trick AND treat

q: why are graveyards so noisy?
a: Because of all the coffin!

let's go through the same torture i go through every halloween.

i ask the kids (the five that come to our door!) here to tell a joke for their candy, and they look at me blankly and hold out their candy bags.

TELL ME A JOKE! WORK FOR YOUR CANDY!

AP-arantely, the joke-telling-for-candy ritual is not commonly practiced in this part of the world.

is it in yours?

Okay, one more:

q: what did tennessee?
a: the same thing arkansas.

(do i get a twix now?)

(somebody get me a damn twix bar.)

life can't be all that bad

when i have this beautiful babe to snuggle with in the morning. (and in the night and whenever possible in between.)

HOWEVER, life can be busy, and stressful, and downright crazy. prioritizing is difficult. clearly, The Baby and The Husband get top priority. and then The Job? and then what? The Friends? The Blog? I have a list of fun things to blog about; please bear with me in this time of insanity.

I feel a ridiculous amount of anxiety and stress. somedays i am glad to be back at work and other days i am so anxious about the baby at the daycare that i feel too disoriented to focus on work. (OR ANYTHING.) i also have a problem feeling the same 'go get em' attitude as i had BEFORE NATE. if my client doesn't like the blue in thier ad, i find it really hard to care as much. but, overall, i still enjoy my work.

and then there are days like monday.

on monday, a certain female coworker in the office unnecessarily lost her temper (with me) and MAY have been plain RUDE (to me) re: something that was not my responsibility (and, for the record, if it was, i would own it.). she was VERY IMPORTANT & VERY BUSY and on her way out the door for VERY BIG appointment, and I couldn't get her what she needed AT THAT SECOND. five minutes later she was back in the door because her car battery was dead. karma. it is a bitch.

on that same day, i had an advertiser pull on "press day" (very bad... messes up entire pages of a publication... must find filler text or move things around or do SOMETHING to go in its spot) because she wasn't happy with the ad we worked on for her. a teeny, tiny ad that i loved very much had to call her about EVERY day for two weeks because she had neither internet nor fax at her place of business. (don't get me started on clients that approve advertising through fax...ALL FAX MACHINES SHOULD BE BURNED ala office space style.) Let's not name names (ahem, kris & sams cookies on bowman road) but let's just say i will never eat another cake ball again from her establishment. they go on THE LIST (of advertisers i work with that i would NEVER give business to.) this list is, unfortunately, quite long.

some other things happened monday, but none are important.

let's just say i have a whole new respect for working mothers. i am NOT complaining, but, wowzers, it is more challenging than i anticipated. the days fly by and my laundry pile never decreases.

the baby has had a few issues at daycare. they say he is 'gassy' after he eats... but he never is at home.... so i just don't know how they are feeding them and i don't know how to tell them to feed him... and the thought of him screaming makes me cringe. plus, one of the FT teachers left and they haven't hired a new one yet... so there have been several folks in and out of the classroom. that stesses me a little. it isn't because i miss nater so terribly i can't handle it, but it IS difficult to leave your child in some one elses care. especially when that person rotates.

wow, ok, please don't feel sorry for me because, despite the recent negativity, things really are great. (oh, and my baby fevah is gone. like, way, way, way gone.) this past weekend with the baby was SUPER FUN - he is rolling a bit and obsessively chewing his hands and finding his feetsies. oh, and giggling. my baby talking skillz are becoming top notch and the other night i tried to burp karl while we were watching tv.

stay tuned for a fun post...also the blog will be going under a very SLIGHT maintenance. slight.

4 months, 2 days

seriously disturbing

i don't normally post re: news, but this story has touched the Little Rock community; it is both terrifying and heartbreaking.

Anne Pressley, a 26 year old anchorwoman, for a local channel, passed away this evening after being attacked last weekend. HERE is a link.

there is not much to say. i just can't believe it was an act of random violence.

please pray for her family and friends and this community.

Exhaustion

that is all.

more blogging coming soon.

i can't believe october is almost over.

3 mo, 4 wks, 1 day

i would like to express my hatred for babies r us

oh. my. god. i hate this place so much i can't even tell you. i hate them, i hate them, i hate them. there. i expressed it.

i am not going to go into the mundane details, but the last two times i have been in that store i have left either in tears or shaking and cussing (a combination of both, really.).

then i wonder why i even bother letting piddly little things such as REALLY CRAPPY CUSTOMER SERVICE bother me. ugh. never mind. i am just getting annoyed all over again. not worth it.

if i had tons of cash, i would shop strictly online or in cute little baby boutiques. (ah, who am i kidding? i hate shopping in stores. so, yea, it would be online only. if i could, i would buy everything online.)

AND so i don't have to listen to you all say "he looks just like karl!" or "your husband must be so happy he looks just like him!" and blah blah blah KARL. here is one of MY baby pics. you tell me you can't see my baby in there, you be a LIAR!

here is karl (who nate, admittedly, does share some traits with. ha.):

WHO IS THE COMBO BABY NOW, huh?

and though i find it offending that the FATTER our child gets, the more people say he looks like me, i'll TAKE IT!

