lee, hannah, eden & nershi

last year?

2012-01-09T21:11:00.000-05:00

wow... i haven't blogged since last year...

i'll carve out sometime to give an update on life here shortly... but not tonite :)

merry christmas

2011-12-24T07:27:00.004-05:00

making cookies... making memories

from our home to yours!

life after adenoids & tubes

2011-12-17T21:08:00.001-05:00

wow... yall... we seriously should've done this a long time ago... eden is doing incredibly!

she has managed to amaze us yet again at her resilience and exactly how much fun she can be when she feels good!!she has eaten meat for the first time... ever. the day she came home from surgery and woke up from her extreme slumber, she asked for some of lee's lunch (sesame chicken) and has been nearly eating us out of house & home ever since...

pre-surgery breakfast: 1 pancake OR a bowl of cereal OR a nutrigrain bar OR some fruit...
post-surgery breakfast: 3 pancakes, a cup of yogurt, a bowl of cereal and 3 cups of milk.

pre-surgery chickfila (a girls-night-out favorite of ours.): 1/2 order of small french fries and 2 packs of ketchup and chocolate milk
post-surgery chickfila: 4 nuggets, small fry, chocolate milk, goldfish & a squeal of delight when she received her cow watch.

see what i mean?yes, i realize she's not been out of surgery long enough to get sick or been back to school yet--but things are honestly different...i'm her mama. i can just tell. we have curbed many of the meds we were giving her--its what my gut told me to do... time will tell if that was the RIGHT thing to do... she's talking more, sleeping better... she's doing everything she was doing before the surgery--and doing it a little better.

ah, now... let's back up a little bit.the week before her surgery, eden managed to catch a stomach bug of sorts... and share it with her mama and daddy... the day after the surgical nurse calls and says "please let us know if she comes down with anything--specifically spiking a fever"... surely she heard my sigh of relief--because my kid doesn't get fevers. her mama doesn't either.i bit my tongue, didn't call...because after all, stomach bugs are 24 hour things... fast forward 2 more days... off to the ENT for our pre-op visit... to make sure after 4 WEEKS OF ANTIBIOTIC, that her ears are clear & get the "green light" for surgery. nope. her ears were STILL infected--but after a closer exam from dr. g, he decided she was "well enough" for surgery... i've never loved those two words together more than i did in that moment.we are so so so thankful for the close attention and special care she has received from her specialists! phone calls checking on her--FROM THE DOCTOR..not just the nurse.i know i've already mentioned her eating--but i'm still in shock at how much differently she's eating! i knew she was a light eater before, but i only thought so because she drinks SO much milk... i thought because that was her "comfort", she never desired much "food food" and seemed to fill up on milk... and plus, she's a snacker--always with the snack cup in hand! hard to measure how much she eats because she was always nibbling on something....

this is really all i had to say for now... the house needs to be vacuumed & i'm ready to hit the hay... however, i'd had a few requests for a "more detailed" update... so, there ya go. i have a few pics (one of her oodling over her chickflia cow watch!), but i've not mastered the icloud for my photos yet... i'm workin' on it.

as promised...

2011-12-05T23:27:00.001-05:00

as i was decorating the little tree tonite, i heard my camera flash go off and i found this:

an oreo-encrusted, rosy-cheeked toddler who has stolen our hearts.

it reminded me to update you patient folks with some pictures

these pictures basically go in reverse order... sorta... just go with it.

e loves snowmen... her greatgranny t taught her about these little guys and she can spot them ANYWHERE.

even in a wine cork at the junior league shopping spree... lawdy.

she is also REALLY into her nativity set right now... "baby jeeeeesus" gets to ride in the baby doll stroller, and gets offered some of her nighttime cup of milk... she also notices that joseph has a beard like daddy and mary is the mama... "mama mary"

this girl was born to be the center of attention... can you tell?

i love this pic of these two.... seriously, two of my favorite people on the planet.

(i have a few favorites, don't feel slighted if you weren't in this picture.)

the horn that she's holding in both of these pics makes this little squeaky noise, and whenever she blows is aunt lisa chases her and tickles her (she started this a while back)... well, just like one of pavlov's pooches, eden still giggles when she toots her own horn. the previous statement is both literal and metaphorical.

"cheese, mama"

halloween costume... did i post this already... oh geez.

daddy's shooooes

i'm lovin' her golden locks these days... her hair has gone wildddd

holiday elmo. a must-have for your holiday decor this season

this was thanksgiving day... these two fell asleep on the floor, as nershi and i were snuggled up on the sofa. the perfect morning nap before a day of FEASTING... and being thankful.

eden decided to use her bath basket as a helmet (a choice entirely hers) for her "nascoupe"

its become a morning habit on days that lee gets up with her, that nershi stays and sleeps with me... and eden comes in bed with me for a few minutes... the cherry on top of THAT sundae of love? this morning, she runs in our room while i'm playing my usual game of possum and says "hey mama, i love you" and gave me the biggest hug.. melt. my. heart.

surgery still on go... eden STILL on antibiotics (3 weeks, and counting!) and wasn't getting all kinds of better... actually, she was getting a little worse. to the point of my "call the doctor" threshold. her resp. doc (not the one operating) prescribed some steroids for her...

you know its getting complicated when the pharmacist sends home a separate sheet of paper with the dosing for which days (days 1-3 do this, days 2-6 do this, days 7-9 do this...)

getting a few butterflies about surgery coming up, but i think its more of a feeling of "let's get this over with" than nervousness.

also, while i'm in such a blogging mood and can't sleep (hello, midnight!)... i wanted to update on her antics and ever expanding vocabulary... i'm CERTAIN i will miss some things... she's saying a LOT these days

talking:

wow... doing this alot and is very good about using her words to tell you what she wants. some of the words she says consistently and recognizably:

hey, bye bye--all those "obvious" words, elmo, big bird, cookie (the food and cookie monster), baby, abby (abby cadabby), baby jesus, tick tock, ALLLL the animal sounds and the majority of the animals themselves, the modes of transportation (boat, truck, tractor, car, train--though most of the time she calls it a choo-choo), peaches, snack, cracker, apple, banana, butterbeans, please, juice, milk, i love you, back up, no no nershi, good boy doggie, wolfpack, most of the family's names...and her friends names, buckle, swing, she can repeat just about anything you ask her to and... she will read you this book cover to cover:

(some times i say "what's that?" and point to something... and sometimes i say "where's the ___")

she's also piecing lots of words together... probably her longest sentence so far is "bye bye socks, HEY TOES!!" as she took her socks off while in the car one day... i almost had to pull over i was laughing so hard. she's pretty consistent with 3-4 word phrases... "more juice please", "back up, doggie" (what she says to him when he's begging at the dinner table!), "daddy go bye bye"

she knows the parts of the body, most of her alphabet (she sings most of the song, and is recognizing several letters), and counted to five (repeating all the numbers) for the first time this weekend! we are working on the colors...

she can be affectionate when she wants to be... giving kisses and/or hugs... and i love the hug we get if we pretend to cry. when disobeying, we've reached the "i'm going to count to three" stage... which works most of the time... and we've dished out a few good old fashioned spankin's a time or two (+80% of them were because she was running away from a diaper change...deliberate disobedience when she fully understands what she should be doing). at this stage, i try to be very sure that she does FULLY understand what she's supposed to be doing before she gets a whoopin'... its tough sometimes to know if they just don't understand what you're asking them or if they know and choose to do differently--i'm learning consistency is key.

she is LOVING school... i'm 98% sure she's got a little boyfriend there... its cute... for now. heh. her teachers are wonderful and i see the fruits of their hardwork and love--combined with what she's picking up from her family and she is learning SO. FAST.... i can hardly keep up. i've waited almost two years for this stage... this is my FAVORITE age. (well, so far at least ;))

this is the age that i always enjoyed volunteering for at church--the 2-3 year olds...

little changes

2011-11-30T21:49:00.003-05:00

Well friends, I've failed to post pictures again... Ugh. I will get to it... I promise.

Life has been full of little changes... Mostly good. I'm typing this blog from my new little love... My iPad. I never touched one until 3 weeks ago... Thought I might want one 2 weeks ago (though I wasn't entirely sure what for)... And now? Well, I'm not sure how I ever lived without the thing!! It actually makes me want to be on the computer less, but I'm enjoying reading for the first time since.... Well, since ever. Reading is so much more relaxing when I can change the font of the book I'm reading and when I can hold this zen like machine...its so much more relaxing than bending back the cover of a stiff paperback or messing with that stupid book jacket. Blah! Dad totally surprised me at the apple store with this byootee... And even let me have it early because we will have some downtime soon and spend some time in a boring hospital waiting room.

Oh yes--that brings me to my next point... Eden has seen the ENT who has recommended the immediate removal of her adenoids and putting tubes in her ears. A relief on SO many levels and yet, still a bit nerveracking. It's a path I've traveled down MANY times as a patient... But never the mama. I was relieved to know that the doctor didn't want to monitor her for weeks or months only for me to bust out my "I told you so" mama look. Her chronic respiratory issues and ear infections over the last year have led us to this point and we are ready to take action and move on to the next chapter of our lives. In the last 3 or 4 months (it's probably longer, but I'm not willing to admit it), Eden has had probably an entire week (not consecutively, I might add) of totally WELL days... That's not enough by my count.

We will keep you posted as much as possible along the way...but honestly--y'all know how I am about posting here as of late... You may get more current info through my facebook page.

In the spirit of life in general now, I decided to de-clutter the living room... Old pictures, decorations that I'm not sure why we ever crammed together on the mantle, pillows that match a little too well. Not to mention I was getting really tired of the yellow walls in here--they don't match nothing (yes, that's grammatically incorrect--but it does, however, accurately describe the yellow walls)... We needed to freshen up a little. De-cluttering. Gosh, just the word gets me to perk up! Lee sent me to target to pick out some pillows with personality... And that I did! Burgundy accents... With some yellow tones and a few dashes of orange... Not to mention the variety of textures... Fluffy ruffle-ish, embroidered flowers, and dots with a bit of sheen... It's amazing how new pillows can revamp a room! Eh, maybe I'll post pics of them one day.

