Oh, Dear! It's Almost 2010!

That sounds like science fiction, doesn't it? The year 2010? It's hard to believe another year has gone by. We've had a lot of firsts and big anniversaries this year: first anniversary of the deaths of Louella (dear mother-in-law) and Red (adored father), first pregnancy with a baby girl, celebrating 10 years together (me and Jalal), joining our first church together, first official job as a freelance editor outside of my old company, first Thanksgiving with instant mashed potatoes . . . obviously some good, some bad. We've really enjoyed watching Quinn grow up so much this year. He is quite the little man now. It seems he is always picking up new phrases, some of which are clearly copying us, and some of which have no known origin. Recently I've heard, "Oh no, not again!," "Oh, dear" (not the expression I'm most likely to use), and "Oh my." Is it strange that my 2-year-old boy sounds like a little old Victorian lady? He also tells us, "Mama, Dada, you're funny!" Today we stopped at the restroom of the BiLo before we went grocery shopping (hey, pregnant, remember?). While we were in there, someone made an announcement over the intercom. Startled, Quinn looked up and said, "Where did that come from?!" I laughed and told him it was a loudspeaker. He said, "Oh, like a speakerphone!"

And whoever thought I would spend a New Year's Eve playing Candy Land with my son? Not only does he love to play games now, he beat me pretty bad! And thanks to his games, he learned the word "Discard!" Jalal has to work tonight, like every other New Year's Eve in recent memory, so after the Candy Land master goes to bed, I will console myself with a bubbly glass of sparkling grape juice. Woo hoo! Living it up. While there won't be a raucous good time here tonight (though I'll admit I had to look up the spelling of "raucous"), there will be much happiness and contentment with our place in this life and this world. Well, for me there will. I can't promise anything for Jalal because he has to work all night and he just got screwed over royally by an employee today. But despite all the troubles we might have and the fact that life is nowhere near perfect, we have more love than any family deserves and more blessings than we are even able to count. I'm sure the coming year will be as crazy as science fiction for us, as we learn to add another child (and a girl nonetheless) to our crazy family. I wonder where we'll be this time next year. I suspect that no matter where we are, life won't really be that much different. Though with any luck, I'll be drinking hard liquor to welcome in 2011!! Happy New Year to all. May you be blessed and have the clarity to recognize your blessings and the wisdom to thank the God who sent them to you. Love, Us.

New Year's Greetings from Quinn the Amish Pirate

Good Broccoli Night

I know I haven't given the whole lowdown on our Christmas around here, but it might have to wait. I've been busy trying to enjoy it rather than blog it. Oh, and working. And cleaning. And emptying out the soon-to-be nursery. And panicking about Maddie's due date just EIGHT WEEKS AWAY!!! Agh! Anyway, I thought I'd just update here with a few things Quinn has said lately that crack me up (though sometimes not at the time).

A couple days before Christmas, I was trying to get some last-minute shopping done for stocking stuffers. Jalal had taken the last four days in a row off, and he took Quinn shopping with him every single day. No problems. He reported that Quinn was a complete angel the entire time. I stayed home and frantically tried to meet deadline on my job. Anyway, so Jalal had gone back to work and I thought I'd take Quinn to hit Marshall's and Ross with me. I was super nice to him that day, taking him to the playground that morning with Sarah and Maureen and getting him a good nap. I made it through the first 10 minutes with only minor whining, even letting him walk along with the cart instead of sitting in it until he was ready. Then he pretty much wound down into full-scale temper tantrum. It was not one of those "I'm not getting what I want" tantrums, though. It was more like an "I don't feel good and I don't want to be here and I can't have mom thinking she can just take me somewhere and I'll behave" kind of tantrum. It was the kind where I actually picked him up and held him (though he is just over the 30-pound weight limit I'm supposed to not lift) and begged him to tell me what was wrong. It ended with me dumping the stuff I'd picked up already onto a shelf and rushing him out the store still in my arms. I say "rushing" but by the time I reached the parking lot, I had slowed down considerably as a result of the severe pain in my lower back. Now remember that I'm "slightly" hormonal lately, so by the time we reached the car, I was crying as hard as Quinn was. While I tried to calm down enough that my glasses would stop fogging up and I could drive home, Quinn started asking if he could watch Bob and Larry (VeggieTales). I was so frustrated that I couldn't get in half an hour of shopping that I pretty much cried all the way home. Quinn kept asking me, "Mama, you happy? You happy crying?" Um, no.

