Merry Christmas To All...

and to all a good night...

Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays!

Like My New Banner?

My friend, Charlie, has great design sensibilities. She knows my style, because it's very much like her own (see her groovy Christmas Card). She just made my new banner, literally in about 10 minutes. Isn't she awesome??

People are Passionate About Radishes

Last night Elliott and I were discussing how much we dislike radishes.  I nonchalantly posted on Twitter about our distaste for the veggie.  Twitter also updates my Facebook page...here's the ensuing string of comments from the peanut, er...radish (?) gallery: 

Laura my husband and i both agree: radishes SUCK.via Twitter -9:40pm - 19 Comments

 Melissa Allen White at 9:45pm December 18

i'd have to agree as well

 Niki Jorgenson at 9:56pm December 18

oh, i would have to politely disagree. i love the radishes. i like to eat them as a snack.

 Melanie E Boyd at 10:01pm December 18

Spicy, colorful, and nearly no calories. What's not to love?!

 Shelly Doyle Shuey at 11:31pm December 18

I'm a fan. Wouldn't want them in my birthday cake or anything, but I like 'em.

 Joe Fay at 11:32pm December 18

Yeah, but the band Radish rocked a little. Oh, young Ben Kweller, we hardly knew ye.

 Elliott Seymour at 7:27am December 19

Well, after a lot of thought, I have decided that the reason that I don't like radishes is that they taste like sh*t.

 Melissa Allen White at 7:56am December 19

I just don't like them..probably one of the only veggies I don't like~ personally don't know what sh*t tastes like..but I will take your word for it. ;-)

 Elliott Seymour at 8:00am December 19

Hey Melissa, you know what sh*t tastes like? Radishes.

 Melissa Allen White at 8:00am December 19

OH yeah..it's early I wasn't thinking clearly!

 Laura Beaty Seymour at 8:09am December 19

little did i know that the great radish debate would unfold right here on my facebook page...

 Elliott Seymour at 8:24am December 19

Radish memories: I remember getting my first taste of the cursed radish. It was in a salad - that's how they slip them to you, ya know. Anyhow, I thought I had bit into a rotting onion...or a rat carcass. To this day, I still hate rat carcasses. And radishes.

 Joe Fay at 9:37am December 19

I think the difference between sh*t and radishes is that sh*t actually has a taste. Radishes "taste" like drywall. And by the way, why do people put f*cking cabbage in lettuce for salads!!?? It has no taste, either. And restaurants that offer a "fruit cup" that's 90% canteloupe and green melon, the cheapest and most tasteless fruits on the market. THANKS FOR THE HALF STRAWBERRY AND TWO GRAPES AND 17 SLICES OF MELON IN MY FRUIT CUP! STOP USING CHEAP FILLER MATERIAL IN OUR FOODS, A**HOLES!

 Laura Beaty Seymour at 9:49am December 19

note to self: keep radishes, cabbage, and melon away from joe fay.

 Elliott Seymour at 10:08am December 19

I like the increasing use of profanity in this post about radishes.

 Elliott Seymour at 10:09am December 19

...d*mn it.

 Melissa Allen White at 12:24pm December 19

f@ckers! ;-) This post made my day!

 Jill Marie Sullins at 3:00pm December 19

I think radishes are f-ing gross and I wouldn't eat them if they were the last thing on this damn earth. Why? Because they taste like nothing. They are almost as bad as water chestnuts. Don't get me started on water chestnuts.

 Elliott Seymour at 3:27pm December 19

Amen, Jill, Amen.

 Laura Beaty Seymour at 7:31pm December 19

this is maybe the best comment string EVER.

They Hold the Key

My Boy Painted a Tree Today

There are "things I should be doing 'online', but I'm just having too much fun with these guys:

Noel and Lennon are being super-cute fun together - MOST of the time...there are still the moments where I find Noel in the prolonged "hug" (read: strangle hold), or Lennon with a size 10 Toddler shoe in his face, but a lot of the time, it's good, and I think it only gets better. 

