Field Trip

Take a little field trip on over to our Cancer Sucks! blog. I've posted a new fun thing, and also redone the template, it's much more appropriate now. See what you think.

Day Of Love

Today is a big day. My sweet little niece turns 2. She and Gretta could be twins; but not by looks. They couldn't look more different. Gracie is chubby and dark, mellow and cuddly. Gretta isn't any of those things. But the way they talk, cry, squeak, and pad barefoot across the floor, you wouldn't be able to tell them apart. I miss that Gracie. Here are a couple of shots of her I ran across. I have more recent ones, but these ones are precious to me. You'll see why.

Mom getting Gracie dressed in her blessing dress.

I miss those hands. When she died, I held her hands and stroked them, and tried to burn the image of them into my brain. She had lovely hands, and the cutest little mole on her hand. She always had beautiful rings, Diamonique mostly, but some very expensive ones as well. She had beautiful nails she kept done up just so, for 13 years with the same nail lady! But those hands are so much more than a physical attribute. She loved her babies. Her grandbabies, especially. And dressing them, rubbing them down after a bath, cuddling with them, watching them run through her backyard, all had more to do with her hands than any jewelry. Those hands fed and clothed us kids, worked hard for us, and showed us the direction we should take in life.

Chubby little Gracie on her blessing day.

She is a special little kid. I have never met a more mellow baby. The day before she was blessed, Jill got out the white nail polish. And we polished her fingernails and toenails. She sat still through the entire process. On the other hand, if it was Gretta, if Gretta was awake, she was moving. Gracie is different than Jill's other kids. She is dark, and has dark eyes. She is Aaron to a tee. She was a long time getting here, but boy are we glad she did. I love this kid!

I know I talk about her like she's my own, but after spending every day with her through the summer, I feel like she could be. We bonded. I love her.

Happy day, Gracie!



Today is also my other nieces birthday. Abby is 5 today! She was our next door neighbor for 4 years, and we miss being able to run back and forth from their house to ours. I believe Abby was born on Friday the 13th, just like today. Creepy. So happy day to Abby, too! We miss you.

Interpretation Please

Last night I had a dream. I have a history of having vivid, strange dreams, but ever since I've switched medications they have gotten more vivid. And strange.

I mean, aside from the usual dreams of teeth falling out, drowning in a puddle of door knobs, or even the occasional "happy" dream, things have gotten much, much worse. Or better, I guess it depends on your perspective.

But last nights dream is especially disturbing to me. I don't know why. It was simple, non-threatening, and short. Well, relatively short, as in does anyone really know how long their dreams last?

So do you want to hear it? I thought you might.

I was lying down somewhere. Where isn't important. I had covers pulled up to my neck, and I stared straight up to the ceiling. My sister Jill approached me with giant tweezers. She had this evil grin on her face. No, more evil than normal. Yeah, right. She held my arms down with her hands, and in her other hands (?) she took the tweezers, aimed them straight at my neck, and proceeded to pluck out a giant stem of a chin hair. It was about 3" in diameter, and had a blossom of white on the end. My first reaction was "Why didn't someone tell me I had been growing this huge hair on my chin?". She proceeded to explain that it hadn't been there long, and her other friends had missed seeing theirs grow so quickly and had subsequently been strangled within minutes.

So I guess she saved my life. How do I thank a sister that is 2000 miles away for saving my life in my dream? Does Hallmark even make a card for something like that?

Win Sumthin

See here to win a new pair of See Kai Run shoes. Neighbor Kate won these last Spring, and they are ad.or.able.

On Being a Good Mom

We all know I'm in the running for mother of the year, right? I'm pretty sure I'll win after this one.

The other day, I was back and forth and back and forth at neighbor Kate's house, in a futile attempt at perfecting our latest business venture. This back and forthing meant there were a few moments here and there when Gretta and Maggie were home alone. Not a big deal, since I was literally across the street. Like, driveway to driveway across the street. I just don't worry.

Well, as I was leaving Kate's house, the friendly AT&T man was walking through the neighborhood, and gave me a friendly wave. I waved back, because I'm nice like that.

Turns out, friendly AT&T guy had just come from my house, where Maggie answered the door, and promptly told him that she was home alone babysitting her little sister.

Of course this was shocking to him, since he has no idea how good of a mom I am, and that I would never leave my kids alone for more than, oh, a few hours. Not. Kidding, kidding, people. But he did proceed to tell my other neighbor Nancy that her next door neighbor had her kids home alone. She was shocked by this, because I still have her fooled.

