Sweet Alyssa moment

Today while we were at Adam's parents for Christmas, Alyssa came up to me and kept asking where "shell" was. She has a really bad cold, so for the past couple days her voice has been so hoarse that bits and pieces of her words won't come out, which makes it hard to understand what she's saying sometimes. I kept asking her to repeat herself and was racking my brain trying to figure out what present "shell" was or what "shell" was short for. Then I realized that she was talking about her future Aunt Rachelle (as of 3 days ago another daughter-in-law is officially in her way to the family ~ hooray!) who was spending the holiday with her parents. My brother-in-law (her finance) realized about the same time as I did that she was asking for Rachelle and we both looked at each other and got a little teary ... thought it was pretty darn sweet.

Lost Loves

Adam bought me an iPod a couple years ago (I was a green eyed monster after seeing Eric and Angie's new iPods and I wouldn't shut up about wanting one, so he finally took pity on me). It bit the dust a few months ago. I put a new one on my Christmas list; not expecting in any way to get it, but SURPRISE my inlaws bought me one for Christmas! Its beautiful and blue and cute and adorable and cool. I plugged it in tonight and realized that I had forgotten how much I loved my iPod. And I finally was able to download some songs that I had purchases through iTunes ~ I had also forgotten how much I love Bon Jovi. ;)

Wednesday

This blog entry will be made up of several of my thoughts since yesterday's horrific shooting at the mall, but I couldn't come up with a title, so it will simply be titled "Wednesday". Wednesdays used to mean dollar margaritas at Julio's with "the crew" ... but yesterday certainly wasn't anything like those Wednesdays.

I'm touched and surprised at how many people contacted us yesterday to make sure that everyone in our family was okay. It seemed so surreal that people from North Carolina, Indiana, Connecticut, and Pennsylvania knew about everything that was going on. I was surprised that Adam's younger brother called to make sure we were all safe and was relieved when I told him that I had talked to his mom after the shooting took place. People have compared it to the shooting at Columbine several years ago. Even though that was a horrible tragedy on some level it seemed like a movie or a story that someone told me. Even yesterday's incident and watching our local news teams cover the story, it still didn't/doesn't seem real. I can't wrap my head around the fact that it happened at the mall where I take my kids for playdates with my good friend, Staci. Where I had so many of Alyssa's baby pictures taken. In the very store that I bought my maid of honor dress for my best friend from college's wedding. In the mall where Adam and I shopped for wedding rings.

I was reading some of the bystanders "stories" today and my heart was tugged when I read about a mom who was shopping with her pregnant daughter in Von Maur. One was on the 2nd floor and one was on the 3rd when the shooting happened, so they were text messaging each other that they were okay. I started thinking about parents who leave their older child in one department to look around while they go to another. How horrific to have something like this happen and know that one of the people you love most in the world is so close, yet untouchable and possible in grave danger. I was talking to my mom about that this morning and she reminded me of when we went shopping a few weeks ago when she and her friend Mary took the kids to a couple store while I went to another store to try on clothes. I tried imagine what it would be like to be in a situation like people were in yesterday knowing that friends and loved ones were there and not being able to hold them and protect them and know that they were okay.

And I don't understand how someone can be so angry at the world that they want to hurt innocent people before they end their own life. The guy's suicide note said that "now he would be famous" and he wanted to go "out with a bang". What's the point? What does it matter if everyone knows your name when you're gone? Is it better to be remembered as a horrible person than to only be remembered by a handful of people that cared?

More

For those of you who don't know, this:



is what the sign "more" looks like according to ASL (American Sign Language)

Here's my kids' take on it ~

Alyssa first signed "more" by holding one hand out so the palm was flat and using the pointer finger of her other hand to point to the middle of her palm repeatedly in a "put it right here" kind of way. She first did this when we were in Target as my mom was pushing her past the toys. That's my girl.

Joel looks at me like I've gone completely crazy or I'm the funniest person on the earth when I'll ask him if he wants more and show him the sign for it. But I have noticed lately that when I say "more" he'll start pounding on the tray of his high chair in a "Damn it, Mom, quit goofing around and give me my cheese puffs!" kind of way.

What's with the ears?!

