Recent Cuteness…

I think that if I’m gonna get back into regular blogging, those who follow me will just have to resign themselves to seeing many, many pictures of my cute baby boy…that’s just how it is!!

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A long day of errands and refusing to nap makes for a tired boy about 5pm!!

A cute little cloth-diapered butt!!

Playing in the grass for the first time without a blanket…it felt weird to him!!

My little daredevil climbing the foam rocks at the indoor playground!!

Shopping can wear a boy out!!

Jumping in the front entryway…lots of fun!!

Mmmm…he loves sushi (avocado rolls)!!

Loving the nice weather for going to the park!! Swings are fun!!

My Daredevil Child!!

The kid has no fear…and he’s getting braver and braver!!

I'm weird...and I'm okay with that!!

So, some things that would make people think I'm weird just didn't happen. The homebirth was a no-go, co-sleeping didn't happen, nursing was a bust (though I think pumping for nine months was definitely pretty crazy), and I'm a bit embarrassed to say that Bug eats more Beechnut and Gerber than homemade in the baby food department.

I live in a normal home in a nice quiet subdivision of a small town in the DFW metroplex...essentially the burbs. We have two vehicles, one baby, and a stuck-up cat. Though the norm these days trends toward dual income families, I am a stay at home mom...but in our neighborhood that isn't too unusual. But that isn't what I'm talking about when I say weird!!

No, those things that set me apart are probably these:

*We aren't vaccinating. At least not most of the shots...but we will deal with any that we may decide to give him after he is at least two years old. The idea of pumping chemicals and diseases into a tiny body worries me. I'm not gonna get all crazy vigilante about it (everyone makes the decision they feel is right for their own children)...but the proof is in the pudding as to whether they are really all that needed or not. Firstly, the only one of all the siblings of both mine and Brack's who did not get any vaccinations is the healthiest one of the bunch. Second, how many rounds of sick do most babies go through the first year of their life these days? Bug's only ever been under the weather (besides diaper rash and teething) twice in his whole 9.5 months of life on this earth...that's closing in on a year of healthy!!

*Bug is going on the potty at least once a day. I am not necessarily following the whole Elimination Communication dealio, but I just put him on the potty whenever he wakes up and most of the time he goes!! He has gone in the potty consistently every morning for over a week now!! YAY!! No pressure, but he's getting used to the idea so that in the future potty training won't be such a scary thing.

*I homeschooled most of my school years and we plan on doing the same for Bug...or rather, I'm leaning ever more toward unschooling him...letting his interests guide his studies. Of course, this is a few years in the future.

*I love swing dancing and really want to have cool retro clothes for it and be able to go out dancing a couple times a month. Granted, this isn't so weird for some people who may be reading this...but I can guarantee you that there aren't too many people I know who like to get out and cut a rug Glen Miller style!!

*I really love renaissance faires. There is just something so cool about faires...at times I think I am part gypsy and the faire season gets me wishing I could move with the faire schedules to each new faire...maybe live in a vardo...I don't know!! But the garb, ah yes, the garb is such fun!! I have been to faire in the yuckiest heat and sometimes it is cooler temp-wise to go in mundanes (regular clothes for those who don't know the lingo)....but I do love me some absolutely gorgeous and fun garb. I am actually in the middle of making/prepping garb for a big faire this fall.

Now, to top it all off and make people think I'm even crazier...I am really starting to get into the whole steampunk thing. I've always liked the Victorian turn-of-the-century era...and here is a way to recreate it...only imagined as if steam were still king...a sort of alternate history so to speak. I find those who are into steampunk to be rather dapper dressers and exceedingly polite...because manners still count!! I think that that is what really makes me like the whole aesthetic, though the cool gears, buttons and styles are pretty appealing as well.

So there you have it...several reasons why someone might think I'm weird. One, two, or even all of the above may brand me as just a wee bit nuts...but you know what? I don't care. I actually like marching to the beat of my own drum, rather than being a cookie-cutter soccer mom, so to speak!!

