Does My Son Have A Twitch?

Every once in a while when I walk in the room Z will put his head to his shoulder and look at me funny. At first I thought he had an earache, then I started to panic thinking that he had some sort of neurological disorder. Well now I don't believe it is either of these reasons that cause Z to act so strangely. We were outside today and I told Z that we were going to have to go in for his nap. I asked him which books he would like to read and then he did the shoulder thing and laughed. It was then that I realized that I sometimes cock my head when I ask him questions and he is mimicking me!!! So to test this theory, I cocked my head again and he did it right back. I burst out laughing as did he and I then realized that S and I need to modify a bunch of behaviors because before long he will be copying everything we do!!!

Interesting Visitors

I was reading this blog the other day (a new favorite) and she had an interesting post about the keywords that point to her site. You know what I mean right? She identified some funny keywords typed on Google, that brought people to her blog. Well S and I love to look at these results as well and so I thought it would be fun to highlight a few of the odd search terms that have brought people to my site. Here are the top 5 favorites :)

1. "Flicking the Head of a Dandelion"
This post brought a lot of traffic to my site. There were a few people out there, just like
me, searching for that classic chant, "Momma had a baby and the head popped off". Well those folks found some good info on my site. I am not so sure what the person who typed "flicking the head of a dandelion" was looking for when they found my site though :) Perhaps they wanted to know the proper technique? Maybe I will put some video
footage on my site of my stellar flicking abilities :)

2. "Chicken Bathing Supplies" (also "chicken cleaning business", "raising chicken supplies")
Sorry folks, I am in the business of raising a toddler, not chickens! I did once write about cleaning a chicken for dinner but that is as far as it goes. My mother in-law would like me to raise chickens to eat the ticks in our backyard but S and I have decided that our littler suburban town is not ready for chickens :)

3. "Alligator baby mom head picture"
What????? I have no idea how this search term ended up on my site! What do they want? This is just weird!

4. "My baby belly button raise when he cry"
Here is another interesting search. Again, I am not sure why they ended up on Raising Z. I
have never actually watched Z's belly button when he cries. Curiosity has gotten the best
of me though, so I will make sure to watch him the next time he cries.

5. "Should buckwheat pancakes be eaten in hot weather"
Am I missing something? I have served buckwheat pancakes in both hot and cold weather.
Does something happen to the buckwheat on a 90 degree day??? I am going to have to
look into this one.

Those are my funky search terms for this past month. If you blog, I highly recommend hooking up with Google Analytics if you have not yet done so. It is really fun to see where people are coming from and what they are searching for.

The Weekend

Well Z and I spent an extra day at the lake because it was too hard to say "good-bye" to the weekend. We played games (Memory was the big favorite for the adults), had a BBQ, went for Z's first row boat ride, went to the Country Store for my pickle, hit the outlets, played trucks, built sandcastles, Z played t-ball and basketball, the boys went golfing and Z even went for a swim!

It was warm enough on Monday so I put Z in his bathing suit (I had on shorts) and he had a ball splashing in the water. He was in up to his chest (brrrrr) and loving every minute of it. The water did take some getting use to but once you did, it wasn't that bad (I only went up to my knees though).

The lake is such a special place for our family and Z loves it as much as we do. He had so much fun playing with the other kids, hiking up and down to the beach (the small hill is a mountain to him) and playing trucks in the sand. He slept so well up there! He put in two-three hour naps and slept until 7:30 or 8:00 every morning ;) It was wonderful.

I put in my longest run yet (7.2 miles) and did not stick to my diet at all :( Oh well :) We also saw a bunch of wildlife this weekend. There was a red tailed hawk, loons, tons of butterflies, ducks, lots of mayflies and even a fox!