We finally, finally, finally seem to have gotten poor Joel's ears cleared up. He was scheduled to have his tubes put in this past Tuesday, but after a follow up visit last week to the ENT his ears were proclaimed clear and Dr. D told me that we could postpone tubes and just keep an eye on him to see how he does. So far, so good (knock on wood!). We got back to the ENT in a few weeks to have his hearing checked and make sure that his ears are still clear.

But now, my poor baby girl is the one with the ouchy ears. She spent the night Monday night and Grandma and Pappa's house and Tuesday morning my mom called with a report of a very restless/sleepless night where Alyssa was complaining of her ear hurting. Last night when I got her home she was running a temp of 102 and still saying that her ears hurt. So I decided I was taking her in today just get her checked out because she's been "off" lately. I was fully expecting to hear that she had an ear infection, but my heart sank when Dr. K told me that both her eardrums were ruptured. He assured me that it wasn't a big deal, but that world RUPTURED sounds so awful! We came home armed with good old amoxicillian and some ear drops, so hopefully she's feeling better really soon as it just breaks my heart seeing her all weepy and miserable and sick. All she wants is love and cuddles and that's hard to do with two kids. Makes me wish that I could hit the pause button on Joel so that I could devote all my attention on her.

The Tree of Pooh (as in Winnie)

I started collecting Winnie the Pooh things when I was around a sophomore in high school. Since then I've acquired quite the collection of Pooh Christmas ornaments. For the past few years I've thought that I should really do just a small "Pooh tree" since we have so many ornaments on our regular tree. (Or I should say ADAM has so many ornaments on our regular tree). This year I bit the bullet and did a Pooh tree. I put it up in the front window in the play room, so we can kind of pretend that its the daycare tree.

My two favorite ornaments ~ I think this first one is a fave because it reminds me of the mural that I painted in Alyssa's nursery.

And this one I received the year Alyssa was born ... kind of another baby-ish one since its a mobile of Tigger, Pooh, and Piglet hanging on stars under a moon.

Along for the ride

Its that peaceful time where Joel is able to play and interact with Alyssa ... and she hasn't figured out what a pain in the rump a little brother can be. I LOVE it!!! :)

Family Picture

Our friend/neighbor Amy took family pictures for us this afternoon at the lake by our house. We took almost 100 shots ... I think about 3 turned out fairly decent. :P

ts tough getting 4 people to all smile/look at the same time. Especially when one of those people is Alyssa. But I think this one turned out pretty well ~ its my fave!

The "T" word

Yesterday marked the 4th time in 6 weeks that I took Joel to Dr. K's office to have his ears checked and each time we were sent home with a new medication to try. Yesterday we also left with a referral to an ENT (ear, nose and throat doctor) to set up a time to have tubes put in his ears. I had a feeling that news was coming, but I still didn't like getting it. I know that its a really common and simple procedure, but I still hate to think about it. But if it'll make Joel feel better that's all that really matters.

The really amazing thing that happened at our appointment yesterday was that there's always been this big ball of wax in one of his ears that prevented doctors from getting a good look in his ear. But we saw 3 different people and each one said that they didn't want to dig around too much in his ear and since they knew the other ear was infected they didn't really need to see that ear. Well, yesterday Dr. K got the "ball" of wax out. This sucker was a little thicker than the ink insert of a ballpoint pen and almost an inch long. I don't know how on earth something like that could have been stuck in my little guy's little ear! The really cute thing was that after that Joel kept touching his ear like he couldn't believe he could hear out of it. :)

Life under a rock

It was about 9:15 last night while I was talking to Paula on the phone that I found out last night was "fall back" night. I had thought about daylight savings time changing a few times over the past couple weeks and I think I *thought* that it was this weekend, but I totally would have spaced it off had I not been talking to Paula. I must live under a rock because that seems like a pretty big deal to miss.

My moment of mommy-zen

This happened last Tuesday, but I figured it was good enough to share late ...

Over the past 3 years I've felt like I was probably 85% Mommy/Wife and 15% Christi, but after walking into Costco with a screaming child, infant strapped to my chest in a baby Bjorn and a Barney sticker stuck to my ass, I think I achieved 100% mommy.

Thank goodness for good friends who are on sticker patrol ... Staci, I don't know what I would do without you.

Its about time!

For once I'm not the one with the big double chin in a picture!!!! HA!

Out of the mouths of my 3 year old ...

