Friday, December 22, 2006

Photo Friday with a side of Saturday Photo Scavenger Hunt

Since we will be leaving town tomorrow bright and early to begin our Christmas trek, I am going to post SPH early. Deal. With that said, have a very Merry Christmas, and may all your stockings be stuffed with... whatever it is you have been dreaming of. God Bless.

Photo Friday: Weather

What looks like it could be mountains in this picture is actually a front line in Alb. NM.

SPH: Lines

Saturday, December 16, 2006

Friday, December 15, 2006

You can thank me later... with gifts...

If you haven't finished your holiday shopping.... if you are Jewish and haven't finished, well, you have about 30 minutes left until Chanukah begins so you just might be SOL... but if it's Christmas shopping you must do, check out this site. It rocks and if I hadn't already gotten what I'm getting this year for gifts, I would so be all over this site like ants on sugar. Go a-shopping!

Happy Chanukah to those who are celebrating today.

Oh, oh, and also, go tell her congratulations on reaching a very big goal!!!!! She might even tell you what it is if she ever blogs again! Love you Bek.

The Perfect Politically Correct Song for the Holidays

I was listening here, which is my one stop shop for all holiday music and heard this song from Brad Paisley that just cracked me up. The best clip I could find is here. Scroll down and click listen next to "11. Kung Pao Buckaroo Holiday" Basically the song bleeps out any mention of the word Christmas, along with some other so called "politically incorrect" words or phrases.

Here are the lyrics. From here.

Artist/Band: Paisley Brad
Lyrics for Song: Kung Pao Buckaroo Holiday
Lyrics for Album: A Brad Paisley Christmas

And now the grand old opera theater proudly presents a special holiday edition of the Adventures of the Kung Pao Buckaroos

Well, it’s a Kung Pao Buckaroo Holiday
Whatever you do, watch what you say
If you’re easily offended well that’s okay
It’s a completely non-offensive and politically correct holiday

We catch up with our three cowboys one cold December night huddled around the camp fire.
How ‘bout we sing some holiday songs?
Yeah, hey George, you wanna lead us off?
Yeah, I got one.
Oh Chri-biip-mas tree oh Chri-biip-mas tree how lovely are thou branched…
Why am I getting blipped again?
Haven’t you heard guys?
You can’t say Chri-biip-mas you gotta say Holiday
I can’t say Chri-biip-mas?
No you might offend somebody.
Who is offended by Chri-biip-mas?
You know you might offend the biiiip and the biiiip and the atheists.
What?

Time to politically correct.
I’ll lead this off.
On the first day of Chri-biip-mas my true love said to me…

Jimmy, are you listening?
What?
You can’t say Chri-biip-mas.
Why not? You can say biiiip on the last record.
Why can’t I say Chri-biip-mas?
I didn’t make the rules.
Hey listen guys, it’s not that difficult, all you gotta do is change Chri-biip-mas to Holiday.
You know, instead of saying white Chri-biip-mas, you say I’m dreaming of a whi-biiip Holiday.
Why did I get blipped?
You’ve got to say Caucasian.
So I have to sing, I’m dreaming of a Caucasian holiday?
Sure, that won’t offend anybody.

Well, it’s a Kung Pao Buckaroo Holiday,
Whatever you do watch what you say
If you’re easily offended well that’s okay
Why do these people have to feel that way?
How come they get offended so easily?
It’s a completely non-offensive and politically correct holiday
I’m just trying to come up with a song here.

Let’s sing one together, everybody ready?
George?
Ready.
Bill your ready?
I’m ready.
Jimmy? Jimmy? Jimmy?

Okay!
We three kings of biiiiiiiiip are bearing gifts we’ve traveled real far….
Sorry boys, you have to say Asia now.
What?
Oh, come on just try.
We three kings of Asia are….
That sounds like horse biiiip
Oh lord, okay.
How ‘bout Little Drummer boy?
Nope, that offends short people.
And you can’t say drummer ‘cause that will offend real musicians.

How ‘bout little –hahaha- town of meddle hell.
What’s this with all the short jokes?
Hey how ‘bout we do Silent Night?
No, it’ll offend people who’s hard to hear and afraid of the dark.
What did he say about a shark?
SHARK? This happens every year.

Well, it’s a Kung Pao Buckaroo Holiday,
Whatever you do watch what you say,
If you’re easily offended well that’s okay,
It’s a completely non-offensive and politically correct holiday.
Hohoho!
No.
I can’t say ho?
No you might offend some women.
So basically we can’t sing anything?
I think that a bunch of bull biiiip.
Softer George it’s more effective.
(in a quieter voice)I think that a bunch of bull biiiip.
You now what? I don’t care who we offend,
I’m gonna sing Chri-biip-mas carols if I wanna sing Chri-biip-mas carols.
Louder man it’s more effective.
I don’t care who we offend,I’m gonna sing Chri-biip-mas carols if I wanna sing Chri-biip-mas carols.
Me too.
We wish you a merry Chri-biip-mas, we wish you a merry Chri-biip-mas, we wish you a merry Chri-biip-mas, and a happy ne-biip year.
We can’t say new; it’ll offend the old folks.
And you never wanna offend them.

