Drowning

I ordered this ice cream maker from Amazon last Friday. I had one years ago and it was worth every penny of the $65 I spent on it. I got this one for $27 and free shipping.

Halloween candy, fudge, ice cream…. I’m in over my head, people. But I’m 100% ok with it.

SERENITY NOW

Does the whiny crying EVER end? Or will it continue until I’ve eaten every single one of those damned candy bars?

Edited to add: I mean the baby. She’s getting a new tooth and my god, the whining is unbearable. 

Dear Weight Watchers,

It’s not you. It’s me.
I hope we can still be friends.

Love,
Erica

That House

Do you remember That House that gave out full-sized candy bars for Halloween? This year, my house is That House.

Behold the glory of my candy bowl:

First batch:

Second batch:

There are 60 candy bars in there. I doubt very highly that we’ll need that many, but I don’t want to run out. You know, kids have to make a second trip to That House on the way home to see if there’s a chance at getting another candy bar.

Sometimes, I really love being a grown up.

Make-up and fudge

Make-up – Have any of you used that Bare Escentuals/Bare Minerals stuff? I keep thinking about getting it, but I’m scared to buy make-up without seeing it in person, you know? And $60 is a lot to blow if I hate it.

And if you have other suggestions, besides the mineral-y stuff, feel free to share that, too. Here’s my criteria: I don’t want to look like I’m heavily made-up. All I wear is concealer, pressed powder, mascara and gloss. I wear eyeshadow if it’s a dressy/special occasion, and I never wear liner. (I always feel like I look like a crack whore when I have it on. Weird, huh?) Really, what I’m looking for is something to even out my skin tone and sort of freshen me up a bit. What works for you?

Fudge – I need your recipes for fudge. Chocolate walnut and peanut butter, to be precise. I’ve been craving it for a long time, and instead of buying some, I want to make it. Here’s the glitch – fudge is my baking kryptonite. I cannot make it to save my life. It ALWAYS turns out crappy. Do you have any fail-proof recipes? Or a URL where I can just buy some pre-made fudge and skip the horror and heartache?

Photos of the girl

Alas, the bumblebee costume is too big for Maddie. But there was no way I could deprive you of this.

Here she is playing yesterday afternoon.

And this is us feeding the ducks down south. She loved it.

Happy Blogaversary!

It was one year ago today that the first post was made to this blog (Welcome to Fantasy Island). Since then Erica has been on bed rest, had our child (kept her alive for over 9 months), went back to work, started working from home, made 239 posts, and received 1093 comments, along with all the other sundry trivia that has been our life for the last year.

Please join me in congratulating her on a great year of blogging (and for being a terrific wife and mother).

Gratz babe, love ya.

G

Humble

Today, I was a cranky mother. Maddie was grumpy and everything was a struggle. She didn’t want me to feed her lunch or dinner. She wants to feed herself little bites of food, now. No baby food. This is great, except she only has two teeth that aren’t any help with chewing. Mostly, they just help with biting.

Bedtime is also a war. She wants a toy to play with on the changing table. I give her one and she promptly throws it at me or drops it on my foot. This wouldn’t be an issue if I gave her a plush toy, would it? But, she only likes to play with things that aren’t toys when on the changing table. Hair brush, lotion bottle, etc. These things sting when launch at you by a bratty kid. Top all this off with a very generous portion of all day whining and you have my week.

I finally reached the end of my proverbial rope and fussed at her tonight. I believe the exact words I used were, “Why do you have to make everything so fucking difficult?!” Not the highlight of my motherhood career, is it? I was feeling sorry for myself. “Why is my baby so difficult? When will this end? Am I going to have to go back to work because she’s driving me crazy? I bet other moms can handle this stuff. Why does she always whine the minute I walk into the room? Can’t she go to her dad once in a while?” Pathetic and self-absorbed? Yep. That’s me.

When Maddie and I said her bedtime prayers, I prayed for patience with her. She’s just a normal baby. She doesn’t do these things to inconvenience me or to piss me off. She’s learning and growing and gaining independence. I don’t want her to sit around like a robot or a doll and only do what I tell her to when I tell her to do it. I want her to express her own opinions and wants and needs. I just want to be more patient when she does it.

Later in the evening, I was browsing around blogs and found a mother who had just lost her two year old son. The story was heartrending and I bawled. All I could think of was loosing Maddie. How I would long for a difficult bedtime or feeding if she were gone. I am so grateful for what I have and I need to start acting like it.

And, we’re back

We’re home from our trip. Safe and a little worse for wear. Gerald’s sick and we both hardly slept while we were gone, so there is much overtiredness.

I’ll be back tomorrow with actual content for you. And pictures. Oooohh, pictures.

Breakin’ in the pimpmobile

Tomorrow, we’re heading down south for a visit with Gerald’s family. As I prepare for the trip, all I can think of is poor, pretty Swistle and how much I dislike her MIL by proxy. I’m also thanking all that’s Holy that I actually like my in-laws. The whole family. I won’t go so far as to assume they all think I’m the bee’s knees, but we seem to get along well at all the family gatherings. Don’t think I don’t realize how lucky I am, because I do. I’ve been on the Swistle side of the fence in past relationships and it was absolutely one of the causes of the end of the relationships.

So, we’ll be gone until Wednesday. I may update while we’re gone, we’ll just have to see how things pan out. Otherwise, I’ll be back Wednesday with more road trip horror stories to share.

Nine Months: The New Terrible Twos?

Maddie turned nine months old today. She was whiny and clingy and a general pain in my ass all day long. Gerald was home sick and I’ve been feeling crappy for so long now that I forget what it’s like to have a good day.

I’m not sure if Maddie’s getting whatever funk Gerald brought home or if she’s teething (still only those two bottom teeth visible) or if she’s just trying to drive me insane. But dear 8 pound 5 ounce baby Jesus, please let her stop whining. And it’s VERY UNFAIR that the only time she says “mama” is when she’s crying or whining. “Meh Meh!”

I’m glad she loves me and wants to spend ALL of her time with me, but I need a break. There’s only so long I can watch her bang on things before I want to bang my head against the wall. This is an awkward age. She’s curious and wants to play, but the games she can play get boring in about 2.76 seconds. Maybe that’s just me, though. Maybe the rest of you are content to play with your babies for hours. Maybe I’m wired wrong.

Just so this post isn’t entirely of a bitchy nature, let me tell you that Maddie now claps (with SOUND!) and clicks her tongue on the roof of her mouth. She also gives “high fives” and dances whenever she hears music. Her new favorite song is “1234” by Feist. However, “Why Does The Sun Shine?” by They Might Be Giants is still a big hit, too. She’s a whirlwind of emotions and makes me smile 1700 times a day. I wouldn’t trade her for anything.