Alyssa was refusing to take a nap this afternoon, so I told her that I would put a movie in while I cleaned up the kitchen and she could have "quiet time". When I asked her what she wanted to watch she replied with "Beauty and the Beast", but her toddler-tongue I could have sworn that she was asking to watch "Boobies". "Boo an Bees" Between watching "Boobies" movie and the girls singing stripper music and Alyssa running around singing "I'm nakey! I'm nakey" while completely naked I'm starting to feel like I'm running a whorehouse instead of a daycare.

End of an era

After Alyssa's 3 year check up this morning she and I went to Build-A-Bear to make a "Binky Bear". I've been struggling with "binky removal" options for several weeks/months ... years, I guess, honestly, but yesterday when I was in Build-A-Bear the saleswoman was telling me about people that would bring their child's binky in and put it inside the bear and then sew it up so that technically they still had it. I thought it was a really sweet idea and fell in love with it immediately, so I bought Alyssa a Bear "charge it" card (gift card),which came with a little box that we named her binky box. I told her that since she was going to be 3 years old on Friday she was a really big girl now and that meant that she would get to have a binky bear, so she put all her binkies (okay 4 binkies ... I wasn't going to have them stuff it with 7+) in her binky box and after a visit to Dr. K's office we were off.

And of course her scrapbooking mama documented the trip. :)

Ready to get building

Stuffing with binkies

Kissing her binkies goodbye (insert mommy's tears here)


Ready to go home

Alyssa's official binky bear (complete with her own binky accessory)

I never dreamed that I would cry when she gave up her binkies, but its just one more sign that my little girl is growing up.

Times they are a changin'

Last night our next door neighbor's kids came over selling various items for a school fundraiser. As I was looking through the catalog they were talking about the "prizes" they could earn from what they sold. Top prize for selling 200 items was a Nintendo Wii. T & J were aiming for 50 items so that they could earn ... are you ready for this ... free text messages to share with their friends. Back in my day I think we tried to earn bookmarks. Or MAYBE a t-shirt if we were REALLY the little salesperson. lol

Too many toys ...

Do you think its a sign that you have too many toys when you're looking through the Fisher Price catalog with an almost 3 year old and on each page in the first half of the book she says "I have that toy" or "There's Joel's toy!"? I think I might be on to something here ...

Look Ma! It still fits!

When I was pregnant with Alyssa I tried really, really hard to avoid buying anything "girly" or "boy-y" things since we weren't finding out the sex of the baby. But on one shopping trip with my mom I broke down and bought this really sweet little dress with duckies on it. When I came home and showed it to Adam he declared that he wanted the baby to be a girl (not that he didn't feel that way before. lol). And he got his wish, but who would have known that that dress 0 -3 month dress would last for almost 3 years ...

First Thanksgiving ~ approximately 6 weeks old


9-16-07 ~ some odd days short of 3 years


She's such a goon!

Good to know

In a Past Life...

You Were: A Greasy Magician. Where You Lived: Egypt. How You Died: The Plague.

Who Were You In a Past Life?

Milestone week!

We've had a couple big milestones in our family this past week. On Thursday Alyssa had her first dance class. She's taking combo tap and ballet once a week. All day Friday she kept asking to go back, so I think its a hit. She thinks she's pretty hot stuff with her new tap and ballet shoes. (excuse the quality of the picture; it was through the "viewing glass" during class)


Our little Joely bear has mobility of the crawling kind! Or at least scooting, I guess. I *thought* that maybe he was getting there on Friday, but we had the official "thumbs up" from Dee yesterday afternoon, so that sealed the deal. No crawling pics, yet, but this one is awfully cute. :)

Congrats Jeff and Megan!

A little premature, but a big HAPPY WEDDING DAY wish out to Jeff and Megan tomorrow. We really wish that we could be there for the wedding (and to get an East coast fix), but it just wasn't in the cards for us. We'll be thinking of you and I hope the day is absolutely perfect. Wishing you all the love and happiness in the world ~ you guys deserve it!

It came early and from an unexpected place

I have been waiting for and/or dreading the stage where my kids see something on TV or in a magazine and start begging for it incessantly. I keep hoping it is a long ways off, but I'm afraid I'm probably mistaken.

I got a small dose of the "I want it"s when one of my daycare kids came up to me with the fisher price catalog and asked me if we could get a baby and bathtub. Ask your parents, kid!

