don't make me use my mommy voice!

Toots in a line

2009-07-22T18:57:00.001-05:00

Yesterday morning as I was getting Kyle dressed, he farted. "Did you just toot?" I asked him. "Yeah," he giggled. "My toots are all waiting in line."

I also had an OB appointment yesterday. Everything looks good! This time he found the heartbeat right away with the doppler. We heard that beautiful sound beating away at 160 beats per minute. No ultrasound at this appointment, unfortunately. Dr. said my weight and blood pressure looked great. We scheduled my big ultrasound for August 10. That means I have about three weeks to decide whether I want to find out the gender. I'm torn. We didn't find out with Kyle, but I'm leaning toward finding out this time. Troy doesn't want to find out, but he said since I'm the one carrying the baby, I get 51% of the vote. Hmmm....

the cat's pajamas

2009-07-20T13:19:00.002-05:00

Kyle just came inside to yell at me. "Mo-om," he whined. "Why you put me in pajamas today?" Then he did his little grunt thing he does when he's frustrated. Yes, I dressed Kyle this morning. But no, I did not dress him in pajamas. The shirt he is wearing is most definitely a regular shirt. I bought it at Wal-Mart. I thought it was rather cute, but who am I to judge pre-school fashion? No matter what I have told him, Kyle remains convinced that he is wearing a pajama shirt. The irony of it all is that Troy has dressed him in pajama shirts beforeBut I digress.) And Kyle has gone an entire day without protesting his pajama outfits. But this shirt has him quite upset. I guess we won't be wearing it again for awhile.

We've started mentioning to Kyle, very casually, that he's going to be getting a baby brother or sister. He believes he is going to have a baby brother, or baby bruddah, as he says. And baby bruddah will be named Tyler. That's because his friend Blake's baby bruddah is named Tyler. But the other day, he conceded that the baby could be named Parker (another baby at day care) or Carter (his friend Isaac's little bruddah). And this morning, he said his baby bruddah will be named Willie Parker. There's a player in the NFL, a running back I believe but I could be wrong, by that name, and Kyle heard it once on ESPN radio and decided it was the funniest name in the whole wide world. He cracks up whenever we say it. Willie Parker. And now he wants his baby bruddah to be Willie Parker. Then, a few moments later, he announced that Baby Herman would be a very good name, too.

Painting with Kyle

2009-07-09T20:07:00.001-05:00

Kyle has suddenly taken up painting. He has never showed much of an interest in the arts and crafts, much to my dismay, but in the past few days he has become a prolific painter, filling in dozens of coloring book pages with his unique painting style. I thought I would share some examples with you.

I'm so proud that he is starting to be mindful of what he is painting. He's actually trying to fill in the colors, instead of just randomly smearing blobs of paint on the paper. Not that there's anything wrong with that.

And here is a rather colorful day on the deep seas:

In this painting, note the addition of the sun in the upper left corner. He's always got such a sunny personality.

Okay, maybe not always:

I find this one a little more disturbing. He still added a sun in the corner, but there's something about the massive streaks of blood red and the purple zombie eyes. Maybe I'll save this one for his shrink.

But I just have to say: What is this image doing in a kids' coloring book, anyway? Maybe they wanted to help kids feel more comfortable around doctors and nurses. But am I the only one getting a Nurse Ratched vibe? "Be a good little boy and take your sedatives, or it's off to electrotherapy for you!" And where are her hands?

I've been keeping a secret...

2009-07-09T19:49:00.001-05:00

I've been keeping a secret for a few months now. Some of you know already, and I have put a few subtle hints out there (does anybody scroll to the bottom of my page?) but I decided it is time to share it with everyone.

Yep, that's right. Baby #2 is due 1.9.10. In these ultrasound pics, I was about 11 weeks. Sorry the pictures are so crappy. Our scanner is broken. I finally gave in and just took a picture of them. Don't worry if you can't really see anything. I can't either, but my doctor assures me there's a baby in there.

