My oh my ~ 18 months have flown by!

Happy 1.5 Alyssa!

I can't believe how absolutely head over heels in love I am with you. I love (pretty much) every minute of every day. I can't imagine not being able to be around you from the moment that you wake up in the morning to the moment that you go to sleep at night. This is such a fun age where you actually understand why I'm saying and are pretty good at getting your point across to me.

You aren't talking a whole lot yet, but by far the cutest thing you'll say is "way Jo?" (translated to "Where's Joey?") Then you'll put your arms up in the air like you have no idea where she is. You'll say it as the weirdest times ~ like today at the pediatrician's office. You absolutely adore Joey (and Lexi when the BIG dope isn't knocking into you). You think its the neatest thing in the world to have a 3 way tug of war with your puppies. Other words that you say are: mama, no-no (often said to Lexi when she has a toy of yours that you know she isn't supposed to say ~ sometimes we think you think Lexi's name IS no-no), hi, bye, dada (once in awhile you let it accidently slip out ~ I think you're holding out to see if Daddy will bribe you with something good before saying it consistently), yes, jo/jo-jo. I think I've heard cheerios, a form of binky, and out slip out of your mouth, too.

Speaking of out, you love, love, love, love spending time outside. You would play in the yard all day long if I let you. You get so upset when we bring you inside and you'll stand at the back door crying and throwing a fit.

You and Daddy were playing with your Little People farm a few weeks ago and he taught you how to make hammer gestures when the farm would make hammering noises. You think its the funniest thing in the world to do "play along". Inspired us to buy you a tool bench of your own, but you're not too sure about that yet. You love playing with your Cabbage Patch doll, Hannah, and with your Laugh and Learn house, still. You are a fearless little monkey that will attempt to climb anything and everything that doesn't move (and some things that do when you need a boost from mommy, daddy, or Lexi). Still love playing with cell phones and lately you've found the wonderful toy that is mommies makeup. Lipstick is your favorite (probably because it does such a great job staining the carpet!) Definately have a girly-girl on my hands!

You are one of the sweetest and most loving little girls I have ever been around. You give great hugs, we're working on giving kisses (usually you'll just lean your head into someone's lips), and you're a great cuddle partner. You and I go to Jazzercise several mornings a week and you've worked your magic on several little boys there. We're going to be in trouble once you get older!

Its been a fantastic 18 months, my sweet baby girl, and I look forward to all the days ahead.

Love always and forever,
Mommy

This bugs me

Elmo TMX

So, they're taking preorders for a toy that you don't know what it will do (if anything, really!). Who else besides Sesame Street/Elmo could pull this off? And trying to sell it as the must have toy for Christmas '06 . . . seems really cocky to me.

It scares me

Evidently there is a mumps outbreak in the midwest ~ Mumps Story

Three years ago I probably wouldn't have given it a second thought. I've had my MMR vaccinations, so I'm good to go, right? Now that I'm a mom just the thought of something like mumps going around strikes fear in my heart. Makes me immediately rush to look through Alyssa's records from her doctor's visits to see where she stands on her MMR shots. And makes me really glad that she has her 18 month well check next Wednesday so that I can get the latest scoop from Dr. K.

Sweatin', Scrappin', Shoppin', and Springin'

Its soooooo stinkin' beautiful out today. It would have been a fabulous day for the zoo if Staci and I hadn't signed up for the ass-kicking that is known as a personal touch jazzercise class. For crying out loud . . . I actually gasped out loud in pain while sitting down to go to the bathroom this morning! I did not expect it to be that crazy intense . . . and it was only 40 minutes long!

Kim dropped off the Summer Idea Book for Close to My Heart this afternoon. Pardon me while I freak out over scrapbooking stuff. I actually had to close the book because my chest was starting to hurt from all the excitement! I'll have to take it one section at a time, I guess. I can't wait for June (my hostess month) to get all sorts of free goodies!

Alyssa and I are heading out to do a little shopping this afternoon and I think it may be my most bizarre shopping list ever, so I felt that warranted a blog entry.

1. Hangers (for Alyssa's room as somehow I have 17 things that need to be hung up that mysteriously have no hangers)
2. Pressed powder
3. Storage tubs
4. Lettuce

Usually my lists have some sort of theme, but this one is just a hodgepodge.

Then we're heading to Hollywood Video. Its Wednesday and 2 in the afternoon . . . maybe we'll run into Eric!

She's her father's daughter . . .

I took these pictures last week. They crack me up!!!!

Christy ~ don't read until after Sunday! ;)

Alyssa and I hit babies R us for our quarterly diaper/wipe stock up yesterday. (I wait until I get a $5 off every pair of diaper coupon from BRU and have a stash of $1 off pampers coupons and then usually buy 3 or 4 boxes and end up saving $6-$7 per box ~ I'm proud of my method!) I decided to walk through the baby department to see if they had any summer outfits that I liked to get for Charlie as part of his baptism present for this weekend and I was OVERWHELMED by how many super cute things they have out there for boys! Makes me want a little boy! I love the outfit we (Alyssa and I ~ I value her opinion, you know) picked out for Charlie. I keep pulling it out of the bag and admiring it.

Warning ****This is what being a stay at home mom does to you ~ you get excited about REALLY lame things. Its not just visits from the UPS/FedEx guy that does it for me anymore***

They're out to get me (or my money)

Would you believe . . . at 1:42 PM Central time today I received a call from the state troopers association asking for a donation. Of course they plugged their "we give teddy bears to all frightened children in car accidents" and "this money will go towards our wishing well program for terminally ill" children card. They don't even have to ask; I'll just hand over a check when they say that.

Then at 1:50 PM Central time TODAY I got a call from the stinkin' sheriff's society asking for money. Usually I can say no to them, but this time they started plugging their "we help children from being abducted" and "we fingerprint children at country fairs to help them stay safe" program, so they had me, too!

8 minutes and 50 dollars . . . BAM! Gone!

I swear, as soon as the state troopers found out I was a pushover for the kids' programs, they got on the horn to all the other groups and said "Hey, just mention the words 'ill' 'scared' or 'children' and this lady'll give to you in a heartbeat".

They are really great programs, but honestly, getting hit up twice in less than 10 minutes? Couldn't they each have a different month or something to spread these things out? Don't they know that my husband works darn hard so that I can work hard spending his money?! ;)

Naughty Girl?

This is so silly, but its been bugging me all day, so I decided to blog about it . . .

this morning Alyssa and I went to Jazzercise, per usual. Its Monday, so that means that two of my good friends are the babysitters in the childcare room, so I feel totally comfortable leaving Alyssa there and I know both Staci and Steph adore Alyssa. Today they had 22 kids in there (2 over capacity, but they made an exception this time). After class I thanked Staci and Steph for watching Alyssa and they told me that they almost had to come get me because she got 3 warnings. They told the kids that they each would get 2 warnings if they misbehaved and then if they got a 3rd, they would go get their mom. Alyssa got two warnings for throwing a ball and one for climbing on the chairs, but Steph said that since she was so young they decided to let it slide.

I *think* they were just messing with me ~ they both have a sarcastic/teasing sense of humor, but its really bothering me. We have this one family of "devil children" that every child care provider dreads to take care of and I would be horrified if I found out that anyone felt that way about taking care of Alyssa.

But she's 18 months old . . . she can barely throw a ball, its more of a drop, so I can't see her getting in trouble for actually throwing it . . . she couldn't hit anyone/thing if she tried! And she does like to climb on things, but its not like you can do much to stop her from doing that at this age besides distracting her with something else.

I'm so torn up about this . . . I seriously feel like I'm going to cry just thinking about it! I feel so horrible! Its not like she was doing anything REALLY wrong like biting or pinching or hitting, but I still feel absolutely sick about it. And the worst part is, I really think they were just giving me a hard time.

Have I mentioned that I really hate insomnia?