She probably can see the true pushover that I am when it comes to cute, girly toys. ;)

I am ...

either a) the coolest mom in the world or b) the worst mom in the world.

We've had a disappointing afternoon. Flights have been delayed, canceled, rerouted, and turned upside down only to get our visitor from the East stuck in Dallas for the night. We *thought* she was going to make it into town around 10:45 tonight, which totally bummed Alyssa out because I had told her after her nap we would go to the airport to pick up Aunt Paula and see the airplanes. She looked completely crushed when I told her that we weren't going. And then the rest of the afternoon whenever Paula's name was mentioned she started wailing for "plaaaaannneeessss" (aka planes).

After talking to the airline and realizing that she was going to miss her connecting flight here and probably wouldn't be in until tomorrow morning, I resorted to my college comfort food: Taco Bell (okay, it was Taco John's in college, but its in the same family). After putting Alyssa back in bed for about the 4th time, I decided I would just let her stay up. Thus we had a mommy/daughter bonding experience tonight as I initiated her into the world of Mexican fast food comfort by taking her in her jammies at 9:45 to Taco Bell and buying her a taco. In her eyes I'm probably the coolest mom in the world ... but to the rest of the world ... its up for a vote.

On the up side, Alyssa does get to go to the airport to see the plaaaaaaaaaaaannnnnneeeessss (and Aunt Paula) tomorrow.

Today's the big day!

One of my closest friends in the world is flying in to visit us today for the weekend ... the catch is that I've never met her in person. Yep, I'm one of the crazies that meets people on the internet and invites them into their home. To be their son's Godmother no less! And I can't wait!!!

Cautiously announcing ...

Alyssa seems to be well on her way to being daytime potty trained! She's doing so well and I'm SO proud of her. She has far surpassed my expectations of what potty training would be like. And its a lot more fun to buy cute panties than it is diapers!

We're having us a party!!!

A pool party! This month's "theme of the month" for daycare is "Summertime Fun", so today we celebrated with a pool party. The girls had lots of fun and neighbors Sophie and Braden came to join in the fun. We spent the morning playing in the pool and throwing water balloons (the fence was the most successful target) and finished up with some fruit umbrella straw/kabob snacks.

Cute Kid Pictures 8-9-07

I took these pictures today and thought I would share. I love the one of the older girls... almost as much as the one of Joel getting "goosed". :)

Miracles Happen!

Sung to the tune of "Accidents Happen" from "Elmo's Potty Time" DVD.

Miracles happen; that's what they say!
Miracles happen, not every day!

All 4 kids are napping/resting right now. I keep hearing peeps from Kinley, but hopefully she'll put herself back to sleep. Or maybe I'll go get her and plop her in the swing; that usually puts her out.

Now I have to quickly decide what to do with the 10 minutes or so of peace that I might get ... I know I *should* clean up, but I think I might relax with a book instead.

What I should have said

Tonight at Target I was glancing down the picture frame aisle as I walked past it and I saw something that made my heart stop. Or rather, I should say, I saw someone. Had this happened 4 months ago I was have happily ran down the aisle and greeted her with a huge hug and a smile. Tonight my first instinct was to run.

Four months ago I considered this person one of my best friends. And then she disappeared. I found out several weeks after she "disappeared" that she had left her husband and moved to her own apartment. I was floored. Thinking that she just couldn't find a way to tell me the news, especially considering I was the matron of honor at their wedding, I e-mailed her to let her know that I knew hoping that would break the ice. I heard nothing. I e-mailed her to let her know that I wanted to support her in whatever way she needed; I just wasn't sure what she needed and asked her to reply even if it was just to tell me that she needed space. Nothing. On a whim about a month ago I called and asked her out to coffee/lunch. I was shocked when she answered her phone and even more shocked when she agreed. She told me that she would call me later in the week to decide on a time/place. I heard nothing. I called and texted her asking if we were still on. Nothing.

And then tonight, there she was. I got up my courage and went over to talk to her. Ridiculous considering she knows me almost better than anyone else in the world. She kept saying that she knew that she didn't handle the situation right and she never meant to hurt me and that she just didn't know what to say to me. I told her it was okay; that I understood.

But its not and I don't. I don't understand. I was hurt. I am hurt. She didn't handle it well. She treated me like crap and treated our friendship like crap. Meaningless crap. Forgettable. Able to be discarded at a moments notice.

