snow snow and more snow. so much snow. more snow than I've ever seen (okay-well that isn't true, but still a LOT of snow).

The storm came in around 1:00 pm on Friday and it stopped snowing at about 7:00 pm on Sunday. That's three days of snow and what I'm guessing is just under two feet of the white stuff. You know what would really stink to have happen on a weekend like this...for the snow blower to stop working, and yet that is exactly what happened! It was pretty light snow, but so much for shoveling. It is tough to shovel with Grant because we can't leave him inside alone. His room is totally Grant proof and he would be fine to play there for 20 minutes alone, however he wouldn't put up with being left totally alone for that long and the crying isn't worth it. So, Taylor was on his own for much of the shoveling and I was able to help out during nap time.

We used the snowy weekend for much Christmas prep. I wrapped and packaged up all of the items to be shipped for the holiday. yes, they will probably be late, but my girls love me and won't mind and my niece and nephew don't really know me and really don't care when the loot comes, just that it comes. So, since Taylor isn't working again this year, tomorrow he is off to the post office.

I also got all of our Christmas cards ready for mailing. I ordered the with plenty of time, but apparently they got lost at the UPS location in Texas (it is always Texas with me!) and so just got here on Thursday night. They came out really crummy, so I'm disappointed in them (very orange for some reason) but given the amount of money I spent and the proximity to the holiday I decided to send them anyway. Please note when you get your cards that Grant is so very much cuter that in that photo. I even sent out extra prints of other cute photos to some people who don't get to see him often so they could recognize his cute factor. Yeah-I've got a problem.

Cookie baking was also on the menu for the weekend. Tomorrow is Grant's treat swap at daycare. I didn't make my award winning macaroons (I can say that now that I won best taste in the first annual bake-off challenge at work) because I'm not really sure kids are down with coconut, so I went with a chocolate chunk cookie and my grandmother's favorite cream cheese and jam cookies. It will be 10 years ago this week that she died, so it somehow seemed fitting to make her cookies, even though I've never really liked them myself. I'm thinking those cookies will be hit in the under 5 crowd at daycare.

We spent some quality time having a snow party at the neighbors on Friday night. No one could get out, so we all grabbed a bottle of our favorite holiday cheer and came together to sit around and catch up one last time before we split for the holidays. What a random group of people, but we do really have a lot of fun together. I really do think we live on the best street in America!

So, it was a productive weekend despite the fact that the laundry isn't folded and I didn't watch Pulp Fiction, an assignment from a coworker. Hopefully your weekends were productive too and if you live in the Northeast you are dug out of the storm and have your power back from the dreaded ice storm! Oh, and Go Patriots, Go Jets (boy-that feels so wrong to say) and Go whoever is playing the Ravens!

Happy Birthday to my boys--Taylor, Alexander, and Golic!

May you each enjoy every moment in the year to come! Hugs all around.

Sad day for the Moon Pies. I finished the season in a very disappointing 6th place this year due to the early season loss of Carson Palmer, the knicked up Reggie Bush, and the old age of Torry Holt and Marvin Harrison (both of whom were benched after two weeks). I'm embarrassed to have done so poorly this year and embarrassed by/for the other ladies in the league as well, as the Gold Stars and Altitude are also out of the playoff hunt. Tough season. Julie-I told you that loss was going to come back to get me! Oh well, only eight months until we draft again!

Thanksgiving was super fun this year. We went to PA to be with Alex and Emilie. Emilie made an incredible dinner, taking traditional dishes and putting a spin on them. It was a lot of time in the car, but it was well worth it for the yummy dinner and family time. Grant did well in the car going both ways, mostly because we drove at night and let him sleep. He loved playing with Barley and Tiller and even took to letting Tiller eat right out of his hand. We took a fun trip to Valley Forge on Friday and I was able to get a few cute photos of my favorite Mac boys. I love these:

And one with my favorite Mac Girls too!

My friend Erin did a great blog listing all of the things she was thankful for on Thanksgiving and I thought it was great. I should have done the same thing, but we are well into the Christmas season now, so instead I thought I would put out another plug. Jen and Brian have "adopted a family" for Christmas. This is pretty much as it sounds, through an agency they have found a family in need and bought this family gifts that they both need and want. I think this is a super great thing to do an encourage everyone to do something similar. I remember being about 11 when our family was "adopted" for Christmas. A bag appeared on our porch on Christmas Eve and their was a gift for each of us, simply labeled mom, dad, girl, boy. I don't remember what my mother or brother got, but my dad got a really nice heavy shirt and I got a board game. It wasn't much but that was a really tough year and we didn't have much of anything (except Turkey-we got LOTS of turkeys that year in food baskets). Of course, my parents had found ways to get my brother and I a few things, but I'm sure those gifts were some of the only they received that holiday. You may not think that giving the toys for tot gift or the giving tree gift at the mall makes much of a difference, but I'm here to tell you that it definitely does. So instead of telling you what I'm thankful for today, I'll tell you what I know my mom was thankful for when she had an 11 year old who wasn't getting Christmas, and that is the kindness of those more fortunate and the strangers that "adopted" my family. I know the economy is in the crapper and we're all holding onto our pennies a bit tighter these days, but try to give what you can and help when you can. I'm thankful for Jen and Brian for reminding me of that Christmas so I can be extra thankful for all the blessings I have today and so I can help pass these lessons again to Grant! And as always, when I think of those super tough years, I'm extra thankful for my mom and the amazing was she managed to keep us all together and all safe. Now that I'm a mom, I can make boo-boos better, but try as I will, I'll never understand how she got us through-that is real mommy power!

I just got my nails painted Double Decker Red. I feel like I need to announce this for two reasons: I never do anything as girly as get my nails painted and so this is truly a newsworthy event in my life and OPI has such good color names that I like to document them. Probably not worth caring about, but they do crack me up!

We are out of sugar in our office. This is catastrophic for me. I want coffee, but can't drink it black. pooh.

Feel like I'm getting sick. My body is a bit achy today. Taylor has been fighting something and Grant has been sick as well. I think both boys are on the mend and I REFUSE to give in. Thanksgiving is my favorite holiday and even though I'm going to spend most of it in the car, I don't want to spend it in the car sick. I want to eat and enjoy and pretend that their is no seafood in the stuffing!

Fancy new colors! Fancy new slideshow! Fancy new Heather's Daily Rant!
Hope you enjoy!

