Belly laughs...

I hope the video works...I'll try to get a better shot of this tomorrow, but this will do for now. Sam has a serious belly laugh. See for yourself.

Why was Sam laughing so hard? Let's just say that Anthony was (creatively) blowing his nose. Boys.

How do I love thee?

...Let me count the ways.

I love thee to the depth and breadth and height
My soul can reach, when feeling out of sight...

All apologies to Mrs. Browning, but I'm not talking about love. Well, not romantic love. I'm talking about the love I have for a small device called tivo. Let me tell you people--if you enjoy a good television show, (and I happen to enjoy several television shows) and if you plan to have children, there are two things you must own : a tivo and a good pair of rubber gloves. Let me explain.

Anthony and I watch a lot of television. I should be ashamed of myself, but I figure that all the reading I do cancels out the mind-numbing effects of television viewing. That's my rationalization, anyway. Our tv schedule looks something like this:

(* indicates a show that only I watch)

Sunday--The Amazing Race, True Blood*/Entourage during the summer and fall

Monday--House, How I Met Your Mother, Big Bang Theory

Tuesday--The Biggest Loser, Fringe *, Greek

Wednesday--Lost* Top Chef (or whatever Bravo! show is on)

Thursday--Bones, The Office, Supernatural* 30 Rock (occasionally)

Friday--none

Saturday--none

It's a lot of boob tube; I know. This is where our friend tivo comes in. Now that we have Sam, we obviously can't drop everything to catch a show. No problem--tivo takes care of it. Also, I watch a lot of sci-fi stuff that Anthony hates, so tivo helps me out. I wait until Sam's nap, and I can catch up on a show while folding clothes or cleaning up. If you don't have one of these magical devices, and you have a baby on the way, RUN (waddle) to a store and purchase one now.

Item #2 on your must buy list--a good pair of rubber gloves. Everyone will tell you all the items you've "got to have" if you have a baby--wipe warmer, baby sling, bottle warmer, etc. Well, no one told me about the need for gloves. When you have children, your dish-washing time goes way, way up. I wash bottles and sippee cups at least twice a day, and I use super hot water. It was wreaking complete havoc on my hands, and I was afraid I would end up looking like Madonna:

So, I invested in gloves. I suggest you do, too. I mean, check out her hands. It's nuts.

Lastly, an obligatory Sam shot. I know that's really why you're here.

If you need a recommendation for a super-sturdy dishwasher, I can give you that, too.

America Crawls on Dunkin'

My father-in-law is the CEO of a franchise group that is bringing Dunkin' Donuts to Mississippi. I hope this isn't supposed to still be a secret...I figured that if you could read about it here, it's fair game. Anyway, because of his association with DD, we've had a lot of Dunkin' Donuts coffee at our house lately. I stacked the extra bags in the bottom of our pantry. Apparently Sam needed a late night caffeine-fix, because he grabbed a bag for himself. He's a boy after my own heart.

Sam's in elite company, too. The Pres digs his donuts and coffee as well.

Do you think he's sharing with the Secret Service? Surely, those aren't just for him.

Old...

The husband and I have been discussing our inevitable and downward spiral into true adulthood. Given, we've been "adults" for years, but we've been able to avoid acting like it in some respects. I think we've finally hit the wall. Anthony is 31, and I hit the big 3-0 in a couple of months. Believe me, I'm milking the fact that for a little while, he's 1 1/2 years older than I am. So here we are, two (almost) 30-somethings, and we have begun to embrace all that our ages entail. Such as:

1. We have a child. He is the reason for this blog, after all. (Although now, I also use it as my therapy.) I hope that we are responsible enough to be good examples for this guy.

2. I have a multitude of gray hairs. It's ridiculous...I have to give a shout-out to my friend Katie W. who has saved my life and my budget by introducing me to Clairol Root Touch-Up. For around $7, I can pretend I'm younger for 3 wks at a time.

3. Valentine's Day was not spent at a romantic, candle-light dinner. Instead, I received shopping money (which I wanted) in an office, letterhead envelope. I gave him a black and white print of Will Clark and Rafael Palmeiro. Nothing says love like money and photographs. Sad thing is, we were both happy.

P.S. We also went to sleep at 10:00. Yep, 10:00.

4. We drink coffee. I've always liked coffee, but I've never been a regular drinker until the past couple of years. Now that Sam is here, my need for caffeine is even greater. And yes, I'm the girl who orders the non-fat latte but still gets whip cream. Deal with it.

5. We now go to early church. You know, that service that starts at 8:40 in the morning? The one most people sleep through? We're now up with the early-risers so that we can get some religion while not upsetting Sam's nap schedule. We are out of church and eating brunch when the rest of the world is showering. Yes, I said brunch...yet another sign we're getting older.

6. After eating brunch, we head to the grocery store. Sunday is a big day for us. Church, brunch, grocery-shopping. We're so domestic.

7. At the grocery store we buy this:

Do I really have to explain how this makes us old?

8. I clip coupons. I love going through the Sunday paper and seeing what discounts are available.

9. Words like school, tuition, and Mother's Morning Out, are now thrown around all the time. How ridiculous is it that my child is almost 9 months old, and we've got to get on a waiting list for MMO? Also, those programs don't really advertise. I found out about a few by word of mouth. I've already visited one at our church, and I'm investigating another on Tuesday. I mean, really? Is it necessary for me to be so obsessive about a 3 hour block of my child's time? Did this happen to anyone else? Please tell me it's not just me.