I never thought that would happen to us.

I think she is truly happy. And I think I'm happy for her. After all, what kind of friend would I be if I weren't? And maybe on some level I'm a little jealous because she's free to do or be whatever she wants. But I'm also really sad. Because I honestly don't think our friendship can survive this.

Ones for Alyssa's baby book ...

* Saturday night after Angie's birthday dinner we stopped by Sonic for some ice cream. After Adam ordered, Alyssa kept rolling down her window and yelling "ICE CREAM, PLEASE" and then rolling the window back up as she would laugh hysterically.

* She's really starting to notice how much attention Joel pays to her ... so much so that she's taking to screaming at him when he's falling asleep in the car because she doesn't want him to miss anything that she might do. Just short bursts of "AH!" like when he squawks at her.

* Normal reply to anything that I ask her to do lately "no, please".

* Today at lunch I was peeling myself a peach when I offered some to Alyssa. She LOVED it and ate almost the whole thing and was really upset when I told her that we had eaten all of it and there wasn't any more left. Off she went to open the fridge on her own, find a peach in the fruit drawer, and come back to me to say proudly "one more, mommy!". Tonight I was retelling the story to Adam and spelled out p-e-a-c-h. His reply was "what you can't say peach around her?". She wasn't even really paying attention to us, but her radar must have gone off when she heard the magic word peach, because next thing you know she's pulling another peach out of the fridge and telling Daddy that there's "one more!".

Oh, she keeps life interesting!

Dee ~ this one is for you!

I put Joel down in his crib this morning to watch his mobile while I was putting laundry away. I came in a few minutes later to find this:


he had scooted his way around until he found his blanket (thanks again ~ its the best!!!), cuddled up with it, and fell asleep (he NEVER sleeps on his back, by the way). So sweet! Hope this story/picture helps you feel better soon!

I'm in business!

Tonight marks the eve of me accomplishing one of my long time goals/dreams. Tomorrow morning I officially open my own in home daycare. You name the emotion, I'm feeling it tonight, but mostly I'm really excited. I hope its a great experience for Adam, Alyssa, Joel, and me as well as my daycare families.

I have will have 4 additional kids total. The first family that is starting tomorrow has two girls ages 5 and 3. They will be coming two days a week. My other family starts in August. They have two girls ~ one is 3 years old and a baby who is about 6 weeks younger than Joel. The babies are going to be my biggest challenge, but I'm really excited about the fact that both families have girls close to Alyssa's age. The second family will be coming 2 1/2 - 3 days a week. So both are part time, which should leave me a day or so each week to run around and be "free" (or as free as a mom to a 2 1/2 year old and 5 month old can be!)

Wish me luck!!!

Dear Joel ~ 5 months old

It seems very cliche to start off by saying that I can't believe you are 5 months old already, but I'm sitting here flabbergasted that my little baby boy is quickly turning into a not-so-little baby boy! In the past week you have gotten 2 teeth. Teething was pretty rough on you (and mommy and daddy for that matter), but you were a trooper. Yesterday you tried cereal for the first time, which didn't seem to be a huge hit. I doctored it up with a little apple juice tonight and that seemed to suit you a little better.


You are such a smiley and happy little guy; I can't imagine our family without you! Thankfully you are also a very patient little person, with the exception of when you want to eat. Your patience comes in handy when Alyssa wants to "help" with you or "love" you. Already you're starting to show some signs of stranger anxiety, especially around people who tend to hold back a little to see how you are going to react to them ~ such the intuitive, smart one you are!


Your favorite toy seems to be a little play piano that has 4 keys on it; second only to your toes! Daddy and I both cheered the day you FINALLY got your toes in your mouth because you were working on it for weeks. There's just something really squishy sweet about a baby with toes in his mouth.


We need to work on your sleeping habits at night because you're still getting up two to six times a night. Thankfully you aren't up for long, but as much as I love to see you and cuddle you, we could do without all the wee hour visits ~ I promise you will get plenty of cuddling and loving during the day, too, don't worry. Maybe you figure the middle of the night is the only time that you get me all to yourself. :)

Its been a fantastic 5 months, buddy bear. I love you more than you'll ever know.

Love,
Mommy

Celebrating in style . . .