So, we are going through phases of no eating again. I call it the cheese and bread diet. No shortage of starch here. He hadn't eaten veggies in a few days, but I kept trying. Last night, I made him a cheeseburger and broccoli. At first, he ate the bread (big surprise). He tried to get to the cheese, but it was too melted to the meat. Then he finally ate some of the burger. Just when I was about to give up hope, I tried bribery. I told him if he ate two tiny pieces of broccoli, he could have dessert. He said, "How bout COOKIES!" Sure, cookies, I told him. About five minutes later, when I had said "Oh well, maybe tomorrow," he picked up a large piece of broccoli and proceeded to shove it all in his mouth, finishing the entire portion in about 12 seconds. Needless to say, he got his cookie, along with a second helping of broccoli (he asked for it!). I said that was a good dinner and I was proud of him. He said, "Yeah, Mama. Good broccoli night!" I'll say.

When I tried to tell Quinn about going to church on Christmas Eve and singing songs for baby Jesus, he started right away on "Rock a Bye Baby." Not a bad guess, but not quite. Before we went to bed that night, I read the Christmas story from the Book of Luke, and though he sat on his stepstool and tried to pay attention, it really was very annoying as he tried to "read" along with me. That's his new thing, trying to predict what I'm going to say and speaking along with me. Fun. He then made Jalal's reading of "The Night Before Christmas" last for about 20 minutes because he had to narrate everything happening on every single page of the book. That kid really never shuts up! He certainly inherited a lot of Langston in that respect. The other day, he had a long conversation with himself in the backseat on the way home from church. He even imitated bits of a conversation that we had with him about 3 weeks ago about jet trails looking like "two sides of a triangle" (his observation), after which Jalal or I laughed and said, "It sure does." He copies the laugh and all. Creepy.

When we opened presents on Christmas morning, he got a lot of boxes. Every time he peeled back the paper, he said, "A box! . . . about Mickey Mouse!" (or whatever he saw on the box). He opened the box to a game of Memory and said, "A box about two dragons!" It was terribly cute.

Well, that's all I'm going to write about tonight. Just a teaser. Hopefully more soon. Merry fourth day of Christmas! Love, Us.

Flotsam and Jetsam

Wow, has it really been since November 10 that I've written? That sucks. I'll try to be better. The holidays and a vacation and a lot of work have gotten in the way. I won't make this a total recap because that would be exhausting, but I'll touch on a couple of recent events.

First of all, I would like to say "hah" to all those Chinese folks whose kids can eat rice with chopsticks. Last night, Quinn managed to eat rice with a single toothpick. Strange child, I know. But at least I got him to eat rice! It was only the second time he's gladly eaten it. The first was last week in Tallahassee when he ate basmati rice at an Indian restaurant (which was fantastic!). Last night, he ate brown rice, so at least he's getting some whole grains. He used to eat tons of whole grains, but then he turned 2.

Speaking of Tallahassee, our trip was great, but too short. Quinn charmed his Auntie Trish and Uncle Wade, of course, and was in turn spoiled rotten. Big surprise. Here's a link to the pictures Trish took. Quinn sang along to Uncle Wade and Daddy playing Guitar Hero, and then he told them, "You guys rock!" He also behaved like a little punk at most of his meals, too busy showing off and messing around for his "audience." Every time we left Trish and Wade, he would ask, "Where Uncle Wade and Auntie Trish goes? Find it anywhere?" That's his new thing. "Find it anywhere?" And he puts his hands palm up out to the side and cocks his head. It's hysterical. He also spent a lot of time singing his songs: the ABC song; Twinkle Twinkle Little Star; You Are My Sunshine; and the theme song to "Wonder Pets." He also helped Uncle Wade get eggs out of the chicken coop, mimicked the rooster crowing (wish I had that on video), and "rode" Uncle Wade's motorcycle.

The day after we got back, we had to take our first baby class at the hospital, which was actually a tour and orientation of the OB floor. It was interesting to find out what they offer: baby Lojack (an alarm system that shuts down the floor if the baby gets too close to elevators or stairwells), massages for new mommies, and mom and baby rooms (for post-delivery) that are about four times as big as the one we were in with Quinn. Woo Hoo! I don't know if we'll take a Lamaze refresher course or their class called "Meet the Doulas." We'll see if we can fit them in.

Tonight is the manager Christmas party for the Marriott, so I'm trying to get ready for that as well. I found some fairly low-heeled shoes that I can fit my swollen feet into, but it was quite amusing even to me how contorted I had to get to paint my own toenails. I still need to put together some sparkly bling to distract from the fact that I'm wearing boring old maternity clothes and nothing fancy. Time to meet the bigwigs and their wives. (Not trying to be sexist, but it just so happens all of the bigwigs are male there.) Too bad I'll have to be sober. Oh well, I'm getting used to it now. But as the temps dip into the low 30s, I sure am craving a hot buttered chocolate (thanks Kaminsky's for turning me onto the blissful combo of hot chocolote and butterscotch schnapps).