My baby turns one tomorrow. How is that possible? I can tell you exactly what I was doing a year ago tonight, in a world before I met Grant. I had dinner with friends. I wanted to have the baked brie, but soft cheeses are a no-no when pregnant and even though I knew I was having the baby the next day, I didn't want to take the chance. I went to the mall, I did some laundry, and I packed and repacked and repacked my hospital bag. I snuggled with the cats. I sat on the exercise ball.

Flash forward a year--tonight i made cupcakes so Grant would have cake for his birthday (he already had his real cake during his party, but everyone deserves cake on their birthday), I did laundry so Grant would have the cute boy jeans that match his special "my birthday" shirt from his Auntie Kriselyn, I played, went to the grocery store for YoBaby Yogurt, play played, and read books and snuggled with my baby on his last night as a baby.

It goes so fast. I know that in the blink of an eye, he'll be starting school, dating girls, and driving cars. Taylor laughed at me on the ride home from the hospital last year when I said he would be going to college before we knew it-but I don't think he would laugh now-because the first year went in seconds. Tomorrow my baby becomes a toddler and I'm almost guaranteed a few tears. I'm going to go sneak into his room now to check on him, sleeping in his snugly footie pajamas with the space shuttles on them, passed out on his tummy, head resting on his taggie blanket, dreaming the night away!

Taylor and I must live on the greatest street in America! We had the best Halloween ever! We dressed up our littlest Dumbo and wandered outside around 5:00. All of our neighbors decided to come out into the street and sit together and hand out candy. Even the folks who hadn't been in on the initial discussion because we didn't have their email addresses came out dragging candy, kids, and lawn chairs. Many adults came in costume. Taylor and I came as first time parents :) We weren't the only family on our street in that costume, but we didn't mind sharing! Grant's little buddy Aiden was a cowboy and other adult costumes included a teacher, Batman, and Batwoman. Far and away, our favorite was the Pirate across the street. She decorated her house, played pirate music and brought her candy out in a treasure chest. She also made our street the place to be by bringing out a full bar into the street and handing out rum and coke to all of the adults who visited. Let's just say, we expect even more families next year! We had a great time and continued the night once designated trick or treat time was finished with a makeshift party at the pirates house. It was a great night. Grant was a trooper in his costume, which he never really fell in love with. He stayed in it until Mama decided it was time for him to get changed into something a little snugglier without complaint. Halloween, which has always been one of my least favorite holidays, skyrocketed up the list this year! I'm even more excited for the next big holiday in our world, Grantie's Birthday!

Grant helps Mom and Dad get ready for Halloween and our estimated 200 trick or treaters. 400 pieces of candy-well, maybe minus one!

• my cats are once again schizophrenic. Grant and I came home to the world craziest mess last night. nothing like keeping the cats locked in separate rooms to make a weekend fun.
• i want to learn to surf. okay, i really just want an excuse to go to Hawaii. Perhaps my college roommate will get married and invite me and we can take a family trip to the great island.
• less than two weeks until the NKOTB the sequel. this time, we're doing it like we're supposed to!
• my cake decorating career may be over. I'm not very good at it.
• HSM3 is out and I'm sad because I won't see it.
• Sarah Marshall is a funny movie.
• How I Met Your Mother is the greatest show on television.
• Holy rain storm batman.
• someone I went to college with just named her kid Grant. I admit it-it pissed me off.
• i had bunches more things to talk about, but now I forget them all. oh well...

Mommy's Big Big Fall Boy!

Well, it has been almost one week since my journey back in time to adolescence, and I have to say it was simply amazing. For those who might not know to what I am referring, I'm talking about my trip to Boston last Friday to see New Kids on the Block. I know, it sounds silly. And in all honesty, it sounded silly to me too, even the week of the concert. I thought it would be a fun night out with the girls and we would end up laughing at the ridiculousness of the whole thing. But it wasn't. Yes, it was a super fun night out with the girls, but it was so much more! NKOTB put on the best concert I've ever seen. Many of you remember me going to see Madonna a few years ago and know that it was on my list of things to do before I die, and remember that while it was a good show, I was disappointed because Madonna thought she was in Boston despite being in Worcester and because I was sure she only performed half of her show. She only was on stage for under an hour. I think she cut her intermission and only performed a half show. Now, my tickets were free and they were good, so I didn't complain, but I was highly disappointed (ask poor Amy-she was stuck in the car with me!). NKOTB blew the Madonna show and every other show I've seen out of the water! They sang--and lets be clear--they were good! They danced and not like 40 year old men--they shook their money makers! Danny Wood did a breakdance solo that would put almost anyone to shame. They did solo songs, they sang together, the had dancers, they had the Celtics star Paul Pierce and the NBA Trophy for goodness sake! It was incredibly. It was over two hours! We forgot that we had been lost in Boston because Mandy the GPS doesn't do tunnels. We forgot that it was raining, that we had to pee super bad (well, maybe Teresa didn't forget that part), that we didn't get a real meal. We didn't care that we would have ringing ears for two days or that Natasha Bettingfield's mic was on too high and so she sounded like she was screaming. All we cared about was that we were there. It was such an incredible night. I would put it as one of the best nights ever. I lived a childhood dream. And I'm living it again! Yup-the show was so good that we're getting a second set of tickets. That's why living in NE is so awesome, we can get to many cities without much drama and will be seeing the boys again in a few weeks. How I love my life! And this time, instead of four, there will be seven, because the buzz is spreading and more and more want to see Joey, Donnie, Jordan, Jon, & Danny! Heather is Hangin Tough!

Goodbye Troy. You will be missed in the Mac Family on Sunday's. You're always welcome for peach salsa and pretzel bits at our house-we can play BINGO!

This is my 300th post. There is so much pressure to say something witty or be reflective in some way. Sadly, I've got nothing. I had just planned a little update on my last few weeks, but now...what to say?

Well, Grant is getting HUGE! In the last two weeks alone he has learned to crawl, pull himself up, he drinks exclusively from a cup and on and on and on. He took his first big car ride and visit to Grandma and Grandpop in the telephone. He was a rock star! He is a rock star. He is just the coolest kid on the planet and I suppose he is a perfect tribute for post 300!

