When cheese gets its picture taken, what does it say?

I wonder if anyone actually reads my blog anymore? I know it has been a while since I have updated, but I needed to get at least one post in so I could give this piece of advice: NEVER take Biology online. There, now you know why I have been absent.

So, here are the things that have been going on around me while I had my nose in a biology book:

Seth got a haircut.

The finished product:
He had a lot of hair! It is so much easier to comb now and looks so healthy. Of course, he was very good while getting his haircut. He did decide at one point he was done, but once I gave him pretty much everything from my purse (keys, phone, mints) he was happy.

The other day, Seth and Daddy went outside to see the horses. They got all bundled up,
Played in the snow a bit,
Watched the horses,
Pet one of the horses,
And fed the horse Seth's mitten.
I guess the horse thought that Elmo looked yummy and just sucked it off of Seth's hand. Don't worry, we got it back. No! Not that way, the horse spit it out :)

Oh, and here is a picture of Taylor hamming it up for the camera in her cheer leading uniform. She just finished a season of competetive cheer and loved it.

And speaking of hammin' it up...Like sister, like brother. "Are you talkin' to me?"
I will try hard not to go so long between updates. Maybe I should post the occasional biology update. Naw, I wouldn't subject my friends and family to that.

"The pen is mightier than the sword, and considerably easier to write with." - Marty Feldman

Yesterday I had two root canal restorations done. For those of you that have never had the pleasure, let me give you a brief rundown of what that entails: During a root canal (which I had in November), the endodontist drills down through a tooth and completely removes any root that is left in the tooth. Then the endodontist fills it with a temporary filling. In my case, they did this because I had an infection in the roots of two teeth that were side by side. During a root canal retsoration, the dentist puts a post where the root used to be and fills it up just like a cavity. When I had the root canal I was going to a random dentist I choose because he accepted our insurance. He had BEAUTIFUL office with fountains and imported furniture. Seriously, the waiting room was very nice. However, to be honest, I never felt entirely comfortable with him. So, when my husband's job switched insurance January 1st, I called up my former dentist, who I had been seeing since a kid.

Now, I absolutely hate going to the dentist. Not necessarily through any fault on the part of the dental professionals, just because I cannot stand the thought of the scraping, etc. But the price I was about to pay (as quoted by the dentist with the beautiful office) made me want to put off that root canal restoration as long as possible. He quoted me $800 per tooth, 80% of which would be paid by my insurance. That still left me to pay $320.00 for something I did not want to have done anyway. But I knew it had to be done so I went on Valentine's Day (Happy Valentine's Day to me) to my former dentist. Do you know how much they charged me and my insurance? $144.00 per tooth, meaning my total was only $52.00! What the heck??

So, I have a question for everyone out there. Did you know that you had to shop dentists for a good deal? I knew there would be differences in pricing, but $1300.00? Is that ridiculous, or what?

"Neurosis is the inability to tolerate ambiguity." - Sigmund Freud

You have to admit: Even though Freud was some-what nutty, he was still a fascinatingly intelligent man. But, I am not here to bore you with talk of Freud and his weird fixations...

I want to introduce you to (drum roll, please): Toddler Seth!


I know, he is heartbreakingly cute even when he is in the throws of a small temper tantrum. The past few days a new, more confident, Seth as emerged. As a mother, this frightens me a little. I have to ask myself, "How long will this last? It seems too soon!" However, as a psychology student I say to my self, "Yay! Development right on course. Maybe even a little advanced! That is so exciting! He is in the Objective-Self phase."

To give you an idea of what kind of major infraction could cause a face like this, let me tell you how it all started. I asked him for my car keys back, he nicely gave them to me, I put them away. That is when I got this face.

Just a couple hours before this, Seth and I were in the kitchen preparing dinner. Seth walked over to the garbage and grabbed an empty plastic bottle off the top of the garbage (it was kind fo full, waiting for Taylor to get home). I turned to Seth and said, "What do you have?" He took off running. I gave chase and just as I was about to reach him, he threw it to the side and broke down into a mini temper tantrum. It is hard not to laugh in moments like these. He is just so darn cute - I knew that was going to be trouble for me when this phase started!

So far, the temper tantrums have been small and short-lived. And they really are a welcome sign of Seth becoming his own little person. He is learning that he has his own thoughts and feelings about some things, and often they are not the same as mommy's thoughts and feelings. Case and point, he thought it would be great to play with garbage, but mommy thought it would be icky. Go figure :)

On the flip side, his sleeping has done a complete 180 degree turn. It is so awesome! He wears himself out running around all day, leading to 12 hour nights and TWO 1 - 2 hour naps a day. I could not ask for a better sleeping baby if I tried. He really does enjoy going to bed and sleeping. I am sure that this will pass, but I am accepting this very welcome reprieve from sleep deprivation. Truthfully, I am not sleeping more though - just studying more. Which is what I need to get back to doing.

I am working on getting a good video of Seth dancing to post on here. He has some pretty good moves (like his daddy), but every time he spots the camera, he stops dancing. Also like his daddy.

Okay, that is enough procrastinating for one night. Back to the grindstone.

"I have been on a calendar, but never on time." - Marilyn Monroe

I have been getting some flack from my mother for not posting enough, so I thought I would try and squeeze a post in. I have been really busy with, well, life.

This morning I tried to cut Seth's hair. Really I just wanted to take a little bit off. I was able to take off less than a little bit. I was way to scared of messing up those beautiful curls. This week, I need to get him in for a trim. His hair is so long it has the beginnings of a little mullet :) Don't get me wrong, I love long hair, he just has some frizzies on the ends that need to be cut away so you can see his adorable little curls. To give you an idea of how much I actually cut:

I guess I need to leave it to a professional. I am too much of a wimp.

Last Thursday, Seth and I were standing in the checkout lane at a grocery store, when an elderly woman got in line behind us. Now, if I have learned anything these last 5 months, I have learned that there are two types of people who ask odd questions about the fact that Seth and I do not fit the "standard" mother-son mold: elderly ladies and small children. For the most part, it doesn't bother me. So, when this woman started talking to me, I had a feeling that it was going to take that direction. I will name this lady Madge, for story-telling sake:

Madge: Does you mother work out at (such and such) gym on (such and such) road?
Me: No. My mother and I both live in (our small town).
Madge: Oh (Looooonnnnngggggg pause) Because there was a woman that I did aqua aerobics with whose daughter married a black man.
Me: (internally: oi, I am too tired for this) Hmmm... Well, my husband is white (even longer pause to make her squirm) Actually, my son is from Ethiopia.
Madge: Oh! So he's adopted!

The story went on and on from there. I know that these conversations upset a good number of transculteral families out there, but I think it is important to consider the source. This woman was 73 years old. Of course, my first instinct was to teach her a few things about race and culture and minding-her-own-beeswax, but really she was just a very lonely lady who was trying to start a conversation.

What really bothers me is when people stereotype Seth based on his color, even when the stereotype is positive. "Oh he will be good at this or that." Usually these comments come from people I know and love and they almost always catch me off guard. I am working on developing a set of comebacks that will not cause an argument, but will get my point across. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

With that, I need to get back to Biology (UGH!). I will leave you with a cute baby picture and proof that Seth hates a clean house: