For all you wives and mothers... And everyone else

I am taking an online class this term and I came upon this poem while studying. I find it humorous.

"Marks"

My husband gives me an A
for last night's supper,
an incomplete for my ironing,
a B plus in bed.
My son says I am average,
an average mother, but if
I could put my mind to it
I could improve.
My daughter believes
in Pass/Fail and tells me
I pass. Wait 'til they learn
I'm dropping out.

- Linda Pastan (1978)

I just found it rather entertaining. We all need something to make us smile :)

Whistle While You Work

This last week was Peter's Spring Break. While it would have been nice to go somewhere warm and exotic, we decided we would be frugal and stay here in Philly. Pete's parents have a beautiful 18th century home, which requires a lot of attention (as does anything from the 18th century). Growing up, Pete helped out around the house-- scraping paint and sanding walls. This week, his dad bought a new toy, a power washer. Peter could hardly resist so he went out to power wash the exterior walls, and this is what he looked like:


You can't tell exactly from this picture, but he was covered head to toe in paint from the outside wall. It was in his hair for days. He loved it!

Boys will be boys.

Happy Birthday(s)

Caleb is very lucky-- He has grandparents who love him very much. This weekend we were able to celebrate his 3 month birthday, his Grandpere Farr's birthday and his Grandma Knickerbocker's birthday PLUS Easter!! It was very fun filled and Caleb wanted a way to say thank you.

His income is pretty non-existent, so this is all he could afford :

Here's Caleb wishing Happy Birthday to his Grandma Knickerbocker

Caleb wanted to wish his Grandpere Farr belated Happy Birthday (It was yesterday).

Happy Birthday!!

Oops

So I have been attempting to train for a half marathon in the fall. With frequent trips back to Pittsburgh, my training efforts have been less than stellar. But last night, after putting Caleb to sleep, I quickly left the house before I could talk myself into sitting on the couch and playing with my new computer program, Aperture 2 (more on that later).

I'm 2.5 miles into my run (and starting to feel it) when my hand caught the wiring on my headphones and pulled my iPod out of the dock on the treadmill. My iPod gracefully lands on the treadmill and slips through the tiny slot where there track runs. Could it have just fallen under the treadmill? Of course not. The speed of the track was just enough to shoot my iPod into the "engine" of the treadmill.

And so, at 11:30 at night, I have to go tell the guy at the front desk that I have lost my iPod in the treadmill. Any guesses as to his reaction? "Is that even possible?" I nod my head that indeed, it can be done. He looks at me like, "Do we just let anyone join this gym?" and proceeds to take my information and turn off the treadmill.

Oops. I may have to go to the other gym for awhile. Maybe forever.

Sophie Marie

My brother Tracy and his wife became Mom and Dad this morning!! Tracy and Hanna are currently living out west while my brother is getting is Masters in Accounting, so we couldn't be there for the event, but we share in their excitement today.

Hanna was scheduled for a C-section for March 25th, but the little one decided she was coming on her own time frame. Hanna's water broke this morning at about 8:00 and Sophie Marie was lifted into this world at 11:38 AM (EST).

She was a whopping 6 pounds, 14.9 ounces (little baby!) and 18.5 inches long. Mother, Father and Baby are all doing well. We wish we could be there to help, but medical school requires our attention for the moment. Hopefully this summer we can all get together and celebrate!


All I know is that someone is going to have to let this little princess know how silly her dad can be! Although, I have a feeling she is going to wrap him around her tiny little fingers pretty quickly. My mom will be traveling out to stay with them-- as Hanna is going to need a lot of help after having a C-section. Hanna's mother works for the public school system so she will be heading out there in June when the school year ends.

And so our family continues to grow... this is the third grandchild for my parents in 12 weeks!

PS- We just talked to Tracy on Skype and Sophie is totally too cute! She already has a pink bow in her hair :) That girl is going to be trouble!

New Toy

Last week Peter and I decided to make an iPhoto book of (whatelse?) Caleb. It comes next week! But through out the process we found that our pictures from our camera were not a good enough resolution. So Peter and I decided to take our tax return and get a new camera. We got the Canon Rebel XTi and even though we don't really know how to use it well enough to justify having it, we are pretty excited about it! My little sister, Katie, took a class in photography this year and was pretty much drooling at the chance to take some pictures. She taught us a few of the basics, but it will be awhile before we are able to take advantage of our new toy. Pete ordered a book this week and we are plugging though it. Here are a few pictures from Caleb's blessing and other shots that we took with the camera.

