the first time in weeks, I had a reason to not only brush my hair but put on makeup as well! I probably changed my outfit a handful of times before leaving the house. That's how excited I was. For the first time all summer, I was all dressed up AND had somewhere to go.

Boy! Oh boy! was lunch fun. I hadn't laughed that hard in quite some time. It was great catching up and sharing stories. I even had a lunchtime brewsky - something I never do...especially while undergoing Operation Butterball. (By the way, I am within 20 sticks of butter of my pre-preggo weight. That said, I am aiming to lose more because things just aren't bouncing back to where they are supposed to be...but that's a story for another day...where was I??)

So a lunchtime brewsky, friends I hadn't seen in a while, lots of laughter...let's just say I was feeling pretty good. Unfortunately, the beer was drained and the food eaten and it was time to settle up. To redeem myself from my earlier no-show, I asked for one check and decided to treat the gang to lunch.

Fast forward what seemed to me like five minutes but what must have been...oh I don't know... a half hour. I spot the little black book that contains the bill. Not having noticed it a moment before, I announce to the table..."Oh the bill!"

Laughter erupts. Confusion (on my part) ensues. I open the black book and much to my suprise, not to mention my embarrassment, the bill has been paid!!

In all my chatter and storytelling... after announcing that I was paying the bill... I stiffed my lunch mates. Upon the realization, I turned a shade of red I don't think I've experienced since middleschool. So now I am a flake and a cheapskate. Strike one and strike two.

It looks like with or without the baby, my social life is doomed. If I bring the rugrat with, I don't get to relax, (probably because my beer intake is drastically reduced) and I spend the whole time bouncing her with one hand while shoveling food into my face with the other. Not pretty.

If I leave the munchkin home, I get a bit 'carried away' with all the grown- up talk, not to mention the grown-up drinks, and I find myself committing social taboos. Damned if I do, damned if I don't, I guess. Althooooouuugh, I did get outta there with a free meal...bad news for my social life, but a win-win for my pocketbook!

Nine Month Appointment

Grace had her nine month well baby check-up today. All went well! She weighed in at 17.1 lbs (on the light side - 15% percentile) and 28" long (on the tall side - 58%). Still bean pole status and while I am a bit alarmed that she doesn't pack on the pounds quite as easily as her dear old mom, there is good news! Her brain...I mean her head circumference is huge! - 45 cm (75%).

As I hate to post anything without an accompanying photo, (I didn't feel like busting out the camera when Grace got her first flu shot for obvious reasons), here are a few from this past weekend.

I had put Grace's hair up in the cutest bow...it was adorable...but she pulled it out just before I went to snap a few pictures. While it is a mohawk only a mother could adore, I admit, I do love it! Good thing I'm her mother!

Now that's a big baby!

I didn't believe it when the doctors told me that Grace weighed 9.3 pounds at birth. I distinctly remember my first thought being "Why are they lying to me about how much my baby weighs?!?!"

When I saw the scale and realized they weren't joking, my next thought was "Oh my god! That means the next one will weigh 10 pounds!"

Apparently, a 10 pound baby is nothing in Indonesia. For those of you who saw this on the Today show, forgive me. It is still boggling my mind!

Visit msnbc.com for Breaking News, World News, and News about the Economy

Note: Matt Lauer's joke is NOT funny!

If anyone can find a picture of the mother, I would LOVE to see it! I did find this for your viewing pleasure.

A baby boy weighing 15.7 lb was born in Poland. Kacper Skulska, who was more than TWO FEET TALL, was born to Bozena Skulska, 44, in Szczecin. The mother was 44!!!!

Conversations with Grace

Instead of cleaning my house today, I made this instead. Much more fun, don't you think?

Note: The technical difficulties with the video have been fixed...I think...I hope. Let me know!

Joy

I came across this clipping in a Real Simple magazine last spring while I was pregnant. I had recently quit my job as a lawyer to be a stay-at-home-mom. The quote from E.B. White, not to mention the photo, reassured me that I was making the right choice for me and my family.

I hope that whatever path you choose, it is the one that gives you -

 and your family - the most joy.

Sick Kiddo

Before I had a baby, I hated seeing snotty nosed kids. HATED IT! I couldn't fathom what mother would take her child out of the house without first wiping it's nose...not to mention continuing the clean up every time she looked down at her child and saw crusty snot all over it's nostrils and upper lip. That's what they make those Kleenex handy-packs for, right?

Well, all those pre-baby judgments are coming back to haunt me. Grace spiked a temperature last Friday. We were heading out of town to Boise for my dad's birthday so of course that was the "perfect" day for Grace to get sick.

The whole weekend Grace was a bit on the warm side, a bit crankier than usual and pretty clingy. She didn't jump, crawl or climb for almost 48 hours. I don't think she has gone for more than an hour without moving since...since...well, EVER! It was like Grace disappeared and I was given a baby place holder to keep me occupied while the real Grace recovered.

When we got back home on Sunday, her temperature had broken so I thought we were in the clear. But alas, that is when the clearing of the nasal passages began.

Poor little munchkin. Not sure if you can see it in this photo

but her nose is like an endless fountain of snot.

Mind you...we are in the comforts of our own home

where snotty nosed kids should be.

Ugh. This photo just breaks my heart.

Being sick as an adult sucks, but a sick kid...why that is just plain gut wrenching.

Now I understand that mothers leave the house with snotty nosed kids because

1) babies can't blow their own noses (Why I thought that a human who can't wipe it's own butt could blow their nose is beyond me...the learning curve on this motherhood gig is quite steep ya know!)

and 2) babies HATE having their faces wiped....at least as much, if not more, than I hate seeing snotty nosed kids... or at least my baby does. Sometimes it is worth letting the snot linger a few extra minutes just for the peace and quiet. You've got to pick your battles.

Even with these newly acquired factoids - this new appreciation for snotty nosed kids - Grace and I are not leaving the house. As no one in this household has slept for more than 45 minutes at a time in more than two days, the only thing grosser than seeing a snotty nosed kid at the grocery store is the mother of that snotty nosed kid. I will save you all the horror.