Local

If you live in the Northwest Arkansas area, I wanted to point you over towards my friend Kristin's blog Another Gray Day.  She is helping out with a blanket/food drive for children in need in the area.  Spring Break can be a tough time for kids who depend on the school lunch program for meals.

Also, it's almost Rhea Lana time!  The sale starts this Thursday at the John Q. Hammonds Center in Rogers.  I am so excited!  I pretty much clothe the Pea with all Rhea Lana items, and I usually sell enough stuff on consignment to pay for at least half of his wardrobe.  Wa-hoo!

I Really Want To Win This....

Really, really, really want.

Sunny is just so talented.  :)

The Princess & The Pea

The Pea was having a very good time with his cousin at Christmas if you can't tell.

And, yes, I realize that they're blurry.  I think I may have accidentally switched the setting on my camera to something it shouldn't be on because when we first got the camera, it took wonderful pictures, but lately, they've all been blurry.  Of course, the Pea wasn't walking when I first got the camera.

Happy New Year from Bill, me, and the Pea

May Your New Year Be Filled with Peace and Blessings!

Quick Pea Pic

My friend Amy got this beautiful fall shot. I can't wait to see all her pictures! If you live in the area, she'll be doing photo sessions the afternoon of October 31st. Email me if you want details.

No Eggs for the Pea

Yep.  He's allergic.  I had a hunch after a whole lot of puking every time he ate anything with egg in it.  There's only so many times that you can say, "What a co-inky-dink!"  And yet again, I find myself thinking, "Trust your mom gut!"  The nurses and doctors brushed off my concerns the first couple times because there was no hives or anaphylaxis (thank you, God!).  But I just had this deep down feeling that he was allergic to eggs.

Looking over his list of "hidden egg items", I was a little surprised by a few of them...bologna?  Turkish delight?  (Not so much surprised that turkish delight has egg in it...although I didn't know that...as surprised that they would bother putting it on the list.)

The good news is that egg is an allergy that most kids grow out of.  The bad news is that an already overprotective mommy has now been given more reason to be.

Couple Pea pics:

Funny conversation in Chick-fil-A last Thursday:
Me:  Thank you so much!
Nice Lady Helping Me With The High Chair: Oh, you're so welcome!  You have a beautiful little boy.
Me:  Why, thank you.
NLHMWTHC: With those curls, he would make such a beautiful little girl.
Me:  We're getting them cut off tomorrow.

Shout Out Friday

Check out my sister Ellen's Etsy shop!  Because she's kind of awesome.

She makes cartoon portraits, sculptures, kokeshi-esh peg dolls, and adoption-related what-nots.  I heard a rumor (okay, from our mother) that she's started making wedding toppers as well.  Also, she loves to do custom stuff (she did a custom painting of the Pea when he was born for his nursery, and for his birthday, she made him a little giraffe).

Also also, she's going to start making nesting dolls, and who doesn't love nesting dolls?  a curdmudgeon that no one likes, that's who.

Happy Labor Day!

Technically, the only "laboring" I've done all day is getting dressed up in Hog garb and heading to Chick-fil-A for a free chicken sandwich.

My mom was even in town this morning, so I got a nap.

Yippee!

Shout Out Friday!

Yeah, I'm starting this...it may or may not last.

Shout out to Sara for introducing me to Alf's Natural Nutrition Puffed Brown Rice.  $1 for a bag of it.

What it is:  Whole brown rice

What it is not:  Anything else whatsoever

An Open Letter to the Pea

Dear Pea,
Have I done something to offend you?  Or is there just some cranky, grumpy, you-may-have-brought-me-into-this-world-but-I-will-take-you-out, mood-swingy phase you're going through right now?

Or is it just teething?

Sincerely,
Your Loving Mother

 

I have to share this story really quickly:  I was flipping through my Google Reader, and I caught a glimpse of this picture of a baby wearing a bib just like the Pea's.  Then, I looked closer and said, "Oh, he really looks like the Pea."  Closer inspection:  Okay, that is the Pea.  My friend Amy hosted an awesome pool party last weekend, and she captured this sweet dinner shot.  Because nothing says pool party like jarred corn.  :)

A Bouquet of Freshly Sharpened Pencils

I love that image from "You've Got Mail".  I don't have a school-aged child yet.  It's been awhile since I've been a student (less time than you might think due to my oh-so-utilized graduate degree).  But there's just something about this time of year that sends my heart aflutter.

School supplies lined up ready to go, the smell of new textbooks (one of my favorite scents), crinkly backpacks that haven't been broken in.  I love it!  All of it!

My niece is starting pre-K tomorrow...I'm so excited for her!


On a side note, I've finally put my finger on who (what) my son's crawl reminds me of.  He crawls with both hands, one knee, and a foot.

Gollum.  (or, rather, Smeagol as he's so sweet, and I'm a geek)

Dogpatch U.S.A.

I had a random memory as Bill and I were driving back from seeing Wicked Saturday night. (It was okay...if by "okay" you mean "FRIGGIN' AWESOME!!!!")



We got on the topic of band experiences. Bill was kind of hot snot in a hot snot Atlanta band. By his senior year, he was the drum major. I grew up in Arkansas. His band went to places like New York City and Sea World. Our band went to Dogpatch U.S.A.** If you're never heard of Dogpatch, there's a reason. If you HAVE heard of Dogpatch, you probably grew up within a one hour radius of me.

Dogpatch dreamed of being "the next Disneyland". The only problem was that they (a) built it in the middle of Nowhere, Arkansas; (b) based it on the capers of Lil' Abner; (c) y'know, I really can't think of a (c)...I feel that (a) & (b) are more than sufficient reasons for failure.