Tuesday, December 12, 2006

Dilemna of mass proportions

So I have a dilemna. I am getting some funds for a little celebration of my day of birth and am having a really hard time deciding what to do with said funds. So internets, I turn to you. What shall I do with the funds?

A) Haircut and color which would take up over half of my funds.

B) Mani/Pedi of which I have not had in about a year.

C) Shopping spree

D) Combo of B and C

E) All of the above which would give me new pretty hair and nails, but not much left to shop with.

Help!!!!

Monday, December 11, 2006

The Wonder

Boo Bear's first picture with Santa. This was the best shot of her, unfortunately, Santa wasn't looking at the camera, he was too enamored with her.

Wednesday, December 06, 2006

Saturday, December 02, 2006

SPH: Lights


This was taken on the night setting on my camera at dusk through the car window. Here are a couple more from the same series.


The lights of Albuquerque at dusk.


That design in the middle of the picture is the moon.

I feel like I haven't been here in forever. I am definitely on the down hill slope of the roller coaster of life. Not so much down hill in the sense that it is bad, just the sense that I am moving very quickly through time. The holidays are always like this and I don't know why I haven't just gotten used to that. I hope to post something profound and worthy of words here soon, but in the mean time, I hope your holiday season is running smoothly.

Also, please go give some encouraging words, not that there are any, to Amanda, who lost her father last week. My heart breaks for her.

Wednesday, November 22, 2006

Support The Station If You Want, but don't if you don't want to

How was that for passive aggressive?

If anyone is interested, I have started a Cafepress store with my photos and some of my quotes. Click over on the side bar where it says Buy My Photography. If you aren't interested, carry on, you are welcome here always. No pressure.

Happy Turkey Day!!!

SPH: Time

This post is a little early because I am afraid that in the midst of travel and being in NM with family, I will forget to post it.

My MIL's Grandfather Clock

Monday, November 20, 2006

In absence

For anyone who has happened to notice, I have been MIA for about a week. It was one of the most draining weeks I have had in a long time. It was both exhausting and wonderful. I went to Austin to take care of my grandmother who fell about a month ago and broke her hip. I also took my 10 month old. Here is the week in short order.

Monday: drive to Austin early am, arrive, begin process of taking care of two beings who are completely dependent on me.
Tuesday: Drive to Walgreens to pick up meds for G'ma. Car breaks down. Call hubby crying. Call G'ma to let her know where I am. Call G'ma's auto shop to have them give me and my 10 month old a ride back to G'mas. Make inventory of G'mas house so she can start deciding who gets what.
Wednesday: 5:30 am, G'ma falls again and scares the living day lights out of me. Still no car. Call hubby crying. Convince him to come to Austin before I lose it completely.
Thursday: Continue taking care of two, take G'ma to doc to make sure she didn't rebreak anything.
Friday: Try to function with no sleep for the last 4 days. Try frantically to get G'ma into an assisted living place until my Mother can get to Austin or find her a 24 hour home nurse. Arrange to be taken to Pick up car, pay $300, drive back to G'mas while on phone with home health care places.
etc. etc. It was great getting to spend this time with my grandmother and I am glad I went despite how difficult the week was. I got home Saturday evening and have slept like the dead since. We fly to NM tomorrow to see my sister and Mom for the holiday and will be back on Tuesday. And then it is Dec. and anniversaries and birthdays and Hanukkah and Christmas and then OMGoodness, my baby turns One. Crap on a stick.

So that is where I have been, where I am going and wher my brain is. I hope everyone has a wonderful Thanksgiving, with lots of Turkey and family blessings and little dysfunction and family drama.

Saturday, November 11, 2006

SPH: Growth

New Blogger

Has anyone switched to the new Blogger version? Is it easy to switch? Does it mess anything up? Tell me, tell me, huh, huh, huh?

Friday, November 10, 2006

May we always remember...

This was sent to me by a friend that is currently in Iraq.

This was written by a United States Marine who is currently deployed to Iraq, in reply to a recent comment made by Senator John Kerry.

Pass it along, it might inspire someone else to speak up!

"Yesterday John Kerry said, "You know education, if you make the most of it, you study hard, you do your homework, and you make an effort to be smart, you can do well, and if you don't, you get stuck in Iraq...

