i didn't do it. i swear.

(he took a tumble at the playground yesterday)

funny man

a little background for today's story:

we're having new carpet installed in the bedrooms today. we had to clear out all the kids toys and all our junk and we stashed it all in every nook and cranny we could, including the bathrooms. we have dresser drawers in our tub and all kinds of junk in the kids' bathroom tub.

so. kate's preschool has been out since mid-june and they don't start again for two more weeks. i've had a little too much kid time and i'm at the end of my rope. at the risk of sounding like an awful mom, i'm sick and tired of being with my kids 24/7.

as jeff was leaving for work this morning, i told him that today might be the day he got a phone call at work telling him i'd drowned the kids in the bathtub.

he looked at me for a minute and said, "you can't do it today because the tubs are all filled. i'll worry about it tomorrow."

funny man. funny man.

and the award goes to...

if there were an award for the mother who could scream the loudest and most often at her children, i would win it. hands down. no contest.

stay-at-home-dad

jeff watched the kids all day today. i had a photo shoot this morning, came home and proofed the photos for 3 hours and am leaving in 10 minutes for another photo shoot.

he was just wrangling them into the car to take them over to his parent's house for dinner when he turned to me and said, "i don't know how you do this. i'd shoot myself."

sometimes it's the simplest things that make me happy :)

k and j

today:




























my mom called this morning because it's been ages sinces we last talked. at one point, kate wanted to talk to her. i gave kate the phone and the first thing she says is 'i don't have any clean underwear today, nan'.

thanks, kate. rat me out, why don't you?

i know, i know

it's been a while. we just got back from vacation a few days ago and i'm getting caught up on my life. regular posts are coming :)

one item to note: three weeks from today, BOTH KIDS WILL BE IN PRESCHOOL THREE MORNINGS PER WEEK!!!!!! my life restarts in three weeks.

sigh.

bliss.

at the beach

took this one of jeff and jack this morning:

20 pounds

my doctor told me yesterday that i need to lose 20 pounds.

twenty. pounds.

that's a lot. i'm only 5'2".

it bugged me all day. i've never been told by anyone that i needed to lose weight. ever. i've always been the small, athletic girl who could eat whatever i wanted and not gain any weight. i've always been active. i only gained 20 pounds when i was pregnant with kate (and lost it all and then some after she was born) and i only gained 17 pounds with jack. i've been working out with a trainer for 2 years. i'm strong. but apparently overweight as well.

sheesh.

the doctor asked me to tell her about my diet and i was really proud - i started ticking off all the nutritious, organic foods i eat and proudly told her that i stopped eating meat about 3 months ago.

she cut me off halfway through my list and asked me, "so where are all the vegetable?"

um.....vegetables?

riiiiiiiiight.

sort of forgot about that.

apparently i'm eating way too much dairy and protein and not enough vegetables.

sigh. so i'm off to the grocery store to buy some carrots and celery and any other rabbit food i think i can stand to eat.

those pounds better melt off me.

thursday thirteen

Thirteen Things about today 1. a clean, groomed dog is a joy to behold 2. i get to start picking out new house selections in two weeks 3. we're leaving for the beach on saturday and i haven't begun to pack 4. going to the beach with five other families could be a disaster 5. i have a dr. appointment today to discuss my high cholesterol 6. kate got herself dressed this morning by herself 7. jack did not 8. i'm wearing one of my favorite shirts today. across my boobs it reads 'girls against gravity' 9. i drank a large cup of caffeinated coffee this morning (which i don't usually do) and i'm totally jittery 10. the kids start preschool in 4 weeks and 4 days 11. i have to finish a photography project for a client before we leave for the beach. it's going to be a tight squeeze. 12. all the fall clothes are in the stores and it pisses me off. summer isn't over yet. 13. i can't wait for fall so i can wear jeans (and won't have to shave my legs every day) and closed toe shoes (so i don't have to polish my toes all the time) Links to other Thursday Thirteens! (leave your link in comments, I’ll add you here!)

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The purpose of the meme is to get to know everyone who participates a little bit better every Thursday. Visiting fellow Thirteeners is encouraged! If you participate, leave the link to your Thirteen in others comments. It’s easy, and fun! Be sure to update your Thirteen with links that are left for you, as well! I will link to everyone who participates and leaves a link to their 13 things. Trackbacks, pings, comment links accepted!

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plumber butt

so i dropped my diamond ring down the bathroom sink last night. total accident - i was giving the kids a bath and realized i was still wearing my ring. without even thinking, i took it off and tossed it over to the sink, forgetting that my sink doesn't have a stopper thingy in it (i have no idea where it went).

the ring hit nothing but net on the way down.

gulp.

i called down to jeff and told him what happened. he promptly called his brother - who can fix anything and everything and whom we probably owe thousands of dollars for all the help he's given us - and asked him what to do. dave walked him through it and jeff told me what to do.

then jeff left to go sit shiva for a distant relative.

so i got out the wrench, turned off the water, unscrewed the sink trap and voila! dumped my ring and all the gooky water into a plastic bin. i put everything back together, tested for leaks and put my ring in my jewelry drawer.

i might have to get some low hanging pants and let my crack start showing.

happy things

1. a humidity free day with a light breeze

2. two new pairs of shoes

3. sitting on the porch while jack yells at the koi pond "where nemo go? where nemo go?"