Thanks N and C for a great weekend. G...welcome to the Lake! We hope you liked your first trip :)

Family Traditions

For as long as I can remember I have lived for tradition! I am not big on change and like things that are predictable and comfortable :) Christmas would not be Christmas without my entire family watching National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation, a rowdy Christmas Eve party, a hunt for the Christmas Pickle and a big pancake breakfast. With Thanksgiving comes an early morning run, tuning into watch the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade and eating my grandmother's delicious Jello mold! I like to spend every Memorial and Labor Day weekend at the lake playing Bocce, Yahtzee and going for a dill pickle at the Country Store. Many of these traditions have been in place since I was a small child and they are all so important to me.

Even though Z is young I am already trying to instill some traditions that will stay in place for his childhood (and if he is anything like me, the rest of his life). Many of the traditions are things that S and I have taken from our childhood (marching up the stairs to bed, S playing his guitar for Z, Easter egg hunts on the farm etc.) and many we are putting into place for the first time. I think it is so important for children to grow up in a home that is filled with tradition. Of course it is important to be flexible (something which I am getting better at with age) but I believe that traditions help to build a strong family structure and create wonderful memories.

Living in "Goodnight Moon"

Do any of you live in the book Goodnight Moon??? It is so funny but for the past month or so, we live in that story. Z says goodbye or goodnight to everything. We can not leave a room until he has bid farewell to all of his favorite toys, pictures, books, stuffed friends and of course people. "Nigh Nigh Duh Truk", "Nigh Nigh Bullulllullllowzer", "Nigh Nigh baaaball", "Nigh Nigh George", "Bye Bye San Box", "Bye Bye rake"....and it goes on and on and on. It is so adorable except for when you in a rush and he becomes angry that he did not say good-bye to everything :)

I do have a little bit of it on video but it is on my phone (very grainy). I need to get a new video camera soon so I can capture this fun stage of his life. It is way too cute :)

Happy Birthday Auntie!

I love you Auntie K!

Thanks for being so much fun!
You are my favorite Special K.
Happy Birthday!

Love, Z

Where did My Sweet Baby Go????

If you ask my best friend L what her favorite stage of her daughter's development has been...she always answers "the stage she is in right now". I look at Z right now and though I am amazed by all that he can do....I kind of miss that 10-14 month stage. During that time period there were no real temper tantrums, he was pretty easy going, learning to walk, talk and starting to find his independence. It was a fun time for both of us.

Raising a toddler is an emotional ride for the village that's involved. There are those days where you feel like everything is working like clockwork, you are both smiling, happy and enjoying your time together. You are so in love with one another and wonder, "why did I think this was so hard yesterday???" Then like a bolt of lightning, everything changes. Your child is screaming and kicking, you begin to sweat and turn beet red all while trying to stay in control of your emotions.

I will never forget Z's first public temper tantrum. We were in the Apple Store looking for a back up hard drive. I made the mistake of not bringing his stroller into the mall with me and let him get down and bang on the keyboards. When it was time to follow the nice man to the hard drives, Z was not happy to be leaving his keyboard. He started to kick, squirm and scream. He ended up kicking the sales associate! I was horrified. I apologized and told him that we would have to buy the hard drive another time. He asked why and I looked at him strangely (as sweat was pouring down my face) and pointed to my kicking and screaming child. I quickly escorted Z out of the mall as every shopper turned and stared!

There are so many days where I sit down on the couch after a LONG day and feel like I am failing as a parent. Did I give in too easily? Did I do the right thing? Was I too hard on him? Are my expectations too high? Do I baby him? The questions go on and on and on. I truly wish there was an individualized owners manual with each child :)

If you ask different people what their favorite age is, they all say different things. There are those who love the infant stage (not me, I found it a bit boring) and others love the 6-12 months stage (a personal favorite of mine). Then there are those who love the terrible twos and tell you that three is the worst age ever! Other people love three but hate four and call it the devil age. And finally there are those parents who say any age is better than 13-18 :)

If you ask me, I think every stage has its ups and downs. My guess is that the stage you are in right now is probably the hardest (or best depending on how you look at it) :) We just have to keep our wits about us and when they are driving us completely bonkers, look at their little cute faces and fall in love with them all over again!

I Am A Prisoner In My Own Home....

