Day 21: oops, I did it again

I missed another day. And unless Joe decides to take one tonight and post, there won't be a bonus picture to make up for it, as tonight I am embracing my inner tween and going to see Twilight. Yay, vampires!

Day 19: Mom had day off, got sad

Oh man, I missed my little guy something FIERCE today. I fairly leapt out of the house to grab him and smooch him and boof his little belly all over when he and Joe got home from daycare. I honestly don't know how this whole going-back-to-school thing is going to pan out.

Day 18: BONUS

I took these after Joe got home today (yes, he was the one who bandanna'd our son), and when I was asking which one he wanted to put up on grahamandcheese, Joe said "Put up both! Let the people vote!" And people, I know there are few things more crucial in these trying times than your vote as to which pirate pose is more effective. Vote early, late, often, or never. We'll still love you just as much.

Quizzes by Quibblo.com

Day 18: Mea culpa

So, as some of you may know, Joe got very sick this weekend, either by food poisoning from an evil taco place known as We Shall Never Eat There Again, or by some dread stomach bug that apparently has been going around his place of business. Which led to the 24-7 Mommy Show. Which led to me not really having the energy to take a picture, much less download a picture, much less write anything resembling witty about said picture. So! My bad. But here's TWO PICTURES from today to make up for it:

1) For Ben and Erin
and 2) Doo-doo bird looking askance in his snowsuit
That one just kills me. I get that look about twenty times a day. "Are you SEWIOUS, Mama? I mean, you can't be SEWIOUS. Mama, you so crazy - your antics are highly amusing."

Day 16: The rare mommy photo

I think I was in the middle of saying his name over and over to get him to look at the camera. or maybe I was whistling to him, like a little puppy. Either way, it worked in not the way I had intended.

Day 15: This kid will not stop moving long enough for a good picture

Day 14: I tried to take a bunch of pictures today

I tried to take a picture of Graham standing by himself (without holding on to anything!) but he fell down too fast.

I tried to take a picture of us out on a walk during the last nice day of the year, but the camera was buried too deep in the stroller bag.

I tried to take a picture of Joe holding him when I was walking behind them, Graham whispering something very important (hint: most likely some version of "heyDADAaDADADA") in his ear, but the flash was too flashy and the office too dark for non-flash.

Then I tried to take a picture of how tired I was after we walked to visit Joe at his office (8 miles) and then walked back home (5 miles; we had directional issues on the way there) but I died from the tiredness.

New picture tomorrow, promise.

Day 13: Too tired to smile

Day 12: Doo-doo brain in motion

Day 11: No new picture for you, vets

Sorry, we were all out of sorts today (I was flu-ish, and everybody else was just supremely cranky that I was out of action). So, here's an oldie but a goodie - our best little man, sleeping soundly, just as he is right now, on the day he came home to us.

Day 10

Daddy - on your bike! Follow that milk truck!

Day 9: If you like the weather in upstate New York...

...wait five minutes, head out with baby strapped to oneself to the coffee shop down the street, turn around after getting two cups of coffee and realize that it has started to pour, wait five more minutes for it to stop, when it doesn't run home with said baby strapped to chest trying not to spill coffee and also keep baby's hood up with chin, and then have husband have to wrap baby in blanket to warm him up. Note bright red cheeks of poor mothering.

(Also note that he looks more and more like a little boy every day, and less and less like MY BAAAABYYYYY. Sniffle.)

Day 8

Graham had such a lovely afternoon with his dad today. And when they came home, he was on FIRE - grabbing at me and jumping around and even mimicking me when I was super funny and talked into a water bottle. And then in the tub, he fed me his duck! Ha! Children learn stuff. It's like, crazy.

Day 7: Yet another day when I did not take a picture

But with good reason, again. Graham fell and cut his lip this morning, and honestly, I was too distraught for the rest of the day to even think about picking up a camera. (He's totally fine, and I was way more shaken than he was.) So, here: I don't think I ever posted his take on The Sopranos over on this site...

Bada BING, ya know?

