Cousin Love

I love to see NJ have so much fun with his cousins!

In this first picture NJ and Z got to laughing at each other- it was rather infectious!

In this second pic, we were trying to do our grocery shopping with all three babies. We were at HEB and were making really good use of the tasting opportunities whenever they were offered.

A Felt Lion

My mom saw this great show on TV about easy Halloween costumes you can make from a hoodie. I had already decided I would just buy NJ a costume, but my sister wanted to make costumes for her boys. Since I was going to be in Austin with her in October, I agreed that we should make costumes together. These kind of projects are always impossible for me when I'm alone, but turn into a lot of fun when I'm with her.

So, we dug through all of Deanna's craft supplies, made a few trips around town to get just the right color of felt, experimented, stared at pictures of the real thing and then did a ridiculous amount of gluing. In the end, I think the costume turned out really cute! Stay tuned for some pic of NJ wearing it!

MMB; Mushy Mommy Brain

Now that I'm not sitting at home alone every day, my blogging has really fallen off. But then a day or two ago (I can't remember those kind of details) yet another person (I can't remember who) confessed to me that he/she is a silent reader of my blog! I think that brings my total audience up to 6! In addition, another friend of mine has started blogging (although her blog appears to be more of a scrapbook type blog- you know the type: useful, fun for relatives to read, positive... not at all like my sometimes cynical stream of consciousness). So, I have a renewed interest in blogging.

I've been thinking more about all those details I can't remember. It seems to be a systemic problem that's only getting worse. Deanna likes to call her memory problems pigeon brain, but mine is much more severe than forgetting a few words here and there. I think I actually had pigeon brain before pregnancy, but once the pregnancy fog (a real condition) set in, my brain turned to mush. Everyone told me about the forgetfulness that comes with pregnancy, but only one person was brave enough to disclose the fact that it doesn't go away postpartum. No one, I repeat, NO ONE dared to tell me that it would continue to get worse with time. Ah... the things no one tells you about motherhood... they are too numerous to count. Perhaps like Gretchen, my brain is full, but it seems unlikely since I only have one child. Perhaps not everyone suffers from this memory malady. Perhaps I have a serious cranial impairment... I'm going to settle on calling it MMB: Mushy Mommy Brain.

My MMB usually manifests itself in simple ways: I walk the 7 steps it takes to get from my kitchen to my office only to forget why I was going there for. I drive the grocery store without a list because I only need two things, but when I get there I can't remember either one. I call my mom to ask her something, but forget what it was in the time it takes her to pick up the phone. (It's shocking how often I do this.) In the end, my MMB rarely causes any real damage, at least none that I can remember. It seems like maybe there was something...

Mordacious

NJ has now chewed through the top layers of the wood on his crib and is down to splinter causing wood! Does anyone know how to stop this?

A Sad State of Affairs

It's that time again.... B's 3 hours later, Deanna's 2 hours later, and my mom goes to bed early, so I'm awake with no one but the dog to talk to and honestly, he's more interested in chasing crickets outside than sitting down for a heart to heart. It's a sad state of affairs. I'd watch TV but I had a moment of insanity about a month ago and canceled the cable- to my sanity's credit, I didn't know B was going to boat school at the time.

I guess I'll go iron.

Baby to Boy

NJ was able to consistently say "yeah" for 'yes' and shake his head for 'no' in response to several questions today!

Do you want a drink?
Can I get a high-5?
More green beans?
Do you want to take a bath?
Can I have a hug?

I thought for sure he'd gotten it mixed up late tonight when he was sitting on my lap with a sippy cup of milk for his wind down time (it helps avoid the night terrors). All the sudden, he was no longer content. I explained to him that as soon as he was done with his milk, we'd brush teeth and go to bed. Then I asked, "Are you ready to brush teeth and go to bed?" and he says, "Yeah" with a big smile. So, we brushed teeth and I put him to bed and he seemed incredibly relieved to get there. YAY!!! HIP HIP HOORAY! What a relief to think we might finally be at a stage where he can at least answer yes or no questions!

Since before I got pregnant I've been looking forward to the day my baby could talk. I'm not really a "baby-person" (you know the type) and, as much as my mother can't believe it, I don't find caring for a baby all that rewarding. Think about it with me: he cries, he poos, he bites your nipples... what's rewarding about that? But I also know that once the baby becomes a kid, it gets a lot more fun. So, today I declare that NJ has graduated from baby to boy!

Bring on the fun!

Name Ideas for Deanna's Blog

Since my sister's blog has a non-name, I've taken it upon myself to offer a few suggestions. Perhaps you'd like to add a few?

