an hour to myself?

for some odd reason Cameron has been sleeping down (ie: not in my arms) for the last hour. i am in disbelief. this just so happened to correspond with Maydens nap which means i got an entire hour to myself. i honestly thought my luck would only last 10-15 minutes but here it is a little over and hour later and i'm still childless...WOO HOO!

i love this sling!

so for the last month and 1/2 Cam has decided that sleeping during the day (ie: Naps) are not really his thing but i think i may have figured it out... Cameron must be held at all times. especially if he wants to sleep during the day. he gets tired and cranky but he will not stay down any longer than 10-15 minutes. so after trying for 30 minutes to put him down for a nap he ends up taking a super mini 10 minute nap. ARGGG!! even though he is perfectly content & happy when he wakes, i am not. so i stopped wasting my time and found a new way to get him to sleep during the day.... the sling! at first i was sad that i was missing my "me" time during the day (im trying not to complain too much about the no nap thing because he is an awesome night time sleeper...he NEVER wakes up in the middle of the night anymore!!) but now i'm over it and moving on with this sleeping in motion thing we have going on here. so when he gets fussy i just tuck him in this sling and carry on doing whatever i need to be doing. he's instantly happy and eventually drifts off to sleep for about 30 minutes. this happens a few times a day. i used this other sling with Mayden because it wasn't bulky and didn't have any rings but she wasn't very into it. i'm really happy i have the one i have now, it's perfect!

in general he wants to be held much more often than May did and i'm very okay with this because i know it won't last forever and i always wanted a snuggly baby. Mayden was not that baby (although now she's pretty snuggly)

within the last few days i've also discovered the joy of the backpack which is a great second option. in fact here is a pic of him sleeping in it as we speak.

Thanksgiving etc...

sorry about the slacking off on the blog. i've been sick for over a week now and i'm getting super tired of it all....and this is just the beginning of the sick season...AHHH! first it was just a cold, more annoying then anything. then just as i was feeling better Thanksgiving night i start with this 24hr stomach virus thingy which was really gross and impaired my child care abilities (thank GOD for my mom!). today i am really feeling much better so hopefully im on the mend. it's really tricky to be sick and to try and take care of yourself as well as your children and also try not to infect them with the afore mentioned sickness! here are a a lot of pics from Thanksgiving which was wonderful (until the puking started anyway)

Cam's first time in the backpack! (he loved it)


May, Dada & Curious George

Cameron slept thru most of the parade

me, May & City Hall

May climbing on a giant Sorry game piece (part of a very cool park in Philly)

my adorable Dohner family who joined us for Thanksgiving dinner at my parents house (each year i take their annual family photos, this was one of the bunch from this year)

SICKO

we've all been fighting a cold this weekend so i think it's appropriate to write a little something about the movie Sicko which Chris and I watched last week. i'm not even sure where to begin except to say that i'm really disappointed in our country for not demanding national health care reform. it seems simple to me private health insurance companies = corruption = bad health care decisions = do away with it.

on a personal note our neighbor is battling Hepatitis C. he found out about it last summer and has endured a few rounds of drugs. the first round health insurance covered. when that round didn't work his health insurance rejected his request for a second round because his chance of success was only 20%. but if you're dying 20% sounds like it's worth a try. so he paid for the drugs himself... $10,000 later and tragically it didn't work again. so now he's on a waiting list for a liver transplant which he tells me the health insurance company is betting they won't have to pay for. reason being; there is a shortage of organs to go around and by the time he's at the top of the list he will be too sick to work and therefore lose his health insurance benefits. brilliant. super nice young guy. his wife and four year old son will be devastated when he does pass on. so will we.

Chris and I don't have health insurance (the kids are on the state insurance program) i've always been terrified to not have health insurance but after watching this movie i'm thinking i might be better off without it. after a movie like this i have to ask myself one question ... what can i do? the way i see it is i have two choices. stay here and fight the good fight or leave and enjoy the benefits of another country. Tae Kwon Do anyone?

the return of the poop seat

this baby entertainment thinga-ma-bob is fondly called the "poop seat" in our house. it's called that because 80% of the time Mayden was in the poop seat when she was a baby she pooped! it was amazing how consistent it was. and now here we are two years later and it's proving to produce poop again. amazing!

here is a picture of Cameron in the poop seat this morning after a nice big poop and below is a picture of Mayden in the poop seat exactly (to the day) two years earlier (probably right after a nice big poop)

Adventures in cooking: Enchilada Bake

** to see other posts in this series visit my Myspace blog**

this afternoon Mayden is napping in her room, Cameron is sleeping on my mom (which recently is the only way he naps...ugh!) and i am making dinner. actually dinner is taken care of tonight so i'm making a future dinner as i will freeze this meal. i found this recipe years ago in some vegetarian magazine. we love it and make it several times a year. it's very simple yet very tasty...you can't beat that! i made two this time that way there is another one ready when i'm out of options and need a quick meal someday in the future. my mom taught me that trick and its really genius. if you're already making one to double it and freeze the second is not a big deal and it saves you a big headache later.

guilty pleasure

tonight starts the 4th season of Project Runway and I'm very excited about it. i have no idea why. I'm not in the least bit into high fashion and i don't even sew (although i wish i did). i guess i like that these people can make a whole outfit out of virtually nothing. it's impressive. i only do a few TV shows and this is one of them.




here's a survey of my favorite TV show ever, LOST!! (hurry up February!)

