Zigzag Mommy

Tomorrow is the day the Maggie is ONE. We had a party today.

She ate her chocolate cake off the “You Are Special Today” plate, and made a beautiful royal mess. The cake was a bit dry which meant that Mag made lots of crumbs and she wasn’t very sticky at the end of it, but it wasn’t super-tasty.

It was a fun party, and we will continue the celebration tomorrow on her for-reals birth day.

Here she is in her birthday outfit.

Without the cardi.

So, I don’t know how to say this next part, but I’ll just put it out there: I’m taking a blog hiatus. There’s no one reason…mostly though I feel that it has become more of a burden lately and less of a joyful thing to do. I have a feeling I’ll be back to it sometime this year. And of course I’m still reading all your blogs! I will probably be posting more frequently over at my knitting blog Zigzag Stitch. And now I’m becoming obsessed with Flickr, so here’s my page over there. Pop on by if you want.

Ta ta for now!

Picture taken by Jerry for the Sunshine Brothers.  The house next door to us is under construction, and hopefully someday a nice family will live there.  Today it looks like they are going to start laying bricks for the foundation.  Very exciting.

So what else is going on?  Oh, I don’t know.  Last week was the week of the pretend ear infections, in which I thought I had ear infections in both ears and was in great amounts of pain, but it turned out that plain old sudafed did the trick and antibiotics were useless.  Whatevs.  I feel better now.

My parents will be spending their retirement years in Myrtle Beach, not too far away from here ( just far enough).  I guess this means that we’ll be able to spend weekends there if we want to.  Their house is not on the beach, but there is a fancy pool and the beach is just a short drive.

Let us talk TV.

• Last night was Bob Dylan night on Cold Case.  I am not a fan of this show, but it seems that I end up watching it every Sunday.  Does that make me a fan?
• Heroes is on tonight.  Can’t wait.
• Veronica Mars has been okay.  It has moments of greatness, but the overall arc of the show is not as intriguing as in the past.
• Does anyone care that Meredith Grey could be dead?  I don’t.

That seems to be enough television for now.

Just waiting for my mother-in-law to call to say we have a new baby in the family.  It is now five days past the due date - poor sister-in-law!

And now for a kid pic.  I’m not sure if there was a smudge on the lens or what, but all the pictures from that morning were a little fuzzy.  This picture is so typical of what Jerry is constantly doing to the Mag.  She loves him so much.

Good day!

We lost a shirt yesterday.  It was a good shirt.  Cute, with embroidered flowers and a fancy little collar.  It got a bit dirty during lunch #2 and though I tried laundering, the stains remain.  I am not upset by the loss, mostly because I am not a big fan of laundry and I could care less about a shirt when I’ve got such lovely distractions.

Maggie eats like a horse.  Jerry says, “Maggie eats enough food to sink a ship.”  I think he’s right.

She could sit in her high chair All.  Day.  Long.  and just eat eat eat.  Lots of pieces end up on the floor or in her lap, but a surprising amount makes it to her mouth.

She likes marching through the house.  She likes going outside.  She likes playing with her brother.  But she LOVES sitting in her high chair and eating food.  We’re never really sure when she’s done, but things have been working out pretty well anyway.

She is my mucky angel.

And because I have the same affection for one as I have for the other, I present Jerry.

He wasn’t much in the mood for a photo shoot.

walking maggie

Can you believe she can walk? She’s like a real person. And I just witnessed her stand up without pulling up on something. I cannot wait until she starts chasing Jerry around.

But I posted it on my knitting blog.  You should totally check it out.  Especially if you’re Sandy, Mandy or Sarah.

GO! 

The children prepared to ride the monorail for the very first time.

We made it to the end of the day at Epcot.

Jerry kind of warmed up to the characters at breakfast(osaurus).

Jerry declared, “Donald is my favorite,” though I have no idea what he based this decision on.

We met Pooh.  I love Pooh.

We waited to see the show, It’s Tough to be a Bug.  3-D.  Too scary for Jerry.  This is by far my absolute favorite picture from the whole trip.

Maggie had ice cream.

I tried to figured out which one was Lilo and which one was Stitch, but I failed.  Thank goodness for the Internets.

Jerry swam at the pool even though it was not warm.  He had buttloads of fun.

Jerry and Maggie happily spent about five minutes in the stroller together.  Then I remembered that Jerry likes to poke/prod/pinch his sister, Maggie started crying,  and they had to be separated.  I carried Maggie for the good part of three days.  Next time - two strollers.

Piglet tried to eat Maggie.  Maggie tried to eat Piglet.

A rare moment when the Mag was asleep and I was not the one holding her.  She was so cute that I wanted my Dad to give her back to me.  But then my back said, “Not yet.”

Grandma went on the flying Dumbo ride, and she laughed the whole time.

Jerry got a flashing necklace.

Group photo!  Early morning!  Last day in the park!

There were no people at Disney World.  It must be their slowest time.  We went on Buzz Lightyear’s Space Ranger Spin five times.  In a row.  It was certainly Jerry’s fave, and I liked it, too.  Especially since I got the highest score of anyone.

Jerry waited for the monorail for the last time.

