Few More Pics
>> Wednesday, October 28, 2009
Aunt Tanya sent me pictures of my good time at Monkey Joe's. This is about the size of my dog Cesna as home! Except this one didn't lick me or steal my food. It was a nice change.
Aunt Shannon took me on the big slide. Mommy was half expecting to see me flying down this one by myself. She said something about almost having a heart attack. I don't know what that is but it don't sound good. This was my favorite and I felt like a big girl! WWWEEEeeeeeeeee
Then she saw this one and said she had one. But said hey at least it wasn't my kid. Little does she know.....
I was trying to feel sorry for her but then I found out she took my babydolls and drew on their faces for some silly halloween costume. I mean I could have at least been one of the eight right?
Read more...
FLAWED LIFE: WISHY WASHY RSVPer
>> Tuesday, October 27, 2009
You know what parenthood has brought me? Becoming one of those people I hate. You know the ones. The ones that RSVP to your wedding and don't show after you paid 50+ bucks a head IN ADVANCE! Or the person that you invited over on Saturday and they told you they would let you know on Friday night if they were coming.
Seriously how could I have let this happen? I am better than this. I now let Lily's "mood" decide what we are going to be doing this weekend.
Case in point. We were invited to go Trick or Treating with our friends the Bakers on Saturday. Then we were invited to not one but TWO Halloween Parties. I want to go to all three. I have yet to tell any of the hostesses if I am coming to any of them. Even though they have all asked and the most I can give them is a "Maybe?" :Sigh: I suck on all levels. Because I know just because I "want" to go doesn't mean it is going to happen. What will most likely happen? We will go Trick or Treating with the Bakers for the fun kids stuff and then she will pass out and the adult parties will be adios and gone with the wind.
But I swear I won't do this for your weddings.....there is more than a bowl of pretezels on the line for that.
Halloween Teaser
I got our Halloween costume this past weekend and although this is a bad picture I will give you one guess of who we are. Michael's Wig is not nearly as good as mine but I will say the babies should give it away. Or should I say the number of babies!
Aunt Shannon also got theirs and it is funny! She is so creative, and this is all handmade. And here I am with my "Eight is Too Much" wig and she is sewing on spagehitti and meatballs to her shirt. Wait until she has kids.I I just don't have time for that!
On Sunday Grandma and Aunt Shannon Babysat so Michael and I could go to the Panthers game. Well I am sad to admit I spent money on that game but the seats were great and we met a bunch of friends there so it worked out. We had awesome seats and at least Michael got to see the cheerleaders up close. But despite the loss Lily was rocking it out at Monkey Joe's with her cousin Morgan. They said she loved it! Here she is being cute as usual. It made me feel good that she was having such a good time while we got some adult time.
HOW DO NEW PARENTS AVOID CHILD SERVICES?
>> Monday, October 26, 2009
I really am not sure how Child Services has not been at my door yet. You would think that I beat my child as many bumps and bruises she gets. Tripping her, falling there, etc. But this weekend we had a new experience....blood.
The joy of having a little girl is we don't have to worry about dare devil tactics or crazy stunts. But we do have to worry about tripping over objects, or falling in a pair of heels. And Lily seems to have inherited her Mamas clumsiness.
This weekend while at Grandma and Paws she tripped over a pair of shoes into their coffee table. Paw and I were sitting right there so I scooped her up and started rocking her through the shrieking. We all saw it and Michael was like "it isn't that bad, she barely hit." I am thinking yeah right she busted her face that never feels good.
So I am rocking and rocking and then I lean her back to give her a kiss and there it is. My little babies blood all over her chin. I admit my heart felt like someone ripped it out of my chest. "Oh my god there is blood. Michael she is bleeding, she is bleeding!" Yeah I panicked and there were many failed attempts to see if she knocked out a tooth. But in the end it was just a busted lip. It was big and purple almost immediately.
But as most of you know we always do the cookie test. If she eats the cookie and stops crying she is fine. She is fine. She passed except it was with a Popsicle, that she quickly lost interest in and Mommy HAD to finish. It is rough being a Mom.....
MICHAEL'S 30TH BUSCH GARDENS STYLE
>> Monday, October 19, 2009
We headed to Williamsburg, VA this weekend to celebrate Michael's 30th birthday with his favorite activity...amusement parks! Yes this is what we do with all of our big events. Well by all I mean this birthday and our honeymoon. But really I equate him turning thirty to our wedding...a death day! haha. No really that is our joke. The day we got married is the day the cool people died.
