Growing up fast

My three little ones are growing up fast. They all love to spend time outside, and Mason and Charlotte have been into riding their scooters. They also love to make "obstacle courses" with sidewalk chalk :) Here's a few pictures since it's been a while since I posted any!!

9/11 thoughts

I found this online today...and for another good post, see this site

As you might know, the head of one company survived 9/11 because he took his son to kindergarten.
Another fellow is alive because it was his turn to bring donuts.
Another lady was late because her alarm clock didn't go off on time.
One was late as a result of being stuck on the NJ Turnpike because of an auto accident.
One more survivor missed his bus.
One spilled food on her clothes and had to take time to change.
One's car wouldn’t start.
One went back to answer the telephone.
One had a child that dawdled and didn't get ready as soon as he should have.
One couldn't get a taxi.
The one that, struck me was the man who put on a new pair of shoes that morning,
went to work by his usual way but before he got there, he developed a blister on his foot.
So he stopped at a drugstore to buy a Band-Aid. That is why he is alive today.

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Now when I am stuck in traffic, miss an elevator, turn back to answer a ringing telephone...
all the little things that annoy me....
I think to myself, this is exactly where God wants me to be at this very moment.

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Next time your morning seems to be going wrong, the children are slow getting dressed, you can't seem to find the car keys, you hit every traffic light, don't get mad or frustrated; God is at work watching over you.
May God continue to bless you with all those annoying little things and may you remember their possible purpose.

Just like that...

Isaac now only takes one nap a day. I thought it was a fluke at first, and that he would spend more time transitioning (2 naps one day, 1 nap the next, etc). But it's been about 1-1/2 weeks of only taking one nap a day.

I've tried to get him to take a morning nap, and he will, but then he WILL NOT take an afternoon nap....soooo...ONE nap it is! :)

Guess what we did today?

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Mmmm....Cheerios

Isaac LOVES Cheerios...more specifically he loves his OWN bowl, cheerios, milk, and spoon (although he doesn't use the spoon for long). No helping him allowed. Here's his process...

First, drink the milk...

THEN, eat the cheerios...forget the spoon!

What are YOU lookin' at?

More birthday pictures

Here are some more pictures from Mason's birthday yesterday. The cake was yummy - and fun! (see Isaac in the last picture) :)

Mason got a lot of presents - Mario Party 8 (Wii game), a Mario t-shirt, new shoes and a backpack, a nerf football, a nerf dart gun (with the suction cup darts), and a Batman action figure. He's played with everything, but his favorite things so far:

• His Mario t-shirt which he wore to bed and insists on wearing for clothes today too
• His nerf dart gun, sticking them on the windows, tv, pictures, etc. I'm going to have to invest in some good glass cleaner!
  

Happy Birthday, Mason!!!

My little boy turns FIVE today!!! He said this morning, "I know I'm 5 today, but I can't even tell!" I think he was expecting to feel different...and he's learning birthdays are just another day!

Over the last year he has learned to read, and started writing his name. He has grown into a caring, and loving big brother. He has learned to ride his two wheeled bike (with training wheels!), and has learned how to swing all by himself. He has quite the imagination, and has found a best friend in his little sister, Charlotte Rose. He's learning to tie his shoes, will be starting his third year of preschool, and can count to 100. He is growing into a wonderful big boy, and I'm so proud of him!

Yesterday we took Mason and Charlotte bowling to celebrate (while Isaac was home with Jennie!). They had fun, although Mason still says he likes Wii bowling better than real bowling...and his favorite part of bowling was the candy (they each got a big gumball). *sigh* We tried! Today we are going to the nature center and to the store to pick up his cake (that's right, I didn't make it!).

Here's a slideshow of our bowling excursion. It's hard to get good pictures at a bowling alley!! But you'll get the gist of our adventure :)

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A case of mistaken identity

A stinging insect of some sort mistook my sweet Isaac as a predatory threat. It stung him by his right eye...the first picture is within 10 minutes of the sting (as he's sucking down the last of his popsicle), the second picture is about an hour later. He's very happy now, but he cried for about 5 minutes when it first happened.

It was all kind of a blur, but I do remember Isaac crying and Charlotte looking around the yard yelling "Shame on you bee...my poor brother!"