It's hectic at work and I'm doing more than 80% of my Christmas shopping online. Christmas shopping is for people who have too much time on their hands and not enough hobbies. And no small children.

That's all I really need to post right now....I may catch up on my to-do list and my sleep before we elect another president.

birthday week

2011-11-20T20:39:00.001-05:00

well, its been a great week on the birthday front, but my sweet e has been sick...its the same old same ole--except my frustration is mounting and i'm feeling more and more helpless... i choose to focus on the positive at this point. she has a great doctor who is willing to stick with us through this and work it out.

last weekend: a good almost-too-busy weekend... dinner out with friends, diaper party, etc...

monday, we had one of my favorite dishes that granny pat cooks--chicken tetrazini! when asked what kind of birthday cake i wanted this year, i asked if i could choose a "birthday casserole" instead (does that sound like a response of a sleep deprived, tired-of-eating-out mama? yes.)

tuesday lee & i had a date night to "gravy" downtown... it was f.a.b.u.l.o.u.s. (coming from the girl who isn't a huge fan of italian) and reasonably priced... we're going back. soon.

wednesday we stayed at home and kept quiet...lee surprised me with tickets to see brian regan! eeeek! :) date night... wooo hooo!!

thursday --when kiekie arrived to take care of eden, i got to go back to bed "for a minute"... two hours later i woke up and felt reeeeeejuvenated--my head on lee's pillows, my feet on my nightstand (get it? laying perpendicular at the top of the bed.). best. birthday. gift. ever. we celebrated my bday with mom & david at firebirds (another one of my fave restaurants!)

friday we stayed in again... pizza & baked ziti! (one of the highlights of my week: eden ate THREE BOWLS of ziti and ate a slice of cheese pizza that she took off of my plate... i thought we were over the worst at this point--but time has shown me differently.)

and then we arrived at the weekend i planned to do nothing... no, not a weekend with nothing planned--a weekend that i PLANNED to do NOTHING. ahhhhh! :)

we skipped church today in an effort to limit exposure to any.more.germs. and stayed home... i cleaned and cleaned and sanitized and scrubbed and opened the windows and turned on the ceiling fans on high... lysoled and cloroxed, laundered every blanket, etc... and somehow i managed to cook dinner, too! :) i enjoyed my day with eden--the weather was phenomenal... we played outside and snuggled and read books and blew bubbles and played on the swing...

i have pictures...i'll post later... i promise.

our weekend from iphone pictures

2011-11-08T21:19:00.000-05:00

thursday afternoon we went to the jr. league shopping spree with kiekie and e spotted a "doggie doggie" and of course--she was in love. she petted him, slapped on her legs to call him...

...and even gave him a hug

then saturday we went to the red & white game at state... we did NOT go to the football game. it was a bit chilly and i'm not risking any more respiratory issues. no thanks.

e got to hang out with emily and mrs. wuf... and we saw/hugged/blew kisses to mr. wuf but didn't get any pictures of that.

then we hung out and got lots of good rest and started a new sleep routine that has restored mama & daddy's sanity.

then we went to moe's for dinner and got ready for our week!

i'm not letting my guard down yet--but e's doing much better and the new sleep routine is working out swimmingly. i'm feeling so. r.e.s.t.e.d...

supahstishun

2011-11-04T21:00:00.001-04:00

i don't think of myself as a superstitious person... but i do love the stevie wonder song.

eden's nebulizer and humidifier seem to ALWAYS be laying around... because it seems we ALWAYS need them. but the last couple of times that e's recouped, i finally get around to putting away the unattractive, ultimately necessary, unsightly eyesores...she gets sick again.

coincidence? not really... i realize she gets sick with this type of thing maybe a little more than the average almost-2-year-old, but it never fails--its HOURS after i've stored all the "sick stuff" away.

the gigantic humidifier that sits in her room on a 3 legged table with a towel under it... and the gas mask-esque nebulizer with the cumbersome cord just flopping all over the place... that stupid cord kinks in a new york minute! and all 3294782 pieces of her nebulizer (that eden likes to use for tea parties**) get stashed in a ziploc back to hopefully never be seen again...

**i would also like to point out that she knows how to ENTIRELY assemble her neb stuff!! 5 pieces--some pushed, some twisted, some simply drop in/fit together--she knows it all!!)

all those lovely pieces of highly unfashionable home accents are now regular parts of our decor. because maybe

just maybe...

keeping them out will keep the bugs away.

...something like garlic to vampires.

halloween 2011--one to remember.

2011-11-01T21:22:00.000-04:00

my dear eden was sick over the weekend... with RG (respiratory gunk.) we missed the much-anticipated neighborhood halloween party and had to miss her school festival celebrating "God's harvest"--but i would NOT let her miss ALL the festivities of the weekend! my heart just broke for her (even though she didn't even KNOW what she was missing!)

we did venture out to church for their "hallelujah night" monday night... i had an ulterior motive, though... our sunday school class hosted a chili cook-off!! i had my game face on!

ahem, when i say "game face" i mean that i looked like a zombie.

e hasn't slept much since saturday.

(i'm crying on the inside.)

any hoo! back on subject!

eden was a little unsure of ALL that was going on at church--lots of people and folks she wasn't terribly familiar with doing the "cute baby ambush"... but, she caught on pretty quick and got her 2nd wind.

she did GREAT! she played a few games and proudly flaunted her elmo basket

(i love lee's enthusiastic hands in the side of this picture! :))

so, i know she's my kid and all... but she looked ridiculously cute. i wanted to eat her.

lee dressed up as andy dwyer from parks & rec

...if you watch the show, i think you'll agree with me...

he nailed it.

most of what he had was in his closet... but i hooked him up with a few finishing touches.

i ended up winning 3rd place of 14 or 15? chilis that entered... and the winner was a self-proclaimed cheater. so, what's that make me? 2nd! haha...i even have a trophy!

after eden's candy selections and a dose of steriods, we all had a really long night...

poor e...

she's feeling better, but still wanting to be held at night.

i do cherish those moments--as they are few & far between with her now, but goodness gracious...

it was sorta like the stubborn stand-off at high ~~noon~~ midnight...

once we determined she wasn't in pain, wasn't hungry, didn't have a dirty diaper, etc. etc. etc....

we just had to let her "cry it out"--it nearly killed me.

this lasted OVER AN HOUR.

and it only makes me feel tireder (yes, its a word--that's how tired i am.) when i find out that while i'm at work, she takes a THREE AND A HALF HOUR NAP today...

thanks, eden. i would've loved to have taken part in the siesta.

however, as i type this blog to you--our night tonite is ALREADY better than last night. seriously.

i'm thankful that His mercies are new every morning, and eden's mercies are new every evening.

weekend update

2011-10-22T20:44:00.000-04:00

this will be a quick, choppy post because i'm enjoying life without the computer* (i don't want to get sucked back in)

*i'm still playing with facebook--its a terrible addiction--but i do it mostly from my phone. the computer is a time warp--and facebook is an addiction... its really not a great combination.

e's feeling MUCH better... still a teensy bit of rash left... i'm going to call monday if its not gone by then...

we're having a wonderful weekend with the weather as the metaphorical cherry on top! wow! chilly temps... e is RIDICULOUSLY cute in a down vest... no, really.

last night we had a chillaxin-with-a-capital-c night last night (after a long, productive, and relatively stressful week!)... i grilled out porkchops & had steamed veggies and parmesan bowtie pasta on the side... we played with e, gave her a bath....and after she went to bed, lee and i sat around and watched tv... y'all, its been a long time since we did that... just normal fantastic family stuff!

tonite, lee officiated his first wedding... it was PERFECT! i got a few pics of my maaaaaan doin' his thang.. i'll post later... e had a blast dancing at the reception (imagine that.) and on a side note--she caught a cricket! whaaaaa? she squatted down in the grass, and i looked away for 1 second and she had that cricket who'd been bouncing all over the place in the palm of her hand and was PETTING HIM!... he laid perfectly still until she held out her hand for him to "go bye bye"

...she's the cricket whisperer, i say!

tomorrow we're venturing out to the pumpkin farm after church/nap. not sure which farm yet... should be fun... stay tuned for some lovely fall pics of our sweet girl.

did i mention lee was OFF WORK... FRIDAY.... SATURDAY... AND SUNDAY!! wow. i'm lovin' it.

umm... ok. that's all i wanna say. bye.

frustration: noun meaning....

2011-10-18T21:14:00.000-04:00

got a call from her teacher yesterday, so i picked eden up from school early (which i expected when i dropped her off*), whisked her away to a suite full of highly paid, highly educated, highly intelligent humans who ran numerous tests and examined her for diagnostic markers only for them to tell me she has a "mystery virus" that "should disappear in 24 hours" and a pat on the back partnered with an "i'll call tomorrow to check on her"

*no, i'm not one of "those parents"--she had a horrible night's sleep (read: the LONGEST stretch of sleep she got was 1hr 15mins--and i know what you're thinking--NO, she didn't wake up that frequently when we brought her home from the hospital), but wasn't sick or anything else that would prohibit her from going to school.

today--she's not super duper better...but she's coming along alright. symptoms are different, but her bubbly personality seems to have resurfaced. so, i called the office for the doctor to give me a ring when she got a minute. (wait 2 hours) after a highly unproductive call from the nurse (ahem, i asked for the DOCTOR to call me.), i found out the doctor (who was going to call today) is on vacation until thursday... and i also "learned" the symptoms of dehydration that i should "keep an eye out for" so i'll know when to take her to the emergency room. SERIOUSLY... thanks for that imporant information--i'm pretty sure i would've figured out if my daughter hasn't peed in 24 hours, no tears come out when she cries and her LIPS ARE CRACKING we have a problem. thanks.

missnurselady, can you see if she mentioned anything about keeping an eye out for a uti or bladder infection? "oh, no ma'am, it just says 'mystery virus' on her file............"

wow. thanks. no mention of the strep culture, abdominal rash, irritability, fever on her "file?"

and the part that really irks me is that i LOVE the doctor's and the staff... AT MY OFFICE... but when i call and am unknowingly transferred to the "main campus" office (30 mins away) who don't know my kid from macauley culkin and i get some scripted answer about a problem they SAW WITH THEIR OWN EYES LESS THAN 24 HOURS before this telephone call (AT THE OFFICE TO WHICH I PLACED THE CALL!)... we're gonna have a problem.

missnurselady, can you please take a message for someone call me from my local office? "they're busy today and all their calls are being transferred to us" ....yes, missnurselady, and what does that have to do with what i just asked you to do...a message is something you return when you're, ahem, NOT busy anymore--or, in layman's terms, temporarily caught up.

its 9:05pm... do you think i've heard from them? or, better yet... do you think they got the message? oh, and one parting question to ponder... do you think this will be the last they hear of this?

