Basketball Jones

Ella is a lucky little girl. She pretty much gets whatever her little heart desires, thanks to all her grandparents. Really, I cant complain, she is not rotten yet, and is the sweetest thing, of course! So she is always cycling through her "favorite" things. One minute it's a certain doll, the next a beanie baby puppy; There are a few standby items, like Baby Alive, and her iron and ironing board. This is a newer addition though. I went to wake her up yesterday morning, and this is what I saw:

I had to laugh. It made me start singing "Basketball Jones" and that stupid thing is still in my head. Well, I tried to rouse her, and her first move was to frantically look around for the ball and then just to make sure mean old mommy wasn't going to take it, I guess, she pulled it close and drifted back into sleep like this:

I love it. She is just so cute!

And for any of you not familiar with the phenomenon that is Basketball Jones... you should be ashamed! You have got to check THIS out. Well, be warned it is not the most politically correct thing in the world, but if you get too hung up on that this probably isnt the blog for you :)

More Monkey Business

So, after reading my post about the baby monkey for sale, my mom reminded me that she, in fact, once had a wee monkey as a pet! I don't know how I forgot about that story. I didn't really get the details on how this arrangement came to be, or the legality of it and all, but hey, it was the 70's!

It was a Capuchin Monkey. Seemingly very cute little creatures, have a looksie:


Apparently it looked more like this a majority of the time, though.


She has told me some stories about the true nature of having a monkey for a pet. Apparently they stink and screech and scream and throw their dung at you and all over... I have this funny mental image of a huge metal birdcage in the middle of their living room, with a crazed monkey shaking the bars and screeching... I'll draw a picture and post it at some point. Note the splattered poo that monkey has thrown about, and the cool retro 70's lamp is the standout fixture I remember from that house...


Apparently it got out a couple times, and they toyed with the idea of letting it stay gone, but the threat of someone tracing it back to them was too great. Plus I think it only ever went up a tree in the back yard, so it would still have been there, taunting and terrorizing. I am just fascinated by this. How they got a monkey, why they got a monkey, what did they do with it when they DID actually get rid of it (from the tone of the stories, I gather it was a short term arrangement).

Anyhow- just an interesting story...

You Never Know...

... Where your bare @$$ may show up...

I'll just say this is a person I know. Pretty darn well. He is a bit of an eccentric, I think he prefers to be referred to as an "aspiring curmudgeon,*" he's an adventurer, a naturalist; Even still, I was a bit taken at seeing his bare @$$ on the internet. But then I thought about it, and really it's not all that shocking.

From what I understand, this photograph was distributed to a small list of people, emailed to like 12 people, and it soon appeared on a national website, posted by some kid at Penn State (huh?) which I think is beyond funny.

I pulled the picture with the tag from the website, to prove it. The caption posted with the photo was "To the true swimmer, water is water, it doesnt matter what state it's in." It's followed by over a hundred and twenty comments, of varying nature and crudity, and a couple people even claimed to know him (but were way off on the geographical location of the photo-shoot). I will admit that for my blog here I gave him a pair of trunks, because, well, he needed them. It's cold out there...

*-yeah, you'll have to Google that for yourself, it's a post in its own -

Yeah, but can it make coffee?

So, the funniest thing I have seen in a long time definitely merits a post here. I actually didnt see it, my dad did, but when I saw the photo I promptly emailed it to myself from his phone, and now I'll just use it at will... Thanks, dad, by the way...

I know I talked about the infamous Frank's Country Store before. Although I must admit, after all the talking I did about their catfish plates on Fridays, we went to the fish fry at our church last week, and we'll be transferring our weekly reservation there, instead! It was REALLY REALLY good, where Frank's only gets one REALLY. Okay totally beside the point.

So, apparently this gem of a sign showed up on the window at Frank's place, and my dad was smart enough to immortalize it on ?film ?file eh-we'll just say iPhoto:

Can you imagine? I took the liberty of blacking out the phone number there, since I'm not really sure of the legality of selling baby monkeys at convenience stores in small towns across America, I don't know the people that are selling said monkey, and they have since taken the sign down. Maybe it was an issue, or maybe they already sold the little bugger and don't want any more calls. I can imagine they got some interesting "prank" calls on this one.

So anyways, just thought it was too funny not to share. And people, take care in choosing your pets.

Celtic Woman

My dad scored some tickets to a really neat concert, and he took me along for the show! It was Celtic Woman, a group of, well, celtic women, that have angelic voices and one spunky little fiddler. Or violinist, I suppose.

The music was just incredible! It's the kind of show you watch, and then it makes you wish you could sing, too. And then, your three year old tells you to stop, and you get back to normal, only singing in the shower or in the car with the volume up a couple notches too high to drown out the sound of you.