It's almost comical at this point. Much like there never being a single picture of Me, Jeniffer and Kriselyn together when we see each other, there are no pictures of Me, Taylor and Grant. Quite literally, there are two "family" photos of us. One was taken in the first moments of his life. One was taken the day after we moved into our new house in February. Right now, in another window, I'm uploading 139 photos from G's Baptism yesterday. Photos of me and Grant, photos of the whole Mac Family and Grant, but no photos of just the three of us. A dozen adults, three cameras, zero photos!

Are you ready for some football? I've got my lucky underwear on, jersey is ready for game time. Grant's jersey-despite being two sizes two big is ready to roll and he's wearing his Patriot's onesie. Taylor's off to the game (and a big thank you to me for not only getting them tickets, but giving mine up for the good of the cause) and is (at last phone call) sitting in Norton waiting for the rest of the Mac Clan to show up. Too bad no one realized you can't buy beer in MA on Sunday's until 12. I've got a fridge stocked full that I would have been happy to send! Oh well! Me and my littlest boy are spending this most perfect day together. We're going to run some quick errands, pick up lunch (chips and mango salsa will have to wait for another weekend) and get back in time for game time. After that we're taking a nice long walk and will try out dad's cool new hiking backpack. Hope you and your families get you perfect fall football routines back on track today too!

Puffy Hand league is up and running. I'm the underdog today, but think Peyton could pull out a win for me. I'm taking on the Proud Papa's (my boy will take on all 2.5 of your kids today Janus!).

In my Survivor league I've got the Eagles beating the Rams. Hard as it is to say, "Go Eagles!"

Happy Sunday!

Oh Happy Day!

Grant's Baptism

September 6, 2008

Six years ago today Taylor and I got engaged at WDW. I wish we were there right now! We spent the day at the Magic Kingdom in the rain, went back to our room and got ready for dinner with Alexander and Emilie, had after dinner drinks with Krissy, and the boys, and got engaged in front of the fountain by our room. Sounds like a great day, doesn't it!

Pet Peeve of the Day:
2:00 to ???
When you're inviting people to an event that doesn't have an end time, there is no need to put ???. If you don't list a time, the party will naturally decline as it should. Listing ??? is just silly. You look like an idiot. As a host, even if you don't list an end time for an event, you can steer the crowd very subtly to end at a given time simply by your movements. Slowly start to clean up dishes, stop refilling the food and wine, this isn't difficult. Listing ??? is just plain ridiculous. Please don't do it!

Pet Peeve of the Day:
People who don't RSVP. How hard it is? Pick up the phone and say "no, I'm not coming". I promise you're not going to hurt anyone's feelings. By not doing it you're just bugging them as they're probably waiting on numbers for seating assignments, caterers, favors, and the like. Trust me, I plan events for a living! It is a real pain! You can send an email or call and leave a message in the middle of the night if that makes you feel better, or just make up a stupid excuse. It just matters that you follow through when someone extends an invitation your way! Be considerate people as you go forward in your day today.

Poor Fuzzy. What a great dog. He will be missed.

If I were still at my old job, today would have been my favorite day of summer. The Feast of the Assumption! This is the day when the non-catholics of the office goof off for an hour while everyone else goes to mass, then you go eat a huge meal, then you go home at 2:00 for the weekend. Instead, I'm in my office, not eating anything because I have no lunch, and working until the normal end of a normal day. My favorite office mates are all on vacation so it is super quiet, and there will be no goofing off. Sad day for Heather, great day for her old friends. Jerks! You're all jerks!

I slept through the Women's All-Around competition last night. I miss the days of taped Olympics. Who thought live starting at 11:30 was good for anyone? I'm stoked for the girls though and cried this morning when I saw them on the Today Show. Grant had no idea what to think of a crying mommy. It was a bit of a role reversal!

Congrats to Jenny on the new house, Emilie on having her hubby in the country, and Krissy for the soon to be new store. Free fries for everyone!

I'm worried about Kerry Walsh getting a strange tan line from the tape/brace she is wearing on her shoulder. It looks something like an ink blot and once she gets lines like that, it is going to take months to get them to go away.

Shout out to Taylor. Word.

I'm obviously a very happy girl that the Olympics are on. Most of you know I'm a junkie and simply can't get enough. To that end, I watched team equestrian today for about two hours. Those crazy Australians are in the lead and team USA is out of it. My favorites are beach volleyball, gymnastics, swimming...the usual. I also really like the random, such as badminton and white water kayaking. Thank goodness for the Greeks!

Grant popped another tooth this weekend. Poor kid had a rough day today-it hurts to push teeth out. I feel so bad for him :(

Retreat at work tomorrow-hoping their is ice cream involved!

Are you ready for some FOOTBALL!!
Hall of Fame game is Sunday night between the Indy Colts and Washington Redskins.
What a night of celebration in the Mac house. Game is at 8:0o p.m. Grant is going to bed at 7:50! For those keeping score, the Patiots first preseason game is on Thursday the 7th. Outstanding. What a wonderful time of year!

Grant is 38 weeks old. This means he's officially been out longer than he was in, since my little bug was in such a hurry to get here and see his Mommy that he was delivered at 37 weeks. I can't believe what a big boy I have already!

Taylor has had an epiphany about work tonight while we were giving Grant a bath. I'm not sure I understand it, but he's a happy man, so that makes me happy.

I want to go on the record as saying I'm totally over Miley Cyrus. She announced she's not having sex before she's married. Haven't we seen this show before? Fast forward five years and suddenly one of the Jonas brothers in the role of Justin Timberlake selling her out on 20-20 saying they've been fornicating for years. Suddenly, people won't touch her with a 10 foot pole, she's married to Federline and has a reality show called Chaotic. Why Miley? Don't you learn? Don't people watch others and see them fall apart and think, "wow, I'll be smart enough to keep my bedroom to myself"? I guess not. She's a goner! Plus, she has recently recorded a cover of "Girls Just Wanna Have Fun". I'm tired of that song in general, but I'm really not thrilled with a remake by Miley. She needs to go away. Bye-Bye Hannah Montana!

Time for some countdown updates:

Olympics start in 10 days. We'll be breaking the no television for Grant rule starting 8-8-08 as I am an Olympaholic! I'll even watched synchronized diving! I really love all the swimming, gymnastics, and beach volleyball (women's-and if you think it isn't a sport, watch Walsh and Mays-Trainer. They are incredible!). I'll watch anything and everything I can get my remote control on.