I loved it in college . . . it was the best time to get my laundry done! But now that I'm a "grown up" its just kind of a pain in the arse. I've been up for about an hour and a half now. I think I woke up because Alyssa was coughing and/or playing with her crib aquarium, so I waited to see if she would start crying (and started panicking about how I go about putting her back to sleep in the middle of the night if she wakes up and wants to nurse), but she didn't make a peep. Kind of surprises me since I had to wake her up this afternoon from a 4 1/2 hour nap. I wonder how long she would have slept if I would have let her. It was such a blessing since I got so many things done for Angie's shower while she was sleeping. I really don't know how I would have finished everything up if I hadn't had those 4 + hours (with the breaks every 30 minutes to go make sure my kid was okay). I'm so excited about Angie's baby shower! Maybe that's why I can't sleep. Or maybe my brain thinks that I still need time to get ready, but I think I have everything ready. Just need to throw everything all together in some sort of box/bag to take to Panera. Thank GOODNESS we're not having the shower at my house . . . I'll never do that again after Christy's baby shower. Its too much to worry about keeping a house clean ~ especially with a toddler and husband underfoot! ;)

Speaking of Christy ~ she and I are hitting the big Carters sale at the outlet mall after the baby shower today. I hope I can score some great deals on pjs for Alyssa. (And I hope I can avoid going too crazy over all the cute and cuddly Carter stuff). I can't wait to hang out with her and catch up on how being back to school after having Charlie and all the new house stuff is going!

After going out for dinner with the Dwights last night we stopped at Target so that I could pick up a few fun things to send out to Boston for Jack while he is in the hospital/having treatments. I had such a hard time picking out things for a) a boy and b) a boy that I haven't seen since he was 8 months old (he's now almost 5). I settled for a Thomas the Tank Engine/Train (or whatever) activity book, colored pencils, a 24 piece Seasame Street puzzle and a matchbox car brand airplane (bought one of those for little bro Leo so that he wouldn't feel left out, too) Now I need to figure out how to wrap it so that its not too much of a pain for Aunt Elaine to take with her when she flys back out next week.

My big girl

I am totally, utterly, completely in love with this age . . . Alyssa is so stinkin' funny and so adorable! As much as she tires me out with all her energy, I think I would take this age over a newborn in a heartbeat. Last night I decided the time had come to wean her; not really sure what came over me, I just felt like the time was right. It was easier on both of us than I expected, but it was awfully hard to have her tug at the bottom of my shirt and tell her "no you don't need the boobie tonight", which resulted into her bursting into tears. I felt like she felt like she had done something wrong, so I sat in the rocker with tears running down my cheeks as I told her what a big girl she was, how she was my big, brave, good girl, and how her mama loved her soooo very much. But she slept through the night and tonight went down with less tears than last night, so I think we're making progress.

She found a new way to break my heart today when it comes to "sleep time" . . . when you put her down in her crib she now waves "bye-bye" to you. Oh, can you feel the torture?! I just want to pick her up and cuddle her and kiss her extra lots for being sooo darn cute!

As if she didn't have enough problems . . .

Alyssa let her mommy cut her bangs today. I think I cut them a little too short and now she kinda looks like a boy. Guess we'll be doing lots of pig tails in the next couple weeks! On the up side ~ most kids cry when you cut their hair. Alyssa thought it was really funny and tickled.

Random Thoughts

I'm having a hard time coming up with blogging topics lately, so I'll just do a bunch of brief/random thoughts . . .

1. I can't wait for the "extra people" next door to move . . . hopefully that will tone down the damn barking that goes on all the freakin' time (our neighbors have friends living with them that have 2 dogs, so there is a total of 4 dogs in that house).

2. There are too many dogs right around our yard . . . sooo much barking its starting to drive me nuts.

3. I love our garbage people. I love that they bring the recycling bin and trash container up to the house instead of leaving it at the curb.

4. I really don't think we can afford to move.

5. If we can't afford to move, should we put off having another baby?

6. It would give me more time to lose weight/get into shape.

7. But I really don't want a 3.5-4 year age different between Alyssa and our next child.

8. My tummy is awfully gurgly. I wonder if its from my lunch or from all the things I have on my mind.

9. I should go "accomplish" something, but I feel like everything I accomplish gets destroyed within 5 minutes, so why bother putting forth effort?

10. Man, I'm a downer today!

Updates

Update on Jack: They have ruled out leukemia. Its narrowed down to either a virus that mimics leukemia (how scary is that?!) or aplastic anemia, which is very difficult to treat, so we're hoping for the virus. Sounds like the little guy is in good spirits, so that's a good sign. Keep the good thoughts coming!

Update on Alyssa: Finally, after 17 months I can say confidently that MY CHILD SLEEPS THROUGH THE NIGHT!!!!! She's been doing 12 hour stretches for about a week and a half now. Bliss! Pure bliss! (Now if I could just get my bladder trained to go through the night without waking me I would be good to go)

Update on Me: I swear, its Friday. Isn't it? Shouldn't it be? Its such a Friday day.

News that made me hug my baby tighter

My mom called tonight to tell me that my aunt had flown out to Boston this morning to be with my cousin and his wife after they found out that there 4 1/2 year old very likely has leukemia. This would be a horrible blow to any parent, but my cousin Paul watched his dad (my uncle) die of cancer several years ago, so I can't even imagine what he is going through. After I got off the phone with my mom I went downstairs to give Alyssa extra kisses and hugs. As I was holding her I couldn't even big to imagine what it would be like to know that your precious perfect child had something that horrible inside. I hope Paul, Pam, Jack and Leo know how much we care about them and are thinking of them and if you have any extra prayers or good thoughts please send them their way.

Please don't beat me fellow O-towners

The middle of last week we got the news that weather people were predicting 18-22 inches of snow Sunday/Monday. Then they moved it to Sunday/Monday/Tuesday. Sunday is here and we have MAYBE 2 inches on the ground. I'm so in the mood for a huge blizzard with snow drifts up to my eyeballs! So I'm disappointed. I know I still have a couple days to get snow, but I have a feeling its all going to miss us again. Whatever happened the the piles and piles and piles of snow we got when I was a kid? Damn global warming!

Clean Carpets

I feel like I've stepped even further onto the side of a grown up . . . today we had our carpets cleaned by a professional. I watched him empty his water "tank" after cleaning both of the bedrooms and the dining room. I swear to you, the stuff that ran out was thick and muddly looking and I wanted to throw up thinking that that was in my carpet. I know some of it was the cleaner/soap stuff they use, but seriously to think about my carpets have the potential to produce that SLUDGE . . . bleck! So, I KNOW the carpets are clean, but they don't really LOOK that much better, so it makes it hard for me to justify the money (even though we got a good deal). We practically could have put wood floors in the kitchen and dining room for the amount of money we spent on carpet cleaning. We could buy Alyssa 1 book when she goes to college with that money! Damn!

On another note, our cleaner guy (who happened to own the company, so I'm sure he did a good job) was a total schmoozer (sp?). But a word to all the "ladies men" out there . . . after you tell a girl she looks great for just having a baby (17 months ago . . . I better look good by now) don't tell her that her house doesn't smell like dog pee anymore. I know they are both compliments, but one kind of tarnishes the other.

Niiiiiiiiiiice!

Stolen from Leslie

Christi -- [adjective]: Sexually stunning 'How will you be defined in the dictionary?' at QuizGalaxy.com

Tidbits about me!

