Breaking News

I joined Twitter. @PampersandPinot

I finally caved.

I did it. Took the plunge. Went all in. Didn't look back.

It has been interesting. I am still trying to figure things out, and I will surely expose myself as tech dumb eventually by making some mistake that I don't even realize is a mistake.

The best part has been seeing all these mom bloggers out there and recognizing who they are and TALKING to them! They really do talk to each other! It is cool.

(If you are on Twitter, but I have not found you yet, let me know in the comments here with your username.)

I had people giving me shout-outs like, "Yay! You're finally on Twitter!" and, "Hey everybody, there's an excellent blogger here who has been blogging for awhile, but she's new to Twitter!"

Thank yous go to the following for Twitter love!
Wonder Friend (@Missy_Stevens)
Tropical Mum (@TroppoMum)
Old Tweener (@OldTweener)
Woogsworld (@Woogsworld)
Things I Can't Say (@shellthings)
Where's My Glow? (@Glowless)
HelpMum! (@helpmum)
Multitask Mumma (@MultitaskMumma)
A Mountain Momma (@AMountainMomma)
My Time as Mom (@mytimeasmom)
Naked Girl in a Dress (@NkdGirlinaDress)


Also, Kelly from Naked Girl in a Dress chose my post on Friday, "Everyone Needs a Whack-a-Mole," as a feature for the week at her site! Thank you, Kelly!

Coincidentally, I am a little behind on returning comment love at blogs. But, I will keep doing my best! More excuses on my tardiness include: the husband is out of town, the maniac has not been at daycare, the maniac is (as I type) skipping his nap for the day, there is a wooden Thomas the Train track to put together (cuz I'm a sucker), and I have felt compelled to do really important things like clean up my tag cloud.

Sigh.

Cheers to social media!

Everyone Needs a Whack-a-Mole

"Mommy, can you buy me a Whack-a-Mole?"

I cannot tell you how many times I have heard this phrase in the last 48 hours. Repeatedly.

I kind of don't even know what to say to it.

"Ummm, sure, someday," I've said, hoping that satisfies things and I don't hear the question again.

But, moments later, "Will you buy me a Whack-a-Mole? Will you?"

"Well, if I see one sometime," I say perplexed, "Maybe I will."

(I have no intentions of buying a Whack-a-Mole.)

Moments later, "You buy me a Whack-a-Mole?"

"I have never seen s Whack-a-Mole toy that I can buy, but maybe if I see one someday, I will get it."

Even when picking him up from daycare, The Daycare Lady said, "He wants a Whack-a-Mole."

"Umm, yeah, I know. I don't know why he's so into this," I offhandedly say, amazed that this topic has persisted so strongly through the day.

As we walk to the car, I'm thinking, Can we move on to something else, please?

"Mommy, will you buy me a lobster?"

WTF??

Family Fun (Wordless Wednesday)

Whew! Been busy around here, so how about I share some photos from the last few days? Then, I can catch up on visiting other blogs, working on my novel, and generally lazing about. Enjoy!











And now, of course, some pictures that Parker took!

The Cat Did It!

Our son is an only. He has no one to blame when things go wrong. Or, at least that's what we thought. When you have this guy around, you have someone to blame:

Our cat is aptly named after the naughty house elf, Dobby, from the Harry Potter series.

The other night, it was time for Parker to use the potty before bed. Do you know the cushy insert that goes on the toilet to help a toddler stay above water? It was missing.

"Parker, what did you do with your cushy potty piece?" we asked.

"I don't know!" Parker shouted happily, and we thought suspiciously.

We did not believe him. He had done something with that potty ring, and we needed to find it. God only knew where it was!

"Parker! Where did you put it?" we continued.

"I don't know!" Parker asserted.

"You better remember where you put it. We need to find it," we said as we walked around the house, looking under beds, inside closets, behind toy boxes.

Then, we heard Parker shout, "Dobby has it!"

We laughed. Yeah right. Dobby has it. Good one.