• Austin Hottie
• Austonian
• Baby Wrestling
• Bleeding Heart Liberal
• Cafe Munger
• Cooking on High
• D-berry Jam
• Daily Deglazing
• Green Garnish
• Keep Munger Weird
• Lost in Austin
• M is for Munger
• Making Munger Memories
• Making Mungers
• Mommy Munger
• Munger Hunger
• Munger Myhem
• The Clan of Cave Munger
• The Munger Affair
• The Munger Letters
• Tossed in Austin
• War Munger

The Paper Parade

The cat is still away but I'm tired of all play. So, I've gone to work on cleaning up and cleaning out. It seems to scare my hubby a little when I call and tell him things like, "guess what, there's room for a guest to put a few items in the guest room closet now" or "hey, we'll be able to use the weight bench in the garage now" because the only way to accomplish such feats is to get rid of some of his stuff.

The thing is, he's a Thing-Keeper (ever heard of a Thing-Finder?). He subscribes to the philosophy that you should keep everything possible in case you need it one day. It might not be so bad, but he inherited tons (literally) of stuff from his father and grandfather, so now our 2,223 ft2 house with 3-car garage is FULL to the brim. Every time my mom comes over she groans at the quantity of stuff and marvels at the fact that even with a three car garage we are unable to access everything.

B actually had me promise, literally, before we got married, to never throw anything of his away without permission. I was a silly naive girl in love and thought it wouldn't bother me. But nevermind that! About a year ago I told him I was formally rescinding that promise- not that I was going to make a clean sweep of his closet, but that I was taking matters into my own hands. Since he couldn't figure out what to keep and what to toss, I was going to make some educated guesses. But from time to time I also tell him that I'm on the verge of flipping out and throwing everything of his away... so you can see why he gets nervous. I suppose the moral of the story for him is that you have expect some collateral damage when you leave your wive alone for a month with your one year old...

Just for fun, and to validate my flip out, I'm going to provide an example: the paper parade. I've taken a quick tally of the file boxes and cabinets we own and would like to report that we have 81 inches of family files (which include all the bank records, the insurance paperwork, the old pay stubs, etc.), 35 inches of computer related stuff (manuals for drivers and such), 35 inches for all my files (church stuff, old school stuff, real estate stuff- BTW, I'm a Realtor), 17 inches of blank paper, labels, and tabs, and (drum roll please) 193 inches of Brian's junk that I can't make heads or tails of. What could be in these files? It's not bank records and pay stubs, so what is it??? I see newspaper, old love letters (at least they're from me), kids drawings (I hope they're his and don't belong to some other family he's got stashed away somewhere), and work stuff. Really, do we have to keep it all?

So, just to summarize, we essentially have a 361 inch high pile of paper- that's over 30 feet folks! It's time to do something drastic.

My Favorite Gifts

My husband and I were talking several days ago about gifts. I wanted to better understand how he thinks (dangerous, I know) and what makes a good gift in his mind. He and I don't have the best record when it comes to gifts for each other, so I asked him to think of some of his favorite gifts, given or received, and explain what made them such great gifts. He asked me to do the same, so I thought I'd share a few of my favorites:

First, I have to tell you that it's a hard call. My mom is constantly doing wonderful things for me (cooking food for my freezer, refinishing furniture, making me tablecloths, weeding my yard...) and my sister is constantly assembling wonderful packages (The How to Sew Basics, The New Gardener Collection, The Moving Prep Pack). In the end, I chose to write here about the stories I wanted writen down.

The Finals Prep Pack: The details on this one are a little murky, but the emotions and feelings attached to it are still very strong. During my first year in college my sister did many wonderful things for me. Deanna is four years older than me and before that year we hadn't really been friends- in fact I often referred to her as my third parent (shhh, don't tell her). But during that year she really reached out to me and we started a real friendship that has grown to be the closest and longest lasting friendship I've ever had. She sent me letters in the mail, emailed a lot, and sent me flowers on my birthday (who doesn't love getting called to the front desk of the dorm to pick up their Birthday flowers???). But the thing that really stood out came the week before finals. I got a shoe-box in the mail from my sister and it was full of snack food, post-it notes, and new pens, pencils, and highlighters! (yes, D and I have always been nerds). It really resonated with me- like someone understood the magnitude of what I was about to undertake. The gift really launched me into great cram week, but more, it created another connection with my sister.

The Skateboard: I was in elementary school, I think, and my dad and I were at the mall doing some shopping. I'm pretty sure mom was with us too, but she was somewhere else in the store when we got up to some shenanigans. We were in a sporting goods store and had found a skateboard with a radio mounted on the underside. I didn't know how to skateboard, but had a friend who did and was mildly interested. So I found a good station, hopped on and dad helped me as and tried my luck on the thing right there in the middle of the store with the radio singing.