I stole this from Chris' Livejournal (too lazy to link it). Thought it was kind of fun and interesting and I've been struggling for blogging topics lately.

thirteen random things you like :
01. Scrapbooking
02. Reading
03. Summer nights
04. New shoes
05. Tickling (either giving or receiving)
06. Corny Chick Flicks
07. Traveling
08. My bed
09. Long Beach Ice Teas
10. Bodies of water (lakes, rivers, streams, oceans)
11. Decorating
12. Singing
13. Little King sandwhiches

twelve movies you like :
01. A Walk to Remember
02. Peter Pan (Disney version)
03. Father of the Bride (I and II)
04. Sliding Doors
05. The Princess Bride
06. Rent
07. Center Stage
08. The Prince and Me
09. Bye Bye Love
10. Ocean’s 11
11. 50 First Dates
12. How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days


eleven good bands/artists :
01. Bare Naked Ladies (Lord knows I love the ladies)
02. Hawk Nelson (Eric ~ tour update? ;) )
03. Bowling for Soup
04. Jack Johnson
05. Shania Twain
06. Black Eyed Peas
07. Beach Boys
08. No Doubt/Gwen Stefani
09. Rascal Flatts
10. Jewel
11. Jessica Simpson (don't flog me . . . I dig her tunes)

ten things about you :
01. I love to cuddle
02. I love to laugh
03. I wish I had a bigger and closer extended family to hang out with
04. I love to play board games.
05. I can twirl a baton (actually two of them!)
06. I consider myself very creative and to have a vivid imagination
07. I like to cook and bake
08. I hate shopping for myself
09. I love the color blue
10. I would like to own a turtle someday

nine good friends:

01. Julia
02. Angie
03. Paula
04. Christy
05. Staci
06. Erin
07. Lindsay
08. Eric
09. Boomer


eight favorite foods/drinks :
01. Mexican
02. Pasta
03. Cheese
04. Better than Sex cake
05. Diet Root Beer
06. M&Ms
07. Crystal Light Raspberry Iced Tea
08. Spinach/Artichoke Dip

seven things you wear daily :
01. underware
02. my wedding band (usually)
03. diamond stud earrings
04. a baby on my hip
05. a smile
06. pjs
07. contacts

(the 6 thing list is missing, so I’m adding my own)

six things you want to do before you die:

01. Go on a Disney cruise with a bunch of friends
02. Get a tattoo (I think)
03. Hit my goal weight
04. Go scuba diving
05. See my kid(s) graduate college, get married, and have families
06. Tour more of Europe

five things you touch everyday :
01. My keys
02. Silverware
03. My super cute baby girl
04. Doorknobs
05. Diapers

four shows you watch :
01. Gilmore Girls
02. Survivor
03. Who’s Line is it Anyway?
04. The Ellen Degeneres Show

three celebrities you have a crush on :
01. Joshua Jackson (Sorry Angie . . . it was JUST a TV show!)
02. Brendan Fraser
03. Topher Grace

two people that you have kissed :
01. Adam
02. Erin (I guess I’ll do just about anything if I’m drunk and someone offers me a quarter)

one person you could spend the rest of your life with:
01. Adam ~ good thing I married the crazy guy!

Random Updates

Its 2:25 AM and I'm wide awake. This has happened the last 3 nights. Friday night I stuck chicken in the crockpot at 1:30 AM and finished reading my US Weekly . . . I wonder how many people can say they've done that in their life. I hope this trend stops soon. Takes me back to my days of insomnia in college when I would do laundry at 4 in the morning because I couldn't sleep. Darn good way to make sure that you get all the washers/dryers you need at once. But I bet the people that lived next to the laundry room hated me.

I have strep throat for the first time in my life. I don't recommend it. Its not a fun game. I have a sinking suspicion that Adam is going to catch it from me. As he said to me today, "you can say sore throat to me and I'll instantly have a sore throat", so I'm hoping that his tingly throat is all in his head. But its also his turn to be sick.

We went to look at houses today and found one that we really loved. Adam is supposed to call our mortgage company tomorrow and talk numbers, then we're going to go look through it again Tuesday night. They were having an open house today (actually yesterday since techincally its Monday), so we had the added pressure of an extra realtor lurking in the corner, so I don't feel like I really got to take a good look at the place. But it had a really good once over! The part the excites me the most right now is that the master bedroom is HUGE. So huge that Brendan Wellington (my elliptical machine) will be able to move in, so thus will end my "do I catch up on my TiVoed stuff or exercise" dilemma. Now I can do both at once! My gut instinct is we'll find out that our monthly payment would be more than we can comfortably afford, so I can't tell if I'm not over the top excited about this because its not really THE house or because I know that its not going to happen in the end. I think its the second option. Which is good because I need to work on my "realist" qualities.

Thursday night I went to a Close to my Heart (scrapbooking) party at the house of someone I had never met. Debbie and I are in the stamp club that Kim started together, but since this was the first month of the club we had never met. I was really proud of myself for going (and going by myself without taking my back ups Julia and/or Angie with me) since normally I'll run as fast as I can away from situations where I have to meet new people on their turf. But I had a good time being out around adults and playing with stamps. Granted, I talked about Alyssa pretty much nonstop all evening, but I'll tell msyelf that's just because Kim has a son that's only a month older than her and we wanted to compare our kids.

Jeez this is turning into a novel . . . unfortunately I'm no more sleepy now than I was when I started it.

You know you're a mom when . . .

you can't for the life of you find a pen anywhere on/in your desk, but you do come across no fewer than 112 crayons. And you wonder if a signature in crayon on an official document would hold up in a court of law . . .

Get a dictionary, people!

Marinara: Being or served with a sauce of tomatoes, onions, garlic, and spices

After visiting with Christy and Charlie today, Alyssa and I stopped by Fazolli's to pick up lunch. Here's my conversation with the drive through person:

Me: I would like a small baked ziti with marinara sauce.
DTP: You know that has meat in it, right?
Me: The marinara sauce?
DTP: Yeah. Do you want it with tomato sauce instead?
Me: *dumbfounded* Sure.

And low and behold my ziti with tomato sauce had chunks of either hamburger or sausage in it. Back in the day Julia and I ordered ziti with marinara sauce all the time and you know it didn't have meat in it because she won't eat the animal carcass.

Adjoining: 1. To be next to; be contiguous to 2. To attach

This afternoon I called to get hotel reservations for Hope and Eric's wedding in June. One of my "requirements" of the hotel be that the two rooms be adjoining (have a door connecting the two of them). Simple, right? Not so . . . of course. Because nothing is ever simple.

Me: Do you have an adjoining rooms?
Hotel Lady: Yes, we have adjoining rooms where the rooms are on the same floor and in the same section or we have connecting rooms. Which would you rather have?
Me: *doesn't adjoining mean the same thing as connecting?* Connecting, I guess.
Hotel Lady: So you want the rooms to be physically connected by an adjoining door?
Me: Yes.
Hotel Lady: So you want connecting, not adjoining, right?
Me: Who's on first?

TGIO!

(Thank goodness its OVER!)

The RMP Film Festival II went off smoothly this weekend and was a smashing success from all the feedback I've heard. I'm so proud of everyone involved with it ~ making being a founding member of the RMP Widow's Club worth while.

Check out pictures here of the Friday night cram session, premiere at the theatre, and the after part (minus some pictures of yours truly getting mighty darn tipsy!)

Shout out to her peeps!

The diva says "Good luck this weekend, boys. Sorry I won't be able to make an appearance, but I have an important date with Grandpa and Grandma."

Question for my RMP boyzzzzz

What did Eric say last night that I decided was the funniest thing I had ever heard and was going to tattoo to my ass? I can't for the life of me remember . . . I think I might have been drunk.

(and by RMP boyzzz I really mean Boomer or Eric because I KNOW Adam won't remember. Its one of the things I love about him)

Cute thing #5,934,270

What did I do for entertainment/blog entries without this kid?!

For the past few days every time I pull out a Lysol wipe to wipe down the counters in the kitchen I instantly feel a little tug at my pants and hear this pitiful little grunting. I look down and this short little thing is reaching desperately for my wipe. So, I give her a wipe so that she can clean, too. I think its a pretty common thing for toddlers this age to imitate housework, ect, but the funny thing is that she goes straight to her house (the Laugh and Learn one we got her for Christmas) and starts cleaning her house! Once in awhile she'll do the table or the floor of the kitchen, but 9 times out of 10 she'll go clean her own house. Today was clean out the mailbox day.

If only it would countdown the minutes . . .

and until I don't have a to be a single mom anymore!!!!!!!!

Interesting Tidbit

Here's something I bet you didn't know about me (unless you're married to me and knowing Adam he's probably forgotten).

