Happy 6 Months!

My favorite thing about life with Holden this month is very selfish, but I can't help it.

Holden shows a very clear preference for his mommy to anyone else in the room.

It makes my heart sing.

Unconditional infatuation.

I love being a mom.

–Carmen

Fireworks & Farewells

We hope everyone had a great July 4th!

Mimi, Pawpaw, my sister and her family, hubby, junior, and I met up to see fireworks.

Holden was really into it! He watched the entire show wide-eyed and never got upset.

Everyone stayed the night at our place.

We had a blast. Sawyer is hilarious! He says “I sorry” to almost everything. Too cute. “I sorry daddy.” “I sorry Pawpaw.” “I sorry kiki (kitty.)”

______________________

Jordan and I started worrying several weeks ago that Holden may be allergic to the cats. He has sneezing fits when Onion gets close (Olive never gets close) and he coughs … not the cold in your chest kind, but the back of your throat allergy kind … and not to be confused with his “fake” cough that he executes with a smile to get attention.

So it is with bittersweet emotion that Onion and Olive have moved out. My incredible sister jumped at the chance to invite them into her home.

It was really sad packing up their food, bed, and toys. They are such good girls. I keep “hearing” the bells on their necklaces (that’s what Jordan calls their collars because they are so prissy) and I “see” their slinky shadows moving past …. sigh…..

I sorry kikis.

-Carmen

Tweety & Baby

On Mrs. B's suggestion, we took pictures of Holden this morning with one very patriotic Tweety Bird.

Holden was very interested in the blanket. Alas, he did not look at the camera.

-Carmen

Flying Pigs in Blankets

Holden is almost sitting up all by himself!  We were concerned that he would forever push his forehead across the floor, so this is welcome news!  And yes, Holden just may be the palest human on the planet ... I wonder who he gets that from.

Now it's storytime......

Jordan is a mellow man.  Not especially talkative or forthcoming with emotion.  He is in his space ... and you can be there, too ... just over there .... So twice a year my dearest hubby surprises me.  (He also opens my car door once a year, on my birthday.)  Jordan is very calculating and he needs time to work out the details, weigh the pros and cons, and research.

We are nearing the end of June so I knew a surprise had to be coming my way.

I woke up early Saturday morning a few times to soothe junior (me thinks he is preparing for teething.)  By 7am or so, I was so tired I really couldn't hear him anymore.  Jordan got up to take over.  (Saturday is usually my sleep until 8am day.)

I glanced at the clock repeatedly and chanted ... you know the one ... get up, get up, GET UP!  Five more minutes mom.

A little after 8am the door to our bedroom blows open and pigs began flying about the room ... ok so I may have been somewhere between awake and asleep.  I bolted up from beneath my blanket and started to yell, "I'm up!  I'll get the baby!"  Jordan interjected with, "Good morning ... breakfast in bed?"  and he placed a warm plate of doctored scrambled eggs and biscuits on my lap.  I was confused.  Where am I?  Am I dead?  

I muttered, "I've never had breakfast in bed before," as I rubbed my eyes to see if it was really Jordan standing before me.

Jordan leaned in to kiss my cheek.  "Enjoy!  The baby is screaming, so I've got to go."

I mumbled with a mouth full of eggs, "no don't .... well ok ... " as I took a mighty bite of biscuit.

So I sat peacefully in my most favorite place in the whole world, turned off the baby monitor, and savored every morsel of food and quiet.

This was truly a wonderful surprise.

I have the best husband.

-Carmen

22 Days

I was watching one of those real estate shows where this guy lives more than a 2 hour drive from his work ... that is ONE way .... for a JOB!  He had to get a place in the city where he stays during the week and then drives home to spend time with his wife and kids on the weekends.  They were looking for a new house closer to where he works. 

So I did a little math ......

I spend an average of 22, twenty-four hour days, each year in my car going to and from work.  

I'm not whining or complaining ... I just find it fascinating.  

Add it up, you might be surprised how much time (and gas) you devote to your daily commute.

Seems like we could do a lot of "important" things in 22 days.  

If I chose to spend that time differently, I'd do something selfish like workout!  

I think I'm causing global warming......

So how many days do you spend going to and from work each year?  If you could trade it in, what would you do with the time?  I'd like to hear from you.  Post a comment!

Happy driving!