So, back to the Celtic Woman show: They were all these beautiful women in full on bridesmaid dresses, and really it was just neat :) I'm glad he took me along with him, I'd have never known about them otherwise! Plus, I like the spunky one's hair, I think I'm going to try for that "style" next time I get my hair did...

I highly recommend the show, if you ever get a chance to see them! The only drawback was really more to do with the facility; I spent the ENTIRE 20 minute intermission on line for the "ladies room," and, did I mention said line was actually on a stairwell? Yeah, 7 months pregnant on a 6inch step for 20 minutes = not fun... Plus the woman behind me was insufferable. It was one of those times when you accidentally make eye contact, and then they talk and talk and talk. You know? I mean crazy stuff, like guestimating the average time for each woman to pee, taking into account whether they "zip while they're in the stall or wait till they get out of the stall" and then counting the number ahead of us in line and multiplying for the most accurate estimate of how long we'd be there. Oh, it was really something. I don't know about you, but sometimes you just stand and wait your turn, and you're done when you're done. And now I'm done.

The Love Bus - Are you on it?

So, Valentine's Day- not my favorite day of the year. I don't really have any bad experiences per say, I just oppose it on principal. Plus it is really kind of a hassle. Take yesterday evening; I had to make a tray of brownies for the hubby to take to work, a veggie tray for Ella's class party, and make little valentines for each of the 13 kids in her class. Which really, it doesn't sound too bad, I know, but I would much rather have spent the evening normally, since a trip to the grocery, making dinner and getting the house picked up were also on the agenda for the evening. Can you guess which one we skipped?

The brownies came out a little overcooked because we were distracted from pulling them out by our work on Ella's little valentines, which I must say are VERY cute this year... We dubbed it "The Love Bus," and I thought they were kind of appropriate, not gender specific, and school themed, kind of. We put a strand of maroon and white beads (really left over Mardi Gras beads, that's not tacky, right?) in each one, to complete the sugar free, gender neutrality of it all.

Our little fleet:

And a closer shot of a few:

Too cute, huh? I pulled them off of my new favorite website for kid crafts: The Toy Maker

Ella was really excited about taking them to her little buddies, and I hope they have fun playing with them :) She looked extra cute today in her little pink sweetheart tee, courtesy of her BFF's crafty mommy, Aunt G, and the adorable little (well, it's kind of big) Valentine bow she got from her cousin Maddie. Love it!

As for the rest of us, I got a fabulous pair of earrings to match the couple of pearl necklaces I have, so I no longer have to wear the plastic pearls I got at Claire's 5 years ago :) Hubby kind of got the short end of it, he only got a card. And no fancy dinner, he'll be out of town for the evening. Maybe next year I'll get into the spirit. Not likely though.

So, Happy Valentine's Day everybody. I hope the love bus swings by your place...

Pastrami Mommy

So I go to the same place every day. I stay there all day and do my work, and it's really not a bad gig. Granted I pay them for the right to be there, but you know... Nothings perfect.

So, being pregnant and all, I am on a rigorous diet. Meaning I MUST eat and often. It is really a lot of work for me. I end up eating at the little joint that happens to be closest to the building I while away the days in, and well, it's nothing special. I go because it's fast. It's not even cheap. But, I have discovered my new passion there.

It's called the "Pastrami Homily" and it goes a little something like this:

It is a re-DONK-ulous amount of pastrami stuffed onto two slices of mediocre rye bread with a ton of spicy mustard. That's what you get for $6 these days. You want a drink with that? $7.85

I love it.

So, I hope you are having a good day. I'm off to have a sandwich, finish up my work, and then go play with my little ballerina princess frog (at least that's what she wanted me to call her this morning).

Really it's a 3 in 1

Morning Glory
So, I'm afraid we've created a monster. Ella has the worst of both Josh and I in her first thing in the morning. It's really kind of scary. She hates to wake up, which she gets from me. So getting her out of her bed in itself is a challenge. We started this thing where once she gets out of her bed, she can lay in our bed and have a milk, watch "Monkey George," and wait until we are ready to dress/feed her. But now, she has also taken on Josh's tendency to be a little "sassy" in the morning (sorry, babe it's true- I'm Grumpy, you're Sassy).

Like this morning, I got her out of her bed, carried all 40 pounds of her on top of my giant belly into my bed, and laid her down all snuggled up with the whole bed to herself, giant down comforter nested around her, sounds nice, huh? Well, she just sanps "I need some milk now mommy." and then rolls right into "I NEED to watch my cartoons now mommy, can you turn them on?" Ugh. As if I want to hear her little smart mouth first thing in the morning telling me what she "needs?"

I guess I don't altogether dislike our routine, she's really cute sometimes, and always good for a nice cuddle in the morning. But wow. And really, doesn't it only get worse? I know I did...

