Sometimes I miss school. I miss this time of year and buying school supplies or books or new school clothes or being to the first bus stop on the route at 6am in order to secure a "cool" seat for the ride to and from school. I miss walking on campus (either HS or college) and smelling the crisp air that comes with late September and October. I miss people watching, and believe me, there is plenty of that to be done in the Performing Arts Building on the U o' U campus. I miss that feeling of anticipation when meeting a new teacher or reading through a syllabus to determine what we'll be reading/studying/writing that year and/or semester. I miss being a part of a bigger whole and having a niche'. I miss it all, I'm kind of a geek that way. I think I would have been a perpetual student if it had been profitable or even feasible, I just dig on that stuff.

B. and i are in the midst of an experiment... or maybe it's not an experiment, maybe it's a new way of life. who knows?
let me 'splain.
monday i came home and B had removed the rabbit ears from our television. thus, we not only do we not have cable/satellite, we have no channels whatsoever. my initial reaction was of sorrow and disappointment. what will i do in my days? how will i fill them without my "stories"? i shed a tear and held a moment of silence then trudged into the bedroom to find a book. i picked up Lonesome Dove (which i had set aside for a time to read The Book Thief, this is a really good book,btw, and i totally recommend it) and dived into the pages. okay, not literally. i literally just opened the book to my bookmark and began to read. now, 260-some odd pages into it i am loving it!
my point? you ask, as you already are aware of my joy in reading. my point is that i am discovering that without the tv there are a ridiculous amount of simple things to find joy in and to occupy one's time with. those of you who've already discovered this may laugh it you're so inclined, but truthfully it's not as if i wasn't aware of that little morsel of knowledge it's just that i forgot. you know, kinda' like i forgot how good consistent exercise makes me feel. or how much i enjoy getting up the minute my alarm goes off as opposed to hitting snooze 18 times until i feel more groggy than when the alarm first interrupted my sleep.
anywho, i'm feelin' pretty grateful to my husband for taking away the temptation o' television, even if it was in the middle of the Olympics.

NOT on Rex Manning Day!

i recently viewed the movie Empire Records for the umpteenth time and i must say that i love this film. not because it is great cinema, but because it makes me laugh and amidst all of the random vignettes and lack of cohesiveness there are some pretty stinkin' quotable lines.
"Who know where thoughts come from? They just appear." or "What's with today, Today, Joe?"
plus, this movie comes with a killer soundtrack, one i have listened to almost as much as i've seen the film (until i lost it, that is). if you haven't seen it, you might want to think about it.

other films i love for several different reasons:
Reality Bites (another mid-nineties "classic")
Big Fish - i just loved the storytelling and imagery of this film.
Dead Poets Society- it's good.
The Mission- great performances by both Jeremy Irons and Robert DeNiro
The Usual Suspects- violent, but the story is fab-o.
Lucky Number Slevin- also violent, but again, the story is great and full of surprises.
When Harry Met Sally- classic and perfect chick flick.
Sleepless in Seattle- i have a thing for Meg Ryan films, what can i say?

there are many, many more, i'm sure of it, but this is all that came to my head at this point in time.

As promised, here are some photos of beautiful baby Mia (and one of Miss Taytum). She was born on July 27 (her due date) to Michelle and Brandon.

Here's a photo of the fam at Lake Barstow in WY. It was taken over the fourth o' July weekend. I like it because H. has a fab smile.

PS: I think the reason Hayden has been a ridiculous sleeper and fantastic fusser is because of the two molers that have been not quite coming in for a month. I believe they may be trying to cut through, and that would make me grumpy as well.

i am tired. oh. so. tired. H. has decided that sleeping is purely optional. i tried discussing it with him rationally, but to no avail. here is a sample of our evenings of late:

me: come on, sweetie. it's time for bed.
h: *grunt* and *squirm*
me: it's sleepy time for momma. it's four am.
h: *squirm* *wail*
repeat above lines several times until B. says: should i go sleep on the couch?
or better yet: what's the matter with him?

i won't lie, when it's the latter question from my husband i get a little fussy myself. i don't know what's wrong with him. i speak baby speak as well as you do. it's not like i can tell H. to use his words, all that would come out would be dada, doggy, and mmmgood. that's not much help. at this point i drag myself from bed and pick up the child. we then retreat to the front part of our living space (have i mentioned how desperately i want my remodel done and H. to have his own space?) and i give H. a drink and some apple sauce and then put him on the floor to scoot to his hearts content while i doze on the couch. at about 5ish he is ready to return to bed...only to awaken again at 7.

did i mention i'm tired? so tired.

My brother David and his wife Maida welcomed their first child on August 9th. She is a beautiful baby girl. I just had to post some photos, as she is quite possibly the most perfect newborn I have ever seen. Seriously. And I thought Hayden was cute (which he was and is).
Welcome Abigail! And congrats to the parents. NICE WORK!

P.S. Lest my sister-in-law think I forgot about HER beautiful new daughter, Mia, I have not. I am simply waiting for photos to post. Because seeing is believing when it comes to these amazingly adorable children.

The Addition

A mini-tour of our addition. We're painting today. Yippee!

Yes, I do realize you can't see any of the bathroom/closet. I'll take pictures when we have light in said places.

Video

As promised. A video of H. scooting. He wasn't very speedy in this vid, but the more practice he gets the faster he goes.

We went to H.'s one year appointment on the 30th and here are his stats:

Weight- 19 lbs 4 oz (3rd percentile)
Height- 30 inches (45th percentile)
Head circumference - I can't remember the cm but it was in the 80th percentile.

Ha ha. So, yes, my child is apparently on the small side when it comes to weight. Sometimes I want to take his father in with me, however, so they can see the gene pool. C'mon. Talk about long and skinny!

Hayden has begun to motate. I can't begin to express my pride in that little boy. sniff sniff. "How does he move?" you ask. He scoots on his bum (he now goes forward as well). I tried to take a video of it, but when I got the camera out he only wanted to pose... I don't know where he got that from. The only downside to this is now I know exactly how dirty my floor is, the evidence is all over H.'s behind. He also loves to walk with someone holding his hands. Pretty cute stuff.