No For Real This Time... WHY is it 4:30AM?

There is a UK Band entitled "Insomnia," and I was going to link their video to this page. But it's basically just the words "I can't get no sleep," set to very annoying trance-style music that I probably would have liked much better ten years ago -- at 4:30AM.


In 2011, however, I like my pillow...


(See, you try to be creative and weird bands have to come out from the depths of the unknown to haunt you and, without-a-doubt, keep you awake!) It is a good damn thing that I have 17 NEW Law & Order: SVU episodes recorded on our DVR. Ahh. And I put milk in the microwave over two hours ago. I hate the taste of warm milk, but it does help me sleep. Now it is as cold as ice again.


Most people have heard of tryptophan in relation to Thanksgiving—this essential amino acid (a building block of proteins) is responsible for that inevitable nap after a big turkey dinner. Consuming foods that contain tryptophan has long been linked to sleepiness, and it turns out there are traces of the chemical in milk as well as turkey. In the body, tryptophan is converted to the sleep-inducing hormones serotonin and melatonin. But the amount of tryptophan in any food—including both milk and turkey—is not large enough to boost hormone levels so high that they would induce sleep.
Don’t fret, though—if you have been relying on a luscious lactose nightcap for a good snooze, you don’t have to downgrade from gallons to quarts so fast. There might not be a strong biochemical link between warm milk and sleep, but there may be a psychological one.

Sylvia Plath - Insomniac

The night is only a sort of carbon paper, Blueblack, with the much-poked periods of stars Letting in the light, peephole after peephole -- A bonewhite light, like death, behind all things. Under the eyes of the stars and the moon's rictus He suffers his desert pillow, sleeplessness Stretching its fine, irritating sand in all directions. Over and over the old, granular movie Exposes embarrassments--the mizzling days Of childhood and adolescence, sticky with dreams, Parental faces on tall stalks, alternately stern and tearful, A garden of buggy rose that made him cry. His forehead is bumpy as a sack of rocks. Memories jostle each other for face-room like obsolete film stars. He is immune to pills: red, purple, blue -- How they lit the tedium of the protracted evening! Those sugary planets whose influence won for him A life baptized in no-life for a while, And the sweet, drugged waking of a forgetful baby. Now the pills are worn-out and silly, like classical gods. Their poppy-sleepy colors do him no good.

I just count the sheep and go to sleep!!!


Nighty-night!

Oh my! She has grown!!!

Well, it isn't really that dramatic! (Yet, I still feel the need to use an exclamation point...) Alivia Marie Ernest went to her THIRD Gymboree Class today and it was quite interesting - she doesn't like to - wait - she refuses to  - participate in the "circle time." She slides, crawls through tunnels, plays with toys, and makes her own fun. I'm always within a "hugs" reach, of course (the rule they made up to make sure the parents participate, i.e., watch their own child) while the poor Gymboree teacher (with the back of her head totally screaming out SEX HAIR -- Sorry Grandma Sue, but it is the truth!), sings the songs that can best be described by my dear anonymous friend as "lame." Alivia herself thinks the songs are so horrific that she manages to keep occupied with any area of the room that will keep her furthest away from the bubbles ("that go pop pop pop!") or the high chair ("Bring on the jelly, bring on the bread, somebody get that baby fed.")  I mean for real! Climbing and sliding and socializing is fun stuff when you are 15 months, but singing about high chairs??? Alivia's high chair song would go something like this:

I don't want to be in this high chair,
If I scream they will let me get down.
They are such suckers for my screaming!
And now I am back on the ground.

Mommy picks up my chicken
Daddy picks up my beans
I'm in my toy box with Hippo
But why am I hearing their screams?

Now that my dinner is over
I will climb back up into my high chair
I love to sit here and SCREAM
While those losers just pull out their hair

High chair...bye bye my friend! I'll see you tomorrow at the same time for dinner again!

Back to the Gymboree story - well, we both got tired running up and down the slide ten times, only Alivia has been in bed since 11PM (yes it says eleven P.M.) and I'm foolishly writing a blog at 4:17AM.

Good bye all of my friends! We will see you next time!!!

APPRECIATE YOUR MAN... or learn to appreciate YOURSELF!

I'll keep this short because by now (this is my second blog),  I've read all the rules on blogging. Shorter is definitely sweeter. All I want to say before I go to bed and snuggle up with my sweetie is this --- APPRECIATE YOUR MAN! Or, I invite you to go peruse the thousands of self-help books aimed to help women meet the "man of their dreams." Good luck there snookums - because men, just like women - are not perfect. So stop looking for the perfect man, and start looking for the perfect YOU! Men are instantly attracted to confident, positive women. I know the economy is in the crapper, but that is affecting everyone. If you have a decent husband or boyfriend, go that extra step to show him that you care. And if you don't, invite a friend out for a fun, engaging dinner - and split the check. Oh my. What a concept! Show someone tomorrow, and everyday, that you can think outside of yourself and your little perfect word. Because if he leaves you for someone who notices when he goes the extra mile (roses for no reason, washing your car, just because) your world, as you know it, will come crumbling down faster than you can scream "but what happened?" Give him that back rub. Make his favorite dinner. Unless he is a complete selfish loser (whom you shouldn't be with anyway!), he'll notice, and he'll love for you it.