[deep breath] goodnight. i'm going take advantage of my "cool down period" now.

an old fashioned good time

2011-10-15T21:35:00.003-04:00

today the weather beckoned that wonderful feeling that autumn is here...

our neighborhood had a community yardsale (no, i didn't participate--i generally have better luck selling things for juuuuust about what i pay for them on craigslist...but that's another post, now isn't it?), the air was crisp, and good lawd, THE FAIR'S IN TOWN!

i simply LOVE the fair... the food, the smell, the rides, the people-watching... i don't miss a year... there are years where i've averaged going more than once/day... and there was one particular year where dad picked me up from school and we just went for dinner. come hell or high water--i always go.

as you must with any rambunctious toddler, i meticulously planned our outing for wednesday... we were going early to not encounter those "people" (i use quotes because i'm not entirely sure they're human--i only see them walk the earth during the fair)... and going during a weekday lessens just about everything except the excitement. shorter lines, closer parking, less walking (since you park closer...duh.). and all of that combined means you can do more with an impatient little person.

just as nershi gets a little frisky this time of year (it takes almost an act of congress to get him inside!)... i felt a little like that today too...

we spontaneously decided to go to the fair! me, dad, and eden....

on a saturday

with gorgeous weather

with a bagillion other people. that's NOT an exaggeration.

i kept audibly encouraging myself "we can do this..."

y'all... there was a TON of people there... i can't wait to see the news--it HAD to be a record setting crowd we were smack in the middle of.

eden loved EVERY SECOND OF IT...

the food (al's french fries, orangeade, ham biscuits, chocolate milk, etc. etc. etc...), the people, the side shows (with the puppets), the LIVESTOCK... oh my word. she's in love. we need to visit a farm asap!, the dancing (who DOESN'T love those cute little girls clogging on that stage?), the games (we managed to NOT play any...but they're fun to watch)

the LIVESTOCK? well, it was definitely a highlight. most of the exhibits went something like this:
we spot a cow...
eden: "COW! MOO MOO MOO!!!"
me/dad: "oh, eden... you see the cow? what does he say?"
eden: "meow... ruff ruff... meooooowwwww"

eden: "DOGGGGGGIEEEEEE"
me/dad: "oh, that's a donkey! he says HEE HAW!"
eden: [big laughter] "HEE HAW HEEEEEE HAWWWWWW"

eden: "quack quack"
me/dad: "yes, the ducks"
eden: [turns around] "HEEEEE HAWWWWWW DOGGIE"

...you know, thinking back NOW, i didn't realize how close "donkey" and "doggie" sound alike... oh well.

overstimulated? maybe. but she had a blast!! before we left each exhibit, i could sense a potential meltdown because we "were leaving"... but i reminded her we were going to see more animals... only then would she slowly release her white-knuckled grasp from the safety bars separating us from old macdonald's residents.

and although the little amateur photographer who lives inside of me is disappointed she couldn't take advantage of the fantastic, marvelously exhausting (you only associate those two words when you have a toddler, right?) day... i enjoyed every second of it with eden and dad... the old fashioned way--just enjoying it and not trying to recreate the whole day in pictures for everyone else. what you're about to see below is the only picture i took today...

she loved the piglets... they were SO playful!!

what a fun day!!! thanks, dad... we had a wonderful time... what a fun fair tradition!! :-D

highlights of childhood

2011-10-10T20:46:00.002-04:00

oreo dunking...

if this isn't a highlight of your childhood (or adulthood)

you are SERIOUSLY deprived.

nershi reminded us that sharing is important...

....but not when it comes to oreos.

she's a oreo dunking pro!

and now, thanks to my excellent teaching skills, i must keep any semblance of a blue bag out of site.

if not, immediate epic meltdown ensues.

eden & mama swinging!

2011-10-05T20:36:00.003-04:00

i could listen to these giggles all. day. long. and never get tired of it!

the road less traveled

2011-10-04T19:57:00.002-04:00

i love her "out of the box" thinking... because it just seems too obvious to get in her cozy coupe via the opened door.

surely marching to the beat of her own drum... oh, and of course taking the road less traveled has made some sort of difference.

a newborn-that-isn't-mine photoshoot

2011-10-02T20:50:00.001-04:00

i've had the privilege TWO weekends in a row to photograph the s.w.e.e.t.e.s.t. newborn baby girl...

no, she's not mine--but i might take her.

she's my best friend, shellie's new baby girl HARPER!

this was my first experience taking pictures of...ahem, someone else's baby.

these are all my favorites... i'll leave out the chit-chat. enjoy!

(and remember you can click on the picture to enlarge it!)

i've SO enjoyed "pretending" to be a photographer... been lots of fun and i had some EXCELLENT subjects!

thanks for letting me take your baby, shellie! oh, i mean thanks for letting me take PICTURES OF your baby. ;)

an overnight at nana and papa's

2011-09-25T21:53:00.002-04:00

eden went to stay with nana and papa saturday morning and i met them 1/2 way to pick her up this afternoon. she had lots of fun (she told me.) and apparently caught up on some sleep she missed while she was sick last week.

BUT IN THE MEAN TIME........

i worked (like, at my job...but i did leave early to accomplish the tasks below!)
i cleaned out the guest bedroom closet
organized e's clothes

during:

after:

cleaned out her toybox (you know, christmas is right around the corner)
re-organized the toys (a the "little people" and pieces to her toys end up in the bottom of the toybox...NOT ANYMORE! the little pieces are in their own box!)
cycled out some of her other toys
dusted
swept
mopped
laundry
re-organized the bonus room
sorted out e's baby stuff
donated some things we won't need anymore (as in, we didn't use it the first go-round, we won't need it again)
organized the garage (most of it.)
put some things together to be "craigslisted" (yes, its a verb.)
went to goodwill
cleaned out the fridge
shopped for some essentials (you know, diapers, dog treats and a new fall candle... and a few other things.)
got the kitchen back home

and somewhere in the midst of all that productiveness, i enjoyed a late night dinner with dad, a sunday lunch with my husband, slept in for the first time since i canNOT remember, AND had a newborn photo shoot with the sweetest little photography subject! once her mama makes them public, i may share a few with y'all... i'm pretty excited about them!

this, perhaps, has been my favorite type of weekend... lots of productivity, lots of fun, a teensy bit of "me time" and time with my girl where i wasn't worried about the million other things i have to do or things i'd like to get done when she's in bed (and i'm exhausted and worrying about waking her up.)

funny thing, i skipped my nap today in hopes of an early bedtime... but i'm thinking about re-organizing the kitchen... nah. maybe another day.

oh, and NO. i'm NOT nesting and i'm NOT organizing her baby stuff because we're expecting... yes, I'M SURE. we sorta hit the ground running with her and never seemed to "catch up"--well, until now. :)

the ups and downs of my day

2011-09-23T21:40:00.001-04:00

buckle up, y'all... today COULD have been an emotional rollercoaster

you know, if i was an emotional person.

e woke up at 8am (+)

insisted on taking her snack cup into school (-)

looked SO cute in her new new balance 993s (just like mama!) (+)

got to work and granny got me the cutest "morphing pumpkin" (+)

and as we checked it out and played with it, we discovered it didn't have all the parts (-)

i left work to get my hair cut (+)

wasn't crazy about the way it turned out (-)

(its just a smidge too short--but i'll have a final opinion tomorrow morning after i fix it for myself.... you ladies know how that goes!)

as i was getting my haircut, kim (my stylist) and i were chatting about how great craigslist is, but how i'd had a hard time finding some stuff i wanted for eden, but i'd rather not buy brand spankin' new... and how i really wanted to get her a play kitchen but couldn't find one that was even worth having (they all looked like they'd been left out in the sun for 20 years)

...remember this 2 paragraphs from now...

had a chance to sell some tickets that were given to me for $100 (+)

which i was stoked about!!

then checked my facebook to see that a friend had THIS for sale (+)

got it a while back and her little girl never played with it

(gasp!! too good to be true!?)

its this one for $160...

but i scooped it up for little e for only $80!!!!

(i knew that ticket money would come in handy!)

(++++)

assembled and it looks brand spankin' new!!!

SO. EXCITED.

thanks, lorrie!! :-D

...but pretend you didn't see that--it might show up christmas mornin' or something...

who's got two thumbs and is a happy mama?

this girl!

up and down up and down... but we definitely ended up on a high note!

photography 201: the self portrait

2011-09-21T20:39:00.000-04:00

we begin with a quick refresher course on what we've already learned and snap a few pictures of daddy

(while the camera is still sitting on the counter.)

...and seriously. she looked ridiculously cute today... she's lost any resemblance of a baby.

legs slimming out, getting taller, face not so round...

oh, on to today subject matter...

SELF PORTRAITS.

so, you hit the button while the camera faces the OTHER way... see?

"mama, can we take a picture of my nebulizer pieces"

in this last one, she was in the middle of the word "push"

(she likes to say it e.v.e.r.y. time she hits the shutter button)

you're not allowed

2011-09-19T21:24:00.001-04:00

eden,
you're not allowed to sit in the swing like that. it makes you look too grown up.
love, mama

(you'd never know she's "sick" here in this picture--sick enough to skip school... a weekend full of motrin, nebulizer treatments, and a trip to the specialist for antibiotics for an ear infection. she's resilient, i say!)

party idea

2011-09-15T22:57:00.000-04:00

storing this party idea in my little black book

i laughed so hard, i snorted looking at this RIDICULOUSLY cute party idea!!!! love love love... please enjoy!

apologies

2011-09-15T21:04:00.004-04:00

i've failed to update here recently... i've got lots of excuses and most of them are good.

i was out of town last week and i'm STILL catching up on my kisses... from eden. the dog. and lee, too!

we're headed back to the football game this weekend... except this time WITH DADDY!

and a dear friend shellie is having her baby tomorrow...so, please remember her (and baby, doctors, etc.) in your prayers--as most of you know, this can be an exciting, scary, emotional time with LOTS of new adjustments. life is never the same, is it? :)

that's it for now... we're here... we're busy.

i must take a lot of pictures...