Day 6: recent Graham obsessions

• "reading" books, by which I mean turning the pages as fast as he possibly can (so much so that Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What Do You See has been reduced to "brownbearredbirdyellowduck (gasp) greenfrogbluehorsepurplecat (gasp) whitedogblacksheepgoldfish (gasp) teacherchildren!"

• dada. like ALL THE TIME. dada dada dada dada HI HEY dada dada dada. we don't think it's intentional quite yet, but oh man is it cute. especially when joe's face lights up like he has won the lottery or something.

• walking while having his hands held. back and forth, back and forth, back and forth.

• and as of today, changes inVOLUME. as in "hey hi dada dada DADA DADA DADAAAAA!"

Day 5: Poop!

Poop! I forgot to take a picture of Graham today, as he was at daycare and then Joe is still not home from work (sad for everyone) and so it was the All Mommy Show this evening. Here - will this suffice?

Poop! Graham pooped in the tub for the second night in a row this evening. I need to put my foot down and say that the tub poop is the worst, most dangerous kind of poop.

Poop! Or rather, un-poop. The un-poop for today is that G's daycare lady said he had his Best Day Ever today...totally content and happy. Sigh. I love un-poop.

Day 4

We went to our polling place early so Graham could vote twice. I wasn't allowed in the booth with him, but I am pretty sure he voted for Senator Breastmilk, who ran on a pretty conservative "No daycare" platform.

Day 3

A little Election Eve dinner theatre with Daddy:


He just told the one about the moose, lipstick, and AK-47 walking into a bar.

Day 2

This look is what usually prompts his dad and I into nonsense talk of the lowest caliber: "Oh, doo-doo head! Who's our little doo-doo biscuit? Are you our Mr. Biscuit Head??" and so on. It's horribly pathetic.

I couldn't resist a photo from today (Day one con't)

It's the little feet, they slay me.

Day One (a month in photos)

Over at my other blog, I made a commitment to myself and the internet that I am posting every day for a month as part of NaBloPoMo (say it out loud! it sounds funny on your tongue...so funny when it hits your tongue). Joe, immediately supportive and encouraging, looked at me askance and said "But what about Graham and Cheese??" Fah! So, I decided that I would, at a MINIMUM, post a Grahamcakes photo a day for the next month. Thus, installment #1.

This actually isn't from today, it's from Thursday. And I didn't cut it down at all. And I despise hearing my voice. But he's super cute and has discovered the Slinky I forgot we owned, so I think that all makes up for it. He also discovered his tongue recently, and it is always stuck out (as far as it can be, anyway, since his frenulum is a little short) so it makes him look a little...preoccupied.

Zoo Boo!

I mean, seriously:

The zoo here holds an annual trick-or-treat weekend (actually, it's two weekends) when kids can go to the zoo, and you know, trick-or-treat. The zoo is actually decent for a small city, and they had lots of games and crafts that Graham was entirely too small to partake in. But hey! Joe and I got to eat his candy.

And we got up early-ish this morning and re-instituted Sunday outings. We went to a local coffee shop and all ate breakfast together. Graham was not thrilled about wearing mittens:but we had a lovely morning regardless. Now it's just time to gear up for the week. Gah!

Long overdue update

So! Graham has been busy lately. He's pulling up all over the place, and if that is not enough, he is trying to climb once he's gotten up. Aaack! His favorite toy is pictured above -- a large box. Not just a large box, though - a large box covered with scribbles and stickers, designed by our friends J & F back in MA. Yay!

His 9 month appointment went really well; stats are 19 pounds, 9.5 ounces, and 29 inches! 29 inches! That puts him at the 75th percentile for height for normal 9 month old boys. And at about the 50th percentile for weight, which he has been steady at for a while. His doc was very impressed with all his gross motor abilities, and reassured us that there is nothing to worry about in regards to his language development - he is just still at his corrected age mark. He has just been spending all his mental energy and time on moving! Pshaw. Just like a boy.