-Carmen

The Swaddle Monster

I think we have created a monster!

On average a baby prefers to be swaddled for the first 3 months before left to their own devices.  Many like to be swaddled for 4 months.  A few enjoy the comfy cocoon until they are 5 months.  And then there is Holden.

I have tried periodically during the last few months to go swaddle-free at night.  Alas, he has a terrible time falling asleep and staying asleep.

Tonight was no exception.

He grunted, punched, rolled, and squealed in disapproval for a good fifteen minutes before mommy swooped in to rescue him from his arms.  "HELP ME!  My arms are attacking me!"

As I begrudgingly straightened the only blanket still big enough to barely contain him, I had flashes of a thirty-year old son of mine tossing in bed .... wearing footy PJs of course.  

Then his dear wife says, "Hold still.  If you don't put your arms down I can't wrap the blanket tight enough."  Holden, the spitting image of his father, is sticking out his bottom lip and pouting as she tugs the flannel covered in teddy bears around his inherited barrel of a chest.

I can hear her thoughts .... "I'm going to strangle your mother."

Oh, did I mention he has to have his pacifier too?

-Carmen

Holden in a Red Hat

I promise we haven't dropped off the planet ... just oh so busy!

Here is baby boy in his kicky new red hat.

-Carmen

Poo Happens…

… and sometimes it happens in the bathtub.

So much of daily life now revolves around …. hmmm… well … you know. Have I packed enough diapers? Will there be a changing table? Is Holden going to be fussy if we don’t wait for an “event?” Everyone is staring … it was the baby!

I’m the girl with the sensitive gag reflex. The item in question doesn’t even have to be particularly disgusting …. to most people. Refried beans … buh-lah!

I am fascinated that what is considered rude and inappropriate in polite ADULT society is perfectly reasonable in baby world. And now for the first time in my life I just shrug my shoulders and deal with it … no hand over my mouth, no turning of my head, no running and screeching in horror.

I did not have a contingency plan for such an incident in the bathtub, though … I do NOW!

All I could think was, “I am so glad this happened on mommy’s watch!” I’m quite certain if daddy was faced with this unexpected scenario, someone would owe me some new fancy guest towels.

To all the mommies and daddies out there that have been wrangling nature with style and grace much, much longer than I have … I take my hat off to you, bravo, good show, splendid work!

PS
Bless the individual who created the DVR. I didn't miss my favorite show, SYTYCD in spite of Holden's valiant attempts.  Four of the finalists are from Texas!

-Carmen

Rain Rain Come My Way

I was looking for some photos at work and came across this one, and I wanted to share.  I was shooting the cover for our seasonal catalog way back in 2005 and these precious cutey pies were splashing around in the mud at the end of our session.  This picture always makes a bad day better for me.  

I miss playing in the mud.

-Carmen

Happy 5 Months!

My favorite thing about life with Holden this month is how interactive he is. When he is laying near me on the couch, he will scoot himself over so we can cuddle. He reaches out for your hand (or hair), "talks" and laughs almost constantly, and has started playing with small toys like rattles.

You see some of his new blonde hair in this photo.

-Carmen

Look What I Can Do

This just in!

Holden flipped himself over without assistance from his tummy to his back ...  then he rolled to his side ... back to his back .... and back to his side!  It all appeared very deliberate ... no flailing!

Such a busy day for such a little guy.

-Carmen

First Swim

Thank you B&H for inviting us over for grub and a swim, today.  The food was super yummy and thank you for letting my tired little merman nap on the couch.

Holden had his first swim! I can't really tell if he liked it. He didn't really react at all so I guess he didn't HATE it.  

The froth on junior's mouth ... spit bubbles.  He was making "motor boat" sounds. 


-Carmen

Happy Memorial Day Weekend!

Holden was super talkative this morning at 6:30 am and mommy was not ready to get up. After Holden polished off a bottle, I put him in bed with me. He continued to talk for a while then finally we both fell back to sleep. Jordan arrived home from his shift and crawled in bed with us so we could all snuggle. Holden thought it was time to play, though.

Happy Memorial Day Weekend!

-Carmen

ethel MERMAN

Some happy thoughts to follow yesterday's post....

I have many nicknames for Holden.  

Stinky McStinksalot

Jabberwocky

Sir Smelly Pants

Poopy McPoopsalot

Munchkin

Punkin

Tooty McTootsalot

Sometimes I get him confused with the cat and call him Onion

I have a new one...