But seriously, I was gone a total of like 5 minutes. And my kids of been given strict instructions not to open the door to anyone, or answer the phone, unless it's someone they know and trust. So really, is it my fault or theirs? Kidding again.

This does frighten me a little. Not enough to make me paranoid, but I guess I need to have another good sit down talk with the kids about what to do when mommy is across the street. You know, stranger danger and all that.

Anyway, I'm certain the word is out that I'm a finalist in the mother of the year contest, and hopefully this puts off any unfit contenders, cause I have a spot all cleared off on my mantle for that award.

*and as I write this post, my dear daughter is watching a Roseanne marathon. Yep.
*and here is a funny post I read about leaving your kids in the car. The comments are top-notch. You should totally read it, and the comments.

Because Naked Babies Are The Best

This kid totally cracks me up. She has a thing for water. I guess she's like me that way. As soon as I see a lake or a pool, something inside me just wants to get in and swim. There is just some pull to the water. This is why I say I want to be a sea otter when I grow up.

Anyhoo, Gretta has long been a fan of the tub. The second she hears the bath water run, she is up the stairs, shirt off, pants around her ankles, and diaper hanging by one tab. She would stay in there all day, if I would let her, or at least until she poops. Which she has done several times, lucky me.

But lately we have migrated from the tub to the shower. Now, as soon as she hears the word shower, or as soon as I head upstairs, even if I'm in stealth mode, she will find me, and climb right in. She will hold the detachable shower head, and spray it over her head and giggle like nobodies business.

And then there's her butt. How cute are naked baby butts? I know, I just can't stand it. I'm not a creepy pedophile, but my kids have the cutest naked butts ever.

And then when they're all clean and cuddly in a nice fluffy towel, life is good.

Part of me is wondering what sorts of people will find this post due to a mislead Google search. Eew.

(New) In Town

We were able to have Ken and Michelle and their two cute girls over for the weekend. It is nice having some family close enough that we can crash at each others houses on random occasions. Ken had an early interview in the City on Friday, so Michelle and I stayed home and watched the kids play. And by play, I mean fight. To the death. It was like total WWF around here. Our little 2 year old's can NOT play nicely together. But it was still fun to have them here.

Friday night, after an easy dinner of chicken nuggets, Grandma rice, and Grandma beans, Michelle and I headed out to see New In Town. It was a cute movie. Mindless, and easy to watch, a perfect escape for a night out.

Saturday we hit Panda Express for some EggRo goodness. Mmm. And then it was Roast Beef for dinner. I over did my mashed potato to gravy ratio, and ended up eating them like they were soup, but they were still mighty tasty. I'm a sucker for mashed potatoes and gravy, just like my Mom was.

Sunday we sort of pooped out on church since I had no voice due to that stinking cold I was brewing, and Gretta was sporting all sorts of pretty green boogers, so we just hung out most of the day. I don't think Ken even changed out of his pajamas. Good boy. We fried up some steaks and baked potatoes for dinner, and life was good.

Today I let Emma stay home from school to spend a little more time with the cousins, and because I'm such a cool mom like that. She helped out with the sheet washing, and by entertaining the kids while everything got packed up it the van.

It was a fun visit. We always love having family over. Hint hint.

Fun for Friday

Click on over to my little bow store, and have a look. Neighbor Kate and I have been making and selling bows and clippies for the last 9 months or so. We are just so creative like that.



And on another note, it's Kate's birthday today, so head over to her blog and wish her a happy day.

Sign Of The Times

We visited the dentist yesterday. Maggie has her first cavity growing on her back tooth, and it was getting to the point where I could see it growing worse every day. So we headed off to the dentist's office. It's a decent amount of time in the car to get there, so as we drove, Emma, who is now big enough to ride in the front seat, and I had a good conversation about school. She began telling me how they were learning to play "Kiss The Girl" on the steel drums.

Maggie piped up from the back seat, and said she knew that song. She hears it on the radio all the time. I was confused, as I absolutely refuse to listen to Radio Disney, and couldn't for the life of me figure out where she would have heard that song.

She began singing it at the top of her lungs. "'I kissed a girl, and I liked it....'" She sang. And sang.