Addendum: I just went upstairs because he was crying pretty hard at 10:30 pm (very unusual) and found him sitting up in bed, completely disoriented. Apparently he has learned to go from lying down to sitting up! I hope this isn't like when he learned to roll from back to tummy and woke himself up every time. From what my mom tells me, I also have him standing up and not knowing how to get himself down again to look forward to. So much fun in one short year!

i've turned my child into a food snob, and other asides

So I've been just...out of sorts and out of the loop and on the outs, or something out lately. Which meant no blog posts, apparently. Joe comes home every day and gently nudges me that I should probably post some pictures at least, for the Grahamfans. I know! I have been terribly lax and irresponsible. Hence, now, pictures! Some of which I even took! Sigh. It's been a long week(s).

Look, Graham is a big boy now! In his big boy carseat! I admit I cried a little. My mom and I have both said, weepingly, "it's like when Anne shortened Jem's nightgowns! Bwaaaaaaaaa!"

Look! I totally didn't take this picture! But my friend K. did, and it is wicked cute and foretells a future for Graham as a drum-circle hippie.

Lastly (and to bring it back to the title of this post), Graham has been sick the past couple days. And of course, I have no laundry done, no food ready, no nothing and he wants to be held 24-7. So I broke down and picked up some Gerber food. And oh my word, you could not imagine the look of disgust on his face. He is an organic, homemade baby food ess-en-oh-bee-SNOB. Which, kind of makes me sad, because I have a serious, not-so-secret love for generic food. I was really hoping someday I could bring him to work and say something to the effect of "Welcome, my son. This? This is CAFETERIA FOOD. Behold, and be thankful." Now he'll just turn up his privileged, adorable little nose at me. They grow up so fast, don't they?

operation death wish

So Graham has gotten to that point in babyhood at which no matter where he is in a room, he will immediately track down the deadliest object and head straight for it. Pokey-outy doorstop thingie right at eye gouging level? Check. Surge protector cord that wraps around the corner from the living room because there are NO OUTLETS where the TV is? Beeline. Heavy plastic gate that is precariously leaning up against the wall and will fall on your poor little braincase? Absolutely (wait, that one was my fault. And I cried for an hour).

In light of this, changing time has become an adventure fraught with terror and tension on our parts, and fraught with incredible amounts of fun and delight on Graham's part. (Can you be fraught with anything other than something bad? Hmm.) He really really likes to dig in his heels, flip himself over, grab onto the far edge of the changing table, and attempt to launch himself off. Little does he know, however, that the laundry basket is right underneath his precipice, and so if he did manage to make the leap, his efforts to perish would be for naught. So I knew it was only a matter of time before I heard from upstairs: "You want to go in the laundry so bad? Fine, let's go in the laundry!"

the time, it has flewed

So, I finally (finally!) got out the camera today to take some pictures of Graham to post on this here dang site. (I think I may have actually said: "Cuss word! Graham! I have to take some cussword-ing pictures of you before your nap!") And then I got out the camera. Which is a major step in and of itself.

I meant only to show you how amazing he is at sitting now (he's been doing it independently and well for about a month and a half now, but I don't think I've ever posted good pictures of it). So here's that:

Yep, Diego is "Surfing to the Rescue" on his ball, which Joe and I always get a kick out of. Who is he going to rescue? And is surfing really the fastest way of getting there? For the rescue? "¡Cuidado, dolphin! ¡Soy yo, Diego! ¡Yo estoy surfing to your rescue!"

I also introduced the "putting stuff in a bowl (mama) and then dumping it out (graham)" game last night. It was a big hit.

But, the important thing! The thing that made me actually take the NEXT step, and find the camera cord, and download the pictures off the camera, and then my goodness, POST them, which, let me tell you, I am EXHAUSTED, was THIS:

What the??? I had pulled a cart into his playroom to introduce my next big hit game (pulling stuff off shelves) and when I went to sit him in front of it to take pictures, he reached out, grabbed the tall shelf, and STOOD THERE. For like, MINUTES, pulling the shelf out, pushing it back in. And then he finally convinced me that he wasn't going to fall and split open his head on the lower shelf, so I took my hovering hands away long enough to take a few pictures for posterity. Then he did it at the coffee table. And the couch. And then he got fancy and did it one-handed and reached back for me at the same time. I mean, he's not pulling up yet, since he isn't crawling and thus is nowhere near the height to pull up, but oh boy we are not ready for this.

