I quit Cafemom. It's like your grandfather telling you he quit scotch. Seriously. I had the shakes a little. So you'll be hearing form me a lot more here at the Raft. :)

Also, I'm growing out my hair. So get ready for lots of ugly hair.

"I am hosting Book Club tonight." Never ever thought I would say that. But I am.

Tom Cruise was Right

Wal-Mart sucks.
I went there today. For the first time in a long time. In fact, I don't think I have been there since Abby was on formula. Before then, really, cuz I stocked up and swore I would never go back to WalMart again.
It is disgusting. Fat, dirty, poor people who ride scooters simply because of their size shop there. Lots of them. I saw a few people that were missing teeth. Huge gaps. And I'm not talking about little old ladies who forgot to wear their teeth, I'm talking about people younger than me. I also have an image burned into my mind of one young woman with the biggest teeth I have ever seen, gunning for me, coming right at me. And ya know what? I could lit-er-ally SEE the plaque build up on her giant teeth. I could see her plaque. It was that thick.
Wal-Mart sucks.

I was willing to forgo any sense of dignity, though, ad battle it out with the scurge of Willi-town - to save money. This is a difficult economy, money is tight for everyone and where you can save a buck or two, you should. Especially since oil companies are LOCKING us IN at $4.88 per gallon right now.

But that's the thing. I didn't save any money. Wal-Mart is not that cheap. Maybe it never was but in prior years, I was not as savvy a shopper, perhaps.
Today I was following my list so closely and I didn't buy more than half of it.
Examples:
6 pack of Dove. WalMart price: $6.56 Stop & Shop price: $5.99
Case of Pampers. WalMart price: $19.99 Stop & Shop price: $18.99
Bounty "Big Roll" 6 pack. WalMart price: $9.97 Stop & Shop price: $8.99
All Small & Mighty, HE. WalMart price: $4.66 Stop & Shop price: $3.99
Bananas. Walmart Price: $0.64/lb Stop & Shop price: $0.50/lb

There were things I saved on.
I picked up a couple of Wal-Mart cans of formula for $14 per can. That's a good price and Abby was on WM brand and she has certainly thrived. But Wyatt is a little more sensitive than Abby so I only bought a couple as back-ups. The actual formula he takes, Similac Isomil Advance was $26.99. It is $25 in Stop & Shop.
Milk was $3.92 which is decent for Garelick Farms but the normal sale price at a regular store. Lubriderm was only $7.50, J&J Baby Wash was $3. I dunno... I am not "sold" on the "Low Prices" thing. You really have to know your products & prices. And I do. I know what things should cost and what they will go on sale for and if a coupon is worth clipping. I pride myself on it.

I used to shop at S&S all the time in Southington. The Shaw's was so gross. Then, when I stopped working and had Abby, I went 100% Shaw's because of the prices.
Now, I am back at S&S. First, because Shaw's is so gross, it doesn't matter what town you live in. Then, I realized that the prices at Stop & Shop are comparable if not better than Shaw's. Plus, you can't beat the service or quality. At least around here.
My mil shops at Big Y and loves it. I think it's a little too pricey and their sales are always "Buy 1 get 2 Free" and we just don't need 15 pounds of potatoes or strawberries all at once.
My mom shops at the A&P and their prices really are good. Is that geographical or do I wish an A&P would open near me? Dunno.

Anyway. The point of my Blog, this evening, is that WalMart sucks. I will never go there again. Never, Ever.

Who says what kind of furniture goes in what room? I am on a new kick (likely due to the fact that I absolutely cannot afford to be on this kick, doesn't that just make it more tempting, the challenge?!) - I have decided that we don't have enough "occasional" or "accent" furniture in our home.

I want this:


And these:





I think they will go in my Kitchen and Dining Room.
I love my Baker's Rack, though. So I have to find a way to make it work, too. Maybe the corner piece, the buffet table and the Rack all on the long wall opposite the stairs in the dining room?
And the bench/basket shelf combo will go where the Baker's Rack is now.

Oooooh.... Fun!

