Random Tuesday Thoughts

• I'm really ready to be done traveling now. So far in 2009 we've been to Mexico, Las Vegas, Nebraska, Las Vegas, Las Vegas again, and Colorado. And it's only May! Next week we go to New Orleans, and after that will be Italy, Florida, Dominican Republic, and finally Maryland. Now I am in no way complaining about the wonderful opportunities we've had to see family and - HELLO? ITALY! - but I am sick of planes, tired of sleeping in a bed that isn't my own, and starting to miss home. Thankfully, by the end of September, I will be physically unable to get on a plane with my big pregnant belly, so people will have to start coming to us.
• I am so happy spring is here.
  
• We've joined a fitness club that has a pool. I wish you could see the crazed look of joy on River's face when he gets in. He couldn't be happier if you offered him a gallon of ice cream and a day at the playground.
  
• Something must be done about Edgar. Something must be done about my lovely, fluffy, sweet, incontinent fat cat. Okay, he's not really incontinent, but from his inability to hit the letter box, he might as well be. He's a huge cat with a history of bowel problems (one of the reasons my parents finally said Thom and I needed to take him from their home in Vegas back to Boston with us - their carpet just couldn't take him any more). And today he's much better about attempting to go where he's supposed to, but instead of standing in the litter box and doing business there, he hovers on the edge and pees directly outside of the box. We have the box set up in a little-used second bathroom shower, so clean up is easy, but unless we go in there and hose it out multiple times a day, the pervasive smell of rank ammonia takes over the entire house. And this pregnancy has not made my nose any less sensitive. It's driving me crazy and I don't see any solution that we haven't already tried. Maybe we should get the Dog Whisperer out here and see if he can work some magic.
• Have I mentioned I'm REALLY happy spring is here?
• River has started sleeping in his big boy bed. Four nights and two naps have all been successfully attempted and I can't tell you how proud I am of him! We have his crib set up in an upstairs room that will eventually be the new nursery. Downstairs is a bunk bed (the bottom bed is directly on the ground) in what has been a playroom up until now. Of his own accord he asked to sleep down there one night a few weeks ago, and though that attempt didn't work out, he asked again recently and he's made it through the night every single time since then. So far it's been such an easy move I think I should be prepared for the rough part to kick in. I mean we can't really get off this easy, can we? Like, when will he realize he doesn't have to wait for us to come get him out of the bed and come jump on us at 4am? But it's all awesome now, so I'm just enjoying watching my boy experience such a confidence-inspiring transition.
• I have the sweetest little boy snuggling in my lap right now. We're gonna go outside and enjoy the beautiful weather. Have a nice random Tuesday!

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Random Tuesday Thoughts: Photo Edition!

I have a ton of pictures I haven't shared, so I'm giving you a special treat and including photos with my RTT today. Most of these are from our trip to Vegas this weekend, but I think I can keep the randomness intact anyhow. Here we go...

* Edit: I didn't realize what a difference there is between medium and large photos, so it might behoove you to click on them for larger versions



Figuring out what to call this monstrosity has almost been harder than building it. I know they're supposed to be "playscapes" these days but what happened to the swingsets and jungle gyms of yore? Playground is a little too grand and playscape is too yuppie, so I think I'll stick with "The Beast." That seems fitting, right?


Corn is always better when you can wrestle it from your cousin with a choke hold.


It is impossible not to be proud of your child when he does something new, no matter how mundane. I look at this picture and I think, "My kid is a genius! Look how well he can make bubbles!"


My friend, Mikey, the handsome guy on the arm of lovely Jane, has the best memory of anyone I know. Ask him to tell you Dave Mathew's entire catalog and he'll throw in B-sides and live recordings. Want to remember that random guy from freshman English (and I'm talking high school here) and he'll tell you where he sat and what his Shakespeare presentation was. Five years ago Michael hosted a tasting dinner with multiple courses and accompanying wines. We were recounting that great dinner at his wedding and he remembered every course down to the balsamic reduction and dessert wine we had. I can't remember half of the people I've kissed in my lifetime, where the heck does he get it?!


Sometimes I feel like the luckiest person ever. How many people are still close with their friends from high school? We've gone away to college, moved across the country, traveled the world. We've had marriages, meltdowns, new babies, identity crises, divorces. One of us even has an Emmy nomination (you rock, Doug!). Through it all we've managed to maintain that fantastic bond that holds us together. I love you guys.