I had to see a male OB yesterday instead of my female doctor. We have to struggle to find someone to watch Quinn just so Jalal can join me at some of my appointments (thank you, H1N1 scare), and when we get there, the receptionist says the doctor is doing an emergency C-section but we can come back in an hour. WTH? I know it happens, and I don't blame them, but this is really frustrating. I had to reschedule last month because we were running 10 minutes late, so that meant turning around and driving from Greenville back to Simpsonville again to pick up Quinn. Then I still had to go by myself. It's so frustrating. Anyway, I asked if I could just see someone else, and so I met one of the male docs. He was nice, and I figure you never know who'll be delivering the baby, so best meet them ahead of time.

Anyway, I better get back to work and nail polish. Duty calls! Love, Us.

Melting My Heart

Okay, this is going to be a quick blog post because I REALLY need to get back to work, but I just had to share what just happened. Quinn brought his plate from lunch (yes, he ate a late lunch today) over to me in the kitchen. I knelt down to wipe his hands and face. I washed one hand, and as I was washing the other, he reached up and stroked my hair. He smiled at me and said, "you're beautiful, Mama." This is a 2-year-old!! I came very close to crying, but held back. I just said, "Aw, thank you Quinn. That is very sweet." What a darling boy I have.

Also, I've been meaning to write about this for a week. For those of you who may judge me for taking Quinn to Snip-Its, a fancy kid's salon, and paying $20 plus tip for a toddler haircut, I would like to present Quinn's recent haircut, provided by an unnamed discount haircuttery, as justification. Not only was he twitchy around the scissors and the buzzer, he almost started crying during the haircut and was only settled by a "pollipop," which was totally covered in hair a few minutes later. Even after all that, his bangs look awful. The top is still too long, and one side of his bangs are so much longer than the rest that I've been tempted to cut them myself. If it weren't for the unfortunate time that my mom cut my bangs at a 60 degree angle, I might actually pick up the scissors. As it is, we've settled for extra mousse, creative brushing, and just plain not giving a hoot. SO glad we saved 10 bucks. Well, that's all for now. Love, Us.

Why Not?

What a crazy week it's been! I got a new freelance job a few weeks ago, but I waited a while before I received any actual work from them. Then, when it came, it came in a big rush! My first project was a 300-plus page book about minorities in Africa. It is extremely interesting and reminds me of my African lit classes in college. But the company wanted me to return 20-30 pages at a time for review, often overnight! I was trying to get used to their style and more academic writing, and I was stressed. The reviewing went well, though, and now I have until the 16th to finish the rest of the book (probably 8 chapters and a 40-page bibliography). I've learned more about endnotes in the past week than in my entire editing career!

In the meantime, Quinn had a blast at my church harvest festival, and he was the cutest cowboy ever. He played all the games, only ate one piece of candy, and learned the proper way to eat a hot dog from his father. (No, we didn't slice it into tiny, choke-proof pieces. Let it go.) Unfortunately, the next day he came down with a fever at a baby shower and was completely listless all day, which happened to be Halloween. So he didn't get to go trick-or-treating for the second year in a row! I didn't think he would even notice, he was so out of it, but when the first kids came to the door, he came over and said (so pitifully), "Quinn trick-or-treat!" Poor baby. Jalal helped by bringing home a Mickey Mouse Pez dispenser. The next morning, we went upstairs to get ready when we heard a little voice downstairs say "Trick-or-Treat" and then the sounds of little hands trying to open a Fun Size bag of M&Ms. Hmmm. We busted out laughing. It was so cute. Now he rings the doorbell every time he goes outside. Great.

His newest phrase is "Why not?" He came out with that the first time at dinner the other day, when I told him he couldn't play with "packets" (sugar packets, he likes to shake them). I nearly choked and couldn't answer. Jalal had to tell him that it was dinner time and not play time with a straight face. A few days later we had a long conversation that went something like this:
Quinn: Where Dada?
Me: In the dressing room, trying on some pants.
Quinn: Hiding wall?
Me: Yes, he's hiding behind that wall.
Quinn: Open door.
Me: No, we don't open the door to the dressing room.
Quinn: Why not?
Me: Because people need privacy in there.
Quinn: Why not?
Me: Because they are taking off their clothes.
Quinn: Why not?
Me: Because it's not polite.
Quinn: Why not?
Me: Just because!!

I would like to state for the record (and that ongoing Mother of the Year application) that I have not yet said, "Because I said so!!"

On another funny note, we were driving to church this morning, and a leaf was stuck in my windshield wiper. It was flapping away, and Quinn said, "Mama, leaf go faster!" I said, "Yes, it's going fast because we are going fast" (this was at all of about 30 miles an hour). He said, "Slow down, Mama! Slow down!" Jeez, kid! I have such a little conscience now. In his quest to be polite, he sneezed the other day and expected Jalal to bless him. When Jalal didn't, Quinn said, "Bless you Quinn!" looking pointedly at Jalal.