60 days until NKOTB! I'm looking for a great new concert outfit and I'm considering crimping my hair to relive the 1980's.

My life is AWESOME!

Emilie is mad at me because I haven't blogged in so long. Indeed, she is correct, I've been delinquent and so will give you a list of the randomness that has been my life and or thoughts I've had over the last few weeks

• I hate concentrated laundry detergent. I like to pretreat stains using detergent and when the detergent is concentrated I don't have enough to use on all of the stains...and with my boys, we have lots of stains. Can't I save the earth in some other way?
• Good Luck to sweet Jeniffer tomorrow. Just keep swimming!
• Alexander is back next weekend. How fast time goes.
• Chevy wants men to stop shaving and women to stop washing their hair. Honest.
• Grant has popped three teeth so far with one more on the way. He's been a great kid fighting through them.
• Taylor is really annoyed that it is shark week on Discovery channel. Still, we're both perfectly excited for the shark week mythbusters.
• the grass has been growing very well. we've been watering like mad people and have what can actually be called grass at this point! Take that Brian!
• Summer is going so fast-I couldn't be more depressed about it.
• Work is going very well so far. I really like the people I work with now. My transition has been pretty easy and I'm looking forward to getting more involved in projects.
• I had a great few weeks off. Grant and I had many adventures and play dates galore! Some of our favorites included Julie, Jim and baby Frances, Tina and baby Connor, and the Janus family.
• I really can't stand Manny. It isn't just because he's a Red Sox, because there are plenty of those guys I like and who I think have class, it's because he's a thug! He is just a pain in the rear! Ask Taylor about his theory regarding Manny's pine tar.
• I really, really, really (!) love my new car. I haven't been calling her Betsy as I planned. She still needs a name, but i think it will come to with time, just like Oprah did.
• we had a great weekend. Swim class was fun, as always, and then we were off to visit Taylor's family. Pam got a new computer (and may be our newest reader) and so Taylor wanted to help get her up and running. I was able to get some great shopping done at the same time. Grant got to go on his very first boat and seemed to enjoy it.
• Doogie Howser now does a commercial all about being a fake doctor. It was, as Barney Stinson would say, "Awesome"

Bed time! Night!

file this under the category of be careful what you wish for...

hydro seeding needs to be watered a minimum of twice a day. with the six hoses we use, that takes about 1.5 hours a time. my husband is a saint! I try to help-but he is really the man with the plan. think cool afternoon rain storms!

Hi Friends!
All is well in the world of Heather. I'm enjoying my time off. I consider this time home with Grant a little gift from the heavens! He's so much fun right now! He's also exhausting! I'm much more tired now being home with him full time than a "normal" work week! He's getting so big and learning new things every day. He's got two teeth now! He's still working on crawling-he gets up on his hands and knees and rocks-which we know is the step right before taking off! He's funny too! I hope many of you get to visit with him soon!

The house is getting busy! They've been working hard on our yard. We have a lovely driveway that has been paved. they finished the grading and have layed down the loom. they also run the rake thing over the finished area to get ready for the hydro seeding. I'm hoping they do that today and so we can be done with the construction zone! Grant and I have enjoyed watching all that is going on, but we've missed being able to sit out on the deck and the sounds of the noise makes it tough for the little man to take naps!

We start swim classes tomorrow. We're so excited! I've never taken a formal swim class, so maybe I'll learn something with the little guy! All the classes at the Y have funny little names and ours is called "Skip" class. Grant thinks "skip class" is the funniest thing he's ever heard-so if he doesn't like the class at least he's gotten plenty of giggles at the name. Worth the money and more! Hopefully we'll get some pictures to share.

Welcome Betsy MacFarlane! Betsy is our new car. She's about 48 hours old. Betsy is a 2009 Subaru Forester and I love her! She's silver (I know-why did I pick silver?) and the 2.5i premium. 2009 is a redesign for the Forester and it is a whole new car! I would have never looked at the old one, but Betsy and her friends are so cute! We're very happy together and look forward to a very very long relationship!

Hey Friends! I know many of you wonder why I haven't had too much to say in recent days. Things here have been rather stressful. Work for me has been a nightmare. But, the good news is that is all over! I've found a new job that I'm really excited about and yesterday I got to walk into the bosses office and hand over my letter of resignation and leave. I'm so excited!!!!!

So, now I'm taking a few weeks off before I start my new position. It is still in Alumni Relations, so I'll be similar things to what I was doing. I'm happy and excited and really looking to taking a little bit of time off to spend with Grant-man. So, if you're around where I live in the next few weeks and want to spend some time with me and the little dude, we would love to see you! We're going to work hard to finish getting the house unpacked and things put away, work on mommies tan and keeping Grant baby white, and having some fun!

The average American eats 160 bowls of cereal per year. I eat zero bowls of cereal per year. turns out, just like the song, I am anything but ordinary!

side note:Grant has started sleeping through the night! six nights in a row so far. He still wakes up sometimes, but usually just puts himself right back to sleep. last night, from 2:00 to 2:45 he played with his musical Ocean Wonders toy in his crib. I don't care if I never hear that song again! He's such a cutie!

If you get a second today, go online and watch Luke Russert on the Today Show this morning talking to Matt Lauer. What an amazing kid. Most of you know my fondness for Tim Russert and Taylor and Jen will tell you I spent much of my weekend watching tributes to him--even letting Grant be in the room with television so I could keep watching. When you see Luke and hear him talk about his dad you just feel so happy for him having 22 years of that incredible relationship and simply devastated at the same time knowing he has to make the rest of his life's journey without his father as a compass. Matt even called him "Tim" accidentally at one point and the kid took it in stride. The photo of him on the Meet the Press set Sunday is enough to make anyone's heart ache. I'll keep Tim as my news husband even though he has passed. Anderson Cooper can wait a little longer-Tim's shoes are far to big for him to fill!

I'm a sleepy girl! Grant has been doing some weird things with sleeping lately. The good news is, he's pretty much dropped that last nighttime feeding (or at least it comes after 4:00 am). He still wakes up around 2-3 every morning and on good days he goes right back to sleep and on bad days, like the last few, he's up crying his head off! Saturday night he was up from 3:30 until 5:00 and cried to the point that Taylor closed Grant's bedroom windows for fear of waking the neighbors! Kids got a nice set of lungs when the spirit moves. This morning he was up for the day at 5:00. I got him out of bed at 5:30 and he was more than ready for his nap when I dropped him off at daycare a little before 8:00. I wish I could have laid down for an hour or two of sleep too! Oh well!

