the old college try

 

that is what i gave cloth diapers.  i even installed a sprayer/bidet on our toilet

because i thought that would make it less disgusting.  i was wrong.

 

i bought 10 cloth diapers with the goal to use a hybrid of cloth and disposable

diapers - only using the cloth at home.  i know a few who use them and really

like them, so i picked their brains, did some research, and bought a few

to start out.  just to see if it was something we would actually be willing to do

before making a large investment.  i took the plunge when richard went out of

town for work, and after two full days of cd's i came to the realization that no,

i'm actually not willing to do them.  bidet or no, i just won't do it.  i'd rather

add to the landfill than deal with spraying runny, mustard-colored turds into

the john every other minute.  not to mention the leaking.  woof.

 

what it boils down to is that we've got a few cloth diapers in case of an

emergency.  but i can't think of an emergency that would be better solved

by using them than just making a quick trip to the store.

 

this was the first cloth diaper we used, and by the look on his face i think

he knew it was a joke.  by the look of the diaper, and my gag reflex,

i should've known, too. 

 

here's to us...cheers to us

we spent new year's eve at home.  my parents came over for a little

while, but it wasn't really to hang out with us...it was to hold the boy.

we're not offended.  we can't be, because we understand more than

anyone that holding him is better than hanging out with any adult.

anyway, they packed it in at about 11:00, so after we put marty boy

to bed, it was just the two of us.  we popped the cork on the sparkling

cider, filled our glasses, and rang in the new year toasting all of the things

we are thankful for, and all of our hopes for 2013.  it was perfect.

 i wasn't feeling very thankful on thanksgiving, which sounds terrible, but that's

just the way it was.  but the new year has got me reflecting and feeling pretty

blessed, so here are some of the things i'm grateful for:

a handy husband who aspires to become more handy with every possible

project.  and his handy friends who lend their handy hands when we need them.

a working dishwasher (installed by my handy husband).

a happy, healthy baby.

and a husband who loves making the happy boy smile.

 

 

a family who loves him (almost as much as we do).

 motherhood.  having my little marty boy has opened my heart

more than i ever thought possible.  i may be doing everything wrong,

but when he smiles at me, or snuggles into my neck, or holds on tight

to my finger, i know that we were meant to be together and that

eventually i'll get it right.

i've got a feeling that 2013 is going to be a pretty good year.

 

a merry little christmas

 

 the best christmas gift we got came a little early, in the form of the

most precious baby ever conceived.  but we still celebrated by

showering each other with more gifts on the actual day.

richard's main gift was an electric acoustic guitar, but i/santa still filled his stocking
with groupons and candy.  between the two of us, we ended up with movies in
the double digits and a boat load of candy.  which will make for some good
at-home date nights.

after our first christmas morning as a little family, we headed out to

my parents' house to find that their satanic golden retriever had eaten

the breakfast casserole.  dad saved the day by whipping up some

french toast, and then we got to more presents.

 

i think my favorite gift of the morning was the painting that shae did for us - 

the baby is martin (obviously), the guitar is for richard, and the pink flamingos

are for me.  he is super talented, and we are super lucky he wants to join our

crazy family.

marty got plenty of attention.  as he should, since he's the pretty much the

greatest thing ever.

 

we ended the porter family gathering by taking family photos.

these two are pretty much a family of their own already, but they're making it

legally official this fall - shae proposed to sarah the sunday before christmas, she

said yes, and we couldn't be happier!  not only do we love him, but richard is

pretty stoked that the boys will no longer be outnumbered.  they will, however,

still be outcrazied by a large margin.

 

we opted out of traveling to the grandparents' houses to avoid any sickly family

members that may have infected our little guy, so we headed home.  it was kinda

weird, but pretty fun.  richard made delicious cookies, we watched movies and ate

junk food, played boggle, and then richard remembered that he'd saved one last

gift for me to open....

  

he handed me a bag, and i opened it to find wires, electrical tape, and a few

other "handy" objects that i was sure i'd never be using.  but before i got to the

last thing in the bag the thought popped into my mind: a dishwasher!  i asked if

that's what it was (if i'd waited to see the last object i'd have known for sure because

it said "dishwasher" on it), he said yes, and then i jumped across the room to tackle

him with happy, thankful, and tearful hugs and kisses.  then he took me out to the

garage to show me that it was no joke.

 

i was a pretty happy camper.  how could i not be with an amazing husband,

the best baby known to man (and any other species), and a dishwasher?!

merry christmas.