We are alive and (relatively) well

I so apologize for the lack of posts here lately. Graham has been growing, or teething, or SOMETHING, but regardless of what it is, it's keeping him up at night. Which means that Joe and I are up at night. And not so happy during the day. Which leads to forgetfulness, and lack of posting.

But! The G-man keeps moving and shaking. He has gotten up on his hands and knees a few times now - very wobbly-style, but still. And has started pulling himself up short distances (like from my lap to the table), which is just crazy. Look out, world! Here comes GRAHAM.

(And you are NOT READY FOR THAT. At least, I am not.)

More posting when I am awake enough to remember to take pictures!

Area mom reports child to have psychic powers, possibly Devil-given

SOMEWHERE UPSTATE, New York - Local mother Sarah W., mother to Graham, 7 months, has reported her child to have previously undiscovered psychic abilities, prominent especially during the sleeping hours. Sarah confirms that "as soon as [she] even think[s] his name, he wakes up and cries. It's freakish."

Independent corroboration of said abilities comes from Graham's father, Joe, who adds "The boy can read my mind, and is determined to kill me." Both parents suffer from teething-induced sleep deprivation.

the mad dash

I guess not so much a mad dash as it is a slow(ish) scoot.

Graham is getting more and more mobile every day. And now every few minutes he'll pop his knees up underneath him and very wobbly-style, push his head and chest up. Of course, that lasts about a second and a half, and PLOOF! The belly flops back on the floor and the legs shoot out behind him. He's VERY proud of himself.

He's also been super flirty upon waking up from his naps. I'll come in to his room, and he'll smile wide, shove his head down, and do, essentially, a downward facing dog that obviously he can't sustain, so it turns into a roll into his crib bumper. And then this sly smile of "I am soooooo cute, Mama!" erupts. It's ridonkulously adorable.

the proof is in the photo

Remember how I said we were committed to family outings every weekend? Look, we did it again! We stopped off at the fish hatchery to let Graham gaze at the lovely trout. However, about 3 hot (literally) seconds into our family outing, this conversation took place:

sarah

Wow. It's like, super humid and muggy. 

joe

Yeah, this is horrible. Let's go.

sarah

Umm, well....uh? family? outing? 

Yeah, let's go.

It was short, but hey, we got out. And there were fish. And Graham was mystified by said fish. So I count it as a successful trip.

p.s. I just realized that blogger broke every single one of the old pictures in the blog. Foops! That is a serious rainy day project to fix them (it looks like blogger thinks they all came from the web instead of mah very own computer, thank you very much) but I will try to get to it soon. Because who knows when you will be jonesing for early March Graham? He was cute! Oh, and don't even get me started on mid-June Graham. To die for.

does every parent have a picture like this?

I mean, I think it's some universal urge, to make your kid into Alfalfa at least once. Right? And then we die laughing from The Cuteness.

Graham's doing really well. He has figured out that The Lady That Gives Me Milk and I are the same person, which is ridiculously cute to see. Although it has been affecting his feedings before bedtime, because now in the middle of feeding, he will break off, study my face for a moment, and then break into this huge grin as if to say "You!!! I didn't think YOU would be here! SWEET." And it's adorable, and awesomely gratifying, but it's hard to get him to go back to eating and be all calm and chill after this great realization has occurred.

family outing

Joe and I have been struggling with weekends lately. Or, you know, since we had a baby. It feels like we are constantly just trading Graham back and forth while we get errands done that didn't get did during the week, or what have you. We almost never get around to doing something together, all three of us, that isn't an errand or a chore. So! We committed to doing that this weekend and took a drive today up to the shore of our very own Great Lake. The G-ster loved it. He sat in the sand, he ate the sand, he smooshed the sand in his diaper. Then to wash off the sand, he got popped in the lake, which he...uhh...tolerated, I guess. Photo evidence of said family fun below!                                                                                       

oh my goodness oh my goodness

Friends! I am SORRY! It has been forEVER, no? Honestly, there's no good reason why I haven't updated recently. Graham is good, life is fine, Joe and I are just trying to grow up. And man, that's exhausting, isn't it? Our nights have been taken up with, you know, remembering to take the trash out (and even the recycling!), or playing around with a budget, or laundry. Never-ending laundry. And dishes! Did I mention dishes? We're doing them! It's new! I know!