Today is golf day at my old job. I miss it!

Happy Belated Father's day to any of my readers. Granty got Dad a tie. Daddy gets a tie for Daddy day. It is how it goes. He also made him this neat little thing of nuts at daycare that Taylor has been enjoying munching on all weekend. His big gift was this fancy sprinkler think that he wanted-though we still have no lawn. not bad for a little boy with no allowance!

we went to RI to visit with Taylor's family yesterday. we went to some seafood place for lunch (I happily had one of the few non-seafood dishes-the "Angus" burger!). G's doctor gave him the all clear to start trying some finger foods and so after his jar of "Country Dinner" (chicken and brown rice) he munched on the potato from some of my fries. He was so excited to gum on those bad boys! He probably got less than a half of a teaspoon of actual potato, but it help him busy and happy through most of the meal, and Grammie was excited because I let her hold him and feed him yummy fry guts too! He also tried his first cheerios this weekend and made quick work of those. watching his face as he tries new things is amazing! still, the best face was when he grabbed my mint chip ice cream cone on Memorial Day. The mint and the cold really shocked him but he was so excited and went back for as much as mom would let him have. Aunt Jenny has the photos on her camera (old school film!), so when they get back I'll share them with the group.

I skipped book club on Saturday to hang out with the boys and I just got an email that says we aren't meeting again until September because summer is too hard. I'm so bummed! I haven't been since October -mostly because we have had a bad time with scheduling. I've only missed two meetings. It seems so wrong that it will be almost a full year. I love those girls, but more the fun conversation that come with the group. Plus, i get to read a book for me! for fun! and it has no pictures! I think maybe Grant and I will go to the library tonight and look at books for mommy. Grant has a library in his room (seriously-the kid has well over 200 books on his shelf I would guess) and is about to inherit all of the books me and my brother Rob had as kids when we go to Maine in July. Holy Moly! We're going to need a whole new room just for books! We'll have to finish our basement sooner than we planned!

There is a random meeting in the room next to me right now about FBI background checks. I love sitting right next to the conference room!

how are you my readers? I miss you!

something to entertain the masses...

Hello Friends! Thank you all for the great birthday wishes. I loved the cards, flowers, and especially the awesome purse from my two boys. I was spoiled and thank each of you from the bottom of my heart.

Survived commencement this weekend. The Class of 2008 is in the books and my alumni group just got 200 people larger. I'm such a proud alumni momma! Hopefully they will come to all of my events and even give! we'll see.

Had lunch with some special gals on Friday. was nice to have the gang back together even for an hour, and was such a bonus for me since I didn't think I could make it. They are a motivating group of women. and, we went to Friendly's, so what could be better.

Getting ready for the fun wedding this weekend of Alex and Carrie. Nice to see that he got himself a nice Johnson girl in the end! We really are the greatest! I have no idea what I'm wearing. Anyone think that is a problem? What does one wear to a wedding at 10:00 am? I'm really looking forward to wedding cake...

So excited for the girls and their boys to come. Krissy and Matt will be here tomorrow and are even coming to an alumni event with me. work is so much more fun with friends! Jenny and Brian get here on Friday. What a fun weekend we will have, even with no chairs in our house!

I hate my hair right now :(

Grant is Half today! Yeah big boy!

Here is a photo of he and Mommy on Mommy Day Sunday

Not the best photo of his life, but the only one of baby and mommy from the day. Papa was a baby hog in OSV (which was fine with everyone involved-especially Grant!), so we didn't get tons of photos. Such a cutie in his whale finery! You should see his shoes (Thanks Auntie K!).

To Quote Mary Chapin Carpenter and my best friend from high school's yearbook quote
"Somepeople say that you shouldn't tempt fate and for them I cannot disagree. But I never learned nothing from playing it safe, I say fate should not tempt me--I take my chances!"
So screw fate-I bought my New Kids tickets! Seeing the boys in September! YAHOO!!!
It also seems like there is a great TWW quote about tempting fate, but I think it is in latin so...

I'm such a mommy-I just opened my purse for something and found a pair of Grant's socks. And I was excited about it. I love that kid!

Happy Birthday to Emilie and Julie! Two very special and important ladies in my life.

Fate is a cruel, cruel woman. New Kids on the Block finally announced their Boston tour date and I have to work! Life just isn't fair! I've been waiting over 20 years to see them in concert and it is the one event I just can't get out of! Not cool.

Like Father Like Son

We love the NFL Draft!

"If you want your life to be a great story, remember you are the author." -John Maxwell

G-man loves peas! Sweet peas are sweet when you're G! Yum!

We had a great weekend. Grant is so much fun right now. He just giggles and laughs. He beat tummy time this weekend! He kept getting in trouble for not spending enough tummy time and not rolling over. Well, Saturday he decided he knew how to roll over. He had done it here and there and with lots of encouragement. Saturday afternoon he just started doing it like a nut. He literally rolled over 20 times in a row. Now it is just a thing he does that is no big deal like he's been doing it forever. It is the coolest thing! I really love this kid!

Jen and Krissy and their boys all have plane tickets to come for Bricker's wedding. It's real! It's happening! We can't wait to see them. We're already making a list of all the things we need to do before everyone comes to the house. The first thing-TOILET PAPER HOLDERS (TAYLOR-PUT THESE UP!!!). It should be a super fun weekend.

So, it is 9:30 and that means my bedtime. I understand that makes me a loser, but ask that you understand that I'm up at least twice a night still with the kid. I haven't slept more than 2.5 hours straight in a very long time! Night Night!

Randomness...