This lady is the reason that I am afraid to go outside. They have become a real problem in our backyard this year. The beautiful swing set that we built...I am afraid to go near it. Z and I spend our time outside on the lawn and still end up covered in ticks. We each had one embedded last night (3rd one of the season for him and second for me) and I found 4 others crawling...one in his hair!

Z's tick was in his neck, let me tell you how fun it was to pin him down and try to get that sucker out. He screams each time we have tweezers in hand and it is so horrible for all involved. I have tried to be brave, tried to stay away from the lawn/forest edge but it is no use....we have at least 3 ticks on us each time we go outside. The other day we were out there for 10 minutes and sure enough....3 ticks crawling on us!!! I can't take it anymore!!!!!!!

When I was growing up, this area was only known for dog ticks and that was if you were hiking in the woods. Now we are playing on our grass and coming in with ticks. S is afraid to spray because many of the chemicals they use are banned in other states. He is also afraid for our groundwater (as am I) but I refuse to look at my backyard from inside and I am tired of having that creepy crawly feeling all the time. I hate ticks!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Rain Out, 5 K, Yardwork and Home Improvement....

That was our weekend :) It started off with the Sox game that got rained out. We never actually went to the stadium but got four prime seats at a bar nearby. We ate dinner and got ready for the Celtics game (another bummer). Even though I didn't get to go to the game it was still nice to be out in Boston, hanging out with S, my dad and my brother in-law. S went to the make-up with his dad on Saturday, I decided it was best for Z if I stayed home with him.

On Saturday I did my first race of the season. It was just a 5 K but I had my second best time ever! I did it in 25 minutes and 40 seconds, not too bad for training on my own (I use to run with a running club). S also ran the race but did it with no training! I was so proud of how well he did. After our race we BBQ'd on the grill and then did some yard work.

Sunday was all about home improvement. We put up a new chandelier in our dining room (which I LOVE), replaced some hardware in our kitchen and continued our remodel work in our upstairs bathroom. We have so much to do around the house and finding time is our biggest challenge. It felt good to get done all that we did this weekend. In two weeks we hope to start painting the kitchen or the dining room :) It is so hard to decide which to do first....we shall see!

A Trip to the Local Firehouse

What a dream field trip for a child! A few weeks ago my mother's group took the kids to the local fire department. It was so fun to see the kids all wide eyed as they toured the fire station. The tour included a fire hat and sticker for each child, a demonstration of the fire pole and free time to run around and climb on the fire trucks!

At first Z was a little hesitant and intimidated.....he had never seen the firetrucks and firefighters in person. It wasn't long though before he was running from truck to truck and even sat in the drivers seat :) He had a blast and I had such a good time watching he and the other little children explore the beloved firehouse :)

If you are able to organize a tour of your local fire department, I highly recommend it!!!

Toddler Communication

I am in awe everyday with Z's vocabulary. He seems to be coming up with new and interesting words all of the time. He is now putting these words together into somewhat recognizable phrases ("nice catch, where is ______ momma?, I sit momma etc.) and he loves to point and label things. Z will continue to label and object over and over until you repeat the word he says :)

Since the first day Z started making sounds, he was "telling stories". He loves to talk (like his parents) and even though he didn't have any words (well words that we understood) he would go on and on and on. He still does this but now we are able to catch a familiar word here and there.

I use to keep track of all of Z's words in his Baby Signs (R) Memory Book. This was when he only had 20-30 words. Now he has so many and I have not been able to keep track of them all in the book (so lazy). Besides, what am I going to do....brag at playgroup about how many words Z knows? I have to say that I try not to do that sort of thing. After all there is no race to win here people (I feel another blog post coming on).

They say that a toddler's caregiver understands best what the child is trying to say with their broken speech. This person can then act as an interpreter for the rest of the world and help the child get what they want/need. Well I feel like I am failing as Z's interpreter. I only catch words here and there and he often has to rely on his Baby Signs (R), pointing or me figuring out the context of what he is saying in order to communicate. I feel horrible when he looks at me and repeats a word over and over and I have no idea what he is saying. Most of the time he sounds like he is speaking German (maybe he is).