2011-09-06T20:40:00.000-04:00

eden has been very interested lately in my cameras (eh, so have i!)... she sees ME use them and wants to emulate me... and i've gotta admit--she's gotten the hang of it!!

we're learning about videography:

how to turn the camera on:

learning to look through the viewfinder (so funny, because you don't have to do that on this camera--but she sees me use "the big camera")

take a few pics while mama changes your diaper...

and lastly... and most importantly: review your images

jumbled thoughts

2011-09-05T23:22:00.002-04:00

oh man...

after lee and eden went to bed,

i discovered i was (am) not tired and there were clean sheets on the bed

what does that mean?

well, i try to coincide my personal "spa nights" when we have fresh sheets on the bed.

it just makes "spa night" better.

what is "spa night"?

oh come on.... you know what that is.

quiet. uninterrupted. introspective.

"me" time...

i remove the chipped, faded, weathered nail polish that's been painted over and painted over and painted over this summer. filled the tub with the hottest water that can possibly come out of the faucet. i actually use shaving cream to shave my legs...(as opposed to soap or cascading shampoo suds in my normal morning rush). apply my nice lotion after i get out. an extra good floss (yes, an essential part of my personal spa night. i love it.)... with mouthwash. and my special face wash

[enter new woman]

hey... wait a minute.

why don't i do that more often?

i just love when the ~~summer's FINALLY gettin' the heck outta here~~ seasons poetically change.

many people have "spring cleaning"

we have more of a "fall cleaning" around here.

i like to clean off the cluttered places to make room for my fall decorations.

and my snowmen. (many of which from granny t!)

lee always loves the de-cluttering revolution when it comes through

(eh, i do too. but life usually lets the clutter creep back in)

in other news:

eden has discovered her "bee bo"

(belly button)

and depending on what kind of clothes YOU'RE wearing,

she'll show you yours, too.

and as if her simple anatomical discovery couldn't be any cuter,

when she pushes on it, she makes HERSELF laugh.

love.

after a short day at work (1/2 day), dad and i had lunch together and went shopping for little e... fun! then came home to visit granny & grandaddy (tick tock) to find granny had gone shopping TOO!

needless to say, eden is SET for fall...

i work tuesday, wednesday...

then, thursday leave for a business trip

(work? yes.. but certainly a change in gears)

eden will enjoy a weekend at the beach with her kiekie

and bigdaddylee will man the fort

i think my brain is confused for my change of pace from these last few days and for the days ahead...

i'm havin' to spend more time thinkin' about what i'm doing instead of being stuck in my normal routine

...not a bad thing, but i'm sure by this time next week, i'll be glad to jump back into normal.

so, with that being said, this may be the last post for a few days.

but most of y'all keep up with us via facebook anyway :)

welp, my freshly exfoliated skin is going to go enjoy my dryer-fresh sheets.

g'nite.

first football game of 2011

2011-09-04T21:54:00.000-04:00

i will add captions & descriptions later...

but, i'm pretty sure you'll get the idea of whether or not eden had fun.

a year and a half.

2011-09-01T21:02:00.001-04:00

WHAT?!

someone PLEASE make it stop... i cannot possibly be the mother of a year-and-a-half old.

75% of TWO?

we're 1/2 way to THREE!?!

...ok, i'll stop.

head circumference: 47 cm (50-75%)

weight: 24lb 4oz (50%)

height: 32.5 inches (75%)

favorite activities:

talking on the phone

talking to strangers

watching any tv show with singing

(barney, sesame street, etc.)

playing dress up (mainly with jewelry...for now)

finding doggies

...funny story about this one--dad and i were out in a restaurant and eden kept pointing saying "DOGGIE DOGGIE" to which i replied "oh, no eden--they don't have doggies in restauruants" but she insisted--so i figured out what she was pointing at... the tiniest little white dog in a painting on the OTHER SIDE of the dining area. sheesh. so, now, its how i keep her busy and occupied-- "eden, where are the doggies?"

playing outside

swinging

reading books

singing songs (itsy bitsy spider, wheels on the bus, abc's, etc.)

playing with her shoes, my shoes, lee's shoes, anyone's shoes that aren't on their feet.

running (riding in the stroller) with her daddy

carrying around her treasures

treasures include but are not limited to: motrin, orajel, travel size containers of anything she finds in my bathroom drawer, keys/keychains, her medicine dropper, nail polish...

you get the idea. tiny things that aren't "hers".
(there are so many things i'm leaving out... i'll add them as i think of them)

...

the tantrums appear to have arrived--like, IN FULL FORCE. they've been making small appearances here and there... but now... they're HERE. like, slam-her-head-down-on-the-concrete-sidewalk or wallow-in-the-middle-of-the-floor-at-the-doctors-office (i cannot tell you how many times i bathed her that night.)

me? i'm doing ok ignoring/managing them... unless we're at a restaurant. that's where she always wins. maybe she won't figure that one out. 90%+ of her tantrums spawn from her wanting to be more independent than she should be (holding the glass of tea by herself, etc.)--i still haven't figured out where she gets that one.

she's not gotten the hang of us dropping her off at school yet--but i'm trying to be patient... the teacher constantly assures me that she's fine/not crying/playing with the other kids before i'm even back to my car.

and i'm still not having any luck with her eating much meat--beyond THINLY sliced deli meat and maybe 1/8 of 1 chick-fil-a nugget. i'm REALLY NOT concerned about this--i've been wanting to jump back on with my skinny b!tch/food challenge--but haven't had the time to have a long, productive, thoughtful grocery shopping trip... ah, i digress.

she puts herself to bed now... (is that normal at this age?). she could be in the middle of a puzzle or a book and i say "eden, are you ready to go to bed and listen to your music?" she drops what she's doing and marches up the stairs. waits by the crib until someone hoists her in there to tuck her in. melt.my.heart.

she loves mr. wolf (the nc state mascot)--i can't wait to see her reaction when she REALLY meets mr. wolf saturday... fingers crossed--i'm predicting a meltdown when he must move on to the next eager fans.

we'll see.

i am so in love with this little person... its ridiculous how much we love her. really. she makes me so proud when she does the simplest things or comes up to give me a hug. there is no way to measure the insurmountable joy she has brought to me, lee, our families or our home. --i know y'all get tired of hearin' that at the end of every milestone post--but i could do it at the end of EVERY post and i still don't think i could say it enough.

sorry no pics--yeah yeah... well i just posted some YESTERDAY.

lens learning

2011-08-31T20:45:00.000-04:00

so, after learning (and i'm still learning) a bit more about my camera dad got me some loot for my camera!

awesome.

i got a zoom lens, some cool filters, a strap, a bag, and a new lens that has no zoom at all on it

it has a wide open aperture that lets in lots of light and yields a fast shutter.

(i think that's the right explanation--again, i know how it works--

i'm not learning it to explain it to everyone. haha)

so, this lens is great for portraits--it makes everything in the background blurry

see?

i want to play with it outside later this week... and i think i might need to adjust a few camera settings

but either way, i had a good time playing around with it tonite...

i snapped a few pics during tub time tonite...

you don't get as much of the blurry background (ahem, "minimized distractions"),

because its all white--nothing to blur...

i wish this next one was just a teensy bit more in focus (operator error)

this picture is so "her"

splash, splash, splash!!

...stay tuned for more results from my experiments. haha

zoom lenses, filters, who knows what sort of photographic concoctions i'll be coming up with!

hurricane readiness--preschool style

2011-08-27T22:02:00.002-04:00

first, you gotta hunker in the bunker.

drink plenty of milk

(but, that's just a good idea in general.)

make sure if when you track in water, you don't slip and fall

(those are supposed to be in the bottom of the tub, but my precious daughter stuck them to the floor)

and lawdymercy, don't let the humidity get the best of your hair...

put it in a PONYTAIL!

and once the storm is over,
survey the damage

go outside and discover all the creatures the storm left behind

...like the not-so-itsy-bitsy ~~spider~~ praying mantis

and a froggie...RIBBIT!

enjoy the view

and listen to daddy play music

(and say "hey doggie" to all the doggies out for their evening stroll)

other steps not pictured:

-take a nap when the power goes out

-go visit granny becuase she has a generator and a feast

(ham, macaroni&cheese, butter beans, sweet potato casserole)

...yes, all of EDEN's favorites--but the rest of the family enjoyed them, too!

and THAT'S how you survive hurricane irene!

a night at home

2011-08-15T19:48:00.000-04:00

whew, seems these last few weeks have been busy...

even our "nights at home" have been hectic

especially if they are nights following days that were at SCHOOL.

today, i had an unexpected follow up at the dentist and picked up

a sushi dinner for me and eden to enjoy as soon as i picked her up from school

...this was so nice because i had dinner ready as soon as we walked in the door

without necessarily having "fast food"

i could watch this girl eat sushi all day long!

cram it in!

and alas, another TREASURE sent home from school today...

A BOAT!

...with an orange triangle, no less.

that's been the focus of some of the lessons recently.

this work of art is most definitely framable!

...the book is hard to frame... but, THIS i can do!

photographic update

2011-08-14T21:51:00.001-04:00

so, i mentioned a while back that my super duper equally-as-fabulous half got me a cool book to help me learn a bit more about my camera...

i don't know if its really paying off, or if my photography subject just keeps getting cuter.

eh, maybe its a bit of both.

these last few days i've gotten some great pictures of her... its times like this when i realize i need to keep my camera a bit more handy... i love taking pictures with it!!

these first few were of eden in her bama shirt from kiekie & pop... and i happened to find on of her bouncy footballs in the yard... ROLL TIDE!

e likes to "high five" while she's swinging... and a very observant courtney noticed that she's carrying my makeup around... her "treasure"

and i consider myself to be in an elite group...

a group that gets to experience their daughter AND their makeup going down the slide.

rainbows, iPhone... yep, she's got the girl thing down pat!

she wanted to put daddy's runnin' shoes on before they went for their run...

and that brown strip of leather is not my belt, its eden's "nake" (snake)

--she likes to make it squiggle and squirm as she slings it around...

and this last one makes me laugh out loud...

i'm surprised she stayed still long enough for me to get this picture.

a sweet surprise

2011-08-13T20:55:00.000-04:00

i left my camera on the table between my chair & the sofa this afternoon...

and someone learned to push the "big shiny button" all by herself.

several times.

