sunday somethings

Hello friends, family, followers, strangers and blog stalkers.

{there's a difference between strangers and blog stalkers...*ahem* I don't like some of my blog stalkers *ahem*}

I wanted to blog, but I have so many things flitting about in my brain, I think the only way to get everything across is via bullet list (a la Meredith)...

- I watched the Grammy Awards tonight for the first time in a loooooong time. Lady GaGa is off her rocker, but I loved the bit she did with Sir Elton John. It was the perfect melding of sequins, sunglasses, and over-the-top. I do love Katy Perry and Russell Brand, though, so I loved how often they were shown.

- Liam is a picky eater. My picky eating has come back to haunt me. My son will NOT eat Gerber baby food. For the longest time we could not get him to eat anything other than rice and oatmeal. Now, I have discovered he will eat organic bananas that I steam and blend... thank God my Mom got us a baby food maker.

-I sacrificed the most *beautiful* pair of nude patent peep-toe Prada pumps in order to get a new stroller for Liam. Ah, being a mommy changes you.

- My parent's house is on the market (1103 Ellcreek Court). It's a beautiful home, but didn't suit my parent's needs anymore. My Mom is being super-woman and going through the whole process of selling a house (and buying a new one) all on her own.

- I know I mentioned that I recently painted our office, and then I put together a pair of book cases by myself, and installed them in the room by myself (it was my first time using a drill- I'm not "handy"). That wasn't the hard part- the hard part was trying to figure out how to organize the books on the shelves- I finally decided on "by color." I'm trying to decide if I want to cover them all in butcher's paper and write on the spines, varying the heights and what not... What do you think?

- My poor husband sat up all night last night with Jethro- he started having stomach pains around 1 in the morning and we were devilishly afraid that he was bloating. Bloat is a very, very, very scary and serious thing that happens sometimes when the stomach flips over in the cavity of a deep chested dog. It can cause death in as little a span of time as an hour, if I'm not mistaken. He is fine, though. Thank God.

- I want to know how I managed to *not* know that one of my very favorite musicians, Rob Zombie, had a new album coming out on Tuesday. I found out this evening- I'm very excited. However, I will have to enjoy it now- because the chorus of the first single is f-bomb after f-bomb. Not something I need little ears hearing.

- Zach gave me a Kindle for Christmas and it's the best thing ever. I downloaded the complete works of Jane Austen- I've finished Pride and Prejudice and am working my way through Sense and Sensibility. It's easy to read in the evenings. But my first read sans paper was the late Michael Crichton's Pirate Latitudes. Very fun- try it.

- My father-in-law is currently going through radiation treatment for his cancer. Please keep him in your thoughts.

- I am in need of girl talk. I need to talk to somebody who either doesn't know, or doesn't like, the person who's been a huge antagonist in my life for the past few years.

- I want to start painting again. I want to start using pastels again. I have a female nude pastel that I did that I want to get framed and hang in our bathroom.

- I have an empty frame waiting for the wonderful work of Miss Ashley Brooke. I'm so excited to get my print!

- We're obsessed with BBC America. We watch BBC almost all day long- it's a bad day in the Clark house if the BBC is showing something bad all evening. We'll even watch repeats of Top Gear, Graham Norton, Doctor Who, The F Word and Kitchen Nightmares before we'll change to most of the other cable channels.

- I want to throw a girl party. I'm hoping I get to throw a shower for Valerie.

- I am drinking hot chocolate from a home-made hot chocolate mix. I love this mix recipe so much that I can't even stand hot chocolate made from mixing chocolate shavings into hot milk.

- Bits had a bad few days last week where he was waking up in the middle of the night every night for about 6 days straight. We added another cereal meal to his daily regimen and he's sleeping through the night again. *knock on wood*

- I have been entering every day to win the HGTV Dream Home- I'm following the example set by Cory! I'm in looooove with the kitchen, the boy's room and the views. *sigh*

- I found FOUNTAIN PENS at Target the other day! I love fountain pens! I bought 2 to use in my momAgenda. They're great- they make even so-so handwriting look pretty.

- The celebrity dopplegangers thing on Facebook is kind of creepin' me out. I think some people think they're a lot better looking than they really are...

I think that's all for now. Enjoy a few pictures of bits and pieces. He's been a doll lately.

{mommy and bits}

{posin'}

{lil frankie. my ole blue eyes.}

great minds...

I just had to post this...

I told you earlier how I went shopping for St. Paddy's Day clothes for Liam- well, Holly Madison, formerly of The Girls Next Door, did the same for little Hank, Kendra's son... and bought the exact same things we did!

See?

And no love for, Ashley Brooke, guys?

Really, I'd have thought I'd garner more than one response for her!

relish in the cuteness: Ashley Brooke Designs

Today, my (not-so) wonderful UPS man delivered a couple of packages to my house.

One was the stainless bottles I blogged about last week, and the other was from Ashley Brooke Designs.

Woo Hoo!!

I have been so eager to share with you all the adorable illustration she did of my family and now I finally get to!

