Don't you LOVE it?

Welcome to our new and improved blog! My birthday present to myself was a new custom background to match our new blog name, and I have to say, I am in love with it. The new background and header was designed by the talented Meg at Knuckleheaders, and my clever Dad came up with the new name. I think I could stare at it forever, which is a problem since I already spend way too much time in front of the computer as it is.

Now if I can just come up with some content befitting such an awesome blog design...

Try

One of the wonderful-and-at-the-same-time-frightening things about having children is that inevitably one of them will have a trait that frustrates you because it reminds you so much of yourself. Such is the case with my eldest child and me. She has a tad bit of the perfectionist about her and therefore has a bit (read: huge amount) of anxiety about trying something new unless she is certain she will excel.

For example: A few months ago she and I got in a huge argument before school because I offered to give her a quarter to buy milk at lunch. She had recently lost her water bottle, so I was trying to be nice and let her have some chocolate milk at lunch instead of having to drink out of the water fountain. But she didn't see it that way. She had never bought *just* milk before, and because she didn't know the exact procedure, she freaked out. It led to an argument, and we parted in a huff. Eventually, Jay had to go to the school to bring her the milk money and explain the situation to her teacher, who then had another student show her how to negotiate the milk-only line. Now that she's done it once, buying milk is no problem at all.

I am so similar to this it makes me want to scream.

I used to be much better about trying new things. Or perhaps I'm looking back on my life through rose-colored glasses, I don't know. All I do know is that I get so worked up and nervous about trying new things that it sort of takes the joy out of life. And... I don't like it. So with that in mind I have decided to have a new focus this year, based on the Word of the Year idea I've seen on many blogs lately. And so...

My word of the year is TRY.

As in, try new things and try not to be a wuss about them.

How am I doing on this goal thus far? Well... pretty good, I think. I have tried Greek food with Jay (at a place in Willow Glen called Opa's! - seriously good stuff), and I auditioned for a play my church is putting on. I don't know which experience was scarier for me! Kidding, the audition was scarier, but I am so glad I did it. I loved performing in high school and college, but it has been a very long time since I've attempted anything of that nature. You can imagine how nervous I was. I made a good friend come with me, and I'm glad I did because now we're in the play together! I even have some singing parts - *gulp*. I'm a little nervous about that, but I know it's going to be a fun experience.

So... that's my goal this year. To try new things. Some things are going to be little, some are going to be big, but regardless, I'm going to try to approach them with enthusiasm and courage. The only fear I want in my life is my last name.

A Lesson I Learned (the hard way)

Never accept anything Dexter is trying to give me without checking it first, as it is most likely a booger.


(Aren't you glad there's no picture to accompany this?)

It happened already...

So, today I went to change Dexter's diaper (don't worry, this is not a poop story. Stay with me...) and when I went to grab a diaper out of the basket in the living room, it was empty. Normally that's no big deal, but I knew I had one more of his diapers left in there. I shrugged it off, got another diaper from his bedroom, and went on with my life.

A little while later, Jay found the missing Size 5:

You would think I would have noticed that my newborn had a diaper covering 75% of his body, but NO. Man, if I'm this scatterbrained with Jay here, can you imagine what I'm going to be like tomorrow?

In honor of Nie...

Those of you who don't read Nie or CJane's blogs will not know what I'm talking about, but...

In honor of Nie's return to her inspiring blog, I present... A Self Portrait.


Welcome back, Nie Nie.

(Now go read! You won't be sorry.)

(Comments off)

My life of ease is almost over

Jay returns to work in exactly one week. He has been home since the week of Thanksgiving, and I frankly have no idea how I'm going to survive without him. I'm actually going to have to take Natalie to school in the morning, which means packing up all four kids for a 5-minute round trip. And I'm going to have to *gasp* make dinner by myself! AND, as if that weren't bad enough, I'm going to have to take the kids with me to the grocery store!

Ok, maybe not. The grocery store will have to wait for Jay's days off.

I don't know how I'm going to fit in showering and getting dressed every day. Maybe those will have to wait for Jay's days off, too.

(kidding on the shower part... maybe)

It has been a joy to have Jay home for the past 7 or so weeks. And I mean that honestly, not the way I mean it when Dexter is screaming his head off and doing the straight-back-I-refuse-to-get-in-my-carseat-dance and I respond with a fake smile and a "You're a joy and a treasure, son!" Really, Jay has been fantastic. You would think we would get sick of each other after spending so much time together, but I think I speak for both of us when I say it was wonderful. I can't wait for our retirement years. Maybe I should make a paper chain...

It Starts...

Tonight Natalie rolled her eyes at me and Jay. A real, honest to goodness, thirteen-year-old-style eye roll.



Man, the teenage years are going to be a blast!

In other news, Calvin is six weeks old (and devastatingly handsome).

And apparently he already knows how to flip people off.

Brotherly Love

Dex is going through a phase of wanting to hold Calvin. He'll stand there and grunt at me with his arms outstretched until I hand him over. I have to be careful, though, because when he decides he's done holding him, he just shoves Cal right off his lap.

We'll see how he feels about him when he has to start sharing toys...