I am now almost 14 weeks. Hello, second trimester! I've been feeling really good. Occasionally queasy, but not sick like I was with Kyle. And I've been super tired, but then again, that's nothing new. I've been so nervous about having another miscarriage, but my doctor thinks we're out of the woods now. Whew!

So now that it's out in the open, I'll be keeping you posted about how everything is going!

Day 161

2009-06-11T21:26:00.002-05:00

Day 160

2009-06-10T21:29:00.002-05:00

I love peonies, but they're always covered with ants.

Day 159

2009-06-10T21:24:00.002-05:00

At least somebody is using the treadmill. Don't worry, we use all the safety devices so that he can't turn it on when we're not around.

Day 158

2009-06-10T21:19:00.002-05:00

Troy's grandmother, Gert, passed away Friday. The funeral was Monday. This is the flower from Kyle that was on her casket.

Day 157

2009-06-10T21:10:00.004-05:00

Kyle wearing Grandpa John's hat. He loves to wear Grandpa's hats.

Day 156

2009-06-10T21:05:00.004-05:00

Kyle chilling out and drinking some juice before bedtime.

Day 155

2009-06-10T21:05:00.001-05:00

I did not take a photo on June 5.

Day 154

2009-06-10T20:09:00.002-05:00

Cora (and Ruby too, not pictured) were at Grandma and Grandpa's tonight, so Kyle and I headed up there for supper and some playtime. Here, Kyle, Cora, and Grandpa were playing count the cars, which involved watching for certain colored cars to drive past. Kyle and Cora were having so much fun. I love the excited look on Cora's face in this photo.

Day 153

2009-06-10T20:00:00.002-05:00

Kyle has started playing a bit more with his pirate ship. He walks the little pirates around and says, "Avast ye scurvy dog. Aarrgh!"

Day 152

2009-06-10T19:49:00.002-05:00

Kyle discovered the joy of popping bubble wrap.

Day 151

2009-06-10T19:42:00.003-05:00

Kyle was so happy to have the pool set up, he didn't mind swimming in the sub-zero frigid water.

Day 150

2009-06-10T19:41:00.000-05:00

I did not take a picture on May 31.

Day 149

2009-06-10T19:35:00.003-05:00

This is a painted daisy that I have growing along the side of the house. Ain't it purty?

Day 148

2009-06-10T19:34:00.001-05:00

I did not take a photo on May 29.

Day 147

2009-06-10T19:31:00.002-05:00

Kyle decided to play buffalos tonight. I got to be the daddy (the one in the middle), and Kyle was the mommy and the little boy (I don't know which one is which). Our tasks involved going to the scorpion store, waking mommy up from her nap, and returning a bald monkey to the jungle. All in a day's work for a buffalo, I suppose!

Day 146

2009-06-10T19:29:00.002-05:00

I did not take a picture on May 27.

Day 146

2009-06-10T19:25:00.002-05:00

For Christmas a few years ago, my brother-in-law gave me a copy of the book I wrote about Ella Fitzgerald framed along with her autograph. I love it!

Day 145

2009-05-30T15:15:00.003-05:00

Kyle and I made ice cream cone cupcakes. Yummy!

Day 144

2009-05-30T15:10:00.003-05:00

We returned to the carnival, and Kyle enjoyed all the rides for a second time. Here he is on a motorcycle.

Day 143

2009-05-24T12:29:00.002-05:00

There were a few drops left on the plants after an overnight rainstorm. I thought they made for a pretty picture.

Day 142

2009-05-24T12:26:00.002-05:00

The carnival is set up at the Madison East parking lot. Kyle loves it. Here he is enjoying the rollercoaster.

Day 141

2009-05-24T12:20:00.001-05:00

The neighbor's hydrangea bush is in full bloom.

Day 140

2009-05-24T12:17:00.002-05:00

I hadn't taken a picture yet that day, and instead of hunting down Doris, I just snapped a quick one of Kyle. He was headed upstairs for bedtime.

Day 139

2009-05-24T12:12:00.002-05:00

Kyle was crying because he had to come inside after playing with his new friend, Isaac.