Today Noel painted a tree.  I'm impressed.

Noel (who introduces himself as "Noel Bowl"), age 2 yrs. 9 mo.

Tyler, We Want to Meet You!

When I first moved out on my own, I could not cook.  A gourmet meal to me was hummus and Wheat Thins.  A few years back, I worked from home.  Well, working from home for me, meant sitting in front of the TV with my laptop, working.  It was the life!  However, even with 200 channels (thank you, DirecTV), there were times when there wasn't much on TV.  I came across Food Network during one of these days, and it happened to be around Christmas time.  Tyler Florence, who was then the host of Food 911 (RIP), was helping someone make restaurant quality steaks.  I was hooked.  

We began to DVR episodes of Food 911 and Tyler's Ultimate religiously.  We tried a LOT of Tyler's meals.  We watch Tyler's Ultimate still, today, on pins and needles, wondering what amazing, incredible dish Tyler's going to show us how to make this week (sloppy joe's with squash slaw!?!)  To be quite frank, Elliott and I love Tyler.  We feel like he's our long lost brother.  He's the kind of guy you'd want to make you dinner, then hope that he'll sit down and eat with you.  We're pretty sure we'd get along with this guy like peanut butter and jelly (speaking of...).

So yesterday, I was checking Twitter, and I remebered a Fellow Twit had mentioned meeting him at the Food & Wine Festival in NYC.  I wanted to follow up and see how it was.  I confessed to her that he is my cooking inspiration...and the die was cast!  She gave me the idea to publicly ask for Tyler to come give my husband and I a cooking lesson.  In fact, I thought of an even better idea for Tyler's time with us!  I am a good cook, but my kitchen is insanely disorganized.  I'd love for him to help us get organized so we can cook his fab meals without feeling overwhelmed by our kitchen...and then, of course, we would use our new found skills to cook an insanely good meal together and eat it with him in our living room while we watch The Brady Kids cartoons or Scooby Doo.  That's not too much to ask, is it?!?  

Help me, my friends...get Tyler to come over!!!  Leave me a comment-I'll use it as a "petition".  Word is out on Twitter for anyone that knows Tyler, and I am guessing that with the power of social networking, we can get this to happen (ya know, if Tyler WANTS to *please!!*).  Thanks, everyone!!!

From the E$

I just really like this picture, don't you? My husband took it.

Who's Who?

Can you tell? I had one where they looked even more alike, but Lennon had his hand in his face, so I went with this one. They are the exactly the same age in these pictures. Lennon is doing great...he's a little bruiser & totally fearless. He's got someone he wants to keep up with, so he's ready to go. He still centipedes through the house, but now he just goes about 100 mph. He can pull himself up and has started working his way around tables and such. He loves his big brother, and his big bro is starting to love him back. It's pretty nice to have these two playing together. The past 8 months haven't been easy, but this makes up for it in spades. I love to see them smiling in each other's faces, and I reaaaaaaally love to see Noel give Lennon hugs and kisses. It's been a long time coming.

Peace

My youngest child has been quite disgruntled his entire life.  He just never seems comfortable, unless we are right by his side.  If he is awake, he wants to be around people.  There is nothing wrong with this, but it is just different from our first experience with Noel.  Noel was laid back, even as a baby.  We think it was because he was premature-he just took a few more months to sleep and keep growing, and it just made for a really calm babyhood for him.  I often wonder if Lennon would be a more relaxed child had he been born first...but he was born into a world of banging pots and pans together to make cymbals, and noisy toys and Yo Gabba Gabba.  He doesn't really have too many opportunities to just chill, like Noel did.  

This afternoon, I got home from work early.  When I noticed Lennon getting tired, I took him in our room and nursed him.  Just us.  Him & me, there in the quiet room, with nothing but the white noise of the fan.  I had the opportunity to look at him, and study him, and just be still.  He was more relaxed than I think he has ever been.  I held him.  With his head on my chest, he just laid there quietly, his eyes open, content.  At Peace.  Now, after almost 8 months, I think I finally understand this child (I'm slow to read people).  He needs a time to be calm, and still, and quiet.  He showed me something today, about myself that I just realized-I, too, need this quiet. 