Merman.  

This week he has started linking his ankles together and pushing his legs out straight.  It looks like the mister version of a mermaid.  Then he points and flexes his feet.  The kicker is when he does it in the bathtub.

Silly Monkey

-Carmen

The Tippetts 3

We plan and march like ants driven by our missions and tasks.

Urging on with blinders.

Breathing in. Breathing out.

Lists in one hand. A list of our lists in the other.

Dodging bump and pothole. Ducking beneath the low branches.

Sun comes up. Sun goes down.

Control.

I mentioned “surprises” in a recent post. Jordan and I found out last week that our family was going to be blessed with another niece or nephew.

Sawyer had on a “Big Bro” t-shirt on during our Mother’s Day trip to my mom’s house to announce the happy surprise.

Funny how things can change in one week, as we press forward in our single file lines…. heads straight and facing front.

I don’t even know what to say and I don’t want to speak for my dear sister, but this week’s news is much more somber.

We plan and march like ants … driven ….

Click here for her story……

I was listening to a DJ this morning talking about a band, Death Cab for Cutie and how they don’t polish out all the kinks and flubs from their recordings.

In a saccharin world, I found this somehow refreshing. What a novel concept. Humans being human …. What? What’s that? Imperfect? Imperfect in PUBLIC? GASP!

The DJ ended his comments with, "can you tell where they messed up?" I concentrated looking for what was "wrong" instead of loving everything that made it right. And no. No, I couldn't tell.

I admire my Sara and her strength.

“These things happen.”

Yes, but it still hurts, and hurting …. hurts.

And sometimes being real and vulnerable when EVERYONE is looking is just what we need.

Repeat after me, “I am human. The bumps will get in my way and I will stumble. I will nosedive into a multitude of potholes. I am going to be ok.”


Now, go hug your momma. Go hug your kids.


-Carmen

Look Ma, BOTH Hands!

We have started quasi-spoon feeding.  Once or twice a day, we attempt to give junior a bit of cereal.  Calling this stuff cereal is actually very misleading.  It should be called mush, or gruel, or ... nasty.  

Step 1 - shove a little nasty into Holden's mouth.  Step 2 - Holden smacks his gums, wrinkles his nose, giggles, and shoves it back out with his tongue.  Step 3 - Repeat Step 1.  Continue until you are so grossed out you need to step out for a little fresh air. 

This kid talks and laughs a LOT!  If this is any indication of his future personality, we either have another Rowdy or Mi Mi on our hands.

Our dear son held his bottle through an entire feeding by himself, today.  I think it was a fluke, but we will test it again later.

I have been under the weather this week... way under the weather.  I can't talk today, a touch of laryngitis (I didn't even have to look that word up!)  My mom was forced to discover the wonderful world of text messaging.  I had to miss cousin H's grad party, today.  Sorry, H.  I really wanted to be there.

Well, we've got another busy week ahead of us and the laundry STILL isn't doing itself.  

Funny story - My husband was disappointed that I took away his "magic" laundry basket when we got married ... when he lived at his parent's house, he put dirty clothes into the magic basket and they reappeared washed and folded.  

We all have our dreams.  I now have a magic toilet seat that seems to open up on its own when no one is looking.  I could do without THAT magic.

Have a great week!

-Carmen   

So Many Firsts, So Little Time

We have been very busy bees!

I’ll start with Holden’s new tricks.

Holden has become so fascinated with the tools we call “hands” as mentioned in the Happy 4 Months post.

He has been making attempts to hold his bottle for a while, but now it is much more deliberate. Last week, he was holding his bottle (mommy balanced the end of it on the tip of her finger, like training wheels) as he watched his hands intently. Holden pulled the bottle away to take a deep breath. When he was rested and decided to continue his meal, he tried to replace the bottle, but instead missed his giant mouth and squished it into his nose, then his cheek, then his other cheek. Mommy laughed momentarily before assisting. A few days after that …. same scenario … this time he was chasing the bottle. Holden’s face was leaning forward with mouth wide open, but his hands were also moving forward as he grunted. Mommy laughed some more.