The other day Z was saying, "damat" and my sister asked me what he was saying. I replied with "damat" and she said, "no shit, what does that mean?". I couldn't tell her! I feel so badly that I am not able to understand Z at times. He speaks so fast and sometimes I feel as if I am back in French class with the professor speaking a mile a minute in a language that I could not comprehend.

For the most part, Z and I communicate pretty well. But many of his words sound the same and there are still words that he says that I do not have meaning for. I know as time passes, he will learn more words and I will be better able to understand him. But for now, my German child will have to bear with his mother who is so bad at learning foreign languages. Sorry Z!

A Great Outing

Today Z's Kindermusik class went to an Adult Day Care center to sing, dance and play instruments with the people there. I had always thought of Adult Day Care centers as places where the elderly went while their caregiver was at work or needing a break. I couldn't have been more wrong! There were people of all ages there with many different needs. Some were elderly who needed a place to hang out, some folks had Alzheimers, some had physical disabilitites and others had mental disabilities.

It was so fun to watch all of their faces light up when the little ones entered the room. Within our group we had children ranging from 4 months-20 months (including two sets of twins) and it was difficult to figure out who was having more fun! There were drums to be played, scarves to hide behind, egg shakers to shake and then best of all....bubbles! The center had a beautiful golden retriever who the kids fell in love with. In fact they gave him a little too much love and a stuff dog had to take his place so he could get a break :)

When we were playing the egg shakers, I looked over and saw a man who looked about my dad's age. He leaned over to his friend (a girl who looked to be in her 30's) and said, "I haven't had this much fun in a long time!" She replied with "Yes, this is great". At that I got a bit choked up and felt so happy that we were able to bring a little joy into their day. Our Kindermusik teacher loved the experience so much and they are already working on setting up a return visit!

Happy Free Small Iced Coffee Day at Dunkin Donuts! I have already been to two shops today and had 2 decafs ;) They are doing it until 10pm so go out and get some!!!

Local Organic Produce

When S and I lived in the city, we belonged to a food co-op and it was the best! Once a week during the summer we would go and pick up our share of fresh vegetables, fruits and herbs. This made for some interesting and new dishes for us and we were challenged with using every bit of food before the week was out.

Thanks to my friend H's suggestion of this website we will be having fresh, local produce once again! We just joined our local CSA and I can't wait for summer! We will get fresh veggies, fruit (when in season) and herbs all summer long. We can even go to the local farm and pick our own if we want to :)

It is so exciting to drive to the pick up location, wondering what you will get that week. Will it be swiss chard, beets, carrots or something I have never even heard of??? I then go home and search the internet for fun recipes and info on how to cook the different greens. It will be so nice to know where my summer produce is coming from and know that it is fresh and organic!

I highly suggest you check out your local food co-op or CSA. Your body and taste buds will thank you for it!

A New Faith in Humanity

Yesterday was a crazy day for me. I was out playing with Z and wanted to water the lawn, so I placed my cell phone on top of my car and grabbed the hose. Z and I went to work watering the lawn, got a bit muddy and then went inside. After nap time we went to the store to buy a new sprinkler. As we were getting back in the car I looked for my cell phone to call S. I looked through my bag when a wave of nausea came over me.....I quickly jumped out of the car and looked on the roof of my car.....no cell phone! I raced home, looking at the side of the road as I drove. I couldn't believe my phone was gone. This was my new phone! S had gotten it for me when he got his. When he first brought it home I thought he was crazy.....after all what does a SAHM need with a phone like this? But I quickly fell in love with the phone and all of its cool features (especially the video camera when my camera broke).

So now the phone was gone! All of my info, videos, pictures...gone! S was going to be so upset!!! As I drove home, looking on the side of the road, my vision started to blur. I knew this feeling oh so well...I was getting a stress migraine. I tried to both drive and look for the phone but as my vision got more and more wavy, it was more important to focus on driving home. I flew out of the car and ran upstairs to see if my phone was plugged into the charger but knew that it wasn't. I called S in tears and he was surprisingly calm about it. He told me that he would come straight home and reminded me that the phone was insured.

