Picture Catch-Up

Yep, I won the fight between me and the missing camera cord. HAHAHAHA! And so here are the best pics of the latest happenings at our house.

Here is the big girl "Jim.my Buff.et" bed. Adorable, huh?! She loves it and has yet to fall out of it (knock on wood!).

Grace and her buddy, Baby Dylan. Arent they cute together?!

Resting after a long day at day care. What a tough day it is for a 3 year old!

The sand and water table. And check out the new haircut!!!

Point, Click, and Download

The cord to my digital camera is missing. I cant download any pictures to my computer without the cord.

If it is the only thing I accomplish this week, I will get a card reader and post some of the most adorable pics ever of Grace, Baby Dylan, and all the fun of the last few weeks.

I promise.

I love long weekends!!!!

Today is the beginning of a long weekend. Man, do I need one!? No drama going on that I want to escape from; just looking forward to an extra day at home.

My plans for the weekend look like this:

Saturday: Lay by the Pool

Sunday: Read a book while lounging by the pool

Monday: Relax in the comfy pool chairs.....by the pool. And get my baby fix while hanging out with Baby Dylan!

So as you can see, my weekend consists of the pool. And I cannot wait!

Anyone want to join me? Pina Coladas will be available.......if I dont drink them all before you get there!!!!

The Daily HumDrum

I know....how boring have I been lately!? Seriously, there is nothing new going on. Just the day to day stuff that life brings.

This weekend was perfect. And I am still wishing I could hit the rewind button to do it all over again. For once in a long time, there was nothing on the calendar. It was blank. We needed that so badly. Instead of laying around the house though, we: 1) weeded and mulched, 2) cleaned the entire house, 3) did loads of laundry until yes, I actually got caught up, and 4) layed in the sun for a few hours. And the best part of the weekend was looking out into the yard and seeing that the pool is OPEN! Now, all week long, please pray for sunny weather so that the water warms up enough to take the Summer 2007 Inaugural Swim this weekend.

The roomies and we played Battle of the Sexes Friday night and we (the girls) got our butts kicked. Really, though, the guys won by default. They were at least 5 spaces behind us but pulled a wild card that read "He says I Love You first. He moves to the end." That's crap. First of all, you cant win a game that way. And second of all, what guy says those three words first!?!?!? Whatever.

So all in all, status quo here. And it is so nice.

Blank

My mind is blank. I have been staring at the Blo.gger screen for 5 minutes.

Do you ever have these kind of days? I have a million things on my mind but nothing to write. My fingers just will not let me type out what is on my mind.

I hate days like this. Maybe a marti.ni is what I need. You think!?

Sorry for the incredibly boring post this morning. Maybe a cute picture help!

What to wear!

Remember high school prom? And college frat formals? Or even military formals? Yea, they are pretty distant memories for me as well. I miss the days when I could go shopping for that perfect black tie dress and then spend an entire day getting pretty.

Well, I have one of those days coming!! YEA! I was invited to a foundation dinner hosted by one of the industry associations. And its black tie.

After a trip to my closet last night, I realize that the only "black tie/formal" dresses I own are 1) an adorable black dress that I wore to L's wedding and 2) the horrendous Pepto-pink bridesmaid dress from my sister's wedding. Yes, it really was that pink!!!

And so, with a friends help yesterday, we have found a few dresses I just might need to purchase for my night on the town. But since I am a girl and cannot make a decision like this on my own (man, I miss those girl trips to the mall every April in preperation for prom!), let me know which one you like best.

My criteria is: no thin spaghetti straps (the girls just dont like them!), if the dress is black then it needs to be different, and I am not spending any more than $150 but if I can keep it even lower than that, great!

And then there is always the dress I already own from L's wedding:

Must go to B&N Tonight

I was at a committee meeting yesterday (yep, I added one more thing to my list of responsibilities---chairing a committee for the professional association I belong to!). And in between talking about committee stuff, one of the girls was talking about a book she is reading.

And now I am intrigued.

The Secret by Rhonda Bryne. Have you heard of it?

The premise is that you will things to happen, good or bad. One of the reviews says this: This book makes you think about what you think about. What's your attitude toward life and what you expect. Bad expectations begets bad results. Positive expectations brings more positive outcomes. The old saying: "the best time to make a sale is right after you make a sale." This book applies this concept to all aspects of your life.

Law of attraction says that people have direct control over what happens in their life soley through their thoughts. Interesting. Not sure how much I believe that but my interest is peaked. So if I simply think that Grace is never going to have another accident on my bedroom carpet right before we walk out the door in the morning.....if I think really positive thoughts about that it will happen?! Ummm, I am sold!

Maybe its worth a read. It cant hurt right!?

Where did this KID come from and Where is my Baby!?

Mother's Day was marked by a transition at our house. We have had a few transitions recently...most importantly the absence of diapers!!! YEA!

And this weekend, the crib was diamantled, a mattress set was purchased, and the adorbale Pott.ery Barn kids quilt was taken out of the plastic wrapping.

Yep, Grace has her own "big girl bed".

There is officially no baby in my house anymore.

Cause once there are no bars on their bed, they can open and close the fridge by themselves, and they dont need you to "get them a new but.t" all day long, they are kids.

Grace is a kid. Wow---time really does fly!

PS---Pics are coming of her adorable new "Jimm.y Buf.fet room" as she so fondly calls it now. Just as soon as I find that pesky transfer cord for my computer!

What Makes Me A Mother

You mean, besides the fact that I was the DD for 10 months!? And besides the fact that several shirts were ruined due to leaks that shall never again be mentioned?!

Serisouly, though. What does make one a mother?

