plus one

>> 3.08.2010

CLICK HERE

... and join us at our new home.

Be sure to say hello!

We had an absolutely stunning weekend and I cannot wait to share it with you but I quickly wanted to inform you that I will soon be making a lateral move over to Wordpress.

I have decided this for several reasons:

- After exploring Wordpress a little bit, I fell in love with the layout and features. If I maintain this blog long term I would like it to be there-- and I plan on maintaining this blog long term.

- I have been continuously getting error messages through Blogger that make posting difficult.

- I have been contacted numerous times to sponsor reviews and giveaways and that is not really what this blog is for. I find them sort of disruptive and repetitive. If I came across a product that I fell in love with I would be more than happy to tell you all about it, and if there was something that I really believed in I would absolutely love to give it away to you, but to be honest I am pretty indifferent toward the products I have been contacted about and... the emails are just sort of irritating.

- Ryan's blog is at Wordpress. Shouldn't we keep the family together?

Anyway.. I hope you will all continue to visit me once I move. I will absolutely be keeping up with all of you.

See you soon!

- Michelle

Liam's Fan Page

>> 3.04.2010

So... our kid is a rockstar.

Click here to check out Liam's new shutterfly page. It is where I will be posting my monthly photostream, videos and updates about Liam's progress. We created this site mostly for our family who we know will be interested in the 27 shots of Liam's feet and what milestones he is hitting every month...but you are more than welcome to take a look as well. February is up and running. It is amazing to see how much he has changed this month!

I also uploaded a video of Liam dreaming, which we find quite adorable. Be sure to sign the guestbook!

And for all you mamas and papas, this is really an awesome resource for keeping friends and family updated on your little bundle of joy. It's free and really easy! Just go to shutterfly.com and sign up! Shutterfly is always giving things away too. We already have a free photo book and 50 free prints waiting for us. Oh, the photo goodness.

I suppose I should mention that this is not a "review" of Shutterfly. I simply signed up this week when I reached my photo storage limit on flikr (way too fast) and have been really, really impressed!

Anyway, let me know what you think.

Does This Make Me Cool?

>> 3.03.2010

I re-pierced my nose this past weekend. For the third time.
It is my way of giving adulthood the middle finger.

I first pierced it a couple of years ago on a whim.. but then had to take it out all responsible-like for a job. Once the job was over, I re-pierced it. It lasted a year; however, apparently metal and emergency c-sections don't mesh, so out it came again when Liam was born. Life can be such a kill-joy; like a stuffy old man with its panties in a wad over these new-fangled fads and rebellious youngsters. But I refuse to give up, damn it!

It hurt. It has not hurt in the past but going through the scar tissue of two previous piercings caused some slight discomfort. But I dealt with it. Because I am hardcore like that.

What is that in your face, woman?

So, as we have been asked in the past: what do we tell Liam? Papa is pierced. Mama is too. In fact, my ears are gauged to a 00 as well-- which people rarely notice (I take that to mean I pull it off well). We have tattoos. We plan on getting more. So what do we tell him when he inevitably comes to us at 14 wanting to pierce his belly button or tattoo his girlfriend's name on his neck?

Part of me believes that due to the very nature of teenagers, Liam will have no interest in any of that stuff. Simply because his parents are (or were, whatever the case may be)... and how uncool is that. But let's say he is...

My mom always told me that when I had my own baby, I would understand why parents cringe at the idea of body modification. And while my mom is often right about many things (Hi, Mom!).. she was wrong about this. I really do want Liam to make his own decisions about his body (one of the many reasons we chose not to circumcise-- but that is another post for another time). I also think that these things are more generally accepted and not nearly as big of a deal as perhaps the previous generation is under the impression that they are. In fact, I am quite sure that very few people reading this are feeling shock and dismay. We are quite mild compared to some! I know several tattooed mamas. And not just, "Oh, yeah.. I got this when I was a teenager and boy do I regret it" tattoos but "this is a beautiful piece of artwork that I am proud to have as a permanent part of my body" tattoos. And having pierced my nose three times, I am well aware that piercings are far from permanent.

This does not mean that if Liam comes to me when he is 12 years old insisting on getting Hello, Kitty! tattooed on his ass that I am just going to fork over the cash and hand him the business card of my favorite artist. It just means that I am going to trust myself to teach Liam to make well-informed, thoughtful decisions.. and then I am going to let him make those decisions for himself.

And.. I am going to enjoy my little taste of rebellion. For however long it lasts.

You Should See This.

>> 3.02.2010

It makes me happy.

Created in 2007/2008 by Ryan.
I am such a dork.

p.s.- Cleveland is huuuumid. And I had no brush. Hence the ridiculous hair. The geese? Well.... I have no excuse for that.

Welcome to my Home

>> 3.01.2010

Home is a shelter from storms - all sorts of storms.
William J. Bennett

You may or may not remember this post, in which I introduced you to our new house with its bizarre color scheme, brown trim, and original artwork [oh, my!.]

In between surprise births, college graduations, dog adoptions and those other sorts of things.. we have been hard at work on our little house. With much blood, sweat and tears, along with some pinching, saving, thrifting and liquidating.. we are piecing together a home. I thought you might like to see it!

Today I will show you our living room.

You simply must return to that original post to understand just how far we have come. But it is not finished. Just this weekend, we rearranged to make room for the lovely sideboard we got at a liquidations sale and which we are enjoying immensely.

I am not sure a home is ever "finished" and I am looking forward to the evolution of ours.