So I wrote him a letter:I am a Sergeant in the United States Marine Corps. I am currently on my second tour in Iraq, a tour in which I volunteered for. I speak Arabic and Spanish and I plan to tackle Persian Farsi soon. I have a Bachelors and an Associates Degree and between deployments I am pursuing an M.B.A. In college I was a member of several academic honor societies, including the Golden Key Honor Society. I am not unique among the enlisted troops. Many of my enlisted colleagues include lawyers, teachers, mechanics, engineers, musicians and artists just to name a few.

You say that your comments were directed towards the President and not us. If we were stupid Senator Kerry, we might have believed you. I am not a victim of President Bush. I proudly serve him because he is my Commander and Chief. If it was you who was President, I would serve you just as faithfully. I serve America, Senator Kerry, and I am also providing a service to the good people of Iraq. I have not terrorized them in the middle of the night, raped them or murdered them as you have accused me of before. I am doing my part to help them rebuild. My role is a simple one, but important.

You see Senator Kerry, like it or not, we came here and removed a tyrant (who terrorized Iraqis in the middle of the night, and raped them and murdered them). And we have a responsibility to see to it that another one doesn't take his place. The people of Iraq are recovering from an abusive relationship with a terrible government and its going to take some time to help them recover from that. We can't treat this conflict like a microwave dinner and throw a temper tantrum because we feel like its taking too long.

Senator Kerry, you don't have to agree with this war. You don't have to say nice things about those of us who choose to make sacrifices for the rights of every American rather than sit back and simply feel entitled to it. But please, Senator Kerry, if you're going to call me a stupid murdering rapist, stick by what you say. Don't tell me that I misunderstood or that you would never insult a veteran because you are one too. Having been there and done that does not give you a free pass to insult me.

My suggestion for you, Senator Kerry, is to remember that your speeches are recorded, and broadcast to us simpletons over here. You may want to write down what you want to say before you say it, maybe have somebody look at it before you say it and tell you what others might hear. Remember that we can't read your mind, if there are any misinterpretations in what you say, it's because you didn't communicate clearly.

Good luck to you Senator Kerry, if nothing else it's always entertaining to watch you try and climb out of the holes that you constantly dig for yourself.

Sincerely,
Somebody who is watching his daughter grow up in photographs so that you can have the right to say whatever you want about him.

To all the veterans who have served, who are serving and who will serve, I thank you for the freedom to say what I want, pray what I want, and blog what I want. God Bless You All!

Wednesday, November 08, 2006

Look Ma' no Helmet and Shellfish you are dead to me

Look Ma, No Helmet!!!
Behold the beautiful round head!

I am so glad to be done with that helmet. The doc said, "put it on the mantle, you're done!" Music to my ears! She has only hit her head once so far (you can see it in this photo) and she didn't even cry. That will change soon I am sure.

Shellfish...you are dead to me...

In September when we went to Austin to visit my sister and grandma, we ate at this restaurant that we have eaten at for years. They have really cheap peel and eat shrimp, and me, I loves me some scrimps. A couple hours later I started itching really badly on my stomach and my armpits and around my bra-line. We had left the window open while we were gone, so I thought maybe some no-see-em's (biting bugs) had gotten in and attacked me. I am very sweet (oh, you shushums) and I get bit everywhere I go by anything that can bite. I got bit at the butterfly exhibit at the museum, proof in point. Anyways, I took a shower and that seemed to help, and put on some Aveeno lotion and went to bed and the next day I was fine, so I didn't think any more of it. A month ago, I was back in Austin when my grandmother fell and broke her hip. Mom and I went and ate at the same place once again and had peel and eat shrimp once again. A couple of hours later and I am broken out in hives on my stomach, back, inner thighs, all around my chest and bra line and my neck. I also was having trouble breathing and was without my inhaler. I took a bath and I finally managed to scrounge up some Bena*dryl cream and some Bena&dryl caps and took them, but this reaction lasted a lot longer. When my Mom came home, she broke the bad news to me, it seemed I probably had an allergy to shellfish. What the???

So this morning I went to the doc and he said they could send me to the allergist to get tested to make sure, but it sounded like I was in fact allergic to shellfish and should avoid it altogether. I would go to the allergist just to make sure it wasn't just something in that one restaurants shrimp (I know, wishful thinking), but my insurance won't cover it and I'm not paying out of pocket for them to tell me what I know deep down already. Doc wrote me a Rx for an Epi Pen (sp?) and told me to stay away from all shellfish.

Goodbye scrimps that I love so much. Goodbye yearly crawfish boil with friends. Goodbye, lobstra, my dear friend. And goodbye soft shell, hard shell, all shell crab, my dears I will miss you so. Waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa....

*******************************************

And now for the not so funny. I have been praying my little heart out for two fellow bloggers that are going through horrific times in their lives and my heart is breaking for them. Both of these links are very, very sad, so read at your own risk.

