Time for a proper update? I think so.

Sorry I've been gone for so long... I'm internet-less up in the woods! At first I enjoyed it... a good time to get my priorities back in order. (1. Kid 2. Work 3. Housework 4. Internet) I'm not going to say what order they were in before, but let's just say its been needing an overhaul. Truth be told, though, feeling disconnected really gets to you after a few days... and its definitely adding to the loneliness factor.

I'm stealing wireless in a nearby apartment complex while kiddo naps for a bit, and then I've got to work... I'm taking 12 kids to a church retreat in a different town this weekend... and bean girl is going with us (of course!) some people would say that's absolutely insane, and I would agree wholeheartedly with all of them. It will be an adventure to say the least... The jury is still out on whether or not I'll be traveling to visit husband-pants after that... I suppose it all depends on how exhausted we are.

Husband-pants loves his new job, and rightfully so! Its treated him well so far, especially today, when they sent him lovingly home (to the hotel) because of a fever. Turns out he has an upper respiratory infection... now sending him home because he's sick may not seem all that out of the ordinary to most, but his last job was not the same... if you were on your death bed, you better figure out a way to wheel it up to your cubicle. Missing work was a bigtime no-no. Anyhow, he's doing big things and feeling quite proud of himself... every time I talk to him he sounds like he's grown 10 feet... I'm not yet sure if that's because of the job, or just being in Texas.

Bean girl is really enjoying farm life. Our little cottage sits on a rather large working farm, complete with horses, chickens, some dogs and a few cats! Its really quite a treat for us, as its all fairly new! She's only flattened a chicken once, and for as many times as she's gone after them, I'd say that's pretty good... and he made it out ok... if not a little more cautious around fast-flying toddlers (as he should be!)

Planning the ever-important first birthday party has proved to be mighty time consuming... I'm enjoying it, though. I need to get everything set in stone this week, and I think I'll start to work on a Bean-sized tutu for the special day... all so much fun...

Anyhow, I'm sure the apartment-dwellers are starting to wonder about the car in the parking lot with the strange lady hunched over and trying to duck the sunlight... I'd hate to give the rent-a-cops reason to wake up Bean-girl, so we'll be going...

I promise we'll be back soon. In the meantime, send me lots of good thoughts and I'll do the same for you.

<3

There's really nothing worse in the world than an ugly baby... I mean, babies are supposed to be cute, cuddly little balls of joy... right? "Ugly baby" is an oxymoron in itself... except not. There are too many of the little buggers rolling, crawling, and toddling around right now to not believe its true. Ugly babies do exist, and its just down right wrong.

You have 3 categories of ugly babies, too. The first is the ugly baby belonging to the doting parents who would never think that their child is anything but a beautiful little creature they imagined for those 9 long months... I mean, they realize he's a little funny looking... sure his little nose is all squished, his eyes are just a tad crossed, and his head is still cone-shaped by the time he's mastered the art of crawling, but its just a phase... he'll grow in to it!

These are the parents who will inevitably send you 15,000 pictures of their little angel's 2 month photo shoot, where the kid really resembles a confused fur-challenged monkey.


The second category is the poor little guy whose parents realize the full extent of their kid's ugliness... but it can go two ways.

You've got the cool parents, who realizing it, play it off while hoping that kid will grow into his odd features... and hey, if he doesn't, at least he'll have a great sense of humor

But there are those parents, who realizing their adorable little sunshine princess sortof looks like a bulldog, put some serious work into making her look absolutely frilly every time she's out of the house... bows, ruffles, the works... the overcompensation is ridiculous, but you can't just cover a turd with chocolate and call it a treat.


The last group, and this is, in my opinion, the unluckiest of them all, are the kids whose parents are in complete and total denial that their kid is ugly... these are the kids that have it the worst because at some point in their lives they're going to see a baby picture and realize "damn! i was one ugly little kid!" and that sucks... every ugly baby should at least be a little prepared for it! We won't even go into the appearance of the parents on this one, just expect tons of pictures around Christmas time, and try your best not to show them off to friends and family like you're pointing out toothless carnys at the county fair... unfortunately, that's frowned upon no matter how crazy that kid looks.


The only good thing is that most ugly babies, at least the ones I've seen, don't go on to be ugly kids, or ugly adults... now I'm not saying that there aren't plenty of ugly people out there, it can definitely happen... but an ugly baby is not necessarily doomed... but what would I know? I've got very limited experience with such things... even covered in peaches my kid is freaking adorable...