{liam loves you too, ashley!}

{two packages of beautiful, enjoyable, wonderful paper}

{close up of the holiday thank you notes and their super cute envelope w/ shimmer liner}

{our custom ashley brooke order! don't you LOVE it?}

{close up: didn't she just nail jethro?}

I'm so obsessed with these, y'all.

I can hardly stand it. We have another mug coming (for mi madre) and an 8 x 10 print to frame and hang in our living room.

And maybe I need post-its. And a note pad. And a note book...

I have an order of Ashley's Valentines That Give coming too. Don't you hope you're one of the lucky ladies that will be getting one of those in the mail next month?

Thank you so much, Ashley! I love what you created for us, and I can hardly wait to work with you again in a couple of months!

I bet you really wish you gave me a reason to mail you one, don't you?

playing with the puppies

Happy Weekend friends!

I have a minute- Liam went down and I'm watching the Graham Norton Show and it's nice and slow around here...

So yesterday, before nap time, I took bits outside and we watched the dogs play. He has discovered the dogs playing and thinks it's hysterical- take a look!!

Liam is a goof ball- he watched the dogs, enjoyed himself and then spent a lot of time trying to figure out how to drink out of the bottle we had to wedge into his cup holder... (It's a Born Free bottle... got it as a free sample... I would like it a lot more if it weren't for the additional hassle that the valve causes. It's separate from the nipple and it's in two pieces and when you put the formula in the bottle and shake it up, clumps get clogged in the holes in the valve. Not a favorite. It takes me ages. But that's neither her nor there...)

We also discovered that we enjoy our Johnny Jump Up. Liam's started jumping when you hold him, he thinks it's great so we decided to try introducing him to the Jump Up. At first he didn't like it even a little bit, but we put him in one afternoon while Zach was on his lunch break and he loved it.

We went to Babies R Us recently to stock up on Dreft, formula, baby food, diapers, wipes and all the rest of the wonderful things you need for an infant. While we were there we started shopping through their St. Patrick's Day attire. We decided it was necessary for Liam to have an outfit because after all, he is named Liam and we specifically wanted an Irish name and so yeah, it just makes sense. Se got him an outfit, and then I found the hat. It HAD to come home with me because it was just the dang funniest thing I'd ever seen.

{doesn't he look like baby new year a la rudolph's shiny new year?}

{big smiles.}

{he loves laying on the couch.}

{playing with his favorite toy: the vtech zoo}

That's all for now, friends and family! I hope everyone has a wonderful, relaxing Sunday.

blinds.bottles.busted.

Liam is finally down for a nap so I have a free minute to blog.

I have lost the urge to blog in the evenings, it's horrible. I need to get my pep back. I know so many of you rely on this space as your window into our world, and love to see Liam getting bigger. I'm trying to get better, I promise.

When I tried to get Liam down for a nap at his *new* usual time, around 2:00, his room was flooded with sunlight. It was actually pretty today, so the sun was hitting his window full blast, thus leaving his room completely light and bright. I struggled to get a blanket up over the window, and after dropping it three times, and rousing my wakeful baby into fully alert mode, I bit the bullet and ordered him window coverings. Yes, he has slat blinds, but they're insufficient for our bright, Texas sun.

{photo from here}

{photo from here}

The blackout panel (in navy) is on backorder, but the curtain rod with the red finial will be here soon. Thank goodness, the sooner his window is covered and the afternoon sunshine is blocked, the better.

I was told the other day that stainless steel is the new glass as far as baby bottles go. We have a couple of glass bottles- the ones that Meredith found, and I like them, but Liam tends to flatten the nipple so much so that I have to pull the bottle out of his mouth frequently to let the air back into the nipple so he can get something out of it. Kind of annoying, I think it's how small the nipple is. I don't know. But they're great, so don't get the wrong idea. They've been super duper handy.

However, I decided we'd give these new bottles a try. From Kid Basix, they're just as cute as the Lifefactory ones (in my mind) and they're also dishwasher safe. Hooray! I also love that they're not breakable because I am somewhat klutzy and I do drop things. It also looks like the nipple is going to be more Liam friendly... and I love the silicone sleeve too... we've got one in blue and one in green on the way- hurry!!

{photo from here}

Finally...

It looks, ladies and gentlemen, like we're going to have to get a new stroller. It's been SO INCREDIBLY inconvenient not having one to use. In case you don't know:

My mom was a super fantastic amazing Grandma and bought Liam the stroller I wanted. It's cute, it's funky, it's different and it's airplane themed. Great. Fantastic. I loved it. BUT. One of the back wheels is busted so that when you push it the whole stroller wobbles violently from side to side. Not baby friendly- right?

So I contacted Maclaren about replacing the back wheel. Just wanted to order a replacement (a la Bugaboo) and they said no- I have to get it to a repair center... well, the closest one is in Orlando, FL. And while I love Orlando... really!? So I contacted Maclaren again and told them no- and they said okay, send us a copy of the receipt since it's still within warranty and we'll send you a UPS postal tag and you send it to us to be repaired. Okay!

That was about 2 1/2 months ago. TODAY... I got a call from the company that they've STARTED PROCESSING MY REQUEST and they think it'll take another 4-6 weeks before I get the tag... and then after that, it's a 6 TO 8 MONTH WAITING PERIOD to get the stroller back due to the recall issues.