This one might be my favorite. Also mentioned in previous posts – Holden loves his bath and “bath” is one of the two bits of sign language we use with him. He has been showing great excitement when we sign “bath” to him and then hold his hands to make the sign again on his chest. Now when we make the sign for “bath” he pulls his fists to his chest all on his own in anticipation!

Holden has been placing his arm over his mouth to hold his pacifier in place, and when it falls out, sometimes he picks it up with his chubby fingers and puts it back in his mouth.

When Holden is super sleepy, he takes his giraffe blankie (or burp rag, whichever is within reach) and covers his eyes to shield them from the light.

This is a not so good first … Holden received round 3 of vaccines which resulted in a very high fever. He has also developed his first cold complete with snot and coughing. It is so sad to watch him like this. He has been sleeping almost all day and isn’t eating much. Poor little guy is wiped out.

Over the Mother’s Day weekend (or first Mother’s Day,) we visited with my parents. Holden finally met my Pawpaw (another first.) My sister, brother-in-law, and Sawyer were all there. Sawyer has also been very ill lately, but I think they have it under control now (cross your fingers.) He took a nose dive off of a bench and broke his fall with his face the day before they arrived … you can see the marks in the pictures.

Holden gave me a rain shower head for Mother’s Day. Ironically, Jordan has been regrouting the tile in the shower this week, so I won’t get to use it for a while … but it sure is shiny!

I feel like I am rambling, trying to get caught up….

I’m leaving out some other goodies, but they are surprises (no I am not pregnant.) More later…..

Here are the Mother’s Day pictures … none of me and Holden … I forgot about that.

Happy 4 Months!

My favorite thing about Holden this month is that he seems so interested in his hands.  Before, a hand may make it's way to his mouth, or it may not.  Now his hand is intentionally placed in his mouth ... his whole hand ... to the point of gagging.

-Carmen

Saturdaze

A friend from work was married this evening.  I joined the usual suspects for the show.  Perhaps one of you lovely ladies can contribute a picture?

We had a blast.  It was one of the most beautiful weddings I have ever seen.  

This afternoon I tried to put on my standard wedding attire only to find my halter dress fits my "mommy" figure much differently than it once did.  So I reluctantly found slacks that fit and a brassiere and top that didn't.  

Holden and I made a mad dash through Dillards looking for replacements for the latter.  I found a top, but my ill-fitting bra was a little too ill.  Bolted over to intimates.  All the while Holden is laughing at me as I am panting and rushing from one shiny black strapless to the next.  Eureka found one!  Please let this fit, please let this fit.  In the dressing room I start explaining to Holden the finer points and burdens of being a female.  He laughs some more.  I said, "be glad you are a boy," and he tooted so loud and triumphantly I was afraid every lady in the dressing room would think it was me.  He is definitely a boy ... and completely unburdened.

-Carmen

    

Baby Love at First Sight

Meet Holden's girlfriend.... Maya. You can tell by the looks on their faces just how thrilled they are to be smashed together for their moms' amusement.

This may rank up there with my cats in sweaters.

Who's next?

Jordan better sleep with one eye open ... tee hee hee.

-Carmen

Ten Fingers Five Hundred Toes

Holden is getting so big (sniff sniff.)  I retired all 50 of his itty bitty baby socks a few weeks ago.  They have been sitting in a bag ... waiting.  Waiting for what?  I don't know.  I guess it is time to join them with all the clothes he has outgrown in a storage container headed for the attic (triple sniff.)

The cutie pie "undies" are a gift from my good friend DD.  I get the giggles when Holden wears them.  He is in size 3 diapers now and on the verge of another upgrade.  We'll have to add a "C" to the "hunk" on his rear before too long.... except they won't fit much longer (quadruple sniff.)

-Carmen

...Keeps the Doctor Away

I have a confession to make......  

I crossed over to the dark side.

I bought a mac.

I'm posting from it right now.

I thought I could never get past some of Apple's quirks.  

They sucked us in with all their hype and shine. 

PC and mac live in harmony in our home. 

Now I can do cool things like this....

(Click play, let it buffer ... speakers on.)

-Carmen

Stay Tuned

Still adjusting to being back at work..... I don't mean to harp on the subject, I know I talk about it a lot, but man, am I TIRED!

I'll have some cutey cute pictures and maybe something interesting to say soon. Did I mention I'm sleepy. At this particular moment I feel like an old momma so all I've got is a Yo Momma joke so duck.....