Charming B. and her husband it seems have lost the battle to save their son. It is hard to tell from her latest post, but the situation was not looking good. I cannot begin to fathom their pain and grief. I cannot imagine how they will handle that pain, but I know they will, for they are strong, beyond what I could hope to be. I pray for peace and strength and hope for them in the days, months, years to come as they grieve the loss of this precious life.

This couple, I found just a couple of days ago through BusyMom (she can be found over there on the right). It seems the wife came down with some sort of sickness the week of Halloween and this week they are struggling to keep her alive. They aren't sure what the root problem is, but they are struggling to figure it out. They are so young and have two children. Another experience that makes me hold my family close and remember the things that really, really matter.

Pray for both these families this week and hold those dear to you close and tell them that you love them, for tomorrow brings things we do not know.

Monday, November 06, 2006

The Entertaining of the Un-entertainable and Longing

The is the blog tale of two halfs.

Seriously people, I am running out of things to possibly do with a pre-toddler. I say pre-toddler, because I refuse to acknowledge anything other than that. What do you people do with a toddler-like being? There are only so many games of peek-a-boo from behind the couch she will stay interested in. And also, my child cannot physically sit still. Without going into details, last week she had a raging diaper rash and everything I read to make it better said to leave them out of a diaper for as long as possible. Who can let their kid roam around without a diaper? Not me, as she is mobile every minute of every single hour of every single day. The child roams in her sleep. It's not that I am opposed to having to clean up an accident (ok, yes I am, but I would have done it if it had helped), but she would have peed all over the house. And if I wanted that kind of mess, I would have gotten a puppy not a kid.

Most days when I can no longer entertain her, we get in the car and go somewhere, but this generally leads us to a store, and as we all know, store=spending money=Broke, with a capital B-R-O-K-E, which = mad husband=mad me and so on and so forth, vicious cycle.

So, tell me what in the world do I do with a non-toddler. Keep in mind that I also have to work 5 hours a day, 4 days a week and 3 out of those 4 hours are worked during her nap time, so we can't stray too far from the house for very long.

*****************************************
In other news, like there is other news besides the Boo Bear, I have been feeling...lackluster and longing, lately. (pretend there is a great segway here) We don't watch much TV in this house anymore because we don't let Boo Bear watch it. We only turn the TV on after she has gone to bed and we are done with dinner. I used to be a CSI fan, but lately they have gotten too gruesome and graphic for me, so I have stopped watching. I watch three shows on a regular basis, Gilmore Girls, Men In Trees and the UFC with hubby. That's it. Last week GG was a re-run, Men In Trees wasn't even on and we weren't home on Thursday night for UFC. I found myself longing for the days when I enjoyed TV. I found myself surfing channels hoping to find something that I would enjoy to the level that I used to enjoy it.

I know deep down that this longing has nothing to do with TV and everything to do with the fact that I am in one of life's ruts. Don't get me wrong, I love my life in the general, broad sense of things, but I am looking for something new, something exciting, something different right now. I know to leave well enough alone because I have lived long enough to know that you don't mess with those things and if you wait long enough, new, exciting and different find you on their own and sometimes, usually, it's not really quite what you had in mind anyways.

Hubby and I are both at points where our jobs are lacking the excitement and fulfillment they used to. I still love my job, but I love the job of being a Mom more and I'm tired of feeling like I am only putting 10% into each one of those. I am starting to think forward to having another child and if I thought the pressure of the holidays coming on our budget was killing me, the thought of having another child almost breaks me. Having another child without insurance. Having another child and living on one income so I can stay home with them. Having another child, the knowledge that I may never get a vacation with my husband again, all the while knowing that vacationing as we did BK (before kids) will never be the same anyways as it is. Like I said, I'm waiting for that next big change in our lives, and when it comes, I will shoo it away as it is not what I was expecting.

Also coming up is Thanksgiving. This statement is foreboding to many of us in and of itself, but for me, well, it brings with it a certain "doom" for lack of a better word. Every year for the past 3 years, we have done or had to do something major that has cost us lots and lots of money. 3 years ago we got married, 2 years ago we bought a house and last year we bought a car. The first one we chose, the other two were kind of chosen for us by circumstances. Imagine my delight when I tried to start my car on Saturday and it wouldn't start? Can you imagine, really go ahead and try. To my utter delight, hubby called and the auto shop said this: "It started right up for us and we've been driving it all day." Fabulous! Glad that my car has taken a dislike to me and that they enjoy using up my precious gas. So I am waiting for the Thanksgiving shoe to drop and hoping that this year, it will be minor. Actually, technically, we do have that shoe already as we are flying to NM to visit my Mom and Sister this year, so we have spent some money, although not the chunk we have spent in previous years and I am sure that I will be spent after flying with a non-toddler for the first time and spending 5 days away from home. Ahh... the holidays. I know there are people out there that love this time of year, but I just can't seem to figure out what is wrong with them.