A few minutes of calm during the chaos of life is important for all of us.  We are so wired these days to never take one single second away from tv, or music, or twitter, or facebook, or wii...I could go on and on...We can learn so much by listening to our children, who don't have to have all these distractions to be happy or fulfilled.  All they need is you.  All they need is you.

Good Times in October

I can't believe how long it's been since I've blogged. No excuses though, we'll just get on with the good stuff.

We think perhaps we should enter him in a mini-Brian Wilson look-alike contest. What do you think?

He's a little cuddler, especially at 4:00 AM. That's right, almost 8 months old, and still not sleeping through the night. Thoughts, ideas, tips?

On the BIG BOY playground. So exciting!

He knows he's adorable.

Amy & Laura are in a Hula Hoop Contest!

Amy, my MumsTheWurd! partner & friend, and I are Wii-ing it up together.  Today will mark my 5th day using the Wii Fit.  I don't know if I can explain in a blog post how much I despise exercising.  Perhaps this is why the Wii Fit called me a weakling and a couch potato...but anyway...

The Wii Fit is FUN!  It's exercise, but you can do things like Hula Hooping, Yoga, Strength Training with a trainer, etc.  It's something I can see myself doing every day for 30 minutes, at least.  Elliott & I are both love the sports disc too, which includes things like tennis, boxing, and bowling. 

The most interesting thing about the Wii Fit, is that it does a body test when you first plug it in, and tells you what you weigh, your BMI, sets goals, etc.  I was amazed!  I fell into a category I was ok with, but I know it could be better.  I'm pretty excited to see what happens over the next couple of weeks Wii-ing with Amy!

Over 4 days, I've done the Wii Fit for at least 25 minutes, done other games on the sports package (a workout too!), and done outside activities (like walking for 1 1/2 hrs. at the zoo)...and I gained 2 lbs., as of last night.  We'll see if that's different today, because I'd just had dinner when I did the body test last night. 

Amy & I will be logging our "activities" over the next couple of weeks to keep each other honest.  Right now, I think we both love the Hula Hoop most-Amy caught 5 hoops at once!  My highest was 3, but geesh, who knew hula hooping was such a freaking workout?  I have been feeling the effects of the workouts-I am SORE!!!  

My Big, Fat Identity Crisis

I'm having one of those times where I feel busy over my head and have too many things I want to do, and it becomes too much and instead of doing even ONE of those things, I instead want to fall asleep on the couch in peace...ahhh...it feels good to get that out.  I feel overwhelmed, and excited, and busy.  I have never thrived on "busy".  I like to hang out in our house and watch TV, or listen to music, or play, or read.  Sometimes, I feel overwhelmed by the computer.  I think it makes me unnecessarily "busy"...but then there's the part of me that likes my computer life.  It involves my husband, we sort of have a little group we "tweet" with...I don't know...it's all very new and foreign to me.  I'm still trying to accept sometimes that I have a life on the computer, that actually keeps me busy, doing work that I one day hope to make a living from.  Life will take place, as I "work" here, with my living room as my background.  Does anyone else have a difficult time accepting this "lifestyle"-of having a life on the computer?  Surely I am not the only one who has this identity crisis.

Once again...

It's time for compare & contrast:

 

Noel, around 7 months.

 

 

Lennon, 6 1/2 months.

 

There are definite differences, but they also look so much alike.  I really am excited to see what they'll look like in another 6 months.  I'm thinking they'll look the same with different colored hair.  Although, Noel's hair's looking pretty brown here, and now he's a total blondie.  Whatever, they are both friggin' darling.

Lennon had his 6 month appointment yesterday.  He's 19 lbs. 14 oz. and 28 in. long.  Once again, his head was at 100% on the scale.  Today, he's been army crawling, crawling, and sitting up for minutes at a time.  All of a sudden, he's not as helpless. 

