Big News

I'm moving.
There, it's done.
I've been thinking about doing it for a long time, and now I'm just jumping off and doing it.
The new digs are here.
I hope you'll join me at the new pad.
As an incentive to come on over, I'm hosting my own bribe-your-readers giveaway.
Come visit the new place and leave a comment between September 1-7 to enter to win a love package from me. Full of warm fuzzies and good stuff from our neck of the woods.
Don't miss out on any of my random randomness.
See you soon!!
Farewell, Booger! It's been a great two years!!!

Back to School

I love the "back to school" time of year.
In my mind, the air changes as soon as those school buses start rolling--the humidity drops and the temperature settles at a lovely 75 degrees.
Of course, no such thing happens. We're all sweating buckets, even with the late start of school this year. But I can let my imagination run wild.
We almost got a glimpse of this "school air" certain mornings this week. Ahh. A glimpse of the fall weather to come. Yes, all four days we might get of fall-like weather.
Regardless, I still enjoy watching all the kids going back to school. And so does Zane, apparently.
Last year I watched all the moms on the block packed their kids off for the first days of school as I strolled along with a tiny, tiny (okay, so he was never "tiny") baby.
This year my big boy "vroom-vrooms" with glee at the sight of every school bus.

I'll have to keep this picture for when he's about 15 and slightly less thrilled to see that yellow limousine.

I absolutely love this picture. He's growing up so fast! He will be getting on that bus before I know it.

Then I might be a little sad about the start of school, marking another year that my baby has grown up even more.

But I can still hold out for that fantastic school weather.

Fourteen Months: Going Bananas

I can't believe it. Time has flown.

Zane turns 14 months in just a few hours.

Not that there's anything particularly significant about that age. Just that another month has flown by and my baby is more and more a big boy every day.

Every moment, at that!

Take this afternoon, for example. After our excellent play date with our friends and neighbors (thank you--a blast!!) Zane came home and was a little fussy so we were reading through his favorite page of a lift-the-flap book--the "VROOM VROOM page" for those of you who are interested, by the way. Well, he turned the book over and saw a picture of bananas. So I said: "'nanas" and then he said: "nanas"

Seriously!

It's a new word!!! Add that to the list: mama, dada, bye-bye, pup-pup, 'nana (and the variety of "sh" sounds that mean, in no particular order: fish and shoes and anything plural).

To make sure he was really talking about bananas, we went out to the kitchen and tortured our last unsuspecting banana.

"Is that 'mama'?" I asked, pointing to the banana, trying to see if he really knew what he was saying.

He got a serious look on his face, then HE POINTED TO ME!!!

Ha! HA! A regular ol' genuis we got here!

After plenty of "testing" he knows his new word: 'nana.

Unfortunately, this happened waaay too close to bedtime, and it took me an hour of listening to "nana nana nana nananananananan" and him pointing beyond his bedroom door to further emphasize his NEW WORD, HOLY MOLY we're communicating now and WHO CAN SLEEP? now that we're talking?????

I know things are only going to get more and more fun with this whole talking thing.

This month has been trying at times. Zane seems to be going through some screaming phase. I just might be losing my hearing.

But he gets more precious every day (is that even possible?). We have had a lot of potty humor, which I will spare you. Seriously, this kid cracks me up.

He is proving nature vs. nurture with his out-of-the-blue love for all things that GO. "VROOM VROOM" is his favorite, whether it's an airplane, car, bus (oh, yes, he LOVES him some school bus), or lawnmower. We have not encouraged this--it's just a boy thing he's picked up.

We just love our darling boy. He is so much fun. And challenging. But very fun! I just can't wait for what will be "new" tomorrow.

Notes from the Swamp

People call them the "dog days" of summer.
Not even my dogs are finding any enjoyment right now.
August.
Ugh.
It's cruel and unusual punishment to live in the Houston area in August.
First, there's the heat. Brutal. Punishing. Hot and sticky heat.
Then, there's the humidity. Seriously, we all can breathe through our skin to some extent. There's a reason Texas is known for big hair.
And when you think it can't get any worse: the rain.
Sure, it's all good the first couple of days. You think: "Oh, finally, a respite from the heat. The air conditioner can stop running for a few minutes. Thank goodness."
But the rain doesn't just come down in a lovely afternoon shower. You have days and days of it. The kids go bananas. You're going bananas. Then the grass gets to growing like something out of Little Shop of Horrors and the worse is yet to come:
Que the mosquitoes. . .and the ants.
It's insult to injury.
I'd love to spend more time outside, but I truly fear the swarms of mosquitoes might carry me away. My neighbor said she's send out an Amber Alert for me and Zane the other day when we ventured down to the mailbox. In case we were abducted by those damned little buzzers.
Of course, I still have to get my runs in. And we are still attempting to go to the park. I tried just swatting. Then I gave up and put some low-percentage DEET bug spray on me and the kid.
The buggers STILL bit us.
Zane and I might as well have neon signs blinking "FREE BUFFET" on our foreheads.
And did I mention to ants?
After all the rain they are building up mountainous hills everywhere. And Zane is attracted to the ant hills like a magnet.
Needless to say, we are itchy and blotchy and splotchy over here.
While the heat actually seems to be more manageable these past few days, I've had enough. To quote my dear husband: "It's making you CRAZY."
The DH casually mentioned his company is staffing up for projects in Anchorage.
GET US ON THAT PROJECT, DUDE! I can't take it any more!!!
I'm not sure when I became such a tenderfoot, but I just can't handle the summer any more.
Calgon, take me away. . ..

