My son's lovie...

Lots of kids have "lovies", things they simply cannot leave home or sleep without. Blankets, spit up rags, a special stuffed animal. My son? He has a "Amma" or hammer or more accurately, a crab mallet.

Hey backpackers!!!!

If you don't have http://bacpackingbitches.blogspot.com/ in your google reader or keep up with it regularly please go check in. i posted more stuff regarding our oh-so anticipated trip!

I'm SOOOOOOO very excited for this i can't stand it. I'm literally vibrating with joy at the idea of two whole days in the out doors! I haven't slept outside since Esther was born. yikes!

The week in pictures...

Enjoying my semi-domesticated bliss 1950's style with my $2 apron from the antique store.

They're getting so very big...

This actually wasn't from this week but i had to share. I tend to make cardboard play-things for the kids when i'm avidly avoiding my chores...

His is a pick-up truck "like Dada"

Note the car seat which she just had to have...

Esther started dance class. so far it's been a disaster. more on this later...

And finally, the best part of this crazy week, OUR GIRLS STARTED LAYING EGGS!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Called in sick and played hookie from life

I got a really bad cold Tuesday night and it wiped me out fir a couple days. I got Ben to play hookie with me while the kids were off doing their respective things (school and play date with Lali). We went to the library (on the motorcycle) and got movies and spent most of the rest of the day in bed...

Ah... fall... the time to fall... off...

So yes, i've hit a bit of a slump in posting lately. sorry.

It being september, things have gotten rather busy. Esther started school on the 18th and we've been trying to get into the groove of our new schedule. it's not easy. We've also been attempting some new sleep-better training consisting of my fumbling, un-trained version of NLP for Esther and filling Asa's belly up with Oat Milk...

Yes. we're crazy-town.

Our new schedule
(not that you're terribly interested... i can tell by the way your eyes just glazed over and you basically stopped reading and started thinking about donuts... mmmm doughnuts... how do you spell donuts?)


Mon
Libby works,
Ben drops Esther off at school at 9:30 then goes home and hangs with Asa and picks Esther up from school at 2.
all come home eat dinner and do the bedtime shuffle.

Tues
Ben works,
Libby hangs with kids,
Oma comes for her Esther day.
Ben comes home.
Libby heads down to the city to meet up with Oma and Esther, goes to Hampden for Esther's Dance class, then for Libby's trapeze lesson
Ben puts Asa down and Libby comes home late to carry a sleeping Esther up to her bed.

Wed
Ben works,
Libby drops Esther at school at 9:30 then goes to work,
Asa stays with Lali.
Ben or Lali picks Esther up from school at 2.
Ben is home with kids from 2:15 on...
eat dinner and bedtime shuffle

Thurs
Ben works,
Libby home with kids (sighing dramatically and attempting to do the chores that have fallen by the wayside the rest of the week)

Fri
Repeat of Monday...

ok. i'm going to go get another cup of coffee and pretend i'm eating a doughnut.

Architectural genius

This is where the kids have been plotting their plebeian uprising...

Playing dress up with the hand-me-downs my Ya-ya sent all the way from Portland.

Bragging Rights

He is awfully cute for being so in love with someone else (twitter).

Just their size.

I know at least one of my readers will recognize this teeny little house.

Toddler Taming

Yesterday, after Asa gave Esther a particularly hard thump on the head (mostly by accident) I asked him to say "sorry" and give her a kiss. He refused. We had a battle of wills. For 45minutes I held him in my lap and repeated "say sorry to Esther" in a mostly calm an loving and gentle voice. 45 MINUTES FOLKS!!!! And he finally said it. I win. I am the champ!!!! I am a super mom!!!!

Sent from my iPhone

Not a good day. Stomach is messed up, can't keep anything down. Work was annoying but could have been worse. Now I'm stuck in the parkinglot because my battery is dead. And I feel so shitty and embarrassed and unfriendly and did I mention shitty? Because here I am at work where there's a great deal of large cops who could probably give me a jump or at the very least enough momentum to pop the clutch. But no I just can't bust through the thick shell of antisocial socially awkward and hateful loathing I feel toasted my fellow man. So i'm waiting for my hero and wishing the radio would work and I could go home...

Sent from my iPhone

My throat is actually sore from yelling at the kids today...

Sent from my iPhone

just once...

you know... just once, i'd like to show up on the craigslist missed encounters...

Rant on Asa's doctor who is no longer Asa's doctor and how totally awesome i am.

Ben took Asa for his well baby visit and boosters on Monday. We have never been particularly fond of the kids' doctor but considering they don't see him too terribly often and we're not trying to be best buddies with her we figured we'd deal.

I'd like to say that when we first took Asa to her at 3 months old she wanted to put him on liquid vitamins. He was perfectly healthy. There were no signs of malnutrition or anything. We took the script but never followed through because we believed that he was perfectly healthy. But what the f--- do we know, we only spend like every waking minute with him. But she's a health care professional and spends all of 15 minutes with him every few months...