10. The cereal we eat for breakfast no longer has prizes in it. Cookie Crisp has been ousted by Raisin Bran Crunch.

So there you have it. There are many more reasons, but I'm afraid I would embarass myself and my husband more than I already have. Tell me if I missed anything. I'd love to know when you knew you were officially old.

Happy Birthday, Papa!

My favorite father-in-law has a birthday today, and we want to wish him the best. We tried to get Sam to hold a sign for you, but he was more interested in eating it.

Anyway, we hope that you have a wonderful day. There's no one else in the world like you, and we are so fortunate to have you a part of our lives. Thanks for being our personal chef-plumber-handyman-take-us-out-to-dinner-all-the-time guy. We love you.

Thought for the day...

Dear Neighbor's Yard Guy,

Why is it that as soon as my child goes down for a much-needed nap, you show up and ruin my life? Yes, I know it's gorgeous today, and I know that everyone is getting ready for spring, but do you really have to use your lawn mower,leaf-blower, etc. right outside my baby's window? Do you? If so, I think it's only fair that you come back around 4:00 and deal with Sam in the middle of one of his I'm-tired-because-my-nap-was-interrupted-meltdowns.

Cheers,

Alli

P.S. Also, tell the UPS guy I'm onto him. He only drops by during naptime,too.

It's a conspiracy, I tell you.

My Friday...

5:15--See a commercial for Dairy Queen cakes on sale for Valentine's Day. Hmmm....

5:30--Husband arrives home and asks me what I want for supper. Reply (half-jokingly) that I wouldn't mind eating a whole DQ ice cream cake in bed while watching The Office on DVD. Husband agrees. People who know us won't be surprised by this decision.

6:00--Load up child in car and proceed to the nearest DQ...which is in Ridgeland.

6:20--Arrive at the greatest fast-food restaurant ever. Husband goes inside. Immediately comes back out. Tells me that they only have huge cakes available. We think for a minute. Isn't there a Baskin Robbins right around the corner? Yep. Decide to go through drive-through at Dairy Queen, get cheeseburgers, then investigate the availability of the elusive ice cream cake at BR.

6:30--Head to 31 flavors. Park car. Husband goes inside.

6:32--Cell phone rings. The report is positive. Not only do they have small ice cream cakes available, but there are flavor choices. We narrow it down to mint-chocolate chip with devil's food cake, cookies 'n' cream with white cake, and pralines 'n' cream with white cake. I leave the decision to him.

6:42--Husband emerges with cake in hand. I think the heavens break open and rejoice with us.

6:43--Husband gets in car and hands me the cake. I'm laughing at how ridiculous we are for going to all of this trouble for a sweet-fix. He responds, "It's about to get funnier. Open up the box." I did. This is what I saw:

No, it's not Sam's birthday. Apparently, the guy at Baskin Robbins assumed that we were there for a last minute birthday cake. I guess he doesn't run into too many people who buy cakes without an occasion to celebrate. Anyway, Anthony took the cake up to the register, and the nice Indian man got out all of his piping equipment and said,

"Boy or Girl?"

Anthony, confused, responded, "Boy."

"Happy Birthday, yes?"

"Umm..sure."

And that is how Sam got a birthday cake 4 months too early.

FYI: We got the cookies 'n' cream, and it was soooo worth it. De-lish.

We're going to have to rethink tail-gating next year...

For years our group of friends has tail-gated together in the Junction at MSU. I'm thinking that location is going to have to change next year. Because 2008 marked the birth of quite a few babies, (and I think there are still more bambinos on the way) I feel pretty sure that we're going to have to rethink our pre-game celebrations. Being in the middle of all the drunken college kids is great for entertainment, but it's not so cool when they play football in the middle of your tent, and then proceed to fall into your McCarty platter that is still full of yet-to-be-eaten cupcakes. (It was a travsesty. I was NOT happy.) I don't won't to be completely out of the action...I'm not that old, but I do want to be sure that Sam, Mitchell, Sawyer, and all the rest of the new arrivals will have a safe place to eat dirt together. Yet another way that our lives have changed.

Sam hung out with sweet Sawyer Pettit yesterday, and I actually have pics to prove it. Be proud of me--I'm getting better at remembering to take pictures. These two are destined to spend a lot of birthdays together. They were born a day and half apart and hung out together in the hospital nursery. They have literally "known" each other since birth.



Sawyer and Sam







Sawyer taking a little batting practice

Also, if the above pictures aren't evidence enough, the following snaps should be. Sam is turning into a complete and total ham. When the camera is out, he is grinning from ear to ear. He loves to be the center of attention. Kind of like someone else you may know...






Look familiar? Yes, I know that my child is a clone of his father.

Punxsutawney Phil is a punk...

This is not what I wanted to hear this morning:

How dare he? Couldn't he just lie and tell everyone that he didn't see his shadow? What would it hurt? I know that we don't have much of a winter in Mississippi, but I have had enough--thank you very much. I think it should be cold through the holiday season, and then we should cruise into spring.

At least January is over. I absolutely, positively, hate January. Most people who know me pretty well have heard me grouch about it. No offense to all of you lovely people who were born in the first month of the year. My mother and mother-in-law are both members of the New Year's club, and I have several friends who were also born in this month. My aversion to all things post-holiday has nothing to do with them. It's just such a...drag. Even our priest talked about how she celebrates January's exit. I couldn't agree with her more. February is a little closer to warmer weather months, and March in Jackson usually equals budding flowers and trees. So, sayonara, January! I can't say I'm sad to see you go.