An Apple a Day Keeps the Doctor's Visit Away

OK--so sometimes it happens. You have to take your child with you to the Doctor's office.

Maybe you forgot you had an appointment, and you didn't beg your sister-in-law early enough to watch him; (although you know full well that you could basically leave him on her doorstep with a note pinned to his shirt that says "I'll be back in an hour"); maybe you thought--well--even though he has missed his nap he will be a good boy; maybe you even filled your bag with treats and toys and stickers galore.

So you walk into the waiting room hoping against hope that he will be a good boy for you, crossing your fingers the entire time as you have to wait and wait and wait, you have to fill out the piece of paperwork that you always have to fill out, every time, regardless of whether you have been there a hundred times or not.

You get half a dozen looks from various women in the waiting room that tell you you are nuts for bringing your child with you; you get the same look from the stupid a@# nurse practitioner who gets to see you--and you just think--oh well. Breathe deeply. He will be fine.

And you know what? He is. he is a perfect champ, it turns out. No yelling, no "ma! ma! ma! ma!" no kicking--he is just PERFECT.

UNTIL THEY PUT THE BLOOD PRESSURE CUFF ON YOU AND HE STARTS SCREAMING BLOODY MURDER.

My goodness. He must really love me, after all. Love you too, bud.

Has Anyone Seen My Son?

I know, two posts in one day is crazy--but I had to add this one.

James is just THRILLED and FASCINATED and OBSESSED with his new train table. He woke up at 7am, came down, started playing with it, and at 8am when I tried to feed him breakfast he had a fit.

At 9am he went down for a nap, and when he woke up at 11:30 he made a beeline STRAIGHT for the train table. When he came time for lunch I had to drag him to the table, screaming, kicking and crying. Would he eat? NO WAY.

I found him at 2pm nearly slumped over the table and sleeping. I took him up for his nap, and at 4:30 he came down and has been playing with the trains ever since. I just snapped this pic--it's not enough for him to be at the table or near it, now he has to be ON it!


I MISS MY SON!!! How long is this crazy train fascination going to last???!!!

Christmas Day

We had a very, Merry Christmas! Enjoy all of the pics!

For the Love of Our Children

I am thinking about all of the parents out there this Christmas Eve who are hard at work like Santa's elves--putting together train tables, bicycles and dollhouses. These are the true heroes of Christmas.

They are faced with an impossibly huge number of pieces, parts and hardware . . .


As they work through their projects, they slog through instructions written in a limited English translation from Korean, Japanese or Chinese.


But when they are done--they are so proud and so excited by the thought of the sheer amazement on their children's faces as they bound down the stairs on Christmas morning to find whatever "Santa" has left for them.


And so they are the unsung heroes--for all of the credit goes to the jolly man in the red suit. But that's OK--because the pure joy on my husband's face, and on the faces of parents everywhere as they finish putting together these gifts, is truly priceless.

(And don't forget the cookies for Santa, and the carrots for his reindeer!)

Have a very Merry Christmas, everyone!

My Cookie Monster

We took James out for lunch today and he didn't like what we ordered for him. Sooooo . . . since he has us wrapped around his little finger, we got him an alternate choice. Yum!!

Coming to Terms with My Mommy Body

I was talking with a friend last night about how hard it has been to lose all of the baby weight I gained with James. I have been able to do it, and then some, thanks to dedicated treadmill workouts and outside running and walking over the past year and a half--but for those you you out there who have had a child, or two, or three--you know that even though you can lose the pounds, your body isn't quite the same. Of course, I love James dearly, and I pretty much don't care what price my body may have paid for bringing him in the world--but still, sometimes I do wish I had the body I had before him.

What I try to say to myself is this--if I can be strong and fit, the rest will fall into place. As long as I can chase him around the house without getting winded; as long as I can throw him into the air as many times as makes him laugh like crazy; and as long as I can still fit through the door of the Thomas the Train playhouse to follow him inside--I am DOING GOOD!

