Is it too early for Christmas Music?
It's September 27th.
So, most of you will probably say "yes".  And I agree.  Sort of.
This morning while I made pancakes and looked out at the cold, Autumn rain...  I played one song.
Non-traditional.  Sheryl Crow.  It was good.  Bluesy Soul Rock, as I have come to expect from one of the greatest female rockers of, at least, my generation.  It was just right.
It's not like I busted out Johnny or Nat...  just a little sampling of what's to come.


I have said it before and it is oh-so-true.  God blessed me with babies in October and January for a reason.  (ok, several reasons, but here's the one I am talking about -)
By celebrating Wyatt in October, it puts my yearning for Christmas at bay.
By celebrating Abby in January, it puts my sadness that Christmas is over at bay.
Perfect!


I think I will start "tagging" my blogs with keywords.
I never understood why people did that.  Now, though, I see myself discussing many of the same things over and over again.  (I am officially into my second year of Blogging now, and come on - how many topics can one woman cover?)
Like, for example - pancakes.
I know we've discussed them before.
It will be interesting to see how many tags Abby & Wyatt get!
Also - I'm not sure how to do that, so I don't know when I will start.


Is it too early to change my header over to Green & Red?
Ok.  Yes, I know it is.


And finally, I just want to send a little happy message to my friend, Kimmie.  She's having a Christmas Baby this year and I am so excited for her.
This morning her Facebook status was something about cold Autumn rain and warm Beef stew - and it made me so happy.
I might have to go on-line shop for "Baby's First Christmas" crap right now.
XO

This week I am obsessed with Baby #3.
I can't explain it.
Nothing special going on...  nothing I can say "I am feeling this way because of X".

I just know that Wyatt is about to turn 2.
TWO.
And he talks, and walks.

And I know that Abby is loving her school.
And in 2 years, Abby will be in kindergarten and Wyatt will be in Preschool.

That doesn't mean they won't need me anymore.  They will.  And I'll still be here.
But it reminds me that time flies.

And when I see my babies, getting bigger and smarter and more independent.
And better and better and better...  it makes me long for the day when I nursed them, co-slept, wore them in a sling or Baby Bjorn (ok, Jay did the Bjorn thing, not me) and just held them constantly.
I haven't forgotten the sleepless nights or the endless crying.
But I have forgiven it.  Because I know now that it goes by so quickly.

I knew that with Wyatt.  I knew, after Abby, that the dark, exhausted, lonely nights happen for only a brief period of time, in the scheme of things.
So, I had a lot more patience for it with Wyatt.  I held him a little closer, a little longer, a little tighter.  I didn't stress about doing it right - or about getting him into his crib and getting myself out of his room.
I knew he would get it, and he did.
And now, less than 2 years after he was born - we're all sleeping soundly, night after night - and we have been.

Abby slept through the night at 3 months.  For Wyatt, it was about 6 or 7 months.  Please.  How many things do we endure for a few months with so much less of a return?

And knowing is more than half the battle, isn't it?  I think we get better with age.  I know I was a calmer, happier mama with Wyatt that first year than I was with Abby.  I was a crazy woman with Abby.

And I am a really good mama.
I really love my babies so much.  I love being their mama.  And I love watching the man that I love be their daddy.

So - maybe 2 is enough.  Most of the time I think it is.
Two perfectly gorgeous, healthy, active and amazing kids.
But this week - I am really aching for 3.

Or 4.

My little man has so many words and phrases and sentences now.
"where are you"
"I need..."
"I do..."
"I'm all done."
"I hunggy."
"I kee-kee."  (I'm thirsty.)
And he knows everyone's name and uses them approipriately...  "Okay, Mama."  "Here ya go, Abby."  "Oh!  Daddy's Home!!"
And if you sneeze, he says "God Bless You!" and is he sneezes and you say it, he'll thank you by name, as well.
He says "Excuse me" when he's done eating.  He says "thank you" when you hand him something and he says "please" when he asks for it.