I hope there's no delayed reaction to the sting...poor baby!

Outdoor fun

We had some fun outside today, here are some pics...

Charlotte has learned how to SWING all by herself!

She just learned it this week, and she is so proud!

Mason and Charlotte have been playing really well together, as you can see here. It does look a little like Charlotte is trying to bargain with him for something...hmmm...

This is my sweet Isaac. He loves to run around the yard, seeing what everyone else is doing, and begging me to take the cover off the sandbox!

TOTAL YUMMINESS

Matt and Mason were gone to a baseball game this afternoon, Isaac was sleeping, so Charlotte and I decided to bake. A new recipe - Molten Chocolate Cakes. Total yumminess...

Molten Chocolate Cakes

INGREDIENTS:
1 cup unsalted butter or unsalted margarine*
8 ounces semisweet chocolate chips, or bars, cut into bite-size chunks
5 large eggs
1/2 cup sugar
Pinch of salt
4 teaspoons flour
12 regular muffin papers

DIRECTIONS:
1. Heat oven to 450 degrees.
2. Melt butter and chocolate in a medium heat-proof bowl over a saucepan of simmering water; remove from heat. Beat eggs, sugar and salt with a hand mixer in a medium bowl until sugar dissolves. Beat egg mixture into chocolate until smooth. Beat in flour until just combined. (Batter can be made a day ahead; return to room temperature an hour or so before baking.)
3. Spray muffin papers with vegetable cooking spray. Divide batter among muffin cups.
4. Bake until batter puffs but center is not set, 8 to 10 minutes.

They are best served right out of the oven. I carefully removed one from the muffin tin, flipped it upside down on a plate, took the muffin paper off, then dusted with powdered sugar. Don't forget the glass of COLD milk! :)

My new life

I've resigned from IBM, effective 8/1/2008. My leave of absence was fully extended, so in order to be home with my kiddos, resignation was my only option. I KNOW it was the right thing for me to do, but at the same time, it still feels strange leaving my first 'post college' job. I'm thrilled that I get to be home with my little ones...I can't imagine having to leave them every day to go to work, and thankfully I don't have to! :)

On to my 'new life'...I think I mentioned a while ago that I have taken a job as a Prenatal Educator at a local hospital. I LOVE the job, and I only work nights and weekends teaching classes (it's only 10-20 hours per MONTH!). So far I get to to teach a Big Brother, Big Sister class, and I've just started teaching the Childbirth Education classes. I will be getting my certification for childbirth education, my training is next month, but I probably won't take my exam until early next year. It's amazing to be able to have a job that lets me follow my PASSION for sharing information & research about pregnancy and childbirth.

So from MSIE, PMP credentials to certified doula (CD(DONA)) and childbirth educator...and I didn't think kids would drastically change my 'career minded' self :D

Uh-oh

Isaac learned how to open doors...specifically the door out to the deck, and the ones down the hallway upstairs. Time to get out more of the baby proofing paraphernalia again!!!

Extended breastfeeding

Isaac is 13 months old, and still nursing 4 times a day. He still wants to nurse, and hasn't even begun to think about initiating weaning (and neither have I!).

I know many people may think this is strange, especially since (as of yesterday) Isaac has learned how to perform our made up sign for 'snuggle' to request it whenever he wants. Most cultures in the world nurse their infants until they self wean, usually between the ages of 2 and 4. It has many benefits for baby AND mother. See the fact sheet here.

A few of the facts:

• breastfed toddlers are sick less often
• breastfed toddlers have fewer allergies,
• they have higher IQ (including increased reading comprehension, math skills, and scholastic ability, even into adolescence!),
• breastfed toddlers are well adjusted socially (conduct disorders decline with increasing duration of breastfeeding)

And the above list doesn't even include the many health benefits for the mother! I think it's a shame that our culture has grown to think that nursing beyond a year is 'weird', 'unusual', or in some way 'emotionally harmful' for a toddler. Know the facts and pass them on! :)

Camping

We went camping last weekend to Mirror Lake State Park in Wisconsin. We met my sisters and their families...including ALL the cousins. In total there were 17 of us (6 adults and 11 kids!). Our kids did great on their FIRST camping trip. They all slept well in our new tent, Isaac in the pack-n-play, Mason and Charlotte in their sleeping bags.