Maybe I need to read a good book. Any suggestions?

Sunday, November 05, 2006

My heart is breaking...

A fellow blogger, that I do not know and have only been reading for a short while, is dealing with a situation that no one should ever have to deal with. Her and her husband are having to make life and death decisions regarding their new baby. If you are the praying type, please add them to your prayer list. I will be praying for a miracle. My heart is breaking for them.

Friday, November 03, 2006

SPH: Windows

This was taken from the atrium dining room of the
Embassy Suites in New Orleans last weekend.

Because it's my duty as a parent

Halloween!


Yes, that is a thermometer in her hand. In order to get her dressed these days, we have to distract her with something, anything, so she doesn't flip over and crawl away. As soon as I got her into her costume, I started laughing, so she started laughing. My Dad and Step-Mom came up to experience her first Halloween. I took her to two of the neighbors' houses to "trick or treat.", but mainly her costume was for our own enjoyment.

Tuesday, October 31, 2006

SPH: Safe

I tried to post this Saturday evening when we got home from a busy day, but Blogger was not cooperating!

I hope that I can always keep her this safe.

What exit should I take to sleep?

My MIL recently bought a house in our neighborhood, one street over actually and we are so excited to have her so close. She is very excited as well. Unfortunately, we are still waiting for her to sell her house in town, so she is commuting back and forth in the interim. Last week, hubby went down to get the guest bed from her house so that she would have something to sleep on in the new house. Thinking that the box spring and the mattress were wedged in good enough with boxes on the trailer, hubby made his way back north on 45. About half way into his trip, a couple people pulled up beside him honking and pointing. Hubby looked and looked before he realized that the mattress had flown out of the trailer. Not knowing how far back it had flown out, hubby circled around and around in search of the mattress, he finally found it. Luckily it had not caused an accident and had somehoe flown across two lanes to land on the left shoulder. Fortunately, the mattress was salvageable. Unfortunately, the shoulder was so narrow, that hubby might have been killed trying to load it back onto the trailer. Needless to say, MIL was not thrilled about the loss of her mattress.

My Nana-In Law called my MIL the other day and said, "I was just calling to see what exit I'm sleeping at next time I am there." That lady cracks me up!

Thursday, October 26, 2006

This that and the other

I present to you, randomness. It's been awhile since I did a "real" post. As in, not just filler or pictures, but something real that reflects on the goings on in the world. Albeit my world.
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When I grow up and become a parent of a school aged child, I have decided that I will proudly display a bummer sticker that says simply "Proud Parent". Technichally I guess I don't really have to wait until she is school age.
**************************************
Last week when our babysitter came over to watch Boo Bear so the hubs and I could go to dinner with friends, she told me a shocking story. She is 18 and going to a local community college. She was telling me that soon she would have more time to babysit if I needed her. I asked her why that was and she told me that she may be dropping out of her English class. It seems that her professor gave them a speaking assignment in which the purpose was to hone their public speaking skills. (sidebar: Back when I was in college, we had English and we had Speach, two very distinct classes) The subject matter for this 10 minute speach was to be P0rn0gr@phy. I'll let that sink in... I don't care what age you are and what class it is, I think it is completely unacceptable to assign this topic in a school. If I was paying for that class, I would be throwing a fit. Anyways, her Dad was livid and was going to pull her out of the class. I would to for that matter. There are plenty of other interesting and controversial (if that was the purpose) subjects to discuss out there these days without having to bring that into the mix.
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My life is full, my days runeth over and my wheels keep spinning and I am so thankful for all of that.

Wednesday, October 18, 2006

I should post something

Something.


Kidding. Life is moving along at a pace that lately I am having trouble keeping up with. It seems, just when I get a handle on my day, it's over.

Boo Bear is crawling all over and pulling up on everything, so my life is full of following her around and picking up or moving whatever she is trying to stuff in her mouth or pull on her head. It's called babyproofing, one minute at a time. And cleaning as you go.

She is so mobile that I can really only work while she is napping, which in itself is a moving target right now.

I am finding that I really don't want to do anything outside of the house because it is really so much trouble. It takes forever to get out of the house; trip to the car, put baby in, turn car on, realize I forgot something, leave car running with baby in it (before anyone freaks out, we live in a very small, very out of the way neighborhood that if you don't know where it is and you happen to be here, you are lost), make mad dash inside for whatever I forgot. Rinse, lather, repeat, at least 2x. An any outing farther than say Target, the bank or Walmart is sure to mess up Boo Bear's schedule and I really can't have her napping in the car, because as I said, I have to work while she naps and I can't do that while driving the car. Hence my being tied to the house.