Anyway, Graham is lovely. He's launched himself over some sort of developmental milestone in which the whining (thanks be) has stopped, and he's just so happy, aware, and communicative all the time. And yesterday, I had my first "oh boy, I can't just put you down and walk away anymore, can I?" moment. I put him down on his playmat, turned to do a few dishes, and when I turned back, he was OFF THE RESERVATION, i.e. in the living room. Ha ha! Perhaps it is time for what they call the babyproofing. Is that in the budget?

oye

You know those weeks that just feel like a rock you cannot crawl out from underneath? Or, like, a giant log...or, OR! maybe, you know, like a really heavy wool blanket that you can't kick off that's all itchy and smelly and, I dunno, maybe wet? Yeah, this week has been like that.

First, we were sick. And luckily Joe escaped it, but G and I have been trading snotties back and forth. Then, it was all just minor stuff, like trying to get rid of the fruit fly infestation in our kitchen, or wading through lots of bills and mail we hadn't thought about recently. Then, this morning, as I was starting to put Graham in his bouncy chair, I heard a string of cursing coming from the porch. And lo, someone stole Joe's bike. Again.

Let me just say for as much as Joe makes fun of my (lack of) powers of observation, neither one of us is cut out for the private detecting business. Because while we spent ten minutes this morning figuring out that you could push really hard on the porch door and make it pop open even when locked (a useful observation, probably one that we will want to correct), I did not notice the holes cut in the window screen until the nice police officer pointed them out. So some tool put a chair up under our window, cut the screen, opened the window, jumped in, and then let himself out with the bike, helpfully leaving the door propped open. When I called Joe at work to tell him about the window, he said "God! That's a lot of effort! Didn't he realize you can just pop the door open?" I married the man for the funny, and I have yet to be disappointed.

Anyway, we're pissed about the bike, but what can you do? There's a lot of people in our neighborhood who really need a bike, and clearly, they really needed a bike. There's no point in trying to make a homeowner's insurance claim (the deductible is almost the same amount we paid for the bike), and really, would we press charges if the fingerprints actually matched a guy? (They actually came and fingerprinted the place! It was like the world's most tame version of CSI: Upstate New York. Wait, is that redundant?) So, no bikes for us, I guess.

There have been some bright and shiny moments this week, though. Graham turned seven months old on Monday. Seven! Somehow that feels really old to me, like he is closer to being a toddler than a baby. He can now do the following:

• Sit up by himself (mostly. I'm going to give it to him, even though he falls a lot. He usually falls because he is reaching for the very very exciting toy that is a leeetle too far in front of him.)
  
• Skooch on his belly all over the darn place (he figured out how to dig in his toes this week)
  
• Eat lots of exciting things like peaches and pears and peas and sweet potatoes and avocado and oatmeal and apples and the peaches, he is very excited about the peaches
  
• Scream really loud when he's happy
  
• Scream really loud when he's mad
  
• Blow lots of spit bubbles
  
• Play with his guitar

And lots of other cool stuff. I think, as I have been assured by many moms, that we are turning the corner into more and more fun. Bikeless fun, but fun nonetheless.

Blech

My mom is sending me photos of the weekend sometime soon, and so again there will be Graham photos. And weekend away details. But for now, I am sick with the little cold that G had. At least, it was little when he had it. I feel like stinky poops warmed over.