When I'm playing solitare on the computer I HAVE, HAVE, HAVE to have the aces go red, black, red, black or black, red, black, red. No matter what order they appear in in the "deck" I can't have the two reds together or the two blacks together.

There's no challenging that OCD diagnosis, is there?

(Okay, I'm REALLY going to bed now)

Damn you Veggie Tales!

Actually, just damn the Veggie Tales theme song creators . . . the actual Veggie Tales characters/story lines are quite charming and likeable. I had a horrible time sleeping last night because I kept waking up to the voice in my head singing "Lima Beeeeeeeeaaaaanns, Collllllllllard Greeeeens! Peachy Keeeeeeen! Veggie Tales!".

Now almost 24 hours later I am settling down for bed and all I can hear is that same voice chanting "There's never ever ever been a show like Veggie Tales!".

I acknowledge that fact. Its in a catagory all of its own. Now can you pipe down so I can get some sleep? Pleeeeeeeeeeeasssseeeeee!?

Ahh, sweet small town, USA!

Alyssa and I ventured east this morning to spend the weekend with my parents. Mostly for the annual Chipman food fest aka Super Bowl party, but a generous spoiling from the parents/grandparents can never hurt.

I, being the space cadet lately that I am, forgot to pack the baby monitor. I had been planning on buying a new one because ours is on the fritz and figured that I would just give our old one to my parents to have on hand. Well, I figured the time had come for me to buy another baby monitor. So, we head out shopping. Would you believe in this town (its not that dinky, population 5500!) they do not sell baby monitors?! Pamida (the wal-mart of small town Iowa) has a huge baby aisle that tells every gadget and gizmo other than monitors. Wouldn't you think that a monitor would rank semi-high up there on the "needs" list? Thankfully Alyssa and I share a wall when we are sleeping, so I'll be able to hear her if (okay, who am I kidding WHEN) she wakes up.

Then we decide to go rent a movie. My parents DVD player is broken, so we had to resort to these crazy things called V-H-S? Anyway, I was thinking that we would have to settle for some movie from the early 90s because, after all the movie selection in this town is limited and with DVDs being all the rage, why buy new movies on DVD AND VHS? We walked into the store and probably 70% of the store is still VHS. And people were lined up in front of the VHS shelves; the DVD section was like a ghost town. Who would have figured? And its not all the old people out for some Saturday night excitement that were getting movies . . . it was the 20 and 30 crowd, too, which I'm willing to be is the prime purchase age of a DVD machine.

Anyway, Christy and Jeff ~ I think we need to re-evaluate our retirement plans. ;)

What stinks?

Britney Spears to Launch New Fragrance

"Its been annouces that Britney Spears' Curious perfume brand is releasing a limited edition perfume called "In Control" in April.

The fragrance will combine the essance of yearning with the zest of romance and the desire for a man to come home and feed the baby."

What?! I can't imagine what that would smell like ~ or that it would smell very good (Especially if its based off of K-Fed). Let's hope its VERY limited edition. Crazy.

Gotta strut my stuff!

Your walk is: Zombie-like Take this quiz at QuizGalaxy.com

Tested by Dr Mom (that's me!)

Last Thursday Alyssa caught "the snots" from darn old Rowan at Jazzercise. (Just kidding ~ I love Rowan, but I love giving Staci a hard time even more) So she's been a bundle of snotty, stuffy, crabby joy the past few days and she passed it on to me. I decided to give some new cold products a try.

I tried air-borne for the first time ~ not sure how long its been out and about, but everyone I talked to just RAVES about it. It didn't work like I expected. I thought I would take a dose and instantly feel better, but for about 24 hours after taking it I felt like I was on the cusp of getting a "horrible, horrible, haven't been this miserable in years" cold. After 5 doses I feel pretty much normal, so maybe it just prevented my cold from getting too bad. I would definitely use it again and would recommend it. I had the orange flavor . . . it reminded me a lot of the glu-cola drink that you have to drink before getting tested for diabetes when you're pregnant. And I'm one of that crazy 2% that actually kind of enjoyed the drink. Give me a glass of ice and a straw and I can drink just about anything.

Friday night I bought the new Sudafed (I think) Vapor plug in for Alyssa's room. I'm not sure if it really worked or not, but it left her room smelling vick's vapor rub fresh! Actually, I think it did work because she didn't wake up dripping in snot or stuffed up so bad that she could barely breathe, which was a great improvement over her last couple colds. Warning on this product ~ plug it in far away from your bed because it can be REALLY intense. We had it plugged in next to the rocking chair and after about 5 minutes in the chair in the middle of the night (after it had been plugged in for 4 hours or so) I had to get up and walk away because I thought I was going to be sick. It does leave your entire house smelling kind of fresh . . . or kind of sterile, one of the two.

Bath toys . . . they aren't just for babies anymore!

We've known for a long time that we have a water baby. Be it swimming pools, dogs' water bowls, or the tub, she loves her a splashing good time. So, being the wonderful mommy that I am I've purchased several bath toys to entertain her during bathtime. Wanna see her favorite toy?



















That's right folks, its a wash cloth.

But my money towards bath toys is not wasted.


Adam loves her "TUBmarine" ~ Its a submarine that you can wind up and it'll float through the water and the scope goes from side to side . . . very hip with the computer programmer crowd.















And my most recent purchase I fell in love with this evening (on its maiden voyage across the tub) Its a frog that floats on its back and when you pull the fish on a string the frog squirts water a foot and a half in the air. Its like our own private fountain in our bathroom! Alyssa did think it was kind of funny to get nailed on the head with the water squirting up, so maybe there is hope for her liking her bath toys yet.



If not . . . we'll "regift" the rest of them to the Dwight baby. ;)

Conversation with a toddler

From our kitchen yesterday morning:

Me: "Look at you Alyssa, you ate all your breakfast! Do you want more banana?"
Alyssa: *signs "more"*
Me: *walks to chair and starts slicing banana onto her tray*
Alyssa: "NO!" *while shoving banana slices into her mouth*
Me: "I don't think you really know what no means, do you?"
Alyssa: "No no, mama!" *folds arms in "pout stance"* (she's been doing this thing where she folds her arms across her chest, frowns slightly, and sighs heavily the past couple days and its a RIOT!)

Oh this kid, she cracks me up.

Homeschooling . . .

is it getting more popular or is it another one of those "now you're in the mommy club and you can know about this" things. You know, the things that you assume are there because you always hear about them, but you don't realize HOW THERE they are until you're actually a parent. It feels like I've stumbled upon a lot of moms that homeschool lately.

Maybe that's my way to get rid of my "I regret not getting my education degree" regret ~ I could homeschool my kids. No, I couldn't. Let's face it, they would learn nothing except whether Joey and Dawson end up together or what Ellen's topic is for her monologue of the day. And maybe a little bit of Gilmore Girls drama thrown in for good measure. (PS I had to look up monologue, so you can bet yer arse they wouldn't know how to spell it!).

I'm too lazy to homeschool.

And the Kleffman/Micek family grows!

Congratulations to Jeff, Christy, and Evan on the arrival of BEAUTIFUL Mr. Charles (Charlie) Michael this afternoon at 3:55 PM!!!!

Christy invited me to the hospital to watch Charlie be born and I have to say its one of the most amazing and emotional things I have ever done. I absolutely loved every single minute of it! I sobbed as Charlie was born and could not stop gushing to Christy about how beautiful and perfect he was. I think she is so amazing and brave and strong! She did such a great job!!! As she was pushing she said "Come on Charlie, I want to meet you" and it totally just broke my heart (in a good way). I hope little (okay, big ~ weighing in at 10 lbs and measuring 23 1/4 inches) Charlie knows how much his mommy and daddy love him and want him!




Thank you Christy for letting me share this incredibly special day with you! I will never forget it and I'm absolutely honored that you asked me to be there. Lots of love to you and your boys!

Chicken Fat, eh?