Day 138

2009-05-24T12:08:00.004-05:00

I collect things that say "JOY"--they remind me of my goal to keep my house and my life full of joy.

Day 137

2009-05-24T12:08:00.002-05:00

I did not take a photo on May 17. I'm so ashamed.

Day 136

2009-05-24T12:05:00.002-05:00

Kyle likes to hang out at Barnes and Noble and play with their Thomas the Tank Engine train table. It's one of our regular destinations.

Day 135

2009-05-24T12:04:00.000-05:00

I did not take a photo on May 15. Shame on me.

Day 134

2009-05-24T12:00:00.002-05:00

The front of our refrigerator--chaos, just like the rest of our life.

Day 133

2009-05-24T11:55:00.002-05:00

When we first moved in, there were bunches of irises that would grow in our garden. They've thinned out quite a bit, but I still enjoy the ones that do bloom.

Day 132

2009-05-24T11:51:00.001-05:00

Whenever it is late at night and I realize I haven't taken a photo yet, Doris is my go-to subject. She's easier to find than Loki, and easier to photograph too. This one cracks me up, though, because it looks like she's trying to communicate with her mother ship.

Day 131

2009-05-11T21:12:00.001-05:00

Remember those eggs? Well, they hatched!

Day 130

2009-05-11T21:08:00.002-05:00

The next day, Bingo got some exercise by running along behind Kyle on his Big Wheel.

Day 129

2009-05-11T21:04:00.002-05:00

Kyle and I took Bingo for a walk over to the river.

Day 128

2009-05-11T20:59:00.001-05:00

Kyle eating some cheez-its before bedtime. It's one of the few foods he'll eat on a regular basis.

Day 127

2009-05-09T11:37:00.002-05:00

Troy hates getting his picture taken, which is why I don't have many of him in this album. Sometimes I just have to catch him a little off guard.

Day 126

2009-05-09T11:33:00.002-05:00

Day 125

2009-05-09T11:29:00.002-05:00

When we told Kyle we were going to see Hermann the German, he said, "I need my sword!" But when we got there, all his armor wasn't enough to make him feel very brave. He kept his eyes closed and cried as we tried to get him to go a little closer to the statue. This is as close as he would get.

Day 124

2009-05-09T11:25:00.002-05:00

Kyle didn't want to go to bed. I post so many happy pictures of him, I thought I'd show his other side.

Day 123

2009-05-04T21:18:00.003-05:00

Kyle getting ready for the big MS walk.

Day 122

2009-05-04T21:12:00.003-05:00

Miss Ruby Lu making silly faces

Day 121

2009-05-01T22:20:00.002-05:00

I have not worn my wedding ring on my finger since October because I needed it resized. I've been wearing it on a chain on my neck instead. But I finally got it resized and picked it up today. It feels so good to have it back on my finger.

Day 120

2009-05-01T22:16:00.002-05:00

We have a bird's nest in our garage. Getting this picture involved climbing on a ladder, which freaks me out completely. I could only climb three steps and then hold the camera over my head and hope for the best. I just couldn't get myself to climb up even one more step.

Day 119

2009-05-01T22:13:00.002-05:00

Loki in the bathtub, hoping for a drink from the magic faucet.

Day 118

2009-04-28T21:05:00.002-05:00

Things are blooming all over! Snapped this up on the campus where I work.

Day 117

2009-04-28T21:01:00.001-05:00

Kyle just started to spontaneously giggle while brushing his teeth this morning, so I had to take a picture of his giggle fit.

Day 116

2009-04-28T20:57:00.002-05:00

These are the little treats I made to put in the break room to try to raise money for the MS Walk.

Day 115

2009-04-25T22:32:00.002-05:00

There was bumper-to-bumper traffic on the race track tonight.

Day 114

2009-04-25T22:28:00.001-05:00

We went to Hy-Vee for a steak supper (because that's how classy we are) and Kyle got a balloon.

Day 113

2009-04-25T22:26:00.002-05:00

Troy sent me these flowers to cheer me up.