The mosquitos were ruthless, the weather was BEAUTIFUL (not a drop of rain!), and we spent most of our time on the beach or around the campfire! Unfortunately, I didn't take nearly as many pictures as I should have. However, here's a bitty montage of the ones I did take!

This morning, I said to the kids "Isn't it nice to be home?" and they said "Yeah it is." Then Mason stipulated "But it was more fun when we were camping!"

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Couch climber

Isaac figured out how to climb up on the couch all by himself...I'm in trouble!

Here's a couple pictures of him on the couch, he's getting better at staying sitting (of course I've had to take him off the couch a bazillion times before he learned this!)

Swim lessons, final update

They are over, we are ALL happy about it. They brought out the worst in all of us...grumpy, clingy, frightened kids = frustrated mom.

Neither of the kids advanced to the next level. They did, however, make some progress getting comfortable in the water...putting their faces in and blowing bubbles, bobbing (Mason went completely under ONCE), and they did learn the safety rules and participate in group games and listen well to their instructors. I think we'll just spend more time in the water with them at the beach/pool on our own. I did get the kids each their own pool noodle for going to ALL of their lessons and participating, so they are anxious to try them out!

We'll maybe try again in a year or two...

Swim lesson update

Yesterday, neither Mason nor Charlotte wanted to go swimming! They finally got in the pool...but there was only 10 minutes left of lessons, so they didn't get much out of it. They suggested we bring the kids a little early today, to give them some 'warm up time' before lessons start.

So, today went much better! They both went with NO PROBLEMS! They had fun, and Mason even went entirely under water!

We'll go early again tomorrow and hopefully it will go just as well...FINALLY!

He knows!

Isaac is getting smarter by the minute! It's now totally evident that he knows what we are saying. A few examples:

• He threw his cup on the floor in the living room the other day. I said "Isaac, please pick up your cup and put it on the table." He did, and then he looks at me and smiles!
• Last night I was putting him to bed and he had said goodnight to Matt. As we were walking away I said to him "Can you blow Daddy kisses?" (I did not demonstrate for him HOW to do it either)...and he did it!
• Isaac will NEVER give me kisses when I ask him...NEVER! This morning Matt was holding him and I said "Isaac, can you give Daddy kisses?" and he did! So then I told Matt to tell Isaac to give Mommy kisses...and FINALLY I got kisses from him! At least now I know how to get kisses out of him!
• This afternoon it was close to Isaac's naptime. I said to him "Do you want to have a snuggle and go ni-night?" He scanned the room for his blanket, went and picked it up, walked down the hall, and started trying to open his bedroom door.

It's so cool to see him soaking everything up. And it's so impressive to see, once again, that kids intellect can far surpass their ability!

Swimming lessons, day 4

They both went swimming today...Mason took some coaxing, but he did it! Now they don't go back until Monday, so we'll see how it goes after a weekend off :)

Blowing kisses

Isaac started blowing kisses today. I saw him blow one to Matt before bed...and then...

I rocked him and nursed him at bedtime. Then I laid my drowsy little boy in his crib. On my way out the door I turn around and blow him a kiss every night and tonight I waited an extra second...and he blew one back. My heart just melted...I love being a Mom!

Swimming lessons, day 3

Well, no one fell in the pool today, so that was good. Charlotte did GREAT! She's not afraid of the water, despite yesterday's mishap.

Mason wouldn't go in today though. He sat on the edge of the pool talking to one of the supervisors the entire 30 minutes. Things have been a bit crazy around here and I think he's keying off my stress/mood...I have a feeling that had something to do with his attitude this morning. Poor kid.

We've worked out a strategy for tomorrow though...he'll bring cars for everyone in his class to play with for the last few minutes of class (his instructors ok'd it) IF he actually swims. Stay tuned to see how day 4 goes...

Swimming lessons, day 2

Today Mason did great! We talked to his teachers and let them know he was a little scared yesterday and I told Mason that he didn't have to do anything he didn't want to, but that he shouldn't be afraid to try new things. Today he said he had a blast! YIPPIE! He even said "Swimming with the noodle yesterday was scary, but I tried again today and it was fun!"

