Butt Cream!

In Miles' short life, I have had the pleasure of causing him to laugh on many occasions.  With tickles, and silly faces, and random noises.

And the other day, with Butt Cream.

Diaper changes in recent months have become a test of skill and speed.  The challenge is to hold him down with one hand, while removing the old diaper, wiping him down, and putting on a new diaper with the other hand.  Meanwhile, he is twisting and turning and doing everything he can think of to try and escape my grasp so he can throw himself headfirst off the changing table.

So, we try to distract him.  Toys are useless.  The wipes container will do in a pinch, if you're quick.  But the real fascination is in the tube of Butt Cream.  He'll turn it over and over, chew on one end, and stare at it as though it might suddenly do tricks.

When I handed him the tube the other day, he said, "This?" and held it up to me, asking for the word.

"Butt cream," I explained.

The peal of giggles that emanated from him was so genuine and sudden that I dropped the clean diaper.  I looked at him as I picked it up, and repeated,

"Butt cream!"

The giggles started afresh, and I continued chanting "Butt cream! Butt cream!" over and over again, all the while bobbing my head to the rhythm.  By the time his pants were back on, we were both breathless from laughing.

It wasn't until I was telling the story to Patrick much later that I realized:  I've lost my mind.  And for the most part, I kinda like it. :)

Christmas Begins!

This weekend was a whirlwind of Christmas.

There were rehearsals for a Christmas show, Patrick's work Christmas party, and my favorite: Our annual Christmas extravaganza for our friends.

When I was in college, I started the tradition of inviting all of my closest friends over for a simple Christmas dinner, a gift exchange, and a relaxing evening of games and socialization.  At first, that meant ten people crammed into a dorm room eating chicken I had prepared in my crock-pot (which may or may not have been against the rules), exchanging hand-made trinkets, and talking until the wee hours of the morning.

Yesterday, fifteen of our closest friends gathered in our townhome, eating all day long to try to make a dent in the enormous amounts of food, and playing cards and chatting until we all parted company at the Very Late Hour of 10:00 pm!  Ah, how parenthood changes you . . . :)

In all seriousness, however, it was a lovely day.  At one point, I looked down from the stairs over a living room filled to the brim with people I love dearly, and never seem to see enough.  People had gathered in pairs or groups, talking and laughing.  A fire crackled and popped in the fireplace.  Miles was running from person to person, putting a hand on one, crawling into the lap of another, while Dominic followed behind, sniffing for any scraps of food that may have made it to the floor.  Snow was glittering outside in the twilight, and cold winds whistled, trying desperately to find a crack to come in.  But inside, viewed from the stairs above, all was warmth, and peace, and love.

And as cheesy as it sounds, that's what Christmas  should be.  And I can't wait for next year's gathering.

Christmas Cards

Remember a couple of weeks ago, when I gushed about Shutterfly?

Well, I would like to re-state my love for them, and possibly up the ante to absolute adoration.

In case you hadn't guessed, my Christmas cards arrived.  And they are awesome.  Cute, adorable, high-quality - all of those things that you look for in a card.  Plus, they feature my son in all his glory.

I unveil to you, dear readers, our 2010 Christmas card:

Cute, no?  So classic.  So adorable.  In a word: perfect.

So, once more, Shutterfly rocks, and you should totally go check out their site.  Like, now. :)

Disclaimer: Shutterfly gifted me with 50 free cards in return for all of the nice things I said about them last time.  There is no incentive this time, I just had to let you know how well they turned out!

Secondary Disclaimer:  I absolutely did not get up at 6:00 to post this.  I wrote it last week, and scheduled it to post.  Yep, it's been sitting here, ready to go since Thursday, and I made you wait for it. Neener-neener. :)

Battles & Blessings

This week has passed a bit more quickly than I would have anticipated, given how looooong last week was.  Hope yours went well, and that you are enjoying your weekend!