Maggie waited for the monorail for the last time.

It was so much fun packed into such a short time.  We’re still recovering.

I’m sick with a cold, and should be sleeping.

Maggie has a tooth and is less than two months from her first birthday.

she walks.

Though she can take steps, she is not that into it unless she is shamelessly bribed, which makes her angry. After her very very first time walking (we all witnessed it, in 2006) she was “so over walking” prompting Jerry to ask what “over” meant.

Okay - gotta go. Time for walking lessons. Just kidding.

scooter

Wish you were here…

Happy Birthday, sista.

2006 Christmas Edition of Getting to Know Your Friends, courtesy of Lisa.

1. Egg Nog or Hot Chocolate? I’ve never really had egg nog.  There was that one Christmas that I was pregnant with Jerry that I made a thousand egg nogs for my family.  They were happy by the end of that one, especially Aunt Linda.

2. Does Santa wrap presents or just sit them under the tree? Santa wraps the presents.

3. Colored lights on tree/house or white?  Oh my gosh.  Marriage is all about compromise, right?  I allow colored lights on tree and house, though deep down I am always wishing for a pristine white twinkly tree.
4. Do you hang mistletoe? I think that if we find some at the farmer’s market then maybe I’ll hang some this year.

5. When do you put your decorations up?  We wait until it’s closer to Christmas so as to not interfere with Gerald’s birthday.  Maybe we’ll start with general decorations, then put the tree up after his birthday.

6. What is your favorite holiday dish (excluding dessert)?  This is a toughie.  My mother-in-law makes a killer cauliflower casserole that is absolutely sinful.  She also makes a “medley of root vegetables” that I could do without.

7. Favorite Holiday memory as a child: I have the worst memory ever!  It was always really fun to turn the corner into the family room and see all the presents that Santa left under the tree.  And to sit at the top of the stairs with Holly and Eddie waiting for my mom and dad to wake up so we could all go downstairs together.  This are not memories of being a child though, they’re from when we were teenagers!  Seriously.  Worst. Memory. Ever.

8. When and how did you learn the truth about Santa? I don’t remember!  I do remember getting in trouble for telling my cousin Eric, even though I wasn’t the one who told him.

9. Do you open a gift on Christmas Eve?  Yes, but this is a new tradition that was started once I got married.  Sometimes my mother-in-law gets so excited that she lets us open all the presents on Christmas Eve.  But with my parents, NOTHING gets opened before Christmas morning.

10. How do you decorate your Christmas Tree?  My husband starts with the colored lights.  He does an average job, and I have been known to sneak back to the tree while he’s sleeping to adjust the lights.  Then Jerry and I are incharge of the ornaments.  This year may be different now that there is a crawling-pulling up-cruising baby on the loose.  So far, there are no plans to curb any decorating, but I’ll have to be open to change if the Mag starts trying to climb the tree.

11. Snow! Love it or Dread it?  Love it.  I think that’s what I miss most about Buffalo (besides, you know, family).  Last year we hardly got a speck of a snowflake.  This year I’m predicting blizzard conditions in NC.

12. Can you ice skate?  Yes.  We used to skate on a frozen pond-ish thing across the street from my parents house.  At least we did one year.  I haven’t ice-skated in ages, though.

13. Do you remember your favorite gift?  I sorta remember getting a cabbage patch doll when I was little.  Only recently my mom told me it was a cabbage patch knock-off because the budget didn’t allow for the real thing.  Then, when I was in high school and getting ready to go to NYU, Holly and I got a trip to NYC for a night to see Rent (the budget situation was obviously different).  That was pretty freakin awesome.  Oh, and there was the year we all went to Chapel Hill to see a basketball game.  Pierluigi came, too.  That was sweet.

14. What’s the most important thing about the Holidays for you?  Being with my family and enjoying the little magical moments.

15. What is your favorite Holiday Dessert? I have to choose?  I guess I love the cut-outs the most.  Or the peanut butter balls.  Or the ginger creams…

16. What is your favorite holiday tradition?  I really miss Grandma’s house on Christmas Eve.  Now that I have my own family, we’re slowly trying to piece together traditions of our own.

17. What tops your tree? I have a country-style angel with red hair and freckles that my mom gave me a few years ago.  I can’t wait to replace it with something that Jerry makes in kindergarten.  And for the life of me I can’t get this paragraph not to be bold. 

18. Which do you prefer giving or Receiving?  I should say giving, right?  Just kidding.  I love finding little bits of things to put in Jerry’s stocking.  You know, just cheap-o stuff that is fun to open.  Candy, pez dispensers, Hot Wheels, post-it notes.  Each individually wrapped so it seems like a crap-load.  I’ve been collecting it all year and I can’t wait for him to open it.

19. What is your favorite Christmas Song?  Everything on Amy Grant’s Christmas album.  I can sing it all by heart because my mom blasts it every year when she starts decorating.  It’s annoying as heck, but catchy.  I miss it when I’m not around their house on Christmas.

20. Candy Canes… yuck or yum?  I love candy canes, but like Lisa said, only the peppermint ones.

That is all.  Merry Christmas!!!