This is a framed Johnny Cash poster we have hanging over our diner booth where we eat all our meals — well, all the ones we don’t eat on the couch in front of the TV, which is decidedly fewer than before we became parents or started concerning ourselves with setting a good example. Anyway, Jackson’s vocabulary has been growing by leaps and bounds — as has HE, in general; at the rate he is busting out of his clothes, I think he may be taking after my mom and dad in the height department (they’re 6′ and 6’4″, respectively) — and every day he seems to learn a couple new words. Today, we were eating breakfast and he pointed to the poster and said “Cash!” and I said, “Yeah! That’s Johnny Cash,” and then I played “Jackson” and Jackson clapped his hands, and it was just one of those moments that makes all the exhausting and frustrating ones — of which there are many — worth it.
On a different note, our first annual Wedding Week comes to a close today — which doesn’t mean we won’t have any wedding-related content for another year, of course, but we won’t have quite as much crammed into five days for a really long time. I wanted to thank of all of you for the lively debates and discussions and for hanging in there even if you aren’t a fan of wedding talk. Also, thank you for perusing the gift guides and for the purchases you made through the affiliate links. I’m sure not all of you care about gift guides or consumerism in general, but this is just one additional way I can make a little revenue stream that helps support the site and keeps me in Tootsie Rolls, so thank you for playing along.
Hey, did anyone else watch “The Office” finale last night? Wasn’t it good? It’s so hard to end a television series, I think — especially a comedy — but this series finale was so well-done — one of the best I’ve ever seen. While the last couple of seasons haven’t been nearly as entertaining as previous ones, I remained a fan of “The Office” until the end and will miss it.
Anyhoo, I will close now since I hear Jackson crying from his crib after only taking a 30-minute nap, which is so unfair and cruel. I barely had time to scarf down a salad and write this post! (His babysitter took the week off and I’m really feeling the crunch of being a full-time SAHM on top of running the site, cooking, cleaning, grocery shopping, etc.; and now he only naps for a measly 30 minutes? WTF, dude! TGIF, is all I have to say).
Hope your weekend is grand!
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rachel May 17, 2013, 4:10 pm
I think the fact that Jackson already likes Johnny Cash just proves that you guys are awesome parents.
I never really watched the Office, even though my hometown is near Scranton. Maybe now that it’s over I should watch it through?
honeybeenicki May 17, 2013, 4:32 pm
My stepkids love Queen and Johnny Cash. I figure we’ve done our job right even if they don’t like Slipknot and Metallica, like I’d like them to 😛
lets_be_honest May 17, 2013, 4:35 pm
Yup, that’s a sign you are a perfect mom! I remember being proud of myself when mine would sing along to my songs.
honeybeenicki May 17, 2013, 4:55 pm
I’m always trying to get my son to let me videotape him singing/dancing to “that bike song” (that’s how he asks for it) by Queen, but every time I start to film, he stops. Damn these almost-13-year-old kids. He always says “NICKI! I know you’re going to SHOW that to people!” but he’s so damn cute when he’s in the car belting it out and riding his pretend bicycle and ringing his pretend bell.
lets_be_honest May 17, 2013, 5:01 pm
Yea, you gotta trick ’em when they’re younger. I have video of her singing one of “my” songs when she was 3 or so. I watch it still every time I’m having an awful day. Its seriously cute. The song is by Of a Revolution called Crazy Game of Poker. Ever hear of it?
Try to tape it on the sly. Sometimes it works well with your phone.
lemongrass May 17, 2013, 5:12 pm
I want to see that! C’mon, I post videos of my kid allllll the time.
lets_be_honest May 17, 2013, 5:31 pm
check your facebook
iwannatalktosampson May 17, 2013, 5:13 pm
I LOVE THAT SONG. That’s all. I went to see them the Friday before prom. Random fact.
stickelet May 17, 2013, 5:43 pm
Love that song!
rachel May 18, 2013, 12:53 am
…And I just learned what OAR stands for.
theattack May 17, 2013, 4:18 pm
Please no spoilers on The Office!