Battles:

• Miles went to bed late on Tuesday, and refused to sleep all day Wednesday.  He was a bear, I was frustrated, and nothing much was accomplished.
• I struggle to find the motivation to work while Miles is sleeping.  I am nearly always tired, but I hate to nap while he does, because I never know how long it will last.
• We're still struggling with the fact that Miles will often scream and/or struggle for half an hour or more when it's naptime or bedtime.  I had kinda hoped that sleep would have become a non-issue by now.  Some days, I still wake up wondering how much longer before he sleeps well.
• I have an all-day rehearsal today, followed by Patrick's work Christmas party.  While I am looking forward to the events, I am not looking forward to the fact that I probably won't see much of Miles today.  Don't worry, he's sleeping as I write this, so I'm not wasting precious time. :)

Blessings:

• This week was in no way like last week.  Miles was happier, overall, and there was far less screaming. Also, less snot.
• Miles gave me his first real hug on Thursday.  Normally, when I ask for a hug, he will lean against me, and allow me to hug him.  Thursday, he stood up, wrapped both arms around my neck, and squeezed. My heart glowed.
• Patrick has, as always, been amazing this week.  I am so incredibly blessed to be married to him.
• I carved out an hour on Wednesday to do some basic crafting.  It's been awhile, and I really enjoyed it.  Plus, Miles now has a personalized clock to hang on his wall. :)
• Most of my Christmas shopping is finished!
• Our Christmas cards arrived and I love them.  I will give you a preview of them next week.
• Gifts we ordered are beginning to arrive, minimizing my crazy paranoia that they won't be here in time for Christmas - even though it's still early.
• We are celebrating Christmas with some of our favorite zany friends on Sunday.  There promises to be much food, many gifts, and tons of laughs.  It will be wonderful to see everyone again!

Friday Photos!

Watching the squirrels.

Passed out in front of Star Trek.

Drinking a 'potion'.

Playing with Daddy and Johnny.

Have a great weekend!

25 Somethings

Okay, so I did this for Facebook, and I realized that some of my readers may not know these things either.  Enjoy!

1) I am neurotic about keeping my fingernails clean.  Any little speck of dirt makes me nuts.  If I need something random to do with my hands, I'll probably be cleaning my fingernails.

2) I have to work really hard to keep my thoughts to myself.  Sometimes, they're not very nice, and other times, I just know they're going to come out wrong no matter what, even if they're meant in a nice way.

3) I  am not very good at number 2.

4) I really enjoy cooking, and especially baking, but I rarely get the chance.  I don't do anything fancy, and I have several friends who are far better at both, so I'm quite self-conscious about sharing my goodies.  I still do it, but I'm always worried they'll hate it.

5) Despite my best efforts, things rarely go the way I plan them.

6) I have deleted my ideas for this one four times because they were a) cheesy and b) oversimplified my appreciation of my blessings.

7) I collect antique books - especially Shakespeare.

8) I love living here, but I miss living close to family.

9) I feel a little smug about the fact that I have awesome in-laws. :)

10) I used to read 2-3 books a week.  Since Miles was born, I think I've only finished 3 books, total, though I've started several.  I just never seem to have enough time to devote to books anymore.

11) Miles is as stubborn as me, and even though that makes him really difficult some days, a small part of me is proud of him for not giving up on things.

12) I'm finding it far more difficult to write about myself than I thought it would be.  I could easily write 25 things about Miles, though. :)

13) Though it is incredibly stressful and time-consuming, I love working for the Renaissance Festival.  I have had the opportunity to meet and get to know so many talented performers.

14) I worry about my friends and family constantly.  I am always afraid that something terrible is going to happen to one of them, and I won't be there to help them through it.

15) Despite my "don't mess with me" attitude, I'm really very sensitive.  I will usually take whatever criticism or insults someone decides to give with a straight face, but when they're not around anymore, I will cry about it for an hour, and it will bother me for weeks (or longer).

16) I am very protective of my family - both blood and chosen, and I would go to the ends of the earth for any one of them.

17) I am a firm believer that there are two types of family - the type that you're born into, and the type you choose for yourself.  I am lucky enough to have both.

18) I love to do crafty things, but I haven't had much time since Miles was born.