Charlotte, on the other hand, had a bit of an incident. They were going from the kiddie pool (where they can touch with their feet all over), to the big pool (I'm guessing it's about 3-1/2 feet deep). The kids were supposed to sit on the edge and listen to instruction...I'm not sure how it happened, but Charlotte fell in! It was the longest few seconds of my LIFE waiting for someone to notice and pull her out while I stood helpless in the 'lobby viewing area'. I did rush out to Charlotte while a friend stayed with Isaac, she was scared, but fine. She clung to me for a minute or two and then went back to her teacher. Brave little girl...scared the daylights out of her mama!!

So that's day two...and they are both looking forward to lessons tomorrow!

Swimming lessons, day 1

Mason and Charlotte started swimming lessons today, and they are in the same class. They have them Monday - Thursday for the next two weeks. Here were the kids comments after their very first lesson.

Mom: "Did you have fun at your first swimming lesson?"

Charlotte: (laughing and giddy) "Yeah, it was FUN!"

Mason: (sullen) "No, it was kinda scary, I want swimming lessons to be just ONE day, Mom."

I'm not surprised at the kids' reactions, just what I expected from the two of them. I did manage to talk Mason in to going tomorrow after I promised him I would talk to his teacher. I'll let you know how tomorrow goes...

Isaac is signing!

Isaac is signing now! He's really picked it up over the last week. Here are examples...

"DRINK"
We are playing in the sandbox and have been outside for a while, he looks up at me, signs 'drink'. We go inside and get him a drink which he gulps down quickly, then is off to play some more.

"ALL DONE"
Isaac had corn on the cob tonight for the first time. After eating 1-1/2 hot dogs, some of his corn, drinking his cup of milk, and then playing with his corn cob for about 20 minutes, he frantically starts signing 'all done' while reaching for me to get him OUT of his chair!

"MORE"
Mason and Charlotte were eating Cheetos tonight for a bedtime snack. Isaac saw the bag of Cheetos on the couch...reached for it, so I gave him one. He chews it up while drooling orange ooze all over...then looks at the bag of Cheetos, looks at me, and signs 'more'.

It's so fun to see him signing, he's also working on 'please', 'help', and 'no' (which he loves to sign back at me after I sign it to him).

Isaac's one year pics

Here's the rest of the one year pics Sarah took last weekend of Isaac...I LOVE them!!!

Poor little Isaac is still sick...no fever, but irritable and has a cough and cold. My poor baby :(

Photo and video editing at www.OneTrueMedia.com

Isaac's First Birthday

The last year has brought us so much...including a new life to our family. A new life that turns ONE YEAR OLD today. I anticipated that I would feel sad about my baby turning one, but I don't. This morning I find that I am filled with joy, wonder, and pride. I am remembering that today is a day for celebration. A celebration of health, growth, accomplishments, and milestones.

My sweet Isaac Matthew, you've no idea how much you've touched my heart, and blessed my life with your love, sweet smiles, slobbery kisses, and wobbly footsteps. Happy Birthday, baby boy!

Here's the slideshow, it's long, but so is a whole year :)

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Poor little guy

Isaac is sick. Fever of 104 or so and he was up most of the night last night (which means I was too). The doc today said his ears are clear, so are his lungs, and his throat looks fine. I was relieved it wasn't another ear infection, but it's so hard to see him so miserable and not know why! Oh, and he was 22 lbs, 9 oz (50%) and 33 inches (100+%).

He's been medicated, yet still miserable all day today. Won't sleep, cranky, and clingy. Poor little man is going to be sick for his first birthday :(

On a positive note, I had his one year pictures taken yesterday. Sarah took them and they turned out AWESOME! Here's a few, more will be featured in tomorrow's birthday slideshow :)

Grrr...

Today I find that the AMA wants to ban home birth. Excuse me, but last I checked this was a free country, and we were able to make our own choices. Now, to be fair, the AMA themselves cannot make it illegal to have a home birth, but they can support legislation which makes the pool of available midwives which attend homebirths shrink significantly. Also, many organizations/legislators look to the AMA for guidance...so...if the AMA doesn't support home birth, then others won't as well.