Day 112

2009-04-22T20:47:00.002-05:00

I love how the cardinal looks like he's looking at me like, "WTF you doin'?"

p.s. obviously, I'm experimenting with how I present my photos on my blog. Whatcha think?

Addendum

2009-04-22T16:59:00.000-05:00

Addendum (dum de dum dum): Lest you worry that I don't spend enough time obsessing about stupid things, chew on this: While sipping some iced tea this afternoon, post-lunch, I had a flash of unabashed panic.

(Allow me to interrupt myself for just one minute to say that I'm loving that internal rhyme: flash of unabashed...)

Panic is pretty common in my life. This time, the panic was over my use of the word sidenote as a single word rather than two. The spell-checker, diligent and well-meaning as it is, had flagged it as a misspelled word. And yet, in my fuzzy headed, head cold state, I had ignored the ominous red underline and PUBLISHED IT ANYWAY.

Ack! Rule breaker!

But as I savored my McD's sweet tea (delicious, by the way, but that's a whole other post) I got cold feet. What if the three people who read my blog were to notice my indiscretion! Oh, how my fingers ached to sneak back into my blog and add that space.

Luckily, I had a moment of rare clarity (more internal rhymes!) and calmly logged on to consult with my best friend, Merriam-Webster Unabridged. Yes, it's true. I spend money out of my own pocket to subscribe to the online unabridged dictionary. And it's some of the best money I've ever spent.

Much to my surprise, I discovered that the spell-checker was wrong. Alack and alas. So my so-called error was a nonexistent one. Whew! So now you know: sidenote is in fact one single, solid, unbroken word. No space. Not even a little bitty hyphen. Won't you sleep better tonight?

I know I will.

And now I have wasted far too much of my time and yours on an entry about stuffing Kleenex into one's orifices. Time you'll never have back. Bwahahahaha!

Day 111

2009-04-21T21:44:00.002-05:00

I love all the spring buds!

Day 110

2009-04-21T21:42:00.002-05:00

I stayed home sick today . . . again. I might have to start taking a chicken noodle soup IV.

Day 109

2009-04-21T21:41:00.001-05:00

I did not take a picture on April 19. I spent the day napping on the couch, miserable.

Day 108

2009-04-21T21:40:00.003-05:00

It looks like a deer antler, doesn't it? It's actually some kind of bush.

Day 107

2009-04-21T21:37:00.001-05:00

Kyle just chilling out.

Musings by Meg

2009-04-21T17:45:00.000-05:00

I dream of living in a world where it is socially and professionally acceptable to sit at my desk, in my cube, at my job with a wad of Kleenex stuffed up my stuffed-up nose.

Failing that, I want to work from the privacy of my own home, where I can stuff all the Kleenex up my nose that I want, and nobody could judge me for that because nobody could see me.

As a sidenote: Why does stuffing Kleenex up your nose have to be so wrong when it feels SO RIGHT? Seriously. It's the only thing that feels remotely soothing when one's nose is simultaneously stuffed up and running. Am I right? Amiright?

Day 106

2009-04-16T22:20:00.002-05:00

Kyle and I spent some time outside while he rode his big wheel up and down the sidewalk. I'm so happy that he is finally liking his trikes now that he has learned how to pedal and steer.

Day 105

2009-04-16T22:16:00.002-05:00

Kyle's shoes were still wet in the morning, so I got my way. We went that afternoon to buy new shoes. Of course, he chose the exact same kind that he had before. He wouldn't even look at any other styles.

Day 104

2009-04-14T21:49:00.002-05:00

We went to Spring Lake Park today, and Kyle insisted on checking out the lake. It was more than a little muddy. First he fell down in it, then he got his shoe stuck. He thought it was hilarious. I want to buy him new shoes.

Day 103

2009-04-14T21:47:00.003-05:00

This is Kyle's fishing game. From this angle, the fish look rather ominous, don't they?