We Love Kitty

Our cat, formerly known as Barney, has been entertaining us since the day he entered our lives.
When he was tiny, we used to sit on the edge of the kitchen floor (which was linoleum)
and fling bits of kitten chow at him. That cat could stop a niblet with more precision and speed than many professional hockey players. It was endless hours of fun.
He also used to sleep in one of those cute little hammocks that attached to the window frame. On his back. Gorgeous.
While Jay hates to admit it, he loves him just as much as I do.
So, now, here we are, 7 years, another cat, 2 dogs, 2 houses, 2 kids later and Kitty is still making us laugh. Often, at his own expense, but I doubt he cares.
He is a royal pain in the ass. He is always trying to lay on us, knead us, show us love. Or trying to get us to feed him. Or trying to get out. Or just walking around meowing at the top of his lungs.
Anyway, he's awesome. He's one of us. It's like Jay, Kitty and Me. Then everyone else in the house.
And the only point of my blog about Kitty was to be able to share with everyone one of Jay's latest retorts when Cack (as Abby has dubbed him - did I mention how good he is with the babies - he really is great) was being his usual demanding self.

"Cack! Go lay somewhere and lick your nutless crack!"

They Won't Fall until They Do.
Sounds stupid, right? When Abby was a baby, my mom kept saying that to me and I kept telling her that was stupid. I won that one; Abby never fell off of anything. But. Let's face it. She never tried to move very quickly.
Wyatt, on the other hand, he has proven my mother right about 8 times over. And I actually found myself giving Michele the same line of bullshit recently. Wyatt has fallen off of his changing table, out of Abby's bed, off of the couch in the living room. He is a climbing, crawling, sitting fool. His balance is excellent. Better than his sister's or either of his parent's, really. But he can't fly. Fortunately, he is a resilient little bugger. And his love for Woobie and his sister's stuffed Elmo run deep.

Stupid, Annoying Shit I Swore I would Never Say to a Pregnant Woman.
"You'll understand when you have children."
"So, you excited?"
"When I was pregnant... "
"Are you going to circumcise/breastfeed?"
"Don't bother buying/registering for ... You'll never use it."
"Get ready to never sleep again!"
"Your life is going to change in a way you cannot possibly understand."

Brilliant, Useful Shit I Will Continue to Offer, regardless of Being Asked.
"No matter how dark and lonely your sleepless nights are, they don't last very long and whether you realize it now or later, you will miss them."
"Every stage finishes up before the next one begins. Don't sweat it, it won't last."
"Take the Pain Meds."
"Nurse. It's cheaper and you don't need to carry a diaper bag."
"Let your husband get to know his child. Try to remind yourself every day that your baby is also your husband's baby."


I Have Turned into Christine.
I spent a good part of my life doing everything in my power to make her life miserable. Then, I wasted a bunch of time just being annoyed with her all of the time. Now, 32 and saddled with a husband and 2 kids, I realize that we are the same woman. Perhaps that explains the years of torture.


I Haven't Been to the Mall in 2 Months.
Maybe you didn't know this but I love the mall. I mean, I love the mall like some people love sports teams. But, I spend too much money in the mall. It is truly a hobby of mine. So, I promised my husband that I would stop going for the summer. And that includes Evergreen Walk. No Shopping All Summer. I miss the mall, Abby misses the carousel and I would be willing to bet that some of those store ladies miss our credit cards.
Christmas Time cannot come Soon enough.

The Quarterly card Game. It is a mystery how the 6 of us got here. Really.

Obligatory Kid Update

So, June was a huge month for Wyatt.
Early in the month he started “crawling” - it was a shuffle-bump of sorts where he would get on hands and knees, thrust himself forward and then pull his knees up to his chest and thrust again. Inchworming, sort of but I prefer to call it “shuffle bump”
It’s July 9th now and he has the crawling thing down pat.
He also started pulling up in June. First to his knees but all the way up to his feet within a few days of that. Shortly following the pull-ups he was sitting on his own. He was already balancing in a sitting position if I put him there but between the crawling (shuffle bumping) and pulling up, he figured out how to get into the sitting position himself.


Then, right on his 8-month mark (June 15th) his first tooth popped through! It was not an easy journey – Wyatt is not a huge fan of teething. Chew toys, hard toys, cold washcloths, teething rings, popsicles – nothing worked. Tylenol helped but obviously, I can’t keep him doped up 24/7 so there were some rough times.
Now, July 9th, his 2nd tooth (the other bottom one) is “crowning”. It doesn’t seem as painful but it isn’t being ignored, either.
Within the past week or so, he is also waving. He gets incredibly excited when Dada gets home and he waves and hops and pants. He really loves seeing Dada.
He is eating just about everything. He has begun feeding himself. I cut up little bits of whatever we’re eating and he also likes to spoon feed himself though I cringe at the mess and lack of actual “eating”.

