Bye, Paul Newman.

We just finished watching “Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid.” What a great movie, and what an amazing career he had.

like the new look? + rant about debates

I was tired of the green blog. Actually I was tired of the white background. I like the green but I thought a black page would look nicer behind my pictures.

We just watched the presidential debate. Why is it that candidates have to bicker so much? It makes them both look so immature. But if they don’t do it, the other candidate walks all over the discussion. Argh.

I would love it if there could be a debate that outlawed the use of the words “freedom,” “change,” and “Americans.”

some recent pictures

A few things we’ve done recently…

We went to the Jim Henson exhibit downtown with Mike:

We’ve watched the Muppets:

We’ve hung out with Sean and Ginger and (more importantly?) Mackenzie, who is 2 weeks Wesley’s junior:

We’ve driven a lot–courtesy of the new academic year:

Wesley campaigned for peace:

And looked at his hands:

And grew.

And Mary got her first haircut. Here is her hair before:

And after!

Conor is resourceful

That is his method for fixing my cutting board–which is JUST too big for his clamp. He glued it, then jammed it into the window and used the clamp to hang something heavy enough to keep the window putting pressure on it. Or something. Actually I have no idea why the stuff is attached to the clamp–maybe it’s just protecting the glass.

Absurd.

reflections while nursing Wesley

I just spent an hour and a half or so cleaning up in the living room and dining room. It looks as though I haven’t even started! You know why? Because of Mrs. Potato Head.

Mrs. Potato Head, and her ilk–all of the toys that have lots of little pieces, like puzzles, shape sorters, and that one book with the blank-faced animals and a million little magnetic facial features to stick on—are ruining my life! I mean, blocks and whatnot are one thing.Those just have to go in a box. Its the matching–this toy/puzzle with these pieces–that’s making me crazy.

At M’s birthday party, everyone brought gifts–and I do TOTALLY APPRECIATE them thinking of Mary, don’t get me wrong. It’s just that lots of them were this sort of thing. Mary loves this stuff. She does. She adores putting in little pieces, or whatever. But I don’t! Outwardly, I smiled, said, “Oh, isn’t that cute.” Inside, it was one long silent scream. EEK! NOT MRS. POTATO HEAD! (Insert horror movie music here.)

So, ruling by fiat, I hereby decree that I will match them ONE time…and then they will go out of reach to be retrieved and used on request, one at a time. Mary will prefer it because she isn’t capable of finding the right parts so she can’t even use them right now. She can enjoy them, and I can enjoy playing with her with them, instead of just being frustrated because the eyes for the camel are in the spice drawer. I feel, philosophically, like her toys should be within reach for her so she can play with them…but to hell with philosophy. I’m sick of finding a 3-D square in my shoe.

Besides, doesn’t anyone else find Mr. and Mrs. Potato Head a little scary sometimes? Like when Conor puts the arm into the nose hole?

cutest thing ever

Or definitely close to it: Mary reads her books and if you sit with her to read she will read a page, then pick up the book, turn it around, and show you the pictures, library-storytime style. AAAHHHH! Cuteness overload.

boo humbug

I hate Halloween.

I don’t really get the idea of trick-or-treating. Costumes are fun for little kids but for older kids they’re just a reason to dress like a skank or in a gross-looking costume.

Mostly, though, I hate being bombarded by stuff I don’t want to see–skeletons. And other things that I find gross and off-putting, like green-faced witches or corpse-like mask faces. Why should I have to look at that for over a month? Ew. I will be glad when it is over, although I think Mary and Wesley will look adorable in their costumes (pictures, of course, will be available).

that look (and Friday rant)

We went to Babies-R-Us yesterday to buy more stove knob covers (necessary item with a toddler in the house, but not totally sturdy and long-lasting).

There was a couple wandering around holding a baby–no more, I would say, than a week old, max.

They totally had that look that new parents have: a combination of astonishment, awe, PTSD, and exhaustion. Stunned. They were clearly stunned.

It’s amazing that this happens to so many people and is considered normal. It’s intense. Really, really intense.

End of reflection. Beginning of rant.

They were standing by the bottles, trying to pick something, when we walked by. The woman asked me, “Excuse me–what kind of bottles do you use?”

(Fast-forward past the fact that she assumes I DO use bottles, though many people don’t–it was pretty clear that she was not considering breastfeeding, as–well–her chest was absolutely enormous, she was wearing a one-piece dress with no nursing access, and I actually saw her wince when she brushed against a display, so I’m pretty sure she was suffering all of the pain of having lots of milk and not doing anything with it.)

I recommended Dr. Brown’s, which is what we use for Wesley, but told her that every baby is different and they might have to try a few. She said that their little girl didn’t seem to like the ones they had, which were basic “cute” ones with cartoons on them, and that she was only eating about 2 ounces per feeding and leaving the rest. And then she’s hungry again in two hours.

Honestly! Didn’t ANYone at the hospital tell them that’s normal or give them any instruction at all? I am pretty furious at the fact that these people have so little support or childcare information that they were forced to ask a total stranger in a store, who may or may not have mentioned that 2 oz is a LOT for a baby that little. Clearly these people are mainstream to the max–they had that baby in a hospital, I am sure. Would it kill the maternity ward to send a nurse to go over a few basics before they were discharged? They didn’t do that for me when Wesley was born (maybe because he was not our first) but they did when Mary was born. I had been reading books about babies for months, but if I hadn’t, that would have been useful to me. And this couple could have used it!

a few more baptism photos, courtesy Mom

Here are a few pictures that Mom got during their visit here, including a baptismal head-soaking photo!

Wesley and Grandpa Moo:

Baptizing:

Wesley crawling on me–he loves to prop himself up on a lying-down person. Want to be impressed? I just have a hand on his butt. Yes, he’s that strong!

Mary and Grandma Cal playing with Play-Doh:

And a giggly Wesley:

Burn After Reading

I liked it–you should go see it.

Are you impressed that we saw it the day it opened? Conor, Mary, Wesley, and I saw it with Mike, Sandy, and Zak. Wesley only cried SOME of the time. Clearly he is not going to be the champion moviegoer that Mary was at his age.

Anyway, I enjoyed it. It’s very funny and has a few excellent performances in it: Richard Jenkins and J.K. Simmons were my favorites. (Plus, I get way too much amusement out of seeing Brad Pitt as a huge dork.)