Goodbye 2010! Hello 2011!!!

So - Thanksgiving and Christmas have both officially come and gone, and honestly, I feel down right joyful. My little baby is now a non-talking one-year-old, and 2010 is over in two and a half days. We will be moving soon (hopefully), which makes me very happy, of course, because the size of this two-bedroom apartment literally makes me want to pull my hair out! We definitely need a full-sized washer and dryer and a back yard and a basement. I've enjoyed living here with my two lovies, but I'm pretty sure that a 6'5" guy, a 5'7" woman, a puppy, and a very curious baby need more space!
Overall, it has been a wonderful year - while looking at the forest and not the trees.
I started 2010 with a two-month old infant; and now I have a walking toddler who communicates her feelings very well. (She just doesn't actually form any sentences yet – or words, for that matter.) Therefore, I’m becoming an expert in deciphering baby-talk! We have survived sooo many sleepless nights and three or four family colds while Alivia was teething. She has twelve teeth now, and I can still remember writing my blog entry when she got her sixth tooth! That was back when teeth were rare. Now those suckers are popping up usually once-a-month. And knock-on-wood, she has stopped using her crib as a teething ring, and she has graduated from Similac Sensitive formula to 2% milk. So far, she seems to like it! Baby food is such a thing of the past, and we discovered that one of her favorite foods is berries (she likes raspberries the best!). She also eats tons of Cheerios. I'm convinced that General Mills could stay in business based on the sale of their Cheerios alone. We all know children die for those round, perfectly-sized, finger foods. Alivia is eating them even as I type this (and I’m pretending I don’t see that she is getting more on the floor than into her mouth). And they are so convenient! She eats them every morning with berries and a "surprise" cereal of the day. Regardless, she always eats all of her cheerios and the others, one by one, get thrown onto the carpet. And then, depending on the size of her mess - I clean up the entire playroom and vacuum. She runs away from the vacuum cleaner, and we both laugh together as I chase her while magically making her leftover cereal pieces disappear. We've made progress though; about three months ago I had to hold Alivia on my left hip with my left arm and vacuum with my right arm. I was burning some major calories back then! Nowadays, Alivia eats her delicious cereal and berries while I eat the cereal that contains 57% of the daily needed fiber. Only, I eat double the dose - 1 cup - giving me a total of 114% of fiber in just one bowl of cereal! I also add berries. Since we only ever have chicken or fish for dinner, I would think that logically, I would have dropped weight like crazy. Not really. I also only drink water, too. Ugh. Its soooo boring! But I enjoy our little breakfast routine, and if the non-talking baby would try to say a word or two - I'm sure that she would agree with me. Even when she is throwing blackberries onto our carpet and looking back at me for signs of disapproval, I just politely ask her to stop, and then I tell her that I love her. Children love to throw things at this age - especially food. I'm just stating the obvious, of course. She's really just learning, and she always eats more than she throws. She is a very pleasant little girl, and she is super cute with a purple face with a few cheerios stuck to it! So, bring on the berries, I say! We all know that my husband works for a Restoration company :)

If I had a single flower for every time I think about you Alivia, I could walk forever in my garden...

Alivia's Birthday Party Day! - October 30, 2010

On the day of Alivia's actual birthday party we made sure to start the day off right! Pancakes from McDonald's were an easy choice because they're quick...and we still had so much else to do to get ready for the party. After we picked up the big cake and the baby cake and all of the food we had ordered, we also needed balloons. Its great that Giant carries the Disney Princess Mylar balloons - they were a nice added touch. I ended up ordering all of the matching supplies online, and because Disney products are made by Hallmark, everything came out looking great! Very professional (and you know that is what you are aiming for at a one year old's party :) ) Alivia ran around all day in a dress which looked to be a combination princess / ballerina costume. There was one cupcake on the top of the dress, and even though she was overwhelmed by all the people and activities, she looked absolutely adorable. All biased aside! She even had matching ballet slippers and a tiara. Like I said, her dress was half-ballet and half-princess. Everyone seemed to enjoy themselves, and luckily we all survived the almost-two-hours that it took to open all of her presents! Alivia was definitely a trooper that day, and she barely seemed tired at 11pm when all of the guests left and started their journeys back up to Pennsylvania.   On the day of Alivia's actual birthday party we made sure to start the day off right! Pancakes from McDonald's were an easy choice because they're quick...and we still had so much else to do to get ready for the party. After we picked up the big cake and the baby cake and all of the food we had ordered, we also needed balloons. Its great that Giant carries the Disney Princess Mylar balloons - they were a nice added touch. I ended up ordering all of the matching supplies online, and because Disney products are made by Hallmark, everything came out looking great! Very professional (and you know that is what you are aiming for at a one year old's party :) ) Alivia ran around all day in a dress which looked to be a combination princess / ballerina costume. There was one cupcake on the top of the dress, and even though she was overwhelmed by all the people and activities, she looked absolutely adorable. All biased aside! She even had matching ballet slippers and a tiara. Like I said, her dress was half-ballet and half-princess. Everyone seemed to enjoy themselves, and luckily we all survived the almost-two-hours that it took to open all of her presents! Alivia was definitely a trooper that day, and she barely seemed tired at 11pm when all of the guests left and started their journeys back up to Pennsylvania.