Abby is my brilliant, independent and super-social whirlwind.

She is a chatterbox from dawn to dusk, she never stops. She is full of energy, she runs (“I runnin!”), Hopscotches, skates and jumps all over the house. She is a big fan of releasing Wyatt’s grip on whatever he has pulled up on, wrapping things around his head or just generally kicking or stepping on him. I do my best to reprimand her without being mean or loud but I gotta say, that’s tough. I try to remind her that she loves him and she has to be gentle and loving. But she either doesn’t realize she is hurting him or just thinks it’s too funny to stop.
With his mobility I need to be paying more attention to him which takes the attention off of her. Thus, she attacks him for my attention plus he annoys her. So, I can see they Why’s, I just need to figure out the How’s, as in “how” to stop her and still make her feel loved and content.

Whatever - any way you look at it, we got a great thing going.

I had no idea that our washer was broken until our dryer broke.
I washed a load of towels and bibs to hang them dry on the rack we bought back in Jay's Waterbury-days. I took them out to hang them and realized that there was still some food on the bibs and the towels were a little stinky. You don't get that close to your wet clothes, usually. It's really mindless work, just tossing them from one machine to the next. You don't give them a good look-see until you're folding. Unless you are checking to see if a specific stain came out, right?
But I am not a big worrier about stains. You become very blase when you are a known "spiller" with 2 babies and a husband who's got a knack for gathering random stains he cannot explain. If they come out, great. If not, oh well.
Anyway, my point is this: How long was my washing machine broken? How long was the fabric softener masking the smell of dirty clothes?

So - today two lovely men delivered and installed my new machines. They would not/could not install my dryer because our vent-thingy is not "up-to-code" and is a "potential fire hazard". No problem. I hooked that fucker up myself. Fire Hazard. Bah!

I put a load of Abby's sheets and blankets in first. I figured if anything went wrong, I didn't want to ruin our clothes and with my sweet girl complaining about her current sleeping conditions, I wanted to get her set up asap.

You can sort of see the Little Mermaid swimming around in there.

I started her up and Abby, Wyatt and I sat on the floor infront of it and watched it roll.
Roll - It - Did.
I recommend everyone buy a front-loader. Cool to watch.
The machine (I really should name her) feels the load and determines the cycle time and spin strength. How sweet is that? My first load was 48 minutes. My next one was 51 and my last 3 were 54 each. I think 54 might be the max. That is the only way I knew how much to put in. A lot, really, but it took me a few tries to figure that out.

This is pretty much what my kitchen still looks like, even though I am on my 6th load already. The way laundry piles up in this house is extraordinary.

Long story short, the washer and dryer and working fabulously. I love them as much as I love my pets. My clothes feel and smell fantastic. I really cannot believe how good they look, feel and smell. I am horrified by my old washer.

All in all, Jay and I have had pretty good appliance-luck. In almost 7 years of marriage, 1 apartment and 2 houses we have replaced one vacuum (first one was a shower gift, thanks Mom!), one dishwasher (both houses came with them), one microwave (after giving away a perfectly good one). We have acquired 2 refrigerators (1 from each house and since the assmuncher who bought Yellow House didn't want our appliances, we took the fridge with us and gave the washer and dryer away). So, considering this washer and dryer just broke (they were at LEAST 9 years old) and were a gift from the previous owners, I think we can say we've done a-ok.


I have to go now. is done and is ready.

I am open to suggestions for the names of my new washer and dryer. My only request is that they rhyme somehow and that the washer is female and the dryer, male.

My new washer and dryer are coming in the morning!!!
I have - literally - stacks of laundry in my kitchen, bathroom and bedroom. I have done 2 loads (thanks, Teener!) in 8 days. It's crazy. I usually do about 2 loads a day.
Abby is sleeping on her mattress pad and with a handmade blanket (thanks, AF!) because she peed all over her bed the other day. And her other sheets were already dirty! Tonight when I was tucking her in she said "mommy, I want my sheets, I don't like this blanket." How fucking sad is that?? (I know, it's funny, too.)
I will spare you the pics of the piles of laundry but here's my new machines!! I have never been so excited to do laundry in my life!