I also find that even outings without Boo Bear, leave me less than thrilled. It takes a lot of work to leave a breastfed baby anywhere without boobage for any length of time. And my free time, read, alone time, is very scarce and frankly I would just be happy sitting on the couch vegging instead of driving somewhere, spending money I don't have, carting child and 10 million of her necessary items to and fro, so on and so forth.

So, as you can see, I'm a grump, a pain, a short-tempered, hoo ha and did I mention that it seems my Aunt Flo has come back to visit, despite the fact that I am breastfeeding, but I am sure that has nothing to do with my foul mood.

Going back under shell now...

Monday, October 16, 2006

Genuinely Needed Support

An friend of mine from blogland is in need of your thoughts, prayers and support. He is dealing with an issue that I am very familiar with. This man has helped me with blog issues and work issues and although I have never met him, I have met his wife and have spoken with them on the phone and considered them to be true friends of mine. Please go and give them some of your kind thoughts and support.

Saturday, October 14, 2006

SPH: Lost


I had some trouble with this subject. Rather, I didn't already have anything that would fit. And then I realized that the leaves are falling and my crepe mertle is all but gone. This must mean that despite our 80-90 degree weather, fall is indeed making it's way into South Texas. Happy Saturday folks!

Tuesday, October 10, 2006

Before you do anything else today...

... go tell her HAPPY BIRTHDAY!

My life is truly blessed because she is in it. May you all have at least one friend like her.

Update: Link should be working now. I'm a dunce.

Monday, October 09, 2006

SPH: Sleeping (Two days late) and Photo Friday

I had totally planned on being on the ball and posting a fabulous picture for last week's SPH and Photo Friday. Unfortunately, I had to make an impromtu trip to Austin. My grandmother fell and broke her hip, my mother flew in and me and Boo Bear went to visit and make grandma all better. Well, as much as we could. Grandma had her surgery yesterday and it went well, hopefully she will make a full recovery. As full as an 86 year old can make, we hope. She is now recovering and giving all the nurses what-for, something she is quite good at.

So here are my late photos. Sorry for the delay and I hope you all had a fabulous weekend!

SPH: Sleeping

This was taken probably when Boo Bear was about 1.5 weeks. It's when we first noticed her sleeping with her hands behind her head. Something that would later lead to her wearing her helmet and sleeping like this.

Photo Friday: Thin

Wednesday, October 04, 2006

Dear Daughter

Dear Daughter,

This letter is different than your monthly updates that talk about your cuteness and your milestones. This letter is about the things I hope that I can do for you as a Mother. This world we live in, it is a harsh world. I will never gloss that over, because it is important for you to know. But I hope to protect you to the best of my ability.

In this world we live in, I hope someday you will understand the decisions that your father and I make when it comes to you. I hope that you will understand why it is so hard to just let you go outside and play without watching over you like a hawk. I want you to feel free, but want to protect you from the predators in this world that may be disguised as community leaders, religious leaders, teachers and friends. I want you to be like the other kids, but understand why we do not let you watch TV. There really is nothing on there worth watching anymore and I know that I shouldn't watch it either. I hope to teach you the joys of reading. The places that books can take you and the things you can learn without ever having to experience them for yourself.

I hope that when the time comes to send you to school, that the bureaucrats have gotten their act together and decided that more important than getting money for more passing test grades on state tests, is learning and teaching our children, not only the things they need to know for tomorrow, but how to "fish" in the world, not just be handed the fish. I hope they can find a balance between discipline, self-esteem and learning. Life is hard, it is not fair and it never will be, so coddling our children is not in their best interest. I hope that you never have to experience being held hostage and watching friends be hurt or killed and I hope I never have to stand outside a school praying that my child is alright.

I hope you will understand why you have a curfew and why it is so important to keep it. Good things do not happen after midnight. Night time is dangerous and I only want to protect you to the best of my ability. I hope that you will understand that when you start driving, why you can only have one other person in the car with you. Driving takes skill, practice, and focus. You cannot have focus with 4 other teenagers in the car. If you do have focus, odds are it will be on a boy or some other interesting thing at school, not on the road. I hope I never have to be on the receiving end of a late night phone call telling me that you are not coming back from wherever you have gone. I hope that the lesson death brings is a lesson you do not learn too young. Losing friends at any age is difficult at best, but the teenage years are hard enough and full of other lessons just as hard.

I hope that I never have to hear a doctor tell me something is wrong with you that cannot be fixed. I hope that you never know real pain, but I know that is not possible. Pain is a part of life. I hope I can teach you how to deal with it gracefully. Someone once said, just because you have a pain, doesn't mean you have to be one. Handle pain and heartache, difficult situations with grace, others will notice.

