Yes, thank you very mu--- hello?

I've been spending a lot of time on the phone with PSE&G lately (our gas and electric folks for those of you outside the area) due to the obnoxiously high bill we received this month, which is nearly $400 HIGHER than what we already thought was an obnoxiously high (and incorrect) bill last month.  The situation is ongoing and probably won't be resolved for a while, but thankfully we have a landlord who understands that we didn't sign up to pay this much for utilities.

But what this means is that I've spent a lot of time talking to an automated voice.  "Does your last name begin with the letters B-O-T?"  "No."  "Please state your account number."

You know the drill.  Or I'm assuming you know the drill.  In fact, I assumed most people knew the drill until I came across my lunchtime companion yesterday.  He had his cell phone up so loud (as this sort of person usually does) so I could hear everything the automated system was saying.

System: Briefly, please state your problem.

Now, those of us familiar with these issues know that you give a one-to-three word answer here.

Him: Well, my washing machine isn't working right and it's making this funny noi--

System: *boooop* I'm sorry; I didn't understand.  Briefly, please state your problem.

Him: I SAID, my washing machine is making this noise and I don't kno--

System: *boooop* I'm sorry, I didn't understand.  Would you like to speak to a representative?

Him: Yes, that's what I'm trying to do so that would be very ni--

System: *boooop* I'm sorry, I didn't understand.  Would you like to speak to a representative?

Him: That's exactly what I'm trying to do, thank you ver--

System: *boooop* Please hold while we transfer you to a representative.

Him:  I don't understand why this is taking so long.

At this point I am nearly snarfing in my packed ziti lunch.  He proceeds to finally get a representative, at which point he proceeds to tell her he doesn't know anything about the problem, just that his wife asked him to call because the washing machine is making a chugga-chugga-chugga noise, but he thinks all machines make those noises depending on what you put in the mach---

And the representative kindly cuts him off to ask what kind of machine he has, to which he responds, "I don't know!  I just said, my wife is the one with the problem."

Oh indeed, sir, I do believe your wife certainly lives with a problem.

You can't have my band name.

I know I'm not the only one who goes through life randomly thinking, "That would make a great band name!" when certain phrases appear.

In college, my friend James had a package of pita bread spontaneously fall off a shelf.  He then declared that the new band name on his list was "Suicidal Pitas".  We still laugh about it, even though it's probably only funny to us.

If you're on Facebook, you know how it now randomly posts older pictures in the top right corner.  On the hubby's page, it recently posted a picture of me with my nephew, TJ (my sister's son), from my bridal shower.

The hubby saw the picture quickly and got confused.  "Wait, isn't that the bridal shower? Why is Nate there? Wait, that's not Nate..."

Nate and his cousin TJ look enough alike that at certain angles, a quick glance at pictures of them at the same age can be confusing (Nate's not quite 5 months old yet while TJ is now two and a half years old).

This isn't surprising, though, because the genes in my family are really strong.  All the boys look similar as babies - blond hair, blue eyes, big round cheeks, cute button nose.  Nate bucks the trend a bit with his brown hair, though (which I adore - what's more handsome than a man with brown hair and blue eyes?).

But I realized, then, that there was one exception: the ears.  Nate has the hubby's ears (so much so that it was laughable in the beginning, they're that identical) and my sister's kids have the ears from her husband's family.

So our genes are strong, except for the ears.  Those, it seems, are recessive.

And that is my new band name: Recessive Ears.

Wordless Wednesday - more faces of Nate

My parents babysat for Nate while the hubby and I were at the wedding Friday.  That means lots of pictures!

(I loooove that smirk.)

Oh, hey, Smokey.

And then on Saturday, I went over there to do the weekly laundry (maybe the last time I do it there??)...

And with that biggest smile ever, I wish you a happy Wednesday. :)

My Little Butter Boy

One of Nate's favorite sounds to make is "Geeee!!"  He's made this happiness-indicating sound since he started making any sounds that weren't crying (so very early on).  The hubby and I always repeat it back to him when he says it, which makes him laugh and say it again.  (I love this.)

Every Friday I go to my parents' house to do laundry and, of course, take Nate with me.  This week my parents and I were marvelling at how big Nate got since it was the day after his four month pediatrician appointment.

At one point Nate exclaimed, "Geeee!" with joy and my mother laughs and says, "You know what ghee is, right?  Clarified butter?"

Oh. My. Goodness.  I did know that but I didn't think of it!  So all this time Nate's been asking for butter?  Did my womb have a Paula Deen channel?

For the record, he also gives huge smiles for the word "pierogi."  That's my little 1/4 Ukie boy.

I mean, look at these cheeks.  And those chubby feet.  And those thighs.

He is definitely helping himself to pierogi with extra butter when no one's looking.

Nearly Wordless Wednesday - My baby is Sean Penn

My dad loves to take pictures, lots and lots of pictures.  He did used to be a professional photographer, after all (weddings, proms, that kind of thing).  As kids, I think my brother, sister, and I did a fairly good job of putting up with all of the pictures he took.  Sure, there are tons where we're not smiling or clearly look annoyed because it's picture #847 of the day (and this is back when we used film), but we would always put up with "just a few more" and then "just a few more".

I'm worried about my son, though.  He seems to be less tolerant of all the photo-taking than I'd like him to be.

Nate: Here I am, enjoying tummy time on my activity mat. I love how strong I am!

Wait, how many pictures does Pop-Pop plan to take of me today?

That many?  Oh, you think so?
(Note the evil eyebrow arch.  It's worrisome.)

*Bam!*

I'm worried.  Quite worried.