We celebrated the first day of summer by hitting the sprinkler park that is a few blocks from our house. Alyssa was a little unsure about it at first, but she warmed up pretty quickly and made a couple new friends. Mommy learned that she needs to watch where she's walking as there are buckets that dump water and sprinklers that shoot out of the ground without warning! ;)

Parental Influences

Out of the mouth of Alyssa . . .

Most parents try to pass on words of wisdom to their kids like "treat others as you want to be treated", "always say please and thank you". MY husband frequently tells Alyssa "always use a condom". Now, good advice, granted, but you can imagine how proud I was when my 2 1/2 year old came running up to me to say "condom, mommy!".

Almost as proud as when she told me "BEER, WOMAN!" in a growly voice.

And she's also picked up her daddy's tendency to grunt frequently, so throughout the day I get greeted with sweet little "manly" grunts from her.

But its not only Adam that is teaching her these things. Thanks to me she now says "Oh TOOT!" whenever she farts. Or she'll say "Oh, _____ toot!" when someone else farts. I can totally see that one backfiring when I let one loose in public.

Ahhh kids!

Bring on the mountain hikes!

As of about 10AM this morning I am the *proud* owner of a backpack carrier. Never in my life did I ever think that I would buy one of these. They were for those super outdoorsy, athletic, nature freaks that went on 20 mile hikes several times a week and camping on a regular schedule. My camping schedule goes about once every 7 years. And about 8 years ago I did a 7 mile hike up a mountain; I have no desire to do that again any time soon.

My midwife was the first one to suggest to me that we get one. She told me that its great for strapping on husbands and letting them have "bonding time" with the baby while mowing the lawn. I think I could handle that. ;) Then I started seeing a couple of our neighbors walking around the neighborhood with their kids in a backpack. I started getting interested ... I might want to do that someday. Then at Joel's 4 month check up his pediatrician recommended getting one. Joel does love being in the baby bjorn, but sometimes its just a pain to have to reach around him, so I started seriously thinking about getting a backpack.

And then it just so happened that our neighbor Amy had one on her garage sale this morning, so I think I got a pretty good deal, even if we don't use it that often.

Adventures in potty training: Chapter 1

This week I've been slowly working on potty training with Alyssa. More because I can't get the girl to keep a diaper and/or pants on than really feeling ready to tackle potty training. I think she's ready; just not quite so sure about mommy.

Tuesday: She pooped on the floor in the living room and a little bit in her potty. When I saw it she said "Oh poop, Mommy. Daddy pick up home work" Meaning that Daddy would pick it up when he got home from work. I guess she figured that Daddy cleans up Lexi and Joey's poop out in the yard, so poop detail must be his job.

Wednesday: Successful poop in the potty! We called Daddy and both Grandmas to announce the news. BUT . . . while sitting on Daddy's lap after he got home, Alyssa peed through her panties, shorts, and Daddy's shorts.

Thursday: Two successful pees in the potty, which resulted in 2 stickers on her potty chart!

Have I mentioned I'm not sure if I'm ready for this yet?

Sick? Or just plain smart?

Thursday afternoon Alyssa started running a fever between 102 and almost 104. A motrin/tylenol combo seemed to do the trick and she was acting normal, so I didn't think much of it. Yesterday afternoon when she got up from her nap she seemed warm again, so I took her temp and it was 102.2, so back on the motrin we went. She LOVES her motrin. Especially now that she gets to drink it out of a medicine cup like a big girl. After she took it, I started asking her if her ear hurt every once in a while because I'm supremely paranoid about ear infections (even though she's only had 2 in her life). Last night before bed she got all excited because she thought she was going to get medicine. I told her I had to take her temp first to see if she needed it. Her temp was around 99.2, so I told her that she didn't need it because she wasn't sick and the little stinker started crying and saying "Ear hurt, ear hurt". I looked at Adam in disbelief and asked him if she was smart enough to figure out that I would give her medicine if her ear hurt or if he thought he ear really did hurt her. Either way, I figured better safe than sorry, so she got her beloved motrin before bed.

She's growing up waaay too fast.

Myspace/Blog Scattergories

Since scattergories IS one of my fave games, I felt compelled to play along. But I don't blog on Myspace, so I'm sticking it here. In the words of Chris Dowd . . . "wanna fight?"