Totally not the right song, but wow, was I a little shocked. I don't listen to music like that for 2 reasons. 1, I hate Pop music. It just doesn't feel right to me to BeBop along to kid-like DJ music. 2, the lyrics of that song, and a lot of other Pop songs are atrocious. I'm still not sure where she heard it, especially enough times to pick up the words so perfectly.

So here we are, buzzing along to get Maggie's first cavity filled as she sings a song about a first time lesbian encounter. We had a lot of firsts that day.

Nothing

I got nothing today. Nothing.

Except maybe the beginnings of a cold. Which is wretched timing, seeing as we'll be up in the 40's by Saturday.

And so help me, if this cold keeps me from emerging from my winter cocoon to enjoy some sunshine and blue sky, I will a broken woman be.

But other than that, there is not much to tell.

And I'm totally not complaining about that.

Ring Ring

Ring ring.... Ring ring..... Ring ring.....

Me: Hello?

LG Vu: Is this Keli?

M: Yes, who is this?

LG: This is your new phone. You know, the one that has replaced your beloved BlackBerry?

M: Oh, you. What do you want?

LG: I'm hoping to gain your acceptance, and maybe eventually your respect.

M: Well, I don't see that happening any time soon.

LG: Please! Give me a chance! You don't understand, there are so many of us that can never be a BlackBerry, so we can only be the best regular phone we know how. It's so hard living under the shadow of the BlackBerry.

M: Well, I can see why. I totally feel like I've gone from a Mac to a PC. It's unnatural. It's devolution.

LG: What? What is devolution?

M: See. A BlackBerry would totally know what I was talking about. What with it's predictive text, it's fully functional keyboard, it's ability to automatically capitalize and punctuate. You will never be a BlackBerry.

LG: (Sigh) You're right. But you signed that contract, so you're stuck. Sucker!


Don't get me wrong, I like my new phone. It's fine. I like the super fast internet, and the way it displays web pages like web pages, and not HTML with a few links here and there. But, it has this teeny tiny keypad that certainly isn't made for full figured fingers like mine.

There is no predictive text, it won't capitalize without pressing the teeny tiny shift key, and you have to adjust the keypad for any punctuation besides a period. Period. Duh.

I guess after having a BB for the last, oh, 5 years, I have gotten a little spoiled. But I will survive. Plus, now I have unlimited texts! Yay! Feel free to text me anytime.

Are You Ready For Some Football?

Sunday was a big day at our house. We hosted a huge Superbowl par-tay. It was a total blast. Here are just a few of the highlights.

A view from the balcony. The men were all intent on the game, and more so on the commercials. I think the "Wipe Out" show was an attention grabber, as well.

The pile-o-coats. Since we moved our front room furniture into the living room to accommodate our 30 + guests, there wasn't a better place to throw the winter garb.

This little gal chewed away on her chubby little toes, and melted our hearts with those fat rolls. I'm pretty sure I could eat her. I don't think Tina would mind, do you?

And a little view of some of the mess atop my counter. Home made pizza, tons of appetizers, and delicioso desserts made for a filling party menu.

We got an impromptu cheer session from Shylo. I outed Carli and her 9 month flu, and we corrupted the Elders because we wouldn't turn off the game when they came over. But for the record, they just came, ate, and skedaddled. I bonded with the newest Kelley and her bow making abilities, (Yay!) and I think Noel, Brooke and I had a little 3 way action that sent The Chad over the top.

I'm just a good hostess like that, what can I say?

We did miss our Lacey Fay, as she was out having just birthed her third baby boy, Justin. But we'll bring her some pizza as a consolation prize. For missing the party, not for giving birth.

And the fact that the Steelers brought it home, including #99, made it that much sweeter.

Friday Fun

So that's where all our taxes are going.

Public education at it's finest.

Happy Mail

Again, thankyoublogger for publishing everything in reverse order.

Gretta was the proud recipient of some wonderful happy mail yesterday. She was so excited to see the box when we arrived home, but she was so tired, a nap took precedence over opening the box. After 2 hours of sleeping bliss, she was revived and ready to dig in.


Of course, with its being from the canine species, she is in love. Love, love, love.



And she's learning some grooming skills that will give her something to fall back on later in life.



You can see the pure bliss on her face as she sees the fuzzy fur peeking out of the package.




And here is the box we found waiting for us on the front porch. There are few things more exciting than finding an unexpected gift by the door.

So thank you, Mimi and Josh. You guys rock. Gretta is in doggy heaven, and has added to the dog pound in which she sleeps.

