Ramblings: Proof of Life

I've started about 20 posts and then by the time I get back to sit and try to finish them, they seem obsolete so I trash them. But I'm alive. I promise. No seriously. I am.  And here are some shots via iphone to prove it. They were taken in the spot I reside most of the day and night it seems. One of the chairs in my room where I sit to feed Trace--conveniently pointed directly at my DVR and tv for those 3 AM feedings. Because thankfully I only need to watch most infomercials once or twice before I'm amazed anyone would buy the bizarre products advertised in the wee hours of the morning. Although in my sleepy, half-awake stupor, I'm tempted to call and chat it up with whomever it is that actually takes those customer endorsement phone calls. I could spin them quite a tale...hey, a person's got to keep herself entertained, you know?

And how is it that I can inhale a pile of Halloween candy at one middle of the night feeding and not even realize it? First Halloween, then Thanksgiving, and then Christmas!? I picked a bad time of year to be attempting to shed ALOT of post-baby lbs. No, wait! Better idea! Does Santa own a liposuction needle?

So it's been a month...what have we been up to around here?
Lots of baby snuggling. Lots of baby feeding. Lots of me saying "DON'T TOUCH THE BABY! You are NOT clean!" (Mostly to the kids--only sometimes to Jeremy :)  Lots of me trying to figure out how to sit and feed the baby without the other hooligans getting away with murder. Lots of not finding a solution to that.
We also enjoyed spending an evening in downtown Dallas at the huge Diwali Mela festival that one of Jeremy's clients is in charge of every year. Jeremy pigged out on Indian food. The kids opted for Corn Dogs. The kids climbed a climbing wall all the way up but decided NOT to ride the elephants. Jeremy's got the pics on his phone--I'll have to add them later. Funniest quote of the day was by Maddie when we sat down to eat: "Mom. We are the whitest people here." And we were. And it was a fun time.

Then we enjoyed Halloween. (Trace wore this onesie from Auntie Brooke.)

 

Does it count as "carving" if you just stick in the parts? I got lazy and when the boys wanted to carve pumpkins, I decided a pirate Mr. Potato Head was the way to go. Plus, no stringy pumpkin guts to clean up, and our pumpkin will survive a little longer in the 80* weather .

 

We went to the firm Halloween party at Jeremy's office. It would've been way more fun if we wouldn't have gotten stuck in construction traffic--turning the 30 minute drive into an 1 1/2 long journey with the kids screaming every 15 seconds from the back "AUGGHH! How much longer? WHEN are we going to get there? Is there going to be any candy left?"  Aidan was a werewolf--but he was really annoyed that people kept thinking he was a bear. (MY fault--his costume was too big so it didn't fit quite right.)  He was really ticked that he lost his vampire teeth, because he said if he had sharp teeth then people would know he was a werewolf. Avery was a dragon "that shoots things from his claws." Whatever that means. Maddie was an Italian chef and Alex was Dr. Pepper. I don't think I ended up with any pictures of Maddie. (Mom of the year, I know.) Alex wore scrubs and a white coat with a nametag that said "Pepper M.D."  

Here we are in Jeremy's office. The boys raided the bowl that his nice assistant Natalie left for them in fear that all the candy would really be gone by the time we showed up.  I was marveling at how messy his office was--and now that it's bigger, the mess just gets more and more spread out. (Yup--that's his Ronald Reagan picture that's finally gotten a place on the wall after being stashed in his other office for five years. Right there above his 2, yeah TWO, computer monitors side by side that he feels are necessary for some reason.  Did anyone see The Office episode with Dwight's Mega-Desk?)

He looks so cute and peaceful, right? Little did we know that in five seconds after this was taken, Trace would perform his first poo-poo blow out. He saved it all up for dad's office.  And I, being Mom of the year, only had an extra onesie--no pants. So he got swaddled in that blue blanket and taken home without his "costume."

This past Sunday we blessed Trace at our church. I have to say I like the family picture better with an odd number. Six just looked off balance. Seven works much better. Until Trace is old enough to squirm and then picture-taking will get really interesting. We're all a little squinty in the morning sun. And I think the boys were being distracted by their cousin Sydney.

It's pretty unanimous among everyone he meets that Trace looks the most like Aidan. Especially now that his hair's falling out and his head is getting big and round and bald. Aidan loves it. I do too--because I was beginning to think Aidan may grow up with some sort of complex not looking like any of the other kids. Now he has a little buddy.

Off to pick up the boys from preschool. Trace has been good about being hauled to and fro in his carseat. His poor little bum better get used to it.