S retraced my path with his car but could not find the phone. After dinner he decided to walk part of the path and told me he would call me when he wanted me to come and get him. Z and I drove to get him and then drove the path once again. S kept calling the phone, hoping to hear it ring. We ended our journey by returning to the store where I had bought the sprinkler but they did not have it. S stood in the parking lot and decided to give it one more call. This time someone answered!!!!

As it turns out, my phone had fallen off about 6 miles away from home! A man who worked at the gas station across the street from the store found it as he was walking to work. He had left a message at my house but I had been outside looking for it around the house. S offered the man a reward for finding the phone but he refused it and said that he was just happy that it was being returned to the proper owner.

I cannot tell you how happy I am to have my phone back. It is unbelievable that my phone was able to travel 6 miles of windy back roads before falling off!!! I also can't believe how wonderfully honest the man who found it was. He could have kept or sold the phone and the fact that he didn't even take our reward.....what a great guy! For those of you with a similar phone to me, I highly recommend the rubber protective cover....it helped my phone hold on for quite a crazy ride.

Thank you sir for returning my phone. Thanks S for going to great lengths to try to find it. This event has given me a little more faith in the people of this crazy, mixed up world.

A Wonderful Mother's Day!

I want to thank S and Z for a wonderful Mother's Day. My day started off at 6:45 am so that I could go for a run. As I went to leave the house, a card was carefully placed near the door :) Inside was a "note" from Z with a translation from S. Z thanked me for having had him and asked if I wanted to play trucks later :) He also included a gift certificate to my favorite spa! What a good little 19 month old! After my 5 1/2 mile run (I am building up slowly) I went to get some water and found another card. This one was from S and it was very sweet and included two scratch tickets. I won $10! S then made pancakes and it was a very special morning.

The afternoon was also nice. We went to a BBQ at my sister's house. My entire family was there (my youngest sister made a surprise appearance) and my brother in-law's family were there too. The food was delicious and S did a great job taking care of Z, so I could sit back and relax. Z painted these really cute pots for his grandmother's and great grandmothers. They were a big hit.

It was a wonderful day! I hope that Mother's Day was a special day for everyone yesterday. As long as someone (your child or spouse) tells you that they love you and appreciate you....what more could you ask for??? :)

It's Done!!!

Well it took about 3 weeks (because of our trip to Lake Placid) but Z's swing set is now complete! I think it was more fun for Z (and us) to have different parts of the set revealed every week. First he had his swing, the next week his slide and now he has his "twee how" (tree house). S and I felt a sense of accomplishment as we put on the roof of the set on Saturday. It was nice to work together to finish something for our Z. We worked as a great team :)

I highly recommend Swing N Slide sets if you are on a budget. For a little over $500 we were able to build the whole set (we have the Wrangler model) and they have other models which are even cheaper! We still need to stain and seal it but other than that it is done! It does take a whole weekend worth of time to build but it his so worth it :)

Happy Swinging!!!

A Tribute to Mom

Thank you Mom for all of your love and support. Now that I am a mom I truly appreciate all that you did to help raise the three of us. I think we turned out to be pretty good people (if I do say so myself) and we have you and Daddy to thank for that. I now have a new understanding of what life was like day in and day out and thank you so much for putting your career on hold for us! We loved having you around and you did so much for the three of us (Dad too).

Mom, I have always admired and looked up to you. I think you are one of the best teachers in your field and you are the reason why I became a teacher. You put so much into your job and the children in your class and they benefit so much from your guidance. Once again I am following in your footsteps by putting my career on hold to be home with Z. Staying home full time was never something I imagined I would be doing but after spending a year with him, I couldn't go back. I now understand why you stayed home as long as you did!

Over the past few years you have had a new role to fill, the role of grandmother. You have taken on this role with such love and pride and I think it is your favorite role yet. Your two grandchildren light up when you walk in the room and I am so happy that we all live close by so that you get to see Z and G as often as you do. Thanks for all you do to help us with them. We all love you so very much!