Let's get this party started!!!

Whew! Opening presents is a lot of work!!!

Alivia's 1st Birthday! - October 29, 2010

Hello again! We have been so busy recently, that I have not had time to post any new entries to Alivia's blog. But, a lot has happened while we were away! First, Alivia had a very special birthday breakfast on Friday, October 29th. Not only did she have her usual three silver dollar pancakes, but we were surprised to find out that the pancakes were completely covered with fresh strawberries! Alivia was literally sooo happy that she jumped out of her car seat, as to allow herself full access to all of the beautiful & delicious strawberries covering her pancakes. My mom (her Grammy) met us at the Cafe to celebrate, and she brought Alivia her first birthday present ever; a ducky stuffed animal which sings ducky songs and says the alphabet. Alivia was barely impressed. She dropped the duck right onto the floor after holding it for two minutes, tops. She wanted to dive back into those bright red strawberries! And who can blame her? After she snatched up each one, she showed little interest in the actual pancakes. So my mom - wanting to please Alivia on her birthday - ordered her a big bowl of just strawberries. Once they were delivered to us, she ate maybe two or three more, and then she starting "feeding the floor." You know - the floor does get hungry sometimes, too. I suppose its just a coincidence that it usually tends to occur right about the same time as when Alivia's tummy gets filled. Our next adventure took us to the store Tuesday Morning, but we came out very disappointed, carrying only Christmas wrapping paper. (I also found a maid costume, for umm, Halloween.) We said good bye to Grammy, and after many kisses we headed to Target where I went on a mad search for 12 Month girls' clothing. Leggings are definitely the "in" thing this year, but one would think that other options would have been available, as well. No such luck. I found tables full of leggings! And shirts connected to leggings! And leggings hanging up! And leggings laying down! Target was being taken over by leggings. So now, Alivia owns about ten pairs of leggings!!! I also picked out sleepers, and sweaters, and socks, and I found many cute pairs of jeans. And finally, when I was at my whit's end, I called Bob. "Come help me put back some of the clothes before I buy everything in Target that comes in a size 12 Months!" He drove right over. I expected him to stop the insanity I was creating! But, instead, he fell prey to the fact that it was our only baby's birthday. "Buy her whatever she wants," was followed by trips up and down every toy aisle in the store. At least her clothes were priced reasonably! Any toy Alivia touched, Bob put in the cart. I must have been dreaming. Not my Bob. My Bob says things like "Carrie, she'll never even remember her first birthday," or "I'm sure your mom will buy her plenty of presents from Nordstrom." But not today! Today, Alivia got whatever she touched...a cart completely packed full of clothes and toys. For a one year old. Too bad she will never even recall truly being a princess for the day.

Pick or Treat - At the Pumpkin Farm!

On Saturday morning, I rolled over in our bed and asked my hubby if we could take our Halloween baby to a Pumpkin Patch. He was quite happy with the idea, and so we decided to make it an extended family affair. I'm so glad that we did! You see, Bob's family lives in York, PA which is not far from the Maryland/Pennsylvania border. His mom knew of the cutest little farm to go visit. So; have baby - will travel! We also found out from my dad who is local to Annapolis, that there was a farm located right near Bob's job... But family is important to us both - so off to PA we went! We met Meredith, Bob's sister, and his Mom just outside of Shrewsbury around 2PM at the pumpkin farm. It is funny, looking back just three short days ago... We took TONS, and I mean TONS, of pictures! But we didn't pick a pumpkin, go on a hay ride, or even play in the corn maze (yes, it is a play on words!) However, we absolutely had a BLAST!!! His is a family that loves spending time with each other, and with my Alivia. She was the belle of the ball, as usual, even if she was dressed only in Levi's jeans and a onezie which read, "Cutest Pumpkin in the Patch." Oh and she was! Auntie Mer had worn a big black-beaded necklace which caught Alivia's eye, and she immediately borrowed her Aunt's jewelry! It really added to her outfit; making her stand out just a bit more than she normally does because of the crazy hairstyles I usually give her, and because she has her daddy's beautifully breath-taking deep-sea blue eyes! She stood on hay bails and we took at least fifty (50) pictures! She ate a-just-picked apple, and enjoyed munching on the skin and juice way better than on a teething ring! I really preferred this apple over her chewing on her crib!!! We also tasted fudge and drank warm apple cider. Alivia ordered a whole bottle full of the stuff. Apparently, my little pumpkin REALLY likes apples! All in all, we had a fantastic day :) As we were leaving, I noticed a large box full of pumpkins and gourds which had a "sold" sign on it. I put Alivia in the box, just for fun, and naturally, she tried to climb out of it. This created a perfect photo opportunity. She may be a Halloween/Pumpkin baby - but she is definitely NOT sold!