And we didn't just go to Dogpatch, we PLAYED at Dogpatch. For whom? I'm really not sure. Our parents and the other three poor souls who actually paid to go to the park that day? The park finally closed for good in 1993. I can't remember the exact year we went, but it had to be within 1 or 2 years of its closing. The only thing I remember that was left open was the ferris wheel, the train (which you could easily jump off of mid-ride), and some random retired circus elephants.

Does anyone else remember this? Sara?

And does anyone have any good memories of Dogpatch in its heyday? That would make me feel a little better.

Oh, and you can watch a simultaneously hilarious and depressing news story about it. Please don't judge the entire state by this. Please.

**In our band director's defense, we also went to Washington D.C. my junior year and played on the Capitol steps.

The Chick-fil-A Way

Ever had a day that you were just blown away by the customer service everywhere you went? I had one of those days yesterday. Maybe I was interpreting adequate service as exceptional because I was in a good mood. Maybe everyone was just in a good mood because the weather wasn't stifling.

Whatever it was/is, Bill and I call this kind of service "the Chick-fil-a Way". Anytime I stop and take notice of how well I'm being treated, it makes me think of my favorite fast food joint. Seriously, I don't know what's in their training manual, but it works. Perhaps it just says, "Treat every customer as if he or she is the only person in the restaurant...and your long-lost grandma."

Of course, when a Chick-fil-a experience goes awry, it is all the more noticeable. But those instances are rare and easily forgiveable.

And I even won the "every 100th customer free meal" the other night. And and they gave me a sticker. The actual conversation went a little something like this:

Chick-fil-A Chick: Oh! I have some good news for you...

Me: (gasp!) Am I the 100th customer? Am I? Am I?

Chick: Yes! (whispers) We have to ring the cowbells, is that okay?

Me: Uh, YEAH!

Chick: (Rings cowbell, other employees join in) Oh, and could I ask you to wear this sticker?

Me: Uh, YEAH!!!

And I wore it all night so that the other Harry Potter movie-goers could be jealous of my free Chick-fil-A 8 count nugget meal. Nom nom nom.

She's Got the Look

I'm having a very meh week, wardrobe-wise. I suppose it started with the tinkle incident last Saturday. The thing is, I just don't care. I hate that feeling of "letting oneself go". And I'm really not intending to. It's just kind of...happened.

Case in point: I am out of hair gel, almost out of a makeup, need a haircut, have a 3 month-old pedicure, and am suffering from serious clothes envy every time I hang out with one of my friends who wears cute little skirts to go grocery shopping (ummm...and that feels like all of them). All of these are highly fixable. It's just that most days, the Pea is either going to pee, spit up, drool, or worse on said clothes before lunch.

I think I need to have a pamper Karen day pronto. Not so much because I desperately want one. In fact, more because I don't.

Cuteness Strikes Back

It occurs to me that I promised a lightsaber pic and never delivered. I give you...the Pea-duan:


(note the lazy ton-ton in the background)

Wolverine!

The Pea seems to have an almost mutant superpower of rapid healing. He scratched his face yesterday, and by this afternoon, it was almost gone.

Cool T-shirt for a Great Cause

http://zachanderin.blogspot.com/2009/07/new-t-shirt-design.html

Some friends of friends are selling these way cool t-shirts to benefit an orphanage in Malawi.

This is the design, available in different colors:

Get a shirt, you all everybody!

Chaos

If any of you know Bill and I personally, you know that we live a fairly quiet, peaceful lifestyle.  This is helped by the Pea going to bed at 6:30, our shared love of reading and movies, and our fat lump-of-a-dog sleeping almost as much as the baby.

This week, the nephews are visiting.  They are sweet, fun children (toddler and 5 year-old).  However...in the course of one afternoon, every toy in the house was spread out across our living room.  The toddler managed to set off the carbon monoxide detector during the Pea's nap. (youch!)  At one point, five different noise-producing toys were going off at once.  And 5 year-old decided to engage the Pea in a light saber battle.

Pea's first light saber pictures to follow!

Ode to a Dying Camera

This was the last picture taken by our old camera before it went kaput a few weeks ago. I was always the lady saying, "Could you take a picture of us? You have to hold down this button a l-o-o-o-ng time." And then the person would hit the on/off switch (located ever so conveniently next to the shutter button). Pictures at night were but a blur. Action shots? What do you think?

Our new camera has a "rapid fire" button that takes a bunch of pictures in succession to make sure everyone's eyes are open...not that we'd ever need that feature (***cough...Pea***). It even has a feature that detects when a person is smiling and automatically takes the picture. I AM NOT KIDDING. This camera could revolutionize my life. Until it breaks in four years.

Om Nom Nom...Amish Friendship Bread

My older sister gave me a baggy of Amish Friendship Bread starter, and it is so yummy--the bread not the starter. (And foolproof, which is a good thing for anything involving me being in the kitchen.) I'd post the recipe, but the thing is that you have to have the starter to make it. You squish it around and add flour, sugar, and water to feed it (like a pet that gives something back in return). On the tenth day, you use some of it to make the bread and some, you give away to friends. And you keep some for yourself to make more yummy Amish Friendship Bread.

There's a warning on the recipe to not give away your last bit of starter because only the Amish know how to make it. They would tell you, but then, they'd have to kill you.

I've always been a sucker for all these chain letter type things: recipe exchanges, memes, panty exchanges (this was going around when I was in junior high...was I the only girl out there who bought a package of adorable panties for another girl in hopes of getting 36 in return and got SQUAT?) This is the first one that's worked. Yay, Amish!!