Several weeks later, it was Christmas and mom and dad had created a scavenger hunt of sorts for me to find my big gift. When I found the radio skateboard at the end of the hunt I was more than a little surprised- after all, I hadn't put it on my Christmas list. My mom explained to me how dad had wanted to get it for me, but it was really ok if I wanted to exchange it for something else. Even now, I think my mom looks back on that gift as one of the most ridiculous things dad's ever done. I won't tell you I didn't think about returning it, but in the end I kept it and tried to learn to skateboard. I never did get the hang of skateboarding, and I remember the day I sent it to goodwill, but the gift still stands out in my memory as one of my favorites. It was a risky gift (they're usually some of the best), and it tells you a lot about my dad. He was, and still is, one of the most generous gifters I've known. I love the impulsiveness of the gift, that he wanted me to learn something new, that he got me something he wanted me to have, even though mom thought it was strange, and most of all, the happy moment that inspired it.

The Painted Pot: The first Christmas after we got married we had a lot of bills and not so much salary. We had moved to Michigan in June and I was VERY excited to be going home for the holidays. For some totally unknown reason I decided to paint my sister a flower pot for her house as her Christmas present. I was going through a Marjolein Bastin phase (ok, so maybe I’m still there- a little) and spent hours and hours and hours and hours working on birds, butterflies and a rabbit painted in a Bastin style. I went to crazy ends to pack the pot in my carry-on, not trusting the baggage handlers with it, and was so proud when Deanna opened it. She still keeps it out (or at least she does when I’m in town) and every time I see it I wonder what inspired it. I guess what I like so much about this gift is that I really put effort into something, it turned out nice, and the receiver seemed to really like it!

The Canon Powershot A530: Once you get married, giving each other gifts takes on a whole new meaning because when your husband buys you something he's really spending your money just as much as he's spending his own. In the end, how much of a gift is it to spend my money to buy me something I've already picked out? Add to that the fact that my husband makes it a habit to wait until the very last second to figure out what he wants to give anyone for any gift-worthy holiday. Quite often this results in a gift coupon or a picture of the gift that will be arriving sometime in the next five to eight business days.

However, for my Birthday in 2006, B stepped it up. I had been complaining about our digital camera and talking about how I wanted a new one but hadn't had the energy to go research them. So, B did all the research and picked out the perfect camera for me. I love that he took the initiative and that he used his time to figure out what we needed. But here's the best part: B had shopped ahead of time, so he was able to get a good deal and, on my Birthday, the actual, physical camera was there, waiting to be unwrapped.

Ode to Jana

We have this wonderful, glorious friend named Jana. By some stroke of luck she's fallen in love with my son, NJ, and seems to geniunely enjoy keeping him once a week or so. It's clear to me that she cares more for NJ than she does for me. But that's the thing about being a mom- I'd wouldn't have it any other way.

Jana is an amazing and thoughtful friend! She's constantly asking if I need some time/can she keep NJ for me! What a welcome relief a few hours here and there are! Jana works at Starbucks and frequently showers me with generous Starbucks gifts. (a Hot Venti 3-pump Cinnamon Dulce Latte is the key to my heart!) Recently, when we were gone on our marathon camping trip, John and Jana stopped by the house a few times to throw the paper inside and check on everything. John and Jana are really wonderful friends!

I'm so spoiled, it's hard to imagine life without John and Jana.

One day, a few weeks ago, my hubby walked in from work and told me John and Jana got the transfer they've been wanting and would be gone in a month or two. Granted, it had been a hard morning, but I literally broke down crying. Even today (not a particularly rough day), I'm temped to cry when I think about them leaving.

So, even thought this technically isn't an Ode- here's to you! Come see us sometime soon! We miss you already!

The Way I See It # 198

From today's Hot Venti 3-pump Cinnamon Dulce Latte:

"You can shower a child with presents or money, but what do they really mean compared to the most valuable gift of all - your time? Vacations and special events are nice, but so often the best moments are the spontaneous ones. Being there. Every moment you spend with your child could be the one that really matters"

-Tim Russert, NBC's Meet the Press and author of Wisdom of Our Fathers

Things that make nj, NJ

I've been thinking lately that I need to focus less on the every-baby milestones (like how NJ's still not walking at 14 months old) and more on what makes NJ the person he is. It's been a lot of fun for me. Here's my list of things I remember and new things I notice each day!

