Tuesday, September 25, 2007

In the Belly of a Race Car



I am so lucky to have a couple of other women in my same situation that love to get together for play groups in the mornings. On this particular day, we went over to Anona's house for Eirik and Benjamin to play with her 3 boys. While we were there, a race car was being loaded into a trailer just behind her house. We herded all the boys (5 total) out to the alley to check out the race car and the owner recognized that this was a great opportunity to bless the lives of all these cute boys. He invited us over to sit in the race car and get our pictures taken. They loved it. You wouldn't know it from Eirik's look of confusion in this picture, but he thought it was really cool.

Tuesday, September 18, 2007

HGTV's Design Star

So, I'm not a huge TV buff, but I have to admit I have been following HGTV's Design Star since it started this season. In the past few weeks it has been on my schedule for every Sunday night and I totally look forward to it. This week was the final night and I actually got so excited about the reveal that I was one of the nerds that voted a bunch of times for my favorite designer, who WON! I'm so enthralled by this show, partly because I would love to be one of the designers on the show and partly because it would be so cool to get to know other designers in a setting like that. What a rush it must have been! At the interview before they revealed the winner they all talked about how they felt like an immediate family, like they had finally met others as eccentric and different as they are, and they all just relished each other's friendships. I would love to be friends with them too. I LOVE my designer and artist friends that I have because they make me a little less weird. (Thanks to all of you!) And if you're not an artist or designer, you're probably my friend because you like that I'm a weirdo so I love you just as much!
If I weren't married with children I would consider going for my own show. What a fun time that would be! Every challenge that they got I was sitting there sketching and planning and wishing I had $5000 to try it too!! What an awesome show! I can't wait until next season!
Kim MylesWay to go KIM!!! Can't wait to see your show!

Monday, September 17, 2007

Harmonica

This is my first time posting a video. I hope it works....

Friday, September 07, 2007

The first day of the rest of his life...


And so it seems, as Paul's first day of rotations has rolled around it feels like he will be going off to work everyday for the rest of forever. We have sure had a great month and a half of playing as a family! What a joy it has been to have Paul around all of the time. Yesterday was Paul's first day in his family practice rotation. He was all ready, even jazzed up in some tight new threads (looks good doesn't he ladies!) He had a plate of homemade lemon cherry scones; Allison's famous recipe, his new pocket PC, pager, snacks in his pocket along with all the other books, cheat sheets, and gear he would need. The only thing wrong was that his stomach was full of something other than scones.... a bad case of DUH DUH DUH.. FOOD POISONING!!!! Can you imagine a worse time to get sick than the first day of rotations???!!! He threw up before leaving and had to run out of his first appointment, then came home when they dismissed him at noon and moaned on the couch all afternoon and night long. I haven't seen Paul go to bed so early in a year! Other than the fact that the doctor is probably laughing thinking that Paul had the jitters, the day when pretty well, all considering. Ladies who have suffered through morning sickness, you know how it feels to pretend you're fine when all you want to do is vomit, and it's no fun! Props to Paul for sticking it out, and luckily today he left feeling quite a bit more "settled". Good luck today honey!

PS. The food poisoning wasn't from my cooking.. just so you know! :)

Gladiola goodness


I always tell Paul that buying me flowers is a total extravagance and a waste of money. Well, the joy that this bunch of gladiolas brought to me was worth every penny. He knows how to spoil me! He got me flowers because I was being mean to him. He always says "when someone deserves love the least, they need it the most." Did I say I'm spoiled? And did I say that they really did change my attitude? I love my hubby!

Sunday, September 02, 2007

About Eirik... 18 months

This is one of those "document your child's progress" for his own history posts, and it's very long.... so read it if you want to.....

Some cute things Eirik has been saying:
"Surry"- meaning "silly"! I just crack up when he says this because he knows so well when something is meant to be silly or when someone is joking. I can't believe the little sarcastic remarks that we make around the house that he knows are "surry". He knows that when he pulls down my pants or skirt its "surry", and he knows if Paul teases me or says something in an accent or repeats back what Eirik has said when it's not quite the way you say it, that it's "surry". The kid astounds me. It's really fun.

Eirik says Thank you like "dee doo" and he says it at such opportune times without prompting. It's really sweet.

Eirik has had a lot of trouble learning his "r's" which has become a problem in the pronunciation of his name. I-dit was cute and funny and ok, but then he learned his K's really well and I-dit turned into I-dik and we are doing our best to break this habit with daily "r" practices. Too funny.