Rules: Use the 1st letter of your name to answer each of the following...They MUST be real places, names, things...NOTHING made up! If you can't think of anything, skip it. Try to use different answers if the person in front of you had the same 1st initial. You CAN'T use your name for the boy/girl name question.

. Your Name: Christi

. Famous Artist/Band/Musician: Christina Aguilera (sp?)

. 4 letter word: Crud

. Color: Cobalt

. Gifts/present: Can opener (I gave my brother one once, along with a bunch of cans of ravioli)

. Vehicle: Century (as in Buick ~ my first car *sigh*)

. TV Show: Curious George (can you tell I'm a mom?)

. Country: Canada

. Name of a boy: Carter

. Name of a girl: Candice

. Alcoholic drink: Cosmopolitan

. Occupation: Cattle Rancher

. Flower: Columbine

. Celebrity: Cindy Crawford

. Food: Chicken

. Something found in a kitchen: Cans

. Reason for Being Late: Car crash

. Cartoon Character: Clifford (the big red dog . . . did I mention that I'm a mom?)

How cute is my husband?

Look what I got for my Mother's Day breakfast . . .

A first for Joel

Last weekend as part of Lenka's first birthday festivities Joel got to experience his first time in a pool. Granted it was REALLY crowded and only lasted about 5 minutes (because there were too many people, not because he didn't like it), but it was special! I'm looking forward to getting him in the pool/hot tub again when we go to Ohio for my cousin Jeanine's wedding.

Some pictures of the "memorable event" ~

In his "cool dude" shades on the way to the pool
With mommy
Proud big sister watching from a distance
Family picture

Special thanks to Julai for the sunglasses and swimming apparel!

Her new 'do

Alyssa, Joel, and I went to visit Grandma and Grandpa N yesterday and before we left we made a trip to Ms. Sharon for Alyssa's first PROFESSIONAL haircut. Sharon used to cut my hair when I was younger, so I was really glad that she was able to do Alyssa's, too ~ I'm such a sentimental fool! And of course, I cried. I could have just sobbed watching her get her haircut, but I didn't want to worry her, so I held it together as best I could. I was sitting there looking at her with one side of her hair cut short and looking all grown up and then other side long and unruly and looking like my baby and it just hit me like a ton of bricks. I kept thinking "that hair has been on her head for as long as she's been alive". Sharon gave us an adorable little soft plastic zippered bag to keep all her hair in for the baby book/scrapbook.

And now for pictures (I know there's a lot, but I took about 30, so be thankful I'm trimming it down!) . . .

Before:

Ready to roll:
First snip:
Counting her curls:

All done:
And thankfully she still has curls!

Do you know how weird I am?

Jeff tagged me for this latest "get to know you" game ~ 6 weird things about me and then I have to "tag" 6 people.

1. I am completely anal about how my bath towels are folded.
2. I can't stand to use wooden spoons ~ they give me the heebie jeebies.
3. Toilet paper has to go a certain way in my house (so that paper goes over the top). I used to even change it at other people's houses, but then I realized that some of them put it the "wrong" way to keep cats from unrolling it all, so I stopped. Sorry to anyone I "paper changed" in the past. ;)
4. When playing solitare on the computer my aces have to go black, red, black, red or red, black, red, black ~ the same colors can't touch each other.
5. I will make the bed right before bed if I haven't gotten around to making it throughout the day. There's just something special about a made bed.
6. My husband doesn't own a cell phone (just for you, Adam!)

I tag Angie 6 times so that maybe she'll FINALLY update her blog.

Deal or No Deal

If I were ever picked to go on this show, there is no way in HELL I would take Adam with. I would get offered $10 and he would start screaming "DEAL! DEAL! DEAL! We can hit Taco Bell on the way home!" And I would say no deal and no matter what amount of money I came home with our marriage would never be the same. So in this case ignorance would most definitely be bliss.

My first choice to take would be Angie. Especially if she had a couple drinks in her. ;) So, Angie, this is your official invite if I ever get picked on Deal or No Deal. We'll bring Eric along, too ~ he's a good team player. We could take Adam, too, he'll just have to stay at the hotel.

"JOEL" ~ A photo collection by Alyssa

Joel was hanging out on Alyssa's bed yesterday and she wanted to take his picture. Since I'm highly amazed, I mean amused, by her photography skills I let her go to town. The second picture *might* be Joel since he was wearing red; although so was Alyssa now that I think about it. Enjoy!