It's so odd that with Abby, words, sentences, phrases, meanings - even tone and sarcasm - came to her so easily, so early and quickly that it was happening before I would have even known to think about it.
And with Wyatt the same can be said about climbing, crawling, running, jumping, balancing, throwing...  all things physical, basically.
Totally different kids.  Both totally awesome.  Both rounding out their 2nd Years as totally perfect little people.

And they're so nice to each other.  They just love each other so much.
And not because we tell them to, not because when, occasionally, one of them hits or hurts the other one or says something mean, we tell them to apologize.  But because they would have anyway.  Because when they go and apologize - the hurt one truly accepts it and they hug each other and giggle and re-begin their play as if they couldn't imagine NOT playing with each other.  They are best friends.

Wyatt loves his people.  He really, really loves so much.  He loves his sister and mama and daddy.  Of course.

But you should hear him go on when he sees someone outside of his immediate circle that he hasn't seen in a while!
"DAVE!"  He screams and takes off running at the mere glimpse of our friend & neighbor, Baby Jack's daddy, Dave.  He cries when Dave leaves him.  (We run into Dave a lot!)

And "NONO"!!  (My sister, Christine, aka "Tono".)  He pretends to be on the phone with Nono a lot.  A lot, a lot.

And today, looking at picture son my Macbook he screamed "BANE!", which I realized was his pronunciation of "Ben", his best friend, my best friend's baby boy.

He loves his grandparents - all 4 - even though he doesn't see them all a lot.  He really, really adores them, especially his Papa and Grambear.  He is a guy's guy!

I could go on, and really, I have the people, the stories and the pictures to tell you about every single person that Wyatt loves.  Up to and including the ladies that work at Ted's and our cleaning person, Paulo.  He loooooves Paulo!

My kids are good kids.  I am happy with how they are turning out - even if it is only a few years in - I see good things.

And tomorrow, we'll head to Target for a photo shoot for Wyatt's 2nd Birthday.  I can't wait!

My brother married his girlfriend of like, 10 years and mother of his 2 girls this past weekend.

'bout time, right?

We all had a fab-oo time welcoming our new sister to our clan...

Here are some pictures to highlight the reception:

Right - but I was the only one that admitted to being completely hungover the next day.

Whatev!

Congratulations, Wardie and T!!

A sure sign, as if we needed another one, that summer is over?
We closed the pool today.  So sad.  But also - so liberating.  It's like that final piece of the season, that final, lingering "is it really Fall, can I buy my pumpkins?" feeling is complete.
Summer is over.  Done.
I can look forward to Christmas now.  Officially.

But first - I am looking forward to Fall TV!!
I thought I would share with you, while listing and organizing for myself, what I am looking forward to for my Fall television lineup.

On Mondays, I love CBS.  But, from what I can see - they have once again eff'd with the schedule so I am not sure if I will still love CBS.  I love "How I Met Your Mother", "New Adventures of Old Christine" (I know, it hasn't been on Mondays in forever - whatever), and "Big Bang Theory".
I may DVR the shows I like since I hate "Two and a Half Men" and I don't really feel like being stuck watching some new, crappy show in between the shows I already love.
That leaves my Monday nights open for "House", who I love.  Yes, "who", because, really - if he were real, and not the doctor on tv played by Hugh Laurie, I would leave my husband and stalk him for the rest of my life.  I love Dr. House!!

Tuesday brings me the new Melrose.  "Melrose Place" pretty much sucked in the 90's, but I watched it because I was a die-hard 90210 fan.  But, I fell out of love with both shows long before they fell off the air.  I watched the new Melrose, though, because it intrigued me.
I liked it, I'll DVR it, but no promises...  I will really be surprised if I still like it after another episode where they let Ashlee Simpson talk.
Likely I will watch whatever I DVR'd Monday night on Tuesday.

Wednesday is all about "Glee".  I have not been so excited about a tv show since...  I don't know, I'll compare it to American Idol, I think since it really doesn't compare to Grey's or 90210 - my two most favoritest tv shows ever (20 years apart but equally obsessive).

Glee starts at 9 so should I find myself sitting before that, I might watch "New Adventures of Old Christine" followed by "Gary Unmarried" - both very funny but neither worth rushing to get my butt on the couch for.  (I dvr Christine - it's always funny and fills a gap if you have nothing else to do.)