We’re driving across the state this weekend to give away another kitten. This one’s my favorite, and I really wanted to keep her. P got to pick the kitten we’re keeping though. I’m probably going to cry giving her away, but I’m glad we finally have a home for her. Now there’s only one kitten left who needs a home. Wish me luck finding her a home because it turns out that no one really wants kittens.
honeybeenicki May 17, 2013, 4:34 pm
If my male dog wasn’t such an asshat, I’d have lots of kittens. As it stands, the two I have live with my mom because he wants to eat them. Not cool. Too bad I didn’t find out before I brought him home. Luckily, mom is right next door (and when we got our male dog, she lived in the same house, so we just babygated the kitchen/living room and the cats had the rest of the hosue).
GatorGirl May 18, 2013, 8:11 am
Don’t forget I’m your back up!
bethany May 17, 2013, 4:18 pm
I stopped watching The Office a few seasons ago, but tuned in for the finale and was really happy with how it turned out. Jim and Pam are the best ever. They make me cry.
HmC May 17, 2013, 7:09 pm
I am sickly obsessed with their relationship, though I haven’t watched The Office religiously at all. I think it has something to do with the fact that Jim Halpert is my dream man. Seriously… his look, sense of humor, kindness… he’s like my fictional character soul mate and *exactly* my type.
beelzebarb May 17, 2013, 9:53 pm
Bethany, this has nothing to do with The Office but I saw your name here and I have to tell you exactly how cracked out I am on the geoguessr game. Seriously. I spent an hour last night trying to find a place. I narrowed it down to a tiny coastal village in Scotland and I nailed it. I was .37 km off and I did not google. NERD CRACK!!
bethany May 18, 2013, 7:46 pm
Yes!! I was sooooo unproductive at work this week because of that game! I’m glad you love it!
lets_be_honest May 17, 2013, 4:27 pm
Wow, your parents are so tall! Its so cute Jackson knows who Johnny Cash is. I think that’s the #1 sign of good parenting, right?
AliceInDairyland May 17, 2013, 5:04 pm
I’m 5’11” and my boyfriend is 6’4″. We would have mega tall mega scrawny children.
Daisy May 17, 2013, 4:29 pm
I moved abroad right around the time the Office started and didn’t have a TV for a few years, but a few months ago my boyfriend and I started watching from the beginning. We’re in the middle of season 7 and it’s still remarkably great for 7 years in. I know Michael’s going to be leaving soon though…
csp May 17, 2013, 4:39 pm
It is like you live in a time capsule 🙂 We from the future know how it ends….oooooo spooky.
lemongrass May 17, 2013, 4:41 pm
E only ever naps for 30 mins. Right now he is refusing to do even that! He has taken to screaming down the place when we get near his crib. Little party animal.
theattack May 17, 2013, 4:43 pm
What do you do when that happens? Do you lay him down anyway and make him just get over it, or do you hold him and soothe him and stuff? I’m fascinated by people who can deal with babies.
lemongrass May 17, 2013, 4:52 pm
I never let him freak out for longer than a minute. I hold him, rock him, sing and soothe him. Right now I decided to let him stay up longer and he’s sitting beside me on the couch right now. We’re going to take a drive and let him nap in the car. E hates falling asleep, he would much rather stay up as long as we let him. I’m so jealous of those parents whose babies just fall asleep in their arms. Oh well, my baby is cuter.
theattack May 17, 2013, 4:59 pm
So if he keeps crying after you do that stuff, what do you do? Is that when you leave him in the crib and tell him to grow up? I have no idea how you do what you’re doing. That sounds really hard.
lets_be_honest May 17, 2013, 5:01 pm
lol, and tell him to grow up.
lemongrass May 17, 2013, 5:11 pm
I just try and figure out whats bothering him and then calm him down based on that. Usually if he’s overtired then bouncing him in my arms works. This new thing- freaking out when he realizes that I’m trying to put him to bed- I take him out of the situation, calm him down and then try again. It is really hard in that it is relentless and I can’t quit. If I’m frustrated I just have to keep truckin along. But then he does fall asleep and I’m snuggling him and he starts smiling in his sleep, melts my heart.
I put him in his swing and he is now falling asleep and making the cutest noises. I may be tired but I’m happy.
theattack May 17, 2013, 5:29 pm
Aww, I’m glad you’re happy!