Growing up Girly
On a more positive note, we did up her "big girl room" right after Christmas, and I know she'd be proud to show it off to all of y'all who have yet to come over and see it:

Whale Patrol
Other than that- I have been trying to find ways to keep the blubber level down this pregnancy, I even went so far as to buy a YogaMommy DVD at Half Price Books. And yes, it is still in the bag somewhere in our office, but I plan to start tomorrow. hahah But, I have been walking aerobically around campus, and trying not to lay around like a giant slug this time. So far, I dont really think it's working, but hopefully the lenten season will not only prove to be a good thing for my soul, but my body as well. I decided instead of giving up candy bars or some trite thing like I usually do for about 17 of the 40 days, I'll try to focus on actually taking care of myself, and of course The Baby Brother. So, we'll see how it goes. But- that said, you can bet your little bunz I'll be at Frank's Country Store gettin' some fried fish every Friday :)
And for good measure, because I really like when people post pics with their ramblings, my favorite picture to date from Frank's...

And if you haven't ever been, you need to go. The food is great, ESPECIALLY the chicken plate, in fact Ella thinks the place is called "Chicken Frank's." And every Friday at dinner they serve fried catfish and shrimp, and during lent they have it at lunch, too. ( I know, I called and checked last Thursday). So here, to give you a head start:

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The Big Squeeze

So, I am really starting to balloon. I'll just say it. I have been smaller this go round than I was with Ella- and he must be up high, because even at 27 weeks I sit in chairs with my legs crossed like I always have. I remember a lot more squatty knees-out sitting the first time around.

Anyhow, back to the point. All of a sudden I feel like I am getting BIG. I finally got a Bella Band- a hosiery contraption designed to hide that lovely crescent of skin that peeps out from below the ever-shrinking shirts I wear- and it is really great. Now, Ella no longer walks past and then stops to reach up and snatch my shirt down to cover "The Baby Brother."

Here's a goofy looking picture I took of myself last week sometime. I was about 26 weeks at the time, I think:

Other than that, a little back pain, and general exhaustion, I have to say this pregnancy has become rather pleasant. Josh and I are both really excited, not nearly as scared as we were Round 1, and Ella has been really fun about it. We keep forgetting to talk about "the name," but we've pretty much decided, I think. Probably. Maybe. But it's a secret.

Josh has been gone all weekend :( so I have been all alone with Ella-Bean, although I farmed her out to Gigi & Gus yesterday, so I could get some studying done. She had a fabulous time, of course, and was sad to come back home with boring old mommy.

This morning we braved early mass together, and thankfully, Popi was there, too. Ella was not loving Deacon Ted's lengthy homily, and let out an audible "Aaaahhh" in the middle, as in "Come on, already!" I had to turn the other way I was laughing a bit. The innocence of a child and their brutal honesty is something I'll never lose appreciation for! So in the tradition of her honesty- I'll show you what gets us through each week: a crayon roll I made her (along with a curious george color book and selected recycled printouts)

And, because I thought the little felt dog applique' was too too cute, here's one I made for Ella's little BFF:

Well, I guess I'll get back on task, technically, I am "studying;" read: eating a Ritter Sport, drinking a ginger ale, and blogging - so, while I still have time to get some real work done, I will :)

It's Official! I joined the Club!

So, all my "mommy friends," as I call them have blogs- so I figured if all the cool kids are doing it, I definitely need to be in on the action. Plus, I realize that I have so little opportunity to just spill my guts about whatever I'm thinking about - be it Ella's latest funny, something that happened a week ago last Friday, or whatever. Add to that my funky schedule which gives me 20 minute snippets here and there between classes etc, when I stare at my Yahoo home page clicking "refresh" just waiting for someone to email me and open the door for a huge reply, I can just put my mental drippings here. So to all of you poor souls that have happened to call me or bump into me in town and got an earful, maybe this will help, and it *may* just be safe to call me again, or NOT to duck behind the underwear rack at WalMart when you see me coming. So, read at you own risk, you've been warned. :)

The star of the show (for a few months more, at least), in her daily wear:

So, first off... "Is it Thursday yet?"

That is straight from Ella. If you are to ask her any number of questions, she has a set of "stock" answers she'll give you.
"Hey, Ella, how many XXX are there?" or "What's your heart rate?" She'll answer "28 pounds."
"Hey Ella, What color is this?" "Blue"
"Hey Ella, When is XXX going to be?" "Thursday."

Her birthday is going to be on Thursday, the baby is going to be born on Thursday, she goes to school on Thursday... anything and everything happens on a Thursday. :) So, in lieu of anything really catchy or funny or descriptive, I figured I'd honor Ella's favorite day, and let it be the title of my newest endeavor.