And then I was thinking--what is the very best way to sabotage all of the work you have done? Hmmm . . that might be to make all of the following irresistibly-beater-licking-goodies for the holidays:

• anise biscotti
• chocolate chip pecan biscotti
• double chocolate almond biscotti
• cherry winks
• dark chocolate peanut butter balls
• Swedish wedding cookies
• candy cane cookies
• dark and white chocolate covered pretzels
• cherry and apricot granola

Oh well--'tis the season for feasting--right?? And all of you moms out there--I think you are absolutely beautiful!

A Visit with Santa

Today we took James to sit on Santa's lap for the first time! He was so excited when we got there, ooohing and ahhing and pointing at Santa. his reindeer, the presents and the Christmas trees! I was pretty excited that he was going to have a great time. Chris snook in some shots of us from the sidelines while we waited in line.

Here he is right when I put him in Santa's lap. Still ooohing and ahhing and pointing.

Ok--still pretty happy--but is the "professional" photographer shooting yet???

Here we are starting to get a little unhappy:

And of course . . . SNAP! The flash goes off, and here is my priceless photo of my son:

(Sigh . . .) maybe next year!!! (Do you think Santa told him he was a naughty boy???)

It's All About Me

My best friend's name (no, not "Scarlett"):


Age at my next birthday:

My favorite food:

A place I have visited:

Name of a past pet (no--it's not "Roy"):

A place I haven't been to yet but would love to go:

My middle name:

Where I would eventually like to live:

My first job:

What I wanted to be when I grew up:

Where I was born:

Where I live:

Put your answers in a comment.
Now it's your turn! Tell me all about you on your blog!

Construction and Mustang Wrangling

James was a busy boy yesterday. His two major activities were tower building and horse wrangling.

Notice in the picture below--Tower 1 has just been completed. Every time he finishes a phase of construction he turns to us and says "Yaaaah!!!"



Tower 2 begins.


Reaching . . . reaching . . .

Tower 2 went through a number of attempts . . . look at the sheer CONCENTRATION!


Here he is scrutinizing his work:


"Yaaahh!!!" (I think that means he is happy with them!)


On to the next piece of business--wrangling this here mustang that his Mammy brought in from the back 40 (acres, for all you non-farm folk out there, LOL)


"I think I can, I think I can. Where's that durn stirrup?"


Almost--just gotta swing that leg on over ole Trigger's back (or is that Mr. Ed?).


Mission accomplished. (Note he is trying to push the little buttons in the horse's ears that make him clip-clop and whinny.) I LOVE that!


Check out my little Roy Rogers! (I'll get him loving horses, and theater, and reading, and singing show tunes, and painting and guitar playing IF IT KILLS ME!)

(That is, if his father doesn't get him wrenching on cars, ATV-ing, mountain biking, solving complex math problems, farting around in the garage and generally fixing things FIRST.)

Christmas Cookies!

James and I made our first cookies EVER together last night. He just loved it. All I had were green sprinkles and red hots, so they don't have all of the bells and whistles that some Christmas cookies have, but they sure were made with LOVE!


That is not . . . I repeat NOT a pre-packaged tube of cookie dough from the grocery store. (Back there on the counter. No--on the other side, in front of the cook book holder.) IT IS JUST A MIRAGE. Mom--try not to have a heart attack, LOL. I know, I know, no beaters for him to lick.


And if you happen to be noticing my 10-year-old cookie sheets that look like Chris uses them in the garage to collect oil under the cars--I am happily accepting brand new cookie sheets, Sil-pats and parchment paper for Christmas. (No, Chris--cookie sheets do not count as an appliance--you're safe.)

Nice apron! Hey--take it easy on the red hots!


Happy holiday cookie baking, everyone! (And YES! My famous holiday biscottis are absolutely, you-can-bet-on-your-life, totally HOMEMADE.)