Kevin's Bday, Christmas, & other Milestones

So, my sweet husband turned 35 on 12/9. Oooh my. We are getting old. Oh well. Here's the festivities...

Making a wish

ZV's first cheesecake is off to the side of the plate. :)

Christmas was not without it's share of drama, but I'm glad to say we all pulled through and it was a nice time. My bro was the star with his handmade wooden gifts. Very special!

Kevin poses in front of his feast.

My Dad taking a pic of Caspian taking a pic of my Dad.

Zane-ta Claus

The blocks Uncle Tim made for Zane. Truly an heirloom. The whole family gets involved.

A bizarre standoff at Grandma's.

Caspian in the shirt Kevin made him.

One of the most surreal exchanges of the season.

My mom, "What does 'Cas' stand for?"

CASpian, "Where does it say that?" (on the shirt he was wearing--he thought it was a dragon?!?!)

The obligatory family self portrait. :)

Allrighty, what were the milestones?

Hmmm...we learned that when Zane says "Gheee" which he has been doing forever, he means "Binkie"

Zane clapped today for the first time!

Zane had his first cold. :( I blame the doctor's office. And, for the astrologers in the audience, the transiting north node on my chiron in Aries in the 5th house.

He's walking pretty well.

He's chewing really well.

Begging for our food constantly.

Great at putting blocks in things.

Peek-a-boo master & other jokes.

There, those are some good milestones.

Love and peace to all.

2005 was a great year for us and I am really looking forward to 2006!

~t

Jolly Old St. Nick

Ok, this is like my 4th blog entry today. I just can't stop. See, we have this little custom here in Milwaukee of celebrating St. Nick's day tomorrow, Dec 6th. The kids hang their stockings tonight and get a bunch of crap, I mean goodies, in them in the morning. I kinda like it. Takes the edge off before Christmas. It seems other places really do not have this custom. I wonder if I can find a link. Ok, found one...click St. Nick below to learn more.

Tomorrow also happens to be the birthday of Lynn Fontanne. Happy Birthday, Lynn. Click her below to learn more.

And Caroline Jane Barrett's birthday is tomorrow, too. Since she is turning the ripe old age of one year tomorrow and is the granddaughter of a dear friend, I really have no links on her. But Happy Birthday to Caroline, too!

December 6th is a big day around here.

~t

Kudos to Governor Doyle...

...for calling out the big oil companies for gouging us and blaming Hurricane Katrina. That was a bunch of BS. Yes, there was that hearing on Capitol Hill, but apparently that made zero impact. Doing it again in Wisconsin with smaller oil company potatoes (not CEOs) might have had zero impact again, but I say make those jokers spout their money grubbing BS as often as we can. Kudos Governor. (OMG, I just got publicly political. Is this where public radio takes me? Ok, no one try to debate me, because I am so not into that.)

~t

For all the Scrooges in the audience...

...Kevin has made a whole new line of "I Don't Heart" merchandise, but the below is particularly seasonal. Enjoy! (Click the image to get to the "I Don't Heart" section of his store.)

Only 3 days left for super saver shipping to get your I Don't Heart Christmas items (or anything else) before Christmas. (After 3 days are up, you can still get stuff on time, it will just cost a bit more.)

~t

Yes, I have lost my mind.

~t

These Boots

were made for
WALKING!

Ok, so he was officially barefoot when it happened, but Zane took his first real steps today! (Who can resist a picture of little baby boots?) He's been playing around with walking for weeks, months perhaps. But today he walked from me to Kevin completely unassisted for about 5 steps. He did great. Watch out world, here he comes.

The especially sweet thing was that he was ready to do it yesterday, but Kevin stopped him because I wasn't at home.

I said, "You don't have to thwart his progress on my account." But now that I did get to be here for it, I'm glad. Was a special moment and I have an extremely thoughtful husband. I am very lucky.

~t

Extreme CASPIAN Makeover!

Before

Or, for those of you who like your pictures right side up...

After

~t

Gub Gub Gub, Family Photos, and other Crazy Ramblings

Well, it's Turkey Day, so perhaps you think the above (Gub Gub Gub) is some variation on "Gobble Gobble Gobble." It's not. It's Zane's new swear word. It's what he says when he's pissed off. He's added it to "ma ma ma ba ma ma ba bad ma" I prefer "gub gub gub" for obvious reasons. Plus, it's fun for us to say, too.

To all my loyal blog fans (are there 2 of you? maybe 3?) I apologize for my blog slacking. Here's the breakdown:

Full time job
Full time baby
One computer
Artist husband with new software

It just doesn't give me much computer time. So, to my public, I apologize. Let's just say it gives my blog some cache. Ha ha.