Say it with me now... WHAT THE HELL????

I have a 6 month old. I have NEVER had a working stroller. I cannot be out a stroller for a potential 9 and a half months. I don't want to get my stroller back when he's over a year old! What good is that doing me!?

So I'm going to have to have a chitty chat with hubster when he gets home and talk to him about it. See what he thinks.

I've picked the replacement I want...

{photo from here}

I hope it works out. My poor mommy was so sweet and the company is just being such a bunch of punks. Wouldn't recommend them. Dang it.

I really want a stroller... for myself. My own stroller. To use. It'd be nice. I'm just saying...

That's it for today, folks. I've got to get some stuff *DONE* now that little bit's asleep. Thanks for listening.

six is sweet

Liam is 6 months old today.

To say that these past 6 months have flown by would be an understatement.

To say that he's changed our world, made us understand that whole "parent" thing, and made us indescribably happy would be an understatement.

He really is just a joy and I have loved every second of these past 6 months.

{today. born in 2009}

{already knows how to make a mess with his toys.}

{enthralled by... }

{... the tv. he loves snow white. sit him in his walker in front of the tv and he's pretty happy.}

{1/2 birthday trip- sugar land branch of the hmns. chronicles of narnia exhibit. my little prince.}

{my sweet little family in front of the hmns @ sl tyrannosaurus rex.}

excited.

First things first-

My husband deserves an award. This morning Liam decided to wake up a full hour before he usually gets up, and I got up with a groan. After I'd changed his diaper and put a bottle to warm in the sink, my hubby got out of bed- ON HIS DAY OFF- took the baby and told me he had it and to go back to bed.

Best. Husband. Ever.

Liam was in a particularly agreeable mood today...

He played with the dog...

He discovered the sheer enjoyment that can be gotten by standing in his crib...

He just cracked me up. You put a camera in front of this boy's face, and he knows how to mug it up.

{grabbing at the camera}

{on the knees}

{on the feet. this picture captures him totally right now.}

{being adorable.}

Can you believe that crib is 24 years old? It made it through me and my brother and at least one international journey. I know we took it to Norway- but I don't remember if it was forced to make the trek to Australia as well.

We decided a couple nights ago to start trying to transition Liam out of his baby bath tub and into his bath seat in the big tub. I've been wary of this because he so enjoys being in his little tub, reclined... he likes to kick and I knew he wouldn't be able to do that in the seat, but he's rapidly getting to the point where that tub isn't going to be able to hold him, so our hand is being forced. He did remarkably well. The directions say to only fill the tub with as much water as you need to bathe the child, but I'm sorry- that's not fun. Liam loves the water, he loves to play and splash, and how can he do that if the water only barely covers his tush? Besides, I'm not going anywhere while he's in there, I've got a hand on him- so no judging the fact that I ignored the safety directions and went with the nice, full, fun tub.

{he loves watching the tub fill.}

{playing with his ol sarge rubber ducky.}

{thanks, dad.}

And finally in Liam's world... he got a whole new wardrobe for Christmas. I kept getting huge discounts from the Gap, so I took advantage and got him tons of clothes in a size that fits him now. I started looking through his clothes and they're all summery in the 3-6 month size. I know we live in Texas, but really? We do get cold weather here (like, this week? wth? I'm not excited). So I have to show him off a little because he just looks so darn cute in his big boy clothes.

{wearing his new jeans and his new sweater- his daddy liked this sweater}

{check out his darling zach pedipeds!}

{baby gap from head to toe- i'm gaga over the boat shoes!}

{you can tell who shops for his clothes- the colors are all the same ones i buy for myself!! diversify, mom!}

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

So, I have to share. I know I mentioned Ashley Brooke Designs in my last post. I ordered a set of her fabulous Christmas thank- you notes and I also decided to go ahead and get a custom design done of my family. I asked her to not only include the three people, but our three four-legged friends. She sent me a preview this evening and I cannot- CANNOT- sing her praises enough. She's so incredibly talented, so sweet, so wonderful to work with. Even if you don't want to pay to have her do a custom design, you should check out some of her other offerings. I am so excited to get to share this with you once she's all done. She captured Jethro in such an incredible way that Zach was even giggly goo-goo over her drawing. And Liam- just perfection. Check out her website here. OR become a follower of her blog. She does more than post about her recent designs, she's got fabulous little tips about etiquette as well. Not going to lie, I don't know why I'll ever use anybody else for any stationary need after working with her. I had ordered my Christmas cards from Minted, but now... And it's pretty cool to know that the talented lady that designed for the families of Tori Spelling, Tiger Woods, Halle Berry, Heidi Klum, Jessica Alba and Sarah Jessica Parker has done something special for me, too. She even put me in my favorite shoes, and Zach in his scrubs! I'm still freaking out about it, I'll open the image she sent me and just stare at it. *sigh* I think she might have to be the one to do Liam's first birthday party invites. I'm also pondering future baby showers... bridal showers... our Christmas card next year...

Now I've given you reason to be excited about potential mail from me, huh?