Sad scoop from the snoop

I AM the neighborhood watch in our neck of the woods. I am miss Nosey-Posey. Not much happens without my notice. I am watching you.
I mean, seriously, I scrutinize people's trash on pick-up day. I know who's getting new flooring. I know who drinks too much. I know that every weekend approximately 1.5 garbage disposals break and are replaced in my neighborhood. I even deduced that one couple adopted a little girl from Colombia--simply from their trash!!!
My blinds are closed only enough so that you can't see in but I can see you.
Seriously, I am a total snoop. (That's the nice way to say I'm a gossip, and I like to know other people's business.) And I love it.
Except for when things get really dicey.
You see. . .
I'm also on this message board for this part of our town. Oh, the posts the flotsam from that message board alone could generate. . .but that's for some other time.
We all got a message about a local police officer who was arrested for alleged indecency with his step-daughter last week.
Didn't really catch my eye.
Then on Wednesday I noticed that "Mudweiser"--the other Jeep owner six doors down--hadn't been around for a few days. (We usually see him two or three times a day working on his Jeep, getting the mail or talking with his. . . cop buddies.)
As this realization that our Jeep friend has gone MIA hit me, I was walking the kid down to the mailbox, and I just glanced at one of the city papers that had been thrown that afternoon and was sitting in everyone's driveway.
Mudweiser's mug shot was on the FRONT PAGE.
Why?
Arrested for alleged indecency with his step-daughter.
Ugh.
Now, some of you might think I would eat up this juicy morsel of gossip (and I guess since I am posting about it, that I am) but really my heart goes out to this family.
I mean, we saw the step-daughter on Sunday at Target (after the arrest; before the paper). She's just a normal kid getting ready to go back to school.
And her step-dad's mug shot is in everyone's driveway on the block.
How tough must it be for that family right now?
Not that probably anyone else noticed. . .I mean, we have two city papers for a town of less than 100,000. And no one reads them. Except for me every once in a while because there might be something terribly, terribly interesting.
But this week, just something terrible.
So I feel so sad for this family being torn apart.
Obviously, Mudweiser is no longer living there. The mom looks rough. She has apparently taken up smoking and just looks like one of those nonsmokers smoking in her garage, door halfway raised, looking out into the rain. So sad.
And of course, "innocent until proven guilty" and all that but what if this guy really is a perv and was living just six doors down from us??? And how sad if it's the other way around--that this accusation is not true?
You want to trust your neighbors, but how well do you ever know them? Even when you know their trash?
Ugh.
It's just awful.
Sometimes being the snoop is not all that rewarding.
But don't think your trash is off limits or anything.
I'm still watching.

Neighborhood Running Report

Actually, this is not a report of my running. My running is going great. Knocked out seven awesome and fast-ish miles this Saturday. This week I did my best despite torrential downpours and no-sleeping toddlers and crazy-need-a-chiropractor-neck-pain to get some miles, but. . .
This is not about me.
No, this is about a family who lives in our neighborhood.
We've seen them for years out running. They have two kids. And a dog. And she has always pushed the stroller. And she looks awesome. The hubby and I have always kind of felt like: "We want to be like them when we have kids, etc."
Now, I'm not talking about just-a-jog-through-the-neighborhood running. These people are serious. Sub-nine-minute-milers with a double stroller. We've seen them on the annual neighborhood 10-miler with the kids strapped in with their portable DVD players for the long haul. (How they make it without tossing those things out, I have no idea. I guess maybe the parents threaten that they will have to walk home if they do. . .)
Anyway. . .we haven't seen this family since we moved back from Ireland. Could be that we just haven't been out and about as much.
But this Saturday, at the beginning of my awesome 7-mile run, we saw them and momma was pushing one of these puppies. . . Um, ayeah. . . that's a TRIPLE running stroller. And she was booking it, too!!!
Reminds me not to complain when I've got the little man loaded up in our single.
Whew! Of course, she let our running group know that her husband never pushes. Dude, just. . .whoah. You can imagine what her arms look like!!! Gimme the gun show!
So here's a shout out to you, lady-who-runs-pushing-the-triple-running-stroller-who-I-don't-know.
You're awesome.

WW: Zane and the Giant Peach

How to entertain your toddler while frantically cleaning the kitchen.

Pure bliss.

I don't think he actually ate any.