Many people in the medical community are afraid that new movies/books (i.e. Ricki Lake's movie The Business of Being Born, and the book Pushed by Jennifer Block) are swaying people to want home births. Yet they don't say anything when celebrity after celebrity opts for a scheduled cesarean section...which is becoming very popular.

Here's a good article...Docs to Women: Pay No Attention to Ricki Lake's Home Birth

Happy Father's Day!

Sorry this is late...yesterday was a busy day, but a good one! Matt likes to take the kids to the toy store and let them pick out a small toy for Father's Day. It was the second year in a row we've done it, and of course the kids love it :) Charlotte picked out a big-girl-sized pink backpack, Mason picked out a ghost pirate ship, and Isaac got his very own stuffed doggie (he kept stealing the other kids!)

I thought for Father's Day, I would post pics of the day Matt became a father...three times over. He's an amazing father, always having time and patience for the kids. He's loving, caring, creative, and fun with them...and they love their Daddy so very much! Happy Father's Day!

2003 - Daddy and Mason after a LONG labor, and no sleep for Daddy in over 24 hours, but you'd never know it by the smile on his face as father meets son for the first time.

2005 - Daddy and Charlotte Rose. He knows all about being a Daddy by this point, but is totally unaware of how his little girl would have him wrapped around her finger.

2007 - Daddy and Isaac. It's amazing how even with your third child the miracle of birth and meeting your child for the first time never lacks in wonderment.

Kids are hilarious

Here's a few funny things the kids have said lately:

STORY ONE:
Mason: "I want to be as big as DADDY when I grow up!"

Charlotte: "I want to be as big as MOMMY when I grow up!"

Matt: "I want to be as big as CHARLOTTE!"

Charlotte: "No, Daddy...I'm TINY!!"

STORY TWO:
Here we were sitting at dinner, peas were the vegetable of the night:

Mason: out of nowhere during a fairly pleasant dinner, he spits a pea out, launching it clear across the table

Mommy: "Why on earth would you do that?!"

Daddy: "That's very bad manners, Mason."

Mason: "It was my pea CANNON!"

Daddy and I do all we can to contain our laughter while explaining to him that pea cannons are very inappropriate at the dinner table...

In Isaac news, he is walking all over the place, and even has a few 'words' - which sound nothing like the real words. We suspect he has his own version of the words 'doggie' and 'hotdog', but we can't be sure. He also says Mama and Dada...which is music to our ears. Only 8 days until my baby turns one!

Two weeks

After a nice long weekend with my sister and her family I've realized time is sneaking away from me. Isaac will have his first birthday two weeks from today!

That means I have two weeks to invent a time machine so I don't have to see my baby turn one...anyone have a flux capacitor handy?

Say hello to my little friend :)

Matt picked up a Wii Fit last weekend, I was skeptical at first (ANOTHER gaming gadget...really??), but I love the thing! I got in 25 minutes of cardio (yes, my heart was pounding and I was sweating) by doing hula hoop, super hula hoop, and running with the Wii fit balance board. I'm well on my way to my weight loss goal, and it's FUN! It also has yoga poses, balance games, and strength training exercises. Cool stuff...for $100 it's the best piece of exercise equipment I've ever had!

Oh, and the really funny part is watching the kids hula hoop right beside me...it would make a hilarious video, but for now, use your imagination :)

I'll keep you posted on my progress...

Clever Charlotte

We had some rain today and some hail...the kids thought it was cool to see ice cubes falling from the sky :)

It continued to rain, and here was our conversation:

Charlotte: (longingly) "Is it STILL raining outside?"

Mommy: "Yes, but what could we do inside that would be fun?"

Charlotte: "I know, let's put on our raincoats inside and go OUTSIDE!"

Duh...what else should we do inside when it's raining?? Clever Charlotte!

Now THAT'S a haircut!

Isaac got another haircut and this one is a little more noticeable. Matt says I balded him, but I think it’s cute! He looks like a totally different little boy.

Isaac also loves to play in the grass now, and loves to play with the big red car and the slide!