In other news, Noel had his first recording session with mom & dad.  I'll be sure to post the song when it's complete.  All I can say is that we had great fun, and he's a natural.  Can't wait to see what our family band will accomplish in the next few years. :)

2 1/2 & 6 months

Here they are, looking brotherly. Noel is standing because they were sitting next to each other and Lennon *gasp!* touched him...so, he got away. Still, I love this pic, and Noel is warming up to him more & more. Yeah, it's only taken 6 months. Lennon loves to eat carrots and rice cereal and he's sitting up pretty well without assitance. Noel got some drums. He loves them. Lennon loves to watch Noel do anything. They are both sweet and wonderful. My heart is full.

"Nots and Nots of Pictures"

As most two year olds do, Noel says "N" when he's trying to say an "L" word. My favorite so far is Buzz "Nightyear". Here are some recent pics of us...Yes, the eyes will get him far in life, I'm positive.

This smile is killing me. He was so happy to be wearing daddy's old Pufapalooza shirt.

Mummy's new hair. LOVE IT. E$ did it for me. He's good, huh?

He loves to give raspberries.

Nothing comes between a boy and his wooden cars.

I'm So Tired

It's been way too long since I've posted here. It's not that I don't want to...I think of things to write about all the time. It's just that I'm tired. Oh, so tired. I have a baby that doesn't like to sleep at night, and this is something I have not experienced before. Almost 6 months of this, and I'm just...tired.

However, I can't complain much. Life here is good. Today, I celebrate 4 years of marriage with my awesome husband. I can't say enough good things about him. He is definitely the most caring and kind-hearted person that I have ever known. He loves his children mightily. He is a super dad, and just one of the nicest people you'd ever want to know. I am looking forward to many, many more anniversaries. I can't believe it's only been 4, and it's good to know that a lifetime more lie ahead.

Today Noel looked at a little foot massager that is basically a wooden ball with a ring around it. He picked it up and declared, "It's Saturn." Wow. He's turning into one sharp cookie. This summer, he has been enjoying going outside and playing in the water. His favorite thing to do is to "Spray Mommy!" Mommy's not so sure that it's her favorite, but whatever makes her little man happy...He will be 2 1/2 officially TOMORROW. I can't believe it.

Lennon is a sweetheart. Really, he loves people and to be cuddled and fawned over. He wants attention, a lot. This would be much easier if he were the only child, but since he's not, he gets the short shrift sometimes. He's almost 5 1/2 months old and becomes more and more like a little human being every day. His big eyes and two-tooth grin will light up your day. These brothers are going to be one handsome pair. Watch out for the $ brothers, little ladies.

Now that I've given you a pretty dull update, I'm off to nap while I still can. I'll be back soon...definitely sooner than three weeks. That's just unacceptable!

Freedom

Perhaps "freedom" isn't the most appropriate expression...but I feel like I am starting to finally understand exactly how to deal with a needier baby.  We both give Lennon loads of attention, because if he doesn't get it, he tends to be a little "sad".  This is ok, but I really feel that to deal with a baby like this and keep your sanity, you have to find their schedule and go with it.  Or notice small nuances about what does or doesn't keep them happy and try to remember them.  We've figured out that Lennon just really needs us nearby a lot.  Even sometimes when he's sleeping.  I am finding ways to make these night time needs fewer and farther between, but I also have to be there for him if he needs me.  He's a baby.  He needs security from his parents the most right now, so that later on, he'll know that we have been there for him always, and we'll continue to be.  He's been enjoying eating so much.  I think part of his new found happiness comes from his daily dose of carrots and rice cereal.  He is the baby that cries in between bites because he's so excited for more.  Noel was not so ravenous for food, so this is pretty hilarious to watch for the first time.

It's been quite interesting for us to have two children with very different baby personalities.  Whoa...it's almost as if they're little humans. ;-)