4. catching up on emails and phone calls from the last week (EM - i'm going to email you a new date! promise!)

5. leaving the dog at the groomer so she'll come home today with a (clean) clipped coat and shorter toenails

6. not having anything to do until i pick kate up at camp at 1pm

7. looking through my new ann sacks tile catalog, drooling over all the tile i want for the new house but can't afford and will never get

yesterday

yesterday was august 7 - two years to the day that we brought jack home from the hospital. he was in the nicu for 37 days. 5 weeks and 2 days. the longest 5 weeks our mine and jeff's lives combined.

O's vs. Yanks

jeff and i went to the orioles v. yankees game last night with some friends of ours who are visiting DC this month. we had great seats - directly behind home plate, about 20 rows back. we were in the shade for the entire game and the oppressive heat of the past few days had broken. all of that would have been enough, but we beat the yankees 5-0 and they only had one hit all game.

stick that in your pipe, yankee fans.

they've started!

we drove by the new lot tonight because i hadn't seen it in a few days and i was itching to see if they'd gotten started. they have! they've started (just barely) digging out the basement; there were a few big piles of dirt. that's all. just a few big piles of dirt, but it's something. SOMETHING.

the wait for the new house is as slow and painful for me as the wait when i was pregnant. i want something to happen NOW. right now, not months from now (my dad jokes that's the reason both my kids were premature). :)

i can't wait to see more big piles of dirt.

so nice

my sister-in-law brought her kids over this morning so our kids could all play. we were going to try to meet at the pool but i had to stay home to wait for the AC repair man (just missing one little part - the AC is working) and a pick-up service to pick up some IKEA stuff we bought but that doesn't fit the space.

so tessa brought the kids over and the kids played in the basement and in kate's room. we ordered pizza for lunch and tessa and i got to sit around and shoot the shit. it was so nice. i love that our kids are old enough to play together without needing us.

thursday thirteen

Thirteen Things about today 1. i love my in-laws like they were my own parents 2. i am very lucky to have air conditioning on a regular basis. some people live without it. 3. you can go through the mcdonalds drive-thru with you and your kid in pajamas and the man at the window will pretend not to notice. 4. dogs do not like to be hot 5. workout clothes absorb sweat even when you're not working out 6. kids are more resilient than their parents 7. don't order coffee on a 100 degree day when you have no air conditioning 8. the effect of a cold shower lasts for about 30 minutes 9. frosty refrigeration is a funny name for an HVAC company 10. i'm glad we'll have two HVAC systems in our new house 11. jeff's office has air conditioning and no children 12. i understand why there are more violent crimes in the summer 13. i am thankful that i have a cool(er) basement to hang out in today and am not homeless on the streets. Links to other Thursday Thirteens! (leave your link in comments, I’ll add you here!)

Get the Thursday Thirteen code here!


The purpose of the meme is to get to know everyone who participates a little bit better every Thursday. Visiting fellow Thirteeners is encouraged! If you participate, leave the link to your Thirteen in others comments. ItÂ’s easy, and fun! Be sure to update your Thirteen with links that are left for you, as well! I will link to everyone who participates and leaves a link to their 13 things. Trackbacks, pings, comment links accepted!

View More Thursday Thirteen Participants

perfect timing

maryland is breaking all kinds of records for high temperatures the past week or so. it was 100 degrees today (depending on where you got your info; i saw everything from 98 to 103). the kids are hot, the dog is hot, jeff is shvitzing like there's no tomorrow and every other phrase out of my mouth is 'it's HOT'.

to top it all off, our air conditioning just died.

no, really, it did. the house is about 80 degrees and not cooling down. jeff went to look at the unit in the basement and discovered that our carpet was soaking wet and that the unit wasn't running at all.

AT.
ALL.

jeff's brother is coming over to see if he can help (he's a handyman savant) and his parents said we could pack up the kids and the dog and sleep at their incredibly cool house tonight.

it's hot. jeff is in a pissy mood and i am going to have to go wake up two sweaty sleeping kids and take them to my in-laws.

good times.

254

my doctor called me today with the results of my bloodwork. i thought for sure she was going to tell me that my thryoid is out of whack and that's why i'm packing on the pounds and feeling like crap lately.

nope.

she called to tell me that my cholesterol is 254.

TWO HUNDRED AND FIFTY-FOUR.

anything over 200 is considered high. optimal range is around 150'ish (i think).

i'm so pissed. i stopped eating meat, started eating whole grains and have been working out with a trainer 2x per week. i could have been eating ice cream and pizza for every meal while lying on the couch watching jerry springer and my cholesterol would be the same.