I need to confess.

After weeks of fretting and far too much emotional deliberation, I've made a major decision.

The Family Jobin will not be sending out Christmas cards this year. 


This is a big deal to me, which makes me feel like a failure as a wife and mother. What would Martha Stewart think?! We've sent out cards every year since we got married. I was the bride who wrote my thank you cards before the plane landed on our honeymoon. I have an adorable kid I'd like to showcase.

But mostly, we don't have a picture I like and really don't have the time/energy/resources for a photo shoot and that Christmas cards entail. I'm in that awkward stage where I look like I ate way too much at Thanksgiving, but not actually pregnant yet. The hours of selecting photos, picking out my favorite card, analyzing prices, compiling addresses, paying for the whole thing... and we all know I'm physically incapable of doing anything halfway.

Life is a little crazy right now and I've spent a lot of the last 17 weeks trying not to throw up every single thing I eat and just trying to function on a basic level. Something had to give. Can someone please reassure me that my son is going to turn out okay despite this? We're fed, clothed, he's relatively happy, that's enough, right?

And don't worry, I'll be sending out birth announcements this summer.

More Carter stories

Some people may be bored with these stories by now, but personally I find my kid to be hilarious and entertaining.

Last night in the bathtub, Carter was repeatedly pouring a giant cup of water over his face and practically drowning himself. Eventually he got tired of Seth's repeated correction and said "bye bye daddy" and closed the shower curtain.

He's hilarious, entertaining... and the future prospects are terrifying.

We're screwed: Part 29

Carter's new favorite game is pulling everything out of the kitchen cupboards. I decided I'd put a rather heavy box of bottled sodas in front of it (which, he promptly pushed out of the way, just as he did with the second attempt of the bag containing a 16 pound bowling ball).

When he first saw my attempt at separating him and his beloved drawer, he looked up at me, flung his arms and yelled "come on!"

17 Months.

Happy 17 months to my little tantrum-throwing, argumentative, fiercely independent, rebellious, risk-taking, loving, energetic boy.

Right now, he's disputing Baby Einstein. The nice voice announced "tiger" as a lovely tropical picture showcased this. Carter, in response, yelled "NO!" That's my boy.

My annual November pondering

How soon is too soon to decorate for Christmas?

My husband would say it's obviously any time before Thanksgiving.

However, I say... if we're not hosting Thanksgiving, no one will even really know we're disrespecting the turkey in favor of the far superior holiday. Plus, at the latest, I have to decorate the day after Thanksgiving. Immediately. Maybe even Thanksgiving night while eating my delicious leftovers. So maybe we can just decorate a few days early and savor all 4 glorious days of the Thanksgiving weekend...

If you pay us an come visit unannounced this weekend, there's a good chance you'll find yourself face to face with a fully lit Christmas tree. BEFORE THANKSGIVING!  Consider yourself warned.

Dinner table conversation

Last night, Carter was having a cup throwing contest with himself. He won. After repeatedly correcting, gently redirecting his efforts, trying to distract him, etc. we had the following exchange:

Carter: [general whining and straining for cup]
Me: Carter, can you say "mama, I'm sorry I threw my cup, can I please have it back? I promise not to throw it again."
Carter: "Amen!"

Hot button.

Hyland's Teething Tablets have been recalled:

The FDA has detected a potentially toxic substance [belladonna] in Hyland's Teething Tablets and urges consumers to discard them.
Full article here: http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-504763_162-20020623-10391704.html

The really frustrating thing to me is that belladonna didn't sneak into some factory somewhere, it's the active ingredient. Parents with teething infants, who are desperate to help their cranky, sad babies of course want to use something homeopathic and natural. Belladonna is also know as "deadly nightshade." Really, does that sound like a good product to give to infants? I could go on, but I'm just going to stop there.

So true.

From a very interesting article about the cost of children:

"...managing a multi-kid household when both parents work full-time is like trying to simultaneously juggle a kitchen sink, a balloon and a kitten."


Yup, that about sums it up.

Read the whole (somewhat depressing) article here: http://money.bundle.com/article/can-you-really-afford-second-child-and-does-it-really-matter

More fun with toddler speak

This morning I took Carter into our room and plopped him on the bed. As soon as we walked in the room, he started repeated "schleepee." We assumed he was saying "sippy" since that's what they call cups at school and he was in fact drinking from a cup.

Eventually we realized he was saying "sleeping" in regards to the roomba sitting in the corner. As in, "Carter, don't touch that, the robot is sleeping." He really loves to turn it on repeatedly. Clearly, he hears this phrase a lot.

Deciphering

Last Saturday, I woke up to a happily chattering Carter. I went in to his room to get him up. The first thing I do is say hi, hug him, and then open the blinds. As soon as he spotted the light outside, he shouted:

"OBAMA!"

It was 6am and I was not quite 100% mentally, so I was slightly confused. I looked back at him while he repeated "Obama! Obama! Obama!" I was rather perplexed because a. we don't sit the kid in front of c-span for hours on end and b. the president was not standing outside the door (which, seriously, would have been really startling). I tried to figure out what the heck he was babbling about. Then it dawned on me, he was staring and pointed at the giant umbrella.

So I asked him, "Umbrella? Do you see the umbrella buddy?" He looked back at me like duh, that's what I've been telling you. So I repeated slowly "uuuhm-brell-LA" and Carter repeated back slowly "Oh-baaa-MA."