baby james {22 & 23 months}

These last two months have heard James talking and talking and talking. His sweet little baby voice is my favorite.  We have actual conversations and he absolutely delights me.   I accidentally bumped him the other day and he said, "Careful mama."  Then I was trying to put nose drops in his nose while he squirmed away and said sternly, "Don't like it!"



He's like a parrot repeating everything you say.  Now I know when I hang up the phone I usually say, "okay, bye" because James has been mimicking me saying the same thing.  And he carries around my old Blackberry talking on the phone all the time.  He even holds it between his ear and shoulder.

He loves to go to "Starbuck's" and drink his "chocolate milk."  He gets in "mama's car" and always wants to "drive."  Last night, he wanted to do "laundry" and pulled his laundry basket into the laundry room and opened the washing machine.

I'm always getting down to eye level because I just love looking at him and I love to look him in the eye.  He's still so little but such an individual and turning into such a little boy. 

He's really friendly to everyone and will engage anyone who pays him attention.  So funny when he spotted this little boy down below.

He gets so excited when he hits the ball.  And he loves his "Muno" shoes.  He's trying to help me get him undressed and dressed but can't quite do it yet- he wants to though.

When he reads, before he identifies something he says, "whatsat?"  I guess I've asked him a million times, "What's that?" 

He has such a sweet, fun-loving spirit.  He loves to go to "church" and "praise Jesus."  He sings the alphabet, lots of nursery rhymes (This Old Man and Old McDonald are current favorites).  He's figured out how to operate his CD player and will play his "Snuggle Puppy" song over and over. 

Love this little guy.  We say, "I love you SOOOO MUCH!!"  He melts my heart.  Hearing, "Love you Mana" is the best thing ever.  Or when he wants a "hug" and puts his little arms around my neck and lays his head on my shoulder.  He knows we "hold hands" in the parking lot and now automatically reaches for my hand.   

He will be 2 years old next month! 

Time to P * A * R * T * Y ! ! ! 

Handmade Valentine {Heart Garland}

These large and small foam hearts were found at Michaels and I got the red and white bakers twine at Crate & Barrel.  Such an easy and fun handmade Valentine craft!  

Feeling Crafty

I've got the itch to do something crafty this weekend.  And it just so happens that Valentine's Day is just around the corner.  Maybe this weekend will find me doing some craft therapy.  Martha makes it look so fun.

via Martha

New Upholstered Bed & Bedding

After about 3 weeks, our upholstered bed arrived from Overstock (Aisling Cream Fabric King Bed) and we ended up pairing it with a duvet cover and shams from Restoration Hardware.  I should actually say "sham" because I got the last one in stock, and had to order the mate, which hasn't yet arrived.

The bed wasn't difficult to assemble, but it took over an hour, and definitely wasn't as easy to put together as our previous bed.  

The headboard is not as tall as I had envisioned (at 43 inches), but I think once we hang something above the bed, it will look much better.  The fabric is a gorgeous cream color that looks like linen, but isn't specified.  The nailhead trim is shiny silver.

Here's a look at the end of the platform.

I am very happy with the duvet (Restoration Hardware Italian 19th C. Medallion Bedding in Pacific- currently on sale).  It's a great weight and comfortable 100% cotton, machine washable (I already washed it).  I found a pale cream sheet set at Target.

We obviously need something above the bed and possibly behind the nightstands.  I'm also considering moving these nightstands to the guest bedroom and getting more appropriate side tables for this room.  The mercury glass lamp is from Home Goods and I made the botanical wall art last year.  

All in all, I'm pleased that this room is finally getting a fresh look!  Also, my sis-n-law told me about these great duvets from Target (only $25 for a King) that are down-alternative and we bought the lightest (least warm) version and it's working out great.  I'm looking forward to adding more decorative touches to the room and will show you soon!

Wild for Wedges!

Our weather has been absolutely gorgeous lately, bright sunny days that are cool enough to comfortably enjoy and warm enough to start thinking about Spring fashion.  By March, it will be time to put away the boots and start wearing wedges again.  And aren't they so much more comfortable than a slim heel?  I like my wedges pretty high (I'm a shorty), and for fun, colorful!  I always keep a metallic and black pair available though, since they go with everything.



Here are a few wedges that have caught my eye recently, courtesy of Nordstrom and Piperlime.  Endless.com also has a good selection of shoes, typically with free 2-day shipping.

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Two strong positives for the new Obama refinance plan

(1) It finally allows underwater borrowers to exercise an option that investors knew existed when they purchased mortgage backed securities--the prepayment option. Right now, the fact that borrowers are underwater allows investors to earn a windfall by collecting a premium on what is effectively a callable bond.

(2) It imposes a Pigou tax on large banks. When a small bank fails, the negative externality is small to non-existent. When a TBTF bank fails, the negative externality can be catastrophic.  Taxes on large banks help internalize the externality.

Rolf Pendall: Racial Segregation is Still a Reality

Rolf responds to Glaeser and Vigdor:

The Manhattan Institute for Policy Research’s website made a triumphal proclamation this week that we have reached “the end of the segregated century.” The New York Times dutifully spread the news, leading with the headline “Segregation Curtailed in U.S. Cities, Study Finds.” The story beneath the spin, however, shows that segregation isn’t just a phenomenon to look back on regretfully during African American History Month (which begins today). Segregation lives on in far too many American cities.

In 1970, two years had elapsed since Congress enacted the end of private-sector apartheid with the Fair Housing Act; only a few years before that, President Kennedy had ordered the desegregation of public housing. Why should we wonder that segregation levels have declined since then? Shouldn’t the real story be that in the nation’s second-largest metropolitan area, Chicago, over 70 percent of African Americans would have to move to a predominantly non-black neighborhood (or the same proportion of whites would have to move to mostly non-white areas) to achieve an even racial distribution? Chicago isn’t the only metropolitan area in this position: Detroit, Cleveland, and St. Louis also surpass 70 on this segregation index. New York, Baltimore, and Philadelphia—that is, a continuous band of urbanization stretching from just north of Washington, DC, to the middle of Connecticut with well over 25 million inhabitants—stand between 60 and 65. The heart of the northeast corridor still lives in a segregated century, as does the fringe of the Great Lakes. Even “less segregated” metropolitan areas still have levels of racial segregation far higher than the Fair Housing Act promised.

Rolf underscores an uncomfortable point--that Northern cities have more black-white segregation than Southern cities.  The largest city in my home state of Wisconsin, Milwaukee, is the most segregated large city in the country.