He's a Philly boy-- that's for sure!

I love my Bala's hands and so I think this shot is beautiful

He's wondering, "Why am I still in this dress?"

Caleb's Blessing

Someday, I will actually have something to write on here that does not pertain to Caleb. But as of now, my entire life pertains to the kid-- so no luck.

Last Sunday, Caleb was blessed at our church, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. It was a beautiful day and Caleb had friends and family come in from all over the area. He was blessed in a gown that my grandmother made for her children to be blessed in. All of her children, her grand-children and now her great-grandchildren have been blessed in this gown. It was a pretty special day.

Chit-Chat II

This is a longer conversation between Caleb and Bala. I'll admit it-- I'm a little obsessed :)

Chit-Chat

Caleb decided he had a lot to say the other day when he visited Bala. I think this is pretty much the cutest thing ever-- others may not agree.

They would be wrong though.

Baby Blankets

They say you can never have too many baby blankets, and it is true. However-- there are only a certain few that ever become really special. Caleb is so very loved and has had several baby blankets made for him. (Which is a good thing, since it may take me till he graduates high school before I can finish one for him).

This is a picture of the blanket made for him by Grandma Knickerbocker. She is very talented-- I'm so impressed!

So Someday, When He's Famous...

My cousin Derrick is a fabulously talented musician and I'm trying to do my part by spreading the word. Check out his website by clicking HERE.

Also, take a look at the "web element" at the bottom of the page-- it'll give you a chance to preview his music for free.

Picture Perfect

Caleb had a photo shoot a few weeks ago and here is one of my favorite shots. He is so cute! I can hardly stand it.

Danica took the pictures (which are all amazing!) and if you are in the Philly area, you should definitely check her out--she is so talented and very reasonably priced. Check out her website by clicking here.

First Kiss

Lillian and Caleb are quickly advancing their relationship. While I am glad he has found a good, sweet, beautiful girl-- I think they are a little young to be this committed. I think I'll have to have a talk with Lillian's mother :) I'll also have to teach Caleb the proper way to respond to a girl's advances... he looks a little shocked here.

Flower Show

My sister-in-law Amanda, her friend Jackie, and I went to the flower show this week. I didn't know what to expect, but I was amazed at how incredible the displays were! Here are a few of my favorites.

So you might not be able to tell here, but these are people dancing.

Little boy fishing

Just a pretty flower

That's what my yard looks like too :)

The water was spraying from the instruments and flowing out of the piano. It was pretty cool!

Too Cute

So the other day I was running around like a chicken with my head cut off (a common occurrence in my life) when I needed to finish getting ready (a not so common occurrence in my life). Caleb was being "needy" as Peter likes to say, so I grabbed whatever I could find next to me to keep him pre-occupied for a few minutes. When I came back out, I saw this.
So not only is he smart enough to start grabbing and holding things-- he's smart enough to go for the chocolate! He's going to have to watch out though, he may loose his figure.

Of course, as a new mom, I am ridiculously proud of him. He's pretty much getting into Harvard at this point. That's all there is to it.

Happy Anniversary!

Last night Peter and I celebrated our second anniversary. We were very wild and went out to eat. By ourselves. My mother was kind enough to watch Caleb (or I was kind enough to let her, I don't think we stayed out long enough for her) and Pete and I went out to the Cheesecake Factory. It was great to have some time just to talk about nothing-- with Pete in medical school it seems like we are always discussing something, usually something stressful.



During our conversation last night we talked about how much has changed in the past year. In March of 2007, we had just moved to Greentree. We thought we were going to be going to school in Florida, Pete hadn't signed up with the Navy yet and we had NO idea that Caleb was on his way.



We of course started to think, what will the next year bring? Pete will be scheduling his medical school rotations, I will either be student teaching or preparing to student teach, Caleb will be a whole year old! What other changes will the change in calendar bring? We're of course, not sure, but we are excited to see it happen.