If you were on LOST who would you want to...

Befriend? Sayid, i think he could keep me safe & get me off the island

Be enemies with? Sawyer, too cocky for me

Kill? Ben

Kiss up to for favors or supplies? Hugo, he has the food!

Share a spot in the cave with? Jack

Hook up with just once? Sawyer

Help the most? Jin & Sun, they are nice folks

Would you.....

Go on the raft or stay on the island? stay put on the island

Live in the caves or on the beach? caves seem a little less vulnerable

Open the hatch or leave it alone? leave it alone!

Keep other's secrets or tell them? sure

Know your blood type to help Boone? i guess

Eat fish, boar, sushi or just fruit? mostly fruit, with a little fish now and then

If it were up to you ...

What would you name Claire's baby? Ocean

Who would get Kate, Jack or Sawyer? Sawyer, those two were made for each other

Would you side with Locke or Jack? Jack, Locke is a bit of a loose canon

Forget the show - what about you....

If you were on an island with three people who would they be? hubby & my kids

And you could bring three personal items? sunblock, ipod & toothbrush

And what part of the world would your island be in? anywhere warm

One final question ...Who is your favorite character on the show? i love most of the main characters, but Locke is the man!

Santa already?

we just returned from the mall where we spent the rainy morning trying to wear May out so that she would nap this afternoon. guess what the first thing we saw was? yep, Santa! let me point out an obvious fact...it's more than a week before THANKSGIVING... remember that holiday?

it was actually kinda nice because there was nobody around, no line, no screaming kids. he was just hanging out with his elves. May got to talk to him and even got a mini candy cane, free of charge. i refuse to pay $15+ for one picture after standing in line for an hour where they will inevitably try to get my to buy the $30 picture package. nope, not gonna do it. when i was a kid we went to see Santa in the hardware store and got a nice little polaroid picture & full size candy cane to take home. hopefully this will be her Santa fix for the season (for the most part she's still oblivious, it's Chris who's my problem child and keeps hyping it up) but if it's not i'm on the lookout for a free Santa visit.

P.S. the "Japanese Cherry Blossom" Bath & Body stuff smells like crap and is VERY hard to get off your body... you've been warned!

photo overload

today we went to a few pretty spots and took some family photos. out of the over 100 we took here are the best. most of you who read this will probably end up getting one of these as out Christmas card this year. (labeled #1-10) i'm partial to number 3 & 5. which is your favorite?

he loves me

this kid is so great for my ego. i do a funny noise and Cam cracks up laughing, i'm talkin' those big uncontrolled baby belly laughs. Chris comes along and does the exact same thing right after i do it and Cam is totally stone faced. he looks confused like he's saying, "what in the world are you doing?" it's pretty hilarious. May used to do the exact same thing. i guess we know who the funny one in the house is :o)

sleeping beauties

both kids fell asleep on the way home from my parents house today. how it pained me to wake them up to come inside.... note to self: leave a magazine in the car for such occasions.

sleeping kids


and here's a pic of Cam from today because i just can't get enough of this face!!!

"mama, i want to hope (help) you"

lately May-May's new thing is wanting to help me with everyday things like dishes, laundry, pouring juice and vacuuming. the problem with this is that it takes me like 20 minutes longer to do each task she "helps" me with. i'm always tempted to just push her aside and get it done quickly. i guess if i don't let her try it now she'll never get good enough to move along faster (or do it herself). patients....patients....patients....this is the story of life with a toddler!

Zzzzzz

my favorite thing in the whole world is when both kids decide not to take a nap the same day.... sarcasm sarcasm sarcasm!! lately about twice a week Mayden skips her nap. usually because she's too busy talking to her stuffed animals or she's pooped and doesn't tell me. this was a poop day. Cameron rarely doesn't take a nap but today was the exception to that rule. i tried and tried and everytime i put him down (either awake or asleep) he screamed. i'm not being fair, he did sleep for 10 minutes in the sling at the library this morning and then another 15 minutes in the swing just now but 25 minutes all day is not going to cut it!!

welcome

so here is an attempt to start a new blog. i'm hoping to blog daily even if it's just a sentence or two. this will be my "everyday blog" as opposed to my "sometimes blog" on Myspace ... sorta like how Prairie Dawn explains to Cookie Monster that cookies are a sometimes food not an everyday food like fruits and veggies. myspace = cookies and blogspot = carrots. got it? good!