We got a great deal on the trip since it is their off season. Not only did we get a cheap weekend pass they were having their Halloween special events as well. So we headed to the park for a family fun weekend.
On Friday we did the park with jus the three of us. A nice change of pace. Lily was so good and could ride just about everything! I was shocked. She cried to do the roller coaster but I had to explain to her that it just wasn't going to happen.
As you can tell she had a blast! It was cold and although I look happy in this picture the extreme cold mixed with water in a wobbly boat containing a jumping toddler and a oversized adult was no appealing. It was worth her giggles though. Look at that look of excitement!
They had a Sesame Street section that had some fun rides and the boat pictured above. But even more fun was the character Halloween show they had out in the courtyard. She was dancing (aka bobbing up and down) when I snapped this picture.
I swear Michael rode rides with her too but alot of them were tight so I got to go in the smaller ones. We were to chicken to send her in the ones that she had to go by herself. Yes I know lets send a squirmy toddler that can unbuckle straps into rides that go up in the air! SMART!
Friday night the rest of our crew showed up. We were joined by Grandma, Aunt Linda, Aunt Tanya, Uncle Wayne and Cousin Morgan. Then our good friends Phil, Steve and Michele joined us too!
There is no photographic proof Phil was with us but I swear he was! I felt sorry for our friends because everything takes twice as long with two toddlers in tow. But they were good sports and the kids didn't stay with us long before we shipped them off with Grandma to do the big kid rides.
One big downturn of the weekend was the weather. IT WAS COLD!!! BBBBRRRRRRRRR. Then smart Wayne only brought shorts....and his leather jacket. WTF? Who brings a leather jacket and shorts. Well Tanya and Wayne had to take a three hour detour out of the park to go get some clothes at the local Walmart. As you can imagine we picked on him most of the weekend about his wardrobe choice, among other things. That is why Michael "packs himself" which means I go behind him and make sure he has apporpriate attire.
Poor Morgan in the wind! The picture makes me giggle a little though. She looks like she is in a tornado!
Lily was bundled up but it didn't really help her hands. They were bright red most of the weekend!
Not really sure what Ernie is dressed up as but he was fun!
Finley's shot
Grandma with Da Eads
Grandma with the Grandbabies!
Cousin shot. They never ever ever cooperate to take a pic so we had to pull the parents in the picture. One is always happy while the other is screaming. I am looking forward to the days of getting cute shots of them!
Big Pumpkin!
This pretty much sums up our Sunday trip to watch the Seasame Street Show and lunch. Lily is still terrified of the characters if they get too close. This might be the best picture of the trip!
I tried to show her Elmo was her friend and practiced taking pictures with them.
But this is the best we could do. Elmo sat down next to us so she would calm down. It only half worked but still a cute picture with her teary face.
Still Crying....
They pulled Michael and Tanya on stage for their birthdays and did a celbration Conga Line! Whew have you tried to carry a 25 lb toddler through a five minute Conga line? Exhausting! Oh it was up and down stairs too.
Happy Birthday Tanya!
Daddy's turn to squeeze into the minature boat. Watching him get out was quite entertaining.
Elmo was far enough away not to get tears. But she kept saying "bye bye Elmo" if we got too close.
We had a great time. I cried on one roller coaster because I was scared. I got off with mascara running down my face. We got to drink Beer in the park. AWESOME! We went through lots of haunted mazes where I screamed and embarrassed myself at least a half dozen times. And I got back on the roller coaster and almost cried again. Then we came home and I passed out like a champ. Three days of the park all day! Saturday from noon until almost midnight and we are all paying for it this week. But we had a blast and can't wait to do it again. Thanks to everyone that came I hope you had fun!
Read more...
We got a great deal on the trip since it is their off season. Not only did we get a cheap weekend pass they were having their Halloween special events as well. So we headed to the park for a family fun weekend.
On Friday we did the park with jus the three of us. A nice change of pace. Lily was so good and could ride just about everything! I was shocked. She cried to do the roller coaster but I had to explain to her that it just wasn't going to happen.
As you can tell she had a blast! It was cold and although I look happy in this picture the extreme cold mixed with water in a wobbly boat containing a jumping toddler and a oversized adult was no appealing. It was worth her giggles though. Look at that look of excitement!