Feeding animals is FUN! We went to Bonnie Springs on Saturday and River got to feed a deer, peacocks, swans, ducks, and chickens. He really wanted to lose a finger to this guy, but mommy saved him from disaster.


Usually it's my dad that blinks or makes a funny face in an otherwise perfect picture. Good one mom! I guess we shouldn't have given her that lemon before boarding the train. (Click to enlarge this one - it's totally worth it.)


Trains? Still the best thing ever.


I wonder if previous generations liked to dress up as people from the past as much as we do. I can just see a Medieval king talking his wife into dressing up like a cave family for their portrait sitting with the royal painter. Look honey! I'm wearing an animal skin! Ug ug!


In case you were wondering, it is possible to eat enough soft fruit candy to turn your teeth, tongue, and poop blue.

There you go, kids. Head over to Keely's place for more randomness.

Random Tuesday Thoughts

Welcome to this week's edition of Random Tuesday Thoughts....

• River has become a little voice recorder, playing back sound bites I don't even know I've uttered. Last week we were getting ready to go to brunch and in the spirit of helping us get out the door, River told us to, "Hit the road." Really? Okay, maybe we'll "put the pedal to the metal" too. At Thom's soccer game on Saturday I was explaining to River that we should cheer for daddy by saying, "Go Daddy!" I got distracted watching the game for a little while, but I must have been giving River more words of encouragement to use because the next thing I hear is, "Kick butt Daddy!"
• I think I'm going to get into quilting. I'm slightly worried that I'll have to start wearing white nursing shoes and dye my hair blue, but I'm going to fight the granny image of quilting. I'm going to make it cool! You know, like knitting is all the rage these days - quilting is the next big thing. Watch out hipsters, you'll all be wearing quilted skinny pants and ironic quilted T-shirts soon!
• Every time Thom tries to back up my computer or make it run more efficiently, I lose some capability - like my itunes library goes missing, my address book disintegrates (that was NOT cool), or today, my calendar suddenly says I can't open it because I "do not have the appropriate access privileges." Seriously, you're MY COMPUTER. I have all the privileges I want, you *(^$*(*%%^#$%^!!! I'm sure it's a simple solution, but for me fixing this stuff is like watching a monkey try to operate a microwave. I might get lucky and make popcorn, but chances are greater I'll explode a can of pork n beans.
• Our kitty, Poe, has been making attempted prison breaks all week. She's an indoor cat (as have all my pets been since I lost two outdoor kitties in one week while I was in high school) and has never shown a great interest in getting out. In our current place she has tons of room to explore and lots spaces to hide, but maybe the horrible smell of her brother's missed kitty litter attempts are driving her away. I can empathize. It's driving me crazy too. Edgar stands in the box and just shoots a stream straight behind him onto the tiled floor. Thanks for that wonderful ammonia smell wafting through the house, Edgar. So Poe has taken to sneaking out any open door she finds. Usually, she has to build up the courage to make a break for it with a door standing open for more than thirty seconds and no humans nearby. But last night she zipped out between Thom's legs as he walked in from work. She got freaked out and hid on the first landing in the stairwell, but these bold moves are making me nervous. Stop trying to escape, Poe! If I promise you more playtime and brushing will you stay?
• I brought River to the sewing shop yesterday and aside from encouraging me to buy a few spools of thread I didn't need, he did amazingly well. The secret is iphone applications. We have two great ones that are perfect for about 5 minutes of distraction: Peek-a-Boo Barn and Build an Alien. They're good for short trips to the bank or post office, waiting in the car while daddy gets his dry cleaning, or quick conversations with store clerks. I've also started carrying around crayons, paper, and stickers for times when we need more extended entertainment like daddy's soccer games, meals out, or waiting in doctor offices. We're good at the grocery store as long as River has a snack and he gets to help hold some things. That's what's working this week, at least. I'm sure next week we'll be back to square one.

Check out Keely for more random goodness at The UnMom

Random Tuesday Thoughts

After a week off, I'm back to do my RTT update! Let the randomness ensue...