• why does music sound better in the summer?
• I love my blackberries-I love my husband!
• first ice cold Nantucket Nectors Lemonade of the season.
• Feta Cheese is reason enough to have G be an only child.
• can't help singing along with my iPod today-my coworkers hate me!
• I have inherited a second job to do while doing my own. I'm trying to cut down my hours not increase!
• Julie is such a thoughtful friend!
• It is a Pina Colada on the deck kind of night. If only I had chairs on the deck, or in the kitchen, or at the bar, or really anywhere in my house!
• one hour until I get to go get my baby!
• birthdays galore coming up in May. may buy stock in Hallmark!
• Tina's having a boy and is naming him Connor. Glad she finally knows-I've known for weeks and been afraid I would tell her.
• I miss my old coworkers so much!
• Planning a trip to Italy that I'm not going on --yes--another one!
• rediscovering my love affair with flavored seltzer water. yum!
• blue raspberry jolly ranchers are the greatest.
• Everybody Hurts and Spilled Perfume are my Desperado.
• What's a Wicked Wango Card?
• I can't see a single space of wood on my desk.
• 80 degrees today. Grant didn't know the temperature went above 40 until last week. Gotta love New England!
• I think I might have a tape worm.
• I gave up the chance to have Del's today so I could wait and have it with Taylor. That's love.
• Remember when Alanis was angry? that was great!
• I'm making a to do list-but not actually getting anything crossed off. depressing.
• I wish I was puddle jumping at Wheaton with Jeniffer today. Why did we spend a day doing that? Taylor lost his jacket in Knapton that day because he was distracted by the wackiness that is me and J.J.
• I wonder when I started calling her J.J.-and why!
• Kellen Clemens kid got kissed by the Pope yesterday. Think that makes the Jets unstoppable this year? Nah-maybe if it was the good Pope...
• I love how country music is trendy now. where were all of you 10 years ago?
• If Grant were allowed to watch television, tonight we would be watching the Muppets take Manhattan
• Cleaned up on the chach at my benefits fair yesterday
• the baby is moving up diaper sizes this week. I think he won't be a "swaddler" anymore and will be a "cruiser". it is enough to make me cry. He's a "big big boy"
• Did you know Big Bird (and my new boss) are from Ohio?
• Time to find out what Barbara is having for dinner so I can copy cat (Pizza-easy enough)
• One of two left in the building.

Happy Birthday (and good job walking!) Fletcher!

Happy Anniversary Taylor. The year of fruit...

cake for breakfast... See-coworkers really do serve a purpose in life-it is to have birthdays!

there was a dump truck and a backhoe in my yard when I left for work today. this can only be a positive sign for the creation of my yard!

filed our taxes last night at 10:00. Keeping my money as long as possible before I give it to George and his boys!

I live in the middle of a construction zone! they aren't building houses right now...they are breaking apart rocks with a jackhammer on the front of a bulldozer. Yeah-that is about as quiet as it sounds. no big deal really, unless you've got a 5 month old desperate for a nap! He got a good 30 minutes in before they hit a really big rock and woke him up. Luckily, we ran some errands in the car, so he was able to get a nice rest there. Back home now (obviously) and we saw the rock breaker guy leaving for lunch. Grant is happy-as he is still napping! Thank god for small miracles!

Yes, it is Monday. Yes, I'm home today. Grant's daycare is having some medical tests preformed today, so I get a bonus day with the Babe! We've been productive so far today. We dropped off the dry cleaning, got the car inspected, mailed a package, went to the bank and had lunch. I've made brownies while he is sleeping and when he wakes and eats, we're off again visiting friends. Taylor will be at work very late tonight (it's that time of the month) so G and I don't even have to worry about getting home in time to make dinner. We're looking forward to some fun visits!

Speaking of funny-Grant started baby food yesterday. He had been having rice cereal and baby oatmeal. Yesterday we added carrots to the mix. He likes carrots about as much as I like carrots-which is not very much at all! why do people cook carrots? they belong raw and in the baby form. But, that is neither here nor there-he was super funny eating them. Taylor managed somehow to get some up his nose! he was covered in orange. Sadly for him, he's got 3-5 days of carrots before he gets to move on to the next veggie of choice. I hear they start to like things by the third day or so. I hope he does learn to like carrots-he's fighting an uphill battle with eyesight and could use all the help he can get.

remember when my blog used to be funny and cleaver? I miss those days too. Perhaps once i sleep in stretches that are longer than 2 hours I'll find the funny again.

Yes-there will be cake at the birthday party. It is a babes first party-there will be cake. there will be cake on the kid, on the floor, on the dog, you name it! I will be partaking in said cake and will be excited about it. I'll miss Jenny, who usually gives me the frosting from her cake (and admittedly, I sometimes give her the cake from my frosting), but we'll soon be caking it up together at Bricker's wedding! At least, I assume there will be cake...it is a 10:00 am wedding though...I'm calling for conformation later this evening! all of this cake talk is making me hungry! I'm going on a food hunt and hoping for cake in the dining hall!

G-man got invited to his first party! Friend Fletcher is turning one! What to bring for a gift, what to bring to add to the time capsule (that's the theme), what to wear! Such big decisions for such a tiny guy!

longest. week. ever.
I don't even remember Monday anymore. It is possible I'm wearing the same pants today that I wore then...they're clean so I guess I really don't care. Just an observation!

nothing big going on this weekend. one of Grant's little friend's and her parents are coming over tomorrow to get some boxes. they're moving because they're having a baby (she's secret baby 4-not a secret anymore) so I volunteered our boxes in an effort to force us to unpack. Sadly, we have a neat recycling program with our trash company where we get points good for gift certificates for the weight of our recycling. We would have probably received a ton for all the boxes, but it seems a better idea to actually save the earth than to just pretend to by recycling.

we bought school house rocks on dvd for Grant. We're trying to find out how to pull the audio from a dvd so we can play it for him on our iPods. Grant isn't allowed television, so if any of you know how to do this, give us a call and become our hero!

it's raining here and I'm tired of it. I love my super quick baby walks with G-man after work and we certainly can't get them in with weather like this. I think the air is good for him. Helps him sleep better-or at least pretend to sleep better! I think Sunday is supposed to be a better day. I long for spring!

wow! no comments on the eating picture. I thought that face was worth a million words! You should see the faces now-sheer joy! unfortunately, Taylor has trained Grant to hate the camera because he chases him around the house with it all the time, so whenever he sees it all of the joy slides away. We may never have a photo of him being a smiley boy!

NKOTB, by the way, is a reference to New Kids on The Block who are going on tour again after 20 years. I was their target market then and I am their target market now. They've got the right stuff, baby!

NKOTB BABY!

Promised eating picture...food is yucky!

make that almost secret four...and then as of this morning, officially secret four. see previous notes about not you or me...

