Mercer Mayer

A few days ago I went down to the basement and dug out a few old children's books that belonged to my sister and I when we were younger. We used to really enjoy reading Mercer Mayer books, as well as practice our new skill of cursive handwriting in the front of it. Recently, I've really fallen in love with them again. Let me quote to you one of my favorite stories. It's called Little Critter's The Trip...

"Here is our trip, from A to Z. A is for all. Here we all go! B is for bags. Big bags. C is for car. Little car. D is for drive. Dad likes to drive. E is for engine. Our engine is hot. F is for food. We want some food, Mom. G is for games. I play games with my sister. H is for hill. Down we go. Don't hurt the horse. I is for ice cream. Ice cream for Dad. And some for us, too. J is for joke. I took the car key. What a good joke."

Ok so you get the point. I am not sure if this book is more amusing for kids or for their parents. I never realized the hidden humor...but now I get it and I love it.

Thank God we got batteries

To occupy Taj when I was in the kitchen, I would always push his stroller in there with a toy that hung from his carseat. I really felt like I was depriving this child so I bought a used Jumperoo. A Jumperoo? What is that you say?

It's a babies own amusement park suspended by springs/bungee cords. Why didn't the have this when we were younger? He loves bouncing in it so much. I love showing him all the toys on this little contraption. Recently, I found out that the red thing I've been calling an apple all this time...it's really a tomato. I wouldn't have known that without my AA's.

I don't mean to toot my own horn

But toot toot! I think I am a pretty darn good wife. This weekend I gave up going to my 10 year high school reunion (Yes, I really wanted to go) so that we could go up to Brooklyn, New York so R. could have a lunch with a South African man about a job in Sydney, Australia. Confused yet? Not only was I willing to make the trip, but I can entertain myself for hours. During R's lunch Taj and I walked around Brooklyn for a few hours and found a nice gourmet grocery store where I picked up lunch, visited a great farmers market, and made our way across the Brooklyn Bridge into Manhattan. In the afternoon all 3 of us met up with my friend Jenn from nursing school for a coffee.
Ok, so it really wasn't that bad. If anything, I love New York City. If it weren't so expensive, I could even see myself living there. I love that there is always something going on and different places to explore. Fun restaurants and great shopping. As Jenn said, it's a city that vibrates at a different frequency...and I like it.

The rest of the weekend we hung out at R's Aunt Nancy's house and enjoyed lunch with most of R's family. It was nice to get to see everyone and show Taj off a little. He continues to grow so fast and is constantly doing new things. Here's our cute little man with his Great Grandmother.

Freecycle

I have become such a huge fan of freecycling! I joined a Baltimore Freecycle listserve a few weeks ago and since then have gotten a sleeping book for infants that I wanted to purchase after checking it out of the library, an extra base for our carseat and a Halloween costume for Taj. Ok, so most of my freecycling has been to get stuff for my kid....but kids are expensive. And after having a baby I am beginning to realize what an industry it is. There are all these carriers and swaddlers and strollers and toys that you "just have to have".

What's great about Freecycle is that everything is FREE. Sadly, very little in this world anymore is free. This has really helped me to think about my "possessions" and how attached or unattached I am to them. I know that when I die, I am not going to be able to take anything with me but why do I fight with my sister that this is MY shirt when I haven't worn it in a year? It's really helped me to see things as more fluid. Maybe I can use this Halloween costume this year and then pass it along to someone else. Instead of one life and then getting stuck in an attic, this bunny costume get's 2 or 3 lives.

I have yet to give anything away on freecycle, but I am looking forward to giving away a few possessions that I no longer use to someone who really would enjoy having them. If anyone would want, I do have a pair of lightly used ice hockey skates are looking for a good home.

Change of Seasons

Too bad it's been warm lately, cause we are ready for Fall!

Am I a bad Mom?

Last Saturday Taj had been fussy most of the day. We went to a friends housewarming party where Taj accidentally dropped his pacifier in my sangria. I seriously thought about not wiping it off and putting in back in his mouth, hoping the little "happy juice" would help him sleep better that night. In the end I cleaned the paci, but he also didn't sleep well either.

Smaller world but still not productive

Over the past few months my world has become extremely small. I have become a stay at home mom and not that I don't venture out, but a majority of my time is spent in my house, in my neighborhood, and in this city. So in feeling so limited, I have taken new interests in a few things.

1. I like to find out what's going on (not nosy, just curious) and have recently joined 2 groups on Yahoo, one for Mom's in SE Baltimore and one for people around Patterson Park. It's a wealth of information about where we live that I often update my husband about...not that he really cares.

2.As well, I have no income so subconsciously I think I have become very frugal. It's practically a game for me. I recently changed grocery stores cause I feel like this new one has much better deals. I am clipping coupons. And from the SE Baltimore Mom's listserve I bought Taj a jumperoo for $30. I felt guilty that I have no toys for him so I went out and bought him "a spaceship" as my Dad says, and at a damn good price! As well I recently joined Freecycle in Baltimore where people give stuff away for free. I have yet to do business on the freecycle group, but what is a better deal than free? I guess free and not crap, huh?

3. Lastly, I have become addicted to my new Yahoo groups. I have no TV in my world, just NPR so checking email and checking my Yahoo groups (only 3) take up a small part of my day. It's my distraction to keep me from being productive. Come on, everyone loves a good distraction!

2 years and 4 months

That's how long R. and I have been married and how old Taj is today. Crazy how time flies and responsibilities grow.
For our anniversary we got Thai take out and watched part of Twilight. I was not really interested in seeing the movie but R. decided he should watch it to "help understand what teens are into" for his job. Yeah right, he's a secret vampire lover!
Taj for his big day got measured and shots. He is 16 lbs and 3 oz (aka 75% percentile), 25 inches and he turned a mean shade of red after his 2 shots in his right leg. I think we'll chill the rest of the day.

I'm with the band

Most people for Labor Day weekend go to the beach or have BBQ's. Unfortunately this weekend R had to work, but we did get to have a little fun. Saturday night we joined our friends Melissa and Kirby to see Counting Crows in concert. I enjoyed their music from high school but for R, it is his favorite band who he's NEVER seen in concert. Although I enjoyed the show (great live show) I really enjoyed watching my husband enjoy his favorite band.

My huh moment is that while we were driving there I saw this teenage boy with nice hair. Okay, amazing hair. It wasn't the normal greasy long teenage boy hair. It was well managed. It fell at his shoulders and flipped out slightly. And it was layered! I was particularly observant of hair since I had gotten mine cut that morning. So I pointed out that this kid had some nice locks. R agreed but didn't seem to be as impressed as I was. Later on that night our friend with amazing hair was flipping it around on stage...he is Augustana's bass player.