The word on the street is that Graham was an absolute delight for the village of caretakers this weekend. He had great-aunts and uncles, grandma and grandpa, and even great-grandma and great-grandpa, all looking out for his every need. Kind of a letdown to come back to a mommy who is having a hard time launching herself off the couch and is trying (not always successfully) to not sneeze in your face, eh, bubba? I know, I know. 

Allllllllllllll BYYYYYYYYYYYYYY my-sellll-el-el-fff

Apologies for the lack of posting yesterday. My parents are in the area this weekend, and they took my baby. (pause for the dramatic effect)

In point of fact, they heard the desperation in my voice and very nicely offered to take Graham for the weekend. So G is living the high life with his grandparents, great-grandparents, and great-aunt and uncle, and Joe and I are trying to relax and maybe even re-connect. Since we are, you know, married. There's a piece of paper with MCat's name on it that says so.

Anyway, back with more baby hijinks on Monday!

Today I taught Graham how to open his mouth REEEEAAAALLY WIDE

 He'll forever know exactly what to do when the cheesy DJ says: "now SCRRRREAM!" Life lessons, people.

Am so so so tired. Must leave post with photos of charming young men.

Because cannot manage actual sentences with actual pronouns.                                                               

By the power of Grayskull, the boy is finally napping

Can I get a hooo-what!?! He has been down for near to 2 hours. Which is not surprising, given that he slept for 6 minutes last night. Perhaps I am exaggerating, but that's what it felt like.

So, anyway, this gives me ample opportunity (and by ample, I mean the 30 seconds before he wakes up) to talk about the nightmare that has been this crib saga.  About a month ago, we got an email from Babies 'R Us saying that our crib could have been recalled. Ack! Okay. So, go to the website, and we need a number and a date. The number we could get from our registry. This date thing? Huh. Didn't know cribs had expiration dates. Apparently this date is to be found on a sticker on the crib. It will not surprise you that this sticker was in the backmost-underthecrib corner. Okay. Got it. Fill out form on internet, get money back, right? No no. Get UPS package in 1-2 weeks containing forms to fill out and on which to put SAME HARD-TO-REACH sticker, and also containing one (1) allen wrench for dismantling of crib. Dismantle crib, stick sticker, fill out forms, put crib bolts in pre-paid envelope, and then please to send back to crib manufacturer. Then in 1-2 weeks we will receive said bolts and forms. Then in 1-2 weeks from that receipt we will send you a voucher that may ONLY be used for the highest amount that the crib was sold for, that may ONLY be used at Babies 'R Us, and that may ONLY be used at a physical Babies 'R Us store. What's that, you say? Babies 'R Us is currently carrying only one (1) crib that cost approximately the same as your crib and is in the same finish? Zinger!

I got real mad. I got real mad, and I searched the internet for ladies who were even madder than me. (Which was not hard to do. Gosh, in my absence from the world, the internet has been populated with angry women.) Luckily, the angry women told me that they had gotten angry and called the various BRU/crib manufacturer people, and that they were allowed to buy a crib online through BRU (which had a larger selection than the physical stores) and that they were then allowed to bring their voucher and online receipt into their local BRU and receive reimbursement. When I called my local BRU, I was told that this was utter nonsense and that the angry women were BIG FAT LIARS. I was incensed on behalf of angry women internet users everyone, and so I in turn LIED and said that I had called the BRU headquarters my very own self and that they told me that this was in fact true, plus, reimburse me for shipping or I'll go straight to the top!

Clearly, I am an angry woman of great power, because they agreed to my terms (you should hear the one about how I convinced them to let me exchange all my death-cancer-plastic Dr. Brown's bottles). Of course, once I got online, all the other angry/smart women had snapped up the cribs (this was a 250,000+ crib recall) so there were 2 options: one for $50 more than our original crib, and one for $30 less. We chose the cheaper one. 

