To Tweet or Not to Tweet?

Twitter is causing quite a stir. Though it has been out for several months now, it has lately caught on with our hip technology savvy friends. (If you don’t know what Twitter is, just skip this entry or watch this video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PN2HAroA12w). While I acknowledge the dangers in moving even further away from actual human contact in relationships, fueling the need for instant gratification of KNOWING what people are doing, and even fooling oneself into thinking one has friends, I think it can also be a lot of fun if used “properly.” Now, what do I mean by “properly” you ask? Well, I’ll tell you. From my perspective, I don’t care too much to know the mundane things my friends are doing like watching TV with their cats, (but now if Ashton Kutcher was doing that, I WOULD be interested). Celebrities are a different story. (They are obviously using Twitter for their own personal gain of promoting themselves by making thousands of people think they are actually friends with them and then telling these “friends” to watch their show or movie; however, it is still somewhat intriguing to know what they are eating for dinner. So despite feasting on the not-so-mundane information of celebrities eating spaghetti with their cats, I do think there are some great reasons to tweet). But back to my reasons to tweet. My “tweasons, if you will . . . Firstly, I think it’s really fun to use different variations of the word “twitter” while tweeting. “Don’t you twitterstand? You could become a twitterlebrity!” This “bite-sized yippity yap” can be really fun if you don’t take it too seriously and delve into the lingo. Secondly, it can keep you better connected with your friends. Sure, this would be lame if we based the entire friendship on 140-character texts, but when tweeting is used in addition to the phone, emails, facebook, texts, and oh yeah, actual human contact, it can really enhance the friendship through sarcastic banter and random comments. Thirdly, and I guess lastly, because I’m already feeling a little silly writing this much about twitter . . . tweeting is ideal for us stay at home moms (and unemployed dudes) to feel connected with humans throughout the day when there isn’t time to be on the phone or talking in person to other adults. It just makes the day a little more entertaining. Sure, it’s probably true that it’s more enticing to share with “others” what you are doing than it is to read what they are doing, which is a little narcissistic, but if one realizes this and embraces the ridiculousness of it all, I say go right ahead and tweet away. . . After all, it’s not very often one has the opportunity to talk to NO ONE and EVERYONE all at the same time. That sounds twitterific if you ask me.

What's That Fing On Her Head?

So Ila was born with what is called a “hemangioma” on her head, which is a collection of blood vessels that are temporarily clumped together. Lots of babies have them. It has already reached it’s largest point and has started shrinking, and it will eventually deconstruct on it’s own within her first year. Since “hemangioma” is a big word that I often forget, we call it “Steve.” While I don’t really notice it anymore, and when I do it actually makes me thankful that it is the biggest of our worries, the comments I receive about it from grown adults amaze me. Adults comment with polite passive aggressive attempts to inquire about it (and if we are having it removed of course), while children have no qualms about coming right out and saying what they are thinking. I prefer the honesty of kids. We were out to dinner the other week with a four year old who kept asking “What’s that fing on her head!?” This gives me the opportunity to make up something absolutely ridiculous about it being a magic button that makes her stop crying when we push it, or I just tell them “his name is Steve.” The other day a woman at church said to me “Oh I’m sure they can remove that.” Thanks lady. I would much rather her say “Hey, what’s that fing on her head?” To which I would kindly respond, “it’s attached to your rod motha licka.”

Firsts . . .

 Ila is growing so fast. We woke up two mornings ago and I swear she looked different than the day before. It makes me sad to think how fast she’s growing, (which I am constantly reminded of by almost every adult parent who has a child out of the house... yes, I understand “they grow up before you know it!”) Please stop reminding me people; I can see it before my own two eyes! BUT, it also amazes me to watch her grow and develop. SHE amazes me every day. So now that she is almost six months old, she has had several “firsts” lately. Her first time at a playground was last Wednesday when it was almost 80 degrees, so we tried out the swings for a few minutes. Now that she can sit up on her own, she no longer needs her infant bath and she can sit in the front part of the shopping cart! I can’t believe it! She had that expression on her face the entire time we were in the grocery store, just taking it all in. We also took a trip to St. Michaels last weekend with the Rathbones, and judging by this picture, I think she already has her first boyfriend! Ok, not really, that scares me, but isn’t this picture cute?!

Noah and Ila