...just when i think i couldn't love her any more than i already do.

lesson learned

2011-08-12T20:13:00.000-04:00

eden loves sitting on the bathroom counter while i do my makeup/get ready/fix hair...whatever it is that i do in the morning to whatever extent. ha.

most mornings, she finds a new "treasure" and insists on carrying it around... sometimes she'll emulate what i do with it (she'll try to put on the jewelry or wipe the makeup sponges on her face), and sometimes she just pretends that my compact is an iPhone... they do look remarkably similar.

on this particular day, eden decided to try to get the top off of my deodorant

when she was successful, i gently told her

"no ma'am, that's not going to taste good. do not put that in your mouth"

in what seemed like slow motion, she cut her eyes at me and preceded to take a bite out of my

degree "shower clean" scented deo...

[cue the screaming, slobbering toddler]

"eden, i tried to warn you that wouldn't taste good!"

...slobber...slobber...

as i finish wiping the white chunks out of her mouth i asked,

"let's get something to wash your mouth out"

she replied "JUICE!!!!!!! MILK!! JUICE JUICE JUICE"

hahaha...

we're learning... we both are.

how to handle tantrums...

mama's not always the bad guy...

oh yeah, and tastes and textures.

a first

2011-08-10T19:59:00.000-04:00

after a long day of what was supposed to be a "minor dental procedure" that turned into even more than the dentist imagined... i had my mind made up to come home and just play in the floor with my precious girl to end the day on a high note...

little did i know, eden was bringing home her first work of art from school...

a book!!

please notice the lovely blue/orange coloring she did on her book

i do NOT consider it a coincidence that the "doggie doggie" page is more heavily colored than the rest

...and i would also like to mention that she carried it to me and said

"hey diddle diddle book"

yes, very similar to her trademark "deedle deedle"

but as we read the book,

she said "hey diddle diddle" [page turn]

"moo" [page turn]

"doggie doggie" [page turn]

"fish" (which happens to sound alot like the word "dish")

i am SO proud...what a work of art! fine/gross motor skills, using her words, AND reading!?!?!

SO proud of my big girl!!!!

my little big girl

2011-08-08T20:55:00.000-04:00

eden will occasionally walk with her hands behind her back...

like this:

" why?" you ask?

...because her great-granny pat walks like that...

i didn't immediately pick up on this little tid-bit of knowledge ifyouwill,

but kiekie did... she immediately said "LOOK! SHE'S WALKIN' LIKE YOUR GRANNY PAT"

...yep, she was right. she always is.

and now, miss big girl likes to wear mama's flip flops around...

and she's pretty good at it...

nershi gets a bit confused from time to time... but he's learning, too :)

we are constantly left breathless at the wonderful person she is and is becoming...

she is seriously so. much. fun... lee and i are usually bored watching tv less than 10 minutes after she's in bed. every waking hour is full of laughter, learning, love, and milk.

milk is a key component to the above.

our days look a lot like this:

and tonite in the tub, eden pretended she was a shark... silly.

(notice the face...not just the hair)

redneck rain gauge

2011-08-06T21:28:00.001-04:00

y'all... we had us TOAD STRANGLER today.

wut's that, you ask? wellsir, its when it rains a heck-of-a-lot in new york minute.

'cept the "new york minute" was all mornin' long.

i been wantin' to show y'all muh redneck rain gauge.

i'mma tell ya right now, this thang wuz EMPTY this morning when i had to head on in to the shop.

and when i got home, it looked like 'dis.

now, this here pool belongs to muh best gal, eden. its probly more'n 6 eenches deep.

welp, i gotta get off this here computer... the ole ball 'n chain's wantin' to check the nascar standin's.

g'nite, y'all.

well, it IS that time of year...

2011-08-05T22:10:00.000-04:00

the time of year where...

the hurricanes seem to be brewing

i start getting REALLY tired of this weather
...no, wait... i'm tired of being REALLY tired of this weather.

i begin longing (yes, pun intended) for my long-sleeved tees... and denim... and fleece jackets... and sweaters

i find it easy to complain about things... my electric bill, the temp inside the car after you're done "mall-walking", feeling sweaty, not feeling like cooking, getting tired of wearing summer clothes... i try not to sound ungrateful, but its easy to slip into that... i just feel grumpy.

tax-free weekend... which means i won't see my husband. its like he's out of town on a business trip.

i really am thankful... but for whatever reason, i sometimes wonder if this is how people feel in the deep, dark cold of the winter: just plain old tired of it. i'm beginning to wonder if i'm just wired a little differently... well, i suppose we already knew that, didn't we?

so, i try to think about the good things...

i get excited about all the school supplies at target/walmart... its the promise of autumn.

this is the time of year where the summer thunderstorms are the best!

we begin getting b.u.s.y. at work (this is a good thing...makes work lots of fun--but exhausting)

the decorating holidays are approaching... fall, halloween, thanksgiving, christmas, and finally easter. (i know what you're thinking--and no, hanging an american flag isn't "decorating"--its just plain patriotic.)

...yeah, its a rambling post... but its my blog.

the best things in life...

2011-08-03T15:45:00.000-04:00

kiekie found a SUH-WEET elmo chair this weekend...

a woman who lived right on "the loop" at wrightsville was getting rid of things she had at her house that her grandson had outgrown... mom (walking the loop) told the lady she'd DEFINITELY take it, but was halfway through walking... she'd come back and get it if she'd just put it up for her...so, she did!

kiekie gave elmo a good bath and brought him along...

he seriously looks brand new..

...it was LOVE. AT. FIRST. SIGHT.

i love that little sleepy-eyed smile.

...oh, goodness that reminds me... i never posted about all the goodies i got at kohl's...

(she's actually wearing one of the pajama tops in the above picture...)

preschool!

2011-08-03T15:30:00.000-04:00

wow... i haven't given the official preschool update because i simply don't know where to begin!

the transition has been seamless!!

day 1:

she seemed curious of her new surroundings, found an elmo doll... and of course her cousin owen

didn't cry out for me or chase me when i left.

took a 2 1/2 hour nap (the entire time allotted) on her "big girl cot"

fingerpainted (i canNOT wait for them to send that little orange triangle home!!)

at all of her lunch and both of her snacks...

lee and i BOTH went to pick her up (he'd not seen it yet), and she smiles and ran right to us!

..oh, did i mention she STILL had elmo when we walked in to pick her up? :)

the director and teacher had warned me that sometimes day 2 is the bigger problem... they become more aware of what's going on and don't want you to leave...

..so, i was ready.

day 2:

she seemed to cut her eyes at me when i put her down...

but then found owen (again) and started doing a puzzle

...problem? what problem!! this girl is such a champ!

i'm leaving in a few minutes to go pick her up...

we're having dinner in rocky mount tonite with mk, lucy, and earl...

but i'm sure today was just as much of a success!

she's already acting more grown up and since yesterday has been saying some two-word phrases...

i'll give a more complete update if i get around to doing a 17 month update...

but if not, her 18 month update is in a little more than 2 weeks...

so i can update with doctor stuff and developmental stuff :)

after MORE than 17 months...

2011-08-03T15:17:00.001-04:00

...i'm proud to say that i finished eden's nursery today.

yes, you're reading that correctly...

i finished her nursery while she was at preschool.

hahah...

so, i had several pictures to hang and her mirror(s) that i just couldn't decide how to arrange them... but today i did it and finally pulled the trigger.

i've been inspired by one of my best buds (shellie) who is about to have her baby and during a conversation we had recently, she was concerned because her nursery wouldn't be finished before we hosted her shower on sunday... my response? "oh, its quite alright...i'm still not done with edens"

oh, and sorry for the not-so-great quality pictures... i wasn't going back downstairs just to get a better camera. the phone had to suffice.

here's her book case... with a gorgous shadow box/poem/painting a friend made for us

(i should've taken a close up of the picture...maybe later.)

and my favorite wall... with the tree and the bench from her great-granny t!

alas... a random, yet organized assortment of circle mirrors...

and of course her crib with the letters i got from the alphabet boutique

and while i was changing her sheets...(which i guess i normally do in the dark or while i'm not paying attention to other things)... i notice THIS!!....

apparently the last time i looked at this "problem" it was right after her first two bottom teeth came in....

good greif... my termite daughter has nearly devoured her crib. poor girl... we gotta start feeding her more snacks.

silly faces

2011-07-29T10:35:00.001-04:00

she's getting tired of me kissin' on her.

oh well.

the family tree

2011-07-28T20:34:00.000-04:00

in eden's class, her teacher came up with a super cute idea for when they get "homesick"

she's made a tree on the back of one of the doors in the room

and each family brings a photo of mama, daddy & child

when they get whiny or cry for mama/daddy,

she takes them to the tree and shows them his/her family!

so, i thought i'd share with you our "family picture" that we took this morning...

....somehow it perfectly depicts "us"... haha

almost there

2011-07-27T04:45:00.000-04:00

please don't look at the time stamp on this post...

and if you do look at it, know that its NOT an auto-post.

i can't sleep.

probably because i'm too excited

and my mind runs constantly thinking about

PRESCHOOL!

i realize there will be an adjustment period,

but i just get so excited thinking about it.

she's ready.

really ready.

i'll probably be a ball of nerves on monday,

but now--i'm so excited FOR HER.

i see her playing pretend and her imagination running constantly

and its another reminder of what a blessing she is to our family.

she loves to sing itsy-bitsy spider and wheels on the bus

and dance to any kind of music...

...any kind (yes, that includes lee's taste AND mine)

even commercial jingles :)

she likes to hug her friends and give hi-fives and blow kisses

and is talking c.o.n.s.t.a.n.t.l.y.

