I Hope Norah Got His Genes

Word from the wise, only play Andy in Scrabble if your pride needs some checking. Has anyone ever played a true scrabble (where one uses all 7 letters)? And who even knows what the word "novation" even means?

30s

Being in your thirties is like being a tree that blossoms and bears fruit at the same time.
Except, instead of blossoms it's pimples.
And instead of fruit it's gray hairs.

Mom these stripes clash and it makes me sad

I Need to Give a Huge Shout Out to Carrie Rainey

Click here to see how Me + Andy = Booya.

31 Reasons Why I Love My Husband (Okay, Okay, I'll Narrow it Down)

10. He wears this green striped hooded sweatshirt that was cool for 16 year-old skaters to wear about 5 years ago and doesn't care that I think it's ugly.

9. He doesn't get mad at me when I spend $60 on a white noise machine for Norah even though we're flat broke.

8. He LOVES changing Norah's diaper.

7. He writes little love notes on Post-It notes and places them in conspicuous places. Like, one time I opened the fridge and read a note that said, "Me + You = Booya."

6. One time I got a note in the mail. It was a phone call message form taped to a 3X5 card. It read, "JT called. He said he wants his sexy back."

5. He actually wears the pajama bottoms I made for him for Valentine's Day last year.

4. He says words like hugsies and snugglesies.

3. He lets me cut his hair.

2. He spends a bazillion hours studying so he can kick booty in school and hopefully get a good job.

1. Then he comes home and takes care of Norah so I can have a break.

0. Then he wakes up early in the morning and does it all over again.

-1. He doesn't make me feel like an idiot when I misuse words like "literally."

-2. He gave me Norah.



And the number -3 reason why I love my husband . . .

He loves me, thinks I'm great, and literally worships the ground I walk on. I'm pretty dang lucky. Happy Birthday, Sweetie!

Quantum Leap?

Our friend, Bruce, sent an email to Andy with the following two questions and photo.

First question: Where were you circa 1940?
Second question: Are you a time traveler?



Do you see him?

Andy has a fascination with iTouches. He wants one so bad. I now know why--his name is actually Sam and he leaped into the year 2010 married to me. Al is nowhere to be found and Sam is desperate to leap out of this nightmare and he figures that with an iTouch he can get in touch with Ziggy. Surely there's an app for that.

My Kid Can Beat Up Your Honor Student (Not That She Would)

So last week I was giving Norah tummy time which she absolutely hates and it only lasts about 45 seconds at a time because I'm a first-time mom and still hate to listen to her cry (or even whimper). When out of nowhere she rolled over! I couldn't believe my eyes. I was so happy for her. I kissed her, played with her, made her do it again, then immediately googled to see at what age most babies roll over. I was sure she was so early--I mean, she's only three months old. I was thinking to myself while I was searching, "My baby is so smart and strong and coordinated. Surely she's going to be an athlete of Olympic caliber someday."

Turns out three months is normal.

Our life

Thanks for the book Abby!

Norah loves milk!

Norah and Andy take five on the set.

The pink ladies
Norah is a soprano, we have discovered.

No Offense, Lyric and Emily

Does a nickname just come naturally?

I mean, should it flow from the brain to the tongue and out the mouth like honey (I guess honey doesn't flow from the brain, but you feel me, right?) or should it be premeditated and require conscious repetition in order for the name to stick? Andy has been trying to think of the perfect nickname for Norah for the past . . . well, 10 1/2 weeks. And me? I've got a few honey-like names--Norah Jorah, No Jo, and, most often, Sweetie Sweetzers. Andy disapproves of the latter primarily because, "it sounds like something Lyric (my sister) would say." Not that he has a problem with that--it's just that he says we can't claim it as our own. Further, he swears never to call her by that name even though I think it flows and is appropriate. His attempts at a nickname, however, are Ladybug (which he's maybe called her once) and Cutie Buttons (which sounds like something our friends Bruce and Emily Hinchey would call each other as a joke).

If anyone besides the Hincheys has any nickname suggestions, feel free to throw 'em out there. Lyric once called Norah Peanut, but then found out that she's in the 95th percentile for height and weight. The name was quickly changed to Cashew, which still might not be accurate.

As for me, Sweetie Sweetzers has stuck. I say it all the time. And considering Andy is a dialogue sponge, I'm sure that name will flow off his tongue sooner or later. I mean, c'mon. Just look at her. Sweetie Sweetzers just fits. I'm sure you all agree.

As Per Request

Weepy Pee Pee

Question. My eyes water when I use the bathroom. I've been like this my whole life and assumed everyone was the same. I just figured there was some connection between my tear ducts and my urethra. Don't ask me. Andy has always made fun of me for this which naturally led to the assumption that he was the only person without this special connection. I mean, even Norah's eyes get all red when she pees. After further research online, it appears Norah and I are different from the rest of the world.

On to my question. Does this happen to you or anyone you know?

(I just want to prove to my sweet hubby that my Weepy Pee Pee Syndrome is nothing to worry about and that there are millions of WPPS sufferers out there.)

Reading Material Should Not Be Upholstered

I am posting mostly because I am tired of looking at ye olde scooter at the top of bucketsamoonbeams.

Wanna know what else I'm tired of?

• Paisleys,
  
• fleur-de-lees,
  
• doilies,
  
• rosies,
  
• posies,
  
• frenchy patterns,
  
• polka dots,
  
• ruffles,
  
• fancy stripes,
  
• curls,
  
• swirls,
  
• twirls,
  
• damasks, and
  
• paramecia.

The nature of fashion-ish trends in T-shirts and blogs is that once everybody has them, they won't be cool anymore and'll go outta style. So I guess Hilary and I who don't got no trendy blog wallpaper--designed by some woman in Utah Valley who couldn't make it into the cutthroat scrapbook industry but had too much creativity and graphic design talent to not design blog backgrounds--are the only holdouts. So the twirly swirly blinding blogs will live on.

I'm alright with it if you call me a hater. It's not that I'm a minimalist. It's not that I'm Mr. spartan anti-aesthetics. It's that I'm anti-trendytacky and anti-headaches. Reading material should not be upholstered.

So if you always wondered why Hilary's blog is so ugly, it's because of Andy.

(To be honest, most of me (probably the retired amateur folklorist) loves the interior design touches that so many awesome women I know do to their awesome blogs that celebrate and share the joys of their life and family. I just wanted to see if I still had the skills to rant about something.)

I do predict that the damask and doily blog craze reaches its apex soon.

Love, Andy