We didn't hesitate for a moment and continued on our quest to find the damn thing. "Parker! Dobby does not have it! Where is it?!"

"Dobby has it! He does!" Parker shouted and giggled. The giggling didn't add to his believability. He just sounded like a really bad liar.

Then, my husband shouted, "Dobby does have it! Come look!"


Busted. Damn cat drinking the toilet water again.

Invitation to my Bedroom (Wordless Wednesday)

Today, the maniac is at daycare, and the husband is away.

I am spending the morning in my favorite place of the house. My bedroom. Well, technically, I guess it is "our" bedroom (my husband and me), but really, it is MY bedroom. He just gets half the bed. Almost half.

My other baby gets quality rest time with his mama:



This is my view as I lay in bed. I stare at the light coming in the windows.



This is the picture directly in front of me. No, it is not a portrait of me. It is Flaming June. She just looks just like I do right now. (Shout out to my dear, good friend, Jen, who sent me this!)



This is a painting I stare at as well. My dear Grandma painted this of my son.



My dear Grandma also painted this beautiful painting that hangs above our bed. It is my husband and me, at the beach.



My bedroom is a definite homage to relaxation. Is yours?

I'm linking up with Wordless Wednesday at Live and Love Out Loud.

Why do people visit my blog?

If you are a blogger, and you are ever bored, I highly suggest taking a look at recent keyword searches that have landed people on your blog. It can be interesting, funny, poignant, and scary all at the same time!

Interesting

Since the beginning of my blog, I have two phrases that repeatedly land people on my blog.

“How do you make love stay?” (along with some kind of Tom Robbins, Still Life with Woodpecker reference) I have blogged about Tom Robbins’ material here and here. I just never realized that so many people would have constant interest in this phrase and Tom Robbins together. The book was written in 1980, but must have some kind of cult following!

“If it wasn’t this, it’d be something else.” I blogged about this as being one of my favorite quotes from a movie, Elizabethtown. I find it interesting that people constantly search this entire phrase and share my love for it!

Funny


“shell shocked by colicky newborn” Well, whoever searched that came to the right place!!! I hear ya, been there, done that, and am blogging about it. If you choose "colic" on my search terms, you will come up with the following posts:
Are You Fixable?
Are You Cut Out to be a Mom?
Meet Your New Boss. He's Angry.
The New Mom 'Look'
THE Reflux
Are You Going to Have Another One?

“badoo montreal pee pee haha” WTF? This phrase landed on this post.

Poignant

“What to do when you don’t feel cut out to be a mother” Whoever this was, I feel for, and I’m so glad she found me and read my post on this subject. This is why I blog. Because I felt like this too, and I felt alone. We are all so not alone. We are connected in more ways than we realize.


Scary

“Little boys in big trouble with mom” Hmmm. What is this searcher’s intentions here? A little shady I think. Unfortunately, my blog ranked #1 on Google for this search term and landed someone on my post, “Little Kid, Big Trouble,” and I hope they were highly disappointed to merely read about myself as a child committing graffiti with this catchy line, “I’m a mean mother fucker from Sesame Street gonna kick your ass from street to street.”


Peace out.

Imitation of Life

The sound of brush on canvas was all she desired to hear. The tension of the day almost released through the quick movement of her hands. Her subject this time was the massive, breathtaking landscape of The Grand Canyon, but if you looked closely, the detail given to a pack mule was beyond intricate. She had spent countless hours perfecting this part of her current piece without quite understanding what drew her to it. As she banged the brush on the side of the easel, shaking off water, her husband walked in and stood behind her.

She could hear him breathing behind her, and then a low burp that he tried to mask by slowing blowing it out.

"What is that? Are you in here drawing a jackass?" he asked.

She said nothing and only waited for him to leave.

He chuckled. "A freaking donkey," he said, shaking his head and walking away.

We all carry our loads, she thought.



This was a piece for Red Writing Hood. Write a flash fiction of 300 words or less with the following inspiration: LIFE.