Breaking Up Is Hard To Do

"Dennis, please take one more picture of her. And give her a kiss good-bye for me."

"I'll take a photo of her but I am NOT kissing her."

"C'mon, she's been part of the family for almost 5 years. She's been with us since we got married and has seen us through SO many things. I mean, she saw us through having a BABY. Helllooo."

"Krista, we didn't take her to the hospital when Connor was born. So, she really didn't 'see us through having a baby'."

"Well, whatever. It's still sad. I am going to miss her."

Obviously, Dennis and I deal with the grief from a break up in very different ways. I cry, pout, and reflect on the good times and he ... well, he's OBVIOUSLY oblivious to the pain he is feeling.

Break-up's are never EVER easy. They suck. And no matter what Dennis says, this is no exception.

I am going to miss you, Camry.

It's Snot Funny

If you were to ask Dennis if I am a normal person, he would smile and say, "no way". And he is entirely correct. I'm not offended; being normal is probably boring. Being weird is way more fun.

Somewhere in my childhood I recall a song or saying (or something along those lines) that went like this: "never kiss your honey when your nose is runny because you may think it's funny... but it's snot." And that phrase came to mind this morning as I called my boss to tell him that I wouldn't be working today. I wiped my runny nose with my bare hand and looked at the clock. It was 5am and I couldn't breathe. I hadn't been able to breathe at 2am or 1am or at any other point in time since Wednesday. (And don't worry - I called my boss on our company voicemail system so I didn't wake him up at the ungodly hour of 5am.)

Anyway, back to the story. I called my boss, wiped my nose, coughed a bit and then looked up at the most sad and sweet thing that I have ever seen. You see, Connor had a runny nose, too. And a cough. And the sneezes. I hate, hate, HATE it that he is sick. But you must know that there is nothing more cute or sweet than his little ahhh-chew! Oh it's just so adorable. And oh so pathetic.

As I type this I am realizing that there really isn't a good story line to this post. Or a story, at all, for that matter. Just plain and simple: Krista and Connor were both home sick today. Dennis doesn't usually catch whatever germs I bring home but I think that I heard him clear his throat earlier, so you never know. Maybe I'll get crazy and give him a big kiss, runny nose and all. Even if he isn't sick, I'm sure he'd like to participate in the fun. He supplies the nose and I supply the "runny".

Don't worry about us. We will be just fine. I mean, as long as it isn't Mad Cow Disease. Not AGAIN.

Happy 15 Weeks

Connor,

We survived 15 weeks together! What an accomplisment. It has been - and continues to be - a learning experience for all of us. It's a lot of fun to watch you grow and change every day.

What's new? Well, I am guessing that you weigh about 14 pounds now so you are almost double your birth weight. Your dad thinks that you'll be really tall which means that you'll get your tallness factor from him, not your vertically-challenged mother. And the bobble-head that you had several weeks ago has officially given way to a steady neck and sturdy back. Your (precious!!) giggles are contagious and often cause your father (and me) to do ridicilous things in public. We've always done ridicilous things in private ... but now we are proudly displaying them to the outside world. There is no shame if our goofy antics lead to the anticipated laugh or at least a big grin. When they don't lead to a laugh, well, then we just look stupid. But we're OK with that for now.

An important "first" took place about a week ago. We went together to Hilton Head Island and you put your feet in the sand for the first time. You seemed to enjoy the ocean a lot, which is nothing short of AWESOME.

One thing that I will NOT let you forget is that you refused to take the bottle AT ALL while we were on vacation. I was looking forward to a break from breastfeeding but ohhh nooo, that wasn't in the cards for me. You probably enjoyed a little margarita during your feedings. Maybe that's why you slept so well.

And, last but not least, we were playing with you on your activity mat last night and your dad was trying to help you learn to roll over on your own. Echo was excited because she understood what we were talking about and seemed to smile every time we said "roll over". Unfortunately you didn't quite comprehend our request, but I'm sure you'll get there soon enough. Maybe Echo will work with you on it tonight.

We love you Connor!

Mom

Breakfast of champions

Apparently each cigarette that you smoke will shorten your life by 7 minutes. Following that logic, each Krispy Kreme doughnut that you consume should shorten your life by at least 7 minutes. Probably more like 70.

And man-oh-man is it worth it.

Redefining Take-out

When you are on vacation, there are several tell-tale signs that you have a baby.

The first one is when you are on the beach (before 10AM or after 4PM) and your IPOD plays Baby Einstein instead of the Zack Brown Band.

The second sign is when you actually care what is on the "early bird" menu. Yes, we look at it. And as much as I hate to admit it, we typically order from the menu. And it's all because we have to be home to feed TLM (The Little Man) by 7pm.

So, last night we decided to go out to a nice dinner at the Kingfisher Restaurant. We were very excited and I COULD NOT WAIT for the hush puppies. For some reason, I associate good hush puppies with the beach. Not sure why. But, they, just like everything else, always taste better when you are at the beach.

We ordered a bottle of wine and some HEAVENLY hush puppies. Then we started to peruse the menu. We selected our items and then almost as if on cue, Connor started to fuss. He was upset - and rightfully so - that we were eating the hush puppies that he had been hearing about all day long. I tried to explain to him that if he quieted down then he would get some processed hush puppies later on in the evening. He didn't quite understand.

I asked the waitress if we could please get our meals to go.

As Stephen would have said, "There is NOTHING like a good, romantic meal. And THIS was nothing like a good, romantic meal."

And yes, we took the wine glasses. And the wine. It made the two mile drive home less stressful.

Men are From Mars

At 7AM this morning, I asked Dennis if he'd like to go out on the patio (overlooking the pool and ocean, by the way) to drink our coffee, spend time together, and talk. What followed were some typical "man" comments.

"Why? Didn't we just spend 8 hours laying next to each other?" he asked, smiling.

"Yes, we did," I said. "But it's not like we talked while we were sleeping."

"What do you want to talk about?"

"I don't know. We could just talk."

"Aren't we talking right now?" he asked while he carefully added just enough creamer to his cup of joe.

My glare served as my response and we walked to the patio for what was going to be an incredibly thrilling conversation. Don't ask me how I knew - maybe I'm psychic - but I just had this feeling that it was going to be a truly AMAZING conversation.

And I was right. As soon as we were situated outside, Dennis looked over at me and said, "OK, let's hurry up and talk so I can go set up the tent on the beach."

Constitutionally Challenged

I. LOVE. HER. (Michelle, not Whoopi.)



"I will vote adamantly against the interests of my district if I actually think what I'm doing is going to help".

WHAT?! (Insert sound of screeching record here.) I thought that the job of a Congressman IS to do what his or her constituents want. Guess I need to re-read the Constitution where it outlines the tasks and responsibilities of holding such an office. Maybe the people in Congress need to re-read (or read it for a first time) it, too.

"I pledge to serve President Obama."

I just threw up a little (OK - a lot) in my mouth. Doesn't this scare you? This is the exact OPPOSITE of how this country is supposed to work. Elected representatives serve the people they represent. Not the other way around.

Guess this video is proof that you don't have to be smart to make it in Hollywood.