I have a lot to be thankful for. Last year at this time I was pregnant. I'm not pregnant now. I'm thankful for that. I'm thankful for my family and that our dear baby Zane came to join us this year. I'm thankful for my extended family and friends and the marvelous spread my sister-in-law put out for us today. I'm thankful we've got all the necessities, if not the luxuries. (Hattie Briggs Lunt Sederholm is frowning down upon me. She prefered the opposite.) I'm thankful I know about Mercury Retrograde so I can just laugh at all the crazy mishappenings that have been happening lately. (In fact, I can't believe I'm even trying to do this today, considering. I'm such a renegade.) I'm thankful for the new INXS cd, Switch. And I'm thankful for all that other crap we should be thankful for, but would be boring to list here (husband, job, roof over head food, blah, blah, blah). I'm thankful that, in general, I know when I'm being boring and try to stop that.

We tried to have family portraits today. Just the four of us. I've been thinking about trying for months, but to get everyone showered and in decent clothes that don't match but don't clash and in the same place with someone who can take a photo and will take multiple photos in order to get a good one has been a daunting task in my mind. I figured today we were close to being there anyway with having to all go somewhere together. So I gave it a shot. I'm not a Sears Portrait Studio kinda gal, but it might get to that after the results we got today...

The general consensus seems to be that this one is the best. I think it looks like my chin sorta swallowed, well, my other chin. Oh well.

The funny thing about the pictures was that rarely did we ALL look bad. In general, 3 of us looked good and 1 of us looked heinous. In every shot. And we switched it up. America's Next Top Model, here we DON'T come. Oh well, that's more interesting that pretty photos, right? I'll see if Mercury will let me share some of the others.

OMG, Mercury seems to not want to let me. Suffice it to say that I am confused by the fact that Caspian seemed to not know he was to look at the camera and smile the whole time. I guess next time I'll have to tell him. Kevin and I knew, we just couldn't seem to accomplish it. You think the baby is going to be the wild card in the photos, but not so. Such is life. OK, I will try one more time.

And yes, Caspian is getting a haircut tomorrow. Allright, I'm thankful that I know to quit while I'm ahead.

Or maybe I don't. Hey, cafepress has new black t-shirts. They're pretty cool. Here's a crazy design Kevin made for his new wacko artist friends' board. I like it. Click to see some other black t-shirts. He's got that new software, so check back often as he's a creating fiend.

I do believe that's a wrap for now. And to Anya, wherever you are. I'm sorry if that scared you. And to everyone else, I'm sorry for all the obscure references tonight. Or maybe not. Was kinda fun. And perhaps educational. Now I think I need to go listen to the Buffy Musical. If you're a dedicated fan of the Buffy Musical, click here. (Thanks Merc, for that link.) It's funny, the things people do. I was "Where Do We Go?"

Oh yeah, and I'm really really really grateful for...

The INTERNET!

~t

Make Your Own Snowflake!

To make a snowflake, click mine.



I've been having fun with this. Kevin never does it. He's too manly. JK. It's a fun, easy, artsy thing to do, even for those of us who aren't as artistically inclined.

~t

There are some errors in that last post, but motherhood is also teaching me priorities. Baby is whining. Gotta go. Cannot be perfect.

~t

On Becoming a Mom

There are a few things that surprise me about being a mom. I was ready for it to be a lot of work. Somehow, people always tell you that. Another mom also told me that I would fall in love. That it would be like a love affair. I was skeptical, but she was right and I was not that suprised.

I think what suprises me most is the intimacy of the relationship between mother and child. I did not experience this with my own mother in my memory. To a certain extent every mother and child must have this experience. I mean, you SHARE A BODY for 9 months.

Ok, Tim (my brother), here's your WARNING if you are reading this. You do NOT want to read the next paragraph. It will be TMI for you. Don't say I didn't warn you.

Maybe it is because I have a scorpio moon and ascendant, but I am finding motherhood to be the most intimate relationship I've ever had. (Not in a weird way. In a good way.) I've had me some relationships that are pretty intimate, including the one with my dear husband. But, come on, let's get real. In addition to the first 9 months, ZV and I share DNA. And beyond that, he ate off of me exclusively for another 6 months and still nurses for much of his nourishment. We also do a certain amount of attachment parenting, so he has slept next to me from pretty much day 1. The very first 4 months of his life, we were probably only separated for perhaps 1 hour all totalled up in any one 24-hour time span. (Stupid work had to harsh that gig.) Before he was born, I had 9 months of sickness, discomfort, 50 lbs of weight gain, swollen ankles, hemorrhoids, heartburn, and I don't even know what else. I had 33 hours of labor: 27 natural, then an epidural, then a cesearian. After that, I got an infection and was laid up for about 4 weeks. After that, my back gave out. I would not do this for any other man, that's for sure. But I would do it for ZV again if I had to.

Ok Tim, you can read from here.

In fact, it's now 2:00 am. I have to work in the morning. We've been up for about an hour already. We are regularly up at this time. I haven't slept through the night for, oh I dunno, about 10 months. And I'm not even mad at him. He's pretty darn cute. Here he is right now:

I know our relationship will change as the months and years pass. That's normal. Another friend said motherhood is a process of gradual letting go. But I do hope we stay close. I hope we've laid a strong foundation. I think cosleeping helps. I was raised in a very different time, so I understand the choices my parents made. I remember being little and scared in the middle of the night, but I don't ever remember climbing into bed with them. Maybe it happened, but if it did, it certainly wasn't often. I hope our sons remember this time as happy, warm, and close, with everything else thrown in. And I hope they think of our home as a safe place to open their minds, arms, and hearts.