He’s officially walking now too. I was upstairs the other day and Isaac was in the kitchen. It was strange when I heard his feet pitter-pattering on the kitchen floor, instead of the familiar ‘hand and knee’ sounds of crawling … strange and sad, he’s growing up so fast! He’s so proud of himself when he walks, and there’s no stopping him – he’s a busy little boy!

Outside fun

The weather has been so nice and the kids have been spending a lot of time outside. Isaac now loves the sandbox...a week ago I couldn't get him to sit in it! The kids have also become little daredevils on the swingset, Mason took quite a spill off the top of the slide and literally landed on his head...hence the popsicle in the 4th picture :)

Watermelon mask

I had a watermelon sitting around for about 10 days before I was going to cut it up. In that 10 days, Mason kept talking about a 'watermelon mask' - about how we should cut it and scoop out all the 'red stuff' and then make a mask for his head. We finally cut up the watermelon...I scooped out all the 'red stuff' and Matt helped him make the mask. Mason was SO happy to finally have his mask!

Southeast Minnesota Childbirth Network Event

Click on the image for a bigger - more readable - image :)

Mason's view on girls

Here's a conversation with Matt and Mason the other day:

Matt: "How was school today?"

Mason: "Good"

Matt: "Did you see Phyllis?" (Phyllis is a friend of Mason's at school)

Mason: "She wore a new shirt today."

Matt: "How was Ella?"

Mason: "Stinky...girls are stinky!"

Ahhh...to be 4-1/2 again :)

Sick baby update

Isaac is doing really pretty well. He's got roseola, which explains the high fever last weekend. The rash started yesterday, but it doesn't bother him at all. He is a little clingy...I refer to him as 'my little barnacle' lately :)

He actually takes amoxicillan without needing it mixed with chocolate pudding (reference this post), and now only 16 more doses to go!

3 year check-up

Charlotte had her three year check up today at the pediatrician. She did so good...she stood still so they could measure her, stepped up on the scale so they could weigh her, drew pictures for the doctor when he asked her to (a circle, cross, etc), hopped, stood on one foot, and she even let him look in her ears, feel her tummy, all the time being so brave! I never thought I'd see Charlotte willingly let someone look in her ears...she used to SCREAM at the sight of a nurse or doctor!

Here's her stats:
Height: 41 inches (off the charts!)
Weight: 36 pounds (90%...up from 75% at 2 years!)

She's growing fast!

Sick baby :(

We got another cold in the house and it's gotten the best of Isaac. It's been about 10 days, and on Friday I found out he had an ear infection, but it wasn't that bad. So over the weekend I tried some home remedies, and lots of ibuprofen and tylenol to manage the 105 degree fever - all in an effort to avoid ANOTHER antibiotic.

I had Isaac back to the doc today (and Charlotte had her 3 year check), and his ears were "raging" according to the doctor. Bulging ear drums, and very red...to top it all off, his respirations were high and the doc could hear junk in his lungs. I turned down the offer for an x-ray to confirm it, but the doc suspects he may have pneumonia. So it's a high dose of amoxicillan this time...10 days of it...one dose down, 19 to go. The countdown is on - AGAIN! :(

Party Time!

Here's the pix from Charlotte's birthday party. The kids all had a blast, and Charlotte, at long last, is THREE YEARS OLD!

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Happy Birthday, Baby Girl!

My beautiful little angel is THREE! She's such a sweet soul, beautiful inside and out, and she knows just how to make me smile.

Charlotte, I love you - forever and always with all of my heart.

Here's a summary of her last year...it's gone by so fast!

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Mason's first bus trip

Matt took Mason to school the other day since I had to work. Of course it was the day Mason had a field trip to the zoo with his class and he got to ride a SCHOOL BUS!!!

Here's Matt's post and a pic http://www.mattcushing.com/wordpress/?p=65

I LOVE that smile :)

Yummy lunch!

In case you haven't noticed, I rarely post about myself, but I just discovered my new favorite sandwich....

Virgina baked ham shaved super thin and piled thick
One piece of Salami
Muenster cheese
Pickles
A little bit of mayo
and my favorite part **an advocado mashed up with a little garlic powder in it**

All on Bread Baker whole wheat bread with some Cheetos on the side :)

Yummy...now that I've managed to sneak in lunch I guess I should do something productive!