Who needs fireworks? We've got carrots!

We already showed y'all the video of Caleb's first rice cereal. he has since decided he does not like it...he still eats it for the most part, but he does not love it. So, we have a mill that a friend gave us back in Utah (Thanks, Kim and Jeff!).
I decided i wanted to try it out.

1) we don't have a lot of money to buy jars of baby food.
2) I like knowing exactly what it is I'm feeding him.
3) it's fun to "mill" my own food! lol


So, here he is, enjoying his carrot. This is not the first time...I think it's the 2nd or 3rd? Anyway, he opens right up and leans forward and grabs the spoon/my hand to bring it towards his mouth. Then chomp--and he tries to figure out how to swallow it.

As a side note, when I was steaming these carrots before I milled them something strange happened. We steam most veggis in the microwave because it's easy and quick. and really good. So, I'd done it once already with carrots, but THIS time when I steamed them...they SPARKED!

yes, I'm not kidding! they sparked!

I opened the door, called Mom over and she saw it too. It even made little scorched marks on the carrots. i was perplexed: what is happening?! So I "Googled" it and i found out that lots of fresh foods sometimes spark/flame in the microwave: celery, pinto beans, apples, and yes, carrots. I don't know why...

Does anyone? anyone else had some food spark in the microwave? crazy!

And he keeps growing...

Caleb is so upset that he cannot sit up on his own yet. He insists that I sit with him, because on his back he just screams. It has encouraged him to roll over a bit more frequent because it's at least a different view.


These are the split second solo runs he did...



And then just some updates: he's getting chunky! I've tried propping him up so that he can see around (since, like I said, he can't quite do it on his own yet). And I love that face! And then his 5 month pictures! He turned 5 months a week ago Sunday...but look how big he is! lol I love it!

House Remont

That's a bit of Russian for you...It's not in Cyrillic, but it's still the same: Remont. It means construction.

Anyway, these are a few more pictures of the projects going on here at the house...

BEFORE: disgusting!!! I know. I couldn't stand to rinse diapers in the toilet becaue i could smell this every time. And cleaning it seemed like a joke! The bowl wasn't this dirty, mind you, but it still made a presence. This is mildew. Just in case you weren't sure. GROSS!


And this AFTER! yaya, clean toilet! This was done to both toilets in the house. New flushers and valves and other things were put in. it was an all day project. So gross. But I'm really grateful to have it done since we're hopefully going to be switching to cloth diapers soon and I don't wanna gag every time I rinse one out in the toilet! Thanks goes to Justin. He works hard!! :-)

And here is the man himself! lol
This is head.
It's in the ceiling.
He is in the attic.

The project this time was replacing the vent/heater in the bathroom. That required lots of re-wiring, cutting a bigger hole in the ceiling, and poor Justin spending lots of time with his next to the roof surrounded by insulation.

We just thought this was funny. Dad's not really on the pot. :-) But that's where Justin spent about half of his day. Again...he works so hard!

So...small details that take a lot of time...and this is why it doesn't really feel like we've made much progress. Because who notices a new vent/heater?

Somehow Life Passes By

It seems like so much has happened in such a short amount of time. But then again, nothing extremely "significant" has happened. Sometimes it seems like I do the same thing every day, week by week...and before I know it, 5 months have gone by! But what have I accomplished? This is something I almost have to write down for myself because I get so caught up in the "I've done nothing" mindset...

And writing it down really does make a difference. Every week I make a list. Then I check it off. What I don't get done, goes on to next week. I don't get caught up in what i DON'T get done. I focus on what I DID get done. And it works.

So what HAVE I done? Well, it's interesting that I've started to feel more like a "member" of this commonwealth (lol, yes, commonwealth; not state). I think the even that finally made the switch final for me was the involvement and camaraderie I felt with the most recent special election to fill the Senate seat left vacant by senator Kennedy. It's interesting...

So, I'm registered to vote here; I voted in the primaries; I voted on Tuesday; I finally converted my driver's license to MA...and paid an outrageous $100.00!! Yeah, that makes no sense...

Anyway, it's just nice to feel like I HAVE made progress...I feel like I AM making a difference...and my mundane, ever-so-simple daily routine is a great achievement.

That's saying something for me.

What makes you feel like you've accomplished something? How do you fill that "I need to feel important" necessity?

The joys of having a little boy...