They had a Sesame Street section that had some fun rides and the boat pictured above. But even more fun was the character Halloween show they had out in the courtyard. She was dancing (aka bobbing up and down) when I snapped this picture.
I swear Michael rode rides with her too but alot of them were tight so I got to go in the smaller ones. We were to chicken to send her in the ones that she had to go by herself. Yes I know lets send a squirmy toddler that can unbuckle straps into rides that go up in the air! SMART!
Friday night the rest of our crew showed up. We were joined by Grandma, Aunt Linda, Aunt Tanya, Uncle Wayne and Cousin Morgan. Then our good friends Phil, Steve and Michele joined us too!
There is no photographic proof Phil was with us but I swear he was! I felt sorry for our friends because everything takes twice as long with two toddlers in tow. But they were good sports and the kids didn't stay with us long before we shipped them off with Grandma to do the big kid rides.
One big downturn of the weekend was the weather. IT WAS COLD!!! BBBBRRRRRRRRR. Then smart Wayne only brought shorts....and his leather jacket. WTF? Who brings a leather jacket and shorts. Well Tanya and Wayne had to take a three hour detour out of the park to go get some clothes at the local Walmart. As you can imagine we picked on him most of the weekend about his wardrobe choice, among other things. That is why Michael "packs himself" which means I go behind him and make sure he has apporpriate attire.
Poor Morgan in the wind! The picture makes me giggle a little though. She looks like she is in a tornado!
Lily was bundled up but it didn't really help her hands. They were bright red most of the weekend!
Not really sure what Ernie is dressed up as but he was fun!
Finley's shot
Grandma with Da Eads
Grandma with the Grandbabies!
Cousin shot. They never ever ever cooperate to take a pic so we had to pull the parents in the picture. One is always happy while the other is screaming. I am looking forward to the days of getting cute shots of them!
Big Pumpkin!
This pretty much sums up our Sunday trip to watch the Seasame Street Show and lunch. Lily is still terrified of the characters if they get too close. This might be the best picture of the trip!
I tried to show her Elmo was her friend and practiced taking pictures with them.
But this is the best we could do. Elmo sat down next to us so she would calm down. It only half worked but still a cute picture with her teary face.
Still Crying....
They pulled Michael and Tanya on stage for their birthdays and did a celbration Conga Line! Whew have you tried to carry a 25 lb toddler through a five minute Conga line? Exhausting! Oh it was up and down stairs too.
Happy Birthday Tanya!
Daddy's turn to squeeze into the minature boat. Watching him get out was quite entertaining.
Elmo was far enough away not to get tears. But she kept saying "bye bye Elmo" if we got too close.
We had a great time. I cried on one roller coaster because I was scared. I got off with mascara running down my face. We got to drink Beer in the park. AWESOME! We went through lots of haunted mazes where I screamed and embarrassed myself at least a half dozen times. And I got back on the roller coaster and almost cried again. Then we came home and I passed out like a champ. Three days of the park all day! Saturday from noon until almost midnight and we are all paying for it this week. But we had a blast and can't wait to do it again. Thanks to everyone that came I hope you had fun!
A little video for your Birthday
>> Wednesday, October 14, 2009
To further remind you of your awesomeness
Happy 30th Birthday Michael
I wrote Lily a letter on her birthday so it is only fair that I write you one as well.
Dear Michael,
Today is a big milestone! I don't care what anyone says we have always thought thirty was old. I am just being honest. But now I bet it seems like it has come up so fast that there is no way you have been on this earth that long.
I hope you have done everything you set out to do. If not I hope I can help you towards that. I think we all have goals. By the time I am thirty I will have won the lottery and will have met a really hot chick that thinks I am awesome. Well Babe you can check one off your list! Because I think you rock!
I know we don't have an exciting life. But we have one I think is full of joy. I hope you agree. We have a wonderful family, gracious friends, a home to call our own, and a daughter that obviously thinks you hung the moon even if it is only from the Goodnight Moon book. I want to do everything I can to make your next thirty years even more joyful.
I think we should take a moment and talk about your awesomeness. It is your day after all.
Lets see a list is always a good way to see how great (or bad) things are. How about a top 15?
1. You graduated high school: oooooo that is a good one in our part of town.
2. You graduated college with honors despite having Brent and Steve as roommates.
3. You SURVIVED living with Brent and Steve. Or at least your liver did.
4. You married a pretty cool wife.
5. You landed a job straight out school.
6. You moved up in the job....see someone else thinks your awesome too!
7. You got your PE license, and studied and passed with a preggo wife.
8. You knocked up your wife, hey you should get to brag about having good swimmers!
9. Your baby girl is a spitting image of you. This might not be awesome for her when she gets older though. Facial hair is not attractive on a woman.