19) I paint.  Mostly non-objective alien cloud-looking things.  I am more than willing to share my artwork, but I don't do it for the purpose of sharing.  I do it because it is therapeutic.

20) I am a morning person, provided that I get enough sleep.  I have not been a morning person for 14 months. :)

21) I love theatricality and stories.  If the story is good, or even if it's just very theatrical, I will be enthralled by it until the end.  Even if it's badly written/acted/whatever.

22) I really don't understand people.  I find it really difficult to get inside their heads, even if I know them really well.  I do, however, have a great intuition about what people will like.

23) My least favorite household chore is laundry.  My favorite is cooking.

24) I adore hats, and if it was up to me, hats would still be common-place for both men and women.

25) I love classic movies - especially from the Cary Grant/Audrey Hepburn era.  Movies were so much more . . . innocent.

Play Date!

Ever been on a blind date?  Think of the anxiety.  And the nervous excitement.  The fear that everything will be awful.  Or that it will be great, but the other person will hate you.  That you'll have zero in common.  Or that you'll have weird things in common.  That you'll have nothing to talk about.  But you go anyway, hoping that it will all be okay.

I had actually managed to get married without having ever been on a blind date.  High school sweethearts and all that.  I had watched my friends go on them (and inevitably complain about them).  I had even set up a few for friends that didn't know each other.  But I had never actually experienced it.  I thought I had escaped scot-free.

And then, I became a mommy.

I have two friends with children.  One lives an hour away and our lives never seem to coincide correctly to get together regularly.  The other lives forty minutes away in the opposite direction and is a working mom.  Because of this fact, Miles has had almost zero interaction with other children in his age range.  In a moment of delusion that I was actually a Good Mommy, I decided that Miles needed to start socializing with other toddlers.  But that meant meeting other mommies.  Mommies I didn't already know.

Cue panic attack.

Seriously, if this is what the idea of a blind date was like, I could not fathom why anyone would ever go on one.  My chest tightened up.  I began to hyperventilate.  My palms were sweaty, and my face itched.*

And then I realized that I had no idea of how to go about meeting other moms.  My breathing slowed.  My heart rate returned to normal.  The itching stopped.  I wouldn't have to meet other mommies.  I had no way of knowing how to find them!

Enter the internet.

Like those weird people who meet their spouses online,** I met my first new mommy friend online.  You know that awesome board I talked about the other day?  There was this lady there who I had been talking to for ages.  Her son was a few months older than Miles, and did some of the same zany things.  After months of talking to her online, we realized that we live in the same area.  Like, less than 10 minutes away.  Inevitably, someone suggested we get together.  And I got all excited and agreed.

And then had a panic attack.  Tight chest.  Hyperventilating.  Itching.

What if our kids hated each other?  What if Miles pulled Elliot's hair?  Or pushed him over?  What if two minutes around another toddler brought out the worst in Miles?  What if the mom was weird?  Or was one of those judgy moms that scare me so much?  Worst of all, what if the kids got along great, but the mom and I had nothing in common?  Would I have to continue playdates for the sake of my kid, dreading them each time?  My head was not a fun place to be.

But, I steeled myself, and met Elliot and his mommy at the mall's indoor play area.

And she was awesome.  We talked for an hour and a half, without any of those awkward pauses.  We talked about the difficulty of being a stay at home mom, and the challenges of raising an active boy.  We talked about our husbands, and our lives pre-kiddos.  And when the boys were getting restless and were ready to go, I found that I wished we had more time.

So, we got together again yesterday, at the library's literacy center.  The boys climbed on the train table and tried to escape and turn off the lights and throw crayons.  And in between chasing them, and correcting them, and pulling them down from yet another table, we got to talk.  And once more, the boys were ready to leave before we were.  So, we said our good-byes, and made tentative plans for another playdate next week.

And I'm glad I went on that blind playdate.  Even if the panic it caused nearly killed me. :)

*Yeah, when I get nervous, I itch.  Weird?  Probably, but what else is new.

** Hi, Mom!