You will sink in a mire. You like to think you're
normal, but deep down you really just want to
strip off your clothes and roll around in
chicken fat.


What horrible Edward Gorey Death will you die?
brought to you by Quizilla

My next child . . .

will be a love child between me and the person who came up with the idea to put jelly in a squeeze bottle. ABSOLUTELY genius! I ADORE this person.

Happy Birthday Colin!

Happy First Birthday to Alyssa's "local" boyfriend, Colin! Hope you have a WONDERFUL first birthday, big guy!

15 months old

Dear Alyssa,

You are 15 months old today! We had your check up with Dr. K and he mentioned that the 15 month check up is hard for a lot of moms because its the last "baby" check up. From here on out your are a toddler in the eyes of the medical community. Although I've been thinking of you as a toddler for all practical purposes since you started "toddling" right around your first birthday, you will ALWAYS be my baby . . . just for the record. You had a great appointment ~ in this corner we have the adorable Miss Alyssa Marie weighing in at 22 lbs 4.5 oz (40th percentile) and 30.5 inches (55th percentile). You were quite the charming little flirt as always with Dr. K., but could really do without nurse no-name who keeps coming at you with those darn needles.

So this month has been full of a lot of fun memories. You finally started getting signing down ~ although you make up your own signs. Who needs the official American sign language anyway? You throw your hands up the air for "all done" (Daddy thought you were doing "touchdown" and wanted to know how on earth you learned that when you have only been exposed to about 3 football games in your life), you put your pointer finger of one hand into the palm of your other hand for "more" (you first did that to Grandma Sandy when we were shopping in the toy department at Target ~ I told her that it meant "buy me something, Grandma, and put it right there), and you'll either put your finger to your mouth or do the "more" sign if we ask you if you want to eat. We were at the bank with Angie a few weeks ago and I told you to "come here" and beckoned to you with my finger. With a sly little smile on your face you planted your feet firmly on the ground and used your finger to tell me to "come here". No one is going to push you around. :)

Your new obsession seems to be putting things around your neck. We really need to get you some beads or something ~ watch out future boyfriends! I have to be really careful to keep the closet door shut and the dresser drawers shut in our bedroom or you'll wander around with my underwear, Daddy's boxers, or my bra hung around your neck. You don't even care if they are clean or dirty! There's a good story for your 16th birthday! You also quickly discovered that if you push the red button in the middle of mommy's key chain the car makes a really cool and loud "BEEP! BEEP! BEEP!" noise. Ahhhh the power of it all!

Your favorite food is still mandarin oranges, but string cheese and Capt'n Crunch with Crunchberries come in close seconds. You love the puzzles that you got for Christmas, but you get really frustrated if someone tries to put the pieces back where they belong. Puzzles are for taking pieces out, not putting them in, in your eyes. "Santa" brought you the Fisher Price Laugh and Learn house and you really seem to love it. You love pressing the doorbell and getting your mail from the mail box.

You are starting to talk a lot more. You have "mama" down pat and have started adding a very clear "mommy" to your vocabulary every once in a while. "Hi" is mastered, but "dada" could still use some work. We've gotten it every once in awhile, but Daddy is still waiting for the day when you coming running up to him when he gets home from working yelling "Dada". As it is, when you hear the garage door go up at the end of the day you'll say "oh!" and get a surprised and excited look on your face before rushing to the top of the steps. You also say "yes" and "no-no" at times. Thankfully "no-no" hasn't been too common. The other night you pointed at Joey's bowl of food and said "no-no". Maybe you are finally grasping that you're not supposed to eat Joey's food.

You're such a character my sweet baby girl. I love watching your personality develop every day and I love the little person you are becoming.

Love always,
Mama/Mommy

TiVo and BILs

Its really sad how completely, madly in love I am with the TiVo that my brother-in-law, Ben, got for our family for Christmas. He bought us the actual TiVo box or whatever its called and a lifetime membership/subscription. I honestly don’t know how we lived without it. I love, love, love that I can sit down and have ½ a dozen different TV shows that I love just waiting for me at any time of the day to watch and fast forward through the commercials. What a great present from a great guy!

And I have to say that I have the two best brother-in-laws in the world. Ben because of the previously mentioned TiVo, of course, but he’s also just a really great guy. Both he and Chris are. Both are really good, supportive “big brothers” when I need them to be. I will never forget how INSANELY excited Chris was to meet Alyssa when she was born. He called at least twice to find out when we would be ready for visitors and actually met us at the door to my post-delivery room. He brought adorable PINK gifts for Alyssa, but also brought a USA Today paper so that we could keep track of the headlines on her birthday and cheese/cracker snack pack things in case I got hungry and didn’t want hospital food. What kind of guy thinks of that?! I don’t know that I would think of that and I think I’m a pretty thoughtful person. Maybe its because he’s a doctor and is well acquainted with hospital food (especially the hospital food at that hospital, which is nothing to write home about), but it still really touched me. Somehow my crazy in-laws brought up three rather fantastic boys!

Waiting for the UPS man

According to my tracking on Amazon the chair that I bought for Alyssa with her Christmas money from G&G Nelsen is out for delivery as of 5:52 AM today. And it has an "on time" delivery date of January 10th. TOMORROW, folks! I'm hoping that's a mistake. This is not that big of a town that it takes the UPS guy two days to delivery a package and if it went on the truck this morning I'm hoping, hoping, hoping that its delivery today.

*my heart just skipped a beat as I saw something brown out of the corner of my eye in the street, but it was the Durango from across the street. DAMN THEM for teasing me*

Have I mentioned that I'm sooo excited about this chair? I really think Alyssa is going to love it. She loves crawling on and off of things. She'll play for hours crawling in and out and upside down with Joey's dog bed. (At least someone/thing is getting some use out of it)

Speaking of Joey . . .

Last Friday morning I was sitting on the floor in the nursery calling for Alyssa to come get her diaper changed. I trying bribing, I tried talking sternly, I tried begging, I tried guilt tripping, but nothing was going to bring her near me because she knew there a "diaper change" air in the room. You would think that she would want her diaper changed after 12-13 hours of peeing in it overnight. Anyway, Joey was happy to occupy my lap, so I started thinking to myself "hmmm, I bet it would be easier to diaper a Pomeranian than a 15 month old" . . . the result . . . YES, it is easier to diaper a pomeranian than a 15 month old (at least mine). Its a lot quieter, too.

Pictures

Some of my favorites from today
"What the hell is this?! I told you Mom, NO BOWS!" (the awful object in her hand is a hair bow)

"Training to be the youngest person ever to balance a spoon on her nose"

"Just plain 'I could eat her up' cute"

Update PLEASE!

You know who you are *cough* Angie *cough* It has now been officially a MONTH since you blogged last. If you're worried about your parents disowning you for writing about your true feelings/life then start a new blog for crying out loud! I'm going through withdrawal!!!

BTW ~ Good luck to you and Eric today. Thinking "crossed legs" vibes so that you don't get a sneak peak at Little MF/Little Dude's goods. I can't wait to hear how it went and see pictures!!!

We so need a better nickname for the kid. Come on Boomer ~ we are two college educated, creative people . . . put your thinking cap on!

Damn car commmerical!

I'm started to hate the car commercial (I think its Ford) that uses the Peanuts song . . . every time I hear it I get this little "Charlie Brown Christmas" memory jolt and its starting to annoy me. As much as I love the movie, the commerical is a bit much. I think they should be banned from using songs from classic movies in commericals. But just my 2 cents.

Prayers for Millie

I found the most BEAUTIFUL and SWEET cocker spaniel wandering around outside today. I thought I saw her a couple days ago and then this afternoon Lexi and Joey started doing their "there is a dog within a two mile radis of our house and it did not get prior permission" freak out. I saw the dog again, so I put our dogs in the bedroom and went outside to see if she was still around. She was poking around the bushes and came running over as soon as she saw me. I got a little bit of Joey's food out of the bag we keep in the garage and she inhaled it like she hadn't eaten in days (or like she was Lexi) and then she was my best friend. I took her inside, fed her some more and gave her some water. Once Adam got home I took her to the Humane Society, which I know is best because it'll hopefully help her find her family, but she was so sweet part of me wanted to keep her.