(no, i don't always know what she's saying... but she's saying SOMETHING!)

i can't wait until my fridge is plastered with projects and crafts

and i'm looking forward to watching her blossom

(even more so than she already is)

she is just so smart... i'm constantly amazed!

i hope she never extinguishes her desire for learning...

ok... i'm gonna try to go back to sleep.

again.

hey, mr. wuf

2011-07-21T21:22:00.000-04:00

hey, mr. wuf

scoot over!!

you can ride with me...

TO PRESCHOOL!!!

...starting august 1st!

we're looking forward to seeing our smart girl in a more structured, challenging environment! she'll be in her cousin owen's class... going all day on mondays, wednesdays and fridays... i had the opportunity to meet her teacher and tour the school yesterday and i could NOT be more excited!

stay tuned :)

my water baby

2011-07-20T11:32:00.000-04:00

while we were on vacation, lee got me a "d40x for dummies" book at barnes & noble... i've been wanting to do MORE with my camera... i already love it and know a few things about it, but its capable of so much more than what i use it for... so, after reading the first few chapters, i was able to try a few new things out when we went to the beach.

it was e's first time with her toes in the sand (and ocean)... she. loved. it. so, naturally, that made for a great photography subject. the sky was overcast which made for some great lighting! i took about 100 pictures, but these are my favorites... hope you enjoy them!

this next picture was accidental... making the water crystal clear and e blurry... i love the way it turned out and am learning about how to do that "on purpose" :)

miss independent...

she loves to play "mama's gonna get you"... we do that alot.

one picture

2011-07-18T22:36:00.000-04:00

oh, faithful blog readers, you'll be thrilled to hear that i took LOTS of pictures on our latest beach trip.

however, i've yet to find the time to POST them all. so, i'll leave you with this one. just one.

...but its a doozie!!

until i post the rest, i'll let you try to guess whether eden liked the water or not :)

see ya, wouldn't wanna be ya!

2011-07-08T21:40:00.002-04:00

we're headed out on vacation... gone to the beach... post updates when we return

caption this photo, please!

2011-07-06T17:33:00.001-04:00

extreme sale shopping.. kohl's edition

2011-07-05T21:30:00.001-04:00

i'm NOT a couponer... i wish i had the patience, but...

..i don't.

however, i have managed to figure out how to play the kohl's game

(without getting their credit card. no thanks)

shopping their big sales... especially the ones where they give kohl's cash

"what's kohl's cash", you ask?

kohl's cash is where they give you money to come back and shop later. no strings attached.

essentially, its a gift card.

this go 'round, they gave you $10 for every $50 you spent... so, that's 20% back.

so, here's SOME of my loot from their last sale...

7 bottoms

10 tops

1 dress

and THESE

i've been looking for a "girly pair of keens" for my little sidekick for.ev.er.

but i really didn't want to PAY for keens... only for her to outgrow them at lightening pace...

the shoes were on sale for $10... and all the clothes up in the first picture were about $30...

i think the most expensive thing (other than the shoes) i got for eden was the carter's dress in the middle--it was $6--but so so cute... i couldn't resist! the rest were all mixed up clearance jewels... you do the math... taking the dress out, i spent about $24 for 17 items... that's less than $1.50

AND I GET TO GO BACK AND GET $30 WORTH OF STUFF FOR FREEEEE.

i also got some stuff for me that i didn't take a picutre of... a dress, 5 camis (i wear one every.single.day. under my shirts!), a pair of shorts, several tops--some casual and some dressy, and some new undies (like you care?!)... even a few elmo books for eden... sale sale sale...

i went a couple of times... once with a "one time use" $5 coupon, and two times with my "take an additional 15% off" coupon... i spent right at $150 TOTAL (combined trips and my "total savings" at the bottom of my receipt was OVER $400 when all is said and done)... which is how i got the $30 in kohl's cash...

so, i'm planning to spend my free $30 this week while we're in wilmington...
because i've raided the local kohl's of everything i want for eden next year and even some stuff for THIS fall!

i love kohl's.
it fills the little hole in my heart that i have when i see my friends posts about how great they did "triple couponing" at the grocery store. not sure i'll ever have the time to organize such a grocery raid.

maybe i'll post what i get for free this weekend... suh-weet!

brunswick stew

2011-07-02T20:38:00.001-04:00

today, eden took part in a rich family tradition... she stirred her first brunswick stew!!

(you can refresh your memory here.)

i love this picture of these two!!

and i love it when i see eden doing things that i remember doing as a child! fun stuff!

hope you guys have a happy 4th...

we don't have a whole lot planned...

on purpose.

i went to the grocery store today with ZERO list...
...the week before vacay.

big mistake. oh well.

they had samples of boston creme pies.
...and they were on sale.
it tastes so much better when i'm on the sofa in my pj's and a cup of milk
than it did in that little plastic cup with the world tiniest spoon.

mom of the year--exhibit 2

2011-06-29T21:22:00.000-04:00

exhibit 1 (scroll to last picture)

exhibit 2...

my "helper" in action...

"helping" me load the dishwasher..

the part of the scene not pictured:

as i was prepping to soak the pyrex dish with the baked-on casserole stuff

(read: i took my eyes off of her for .2345 seconds),

eden got a dirty spoon out of the dishwasher

and licked off the stuck-on sweet potato casserole.

awesome.

home alone

2011-06-23T20:54:00.000-04:00

now, i'm not much of a scaredy cat, but when i come home to an empty house

(lee is on yet another concert adventure...)

hop outta my car and begin to walk around to get our precious daughter out of her carseat and see

THIS:

i may or may not pee in my pants.

father's day weekend and a wordy update on life

2011-06-20T21:28:00.000-04:00

what a great weekend!! we enjoyed celebrating all the wonderful men in our family!!

lee got his car washed and some new seat covers in an effort to improve what i now call the "locker room on wheels"... whew. just take a big whiff in your mind. BOOM! you're there. in lee's ride!

but NOW, its better. :) with an extra squirt or seven of "new car scent" from the guys at autobell... you're welcome, america.

i had some great girl-time this weekend, enjoyed time with nearly all of our families and even went to a new sunday school.

its hard to explain, but lee and i (maybe more me than the pair of us) have been going through a bit of emotional pruning... and maybe even some spiritual spring cleaning. i think God has a way of sometimes starting something like this by throwing pebbles at your window as opposed to fireworks and banner planes. you know, like the friend who politely passes you a piece of gum as opposed to tagging you and your smelly breath in their facebook post.

was it one earth-shattering, life-altering moment? no.

sometimes its the subtle, discreet signals that get your wheels turning.

although they usually require some awkwardly painful moments, i most enjoy these times when you feel like you have a fresh start and a 2nd (or 100th) chance. one simple thing can start a revolution... maybe not that kind of revolution... but a self revolution.

i'm pretty sure of myself. sometimes a little TOO sure. but when something comes along and makes you question the tiniest of things its like a spark. it inspires me to really re-think and reflect and even refocus things. it inspires a facebook friend purge (down from 1600ish to 995 thankyouverymuch) it un-muddies the water that so effiecently clouded your vision.

now are all aspects of a self-revolution deep and introspective? of course not. in the beginning of this newest chapter, i've cleaned off my (hideous) desk at work... tidied up my inbox (and the trash folder)... yeah, along with the facebook purge.

so far, i'm really enjoying this most recent awakening. not wasting my time on things or people that aren't worth my time. i've been enlightened to new activities and people that really ARE worth my time and don't cause me quite so much grief... i've learned that through thick and thin, lee is REALLY my best friend--he has supported me emotionally in ways that i didn't know i needed support. my defender to the bitter end.

is it an "awakening" or is it just growing up? and when exactly will i be DONE growing up? either way, i'm likin' the new me. slowly and surely lee and i are finding our way, growing our marriage, learning more about each other, and learning about being the best possible example for eden.

sorry... are you still reading?! i didn't mean to get this deep... but its been an ongoing topic of discussion now for several weeks.

...and i'm thinking about re-reading "skinny bitch".... but that just opens a whole 'nother can of worms now doesn't it?

queen eden

2011-06-16T20:47:00.000-04:00

...eden, if i get elmo and your milk, will you put away your angry eyes?

and here's a flashback of "queen eden" sitting in our [old] recliner in june 2010...

and this last one is proof that uneven pigtails are cute on little girls :)

(uneven pigtails is most often what you get when you have to do her hair in .034 seconds before she realizes what you've done. then play an extra showy game of itsy bitsy spider with her hands to keep her from touching them)

smiley pooch

2011-06-15T07:35:00.000-04:00

i love this dog and am always amazed at how smart he is!

...doesn't he have a beautiful smile?

another week come and gone...

2011-06-12T21:32:00.000-04:00

wow... i commented yesterday at work how SLOW it seemed this past week went by, but apparently it went a little faster than i thought... because its been a week since i blogged... sorry!

i rearranged the living room (for the 923748th time) last night and i'm having trouble locating my camera cord... but never the less, i have persevered so that you, eden's loyal fans, can enjoy a few snapshots from today.

...and periodically, i look at "last years pics"...

wow.. what a difference a year makes!

life was so "simple" then... an immobile human who wouldn't go anywhere when i laid her down.

i STILL say its easier to have a walking toddler than a non-walking one... yep, still stickin' to my guns on that one. because i don't HAVE to carry her everywhere... whew.

just too cute.

2011-06-05T21:36:00.000-04:00

one and one quarter

2011-06-03T21:24:00.001-04:00

15 months?

are you kidding me?

my what a joy.

she is so stinkin' fun... i love every minute of my time with her...

her free spirit radiates to everyone she meets

she's talking up a storm

saying: mama, dada, elmo, dog, kitty, juice, book, tick-tock, ball, kiekie, nana, papa, emmy, milley, ner (nershi), bone, and i'm pretty sure she's started saying pool (she's not said it in the appropriate context, so i won't officially count it yet)

she can find the features of your face (ex. "where's mama's nose?", etc)

she loves to sing and dance and is an absolute fish in the water.

fearless.

kicking her legs, going down the slide, going under the water...

ahem...mama's checking into some swimming lessons for the summer...