So did you always want to do this stuff? (This is apparently a personal interview here) Like did you always think you wouldn’t mind bouncing a baby around to get to sleep, or did something just click in you when you became a mom that made that rewarding?
lemongrass May 17, 2013, 5:39 pm
It’s not rewarding until he falls asleep haha. But I had a fairly realistic expectation of what motherhood would be like and I did always want to be a mom. I had no idea the emotions that came with motherhood but the day to day life I knew what was coming.
lemongrass May 17, 2013, 7:55 pm
I win! He’s been napping for over an hour. We have always rocked him to sleep because every time we have tried to put him down drowsy or awake he has flipped out. Well, since he was flipping out anyways I decided to put him down once I had him calm. I sat beside his crib and he woke after 5 mins so I picked him up and calmed him down then laid him back down awake and he fell asleep and has stayed asleep for over an hour! This is a huge deal!
lemongrass May 18, 2013, 1:26 pm
I lied. Turns out he thought 3:30 was bedtime and last night was the worst night we have had since he was a newborn! I honestly don’t know how I would cope without having my husband home.
CatsMeow May 17, 2013, 5:45 pm
Are there any other nurses around? Did any of you leave your program’s orientation SCARED SHITLESS? All they did was tell us horror stories about all the things we could do wrong and how difficult it’s going to be.
Then I spent over $700 on books they had to wheel out on a dolly. And that’s just for the summer semester. What have I gotten myself into??
Lindsay May 17, 2013, 6:46 pm
I’m not a nurse, but I have some friends who are and I looked into nursing school back in the day (meaning like a year ago, haha). I think they just want to make sure that the really irresponsible folk realize that they’re going to have people’s lives in their hands. Because there’s always the people who have to practically be beaten in the head with that information to actually pay attention and be responsible. One thing that my friends in told me about nursing school (and in your first year as a nurse) is that if you AREN’T scared shitless, then something’s wrong.
stickelet May 17, 2013, 7:17 pm
My professors told me the same thing about grad school. If I don’t question my decision to go to grad school, then something is wrong! The point being that it is hard and challenging more than just academically.
Lindsay May 17, 2013, 8:27 pm
Good, because I’m starting grad school in the fall and I’m freaking out!
CatsMeow May 17, 2013, 8:43 pm
Haha, ok… so whenever you enter an intense and challenging academic program it is customary for the deans and faculty to scare you. This is just my BSN and I want to get my masters or doctorate after that, so I guess I should get used to it. Sigh.
Miel May 18, 2013, 6:18 pm
The thing is that when you do one really hard thing, you’re good with doing others after, like it’s no big deal anymore. I was in a Bachelor program where only 25% of the student makes it to the second year, because all the other ones decides they are not courageous enough for it. Now that I’m graduating and going to grad school, I’ve talked to some of my classmates about it. We are fearless now, it’s crazy. 100% of us our going to grad school, no one seems even stressed about it. If it’s hard, then it’s business as usual really…
AliceInDairyland May 17, 2013, 5:56 pm
Nope not a nurse, but the same thing happened at my orientation and continue to terrify us.
Also, my mom is a nurse and she absolutely loves it. She has worked at the same hospital, but like every different floor for my entire life and she just is really great at her job and really enjoys it. When I was little she worked nights on the surgery area, but would often ‘float’ to other areas that were more busy and needed help like the baby floor or stuff like that. Now she works in day surgery and also loves it. 🙂
Mara May 20, 2013, 2:22 pm
I am a nurse. I didn’t necessary leave my program’s orientation scared shitless…but more apprehensive. I guess my program took the route of brainwashing us into believing that Nursing is the greatest profession ever and you all are the best of the best. I was more scared shitless for the first couple days of clinicals and especially the first 6 months of working at my first Nursing job. Best of luck!
AliceInDairyland May 17, 2013, 5:16 pm
Guys, guys, guys, guys! I’m half a doctor as of now! And no more classes until the end of August! <3 I need to day-drink.
lemongrass May 17, 2013, 5:21 pm
Yay! Congrats!