What I Hate about Easter

2009-04-13T22:36:00.000-05:00

No matter how careful I am, no matter how much I try to hide the Easter baskets to keep them away from the kitties, the cats always manage to find some of that damn Easter grass, eat it, and puke it up in a spot where I am certain to step in it. Every dang year. You'd think I'd learn and just skip the Easter grass, but no, I'm thick and stubborn that way. And what is an Easter basket without cheap plastic grass?

Day 102

2009-04-13T22:22:00.002-05:00

A close-up of eggs from Kyle's Easter basket. Kyle helped me dye the eggs. We had to go on a last-minute quest for egg dye because the box that Troy bought ended up being completely empty. Very odd!

Day 101

2009-04-13T22:21:00.002-05:00

Kyle has been obsessed with scorpions, so we bought him this sucker with an actual scorpion in it. This is about as far as he got before he decided he really didn't want to eat the scorpion after all.

Day 100

2009-04-13T22:20:00.002-05:00

The first blossoms of spring in my little garden.

Day 99

2009-04-13T22:19:00.002-05:00

The King is alive!

Day 98

2009-04-13T22:17:00.003-05:00

This was downtown on Fremont Street. I really love the neon signs.

Day 97

2009-04-13T22:15:00.002-05:00

The Neon Boneyard was one of my favorite places we visited in Vegas. I could have spent all day there taking pictures.

Day 96

2009-04-13T22:10:00.003-05:00

This was taken at the Valley of Fire. I thought the rock looked like a spaceship.

Day 95

2009-04-13T21:42:00.001-05:00

I did not take a photo on April 5. I was too busy getting to Vegas.

Day 94

2009-04-05T10:03:00.002-05:00

Day 93

2009-04-05T10:02:00.002-05:00

Day 92

2009-04-05T10:01:00.002-05:00

Day 91

2009-04-05T10:00:00.002-05:00

Day 90

2009-04-05T09:59:00.002-05:00

Day 89

2009-04-05T09:58:00.002-05:00

Day 88

2009-04-05T09:57:00.003-05:00

Day 87

2009-04-05T09:56:00.003-05:00

Day 86

2009-04-05T09:55:00.002-05:00

Kyle Before and After His Haircut

2009-03-26T21:44:00.005-05:00

Day 85

2009-03-26T21:21:00.001-05:00

My little sweetie got a haircut tonight. Isn't he a charmer?

Day 84

2009-03-26T17:31:00.002-05:00

Day 83

2009-03-24T22:31:00.002-05:00

I call this one my witness protection portrait.

Day 82

2009-03-24T22:30:00.002-05:00

Kyle's been into Candy Land lately. Only he doesn't really play it; he just moves the little figures all over the board.

Day 81

2009-03-24T22:29:00.002-05:00

Day 80

2009-03-24T22:28:00.002-05:00

Kyle had his best friend, Blake, over for his first ever playdate. Here, they were all strapped in and ready to go on a bike ride with Troy.

Day 79

2009-03-24T22:26:00.004-05:00

three of Kyle's Thomas toys

Day 78

2009-03-24T22:26:00.002-05:00

Kyle's latest skill involves using a mouse to play on the computer. Thank goodness! That means we are spared having to play his incredibly boring alphabet game. Independence rocks!

Day 77

2009-03-24T22:24:00.002-05:00

Kyle was feeling under the weather in the evening, but was fine by morning, thank goodness.

Day 76

2009-03-24T22:23:00.002-05:00

My March Madness bracket. In my defense, there was codeine involved.

Day 75

2009-03-24T22:22:00.000-05:00

I did not take a photo on March 16. I was too sick.

Day 74

2009-03-24T22:21:00.002-05:00

Gotta love bronchitis.

Day 73

2009-03-24T22:19:00.002-05:00

Kyle thinks its funny when his butt gets stuck in buckets.

Day 72

2009-03-24T22:17:00.001-05:00

Proof--not only am I a winner, but I am the funniest winner. We had a contest for 6-word stories at work, and my "New carpet. New couch. Stupid cat" was voted funniest.

Day 71

2009-03-24T22:16:00.002-05:00

This is the pasta salad I made to bring to our editorial department potluck. I was a little disappointed with how it came out--a little bland.