• His all-time favorite toy is a spoon.
• He loves to point to everything and say, "this?" I take it as a fun game and proceed to tell him everything I know about the featured item.
• He'll only sit still for a book-reading if an older kid is doing it.
• He loves to bang on everything!
• He loves his taggie.
• He loves his dog, Max.
• If you give him a plate full of food, he takes one bite of each item before he decides what to start on first. Even then, he likes to move around the plate- a few bites of this, a few bites of that (as opposed to his mom who likes to eat all of one item before moving on to the next item).
• He's quite agreeable to wear a hat most of the time.
• When B was packing up for his recent trip, NJ got more cudley with B than I've ever seen.
• He loves to sit on the quad and press all the buttons.
  
• He does this funny thing where he sits on the floor and throws his hands, arms and upper body down to hit the floor like a strange prostate bow then immediately raises up to do it again.
  
• He's soooo very attached to his Granny.
  
• My little monkey likes to use his feet to help hold up his bottle (back when he used bottles).
• He HATES to get his diaper changed.
  

The Cat's Away

Well, it's official. I took my hubby to the airport this morning for a month of training in Georgia. Now, what is it that mice do all day anyway? I'm torn between an urge to clean everything from the top of the fan blades to the shower floor and an urge to sit down in front of the TV for four weeks of straight mindless eating. The problem is that I'm in between Netflix deliveries and I canceled the cable ("we never watch TV"), which means I only get 2.25 channels. The truth is that on a good day I only get to see B for two to four hours, so really, only two to four hours of each of the next 27 days will be any different. Otherwise it's business as usual. I suppose I should just try to stay on schedule and do everything like normal. It's so hard to get motivated to exercise and cook a well balanced meal when he's gone. Anyone know why that is????

So, in the end, this mouse is blogging. I'll admit I wasn't into it just a few months ago, but my sister let me read her first post and I was impressed by how interesting it was. Even though I talk to her almost everyday, sometimes several times per day, I love reading her blog. Then I started reading Gretchen's blog. I've only met her a few times, but I love her sense of humor and her brutal honesty. It's a crazy high standard we moms hold ourselves to and Gretchen frequently reminds me that life just doesn't work like that.

The next step in my blog conversion was noticing that I had TWO followers. Sure, my sis has signed up, but she's obliged, right? It wasn't until Raegan, one of my sister's friends, who I only get to see a few times per year, so graciously signed up that I suddenly felt like blogging was less crazy than talking to the dog, which is what I'm doing when I'm not blogging.

I only need to close with a disclaimer that my blog isn't anywhere near the caliber of Deanna's or Gretchen's. My blog will simply be a stream of consciousness that allows the rambling in my mind to settle onto something black and white. Enjoy!

Elk Camp Highlights

...Ok, my conscience tells me that I'm being lame relying on other's posts and need to write a few of my own thoughts on elk camp. It's hard after Deanna has said it all so well, but maybe I've got something I can add...

In the interest of convincing myself to do it all again next year I'm going to try to focus on all the fun parts and conveniently skip over all the hard work. Surely NJ will be walking by next September... Surely a walker will be less work than a crawler... don't tell me if I'm wrong because it would be so sad to have all my extended family at elk camp while I sit at home by myself with my baby- I mean my two year old. See, the best part about elk camp is the family. We've never really done a formal family reunion, so this is as close as i get. There's something about living in the woods that bonds you. The guys are getting to be guys, flinging arrows at a walking hunk of meat (I should mention that one of the hunters was actually my aunt Charlene- you go girl!) and the women get to sit around, scrapbook, and chat (and change diapers, make dinners, sweep campers, search for runaway dogs/children). Seriously, there were a few days that we managed to get our two babies' afternoon naps to overlap for an hour. Deanna and I got two or three speed scrapbooking sessions in and I managed to complete two layouts. If you've never done speed scrapbooking, let me give you some pointers. First, don't bother to pull out all your embellishments until you've narrowed the pictures down and chosen your background paper. If you do, you may very well find yourself spending all your time getting the junk out and putting it all away instead of focusing on completing a layout. Second, don't get too picky. It's like a pop quiz- The trick is to go with your 1st instinct. Third, apply your double sided tape as soon as possible. This helps you stick with that 1st instinct and it prevents the wind from carrying your photos away. (yes, this is me being funny- you get what you pay for...)