When thinking about this Mother's Day, I wanted to get you something special. I decided a trip down memory lane would be the most fun. So here are a few special memories I have of being with you mom. I love you and Happy Mother's Day.

-singing "I am going to wash that soap right out of your hair" to the tune of wash that man from south pacific
-splashing with us in the pool
-coming up with a hundred ideas of things to do when we would come to you and tell you we were bored
-watching and applauding for our many shows and dance routines
-spending time with us all crammed into the trailer at the lake and going to get us donuts in the morning
-marching up to bed with us like little soldiers (I do that with Z now)
-cooking great dinners for us (especially those runny fish sticks :))
-our trip to the condo during Hurricane Bob
-"Boston Market"
-strawberry and apple picking trips
-Your Woodsy the Owl Campaign in school
-pincer crab
-sharing our birthday together
-all of the beautiful doll clothes you made for us
-sending me off around the world with a new Big Bird stuffed animal
-introducing us (by forbidding us) to General Hospital
-our trips to Maine to see J, J and K
-making holidays so special, the traditions you put in place with both Christmas and Easter I have continued with Z
-playing cards and yahtzee at the lake
-helping Daddy "give me away" on my wedding day
-your hugs!!!

Potty Training Woes--Part I

This is all Z will do with his potty :) Potty training is not going very well. He knows all the signs around going to the potty (potty, more, all done, wash, poop and good job) and even has most of those words. He is pretty good at letting you know when he is going potty and Z is a pro at sitting on the potty (pants on) while S or I are using the bathroom.....but that is where it stops. Whenever I take his pants off and have him sit on the potty, he begins to cry and crawls up into my lap. I suggest we read a book while he sits on the potty and he wants to read it in my lap! I even put his portable sea on the big potty and he squirmed off and cried. If I could figure out a way for him to go pee while sitting on my lap I would....but that is just gross :)

Now most of you are thinking....well he clearly isn't ready and I guess I would have to agree. The problem is that we are part of a Baby Signs (R) Potty Training Study and it is designed for children under 2. I would also like him trained to cut down on the cost and the waste that diapers produce. I just bought him a new Elmo potty movie (he destroyed our Baby Signs (R) video) and we have a few books that he enjoys. Now that the weather is getting warmer I am thinking of having him walk around without any pants on and maybe move the potty out of the bathroom.

If anyone has any advice for us....please offer it up. I wasn't anticipating this fear of sitting naked when he loves to sit on it with pants :)

"Momma Had a Baby and....."

So I know it is rare for me to post two times in one day but I had to share this. Let me preface this by saying that we "try" to be an all natural family and don't believe in using pesticides or harsh fertilizers on our lawn. This being said, it does not look like something you would find on Wisteria lane but rather on Old MacDonald's farm. We are fine with this look and as long as it is mowed, nobody can complain (right?).

So Z and I were outside after lunch playing in the grass. He noticed the dandelions and so I explained to him that they were flowers. At that moment a wave of childhood memories came over me and I picked the dandelion and chanted "Momma had a baby and the head popped off" and then I flicked the head of the flower off the dandelion. It went sailing through the air and this threw Z into a fit of laughter. He signed and said "more" and so giggling along with him, we went from flower to flower chanting the very inappropriate rhyme.

Now in Elementary school we were banned from this innocent child's game because it was mean to say that a baby's head popped off. I know it is not the nicest of rhymes to teach my 19 month old but I find it to be fun and innocent. When we ran out of dandelion heads, Z took one of the heads and chanted "momma" "baby" and threw the flower around the yard. It was too cute! What a great afternoon!!!!

WW Giante Latte Ice Cream Bars

"Notice: Excessive Consumption May Have A Laxative Effect in Sensitive Persons"

Well that is not quite the effect that these delicious bars had on my system but let me tell you....I was messed up for over a week. I only ate one a day for 4 days and my stomach has never been so messed up. I gained a pound and a half!