I hope that I can teach you to make good decisions so that when I am not with you, you will make good decisions and be proud of them. Sometimes good decisions go against the grain. That's okay. Stand up for what you believe in and remember that all fads pass and you learn more with age. I hope that I can lead by example and not be a hypocrite, I will do my best. For I should never say, "do as I say, not as I do." I hope that I will make you proud and that I will make God proud for how I raise you.

I hope that you know that I will always do the best that I can do. Sometimes my best will be better than other times. I hope that you will realize that I am human and make mistakes, much sooner than I ever realized it with my parents. I hope that you will be forgiving when I do make mistakes and I hope that I can do the same for myself.

I hope that my marriage to your father will be a living example of a healthy, happy relationship that you will someday model your own marriage after. I hope that we will teach you that arguing is good and healthy, and that when you love someone, it's not about who's right or wrong, but about making it right. It's never too late to say, "I'm sorry."

I hope that you always know how much I love you and how beautiful you are. I hope that I can teach you the true meaning of beauty, both inside and out without blurring the line. I hope that I can break through the hold society has on appearances and teach you how to love yourself for you and to never feel bad about who you are. Self esteem is such a fragile thing, easily broken, hard to repair. Pride can be dangerous as well. Balance is one key to a happy life.

Lastly, I can only hope that as you grow, this world just might make itself a little better. I hope that as a Mother, I can be a part of making the world a better place, not the other way around. I love you, dear daughter and pray for your safety.

Love,
Momma

Tuesday, October 03, 2006

More hubby humor

It was brought to my attention that I didn't make the joke below clear. Hopefully now it adds more funny!

What is Snoop Dog's favorite flavor of Oatmeal?

Peeyaaatches and Cream.

I love that man.

And more...
As we discussed Boo Bear's long fingers and her possible musical talent.

Me: Maybe she will play piano.
Him: The better to hold her harmonica with. (Note: I bought my husband a harmonica last year for Christmas because he mentioned in passing he might like one. I have created a monster. We now have 7 harmonicas and he spends any free time he has playing.)
Me: I don't think she can get a full scholarship for harmonica, not even to Julliard.
Him: You never know, there's probably someone out there who got a full ride for the triangle.

To know him, is to love him.

Austin Trip

I really have no time to post, but did say that I would post about our trip to Austin. It was awesome. The kids were great and I got to spend some great time with my sister and brother-in-law and my grandmother. Here is the trip in pictures.

The boys were never quite sure what to do with Boo Bear, but she had a blast hanging out with them.

Aren't they all adorable? I'm not biased either!

Tuesday, September 26, 2006

In the interim, makeup goodness

I don't know the quality of the make up, but I ordered a boat load and spent $14 with shipping. If it's bad, at least it's less than Maybeline.

"The web address below is for a new makeup line that Nordstroms is going to start carrying, but they are trying to get the word out first by selling everything for a buck… Don’t know if it is any good but I ordered some, what the heck for a dollar you cant complain…"


https://www.eyeslipsface.

Monday, September 25, 2006

Illness party of two...

We are still recovering from the trip. Allergies are kicking my butt a la Sinus Infection and are also giving Boo Bear some snottyness and all around irritability. Add to that the fact that I had to go back to work today and catch up from being out of the office for a week + Nana staying with us + everyday life and waaaaah I want to go crawl in bed. I promise to do a vacation post with pictures of all the adorable children soon, but for now, I'm struggling to make it through the day.

Saturday, September 23, 2006

SPH and Photo Friday

I am using the same picture for both subjects this week.

Saturday Photo Scavenger Hunt the subject is eyes. My girl's got some killer eyes!
Photo Friday the subject is "girl", so here is my girl!


Sunday, September 17, 2006

Vacation all I ever wanted...

I'm off tomorrow to Austin to see my sister, my brother-in-law and my nephews as well as my grandmother. I'm under no delusions that this trip is going to be easy with an 8 month old and two 20 month olds, but it will be absolutely wonderful to get to spend a whole week with my sister. I probably won't be checking in much so enjoy the archives or check out someone on my blogroll that you have never read before. Have a fantabulous week!

Saturday, September 16, 2006

8 months and counting...

I had this all ready to post yesterday on time and everything. But my internet has been down since Thursday. I know, very sad indeed. Saturday Photo Scavenger Hunt is the next post down.


Dear Boo Bear,

I think I start every one of these letters with, "I can't believe it's been ___ months." But I can't. The past 8 months can't have possibly gone so fast and yet I watch you growing every day. I can't remember when you were "little" hardly, but then you we go to get you wieghed and you haven't even doubled your birth weight yet. You eat like we will take it away from you, and don't worry I won't. You have no qualms about telling me when you don't like what you are eating, you just don't eat it. You clamp your little mouth shut and make your turtle face and I know (I think) that you don't like it. I also know that when you do like something, you will eat and eat and eat until I don't see how you could possibly put all that food in your little bitty body, yet you do.