10. You survived the first year of parenthood. Barely.
11. You've been to Europe
12. You've been skydiving and down a pretty awesome river.
13. You bought a house.
14. You have won two beer olympics
15. You managed to survive almost a decade with me and everyone should give you props for that!
Hey I don't think you have done half bad! I am impressed. Even if I am a little biased.
So baby I hope you have a great birthday. I swear in the last year you have never been healthier and hotter so I guess you are like a fine wine that gets better with age. But remember...you'll always be older than me and that is all you have to remind me of to keep me happy! And we all know as long as I am happy you will be too :)
Love,
Your Hot Wife
Sometimes I think I am the worst parent ever....or the slowest
>> Monday, October 12, 2009
This weekend I managed to lose my child twice within five minutes. Basically this is equivalent to having a mini heart attack back to back.
We were running through the yard and I was all like "Come on Lily lets go in!" as Michael walked in the house through the garage leaving the door open for us to enter. I turned the corner and when I looked behind me she wasn't following. When I peeped back around the corner to encourage her to follow she was no where to be found! EEK! I am running around the house screaming her name and OH there she is. That little stinker is FAST! She has decided she was not done swinging and had booked it into the backyard in 0.2 seconds.
So I scoop her up and scold her for giving MaMa a fright and we head into the back door. I set her down and let my heart return to a normal pace and blabbered at Michael how I almost died when I didn't see her around the corner. She is running around like she didn't almost send Mommy into early retirement. I sit to calm down. But then I hear it....
Nothing at all. Quiet. This is never good. I head into the kitchen and poke around. "Lily..." Then I see it. The garage door is still wide open and then I REALLY SEE IT. She is tottering down the stairs head first. This is the moment when you know to be dead silent for fear of scaring her and dealing with the proceeding brain damage. I grab her as her head is pointing down towards the concrete floor.
SERIOUSLY! In five minutes I think I died twice. Crisis averted. My Mommy ears saved the day. It just proves that as a Mother you adapt to all the baby noise. The silence was abnormal which equals trouble. And who knew she could climb DOWN stairs?
I think the record should show that this is all Micheal's fault. He did leave the door open.....
Rave Review: Off Brand Cookies
>> Saturday, October 10, 2009
It is hard economic times and I find myself cutting out the things that once just fell into the buggy like the magic money man was going to pay for them. Like liquid laundry detergent, and Charmin Extra Extra Extra Soft. Much to my husbands dismay I have tried many areas of home comfort to pinch a few pennies. Many unsuccessful.
First there was the cheaper toilet paper. But it said it was Charmin! How was I to know that the "Basic" written behind the Charmin indicates it can also be used as sandpaper. I am still working on finding a cheaper solution in this area. I am thinking fall will provide us with a lot of extra leaves to take advantage of.
Second we tried the cheaper paper towels. See above. Except in this case the "basic" stands for it takes four sheets to do what one used to do. But I saved five dollars! Alas I am simply trying to conserve in this area. I don't find this difficult my husband unfortunately has a fear of hand towels.
But then there was Lowes' Brand Animal Cookies. They lured me in with a Buy one Get on FREE sign. How is a girl to resist? I mean you GET ONE FREE! And they are for Lily...she'll never know the difference right?
But then there was this nasty little creature called PMS that came to visit. Every time this awful visit occurs it turns Mommy into the Hoover vacuum cleaner with any sweet stuff in sight. At desperate times she too must eat the Lowes' Brand Animal Cookies and...
They were delicious. Very crisp and lemony. A refreshing change. Yummy in my tummy. And it wasn't just me Michael agreed. The same man that threatened my life if I came home with the cheap toilet paper again. He devoured the box and asked for more. Of course he doesn't know I got one whole box free...and they are in a secret place....that may or may not be in the pantry behind the dog food....
So lessened learned? Trial and error. Not all those awful off brand or Basic adventures have to bad. It is hard work saving money and there are a lot of butts to wipe in this house which means lots of toilet paper. I am willing to try each one by one until I find that special one that brightens my day like an off brand lemon animal cookie. Now where did I hide the buy one get one free chocolate bars....
Flawed Life: Flaming Dryer!
