What am I getting myself into?

I know I normally reserve this space for Tommy pictures and Tommy stories, but over the next week it's gonna be about me.

Tomorrow I start (drumroll, please) the GRAND CABBAGE SOUP EXPERIMENT!!! aka the 7-day cabbage soup diet. The goal of the diet is to drop ten pounds of water weight for a special occasion. The special occasion in question is my cousin's wedding Nov. 21st. I am the matron of honor. My dress fits fine, and really I'm not that distressed about the state of my body. But I'd like to look a little less puffy. Plus, I figure if I can *see what my body looks like 10 pounds lighter, I'll get the motivation to get back on the Weight Watchers train. So it's really sort of an experiment.

Tonight I cook up the soup. It has a LOT of ingredients that aren't cabbage. Mushrooms, carrots, green peppers, etc. Then each day has a different plan/theme. Tomorrow I get cabbage soup plus all the non-banana fruit I want (bananas are a theme for a later day). I figure if nothing else maybe I will find a love for some new fruits and veggies.

Thanks to Dee for the info and inspiration! I will make you my role model for the next 7 days.

So I don't get any beer or chocolate, right?

Damn.

Wish me luck!

My Philosophy on Pictures

When my son is doing something cute, I often snap a picture with my phone. Look, Tommy is petting the dog! I punch in a few numbers. Instantly it's sent to my husband, my mom, and friends in every corner of the nation. Oh, and I also send it to my e-mail, so I can immediately post it to facebook and blog about it.
In fact, when I get brand new pictures of my son, the first thing I often do is post them online. And then I keep checking back to see who has posted comments. Hey, look! Somebody I worked a summer job with in high school "likes" my picture! My friend's neighbor who I met once at a bachelorette party thinks he's cute! Instant gratification! Instant acceptance! I have an adorable child.

But you know what I miss? Photo albums. The kind from the 70s with big orange flowers on a navy background. The yellow-toned pictures (why was everything in the 70s yellow?) of my childhood used to stick to the pages. Now they just sort of slide to the bottom of the plastic pages. I used to crawl into my mom's lap or climb up next to my grandma, and ask them to tell me about the pictures. What will I do now? Pull Tommy up next to the computer screen?

And let's get back to the cell phone I use to snap those instant pictures. I would imagine, like most kids, my son will have one by the time he's 12. If a girl (!!!) wants to call him, she'll dial his cell phone. I can remember in 8th grade, sitting with my sweaty hand on the receiver, heart pounding. Working up the courage to dial the numbers I'd had memorized for weeks (not simply programmed into my phone). Then, once I did it, dealing with a parent, or even worse, an older sibling, answering the phone. "DANNY, it's for you!!! It's a GIII-RLL!" It makes me sad my son will never hear the phone ring and excitedly wonder who it is, instead of seeing the name and number right on the screen.
So as I get ready to post my next batch of Tommy pictures online for all the word to see, I make sure I print a few out, and press them in an album.
These are the ones I treasure the most.

Tommy the Toothless Wonder

My son is almost 11 months old and this is how he smiles: all gums! There have been MANY signs of teething, but no teeth. For months I've dropped him off at daycare and said things like "his teeth really seem to be bothering him today." There's been drooling, finger chewing, ear pulling and massive amounts of gnawing colorful plastic objects. But no teeth. My son is clearly messing with me.

I check every day: not even a speck of white visible on the gumline.

Why do I bring this up? My mom just forwarded me an e-mail. My cousin's baby, who is three months younger than Tommy is suddenly sprouting FOUR of them. So is my OTHER cousin's baby. She's FOUR months younger than Tom. It's all part of the comparison game that starts the day your kiddo is born. Somebody's kid is always going to weigh more. Or less. Or have more hair. Or a tinier nose or more delicate ears.

Something happens the second the nurse puts that squirmy red bundle in our arms. We must compare it to the other bundles in the nursery. How loud he cries, how well she sleeps, even how many times he pooped!

I bought a book telling me about the "milestones" Tommy should be reaching in his development. According to that book, he should have been rolling at six weeks. It was more like six months. I buried the book in a closet.

My child is a wonderful, happy, funny, busy toothless wonder. He can gum the heck out of watermelon, Ritz crackers, and thanks to grandma, even Rice Krispie treats. So while all I want for Christmas may be Tommy's two front teeth (or even ONE bottom tooth), he could care less.

Plastering my Kid on my Desk

This is the mousepad that now sits on my desk. It replaces a generic Starbucks one I inheirited with the desk 8 1/2 years ago. I designed it on Kodak Gallery. $9.99! The site has changed, and the changes annoy me, but I suppose I shall deal with it.

So considered this a PSA for your holiday shopping needs-- makes a great gift idea!

Movin' and Groovin'!

Not only is Tommy now pulling up on everything (including Lucky) and cruising from each piece of furniture to the next... he's also mastered going UP stairs. It's going DOWN I'm worried about...

More Pictures by Uncle Derrald!

We're so lucky to have a great photographer in the family. And a great daddy for cousin Riley, too!

Happy Halloween!

Had a great birthday/Halloween with my little dino. Tommy's cousin Riley was also a dino- that made for doubly cute pictures!