Typical Saturday At Our House

Saturdays have always been our “lazy” day. Pre-baby and pre-house that meant sleeping in and having a nice brunch around 11-ish…then playing computer or xbox games, messing around online on Crossings, or reading. Once we started the house search we would spend most of Saturday afternoons driving around and looking at different neighborhoods and houses and going through model homes. Housework beyond dishes was put off and dealt with come Monday (which was pretty hard when I was working full-time and easier but not-so-fun when I was working part-time).

But then we moved into our house last February and welcomed our little guy into our lives last July…and weekends are just not the same. Typically the little guy wakes me up no later than 7:30am…but usually a good 45 minutes earlier than that!! Sometimes Brack gets to “sleep in” until 8am, but many times he wakes up when the little dude starts making noise.

Coffee is made and a bottle of milk is warmed immediately so EVERYONE can get a good start to the early morning!! Then I fix breakfast while Brack plays some xbox and Edmund plays on the floor with some toys and occasionally climbs on Brack, disrupting the game!! Here is a pic from several months ago on a different Saturday morning…but it’s still pretty typical (except Brack isn’t so fastidious about keeping the little man from seeing the screen these days)!!

Then we all sit down to eat. Usually by the time we eat and Edmund is ready to get down from his chair, he gets in a few minutes playing with Papa and then it’s time for his morning nap (sometime between 9:30-10:00am) Once the little guy is down, Brack plays on the xbox for a little while longer while I savor a second cup of coffee.

But then the day really begins. There is usually some house project to work on, if not several. I try to get a couple loads of laundry done and keep up with the dishes as well so that Monday catch-up won’t drive me insane. Meal plans for the next week must be made up and grocery lists and coupons got together. Clothes for Sunday must be picked out and readied. If we are really on the ball, we usually can sit back and relax (besides dealing with dinner) right about the time the little guy goes down for his afternoon nap around 2:30-3:00pm. If I am lucky I can even get a nap in while he naps to make up for not getting to sleep in!! Once the baby boy is up from his afternoon nap we have fun playing with him, going for a walk, running errands, or just relaxing. Then of course once he is down for the night we can sit back on the couch and watch a movie or something. Saturdays may be busier now, but they are just as enjoyable.

One thing I have enjoyed doing on Saturdays ever since getting married is fixing our brunch. Of course, these days our brunch is a bit earlier than it used to be…typically between 9:00-9:30am!! A favorite new recipe is a clone of Panera’s Spinach-Artichoke Souffle (which isn’t a souffle at all)!! Oh, but it IS good!!

I found the recipe online here but have tweaked it a bit. I use green bell pepper instead of red…as it’s a bit cheaper and I usually have green on hand. I use 4 tablespoons half and half instead of 2 tablespoons each of milk and heavy cream since we always have half and half on hand. I substitute mozzarella for monterey jack as I usually have mozzarella on hand after our Friday night pizza. I also substitute a blend of parmesan, asiago, fontina, and romano cheeses in the places the recipe calls for parmesan and asiago. I also don’t divide the dough up into four, only into two and I cook the “souffles” in my Corningware 16oz round dishes. The last thing I do differently is buttering the dishes with a stick of butter instead of melting it first. Even with all the changes, they still taste like the ones at Panera.

One thing that makes getting the meal ready easier is having some of the components prepped ahead of time. I actually premeasured into small rubbermaid containers the frozen spinach, chopped canned artichoke hearts, onion, and bell pepper that the recipe calls for so that I only have to do that once to have enough for 4-5 times.

So here are a couple pictures of our yummy brunch…

In the interest of full-disclosure, the prepped breakfast table actually looks more like this!! :-P

Of course, I can’t post an entry without at least one picture of my cute little guy!! Here he is chilling out in the hammock that his Papa hung on the patio this morning. Don’t worry, I was RIGHT beside him!!