Apparently, if you know me, you get pregnant. This is much like affect on animals at the zoo. I've got photo proof to show that I'm an animal aphrodisiac. I'm definitely not chaperoning any school field trips...no one wants to answer those questions to a bus full of 2nd graders!

despite my awesome few round of the NCAA tournament, I believe that I'm out, or all but out of my 16 person pool. Yes, I predicted three great upsets in the beginning, but Tennessee really messed me up. I've got two teams left in the final four (UCLA and Kansas) but it doesn't look good. The real problem with the bracket is if you pick all chalk you get hammered by people for being a front runner, but in the end, these teams are highly ranked for a reason. That's okay-I'm still proud of San Diego and West Virginia. And I'm still bummed about Davidson...and the sad thing about the tournament is that while everyone is excited when there aer 64 teams, but time it gets to four almost no one has a chance at winning their bracket and so no one really cares in the end who wins. Go UCLA just because someone should still be excited for you!

For those keeping score, I'm feeling better. I've got a voice again, though it isn't fully back. Still, it is no where near as bad as it was on Friday morning when I was trying to leave a message for work that said I wasn't coming in. I was afraid they wouldn't be able to even understand what I was saying! A few good naps and a nice bath in the big girl tub later and I'm on the road to recovery! If only our dvd player had been hooked up (or you know, found in the pile of box rubble) and I could have watched The West Wing...

I think Victoria Beckham is an unattractive woman. I'm sure she's got a hot body, but her face is just ugly and her hair is so severe! She's not my spice girl of choice.

Don't mind me...the cold has taken over my brain! Things stopped making sense 4 hours ago!

Houston-we have cereal! The photos are a riot. We'll upload some over the weekend so you can all play along in the battle of Heather versus the slightly less sleepless monster. This stuff must taste gross given the look on his face, but he's catching on now and is starting to get the fact that we swallow food, not mush it all over instead. too funny!

I've got a third secret pregnancy now. It is still not you or me though, no worries!

Making some predictions now.
I'm taking Brooke in American Idol. I don't see television, but I've seen her perform once and I like her, so she's my gal. Sadly for her, I'm only right every other year and I picked Jordan Sparks. She will likely go the way of Katherine McPhee-second place is first loser.
For DWTS I would like to take Marlee Matlin because she's from the West Wing. However, she's deaf and so this gig is going to be up eventually. I think I'll take Jason Taylor because he's hot. Why not?
And I don't think Sarah Chalke (Second Becky) is the mother on How I Met Your Mother. Just an observation. and how excited and I that Scrubs is getting picked up for an eight season by ABC. I love that show. It is funnier than anyone anywhere gives it credit for.

I've become obsessed with playing scrabble online on facebook. if you want to play with me, I'm more than happy to play. I'm always playing at least three games at a time...though Jen's silly husband (we don't say stupid-it isn't nice) isn't willing to play with me :(

Great dinner last night with Julie! Who knew that working late could have perks. Of course, after dinner I went to a meeting where two of the eight people actually fell asleep. Yeah-my job is so important...

best quote ever
"mothers are the ones who love you even when you pull their hair"
I love my mother! call yours!

my. kid. never. sleeps.
ever.
this means I never sleep.
I like sleep.
I miss sleep.
I'm tired.

On another note, my bracket is in and I've picked UCLA to win it all. I'm not sure why, but I have. That said, I still pull for Tennessee every year because they are the Volunteers and my summer work-study student goes to school there. Little Megan (that's what we called her) was a sweetheart, so I assume all Vols are too. Plus that yummy Peyton Manning...

and football talk leads me to this troubling statement...I planned an event on draft weekend. I know! Unheard of! I already had to come in for a big part of the day, so planned a new meeting at the same time to take away an additional Saturday away from the baby. sadly, this means I'll miss at least the first 10 draft picks. This is Grant's first draft! I would so much rather miss Easter. Draft day is a family holiday for us. I hate how I'm letting my boys down.

Easter Parade is this weekend in our neighborhood. G-man is too small to participate in the egg hunt or march in the parade, but we'll toss him in a stroller and take him down to show him off and hopefully meet some more people. I think he might wear his I like turtles outfit. It looks like a baby Lilly outfit-Emilie will especially like it!

I work for the Catholics-I should have today and monday off. If I never switched jobs, I would have to day and monday off. I miss my old work. I'm quite literally the only person on the floor of my house at work. I'm thinking of trying to organize an Easter candy hunt for those of us left behind.

Jumping back to bracket talk, my friend JT picked UNLV to win it all. She's obviously not a sports person and tends to pick based on funny names and good school colors. This time she picked using UNLV as an acronym...U. Need Louis Vitton. Seriously. This is why I simply adore her. I took Temple in round one because of Alexander. I hear he's having a horrible, terrible, very bad day. I also took Clemson because I think all schools should have orange as a school color and ND because I'm keeping the Catholic school pride alive.

Lunch meeting in a few. I can only assume it will be a soup day because the students aren't here but the cafeteria is open. This means they'll try to pawn off all kinds of gross things on us in Faculty Dining. As long as the soup isn't clam chowder I'm all set.

Hoping to get my hair cut tomorrow. I've got a half an inch of roots. Motherhood is slowly killing me. I don't shave my legs everyday anymore-which I've been doing since I was 12 and the only time I've ever had distinctive roots showing was in my first trimester of pregnancy when I couldn't get my hair colored. I look terrible.

I know of two secret pregnancies right now. It is the coolest! It isn't you or anyone any of you know (and trust me-it isn't me) but both are super exciting. I can't wait to hug these girls when I officially know. I've got a bunch of other pregger friends (I would have said knocked up-but that bugs Julie :) ) too. It is a fun time. I hope they all sleep a lot now.

God I'm tired! I love him, but he is killing me. I would estimate about 5 hours sleep total in the last 3 days. No more than an hour at a time. He goes to the doctor tomorrow and hopefully they let him start some cereal. I think the kid is hungry. and my boobies sure could use some help!

I'm stuffing envelopes for the day while another woman raises my child. explain to me again how life is fair?

"Noone puts Baby in the corner!" Pray for Patrick!

Happy Grant news! Grant is proud to announce he has officially moved into not only his new house, but his new room and his new big boy crib! He misses sleeping in the room with his Mommy and Dad, but is happy to be away from his big mouth kitties who like to wake him up! Sleep tight everyone!

Bye-Bye Brett! Bring on Aaron Rodgers baby! Sorry Taylor, know he was your "keeper" but I'm so happy to see him go! YAHOO!