His vocabulary is REALLY progressing. I'm teaching him to say, "I'm articulate". Hey, what's a show pony for if you can't show him off. I have a hard time finding things or words that he is not familiar with now. He is starting to put together sentences and be very clever about how he asks for things. Tonight he wanted more bug spray but he didn't know what to call it so he kept saying, "more green" because the bottle was green. We were impressed although we didn't give him anymore. :)

Eirik LOVES the song "my low my baby." This is a lullaby that I had never heard before my mother-in-law taught it to me. Paul grew up with it. Eirik has learned all the words and sings it along with us. He requests it whenever he is tired and makes us sing it over and over and over again. If we are in the car and one of us stops singing he says "mommy, sing baby" or "daddy, sing". He knows what he wants!
Tonight as Paul was singing the song to him, he laid his head on Paul's shoulder and sang with him. At the end he said "Rock a baby by" and Paul laughed because the way he sang it was so cute. Eirik lifted his head off of Paul's shoulder but his hand on Paul's cheek and said "surry" and laughed, then put his head back down. What a sweetheart!

FAVORITE TOYS:
"Back Horsey"- ei: this super cheap badly made black plastic horse with painted hooves. We can't do anything without "back horsey"
His "bas-a-ball bat" and "base-a-ball mit and base-a-ball", although footballs, soccer balls, tennis balls beacha balls, and any other kind of balls are a close second. I could play catch with him all day long and he would be thrilled. Oh, he has this little lacrosse net that he LOVES. He always wants to play catch with his "net" and "baseaball". When we went to the beach the other day, all he wanted to do was watch the guys playing lacrosse.

He also loves to draw. We draw pictures every day. How fun for mom!
He of course loves whatever toy is being played with by someone else and love to say "mine, mine, mine, or Idiks".

FAVORITE FOODS:
Can a 1.5 year old survive on milk alone? Because if I only gave him milk, he would be just fine with that. He asks for milk at least 5 times a day and I have to insist that he eats some of his food at meals before he gets his milk because he would just fill up on milk and say he's "all done" before touching his food.

He loves hot dogs. He won't touch chicken or fish or nuggets of any kind, but the kid will down a whole dog in a minute flat. What's a mom to do?

He loves his broccoli! I know, who loves broccoli? But you should hear him say "brocwri". It's darling.

He eats pizza, cheese sticks, yogurt, corn if it's on the cob only- he'll eat the whole cob, apple, if it's not cut up and the skin is still on- he eats the whole apple (but not if it's cut and skinned!) Chocolate or any kind of treat (of course).

Other things he hates:
potatoes of any kind, strawberries, raspberries, 3/4 of everything else we offer him.

Other cute things he does:
Eirik loves animal shows on TV, but only really wants to watch them if mom or dad will sit on the couch by him and watch with him. He will pat the seat next to him and say "mommy, or daddy" until you either sit by him or he throws a fit.

He has this tiny little 4 wheeler that he rides around, but more than anything he likes to pat the seat and say mommy until I squeeze my huge pregnant body onto the seat of this tiny vehicle and put my legs up on the wheel wells until my knees are on my cheeks and he pushes me down the sidewalk. He loves this, and the neighbors love to laugh at me too.

Since we spent the past few days with Eiriks cousins who call me Melody, he started calling me Mommady. It cracks me up.

Eirik has started telling me when he is dirty. If his hands get dirty he comes to get me to wash his hands. I thought this day would never come and I love it. I don't think I really taught him this although I must have, but nevertheless, he is starting to be much more clean in his eating and everything else. I love it! Also, if he finds a piece of small paper or other trash on the ground he loves to say trash and take it to the garbage can for us. So cute!

He needs a little playmate so bad! He loves his friends and cousins and gets SOOO excited when he gets to see them. He has been referring to himself as "the baby" and likes to be rocked and held when he calls himself "the baby" more often than he used to. I think he might be starting to understand that there is a baby coming, and that he will be a big brother. I don't think he likes the idea very much. It's going to be quite a challenge for him. We are all excited. 96 days to go!

New Blog Header

So I tried out Ashley's instructions to make a custom blog header and here it is. I'm not sure I'm thrilled with it, but Eirik is now sitting next to me drinking chocolate syrup out of the squeeze bottle on the floor next to me.... so my blogging time is UP! It was fun while it lasted! Tell me how the header looks on your screen.
thanks!