I loved her silky black ears and her white fuzzy little chest. She was quite the little lady . . . she didn't knock Alyssa over for the food that she was eating like SOME dogs we know would do, she was well behaved on a leash, she climbed into the backseat of my car and just sat there like a little angel. She was shaking so bad when we got to the Humane Society. I hated to put her down in that cold metal cage. :(

The lady at the Humane Society said that she could tell that she had been groomed recently, so she probably just got away while her collar was off. She made it sound like she had a really good chance of finding her family, but please give out some prayers and good thoughts that Millie (she looked like a Millie to me) find her home!

If I had a dime . . .

for everytime I've heard "why by the cow when you can get the milk for free" from Adam's computer today while he's working on "Kitty Cats and Exit Signs" I would be a VERY rich woman.

I may run out of the theatre screaming at that point during the premier as I think I'm pushing my limit as to how many times I can hear that.

Happy New Year!

Happy 2006 to you and yours!

Our "old people party" was a smashing success . . . although SOME people *cough* Dwights *cough* overstayed their welcome by leaving at 12:16 instead of 12:05 like the invite instructed! ;) I was super impressed with all of us, especially Angie, managing to stay fully awake until midnight. Even Alyssa made it to 10:30, which I'm now paying for since she wants nothing to do with a normal bedtime tonight. I think she now thinks that we stay up and eat yummy food and play goofy games every night while she's sleeping ~ who would want to miss that kind of action?!

Thanks to everyone who brought yummy food and celebrated with us. Even Chad who decided that he needed to leave early and bring in the new year with a bunch of nekkid women. What a New Year for him; seeing a celebrity at the grocery store while shopping for Oreos (the guy that played The Rock's dad in "Walking Tall" and he's in "Everwood", but I can't for the life of me remember what his name is) and strippers ~ what more could a bachelor want?

I made 3 New Years resolutions this year:
1. Lose Weight (Given ~ this has been one for me for about 15 years now, I think)
2. Do one big thing each month to get more organized. I finished January's "task" already by consolidating my 3 address books into 1 super duper clean and updated one.
3. Get pregnant. Kind of an oxymoron when you look at 1 and 3 together, but whatcha gonna do?

Newlyweds no longer!

No, its not about Nick and Jessica, its about Christi and Adam!

If its true that being married less than 3 years makes you a newlywed, then we are officially an old married couple. =)

Happy Anniversary, HB!

It STILL bothers me!

I just can't seem to let this one go.

Last Friday I took Alyssa over to Adam's parents to have lunch with his mom, grandma, and uncle. I realized that I hadn't offered to bring anything over on Christmas Day, so I asked if there was anything that I could bring. Here's our conversation . . .

Me: Is there anything I can bring on Sunday? I should have offered sooner, but it kind of snuck up on me.
Mil: *scoffs* Christi, when are you seriously going to have time to make something with your parents coming tomorrow and you going over to your cousins'?
Me: Well, I'm making chex mix and a cheese ball to take to Mark and Janna's, maybe I'll just bring leftovers over and I do have tons of cookies and stuff to bring.
Grandma: Oh, I haven't had a cheeseball in forever, that sounds really good.
Mil: I made chex mix so don't bring that.

So, Sunday morning I get up and reform and re-crumb my cheeseball so that it looks brand new (not much of it was eaten on Saturday) and put together a plate of a majority of the cookies and treats that I had made. I took over crackers to have with the cheeseball and everything.

After we opened presents everyone was complaining about being hungry, but we kept being told we would eat in an hour to an hour and a half. Fil, Alyssa, and I were in the kitchen and I mentioned to him that I brought a cheeseball. He got really excited and said that he loved cheeseballs, so I got it out of the fridge for him, but then he said he should wait. (Fearing the wrath of mil, no doubt, for eating something that she didn't pre-approve). I thought if she wouldn't let me make anything for the meal, maybe I could at least bring something that people could snack on. And I never did see this chex mix that SUPPOSEDLY she had already made. So, I felt kind of sad that no one was going to eat my cheeseball, but I figured that maybe she forgot about it because of all the other things she had on her mind. But I certainly didn't want to bring it up because I'm kind of scared of my mil.

Then comes time for dessert and she serves her pumpkin pie and her pecan pie, but my cookies just sit on the counter sealed and unopened.

I seriously wanted to cry the entire way home. I felt like such a loser and a failure. I was making an effort to be part of the family. You don't make guests bring food, but family SHOULD bring something. If I go to my parents for a holiday I take something (or usually make something there). We went through this whole "I want us to be closer and really feel like family" thing and then I just feel like I was slapped in the face because she just ignored my effort. I wouldn't have cared if no one ate anything, at least I would have been given a chance. I guess Chris did eat one of my cookies as soon as we got there. I didn't plan on leaving the entire plate there. I actually had some cookies that I made that I didn't get to try because I took them all over to their house. But I didn't feel like I could just walk out with an untouched plate of cookies either.

And I left the cheeseball there because I took it primarily because Grandma said it sounded really good and then fil got excited about it. I hope they at least noticed that it was there.

I know its dumb. I shouldn't feel so bad about something so trivial, but its really eating at me.

New Pet?

Just because I want to see what happens . . .

High point of my day

Even better than finding out that Angie looks like Tom Hanks and Eric looks like Hillary Swank . . .

I called my parents tonight and as I was dialing Adam asked if I was ordering pizza. So, I decided to be silly and as soon as my Dad answered I said, "Yes, I'd like to place an order for delivery". He replied, "Okay, go ahead" and I placed my order for Chicken Tetrazini (sp?) (one of my favorite things my mom makes).

Smooth as can be my dad repeats back "One Chicken Annabimi".

Oh I love him even if he can't pronouse tetrazini (which I can't spell for the life of me, so maybe that makes us even)

More about Alyssa . . .

The day that I've been waiting for for one year, two months, one week, and one day has finally arrived. The day that I would pull out a toy and Alyssa's eyes would light up with joy! She has a new love in her life in the form of her Fisher Price Laugh and Learn House. Now, she hasn't actually gotten to play with it yet, because it IS a Christmas present, but she got mighty excited watching me put it together this afternoon.

Adam and I are sooooooooo bad about opening gifts from each other before a set holiday. By the time Christmas, our birthdays, Valentine's day, our anniversary, ect arrive we've already opened, used and/or broken our gifts to each other. This year is no exception. Tonight I opened the best present ~ a pair of soft, comfty, purple flip flop slippers. I had told him how I saw some at Old Navy that I loved, but they were in the kids section and I was seriously pondering seeing if I could fit into a child's size slipper. I love wearing slippers around the house, but then the top of my feet get so hot that I have to kick them off every once in awhile. So, now life is complete; I have a pair of slipper that I can wear all day every day. Until my daughter decided to PEE on my new slippers as she was getting into the bathtub tonight. Now I have soft, comfty, purple, WET flip flop slippers. But I still love them; I just have to wait for them to dry.

Inspirations from Dove and thoughts on Christmas

I bought some Dove milk chocolate with caramel chocolates at Target yesterday and today's "words of wisdom" from my wrappers were: Love is the greatest gift of all and Add some sweetness to each day.

The second quote got me thinking about Alyssa. How I do have a little bit of sweetness in each day ~ in the shape of my beautiful baby girl. Even though there are times that I don't feel like I'm doing a great job as a mom, I am so thankful each and every day that I get to be her mom. Its an absolute honor.

The first quote hit home with some thoughts I have been having lately about Christmas. My mom sent me this in an e-mail this week and it really got me thinking:

"A new verision of the Night before Christmas"

'Twas the night before Christmas
and all through the town
Not a sign of Baby Jesus
was anywhere to be found.


The people were all busy
with Christmas time chores
Like decorating, and baking,
and shopping in stores.
No one sang "Away in a manger,
no crib for a bed".
Instead, they sang of Santa
dressed-up in bright red.