3m, 3w, 3d (333. i like it.)

little boxes on the hillside, little boxes made of ticky tacky

so, it's totally weird to do the 'cliche' things i never thought i would do, but now find myself participating with total compliance. case in point: pumpkin patch pictures. why must society require parents to drive to a patch, place their child on a pumpkin, and snap an image or 4,000? WHY!?

whatever, i am going with it.

because it was fun.

and, because, dear god, the pictures make me nauseated they are so cute. i mean, is he really cute, or am i just ridiculously biased? you know what? don't answer that. i don't care.

additionally, pig races? really arkansas? really? (they painted a little spot on them. i picked the green one. his name is hamlet. he came in dead last. every race.) (and, for the record, i did not see my first real pig up close and in person (that i remember) until the oklahoma state fair in college. they most certianly do not 'oink' - who even came up with that?) nater boots slept through his first pig races. shame on him. how will he ever grow up to be a proper country boy?

also, apple gourds? coooool. billy goats named billy? feisty. tank tops? yes, the weather was warm enough to wear a tank top to the patch. awesome. and? the owl hat? compliments of audra.

in conclusion, i swear to god, (ya'll) if i put a picture of my child in a santa hat or inside a present box with some sort of bow anywhere on his body on this blog, shoot me dead. (let's not remember this line come december, hmmm? i don't THINK it will happen, but just in case, ok?)

and, finally, the dodgers. yea. let's make a come back, and let's kick some phillie arse. nice post-season work, joe torre. the yankees must miss you. ( i can NOT believe i am cheering for manny ramirez.) (we're talking baseball here, friends.)

3m, 2w, 3d

16 pounds of baby

arkansas' race for the cure was this saturday.

ms. melissa and i rocked it. and, by rocked it, i mean we walked in the enormous pack of 50,000 women with nater in his sling. we did the 5k and i must say, between that and to and fro parking my should is a leeeeeetle sore from carrying him. he's getting awful big. (that last sentence is to be said in a baby voice while making a 'smile-pleeeze"' face at the baby.) nate did fabulous per usual. he slept most of the race.

melissa and i once again entertained ourselves by making our own t-shirts. this year i had to work around my sling.

some other favorite slogans we saw: Fighting the War on My Rack. (This one was printed on a huge banner that overhung the 'Harley corner.' A bunch of bikers get together, dress in pink, and rev their engines the whole race. it's very sweet. in a manly, biker way.

there were many camo t-shirts. i particularly giggled at the "hunt for the cure" slogan. in pink. on camo.

there was also a man on the corner praising the Lord. He got a lot of "Hallelujahs" and hands raising to the sky from the crowd of walkers. only in the south!

and the usual marching bands, mayors, fire trucks (complete with dancing fireman), radio stations, and political supports. it is the same every year and i love it.

this is my 3rd year to participate in this race. and my first year to walk. (boo.) i race specifically for my grandma pat, my aunt chris, and my moms best friend joanne. all survivors. i am especially proud of my own boobies this year (with the whole breastfeeding thing) - did you know BFing reduces your own risk of breast cancer?

also, have i mentioned how much i love wearing my baby?

3 mo, 2 wk, 2 dy

why i am crazy; reason #4,653

i swear to god, ya'll

(and yes sometimes i actually speak like that now. once in a while i like to see how many ya'lls I can throw into one sentence. last week, at mcalisters, the girl standing in front of us said... and i quote.. "if ya'll know what ya'll want, ya'll can go ahead." no lie. THREE ya'lls. in one sentence. it was horrifying. and A-wesome. my 'yankee-ness' fades. )

ANYWAY, i am swearing and crazy because I think I might have baby fever. and by think, i mean I DO! (ish.) momnesia is REAL, people. i keep seeing all these cute babies everywhere (ahem- my own mostly) and at daycare and everywhere else and i just want to eat them up. and it feels like half of the people i know are either pregnant or trying to get pregnant. and, damnit, i was pregnant ALL ALONE (well, amongst my circle of friends) and now i want to be pregnant WITH THEM.

sigh. but not really.

but kind of.

it's easy to say when nate is past his initial fussiness and becoming so fun but not yet mobile. i know once he is crawling and running around all crazy-like i won't be as baby crazy.

remind self: bloody noses. fat cankles. puking (i had to make them take the needle out of my arm once at the doc's office so i could go vomit!). little sleeping (and never on the back or the belly!). overspending on toilet paper. obsessively watching baseball. kicks to the ribs.

but, but...

i kind of miss that baby moving around it there. that was pretty cool. (and, even now, is SO bizarre. nate was IN THERE. growing. eating. sleeping.)

ok, no more crazy talk.

3 mo, 2 wks, 1 day

why my life is like the perfect country western song today

the dishwasher broke.
we overslept. (by a lot.)
was, subsequently, late and didn't get to spend my normal AM time with the baby.
i lost my wallet.
and my car keys. (attached to my wallet.)
i forgot my lunch.
i forgot the caps to my bottles (for the pumping at work.)

is it friday yet?

3 mo, 1 wk, 4 dy (yo!)

homecoming 2008

homecoming really was wonderful. the weather could NOT have been better. campus looks crazy. it was a laid-back kind of day. which was nice. sweet pa-nater chilled out pretty much the whole day. (except when the camera was out. of course.) we got on campus around noon and stayed till the start of the game. (we opted to go back to jenny's and put the baby down for the night. next year he can go to the game.) TU "fried" Rice (so silly) 63-28.

it was fun (and odd) to be the only one with a baby there (well, at our tailgate for the most part. you know what i mean.) nate got a lot of attention and loving. next year. well, next year I expect there will be babies everywhere. or at least a lot of pregnant chicks.

also, the cubs are no longer in the playoffs. i know this is shocking to NO ONE, but it still makes me happy!

i am having trouble with words this evening so enjoy the images.

oh AND AND there is now a Chic-Fil-A in the 'student union' type place. karl was pissed. pissed. tee hee.

3 months, 1 week, 2 days old (is that too much? probably.)

what day is it? OCTOBER!!

party in the back, people, party in the back.

3 months, 1 week, 1 day