Happy Cows

Sometimes I take an alternate route in order to pass the grove where these cows hang out.  I'm not sure how much Will can see (or if he is even awake), but I always mooo quite enthusiastically if the ladies (as I call them) are there.  I wish we could take a walk down this road so we could get closer and he could see them, but it is one of those hilly country roads where if you go fast enough, your stomach will drop and you would be smart to fear for your life facing an oncoming car while going over the hills in your own car let alone on foot.  

When I stopped to snap these pics (which took maybe five seconds a piece), I kept checking my rear-view to make sure no cars were coming.  I had this horrible image of being crashed into and Will getting hurt. That has been happening a lot lately. My imagination seems to be running wild since becoming a mom.  The other day, I was walking down our street over a creek and saw a red food wrapper stuck in the rocks with some other refuse. Instead of lamenting the litter, I immediately imagined Will lunging out of his stroller to his death to get the wrapper.  (He loves all things crinkly and crunchy that are not actual toys right now.) I'm guessing this is a normal mom thing...right? Worry. Don't we normally think of moms as worriers?  Isn't it actually a helpful quality of a mom? That maternal instinct?

No. I refuse to buy into that idea. I refuse to let the worry take over my heart.  I have no room for it. I will be vigilant. I will be alert, but I will not worry.  John 14:27 says, "Peace, I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid." My strength as a mom comes not from myself and my worries but from God. I am so thankful for the peace and joy that fills my heart. My peace and my joy make me a much better mom than all the worrying in the world. So don't worry, be happy.  Be healthy. Be peaceful. Be strong.

Also, do you see the three little calves lounging in the sun? So peaceful. Happy cows come from Illinois too.

Spacious Skies and Amber Waves

A little more than half of the fields on our back roads have been harvested. The sides of the roads are littered with corncobs and the fields are full of all sorts of farm equipment.  I can't stop singing "America, the Beautiful."

The Things I Call My Baby

At the beginning of Will's sixth month appointment, the medical assistant asked a series of developmental questions to which I was enthusiastically replying yes (Sitting up? Yes.  Squealing and squeaking? Yes! Rolling over both ways? Yes.), and then she said, "And he's responding to his name?" I just looked at her for a moment before mumbling, "Not really."  But I wanted to add that he would probably reply to any of the following:

Mister

SweetSweet

Booshie/Booshie Boy/Boozjer

Mister Monkey Man

Moosehead/Moosehead McGillicuddy

Cotton-Headed Ninnymuggins (a term of endearment--not an elfin slight--because he has the fluffiest cottony hair on top of his head... lately, we have shortened it to Ninnymuggins)

Pounder/Paul Poundcake (after Paula Poundstone not because he is witty--yet--but because he pounds a lot)

Squeaker

Snot-Nosed Mouthbreather only when it is literally true (because it's kind of funny to say in a loving way as in my SweetSweet Snot-Nosed Mouthbreather)

See below for Will's reactions when I call him a snot-nosed mouthbreather...

...actually, I think he was just yawning here, which reminds me we also call him Yanni.

Also, I am happy to report that after intensive training, he now also responds to Will and William and WillWill.  

A Perfect Way to Start the Week

I'm notoriously susceptible to a good commercial. If I didn't already use Swiffer products, these commercials might get me to buy them. And almost all commercials during the Olympics make me cry. (Apparently, Proctor and Gamble gets me.)  But sometimes I succumb to commercials for things that really aren't that good. (I guess I don't eat enough while watching TV.) Taco Bell commercials and movie trailers are the most formidable. And because I'm the official keeper of our Netflix account, I often have to apologize to Jason after we watch a movie that I picked.

Below are four movie trailers that I only saw after viewing the movie.  Each movie is streaming instantly on Netflix right now.

Some algorithm must have just suggested them to me.  Did they even come out in theaters?  I don't know, but I do know that they were all unexpectedly delightful. So, the lesson for this week is to trust math not advertisements... unless the math is doing the advertising.  Then, I'm not sure.  But I am sure that you should check out these movies this week for some unexpected (but now, I guess you're expecting it... either way) delight.

Safety Not Guaranteed

The Giant Mechanical Man

Butter

First Position 

I hope your week is unexpectedly delightful!

Also, speaking of advertisers, I have officially been blogging for over a month now and decided to add advertisers on the right side (if you hadn't noticed).  I'm not sure how it all works exactly, but I think that if you click on the links there is a possibility that I could earn some money... like a penny or two... maybe enough to keep us in bad movies each month. So click or don't click but consider yourself as much in the know as I am at this point.

A Tisket A Tasket...

...I put my baby in a basket... with his cousin Piper... and they loved it!

These are from last Sunday, which you might have guessed from Piper's Rams onesie.  What could be better than two baby cousins in a basket?  We're going to try for three here soon!  We're excited to meet Will's first Tedesco cousin, baby Mia, whenever she chooses to arrive.  Having one cousin so close in age (11 weeks apart) has been so much fun. I really can't wait to see how he interacts with both of his lady cousins as they all get older.

Because we lived in different states and for a few years in different countries, I didn't get to see my cousins more than a few times a year.  I've always wondered if a close cousin was more like a sibling or a close friend or both. Can anyone clear that up for me?

Also, you're welcome for the free mini-playpen idea.  Like all good baby ideas, it came from Marge. Please do not leave your baby unattended in a basket...or a diaper box...which serves the same purpose as a basket.