This other child of ours is pretty controlling already herself. I woke up the other night at around 3:00 a.m. or so, when Jalal came home from work. He was pretty worked up so we talked for a little while. Well, then I couldn't go back to sleep. All of a sudden, I was starving! Finally, after letting my mind wander all over the place, I just got up and went downstairs. I fixed myself a peanut butter and jelly sandwich with an Oatmeal Creme Pie and a glass of milk. After that, Maddie and I both felt better and went back to bed. Well, I had thought Jalal was asleep when I left, but he said, "Where'd you go?" I said, "I had to eat lunch." He laughed and said, "That's what I figured." Does he know me or what? My sister thinks it's funny that I called it lunch, but really, what does it sound like? Not breakfast. The child wants what she wants and all I can do is try to comply. (If I don't, I end up snacking on Tums more often than not.) Well, I have a lot of work to finish, and I'm not going to waste anymore of Quinn's naptime talking to the two of you. Love, Us.

Not Me! Monday

For some reason, I never remember it's Monday until I read MckMama's Not Me Monday blog carnival. For more hilarious stories of things we would NEVER do, not in a million years, check it out and read her and others' blogs.

I did not literally yell/curse at my child today when he specifically disobeyed me and tried to crawl through my legs while I was draining grease from ground beef in a heavy, 8-qt. sauce pot. I did not burn my arm so bad that I yelled "Dammit Quinn! I told you not to come near me when I've got hot food in my hands!!" (There goes the Mother of the Year award I was up for.)

I do not wet my pants at least twice a day, every time I sneeze. It is not so common that recently, when I sneezed and didn't wet myself, I exclaimed proudly about that fact to Jalal.

I did not have to reorganize the refrigerator to fit in a giant orange jug for collecting 24 hours' worth of my pee before my doctor's appointment tomorrow. This is not the third time I've had to do this (once with Quinn and once already with Maddie), and I did not practically roll my eyes at the lab tech who tried to kindly explain the whole procedure to me AGAIN (same girl as the last time; guess she sees a lot of pee jugs).

I did not spend 10 precious minutes with a cranky toddler at the grocery store trying to pick out snack size candy for a church harvest festival. I did not have to weigh the merits of the sale versus the coupon, all the while trying to figure out if "peanut-free candy" meant candy with no nuts in it or candy that was not processed in a facility containing peanuts.

I did not have to laugh hysterically today when Quinn (who just learned "Red stop/Green go!") said "two green gos" at a stoplight and it sounded just like "2 Gringos." I did not laugh even harder when Quinn noticed me laughing and said, "Mama, I funny."

I did not frantically spread three sheets of newspaper around Quinn's chair for our first attempt at eating spaghetti at our new dining room table. I also did not contemplate trying to force a bib on him for the first time in months. I did not settle for tucking a paper towel into his shirt collar.

On a different note: Jalal did not tell Quinn he couldn't have chocolate milk until he finished his breakfast the other day. He did not say, "Daddy gets to drink chocolate milk because he ate his breakfast," all the while knowing that the chocolate milk WAS his breakfast!

I hope there's nothing in your recent past that you wouldn't admit to on the Internet, forgetting that someday a future employer is going to discover this and decide he/she does not want to hire someone who publicly discusses wetting her pants! Love, Us.

The Purple Leaves of Autumn

The weather has been so beautiful here lately that we are anxiously awaiting a chance to go up to Asheville and see the fall foliage. It's been a tradition since we moved here (if you count one time so far as tradition). This year, we are also going to go apple picking. And tomorrow is the day!! Yay! Jalal has the day off, so off we go! The one kink in our plan is that, as of last week, the section of the Blue Ridge Parkway we like to take was closed because of some landslide or something (probably not that dramatic). Ah well. I was brushing Quinn's teeth tonight and trying to get him psyched about the trip. I said we were going to see leaves of all different colors, green, red, orange, yellow ... Quinn said "purple?" Yes, Quinn, maybe even purple leaves. Quinn says, "Purple leaves. And yellow flowers." Sure, kiddo. Whatever.

In other news, we finally broke down and bought a dining room table and chairs. We already have a very nice dining room table, but we've never had chairs, so the table basically holds all kinds of kitchenware and foodstuffs. We found a great set at a discount/unfinished furniture store here, retail $800, our price only $280!! It was brand new and matches our other furniture. I'm really hoping that this will help us get Quinn's mealtime behavior under control. I think it will be good for all of us to eat at the table like a family, without the TV on. We'll see how things go.

Maddie is kicking even more lately. I love that feeling! It seems like Maddie has just as much strength as her big brother. Well, I have to finish an edit tonight before I try to take most of a day off tomorrow. Happy Fall everyone! Love, Us.