I love to see you smile :)

A long, long time ago, there was a sweet little 4-year-old with a charming space between her Chiclet-like front teeth. This gap was ideal for housing things, such as quarters and zippers, and her mother insisted it added character to her smile.

That 4-year-old girl grew up, got married, and had a baby.

That baby now has teeth...

Um, I think the picture speaks for itself :-D

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And, by request (and because my husband deserves some recognition for picking out and correctly sizing my Mother's Day gift), here is the newest addition to my wardrobe. And, yes, I am 110% posing for this picture, gap-tooth smile and all.

PS. Happy Birthday, Allison!!!!!!

The Mother of All Holidays

It was a great first Mother's Day. Absolutely perfect in every way.

And I am the luckiest mother in the whole, wide world.

Make mine a blonde...

And, on the eighth day, the good Lord said: Let there be blondes.

And it was. And it was good.

* * * * *

Went to a wedding tonight. Baby B was up waaaaay past his bedtime. If this were you or I, that would mean that we would sleep in to make up for it. Not the case with Baby B. In fact, if he gets to bed past the "bedtime window," it's usually a guarantee that he'll wake up even earlier than usual. Figure out that logic.

While I was away reconnecting with my former blonde self today, B fed Baby B some delicious strawberries and bananas. He ain't scared of no mess, no siree.

This is Baby B acting like a dinosaur. Raaaawr.This is Baby B waiting for daddy to come home from work the other day. Sweet precious.


Happy, happy Saturday.

In need of major hair-apy

Did you know that my hair is causing all sorts of drama today? Well, it is. It's unruly, too long, and my roots are disgustingly obvious showing. Isn't it funny how the state of your hair relates directly to your self-esteem/mood/the way you respond to innocent comments from your husband?

B: Did you see on the news about the guy that got a root canal, and...

ME: What?! Roots?! They're that obvious?! You think I look like skunk? You're ashamed to be seen with me in public?!

B: 'Scuse me for a second while I extract my head from your mouth...

So, my highlight appointment is set for Saturday morning at 11:20am, and I will be there with bells on. My stylist is going to FREAK. OUT. when she's sees the condition of my mane. It's embarrassing, it really is. I vow every time that I will never let it go that long again, but always end up waiting two months too long and wind up with a major blonde complex.

I really wish I didn't have to highlight my hair, but it really is a must. My natural color is mousy and drab. Blonde just suits my personality so much better. I'm not mousy or drab in real life, so why should my hair reflect such a dismal existence?

You can tell I've spent a lot of time thinking about my hair today. And even more time in front of the mirror trying to tie it up in some kind of ratty looking ponytail to disguise my rootastrophy. Every attempt was unsuccessful, so I've surrendered to looking absolutely heinous for the next 36 hours while I await my appointment.

I was actually going to attempt a vlog - as inspired Linds - but I decided that I would not subject you my nasaly voice and my roots all at one time. So, it's just the written word today, but don't you worry - I'm so all over the vlogging.

And here is me, at this time last year, plumped up and glowing over baby books at one of my showers, looking all of the 60+ pounds I gained during the 9 months I warehoused Baby B. Oh, and that blonde you see there, is exactly what I want to return to :)

I love lists!

Things that should be illegal:

1) Pirate Booty. Have you tried this stuff? OMIGOSH IT IS DELICIOUS. And expensive. I bought it for Baby B since I was enticed by its all-natural goodness, and the fact that it can be dissolved and not necessarily chewed. Now, I'm addicted, and did more than help in quickly diminishing the entire bag. Baby B had 15 Pirate Booty corn puffs, mommy had 179. It's all about equality.

2) Men driving around topless in their souped-up cars. Seriously, do they think they look all cool reclining waaaay back in their seats, cigarette hanging nastily out of their mouths, SHIRTLESS? There are so many things wrong with that.

3) Dogs barking just for the sake of barking. If a dog is barking to ward off an intruder or warn of imminent danger, bark away. However, if a dog is barking because it sees another dog, hears an ambulance siren, or breathes air, my blood pressure rises instantaneously and I think that it should be devoid of its vocal cords.

4) Spitting. Gag, retch, blech! I cannot stand spit. We have this soap dispenser at school that has the watery-est soap, and every time I squirt some into my hand it resembles spit and I throw up a little in my mouth. The only time spitting is acceptable is when your mouth if full of Crest or Colgate.

5) Hyper-florescent lighting in dressing rooms. I mean, those things highlight every single bodily flaw you possess. I'm all like, Does my skin seriously look yellow-blue in real life? Is that cellulite spreading to my knees? My gosh, do I need a highlight...

6) Spencer Pratt.