Well, he's getting cranky. So maybe I will get some sleep!

~t

A DREAM Realized!

It was an odd little dream that I have harbored since around March. I wanted to dress my baby up as a priest. For some reason, this was the ultimate of funny in my perverse little brain. I think I felt even more stongly about this than getting a picture of him in a punkin patch--which was HUGE.

As you can see from the last blog entry, we dressed him as a Jedi to match Caspian for trick or treating. I just wasn't sure how a baby priest would go over in my mostly-working-class-possibly-Catholic neighborhood. But, I had the priest outfit at the ready b/c I figured I would use it one of the days at some sort of party.

Halloween came and went and I had not dressed him as a priest. I was getting desperate. So desperate that last night I took both boys to my friend Michele's yearly Halloween party. I am not a party goer usually. AND it was a dark and stormy night. Truly. And way past both boys bedtime. But I wanted to see some friends I rarely see.

And I had to dress my baby as a priest.

I wish I had gotten some pictures of the other people at the party, but I left my camera at home. The costumes were so good (as usual) that my 7 year old, Caspian, was even frightened by some of them. I did get a picture of the most important costume, and quite possibly, one of the most important occurences of my young (ahem) life.

So, without further ado, here is Father Zane.

Bad Blogger: A Mishmosh from the Past Week.

Well, gosh, it's been so darn busy around here. But Kevin, of all people, has been bugging me to write a blog. Although he is privy to almost every moment of my life, apparently he thinks there is more that will come out if I sit in front of the computer. He is my dedicated Blogfan. Awwwwww...so sweet.

So, I was gonna blog the other day and I found something kinda cool...the muppets may be doing a doing a reality show called America's Next Muppet. Click on Kermie to read about it. This is exciting as I love both the Muppets and America's Next Top Model. See, how important it is that I blog? These things need to be noted!

How 'bout that Supreme Court nominee? Bad Bush. Bad Bush. That's all I'm gonna say about that.

Kevin's Bedhead extravaganza has inspired artist Anne McDonald. This is so cool. No shit. She wrote Kevin and said that he was the inspiration. Check out her bed head design.


So, Cousin Haggis called and said his kidnappers wanted to see my kids in a Pumpkin Patch or they were gonna cut off a digit. Here's some pics for ya, Haggy.

Whew. Now Haggy should be safe. We had a great day of family fun yesterday. First, at the pumpkin patch. And then, Trick or Treating. For some reason, it was vitally important I get pictures of the baby in a pumpkin patch. I think Kevin could tell that if it didn't work out with this one, I might need another baby. He helped me make it happen.

Here are some more fun family pics...

A big topic of discussion on my Mom's list this week has been car seat safety. For the location of a car seat safety check near you, click on Zane below (who is apparently NOT seated correctly in this pic or the car. We're working on that.)

Finally, just to give everyone a good scare on Halloween, Zane and I did a post-nap bed head picture together this afternoon.

BOO!

Bed Head!

Ok, you guys, Kevin is doing the funniest thing. I know, this blog isn't supposed to just be about my husband, but what can I say, this is so funny, I gotta give it some air time.

He's taking a picture of his bed head every morning and posting them on his website. You gotta check it out. If you really want laughs, bookmark it and check it out EVERY day. Click here to go the front page (with the bed head of the day on it.) and click the pic to go to the Bed Head Gallery with all the glorious bedhead shots! Here's the first one to tantalize you... ~t

New INXS vid! Check it out!!!

Pretty Vegas

The Hallowiener
A Seasonal Post

Ok, I find I won't be able to help talking about some of Kevin's designs on here. Take this one. the Hallowiener. It's fuckin' funny. And timely. There are a couple of different incarnations of the Hallowiener, but this one is my favorite. If you'd like to see more of the Hallowiener, click here and then click your favorite design to see which items Kevin has placed his wiener on. ~t

45 lbs Down, 21 to GO!

Back to Weight Watchers this week after being sick last week. That baby fat is gonna gooooooo!

Welcome to my blog!

I don't know how much blogging I'm gonna do or how bloggy it will be. For example, just now my baby son, Zane, came walking in here (in the hands of his Daddy), so how am I gonna finish this? Well, they seem to be turning around, so I might have a shot. Wait, here he comes again. He sure is cute. Here is a picture of him right now as he walked in here on the birth of my blog.

I don't know exactly what I'm gonna blog about, but I suppose that's the bloggin' point, now isn't it? I guess I like it as a sort of journal/family history type thing so there will be a lot about my family, but I'm sure I'll talk about all sortsa stuff. Mostly my weird little musings (hence the name).

Our pizza just got here, so I suppose I better go. See why I can't get anything substantial done? But Kevin just brought it in to me. How sweet. I'll spare you a photo of my pizza.

Well, thanks for reading this far. Hope to see ya again. ~t