Happy Leap Day!
To celebrate, here is a list of things I'm currently excited about (in no particular order):

• I have a sugar bowl
• I have a pantry in which to keep sugar
• My baby is finally feeling better and may be able to stop using the nebulizer
• I just had a killer visit with my best friend (she's the greatest!!!)
• It is the end of the day on friday
• My temporary washing machine comes tonight
• Grant has a crib!
• 12 inches of snow overnight means I'm stuck at home and don't have any pressure to go anywhere or do anything
• It doesn't matter if pajama pants are wrinkled
• A bath in the big girl tub
• Warm weather scheduled for next Sunday's parade
• Pizza Friday
• No pumping until Monday
• Spring break means good parking spaces
• NO MORE APARTMENT LIVING!

Hope you have a great weekend!

My 250th Post! If I were a television show, I would do some type of flashback monatage showing scenes from past episodes. Instead, I'll share fun photos of my baby becoming a big boy! Granter rolled over yesterday! Yes, he had been rolling over when he was super little-like 3 weeks old-but then he stopped for about 6 weeks. I think he his weight and size caught up with him and he realized he was a tiny baby and he shouldn't have been rolling over yet. Now at three months he is still a little early in the process for rolling over, but it is more age appropriate. Taylor was home with him while he did it (and of course Mommy missed it because she was at work-the first of many milestones I'm sure I'll miss) and remarkably had the camera in his hand. Here is the action series for your enjoying pleasure.

Please note-no blog entries for a few days. We close on the house on Thursday and then we'll be moving (with the help of JJ up from DC! Can't wait to see you babe!) and so not only will we be busy, we won't have borrowed internet to use anymore! Wish us luck!

Happy post VD! Hope you had a nice one. We did our traditional calzone dinner, though very late because Taylor's had a super nutty busy week at work. Today was his big meeting, so hopefully life will settle down for him. I'm looking forward to seeing him tonight!

Did you know that Christina Agulara is now living in Ozzy Ozbourne's old house-the one from the television show? I loved that show! I could watch it for hours at a time. Remember when Ozzy threw the ham? or how excited Jack was that the McRib was back? That was the kind of quality television you just don't see much of these days! Good for Christina-I think it is a house filled with good karma, and neighbors who are really happy for the change!

G-man is still doing well. Not too much new to report with him. He is loving daycare it seems and I have fallen head over feet in love with one of the little girls who goes there. She is always there when I drop him off and she and I are good buddies now. I think that a four year age difference isn't too much for them to overcome and so I'm looking forward to her becoming my daughter in law in about 25 years! Here are photos of the little guy from last weekend. He likes his Bumbo seat and has also decided he is a thumb sucker!

Praise Be! I made it to work by 1:00 and the Writers Strike is finally over. New television by April and my skid across the ice didn't end up with drama. Two great things to celebrate on this ridiculously rainy and gross afternoon.

My boy is the only kid at daycare today. How sad for Grant (and Grant's mommy). I like to think that just means he'll get lots of love today. It is "Love Month" at Miss Laura's. I need to get Valentines for him to put in the mailboxes of all of his little friends tomorrow. Seriously, even the three year old is going to understand that G-Man didn't write these himself, just like I'm going to understand that he didn't bake the "love brownies" they are sending home tomorrow. He's pretty busy having other people do things for him for someone who is just three months old. It's a tough life bossing around the adults!

I'm trapped in my apartment! I can't make it up the hill in the crappy weather with my crappy car. I am so ready to move! I'm currently a "little ball of rage"!

Today's word of the day is Noun. A noun is a word that is a person, place, thing, or idea.
Grant sucks his thumb. Grant is the (proper) noun in the sentence.

Grammie and Papa came to visit today. They brought Grant a Bumbo seat-he is so stinking cute in it! We'll post pictures soon.

I survived my first week! Going home to pick up my baby boy and not put him down once for the next 48 hours!

G-Man and I do a word of the day every day. We've had some meaningful ones, some silly ones, and some random ones (my favorite is still galoshes!). Todays word of the day is relief and the sentence we'll use to explain it to him is "What a relief that the weekend is here!" Go celebrate family time with your families tonight!

Thanks for the flowers Jenny! You are the best friend a girl could ask for!

I'm Back!

That's right readers, Heather is back! Are you too excited for words? You should be! Writing while on maternity leave was too much, but today is my first day back at work so I thought I would give a quick hello and let you know that I plan to update my blog once more. Now, don't expect it to be a daily blog (despite the name) but I'll do my best to keep you entertained with the antics Heather and the rest of the fam!



For today, it is going to be random list of things that seem strange now that I'm back in the "real" world. What a place to be

• A desktop computer with a mouse and a full size keyboard. 12 weeks without one and I'm a disaster trying to type!
• Fast internet-when you don't borrow it from a neighbor the web is an amazing place to visit
• people outside of my house are talking about Super Bowl ads. I don't remember seeing them and that seems like it was months ago and I suppose it was only days...
• For the first time in my life, my vote counted!
• There is going to be a whole generation of girls who freak out when they find out they can't get an epidural because they have a tramp stamp. haha!
• Take a baby anywhere and you are like a rockstar

CIS is coming to update my computer, so I have to stop for now...perhaps I'll add to the list as time goes on...

and for those interested in seeing the baby...here is my current fav photo! God I miss him!

Hello Blog Readers,


I've decided to take a blogging hiatus. I'm not really very funny right now and nothing is happening in my life. I don't want to write exclusively about the baby and that is what my life exclusively is. I'm blessed to have everything I've ever wanted in my life right now-I have always known the job I was born to have was mother. I feel, however, that it often comes across like I am complaining about aspects of motherhood when I blog, so I'm taking some time off. It is important that you understand that it is not my intention to whine or complain as I am living my dream, but since I use my blog as a live-journal I no longer feel that I should write, as I am giving my readers the wrong impression of my life. I feel it is better to not write at all than to try to find things to write about that are meaningless to me or aren't a true reflection of me and my life.

Fear not! I'll return when I feel I can more accurately express my thoughts and feelings. Thanks for being loyal readers and I hope you'll return when Heather's Daily Rant comes back. In the meantime, if you wander how my days are spent, rest assured that I'm typing this one handed with a beautiful baby quietly sleeping on my chest :)