...but none of the "pool stuff" should come as a surprise... since day 1 the girl would play in a cup of water if you gave it to her... baths, puddles, kiddie pools, the sink... i could go on :)

she loves sesame street, bob the builder (just the opening theme song), all of her books, dogs--she likes to "open mouth kiss them" wow., swinging, going down the slide, playing hard to get, pushing her babydolls in her stroller, feeding herself yogurt, playing her xylophone, pointing, making silly noises, drinking out of the faucet, drinking out of a glass (with and without a straw), sushi, and more things i'm forgetting.

her top teeth have FINALLY arrived...

she's walking and NEARLY running everywhere

...which i STILL say is WAY EASIER than having a crawler.

there are days she wakes up and i think she looks just like lee...

and there are days where it appears i have cloned myself

...just perfect. a good mixture.

doctor stats?

31" tall (75%)

22.25 lbs. (50%)

47cm head circ. (90%)

tall and skinny with a big brain. ha.

enough of all the mumbo-jumbo, you want PICTURES!

these are from the tub tonite... enjoy!

...i could LITERALLY eat her hair. i love it that much.

...and last but not least, she had her first set of PIGTAILS THIS WEEK!! yay!!

a photographic "thank you"

2011-06-01T12:39:00.002-04:00

well, thanks for ALLL the opinions on my last post!! y'all inspired me to weed my facebook garden. :)

i'm down to about 1000... but i'd REALLY like to be at about 700... we'll see....

so, as a "thank you" for all of your help, i thought i'd share some of our latest pictures...

...what's that?

oh... yeah, and because i PROMISED i'd share pictures with you!

here's some different angles of our new "home within our home"...the swingset!!

eden's LOVIN' it! seems like we're out there all the time! mama and daddy have sweat a lot and eden has been graced with the cool breezes of swinging back and forth!

this next one is from the back corner of the set (looking back towards our deck that you can't see)

you can see the back window with the flower box and the door with the 1/2 wall and even the completed 1/2 wall under the slide/climbing ramp

mama took e's picture from inside the play house... PEEK-A-BOO

e and her daddy (oh, yes, and the snack cup) before the pool!

ok, so i knew she would love the pool... but not THIS MUCH! she saw the big kids going down the slide and she had to do it too!!

puh-LEASE click to enlarge and look at her face in this picture!!

dunk her under water...

pick her right back up...

and she points to DO IT AGAIN!!!

...and again

...and again!!!

when the lifeguards blew the whistle for break, she wandered around making new friends and finding out what sort of snacks everyone brought. she eventually settled with some perfect strangers (well, strangers to her--i knew them!) and enjoyed their goldfish and sugar wafers!

she had ZERO interest in hangin' out with mama and "aunt" emily and aunt lisa...

and this last one i just think is too cute!

eden loves spaghetti... annnnd so does the dog :)

love those blue eyes!

we're headed back to the pool this afternoon...

catch y'all later!

opinions, please!

2011-05-28T21:00:00.001-04:00

ok...

facebook friend question here... just because you went to high school with someone, does that mean you have to be friends with them on facebook??

i was a senior class officer, thus, making me eternally partially responsible for the organization of our high school reunions--so, at some point, i do need to get in touch with some of these people...

please try to answer with more than a "yes" or "no"...

gosh, if i wasn't so dern nosy, i could delete about 800 people off of my facebook...

i'm really wanting to cut back, but feel some sort of "obligation" to keep some people on my facebook that i really couldn't care less about...

please respond even if you're an "anonymous" reader... i really want to get lots of opinions here.

thoughts?

ready... set... GO!

the big reveal

2011-05-26T21:23:00.001-04:00

ta-da!!!

its hard to tell, but under neath the "fort" up top, its closed in--like a play house... the wall that faces the street has a window cut in with a flower box outside, theres a window in the wall that faces the swings... a 1/2 wall "counter top" under the slide and a doorway with a 1/2 wall on the side opposite of the swing side... its floored in with a climbing ramp (my opinion, a little safer than a traditional ladder.) and a SLIDE! and two swings.... lots of fun with a small "footprint"...PERFECT!

(i'll post better pics tomorrow...when i thought about taking more pics, it was dark tonite!)

she.

loves.

it.

as soon as we walked outside this afternoon after we got home from work/play, she started pointing and kicking her feet around--nearly jumped out of my arms...

(cue the melted heart.)

one of the neighbors (addison) came over today and played with eden (which she also LOVED)

i have more pictures but am much too tired to post any more now...

...but i didn't want to leave you in suspense any longer (in case you don't check my facebook.)

if you're thinking of putting ANYTHING like this in your backyard,

give mark drummond a call at backyard playgrounds

he's based out of the apex/holly springs area, but has a shop out our way, too...

he travels all over the place!

he's extremely reasonably priced and does ENTIRELY CUSTOM work!!

check out his facebook page, too and see some of the wonderful testimonials and pictures of

his AWESOME work... swingsets, treehouses, catwalks, and some stuff even connected into the family's deck (whoa!)

seriously, we paid what i could've gotten a cheap one installed from lowe's or home depot, but got hand cut lumber and a custom design for our small, fenced-in yard... or even a cheap in-the-box set for and paid someone to put together (which means you'd STILL have a cheap play set that won't last!)

...not to mention the only time i broke a sweat over this thing today was pushing my elated daughter (and elmo) in her swing! didn't even get my hands dirty :)

this thing is sturdy enough for ME to climb up in the fort up top... or play with her in the play house...

worth. every. dime.

i am SO looking forward to YEARS of fun with this thing

....can't wait for lee to see it :)

last shot of our "boring" backyard

2011-05-25T11:36:00.000-04:00

i'm enjoying my day off with lee and eden before lee sets out on his road trip...

he's headed to summer camp and

eden and i plan on enjoying the new swingset that will arrive TOMORROW!!

a typical fun day off for us...

mama got to sleep in a bit

headed out to eat lunch when eden wakes up from her nap

a trip to target

home to play outside in the pool!

happy wednesday!

summer is just around the corner

2011-05-23T21:42:00.001-04:00

...well, if its not ALREADY HERE...

i'm SO looking forward to this summer... well, that in itself is an accomplishment for me :) (i ALREADY have 5 mosquito bites.)

eden's swingset arrives (is built) this week... then the POOL opens this weekend... and next weekend? ELMO AT SESAME STREET LIVE! i can't wait to see her face when elmo comes on stage!!

summer is a little different this year than previous years... i can tell that i'm getting older... because i have finally found some shorts that i like to wear... and i don't care who sees my pasty white legs... its really freeing!! i have a husband, daughter, friends and family that love me no matter what... and heck, i'm still gonna look like i'm 25 when i'm 50... and all my tanning bed lovin' friends will look like they're 70!

summer just seems so much more fun and exciting with a toddler... there's fun for HER and that means lots of fun for me and lee!!

we've already enjoyed our pool here at home... popsicles... playing with the neighbors... ice cream... swinging... so exciting! she is just at the most fun age and her personality is amazing... i'm seriously in love with this kid--and the fact that she's mine compounds that love by a million!

brain dump

2011-05-20T21:18:00.000-04:00

get ready... an update... one long run on sentence. well, maybe two or three.

lee and i have been a little under the weather this week... lee's was stomach related and mine was sinus pressure/ear ache/rough throat stuff... went to san antonio texas for a business trip (despite being sick) and thanks to the adjustment of cabin pressure, a layover, and a 2nd super short flight (HELLOOOOO CABIN PRESSURE) from dallas to san antonio i have a ruptured ear drum....i literally felt like i birthed a child as the landing gear came out. yes, i was even doing breathing exercises. i'm preeeetty sure the lady next to me thought i needed....well, SOMETHING.

slept terribly while i was in texas... missed lee, eden, and nershi terribly... congestion and achy ears prohibited good sleep... coming home i was "that lady" on the plane--i coughed the ENTIRE way home... super.

fortunately, nana offered to keep eden thursday night so i could get some rest after going to the urgent care for some drugs. but i didn't rest... back to work today for a day of catch up... but while i was at target yesterday afternoon i picked up a bottle of what has become my most favorite nail polish...as a life-long nail biter because of self-diagnosed "perfection ocd" i'm trying to find way to keep my nails done and not WANT to bite/pick at them...so i've been painting these awesome press-on nails i get from target... its a french manicure... and its totally legit--i did these $5 suckers for my wedding--and several friends' wedding... i fix my nails, cut them as short as possible with the nail clipper then paint right over top of them!!

and i have been doing some champagne-y colors... and even several hues of pink... recently i've bought this cool cameleon blue/green color... i love the look of the dark fashionable nail polish on other girls, but was pretty positive i could never pull that look off... until i saw this eggplant-y color...

its called "save the date"...date...like a prune...get it? i'm in love. seriously... i have ZERO desire to mess with my nails... although the dark color more easily shows flaws of my not-so-professional paint job... i don't care...i love the color and the contrast with my pasty white skin. i would love to stop biting my nails before eden realizes what i'm doing :)

and as long as i can keep my stress level manageable, i'm pretty sure a $5 manicure once a week is totally do-able :) ...as for the "splurge" of buying a new color every time i walk past the cosmetics aisle... well, its either that or a candy bar... and i figure one day really soon eden will be begging for these crazy colors on her nails as we play pretend nail salon.

the swing set will be built on may 26 and i can hardly wait!!! eden is walking all over the place...i'd say walking to crawling ratio is now 40-60.... and her two little bottom teeth that she's had since thanksgiving will finally have some up-top companions...her top two teeth are HERE! at last!! orajel and elmo are her bff's...

i swear i will upload some pics soon... i have plenty of eden--walking, smiling, playing with her food... some from my trip to texas... and some great pictures i took when my cousin, caleb had his prom last week...i took the pictures so his mom/dad could enjoy the moment...