You have finally started showing us when you are excited too. I was beginning to worry that you might be too laid back. When you get excited you flap your arms up and down and if I am holding you, my arm gets a nice little beating. But it's so darn cute, so I let you beat on me, as long as that means you are happy. You rarely get to see your father during this time of year because he has to work all the time, so when you do, you smile so big and get so excited, beat, beat, beat goes the hand. He tries to get you out of bed every morning for just a small glimpse of you. You hug his arm while he changes your diaper and play and when he brings you into our bathroom as I blearily brush my teeth, there goes that arm. When I come to get you in the morning, you cry, because, hey lady, you got the foods, forget my diaper, gimme the boobie.

You are becoming mobile and I am running around in circles chasing my tail about what to do about it. The other day I set you in the middle of our very long bathroom like I always do to take a shower. You promptly slipped onto your stomach and began scooching towards my closet. Since I couldn't recall the full state of my closet and despite the fact that my floors are filthy, I really didn't want you chomping on my shoes, I banged on the shower door to grab your attention. Grab it I did as you moseyed on over to check things out. Two minutes later I realized stupidly that with you laying right outside the shower door, I potentially could be stuck in the shower. Now there may be times, quite frequently really, that I would not mind being forced to hang out in the shower, but this was not one of them. Something about inquiring eyes and the lack of relaxation being the reason. Luckily, you laid your head down and the shower door was just high enough to skim over your helmet. I am sure this is just the beginning of how you will terrorize your Mother, dear girl.

Your smile still makes all the worlds problems go away in one fell swoop and when you laugh, I could conquer anything. You make me laugh with your giggle and your mischevious little grin. Speaking of grin, you are getting your bottom two teeth. I will not say anything about the teething experience for fear of jinxing myself and ruining the rest of my life as a mother. I plan on having other children, no need to mess of the balance of the universe with one stupid comment. Despite the doctor saying from the day you were born that you would teeth early, you waited until 7.5 months, just like all the average babies. You are far from average though baby girl.

You have started to discover that your hands belong to your body and will stop what you are doing and look at your hand while you slowly open and close it. Open. Close. Open. Close. Then you resume what you were doing. Your favorite toy is a tooth brush that has some sort of noise maker in the base of it and you fling that thing around like you are playing an instrument. Of course after slobbering, I mean, brushing your teeth, on it, you like to fling the slobber like the best of them too.

You have definitely found your outside voice and you love to screach repeatedly. This is a huge hit at playgroup because all the older children think it's fun too. Not so much. Mommy likes her head feeling like something other than the day after a college party. If I am going to have a headache, I better get the fun that came before it. You have also started blowing raspberries. Not on anything, but repeatedly pursing your lips and blowing like there is no tomorrow. Cute in general, not so cute when you have your mouth full of food.

A few days ago I sat you in your crib so that I could vacuum your room and you promptly grabbed the side rail and pulled up to standing. Holy Crap on a stick, batman, help me. You then let go and fell over and cried and cried. When I sat you back up you promptly grabbed the side once again and pulled yourself back up to standing. Three days ago, we walked in to get you in the morning and there you sat all by yourself. Gah! We have now lowered the crib and I go back and forth every day with whether or not to take out the bumper. I fear you will use it as a foot hold for climbing, but then all also fear you will get your little hands and feet stuck in between the slats and break something. Half a dozen... Today I came to check on you about 15 minutes after I had put you down for your nap. I opened the door and there you sat playing. When you saw me, you quickly flopped onto your stomach and laid your head down. I couldn't help but laugh as I walked back out of the room. You little sneaker-pot.

It is only a matter of time until you figure out that you can move faster on your knees than just pulling your body along with your hands. You move very quickly now and I can no longer work with you on the floor because you move quick as a flash under my desk, taking a beeline straight to all the cords and wheels and other fun things I can worry about you killing yourself with. I guess it's time to baby proof (is there really such a thing) this house.


You have recently started to sleep on your face. This terrifies me, but there is nothing I can do. You sleep mostly on your side or stomach now with your nose and mouth buried in the mattress. I can only hope that when we take off your helmet you will stop doing this as the helmet is at least a little bit of a buffer. My sweet girl you are too cute when you sleep though, with just the smallest little snore. I am constantly coming in and placing my hand on your back, making sure that you are still breathing. Please keep breathing.

Boo Bear, you light up my life. You bless me in ways I never dreamed of. I love you. I love you. I love you. A million kisses a day.

Love,
Mommy