Nothing compares to Thursday night.  I don't go out, I don't do housework, not even folding laundry.  I sit, with nothing but a drink of water, curled up on the couch and ready to completely lose myself in Grey's Anatomy.  I love that show so much, it's ridiculous.  I get angry if Jay makes noise in the background that might distract me from my program.

I watched the Season Finale on the couch in our house in Florida this past May.  It's on again this week and I cannot wait to watch it at home!  Then, next week is the Season Premier.  YAHOOOOOO!!!  I love it, I love the characters, I love the show and 9:00 is the perfect start time.  (Ok, the premier starts at 8, I think, but it's usually 9.)
My obsession is so deep that I actually DVR it, start to watch it about 15 minutes into the episode so that I can fast forward commercials and usually end with the show running live.
I have sort of-kind-of started to watch Private Practice.  The season finale was pretty exciting so I'll give it another shot this year.  But, really, I haven't liked any characters aside from Addison, so I don't know - that show might go away with Melrose.
Also, maybe worth noting, is ABC's new show "Flash Forward".  I plan on dvr'ing that because it starts at 8, which is not a good time, I wouldn't make it every week, but it looks interesting.  And ABC brought us "Desperate Housewives", "Grey's" and "Lost" along with numerous other runaway hits, so it might be worth getting into early on.

Friday nights are not big tv nights but the USA Network present "Monk" and "Psych" and Jay loves them.  I don't have a regular Friday night line-up so one of two things can happen - I might go out.
I can go out because Jay is so happy that it's Friday, he has the weekend ahead of him and his favorite 2 shows on tv, I have no guilt or worry leaving him home alone with the babies.  Or, I snuggle up with my man and watch his shows with him.  I do like both shows, but mostly I just love how much he likes them.

As a side note - on HBO I watch "Big Love" - I love that show a lot, I'm really into the Henricksons.  I also like "Hung" - I dvr it and watch it an hour or 2 at a time, it's 30 minutes - not a very good show but I just keep watching it.

Saturday and Sunday are not (were they ever?) big tv nights.
I never got into "Desperate Housewives".  "Extreme Makeover: Home Edition" makes me cry - or gag, depending on Ty's crew.  I do like "Iron Chef America" and "Big Love" is on, when it's on - who knows with HBO, right?  But mostly, the weekends are up for grabs.

This all may make me sound like a total couch potato, but I can assure you - this is more of a wish list than an actual schedule.  Aside from Grey's Anatomy, none of these shows get watched with any regularity.  I forget.  Or I get annoyed.  Or, I'm just too busy or tired.
But I do love tv.  And I love Fall and new seasons, new series and early darkness...  they go together.

What are you watching this year?

Is it strange to anyone else that I bought a whole new package of napkins for our party on Sunday, filled the caddy with the already-open package and - even though we fed about 40 people - never needed to re-fill and even had left-over napkins in that caddy?

***

Chilly out today.  Almost...  c.o.l.d. right now.  I love this weather, and I love Autumn - I've said it a thousand times.  But I feel like it really happened overnight.  The leaves are still green but the nights are practically frosty!

I plan ontaking pictures of one certain spot each week to sort of document Autumn this year.  I think of this every year.  We'll see if it works out this year.

***

Not a lot of action in the Blog world lately.  And as much as I bitch about my blog regulars not adding content, I haven't had much time or energy to say much lately, either.  So - peace.

Happy Birthday to the LOVE of my LIFE.

My Best Friend.

Daddy to my Babies.

Ying to my Yang.

33 Years Old,

The past 12 of them with Me!

Where have all the Bloggers gone?
Does the Blog World beef up when the weather gets cooler and everyone's indoors?
I am Bored, Bored, Bored with the internet these days.

Tired of FB (I deleted about 50 people and still don't feel all better!).

Tired of checking the same, day or week old, Blogs for some comments, or comments to comments or - *GASP* - a new entry...


I am in between books but think I will dive right in to my next one cuz the MACbook ain't cuttin' it, folks.



*Where have all the cowboys go-o-o-o-o-o-ne???*