In My Other Life

In my other life I am a gardener.

I own many books on gardening and every year buy a few plants that inevitably don't make it to see the next year. I just bought another book, in fact, on the well-tended perennial garden to try to jump start my thinking for this summer's attempt at a garden.

Partly to blame is my lack of knowledge on the subject and the existing grounds I am trying to garden. The backyard (where I want this fantastic perennial garden) is primarily shaded and the dirt is thinned so much that tree roots are visible in some spots. Gooseneck (as lovely as it is) has taken over and from what I hear is very hard to extinguish. Then it turns into more work and less of a hobby.

I don't like dirt, bugs, being hot or spending hours pulling weeds that will be re-grown in a matter of days. BUT I love places like Grandma Judy's back yard that seem effortlessly perfect with blooms from spring through fall.

If anyone has suggestions, I'm all ears. Until then I'll be poring through my books and catalogs picking out plants to plant and kill during the 2008 growing season.

The Longest, Shortest Year of My Life

It sounds funny, but it's true - this has been the longest, shortest year of my life. Elliot turned 1 last Thursday and we had his cowboy birthday party Saturday. There were weeks that I never thought would end yet I can't believe it's already been a year.

We've come a long way (baby).... Born early and lovingly nicknamed Billy Rubins, he started out rough with numerous doctor visits, expensive formula to get the poop-train rolling along, reflux and a 3-day stay at a luxurious, all-inclusive resort (AKA Bryan East) for RSV, Pneumonia and an Ear Infection. All before he was 4 months old.

Our champ is now a mover and a shaker. Within the last month or so, he's learned to crawl, cruise and feed himself. Even better - within the last two weeks he's gotten over both the reflux and the milk intolerance! We're off the meds and transitioning to whole milk right now. He's an entirely different kid - and this guy's a hoot. (And it feels like we've hit the lotto since we don't have to fork out anymore for his stuff!)

Jen & family were here this weekend for his party and I think he learned a lot from Nathaniel and Isabella. He's louder, has more noises, crawls on the couch, crawls over top of obstacles and has maybe come to a realization that sippy cups are not the enemy. All of the kiddos learned the love of Valentino's pizza as well.

I will post pictures to flickr soon, I promise. The problem is that we have a huge memory stick in there so I have to have the patience to weed through 342 pictures to find the cutest ones good enough for the world to see. Can't that be hired out?

Our Little Handyman

Since we have been repainting the house over the last several weeks, I have been taking all the switch plates and outlet covers off the walls and then replacing them. Elliot has been a curious observer to all this activity. Last night I was installing his baby gate on the stairs (finally, I know). Elliot watched me from a distance for a while and then crawls right over and pulls the screwdriver out of my hands. He proceeds, to spin it around for a while and then notices one of the screws lying there so he picks it up in the other hand. Being the proud parent that I am I assume Elliot has figured out that you use this tool with these screws.

Alas, I was mistaken as Elliot proceeded to try to eat the screw. Maybe being a handyman isn't in his future.

My Family of Thieves

Fred exchanged a broken lamp for me at an un-named local retailer last weekend and got in the car snickering. Turns out someone stuffed a finial into the lamp box - Fred just stole a finial.

Fred "stole" something else a week or so ago.... I can't remember what but will add it when I get a chance to ask him about it.

A couple of weeks ago, I was buying a planner refill from a different un-named local retailer and gave it to Elliot to play with while I finished shopping. We checked out and as I was buckling him into his carseat noticed something funny and pulled the refill out of his coat. I don't even know how he got it in there.

Seems my boys have sticky fingers.

Growing Up Fast

I cannot believe Elliot is almost a year old. I further cannot believe this time last year how big, tired and uncomfortable I was. In the last two weeks he has come so far and has even grown (I swear it!) about an inch taller. I don't know that I'm ready to see him smash his face full of a milk-soy-protein-intolerance-friendly cake in his cowboy outfit.

NOTE: For you curious folk... Yes, I do know that Fred's birthday comes first and I already have that one in the bag. Somehow turning 28 just isn't as big a deal as turning 1.

What I am excited about is seeing Jen+Dave and the Craunlets for the entire weekend after his birthday! I really need to perfect my skills of teddy bear pancakes...

Saturday the 26th is an open-house type thing for my side of the family (F's side is always more than welcome too!) since they haven't seen the Crauns in years. That is open for visitors any time after 5:30 or so. We'll be serving cowboy-appropriate fare.

Not much else is going on around here. I am going to give running a try - yes, again - and have bought new shoes and some running gear with my Christmas money. Fred is training for the full marathon and printing out labels for his Elliot James Outlaw Lager and No. 710 Steam Beer. (Those, alone, might be reason enough to hit our party up!)

Well.. I can hear Fred lecturing Elliot on attempting to stand in the bathtub so I think it'd be wise to go check on those two.

Nothing New to Report

I'm feeling a little guilty that we haven't blogged in the new year but I am afraid there isn't much new to report. We have been busy working on the house for Elliot's first birthday and busy with work as usual. I did want to post the video below for everyone to consider in the upcoming primary election.