Yo momma’s so old her social security number is 1!


(tap, tap, tap) Is this thing on?

Thank you .... I'll be here all week! And goodnight.

-Carmen

Tee Hee Hee

Holden and I were at the mall today, and he broke out into a rant about the price of gas. I, of course, pulled out the ole camera phone. Holden had been talking for several minutes before I started to record. Then we started to draw a crowd so I had to cut off the camera and console the little guy. He was LOUD!

Click on the PLAY button. It should start playing on it's own, but allow it to finish buffering. Make sure your speakers are on.



We had a couple of other cute "happenings," today.

I laid Holden's little blankie with a giraffe head on his chest. The giraffe is named Gerry. Holden chomped on Gerry's giraffe antennae (what are those things, anyway?) and tried to suck on his face. It looked like they were kissing. When Holden fell asleep, he had Gerry hugged up against his chest with his arm. Soooo cute.

Forgive me for posting this, but it was so funny. Back at home, Holden was tooting and Olive, the cat, was meowing in reply. Toot ... Meow ... toot ... meow ... TOOT ... MEOW ... TTTOOOOTTTT ... MMMEEOOOWWWW.

-Carmen

Four Corners

Jordan and I love working on our house, but we are s - l - o - w about it. Holden's room is close enough to done to post some pictures. Click on any of them to enlarge.

I still plan to add some of Jennifer's photos above the crib and I may put something on the wall behind the chair.

Jordan and I painted the walls green when we found out we were having a baby. I painted a sky on the ceiling. It looks kind of like an open skylight.

Other special crafty additions include the blue shelf that Jordan made and I painted, the family tree I made, the H O L D E N above the crib was cut by Jordan and painted by me, I added tags to the baskets that can be changed out when the items inside change, and I added wooden bees with "jet streams" coming from their rears on the ceiling.

Happy 3 Months!

Holden is 3 months old!

Holden had his first sleepover without mom and dad. He stayed with his Nana and Rowdy Friday night.

The mister and I had grand plans to go to a movie, but we were too tired. So, we went home and popped the top on a bottle of champagne from our wedding to celebrate mommy not quitting her job (that is how Jordan put it.) We even dragged out the champagne flutes instead of using coffee mugs. When Jordan left the room to get refills ... I fell asleep.

Onion was really concerned about the lack of baby. She wandered around the house looking for Holden and stood in front of his door over and over trying to peek in until he came home.

Holden and I are just hanging out today. I have some WORK work to take care of, but I'm waiting for junior to nap.

My favorite thing about life with Holden this month is how he tilts his head and shrugs his shoulders when he smiles. He also sticks out his bottom lip when he is sad ... this makes mommy laugh, which usually makes Holden laugh, too.

-Carmen

Patches

When we were kids, my sister and I would spend a week with my grandparents during the summer. During the day we would party it up with Nanners. We could turn the TV up loud, we had music on and danced around the house, we played with anything we wanted, and laughed a ton.

I remember one afternoon while Nanners was ironing Pawpaw’s shirts, I was wadding up ruled notebook paper and dollar bills then asking her to iron them for me. Over and over again, I would crumple up the paper and money and she would iron them flat … just because I asked.

At some point in the afternoon each day we had to stop, pick up the Tinker Toys, and turn off the TV … Pawpaw was on his way home. Our faces were cleaned, our backs straightened up, and our mouths became quiet.

I always loved that. We lived it up all day and no one ever knew.

Grandma had this ceramic dog (I’ll call him Patches) in what was my mom’s room when she was a kid. I was always a little creeped out by it, but now I love it. I brought it home for Holden.





















-Carmen

Back Off Ladies, He’s Mine

Usually I say that as a joke when the husband does something gross like burp the alphabet, but this time…….

Per suggestions I found in a Baby Center article about two income households and sharing chores, we made a list of all the things we have to get done each day and then each week … the usual suspects like laundry and mowing. We divvied the chores and typed up the list.

One of the big things that Jordan claimed was dinner. Jordan has greeted me with a warm home cooked meal for the last two nights. And he didn’t phone it in, either. We had baked tilapia, rice, and broccoli with cheese last night, and we had meatballs, pasta, and green beans tonight.

My beloved husband has taken a HUGE load off my shoulders not only with the daily task of dinner, but with housework and help getting Holden ready to go in the morning (when he isn’t working.)