It isnt the act of giving birth. I know several people that are excellent mothers to me and to Grace and to Hubby that are not the women who pushed for hours.

It isnt that sleepless nights endured with a newborn. Plenty of people have sleep issues, though being completely exhausted while nursing and rocking a baby while humming lullabys certainly qualifies you as a mom.

And its definitely not whether you stay home during the week days or go to the office. Or if we follow the guide of attachment parenting or if we breasfeed or formula feed. Those are our personal choices.

Motherhood comes in so many shapes, sizes, and flavors.

What makes me a mom? My love for my child. Pure and simple.

And I am proud to say, that even though I am her Mother, I am not her only Mom. She has "Other Mothers" just like I did growing up. She knows that my love for her is undeniable and deep and strong and will never falter. She is my heart and soul and every choice I make is for her.

But there are other women who love her deeply as well. They are the ones who she will run to when I punish her for breaking curfew or wearing makeup before I allow it. They are the other women who will stand with me on Grace's wedding day. And the ones who will spoil her now and will spoil her babies one day.

Mothers are everywhere. And it is that special love for a child that makes you a mother.

Motherhood Uncensored inspired me to write this post. Join me in posting about What Makes You a Mother today. All posts (just email your link here) will be rounded-up and entered to win a prize thanks to Light Iris and Parent Bloggers Network.

Balance? Whats that?

Dont you just love those productive weeks? Yep, its only Wednesday but I feel like I have gotten more done at work than I did all last month! It feels great.

But thats only at work, Not at home. Definintely not at home!

There are piles on the kitchen table, piles on the coffee table, piles at the bottom (and top) of the stairs, and let's not mention the office piles. Somewhere in those piles are bills, coupons, insurance benefit things, and I am sure a million other things to add to my To Do list.

At the office, everything has its place and everything is in its place. That Type A attitude......yep, it stays here cause its pretty apparent that it hasnt come into my house lately.

I need to get it all under control. Summers are so busy around the house with the pool opening soon so I only have a little time to get it all done.

Now, here is the most interesting part of this post: Did you see how this crazy mama can start a post out so confident in her productive week at work and then at the end being totally stressed out about things she hasnt done?!

Maybe this is that balance thing we are all looking for.

Pictures for the Day

I am still sick. But I am at the office with a MILLION things to do. And so today, picture post. The new roommate, Catherine, is so great at catching all those adorable moments with Grace and so here are a few shots she captured last week.

Smiling for the camera in the backyard.

Bug eyes!

Spaghetti Face. It took me 15 minutes of scrubbing in the tub to get all the sauce off her!

Hanging out in her new carseat in Catherine's car.

Grace's first attempt at baking cookies. They were soooo good.

Blah

I hate being sick. I hate it.

I am home sick today.

Must go back to sleep.

More tomorrow.

We all Scream for Ice Cream!

Last night was 31 cent scoop night at Baskin Robbins. And it was soooo yummy and what a deal! For 6 scoops of awesome ice cream, I spent $1.95. Totally worth standing in line for an hour.

Originally I planned on hanging out with the girls to see Dirty Dancing at the movie theatres. Until I realized that I had double booked myself and I had to cancel on the girls in favor of my Dad. Hey, Dad is awesome and home all alone this week. Ijust couldnt imagine cancelling and knowing he was eating a microwave dinner again all alone at home! But the girls still went to the movie and I am sooo jealous!!!

Anyways..........

31 cent scoop night was packed! We pulled up at 7 pm thinking we could run in and out in time for bath night for Grace and bedtime by 8 pm. Nope. There was a line at least a quarter mile long. Luckily, there were 2 fire trucks (one ladder truck and one engine......did you know those are 2 completely different trucks!?) and a few ambulances for the kids to play on. It was great! Grace climbed right into the ambulance and made friends with the fireman. Asking his name, sitting in the fireman seat, and even laying on the stretcher. She told all the firemen there that her Uncle Mitch checks her vitals and that he drives a fire truck (and she is right!!).

Adorable. As soon as we get the pics downloaded from Catherine's camera, I will post them here.

Normally I would not stand in that ridiculous line. But the night was benefitting the National Fallen Firefighters Foundation. A local fire fighter, Kyle Wilson, was recently killed on the job in a house fire. He and Mitch (one of my new roommates) were in Fire Fighter Recruit school together only 9 months ago. And so, we all stood in line to honor those who protect us every single day.

All in all a good night.

Lost and Found

Hello?! Where are you?!

My motivation has left the building.

I have a deadline this week, a deadline next week, people arent returning my phone calls as fast I want them to, and I have a calendar FULL of meetings that I am not ready for. And yet, I am posting on my blog at the moment.

I am so unmotivated and its not like me at all. It stinks. There is so much to do but I cant get off my butt to get it done lately. So I do little things to fill the time all day long. And then about 2 hours before the end of the day, I push it into high gear and try to squeeze 6 hours of work into a small time block. And for the rest of the night, I am all worked up that I didnt get things done!

So annoying to feel like this.

If anyone sees my motivation around, could you tell it to come home soon!?

Nobody Puts Baby in the Corner!

20 years!!!??? Seriosuly!?

Yep, 20 years ago today, Dirty Dancing was released. Its one of my favorite movies.

I remember wanting Jennifer Grey's dress at the last scene soooo badly. You know, the one with the twirly skirt. Yep, and how cool was she that she got to do a lift!? And remember that silly little walk/dance/trot/skip that she and Patrick Swayze did on the log while they were practicing. Yep, I could do that too!!!

And tonight and tomorrow night, the movie is back in theatres!! So psyched.

7:30 tonight or tomorrow. Who's with me!?!?!