And it finally arrived yesterday. And, sigh, I am not in love. I should have rechecked my Baby Bargains book, but I am a stoop and did not. The crib just feels so much more flimsy than our old one. And the parts all go together with plastic lock-nuts, rather than the solid wood pieces that were just bolted together on the old crib. And the mattress moves around too much for my sanity (I actually have to measure and see if the gap is just a gap, or an illegal gap). And it only has two heights for the mattress. And...well, I could go on. But the point is now we have to decide if we don't like it enough to 1) take it apart, 2) figure out how to return it, 3) order another crib, and 4) still get our reimbursement. And that, my friends, makes me ill to consider. I only have so much anger inside, and honestly, the bottle issue really took it out of me. We'll see how things progress.

What a long day

Oye. First all the commotion over the website, then Graham's new crib came, then he decided that he...well...wasn't in the mood for napping. 

I will have to remind myself to post about the flipping crib situation another night - it has been just an enormous pain, and I am wholly unsatisfied with the new crib we've got. I am crossing my fingers it doesn't maim him overnight. Anyway, I am a little too exhausted to do a full-on post tonight, but I will be back tomorrow with more Graham cuteness. Thanks to everyone for finding us again. 

oh thank goodness, you found us!

Spread the word -- things were just gettin', gettin', gettin' kinda hectic and I just up and changed it. I've been trying to send out emails and post comments, but let the people know where all the graham goodness is to be found, eh? LOVE!

good holy moly

This is so freaking complicated. Blogspot doesn't let you check the availability of a URL until you change it. So grahamcentralstation is not available. Apologies, Graham Family! Thank you, anonymous, for letting us know! Goodness. The other problem is that there's no page that lets to tell people where to go once it's changed, like a forwarding address message or whatnot. Cripes. I will figure this out, I promise.

psych! (or is it: syke!)

Joe decided that he liked grahamcentralstation best, and formerly not-very-well-known funk band be darned. So, tonight at about, oh, when is Jon and Kate on? 9 pm? EST? I will be changing the URL over. Be warned that tomorrow, the link you've previously used won't work! Be ready! I don't want to lose you guys! No child left behind! We don't want to lose any good men! Come on board, the train is about to leave grahamcentralstation! (Gak.)

wish joe luck

He's playing a solo show tonight, and this guy is his only backup.

I feel icky

I am double-posting this here and on the other blog, because I am really antsy about something. Specifically, talking about a part of my life in which I worked a certain job, which I am NOT ashamed of in any way, but that lots of people in this world take EXTREME offense to. And I would like to talk about this job, because it was meaningful to me, and important in my decision to become a health-care provider, and because it figures largely in my decision about what to pursue as a residency (although perhaps not in the way that one might think). But now I have this personal blog that has the full name of my son on it, and while I have blocked my profile and taken most references to my full name out of the blog, I am not hard to find. And while I do not for one second believe that I am All That and that this will be front page on the NYTimes or anything, I don't want someone with ill intent to google "this thing that sarah is not ashamed of" and "blog" or whatnot, and then, you know, show up on my door. Or, years down the line, at Graham's school. So I am debating renaming the personal blog, and taking names out. Which could be a smart thing to do anyway, but the blogging mom world seems kind of split down the middle on the issue of photos/real names of your kids. Anyway, I am stressing about it, and wanted to discuss. With myself, I guess. I'll let you know what we decide.

things i want

1) To make the leap into cloth diapering (it would be a lot easier if I won that contest! but no! you should enter too! except, don't hurt my chances of winning!). Shhhh. Don't tell Joe.
2) To finish our backyard. Okay, to start our backyard.
3) New flooring and cabinets for the kitchen. I have given up on the dream of a dishwasher. This dream, it has defeated me. I just want to replace the nasty nasty linoleum. With new linoleum. I dream small these days.
4) This, and this, and this, and this last one for the day when G really really has to finish the book he is reading right nooooooowwwww out on the lawn, or what have you. He is my son, after all. (God this makes me long for the days when what I really coveted was stuff like this or this. Hold the phone, I STILL covet those things. Dang it all.)
5) Lots more money for books, specifically to outfit Graham with the greatest library of children's literature KNOWN TO MAN.

6, 7, 8, 9, 10, ad infinitum/nauseum/and forever to the stars and back) This guy? To go back to sleeping through the night.