• My 80 year old grandparents spent the past week in Africa, checking out the local wildlife. This is their second trip there. Since retirement they have been to Europe, the rain forest, Panama, Alaska, and a few other places I'm forgetting. Up until about 20 years ago they had never ridden a plane or left the country. Grandma says this is their last big trip. I hope you guys had a wonderful time! I know you have lots of adventures ahead of you - they just may not involve lions.
• We bought a giant play structure at Costco this weekend and I don't think we quite understood what we were getting ourselves into with this purchase. The four 9ft boxes (plus slide, plus hardware boxes) required the rental of a pick-up truck to get home. If we had tried to tie that thing to the roof of our car, it may have made it around the block before flying off into oncoming traffic or crushing our car completely. Add the 1,000 lbs of playground sand we had to load - getting that thing home, unloading, returning the truck, and actually getting started took about 2 hours. We worked on construction (three adults building, one watching little ones) for another 5 hours and had to quit for the day on step 3 of 37. Two days later and I'm still sore. Do you think there's a construction fairy, and how do I get him to visit us?
• Insomnia is lots of fun. It's like a present your brain gives you that you didn't ask for and don't want. Thanks brain. You're awesome.
  
• River has a new friend. He's an invisible blue and orange monster that fits in his palm and goes by the name R-River. I never had imaginary friends that I can remember, but based on how fantastic this guy is, I wish I had. The name alone cracks me up. It's like some futuristic robot name. I know it's just a product of River learning his alphabet (R is for River), but I love that he used it to name someone. All of his other animals are named things like Monster, Big Bear, Little Bear. He can't say "this friend is a by-product of my subconscious and a figurative representation of myself." But somewhere inside he knows it.
  
• I'm in love with The Dollhouse. Really I would watch anything that Joss Whedon wrote (and if you haven't seen Dr. Horrible's Sing-A-Long Blog yet, there is an empty space inside you that needs to be filled). So far the ratings on Dollhouse are bleh but I have hope that they won't Firefly this show and take it off the air before it has a chance.
• We went to PetCo the day we picked up River's monstrosity playset, hoping to kill some time with the animals before the other stores opened. When we walked up to the sliding doors at 9:45am, they didn't open, so I checked the hours posted on front which said open on Sunday at 9:30am. We did what any parent desperate for entertainment would do and pried the doors open. (What? You wouldn't do that? You're a better person than me.) The lady at the front of the store was very nice and said, "Sorry, we're not open until 10." A fact which should have been obvious from the doors having to be, you know, pried open. But my mother always taught me false-advertising is wrong and I made a stink about the fact that the sign on their door was wrong. We walked away, me feeling very smug and put out. When we drove past the door on our way out of the shopping center I looked at the sign again to reinforce that smug satisfaction; however this time I noticed what the sign ACTUALLY said was Store Hours: 10am, GROOMING HOURS: 9:30am. And then I felt exactly like what I was: a giant asshole.
• And just for the sake of saving the shred of dignity I have left, let's talk about snuggles. Snuggles are always good in my book. Yesterday River and I were killing some time at Whole Foods before a playgroup and about halfway into breakfast he had a snuggle attack and jumped into my lap. He then wanted to pretend it was naptime, saying "Night-night," asking for his (pretend) blankie, and telling me to rock him. It was pretty much the cutest thing ever.

Check out more randomness at Keely's place: The UnMom

Random Tuesday Thoughts

Here you go, RTT, jet lag stylin':

• When you're flying cross-country with a toddler and the man in the seat next to your husband and son says, "I totally understand - I have two toddlers myself; I'd switch seats so you could be closer to your family, but I have papers to grade and need lots of arm space" it takes every ounce of willpower you have not to shove his head up his ass. Revenge comes in the form of the pungent smell of an unchanged dirty diaper.
  
• New picture books from the grandparents = awesome! Carrying them home in your suitcase = back pain.
• Note to self: don't turn the heat off before a long trip away, even if it's 60 degrees the day you leave. Cambridge winters NEVER END.
• At the end of each verse of "Five Little Monkeys" River now says, "No-monkeys-jump-bed."
• Rehearsal of the birthday routine was a success! Thom, River, and I all have March birthdays, so we celebrated them with our families back home and told River it was a "practice run" for the real event. We sang Happy Birthday to You and he blew out his candles like a champ. Then he insisted we do it again.
• Perhaps letting River nap at 4:30pm was a mistake. It's now an hour past bedtime and he's still not asleep. Daddy has done one extra shift and I'm up next.