L May 17, 2013, 10:44 pm
It’s SUMMER for me. Well, almost. After graduation. And after I clean my classroom. And after I check out with my principal. How am I spending my first Friday night of (pseudo) freedom? Watching movies in my pajamas and applying for new jobs. When did I become old?
SoCangie May 17, 2013, 10:53 pm
The Office had the best series finale. I teared up, got choked up and even accidentially spit up my cereal (I watched it in the morning) with an old joke (don’t want to give any spoilers). I think I’ll watch it again this weekend just to take it all in again. I’m going to miss PB&J the most.
Lindsay May 18, 2013, 6:47 pm
I just watched it. I’m not a huge fan — I only watched the first couple of seasons straight through. But I loved the finale.
paperheart May 17, 2013, 11:07 pm
We just found out today that we’ll be out of our crappy, teeny tiny apartment next Saturday!! We’ve been on a waiting list for this new apartment for foreverrrrr, and they got a last minute opening and we took it! It’s bigger and has tons more storage space, and we’re just really excited to not be so cramped! We haven’t told our current apartment yet, though, and they won’t be in the office until Monday. We know that we’ll have to pay an extra month’s rent to break the lease (which sucks) but hopefully we’ll get our deposit and/or half of the pet deposit back to use for the new apartment. We’ve got plenty of money saved for it, but getting our deposits back would definitely help. So we’ll just see how it goes Monday, I guess! I’m just really excited and I wanted to share something positive, since I feel like most of the things that I post are negative things, and I swear I’m not usually a negative person at all! 🙂
rachel May 18, 2013, 12:47 am
Yay! Good luck with the move 🙂
GatorGirl May 18, 2013, 8:15 am
Yay!! That’s super exciting! Storage space makes me smile 🙂
lets_be_honest May 18, 2013, 8:42 am
So why don’t u tell them to apply your security to the rent owed for breaking the lease? Many people don’t pay their last months rent bc no one ever usually returns security. Just an idea.
rachel May 18, 2013, 11:12 am
Yeah, my apartment in Oklahoma let me do that for part of it.
paperheart May 18, 2013, 3:30 pm
Because I didn’t think of that! Thanks! 🙂
thewriteway May 18, 2013, 12:51 am
I will be spending the weekend getting over my first broken heart (story in forums). I have work on Sundays so I like have to deal with myself by Sunday night LOL. The good part? I work from home so if I need to walk away and go cry or something, no one will be able to tell! At least it’s not like working in an office or something where everyone would stare and gossip. I have plenty going on tomorrow to keep me busy, which should also work well, but then I wonder about morning and the nighttime. Just can’t get over how gross I feel and how bad I was treated by someone I thought I respected. It’s gonna sting.
rachel May 18, 2013, 12:59 am
It’s been a weird week. My dog has been sick and so I haven’t been sleeping well. Luckily Ross is here to help me take care of him. We just watched this awesome movie, called I’m a Cyborg, but That’s OK. I recommend it, if you like bizarre, but touching. Think Amelie…but with mental illness.
lets_be_honest May 18, 2013, 8:44 am
Ugh I am getting ready for a wedding I REALLY don’t want to go to. Ugh.
Fabelle May 18, 2013, 8:57 am
Daaamn, your parents are tall, Wendy!
This weekend is going to be busy… my boyfriend is doing that “men in heels” race thing today (like…in 30 minutes & I’m totally gonna be late, if I’m actually planning to go & spectate. oops.) I have articles to write that I’m behind on. Because I am a procrastinator. And that photoshoot I’m in is tomorrow in Philly, & I feel self-conscious because I didn’t really lose any of the weight I’d hoped to by now…
Wah, wah, wah. Sorry guys, I’m whining so I’ll cut it short!
Hope everyone has a nice weekend 🙂
Kate May 18, 2013, 10:25 am
1-800-GotJunk just came to remove my old tube TV and some stuff out of the basement including my old Mac computer from college. Not much stuff at all, and it ended up costing $475 including recycling fees for the electronics! Just putting that out there for anyone who was curious about that service.
Also, trauma! As I was putting stickies on things in the basement to identify them as “junk,” I pulled out my grandfather’s old army trunk and there was a freakin’ DEAD MOUSE curled up on top of it. Not long dead either, and it smelled. I screamed and ran upstairs. So disgusting. I can deal with a live mouse but not a dead one. I was going to offer the Got Junk guys some extra cash to deal with it, but I would have been embarrassed.