What else can I add to my sister's summary? The food was, indeed, remarkable. It was a lot of work, and I did end up creating an Access database for it, but if you know me, you know that I look for excuses to use Access over Excel, so I'm not sure that's saying much. In fact, all it may tell you is that I'm going crazy being a full time mom and needed a good project to sink my teeth into. Either way, it worked out well. I can't think of any other way to cook three meals a day for 9 people out of a camper with a 2ft by 3ft fridge (ok, so there were actually three refrigerators, but Deanna’s was smaller and mom’s only stayed cold when it felt like it). It's interesting to me as I look back at it- I felt like I was doing a lot of work. I was stressed by the responsibility of it all. Yet each time we sat down to eat, I looked at the food on the table and realized mom had done most of the cooking. Sure I counted up how many plates we needed and occasionally dumped biscuits out of a can to cook in the oven, but mom made all the casseroles and then did the veggies most of the time too. huh. Someday, I hope to be half as productive as my mom!

Of course, mom left her dog at home and I had to devote considerable energy to trying to keep my dog from wandering off. We started out with Max on a leash, but he looked so sad being tethered to the camper while the great outdoors awaited. So, we experimentally let him off his leash and the sweet little thing barely left our side. I suspect it was because the forest was big and full of unknown dangers... Of course, within a day or so, his investigative work led him beyond the confines of the camp where he found countless treasures like a very good stick, and old bone, and the big prize: a hoof with a little bit of yuck left on it. Well, after discoveries like that you know he was inspired to search the great unknown. Twice I thought I'd really lost him- picture me walking in progressively larger circles around the camp yelling, "MAX!" Once he went up the road where there was another campsite. I'm thinking he was pretty confused at that point because when one of the guys road up on the quad and called to him, Max came right over in spite of his deep fear of loud noisy machines. But the worst time was when he came trotting back into camp with a bloody smile- literally. I guess he finally caught some sort of varmint or found the drippings from the elk Larry had killed the night before. He was pretty impressed with himself and I was furious. From then on out he didn't get much off-leash time. Overall, I think Max would say it was a good trip though. Prior to elk camp he really didn't want to get too close to the camper even though it was our 2nd trip in it. Now Max doesn't like me being in the camper without him. Maybe he just really likes the taste of elk.

Ah, the taste of elk... that was the purpose for the trip after all. Happily, B was successful and we'll be tasting his elk soon too, although I like mine significantly less rare than Max likes his. I have to say I had my doubts. B told me he wanted to get his elk opening day and then relax and hang out with family the rest of the week. We'd even tossed around the idea of doing some day trips around the area and checking in on some friends we don't get to see often enough. But day after day, no elk. It was a hard year for the hunters. The moon was so full that the elk stayed up all night and slept all day. Elk look incredibly similar to everything else when they're lying down, so it's close to impossible to see them when they're sleeping. Plus it had rained several times the week before, which meant there were plenty of puddles for the elk to drink from. So, they didn't need to walk to the "tanks" (big muddy ponds) to get a drink. Larry, the expert, full time hunter (and part time electrician) got his first elk most of the way through the week. However, none of the rest of the guys were having any luck. I think they all saw some bulls (boy elk), but they all had cow (lady elk) tags. We had to leave on Sunday, so on Saturday afternoon I told B, "If you're not bringing a elk with you, don't bother coming back!" Not really- I'm not THAT mean. But I did point out that this was the last possible chance. Wouldn't you know it, that night, September 20th, 2008, at 6:49pm, I got a text message:

"i shot one shes down send others!"

It's hard to explain how happy I was for him, how proud I was of him. I had to read the text twice to make sure I didn't just imagine it. I ran to tell Mom and Deanna and then physically jumped up and down a few times! A lot of archery hunting is skill- you have to make sure the elk don't see you, or hear you, or even smell you before you get within 40 yards of them and then you have to be on mark with your arrow or you'll pierce them but not kill them. But a lot of it's luck too. We had 8 hunters at camp with us and most of them didn't even get an opportunity to fling an arrow. But on that Saturday night, one nice lady elk was playing hard to get with one handsome bull. He was making all sorts of noise trying to show off and she had come to the tank to check him out. B said he waited and waited for her to get in just the right spot. When he took the shot, she was a 25 yards and went down right away! What a triumph!

B getting his elk saved the trip for me. I'm not sure why I thought it was so much work- must have been something about the 5 babies, 13 adults, 2 dogs, 5 campers, 20 lawn chairs, 5 tents, 12 days, 33 meals, 300 plates and 5 quads. But when B got his elk, it all seemed worth it. The only thing that could have made it better is if all the hunters had the same chance to bring home an elk.

NJ's 1st Words (I Think)

Addy (Daddy)
Bath
Hi Granny
Arrot (Carrot)
Atch (Watch)
Boo
Max
Hat
Ish (Fish)
Da Da Da Da Da Da
Ma Ma Ma Ma Ma
This & That