Check out some less-sleepy Random Thoughts at Keely's Place.

Random Tuesday Thoughts

Here's some more randomness, my friends...

• The pet store is a fantastic place to take a little one for some free entertainment. River and I went there yesterday (the cats desperately needing new litter), and he spent nearly an hour looking at the fish, reptiles, birds, and gerbils. I arranged it so our trip to see the critters was book-ended by errands to other not-so-fun places (getting a kid through Home Depot and Babies R Us without a meltdown is a feat of Herculean proportions requiring incredible luck and skill). Well, I did it!
• We have thoroughly destroyed the downstairs family room, but River's new kitchen is nearly complete. Now if someone could help me get sawdust out of the rugs I'd be great.
• Cambridge is a labyrinth: one way streets, awkwardly angled corners, six-point intersections - don't try taking three right turns to get you back to your starting point - it won't work. I drove the wrong way down a street yesterday and greatly angered the dude coming in the other direction (don't worry, it's a quiet street and there was plenty of room), but I did feel like an ass. Since I usually have an incredibly distracting toddler in the back seat, I'm surprised it doesn't happen more often.

• How is it this guy was in one of the most convincing love scenes I've ever seen? Thom and I watched Zack and Miri Make a Porno this weekend and I loved it. Romantic comedies like this are porn for women - there is nothing more satisfying than a good love story featuring real, flawed characters. Check out Nick and Norah's Infinite Playlist for another great outcast love story.

• River has started singing this little mantra to himself every now and then: yee-haw-roar, yee-haw-roar. He'll be playing with his legos, taking a bath, sitting with mommy before bed and out will come this song. It started when his dad showed him a set of cards I made with some silly monsters saying some silly things and now he's yee-haw-roaring all the time. The weird apple does not fall from the weird tree.
• I don't know if my pasty white skin can handle all the promise of sun we've had lately (notice I say "promise"; northeast winters make a ray of sunshine peeking through the ceiling of clouds cause for celebration). I am so eager to get outside again, frolic in the warmth, and end this hibernation. I think River is ready too. Maybe all the yee-haw-roar's are just his way of dealing with the crazy-making winters here.

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Random Tuesday Thoughts

• I woke this morning to find River had come into our room, climbed up on the bed, and put heart sticker on my nose. Then he walked out.
• Do you ever find yourself doing something completely useless, but you can't stop yourself? I feel that way after I've read an US Weekly cover to cover, watched a Jon and Kate Plus 8 marathon, or, like last night, spent hours scrolling through You Suck at Craigslist. Seriously. Don't look. You'll get sucked in and next thing you know it's 3am and you're covered in chip crumbs.
  
• I was at a coffee shop on Sunday afternoon and, as I was placing my drink order, I saw a basket of 50% off pastries. Who can pass up day-old pastries? Not me! I asked for a couple muffins and a wheat bagel. The woman behind the counter looked at me like I had mold growing out of my nose. "What kind of bagel do you want?" I pointed to the wheat bagel and said, "I'd like the wheat bagel, please." Oh silly woman, her eyes said. "That's a cinnamon raisin bagel." I told her I'd take it and walked back to the park (where Thom and River were waiting for me) with my partly-stale, cheap goodies. I am sitting here with said bagel next to me as I type, and there is nary a whiff of cinnamon nor a single raisin. VINDICATION!
• Thom went to take a shower while River was eating breakfast. He watched daddy go then bounced in his chair and said, "Jump! Jump!" I was puzzled for a minute. Then I remembered we always say, "I'm gonna go jump in the shower."
• For Christmas Thom got me a massage appointment for the first Saturday of each month this year. (Yes, I know how lucky I am to have him.) He spread them out over different spas to give me some variety of location, thinking if I found one I liked better than others, I could just reschedule the rest of the appointments there. After three sessions, I'm thinking I need to find a regular spa and a regular massage therapist. I just hate those initial uncomfortable moments getting to know each other. Basically, we're both thinking, "We just met, and one of us is going to be naked in a minute. But lets chat amicably like that's not weird." I need to find someone I'm used to being naked with so it's less weird. Right?
  
• It's here!!! My new sewing machine, which promises to do embroidery, file my taxes, and make dinner every night (well, it should, for how much it cost) is pristine and just waiting for me to come work my magic. So I'm off!

Get more RTT at Keely's place.