So, back to Monday. Ben took him because i had to work. First she tells Ben that Asa is too small (i checked it against the cdc growth charts and he's small but in the EXACT same percentile as Esther was when she was his age and HER doctor at the time did not seem to think this was out of the ordinary given her genetics).  Ben argued with her telling her that his wife is 3/8th filipino, barely 5ft tall, and 96lbs soaking wet. But she didn't want to hear it. She disapproves of our health eating habits which limit dairy, sugar, and commercially grown meat; and emphasizes whole grains, alternative proteins like nuts and beans, and has some (if extremely small) basis in macrobiotics. After Ben argued with her she proceeded to tell him that she thinks Asa has a heart murmur, probably as consequence to being so small...

While it's possible he does have a heart murmur (though after reading this it seems unlikely as he hasn't had any diseases that tend to cause it AND no one has heard it in the 20+ months that people have been listening to his heart). Doctor Douche let Ben listen and Ben said he couldn't hear anything.

So after hearing all this when i get home from work on Monday i proceeded to spend yesterday getting the kids PCP changed to a new guy close to my work so i can come too even if i'm working and we're going to get a second opinion before ordering up an echo-cardiogram. I have also proceeded to giver her a bad review on one of those rate your doc websites.


On another note:
Miss Laura Mae Socks proceeded to tell me what a great mama she thinks i am - Read this Suckkas!!!!

Laura: let's talk about how good of a mom you are

i've been bragging that to everyone

Libby: hahahahaha

Laura: seriously

i bragged to

terri

shannon

my mother in law

Libby: you're kidding??

Laura: i'm not

i like how you roll

Libby: i'm down to hear about how great i am.

Laura: you're to the point

your kids know what you expect it seems

you don't let them walk all over you but you let them be independent

i think it's awesome

Libby: i'm totally quoting you on the blog!

Terri - Thanks for the awesome action shot of Asa. I absolutely love this. Also, Terri is to credit for the new banner pic. Go visit her for more pics of our most recent parenting commiserating visit. Terri, you're an awesome mama too!

Belated Anniversary Post

This blog has been alive and kicking since August 20, 2005. It has officially been 5 years. Damn. I'm one narcissistic, verbose mother-fcker!

Thanks for indulging me guys. i love you!

Me Then

Me Now

More pics from the Wildwood Beach quick trip last month...

We did a brief whirlwind trip down to Wildwood, NJ for Ben's Mom's family beach trip. It's getting harder and harder to make it to these types of events. There are so many demands on our schedules these days and with both kids and their schedules and our increasing lack of funds... it gets crazy around here... 

But we did make it for one good day of fun and sun and sand... Ben's cousin Ryan and his wife Stacia (HI GUYS!!) have two kids about the same ages as our kids so it's fun to get them together, albeit complete chaos... 

Olivia and Esther found these glasses under a bed in the rental house... and then proceeded to wear them around. I have to say, this last picture is probably one of my all time favorite pictures of Esther. She looks so much like me for once.

[Photos courtesy of Ryan Rush. Thanks Ryan!!!]


These next bunch of photos are from the same weekend but are courtesy of Oma. Thanks Oma!
(and sorry they're so late in the posting...)

i look like such a little kid here... a kid with blue lips...

ok, NOW it's summer... (now that it's practically over)

I did it. I manned up and made homemade ice cream for the first time. My mother bought the kitchenaid ice cream maker and has since been a tornado of frozen delicacy...

Which, while delicious, adds to my fear of attempting such gastronomical feats... if i haven't said this already, i'm going to say it now in no uncertain terms: My mother is an intense perfectionist!

Anything and everything she does makes my attempts look like dog doo... so in an effort of self preservation or perhaps pride or perhaps laziness, i simply don't do the things she does because, let's face it, if she does it a thousand times better than i ever could, i'm just going to sweet-talk her into doing it for me. this does not bode well for that dark day when she dies... which she will no doubt do with either utter grace and significance, or with a loud, enviable bang.

Ok, back to the ice cream. SO, i sucked it up (she had a prior engagement so i couldn't talk her into doing it for me) and made ice cream. and you know what?  IT WASN'T HARD AT ALL!!!!!!!!

I was nervous because the recipe i settled on (the French Vanilla recipe that came with the ice cream maker instructions (page 8 of this pdf) -- which i was going to add peaches to to make peach ice cream) required cooking. and for ice cream you're basically making a custard. I don't do custards... or puddings... or any of that wonky stuff.

But i did it. it didn't suck... i didn't burn it... i didn't have any trouble separating the yolks from the whites... and i even forgot to stir it often... and i didn't use a double boiler...

Admittedly, the peach ice cream was a bit icy but that's because i didn't have time to freeze the peaches first. But the french vanilla was ASTOUNDINGLY phenomenal. it was just like store bought, but better... and fluffy... and creamy... and oh dear god. i want more.

i'm hooked...

(i would have taken pictures but my camera sucks and next to joe's i would just feel miles worth of inadequate. Maybe i could sweet talk him into being our private photographer just for the blog... i could pay him with ice cream!!!)

Some photo error on Joe's pictures so here they are again, and more...

when i finally decide to go back to working on that book i might some day maybe possibly but probably not ever finish. Joe will be in charge of the cover art.