After day four of feeling so horrible, I went through everything new that I had eaten. When I read the Latte Bar box closely I found the warning up above! Why are they allowed to sell products like this? I know they are only 1 point and I should have been suspicious because at only 90 calories, they taste so good. Well needless to say they went into the trash and I will never buy them again. Artificial sweeteners have always done me in. I can't drink much diet soda (once in a while), Splenda is not my friend and when Olestra came out....we were quick enemies. So the moral of the story is.....if you are "sensitive" like me, do not buy these bars!

Family Fun

We just had a wonderful weekend with my entire family. My mom, dad, two sisters, brother in-law, brother in-law to be, niece, S and Z all went away for 3 days together. We had so much fun! I love being all together and with our busy lives, it doesn't happen as much as it use to.

I am very blessed to have such a close family who loves being together. My sisters and I get along very well and my parents are more like friends (as of late) to us. We have 3 wonderful guys that have been added to our family over the last 10 years and they fit in so nicely and all get along so well. On S's side we are also very close. I love my sister in-laws and they have two wonderful guys as well. My in-laws are also great and so fun to be with. S and I are very blessed to have two such great families to spend time with.

This weekend we went to a conference put on by my dad and he did a great job. The drive was the longest that Z has ever been on and I am so glad we bought a DVD player for the trip. I always said that we wouldn't have one for the car but with a baby who doesn't sleep in cars (much) it was a life saver! We traveled at bedtime on the way there and Z slept for a total of 45 minutes! We traveled at nap time on the way home and he did not sleep at all. He only ended up watching 2 hours (total) of TV each way but it was nice to have the DVD player when he got squirmy and tired of sitting in his car seat.

Despite the weather forecasts, we ended up having beautiful weather, a lot of laughs and some great adventures. Our guys even won a golf tourney :) Here are some pictures of our fun (and yes Z is in his tux again :)). Dad we are very proud of you!!!!

The Babysitter....A New Parents Dream :)

I love having a babysitter! We are away this weekend at a conference and we have had the luxury of having a wonderful babysitter for both Friday and Saturday night. She is a family friend's daughter and a parents dream come true :) We have had so much fun staying out late, enjoying ourselves and not having to worry at all about Z :) Yes we are still in the same hotel in case something goes wrong but it has been nice to have "freedom" to live a life like we use to live :)

So now I am in the bathroom, Z is asleep in the room, typing this post before I go to bed. I have to admit that I have a nice buzz going and have been snacking on Weight Watchers snack cakes here in the bathroom. Thank goodness they only have 1 point a piece because this conference has been a Weight Watchers nightmare! When I drink (which takes up so many points) I get hungry and love to snack. Last night, my sister, S and two brother in-laws were hanging by the vending machine at the end of the night picking out our perfect drunken snack ;) Tomorrow I go back on plan and hope that I can at least stay the same. I lost 5.5 pounds last week!!! It feels great to be down a whole size :)

Well that is enough drunken rambling....S is still at the bars! I need to hit the sack :) Good night and thank goodness for babysitters :)

Take Me Out to the Ball Game....

We took Z to our local ballpark this week and he loved it! What a treat for me to watch my son's eyes light up as we walked into the stadium :) He loves watching and playing baseball and so when I told him we were going to go to a baseball game he jumped up and down with excitement.

As much as we love our Red Sox it is too difficult and too expensive for us to justify taking Z. We use to average 15 games a season before Z, now we are lucky if we make it to 3 :) We did see them in game 7 last year against the Indians though. What a game!!!!! (Z stayed home with his grandparents)

For 1/4 of the price of a Sox game, we can go and see our local ball team and have a similar baseball experience. We took Z last year but he was too young to appreciate it. This year (at all of 19 months) he was clapping, eating junk food and calling out "nice trow!". It was adorable and he lasted 3 whole innings :)

As I said to S, as long as he doesn't know any different, we will be making frequent trips to this stadium and wait until he is 6 or 7 for his first trip to Fenway :) That will be another special day for me. I can't wait to see his eyes light up again as he first sets his eyes on that big Green Monster!