Germy Fungus

While I shopped and shopped yesterday, I had my kid in the cart. She was sitting so quietly while I perused the wall of ribbons, looking for that one perfect design. I took my sweet time. Upon turning around, I see her sucking on the handle of the shopping cart. Sucking on it. Like a newborn sucks on a binky.

I don't consider myself a germ freak by any means, but I do know the facts. Like, the fact that most people don't wash their hands properly, if at all (BLECH!) after using the bathroom. And then those filthy hands find their way, along with their hitch hiking germs, onto various surfaces. Like door knobs, and telephones, and yes, even grocery cart handlebars.

And now my kid has sucked it clean.

Needless to say, she woke up with a wicked cough. I hope that's all it is. I'm worried about seeing a rash, or sores, or worse! Especially since I know of 2 people whose babies have come down with MRSA.

Let's hope she recovers quickly, and that I won't become that mom who sanitizes everything and won't let her kids touch other kids toys and such. Yeah, like that would happen.

Womb Mates

Did you hear about the lady that gave birth to Octuplets? OCT-tuplets. For the record, that word isn't even in my computer dictionary. Quintuplets, yep, it's there. Sextuplets, sure. Septuplets and Octuplets, nope. This should be our first, or maybe seventh or eighth clue that our "fertility treatments" have gotten a little out of control. And the poor lady, she didn't even know she was having 8 babies. She thought there was "only" 7 until the delivery, and then surprise! one more.

I guess what's one more when you're already having a litter. Note that that is a statement, not a question.

My darling Terrible Two year old, of which I have one, has decided that she can dial 9-1-1, stay up until midnight, and drink regular Coke. Imagine a day like that times 8! I need a nap just thinking about it.

Driveolution

Yesterday I drove all the way to the airport, picked up my cargo, dropped them off at an undisclosed location to which I'd never been, and drove home using roads on which I'd never driven. I did all of this without using my GPS.

It was a good day.

Also, notice there are no dangling participles in that first paragraph. You're welcome.

Friday Fun

Thanks, Meg. For some reason I think yours would get a discount.

Two Down

My baby is two. Two, people. Where has the time gone? So instead of blah blah blahing your ear off, I've included a sweet picture story, in reverse order, thankyoublogger.



Gretta showing off her pearly whites.

At the beach this summer.



Memorial Day bbq with the Ward.



Playing in the water. A favorite pastime.



Where her love of all things dog began. Camping last Spring in Wisconsin.



Enjoying some early morning play time in the Spring.



Love that hat. She gets laughs whenever she wears it.



Learning how to crawl. She was so skinny!



Swaddled up for nap time. She was so wiggly, if I didn't swaddle her, she would flail around and never sleep. And of course, she had the lovely helmet. It did make her head a nice round shape, so I guess all that stink was worth it.




And the birth shot. I could include several bloody C-Section shots here, so if you want to see them just email me, and they're all yours.

So that's it. My babes. Growing up too fast. But I have to include reasons we love Gretta

• She knows how to get her way. That Pterodactyl scream gets the job done effectively.
  
• Anything dog related is her best friend.
  
• She loves Ranch Dressing.
  
• The way she won't eat her own dinner, but she'll crawl up on your lap, open her mouth, and say "mmbite?"
  
• She runs everywhere.
  
• The way she "stays close" when we carry her from the car to the store/church/school, so as to keep her face buried in our shoulders and avoid the freezing wind.
  
• When she lies down on the step when she needs her bum changed.
  
• Her love of "Me's", which is Gretta's way of saying binky.
  
• Having 20 blankets in her crib at night, along with her many many dogs.
  
• When someone is crying, she gets such a sympathetic look on her face, as if it really makes her sad, too.
• That she knows how to turn on the toy room TV all by herself.
  

Gretta, we love you. I'm sad to see you grow, but I love seeing all the new things you discover. You are truly a joy to have in our family. We love you!

It May Only Happen Once Every 8 Or So Years

And I'm not talking about the inauguration. I'm talking about the fact that I went to Wal-Mart yesterday during the inauguration, and not only did I score a front row parking space, inside the store was practically empty.

I'd like to think it's because everyone was home watching the inaugural speech of our new Prez, but for some reason I think it has more to do with people being broke from Christmas and their 401(k)'s taking a big ol' crap. Like ours.

Christmas spending - $680,934*
401(k) losses - $32,059*
Front Row Spot at Wal-Mart - Priceless



*Not actual numbers. Duh.