So I vowed to use this blog more often and I haven't touched it for like a week or more! Eek! Sorry. I have some catching up to do, I guess. This past weekend we had a wedding reception of a good friend of mine to go to. Lots of fun was had and Ben stole the show (of course I'm biased, so take that with a grain of salt). Here's a clip of his smooth moves:

We bought a new camera which we LOVE so far! It's fun to take HD video of Ben and learn all kinds of photography tricks. Tim has proven to be much more the natural born photographer than I.

"Daddy brought me home a football from his business trip!"

"I'm sOoOoOoOoO tired, Mommy!"

"I raise the roof on a daily basis!"

And my stud walker!

Dancin' fool!

Ben's learned to dance....and the kid can shake his booty!

Nine Month Check-up!

In a span of a couple of months, Ben jumped from the 40th percentile in height to the 75th! He weighed in at 18lbs, 4oz (25th) and finally has a bigger head! He always had a 10th percentile head, but now he's jumped into the 40th. Aw, I'm so proud of my tall, skinny, brainy babe!

The doc was super impressed that he's already walking and put my fears aside that Ben doesn't have some freak "House"-ish type disease where he feels no pain. No, seriously. Tim actually brought up House at the appointment. I think I mentioned it before, but the kiddo can slam his face into a brick wall and bounce right back up. Not that he has slammed his face into a brick wall before (gah, what kind of mom do you think I AM? Oh, right, the one who let her 7 month old get a bloody nose). Anyway, that time that he hit his face so hard that he got a bloody nose was one of the only times he's ever really cried from an injury. But the ped says he's just a tough one!

He also doesn't clap yet or bang two objects together. He'll bang an object on a wall or the floor or the bathtub, but he doesn't quite understand how to bang two objects together yet. He waves. ALL THE TIME. If you clap, he waves. If you talk, he waves. If you sing, he dances and waves. If you bang two objects together, he waves. If you smile at him, he waves. If you wave at him....right, he waves. I guess he's just being choosy when it comes to milestones!

Ah, and we're supposed to start table foods. I got the all-clear that his horrific diaper rashes of late are more likely due to teething & his ridiculously sensitive skin and not food sensitivities. So we're finally going to start eating a variety of foods! Yay!

Anyway, that's the newest over here!

Hey Mackey, you're a swine!

I watched Sicko the other day (finally) and what really struck me was the fact that in places like Europe, they have universal health care because they wouldn't have it any other way. In fact, a comment I heard was, "The people aren't scared of the government here. The government is scared of the people." Ahhhh. How refreshing. The government knows its citizens will revolt. Around these parts, the majority sits quietly by and lets it happen.

In places like France, it's free to have a baby. You won't pay a dime for prenatal care, you won't pay a dime for the birth, you won't pay a dime for the time you spend in the hospital afterward, regardless of complications. Then you'll get six months paid leave from work and six months unpaid leave. A year! You're given a year with the guarantee that you'll have your job to return to!

I was really disappointed in John Mackey's stance on Health Care Reform here. Not only did most of it make zero sense, but as the CEO of Whole Foods, he seemed like a hypocrite to me. Regardless of how much I want to eat organically, I will no longer be shopping at Whole Foods. I'm not going to pad his pockets anymore. Not with his attitude.

I found this protest of John Mackey and Whole Foods AWESOME! Protesting by singing and dancing? How fun! Another blogger made a comment along the lines of, "Imagine if we solved all our problems through song & dance, rather than violence and hatred." :)

Weight (NOT) lost!

Losing weight sucks. I've always been able to lose weight really easily! Even after Ben was born, those first 30 pounds just melted right off, like butta'!

Then it was STANDSTILL TIME. I still had ten pounds to lose. Cool, whatever, ten pounds is nothing, right? That was eight months ago. Then my milk supply dropped and I gained five pounds, which put me at needing to lose 15 pounds. Ugh. 15 sounds like so much more than 10. So now I've been on a diet for three weeks and I'm only down two pounds total. That is SO not like my body! Not only have I been on a diet for three weeks, but I've been hardcore strict with myself about logging every last mother loving bite of food that goes in my mouth. And for what? To lose TWO POUNDS?!

Can I blame it on my thyroid? I'd really like to, kthanks.

Losing weight sucks. Have I mentioned that? I'd like to have another baby sometime in the next decade, but at the rate we're going I won't lose my baby weight until 2055, at which point I'll be 72 (shudder) and don't think my eggs or ovaries will be too cooperative. I will NOT TTC 'til this baby weight is gone. Mark my words.

I'm over being private & I'm ressurecting this blog!

I need a NON-MONEY blog for my own sanity!

Why a placemat? I don't know, it spoke to me. Maybe because I'm so FRIGGIN' hungry all day long from this thing they call a diet.

That is all.

Oh, WAIT! No, no, I have more!

Pictures of my little dude!



Look how big & grown-up he looks! And he WALKS now! Imagine!

update-a-roo

Ben's getting his first tooth! I thought the child would be toothless forever, but a few nights ago (right after our play date with Shelly where I proclaimed he would NEVER get teeth!) sure enough I saw a leetle hole and what do you know? He's getting his first tooth! He's surprisingly mellow, but has had his fussy moments. His newest trick? Shoving his ENTIRE soothie pacifier in his mouth to chew on. Uh, can babies choke on their pacifier? I'm starting to get concerned. Fer real!

Not a ton else to report other than we still LOVE our house & we've decided to tackle a painting project every month. September will be the month of the kitchen! I'm thinking a deep goldish/yellow. I keep seeing it all over the place (newest kitchen trend or am I late in the game?) and I really dig it!

Ah, and one more idea! I'm thinking of painting one of the walls in Ben's playroom in chalkboard paint. Yes? No? Dumb idea?