Fortunately my fiance was able to come over, pick it up with tongs, and throw the mouse and the tongs away in the outdoor trash. I will get him some good beer for that. I also gave him a little league Louisville Slugger bat with Rod Carew’s face and signature on it, that I forgot I had. He liked that a lot. He can keep it in his truck and feel tough.
Red_Lady May 18, 2013, 8:10 pm
Oh, gross! I would scream and run away too! Which is so dumb, b/c, I mean, it’s dead. What’s it going to do?
One time there was a bee in my apt. I trapped it against a window w/ a cup, then slipped a piece of cardboard between the window and cup opening. It was buzzing like crazy, my husband opened the sliding glass door, I chucked it outside, shut the door, and locked it! Then I started laughing, b/c, what the fuck, like a bee is going to open the door if it isn’t locked?!
katie May 18, 2013, 4:46 pm
im at the restaurant show in chicago this weekend! its quite fun. i saw rick bayless do a demo today, and i ate tons of food, and walked all over the show. yesterday there was a chocolate competition and product demo just for my company, and then they took us out to dinner and it was fucking nuts- those chocolate boys can party. lol.
tonight i am going to a fancy place with my team and our spouses. AND JAKE GOT TONIGHT OFF SOMEHOW! which is amazing, because that hardly ever happens. and i get to meet my boss’s wife finally. and my director’s partner. its going to be awesome.
BTW, aliceindairyland- rick bayless said the “next trendy thing” is goat meat, and i thought of you and your goats.
katie May 18, 2013, 4:47 pm
oh, and the “so last year” thing is bacon…. sorry, everyone.
CatsMeow May 18, 2013, 6:15 pm
The bacon trend needs to go away. It’s yummy, but the hype is getting annoying.
quixoticbeatnik May 18, 2013, 11:45 pm
It’s 5 am in Amsterdam where I am on vacation and I can’t sleep. I woke up from a weird dream and now I’m all blah. Sitting in the bathroom on my kindle so I’m not super bored and also so I don’t disturb my mom. I was supposed to have walked in my graduation ceremony today. I skipped it, didn’t care enough. Tomorrow I’m going to Berlin and hopefully that will be awesome! I’m really looking forward to the summer. So much going on this summer and its going to be awesome.
Red_Lady May 19, 2013, 12:42 am
A vacations sounds way more exciting that a graduation ceremony! I only went to mine because my parents guilted me into it.
Have fun in Berlin!!
Le Pinch May 19, 2013, 7:04 pm
My saturday night was crazy awesome. My friend and I decided to hit up the Crazy Horse last night where a certain pornstar was performing for her last night, and not even 5 minutes into it my friend was called over , got her boobies motorboated and won free Giants tickets. We then saw a couple other “performances, and I gotta say, I have even more respect for strippers. I mean not only do they dance around in those 7-8” platforms, but their upper body strength when they are working the pole is insane. One girl did a loooong drop, then flipped using her arms like it was no big deal. We then left to get a drink, where we got verbally harassed by the lovely hoodlums loitering about, then my friend got squirted with a gatorade bottle by some asshole kids who were hanging by the bar door. Thankfully the bartender was nice enough to get her a towel and gave us some shots on the house. We got back to the crazy horse and watched some other ladies shake their booties, and one came up to my friend and tried to pull out her boobs, so my friend told her to get me instead. Which she did. By pulling my top off in the blink of an eye. And guess who wasn’t wearing a bra? I then got yanked on the stage, and at that point, the adrenaline and jameson in me was pounding, everyone was yelling and cheering, I shook my butt, it rained some moolah, and then I hopped down, got high fives from the strippers, and was laughing so hard . It was insane.
Then the feature lady came back on and did a varied rendition of a donkey show and… good lord. I did not know things that big could fit in the human body. But it was hilarious, because she came out dancing to the Champs Tequila, wearing a fake moustache, shaking her glorious booty and waving that thing around. After the show I got to take a picture with her and we chatted for a bit, she was super sweet and even gave me a signed pic. All in all an awesome crazy night.