Random Tuesday Thoughts

I'm back for another week of spilling the junk from my brain. Here you are:

• I've spent the entire morning thinking it's Monday and I should write my Random Tuesday Thoughts tonight. I'm totally on the ball.
  
• River has a great sitter who he likes and I trust. But she's not perfect, and River still cries sometimes when he has to go away from me. Part of me thinks I should keep looking for someone who is a better fit, but I realized this morning that unless I clone myself, there's never going to be someone I feel completely comfortable leaving him with. Wish I really could be in two places at once.
  
• We live in a condo and part of our unit is in the basement along with utilities for the whole building. A fire box within our unit needs to be inspected by the city every six months. Last fall, as I was dealing with moving in, getting River adjusted to the new house, and wrestling with contractors on a daily basis, the fire inspector came to check it out. It was a particularly trying time for me, and the man they sent really rubbed me the wrong way. I guess I was kind of mean to him (okay, the words "bureaucratic bullshit" might have left my mouth), and I'm not proud to say he left that day near to tears saying, "You hurt my feelings." I kid you not. Well, inspector man is back and trying to set up an appointment with me. After a few phone exchanges, I can safely say I do not like this man and I think it would be very satisfying to hurt his feelings again. I know. I'm a horrible horrible person.
• I love the way River says "downstairs." It comes out like "dow-sayers."
• River has started eating again!!!! Okay I just jinxed myself, but I can't help it. I'm so thrilled to see him consuming, you know, ACTUAL FOOD. Yesterday in the supermarket he convinced me to buy some chocolate ice cream (you can imagine how hard he had to twist my arm to do that), and I told him that if he had a good dinner, he could have some ice cream for dessert. After an amazing dinner, I was true to my word and asked him if he wanted his ice cream. He didn't buy it. He thought it was some trick to get him to eat more broccoli. I watched him look over to his dad like, "What is she playing at?" and the pure, unbelievable joy on his face after I put the ice cream in front of him was hilarious.
• I worked on Thom's birthday present today and it rocks. I hope he likes it. (Don't worry, Thom, I'm not making you a set of placemats.)
  

Check out Keely's place for more RTT.

Random Tuesday Thoughts

I'm trying out a new thing. A few of the mom blogs I've latched onto (like a newborn at the teat) write Random Tuesday Thoughts in which they spew whatever...random... stuff that comes to mind. It ends up being pretty entertaining, in fact. I'm feeling randomy, so here goes:

• I smell like a yak right now. I haven't had a shower in three days and instead of hopping in there right now, like I should, I'm spending my time doing this. Totally productive.
• My sewing machine broke a week ago and I still haven't taken any definitive steps to have it fixed or replaced. I've gone to two sewing shops, researched new machines, and considered my options, but for some reason I feel paralyzed with indecision. I think because sewing is a major part of my business, I want to make sure I get the absolutely perfect new machine and there are HUNDREDS to choose from. Too many options! Just tell me what to get and I'll buy it!
• My friend Jenn has finally nagged me into joining facebook. She was right. It is really simple and better than myspace. But I see it becoming another easy distraction, so I'm laying low.
• Jenn has also inspired me to try to blog a little more often than usual. She did it in the most obvious way: by appealing to my ego. I check everyday, she says, and I always wonder why you haven't blogged for like a week! It's nice having a reader. You know, the one besides my mom and husband.
• Maybe River's obsession is getting to me, but I think about boobs all the time these days. boobiesboobiesboobiesboobies. It's pretty fun to say. You should try it.
• Thom has diagnosed our cat with PTSD (post traumatic stress disorder) and I actually think he's right. Every morning when the coffee grinder starts running Poe freaks out and attacks her brother Edgar, makes the most pathetic high pitched squeal, and is generally manic until the grinder stops. Thom says if it was just anxiety, exposure therapy - hearing the damn thing every day for the past five years - should have worked by now. So PTSD it is. Poor girl. I wonder what horrible thing happened before we adopted her to create such black spot in her life.
  
• Now that I'm near the end I can say I love these Random Tuesday Thoughts! It's totally liberating to get rid of all that useless stuff rolling around in my head and not have to make a funny, poignant, or meaningful post about it. Just dump it out!

I would do that linky thing other people have done, but I'm feeling too technologically lazy right now. Maybe next week I will have it figured out.