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Last week I stayed home one day because I had a funky virus. To help with the guilt I felt for staying home I decided to try and get some things done around the house. Mainly laundry. Oh boy what I could have avoided if I just would have kept my sick butt on the couch.
So I get up to check if the clothes are dry. When I open the dryer I see a "light" that I don't usually see. Upon further inspection, aka leaning my lazy ass down I see FLAMES! Holy Moly! I stand there bewildered at what to do. Then realize my favorite shirt is in there so logically the most important thing to do is yank it out. Oh wait maybe I should yank all the clothes out.
I am looking down at my clean clothes laying on my not so clean dog hair invested floor and am still at a loss of what to do. OOOhhhh I know I should totally take a picture of this for my blog. No one will believe me! Focus! Do you pour water into it to get it out? They will short it out. I don't own a fire extinguisher. Mmmm maybe I should buy one of those. OH I should probably unplug it! Ewww wait that means I have to get near the flames! Scratch that. What to do What to do.
Oh call Michael he always knows what to do!
I should mention that this thought process is all occurring while I am standing next to the dryer that still has FLAMES in the back of it.
TURn THE BREAKER OFF! I AM THE SMARTEST PERSON IN THE WORLD! So I run out and do that quite pleased with my ability to think under pressure.
By the time I get back in the house the flames are out. Crisis averted. Call Michael...Check. Google causes...Check. Facebook for suggestions... Check.
Apparently you need to clean the lint out of your back grate every once in awhile. Yeah I have been doing laundry for fifteen years and no one ever told me that. No I don't mean the lint trap but the actually back spinner thingy.
When Michael gets home he assesses the situation and gets his dandy screwdriver to tackle our lint problem. I mean that is his job to put out fires and do all the gross stuff I refuse to do.
I leave him to his tools and proceed to climb back on the couch for a little Glee. Fast Forward twenty minutes and I mosey on back into the laundry room to find...
The back, top, and front of the dryer all unscrewed and lying on the floor.
Steph: WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU DOING!
Michael: Steph, you can't get to the grate from the back like I thought and you have to take off the sides...blah blah blah (I quit listening.)
Steph: Didn't you see the three screws on the grate that pop it off???
Michael: Oh
:Sigh: How do men make it through day to day life without us? But it gets better. Because he has unscrewed every possible surface on the dryer it now needs to reassembled. That is always the tricky part isn't it. You take it apart put it back together only to find a random piece lying on the floor when your done. Only to discover the piece was not so random.
Michael puts it back together and then starts it up.
CLUMP CLUMP CLUMP
Well that is not right. Take apart put back together. Restart
CLUMP CLUMP CLUMP BBEEEEPPPPPPPPEEEE Que screeching dying sound and then.....
DEAD SILENCE!!!
Yeah I am going to kill somebody. This is my only thought. This is why I can't have a personal handgun. Because in situations like this I would kill my husband. The frustration is too much so you drink a beer and start over the next night.
To sum up this story he fixed it after having an epiphany about gravity and how with the washer on its back it wouldn't be working against him. I think I should give him credit that he remembered this and ultimately figured it out in his own special way.
And my dryer is fixed and drying clothes as we speak.
And no that is not my dryer in the picture but in the google search to find it I did learn how to make a do it yourself flame thrower.
Dearest Daughter
>> Thursday, October 08, 2009
Today you are sixteen whole months old. Today we played in the yard just as the hint of crispness that North Carolina fall brings hit the air. You ran around the yard like you did not have a care in the world. Then I noticed it.
Gone are those little chubby baby cheeks replaced with the face of a little girl. Gone are the frankenstien steps that used to thump up and down the hall. Now I hear the quick running of little toddler footsteps. The pants that I swear were six inches too long a few weeks ago slid right on and almost seemed short yesterday morning.
Today you didn't look up at me to help you up the stairs just started climbing like you had been doing it for years.
More and more you show your personality everyday. I see what is to come and although I know we will have many battles throughout the years and I will see a whole lot more of these determined and stubborn looks....
I hope that we remember to stop and think about what is important. To stop and smell the flowers and treasure each moment. To find joy in all the life has to offer, especially the little things.
I hope that we remember to stop and think about what is important. To stop and smell the flowers and treasure each moment. To find joy in all the life has to offer, especially the little things.
I love you Lilybug. And no matter what you say or how big you get I will always be your Mama and you will always be my baby girl.
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