7) Strangers touching babies. This makes me CrAzY. If you want to grind my nerves through a cheese grater, get thisclose to Baby B [practically exchanging air with him] and touch his hands with your undoubtedly germy paws. I'm not that much of a germfreak (Swine Flu, Schwine Flu!), but I just can't guarantee that you washed your hands the last time you went tee tee or petted your flea-infested dog. Just saying.

8) Character clothing. Especially Looney Toons anything.

9) Any Nickelback song that comes on the radio. Seriously, do those guys ever stop? I feel like every station I listen to plays Nickelback like twice an hour. And every song sounds exactly the same. And, hey, I admit to singing along with them for the first hundred times I hear their latest tune, but they are getting a little overplayed.

10) Odd-numbered lists.

...Blog Friends Forever...

Today I thought I would drum up some attention to my dearest BFFs. For those of you who don't know already, BFF is a little term I coined to refer to my Blog Friends Forever. I read so many wonderful blogs around the internet that I thought I should share my love of them with you. Some of these dears I know in real life, and others are those I found through my passion for blog stalking. So, if you're looking for something new to read today, here's who you should check out...

• If you're looking for a funny mommy read, check out Rachel at Babywebbsite. Rach and I are Pi girls (first, forever, & finest - wink, wink) and had sweet baby boys within months of one another. She's getting ready to post about her stint in bed for the last ten weeks of her pregnancy. She's very entertaining, keeps it real, and her kid is cute. A quality combination.
• If you need a little southern charm in your life, visit Lindsay at Trio Posts. She's another Pi girl, also has a sweet baby boy, and will crack you right up. Her vlogs (video blogs) are hilarious -go tell her so because she thinks otherwise. She's currently on a TV hiatus and is conducting a variety of contests this week.
• Need decor advise? (I do!) Then visit The Nester. Her ideas are inexpensive, classy, and her motto is It Doesn't Have To Be Perfect To Be Beautiful. Don't you love that? Her window mistreatments are to die for.
• So you're planning a wedding? Love wine? Adore the prep life? Then Nat over at It's a Charmed Life is the girl for you. We would totally be friends in real life if she didn't live miles away, I just know it.
• And then there's a southern transplant - another Nat - at The Pettijohns. She's quite possibly the cutest pregnant girl I have ever seen. Her funny take on pregnancy will keep you in stitches, and you can join her on her new adventure up east in the 'Burgh.
• My teacher friend Carrie blogs about hometown life, her adorable children, and their chicken at The Ossege Family. Really they raised a chicken and are getting new eggs from eBay! She's also incredibly creative and posts idea/pics of her latest adventure in card design.

I hope you enjoy checking out my BFFs! Leave them some love!

As soon as I'm finished blogging tonight, I am going to make brownies. I mostly bake brownies because I adoooooore eating the batter. Raw eggs? Salmonella? Pffff. I love me some ooey gooey chocolatey brownie batter.

So, anyway, B and I are sitting around being boring tonight. We took Baby B on a walk, ate some dinner, and now we're watching The Biggest Loser. I'm such a fair weather reality TV show watcher. Survivor, The Biggest Loser, Big Brother - I love each season the last, like, four episodes. It just doesn't get interesting until then, ya know?

The above pix show Baby B sporting, what we refer to around the Babbling household, as The Hedgehog. Post bath, when I'm not fauxhawking his tresses, I'm slathering his scalp with Aquafor and spiking it into tiny peaks all over his head. Surprisingly, he wakes up every morning with wonderfully soft, non-greasy hair. Sometimes it's even still spiked.

If I've never mentioned it before, that little Peanut has TERRIBLE eczema. Like, we can't wash his clothes/blankets/Stinky G in anything but the unscented detergent, and his skin can only tolerate Dove Sensitive body wash; otherwise, he breaks out terribly and scratches his noggin and belly like crazy. So, his nightly bath routine includes loads of Auquafor and Eucerin, thus resulting in many fun photo ops. Love him.

Speaking of laundry detergent, we're completely out of the unscented variety at our house. And, since I refuse to separate our clothes from Baby B's clothes, the laundry monster is rearing its ugly head in the basement. Growl. Isn't it pathetic that three-fourths of our clothes are probably piled up in the basement, and yet I can still find clean clothes to wear? I need to lessen my environmental footprint and donate what I don't wear.

Thank goodness tomorrow is Wednesday. I have senioritis summeritis kindergartenitis I think. This is when the sunny sky outside reduces attention spans, induces excessive amounts of talking, and results in lots of color changes ultimately making me, the teacher, develop a repetitive twitch and go cross-eyed every time I have remind them to RAISE THEIR HANDS. We're actually re-introducing detention at our school, and *yes* I am totally allowed to send unruly 5-year-olds there. And you bet your Hannah Montana/Pokemon eraser that I will send you there, little buddy. Try me.