So burp on, baby!

Baby news …. Holden laughed real laughs, today. Mrs. B had him rolling when I arrived to pick him up. I tried to recreate the moment for Jordan when we got home, but Holden wasn’t interested.

If you have seen Holden lately you are probably talking about his hair, behind his back. It is getting so thin and patchy. Gone (or fading) are the dark locks he arrived on the planet with. So sad. On the upside, Jordan and I examined his receding hairline and there is blonde hair growing in. He is going to be a calico baby before long.

-Carmen

The Worst Day of My Life…

… was down-graded to intensely frustrating and sad.

My first day of work, yesterday was very hard, but everyone lived.

I sobbed a wee bit after I dropped Holden off and felt really nauseated most of the morning. I must have looked back at the baby rearview mirror a dozen times expecting him to be there after I dropped him off.

I think the thing I found the most bothersome was sitting in traffic. I never enjoyed the one hour commute before (which is now more like a one and a quarter hour commute with all the new residents in this area, and not including drop off time at Mrs. B’s,) but now I think about things in “Holden time.” I couldn’t believe I was sitting in my car inching along when all I wanted was to be with my son. I also had another excruciating commute at the end of the day to look forward to before I could hold him again.

One of the things I will hop up on my soap box about in a split second is freewill and CHOICE so I am VERY aware how whiny I sound right now … I choose to work where I do … I choose to live really far away from that location….

The day was ok when it got going. I didn’t realize how much I missed my coworkers, my desk, my chair, my email, my job.

Don’t get me wrong, I was still running out the door when it was time to leave and pick up my baby boy.

Holden was in his original packaging when I arrived at Mrs. B’s. He was content.

OK, I have to be honest. I don’t know what I was really expecting … he is only 3 months old … but I don’t think he had any idea I was missing from his day! OUCH! I certainly don’t want him to be upset, but a “hey, mom … I’m so glad to see you,” wouldn’t hurt.

Moving on…….

One of my bestest friends in the whole wide world had a birthday celebration last night and Holden and I attended her birthday party at a Greek restaurant. The food was fab and we had a great time.

As mentioned in a previous post, Holden demands to be bathed at 8:00 pm. I started to panic around 7:30.

Poor baby didn’t get his bath until 9:00 pm. He was extra fussy by the time we got home, and I laid him on his changing table to get him ready for bath time. Also mentioned in a previous post, we are using baby sign language with Holden. I made the sign for “bath” with my hands and he magically calmed down, smiled, and cooed! I took his hands and made little fists with them, and moved his hands the same way to sign “bath.” He smiled even bigger. “Well look at that!” It is working! Thank you KD for giving me that sign language book!

We were really rolling along.

Holden enjoyed his bath as usual. I dried, lotioned, and PJed him before his last bottle for the night, all the while reflecting on how the day really went much smoother than I anticipated.

Then…..

I was feeding Holden and I started to sweat profusely, I started getting really lightheaded, and I was shaking. As some of you know, I have hypoglycemia. Well, I was “crashing.” And as my mother and husband have observed, when it happens, it happens fast. I hate to take the bottle from Holden during a feeding, but obviously it was necessary. I laid him down to find something to eat and shove it in my mouth so I could return to feeding Holden. I felt awful. He was screaming and I was shaking trying to hold the bottle to his mouth. A pitiful sight.

My body finally started to relax and the shaking started to subside, then Holden spewed milk all over my new work clothes. It ran down my sweater, down my pants, and all over the chair. I was sitting in it and it was soaking into my clothes and the chair, but I didn’t care. I just wanted to finish feeding him so we could both go to bed.

Eventually I got everyone and everything cleaned up (it was the most spit up I have ever seen,) and we went to bed.

I melted into my bed, a bed I LOVE by the way, and drifted into sleep.

Holden woke up at 4am and we started a whole new day. Complete with a VERY poopy diaper as we were suppose to be heading out the door.


THIS JUST IN … BREAKING NEWS!!!

Olive the cat, walked up to Holden, who was sitting in his bouncy chair and Holden noticed! This is the first time he has paid any attention to the cats. They were nose-to-nose, checking each other out. When Olive walked away, Holden’s eyes followed her.

I am sleepy and delirious. Time to put all the Stogsdills in bed.

And goodnight to all!

-Carmen