Mama watched Martha Stewart,
Papa drank beer from a tap.
As hour upon hour
the presents they'd wrap

When what from the T.V.
did they suddenly hear?
'Cept an ad.. which told
of a big sale at Sears.

So away to the mall
they all flew like a flash...
Buying things on credit...
and others with cash!

And, as they made their way home
>From their trip to the mall,
Did they think about Jesus?
Oh, no... not at all.

Their lives were so busy
with their Christmas time things
No time to remember
Christ Jesus, the King.

There were presents to wrap
and cookies to bake.
How could they stop and remember
who died for their sake?

To pray to the Savior...
they had no time to stop.
Because they needed more time
to "Shop til they dropped!"


On Wal-mart! On K-mart!
On Target! On Penney's!
On Hallmark! On Zales!
A quick lunch at Denny's

>From the big stores downtown
to the stores at the mall
They would dash away, dash away,
and visit them all!

And up on the roof,
there arose such a clatter
As grandpa hung icicle lights
up on his brand new step ladder.

He hung lights that would flash.
He hung lights that would twirl.
Yet, he never once prayed to Jesus...
Light of the World.

Christ's eyes... how they twinkle!
Christ's Spirit... how merry!
Christ's love... how enormous!
All our burdens... He'll carry!

So instead of being busy,
overworked, and uptight
Let's put Christ back in
Christmas and enjoy
some good nights!

I worry about how I'm going to explain the true meaning of Christmas to Alyssa. How in this day and age where I get so stressed out about finding the perfect gifts and baking the perfect cookies and scheduling where we are going to be when and who we'll see, how am I going to explain to her that none of that really matters? Its a day to celebrate this amazingly important birthday. A day to celebrate family. To me the gift giving is a way to show our friends and family how much we love them and appreciate them and to make them feel special. The whole season gets so busy and stressful and I wouldn't wish that upon anyone, yet, everyone I know I gets stressed about it. My mom stresses about making sure that she spends the same amount of money on each child and grandchild. That everyone has the same number of gifts to open. That she gets things that everyone will want and need. So much of the joy of gift giving is overshadowed by the feeling of dread of going to the mall AGAIN to find a parking spot AGAIN and to stand in the checkout line AGAIN.

My mom and I were talking about going to church last week and even that is a huge deal. The reason for the whole day in a way turns into a big stesser. Planning what time we're going to go based on what time we're supposed to be at Mark and Janna's for Christmas. Planning who we're going with. What church we're going to. It all just builds and builds.

So when I think about it from this stand point it seems like the most horrible time of year. People are cranky and moody and stressed and losing sleep worrying about finding the perfect toy for their child or how they are going to pay their credit card bill come January or if they got their Christmas cards mailed early enough.

Its supposed to be the most wonderful time of the year and its still my favorite time of year. When I think back on holidays past I don't remember the stress and the arguing and the lines and the money spent. I remember spending time with family, playing games, eating until you think your pants are going to bust open, standing between my mom and dad, holding a candle, and singing "Silent Night" at the 11 PM church service. The wonder and magic of the day. I hope that I can pass that on to Alyssa. That she can understand the true joy of the day and not get caught up in all the commercialism and stress.

That, my baby girl, is my wish for you today and always. Its all about the love and the magic. :)

I really feel like we're bonding

First we both painted our toenails. Now its 3:01 AM and we're both wide awake. So we shared some leftover cold pizza, some apple juice, and now I'm blogging and she's running around like a chicken with her head cut off. Are you scared now, Angie? ;)

I've been up since about 12:30 ~ just wasn't tired. Alyssa woke up a little before 1. I tried rocking her for a bit and putting her down several times, but she would play for about 10 minutes and then start crying/fussing again. And she's all stuffy and hoarse from her cold, so she sounds just miserable when she "tries" to cry, so I just can't let her go on very long. But then I started thinking, "here I am, awake and not tired and I'm playing on the computer and reading, why should she HAVE to go to sleep just because I say so if she's not tired?". So, thus we're both up and going. I would have a totally different opinion if I was tired and wanting to sleep and she was awake, though, I'm sure.

But I kind of hope she decides to crash soon. I'm still not tired, but the idea of my nice warm bed sounds awfully nice.

Its good to have a daughter

'cuz you can't really do matching pedicures with a son. :)

How well do YOU know Christi?

Okay, so Angie started this "how well do you know _______" quiz that has passed through most of the Julio's gang today. I guess I made my quiz really hard because no one did very well, so I decided to do a blog post of just random little facts about me . . . in case you want to know or you are every on Jeopardy and there's a "Christi" catagory! Enjoy. :)

Most significant days in my life:

May 3^rd, 2002 ~ My Grandpa Nelsen passed away

December 28^th, 2002 ~ I married Adam

February 15^th, 2003 ~ Julia asked me to be her Matron of Honor (I was hoping that I might get to be part of the wedding party, but was trying not to get my hopes up )

March 22, 2004 ~ I saw Bare Naked Ladies live with Julia; hopefully the first of many times!

October 12^th, 2004 ~ My destiny arrived at 4:52 PM and we named her Alyssa Marie

When I was in college I was in a sorority, which many of you know . . . but many of you don’t know that my Sophomore year I was VP of that sorority and Junior year I was President. I hated that group and drove it into the ground, killed it good, then ran away. Mwahahahahaha. I really didn’t mean to kill it off, it just happened that it was really hurting when I became president and I didn’t have what it took to “save” it.

My first car was a 1980 Buick Century that belonged to my Grandma Carlson. We called it my 4 door French Fry because it was a lovely golden yellow/mustard color. I hated that car ~ it would just randomly stop running whenever it got tired, so I was scared to death of it. My next car was a 1990 Dodge Aries K car. Most memorable thing about that car was the “strawberry air-conditioner” that Sarah O was in love with. I traded that car in for a 1998 Pontiac Grand Am my sophomore year of college. Ahhh, Muffy, you were a good car and I miss you! In May of this year I became the proud co-owner of, Gwen, a 2005 Ford Escape that is my first “brand new” car.

Continents I would like to visit in order of preference:

1. Australia

2. Europe (okay, I’ve already been there, but I would love to go to Rome, Paris, and London)

3. Antarctica (as long as I could be warm and have a good tour guide!)

4. Asia

5. Africa

6. South America

If I could be on any reality show it would be “The Biggest Loser”. If I were younger and thinner, I think it would be fun to be on “The Real World”.

5 Places in the US that I want to visit:

1. Las Vegas
2. Raleigh, NC
3. Magic Mountain Vacation Resorts in TN
4. New York City
5. Mount Rushmore

My 4 Greatest Fears:

1. Free falling

2. Snakes/Spiders/Creepy Crawly things in general

3. Losing members of my immediate family

4. Never getting close to my goal weight

My favorite color is blue.

When I was little I wanted to be a babysitter, a taxi driver (where I got this from when I grew up in town without taxis I don’t know, but I remember telling my mom that’s what I wanted to be when I grew up), or a teacher.

3 Greatest Regrets in my life:

1. Not completing my education degree and switching to business instead.

2. The way I handled the Sarah/Adam situation.

3. Bailing on Jen and Jason’s wedding and letting Jen’s friendship drift away.

If someone were to ask me what the dumbest thing I’ve ever done in my life . . .

Driving to Colorado with a guy that I had only known 3 weeks (he was a friend, not as in a boyfriend type guy) and back in about 20 hours in college. We drove to Woodland Park after rehearsal one night, had breakfast with my brother, sister-in-law, and niece, and drove back in time for rehearsal that night. Should have been a 9-10 hour drive both ways.

I have “owned” 4 dogs in my life:

1. Buscuit . . . my first dog, he was a “Heinz 57” and just absolutely crazy

2. Freckles ~ my first Pomeranian. The love of my life for 10 years.

3. Lexi ~ really Adam’s golden retriever, but I claim her as mine . . . sometimes.

4. Jocelyn Pooh Bear aka Joey ~ my second Pomeranian. My little bundle of loves and fuzz therapy.

I have also been the proud mother to several fish and gerbils. I had a beta fish during college named Xavier that would rock out to the Beach Boys “Barbara Ann” whenever I played it.

If/when I ever get a tattoo it would be on my lower back in the shape of a very small butterfly. The butterfly story is a story for another day.

I went skinny dipping in hot springs in Lake Tahoe a few years ago with Adam, Amber, and Randy and a few other strangers. I never thought I would be one to get nekkid in front of anyone but Adam, but it was one of the most fun and sensual experiences of my life. I would do it again in a heartbeat ~ and would encourage anyone else to try it!

Mommy Mush

I'm such a pushover. I would rather watch Alyssa spent 20 minutes trying to figure out how to get at something she's not supposed to get than tell her "no" or "relocate and distract" her. I.E. We keep all of her medicines in a zippered makeup bag. She has recently figured out how to unzip it (slowly but surely). So now, I'm sitting her blogging with her next to me on the floor. She has unzipped the bag about 3 inches and she's trying to figure out how to reach in and pull everything out through that teeny tiny zipper opening. The look of pure concentration on her face is just priceless! I know I'm teaching/letting her learn bad habits, but I'm just in awe of her. And she's so stinkin' cute!

And she's off! Mission: Empty out the drugs onto the floor completed ~ gotta find something else to get into . . . with gas drops in one hand and tylenol in the other she toddles out of the room.

Goodness I love this kid!

I think we might be white trash

You might be white trash if . . . your husband sneaks the rest of his margarita out of a restaurant in the children's drink cup.

Wait, do white trash people drink margaritas?

Baking Fool!

Sunday Julia and I went over to Adam's friend Sarah's house to do a little Christmas baking . . .


Okay, maybe a LOT of baking. I think we made at least a dozen different kinds of cookies, bars, and candy. We all had a great time being silly and just hanging out and baking. But I'm kind of sad that I didn't do sugar cookies this year. They are so much work, but it makes me feel like Christmas isn't quite complete without a frosted sugar cookie with sprinkles all over it. I still have 10 days left, though!

Then Monday I made Adam some of his coveted buckeyes.

Today I'm in the process of making banana bread.

Thankfully most of the stuff is going straight into the freezer and then we're giving it away at Christmas.

Ahhh . . . lunch!

I just had the most amazing, borderline orgasmic lunch I think I've ever had in my life. If I didn't know better, I would swear that I was pregnant . . . I have never, ever enjoyed a pickle so much in my entire life. I made this awesome tuna salad (got the recipe from someone on my October Moms board ~ thank you!) and put it on the yummy in the tummy rolls that I got from the store last weekend. And that PICKLE! I also made chicken noodle soup, which is always good, but did I mention the PICKLE!?

I think I need a cigarette and a nap . . . it was THAT good.

Rough Night . . .

and it wasn't Alyssa's fault! She slept through the night like a champ, it was Adam and I who were to blame.

First of all I was dreaming that Alyssa was standing at the top of our steps, fell, and started tumbling end over end so I woke Adam and I both up as I jolted and gasped loudly. Its been a fear of mine lately as she's gotten VERY brave when standing at the top of the steps that she'll decide she's big enough to tackle the steps in the "grown up" way and she'll fall.

Second of all I was rudely awoken when Adam punched me in the shoulder. He was dreaming that he was beating up his little brother, so I got to "stand in" for Chris. Great! Although I have to say I would rather be woken up by Adam hitting me than by him starting to scream/yell in his sleep. There's something less scare about being punched than all of the sudden having someone scream in your ear.

Can't we all just get along and have a peaceful night's sleep?! Maybe tonight . . . stay tuned.

Parent Advice #713

If putting a child down for a nap, double check to make sure there is not a four legged creature hiding under the bed. Once child realizes that her favorite "toy" in the world is in her room, said child will NOT want to settle down and take a nap. She will want to Paaarrrrtaaaaayyyy!

The things we pass on to our children . . .

I think Alyssa is on the road to inheriting my eating disorder. She's going through a phase where she thinks its REALLY funny to gag herself. Most of the time she'll just stick her fingers in her mouth and make the "blech" noise because she gets an immediate reaction from me, but occasionally she goes too far and actually gags herself. Usually she only does it when she's in her high chair, but last night she started doing it while Adam was holding her. I just put her down for a nap about 10 minutes ago and I keep hearing "blech!" "blech!" "blech!" coming from her crib. Makes me want to throw up just thinking about her gagging herself, but it is somewhat funny since she's not ACTUALLY getting sick. Just making the motion and the noise.

Mommyhood 101: I never thought I would miss . . .

marathon breastfeeding sessions! Tonight I was sitting on the couch in the living room with the only light being the lights on the Christmas tree. I love sitting the dark with just the tree on; it makes any room seem a little bit magical. But tonight, I started tearing up because I thought of last year at this time. I thought of the hour to hour and a half that I would sit curled up on the couch, watching "Full House" reruns on Nick at Night by the light of Christmas tree, feeding my sweet little baby girl when everyone else slept on. Or the nights when she wouldn't sleep on her own and we would curl up on the couch with the tree lights on in the background and sleep together. I would fall asleep with my cheek against that fuzzy little head and the soft glow of twinkling lights sprinkling over us. God, I miss that.

I need TiVo!

My life depends on it! I have become way to addicted to TV!

Exhibit A: Tonight a friend of mine from college called that I hadn't talked to in months. I actually had a hard time deciding whether to continue watching "Extreme Makeover: Home Addition" or talk to her. What is wrong with me?!

Exhibit B: Alyssa has always had bad sleep habits because I would nurse/rock/hold her to sleep. I would start putting her to sleep around 8, but I didn't want her to wake up halfway through my show that was on from 8-9, so I would hold her until 9 so that she wouldn't wake up. Bad mommy!

Exhibit C: I will forgo a nap even though I'm cranky as a toddler just so I can watch "Ellen" in the afternoon. I'm too darn lazy to find a tape and program the VCR.

I think TiVo would solve a lot of my problems, so if anyone wants to drop hints to the inlaws on what would be the PERFECT gift for Adam and I (much better than that damn grill or the chest of doom) let me know and I'll pass on contact information. ;)

Is there anything more beautiful . . .

than a big beaming sunshine-y smile from your 1 year old after she lets loose with a big ole fart that would put her daddy to shame? (But he would proudly proclaim, "That's my girl!")

BNL

Jen from my October Mommy board saw BNL in concert last night and I'm hopelessly jealous. I was so excited to be able to attend them in concert with my Julai in March of 04 (Alyssa's first concert!). We had such a great time and I still get pitter patters in my stomach when I think of the opening cords of hearing "Maybe Katie" live. Ahhhhh . . . alas, on this tour they aren't coming anywhere close to us. They are going to be in the St. Paul, MN area, which is only about 6 hours away. Maybe I could offer to apartment sit for Tracy and Jeff while they are in Ethiopia getting Shahara (I don't think I spelled that right, but I don't think they are spelling it right either. I think it should be spelled Shara, but that's just me). BTW congrats to them on getting their baby girl before Christmas, which was totally unexpected! Anyway . . . BNL is going to be in Tampa over New Years. I would like to go to Tampa for New Years. I wonder if I could get Adam on board? (Me thinks the answer would be no) Maybe Julai will go with me. Maybe Angie and I could take our mega-huge New Years Eve food party to Tampa.

Speaking of Angie and food . . . memo to myself to never ever go food shopping with a pregnant friend again. She's craving (and buying) all this yummy sounding food and I'm just drooling. Actually, I think I gained about two inches on my hips just watching her put some of that stuff in the cart.

And one last comment about BNL ~ I've been spelling naked as nekkid too much. FYI, www.barenekkidladies.com does NOT take you to a BNL website. Thank goodness that isn't a real site because I kind of hate to think about what you would find on a site like that.

Oh the places I've been . . .

create your own visited states map
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