...oh, since i'm really jumping around here... the urgent care actually mis-diagnosed my ruptured eardrum... after a previous mis-diagnosis from that office, i really just went there to get the meds that i knew i needed--mission accomplished. but i called the ent first thing this morning and after hearing my soft, zombie-like whisper on the phone they were able to work me in... thankfully, my ear drum is bruised... and thanks to my 4 sets of tubes, my ear drum is virtually all scar tissue--making some things hard to hear........ and my ear drum like a piece of leather <--the only reason it DIDN'T rupture according to the specialist. ha. i have lots of fluid back there making things sound muffled... i have no voice and so much sinus pressure my head is cracking. literally.

i love how affectionate my sweet nershi is when someone in our family isn't feeling well--he knows... and he's extra snuggly... love him. and lee!! lee has taken such good care of me since i've been home... not to mention taking care of eden while i was away... and eden's kiekie and nana... wow, what would we do without them!?!

ok... i'm tired of typing... i'm tired in general... and my little alarm is going off that i can take more meds... sudafed... rx cough meds... motrin... zzzzzzzz

artwork

2011-05-14T16:50:00.001-04:00

not too long ago i bought eden her very first box of crayons.

she mostly likes to eat them. for now...

i've always enjoyed coloring, arts/crafts, and...

well... school supplies in general :-D

i REALLY look forward to the days when i can do little craft projects with eden.

i can't wait to plaster them all over the fridge...

frame my favorites...

and line the walls of our home and keepsake boxes with her precious pieces of art.

today she produced her very first work of art!!

wanna see?

TA-DA!!

that's green sharpie marker on her daddy's laptop.

this one is going to be hard to keep (well, LONG TERM)

in about 25 seconds, she went from propping up against the sofa to the TOP of the end table, with the cap off the marker, scribbling on his computer.

was i upset? no. of course not. i don't think i'll be that kind of mom.

(no, i don't ENCOURAGE that type of activity either!!)

the best part of it all??

i asked lee if he wanted me to try to get it off

his answer:

"no, i like it on there--she made it just for me"

what a great daddy!!

maybe we should start incorporating our creative outlets a little sooner than i'd originally thought...

swing set!

2011-05-14T08:10:00.000-04:00

we're about to have a big backyard makeover! i've FINALLY decided on a swing set. i'm having someone local build one out of treated pine and we're planning to border and mulch the yard around (err, underneath) the set. i'm planning to take pictures of the process

so, get ready!!

life will never be the same

2011-05-11T19:44:00.000-04:00

she's gaining confidence by the second and discovering new territory by the minute...

these really aren't videos of "her best work", but its the first time i had the camera nearby to "capture the moment" :)

mini update and a memorable moment

2011-05-06T23:22:00.000-04:00

uh oh... yet again... i've slacked. i never did a birthday post for lee... and i've missed posting a lot of pictures and i'm still hoping to post pictures of eden in her pool(s). honestly, i'm realizing as we're approaching summer, the computer is on less and so is the tv... we're enjoying being outside and i've taken a liking to working in our yard. and goodness gracious, there's a 14 month old around here who is an absolute blast... and i don't want to miss one. single. second. with her. and when she gets to bed... i'm pretty darn exausted too.

life is crazy... life is great.

eden is growing so fast you can watch her. talking up a storm, walking relatively independently--just missing a little bit of confidence ;) and LORD HAVE MERCY... she has fallen in love...

with ELMO! she hugs it, squeals when she sees it, and likes to ride with it in her lap.

tonite, as i tucked eden in bed, she did her usual jibbering but then i noticed that she was calling nershi "nerrrrr" and barking... yes, she was trying to get nershi to come upstairs. those two are quite a pair.

and last but certainly not least, my mind has been boggled by the world of swingsets. perhaps this topic will get its very own post later.... but, no promises.

slack

2011-04-25T19:59:00.015-04:00

wow... i've got some serious blogging to catch up on...

i suppose i could skip the wordy part and just give you what you really want...

the pictures...

marshmallow peeps are great!!! thanks, grandaddy barry!!!

the easter bunny left lots of fun stuff!!

a columbia rain jacket, leap frog fridge phonics, a bath toy bucket (her "easter basket")

and some of those cool suction things shaped like fish for the bottom of the tub!!

the easter bunny also took all of her bottles with him ;)

we went to granny pat's for lunch yesterday...

she made chicken tetrazini, corn pudding, macaroni & cheese...

all stuff that eden THOROUGHLY enjoyed!!

not to mention her easter balloon and a few other goodies!

such a big girl now and growing so fast!!

we weren't as busy at work today so, i went and picked up my water lovin' girl

a SWIMMING POOL!!!

i can't wait to get her in there and watch her splash around!

...pictures to come!!

ANNNNND

while i was blowing it up in the front yard, eden decided to stand up in the middle of the grass and WALK to her new swimming pool!! i couldn't believe it!!!! she's shown some signs that its coming soon, but she seriously stood up in the middle of the yard--didn't hang on or let go of ANYTHING!!

when it rains, it pours

2011-04-18T21:36:00.000-04:00

lots going on at our house these days...

eden's "asthma"* has been well under control... until she got a little virus... i'm quickly learning that a "little bug" or "little virus" can be a big deal for a kid with "asthma"*

*i still used quotes because she's not been OFFICIALLY diagnosed with that--she's too young...

this bug/virus/creepy crud thing she got inhibited the effectiveness of her asthma controller meds... what does that mean? recipe for disaster.

she'd been coughing and spiked a fever... so, we headed to the doctor (peds, not the specialist) to find out she's on the brink of a 2x ear infection. her pulse-ox levels were pretty stable even though her pulse had shot up and the doctor could hear wheezing... HOWEVER, the doctors applauded us catching it early so we could be a little ahead of it this time--so, in addition to the 2 meds a day that she was on for her "asthma" we added to the list:

zyrtec (allergies)
motrin (ear pain)
z-pack (antibiotic for ear infections)
albuterol nebulizer treatments (coughing)
prednisolone (steriods--asthma "booster")

...yes, that's SEVEN total. but today, she finished up her steroids and antibiotic. she seems to be on the right track, and i'm beginning to change my mind about albuterol nebulizers.

you see, up until now, they've NEVER WORKED. ever. but i'm understanding why--because her "asthma" wasn't under control and the albuterol couldn't do the ALL work of the other meds... it seems to work really well when her controller meds (flowvent, singulair) are doing their jobs--albuterol just picks up the slack.

oh, did i mention that we have a nebulizer that works now, too? its so much nicer when a "5-7 minute treatment" doesn't take 25 minutes :) (the nebulizer we had wasn't effectively turning the liquid meds into a fog--so the liquid meds stayed in the little storage well while eden got wigglier and wigglier) ...holding a toddler still for 25 minutes is like wrestling a blue marlin. now, a "5-7 minute treatment" takes 5-7 minutes... imagine that!

...the timing of the whole thing i've just told you about? while i was sitting in the waiting room at the hospital during my dad's surgery last thursday. great.

i left the hospital, met mom at the doctor with eden (1/2 way expecting her to be sent to the er again--wouldn't that be convenient to have everyone at the same place!?), filled e's prescriptions, went back to the hospital just in time to get the memo that dad had just been moved to his room--he was out of recovery. whew! and it worked out great that lee could take off work friday so eden wouldn't infect everyone at kristin's house. and by saturday she was doing much better (yay for detecting it early!!!!!)

...

dad's home now... resting and recooperating. and now i've decided to enjoy some allergies and pollen pollution. yuck. but i'm surviving. i've managed to do a spring spruce-up to my wardrobe and purge some old stuff that i never wear. bleck. so wasteful.

i absolutely couldn't have done ANY of this during this past week without the help of lee, my mom, granny pat, aunt lisa, or anyone else i'm forgetting at the moment. wow. meals, checking on dad, caring for eden, work... i simply cannot do it all and am thankful for those willing to step in and help where they can! whew!

that's about all the update that i even feel like giving right now. i'm tired. we've been sleeping with the tv off (something i've not done since i was in late middle school--maybe early high school) and its been GREAT!! i wake up feeling so much more rested in the mornings--no matter what time... lee has even said the same thing! we should've done this years ago!!! what an awful habit--sleeping with the tv on. anyway. goodnight.

breathtaking

2011-04-11T19:04:00.000-04:00

i know i'm a little biased, but isn't she beautiful?!

bit by bit

2011-04-11T08:59:00.001-04:00

lee and i moved in our house almost 4 years ago,

since then, i've been looking for the perfect way to decorate this big wall in our kitchen...

didn't really have room for a hutch or piece of furniture

we also thought about doing a "photo wall" of various family pictures

[since the photo wall thing can be a pretty fluid shape, we opted to do that on the "triangle wall" (the wall that is the staircase) in our living room]

and i wasn't willing to settle until i found exactly what i wanted.

i had a huge clock over the fireplace in the living room (that we both LOVED)

that had been taken down after we had the tv mounted there...

i decided to hang it on that wall

and wouldn't you know it, i found two pictures that were EXACTLY what i'd been looking for

something sorta funky with blues and browns to tie the living room color scheme into the kitchen color scheme

what do you think?

(i used two camera settings--the color of the walls looks different)

so, after 4 years, i've finally "finished" this wall! :)

too much fun

2011-04-10T20:50:00.000-04:00

we made it to church today! WAHOOO!!

after the storms last night, eden woke up a time or two... and ended up sleeping "a little late" this morning

8:30!!! oh my word...

there was TONS of babies at church this morning...

eden was worn out when we picked her up

we were headed to rocky mount to celebrate lee's mom & dad's 40th wedding anniversary

which worked out well--she could nap on the way

i buckled her in, gave her an animal cookie & her juice cup and we hit the road!

i wasn't expecting her to fall asleep so quickly

...mid-cookie.

yes, she's asleep with her arm in the air, 1/2 way to her mouth

while the cookie is in her mouth.

silly girl.

bye bye, baby food

2011-04-09T08:34:00.002-04:00

in the stresses of unsuccessfully attempting to ween eden off of her bottle,

i've been pleasantly surprised at how easy it was to transition her out of baby food

...so easy, in fact, that i didn't even realize i'd done it!

it was one of those "transitions" i wasn't focusing too much on at the moment

because she's a great eater (she really LOVED her baby food!)...

and well,

according to the doctor, she shouldn't be entirely on "chewable food"

until she has SOME teeth on the top.

poor girl STILL only has her two bottom teeth!!!

but she's become a master of fruit cups, pasta, steamed veggies, macaroni & cheese,

bojangles biscuits, french fries, mashed potatoes, pizza, rice, peanut butter (and honey) sandwiches,

applesauce, animal crackers, pancakes, yogurt, and even the occasional chicken nugget or two!!

and good gracious--the cheese quesadilla!

now, she always gets a few bites of whatever i'm having (whether its listed above or not)

and if she gets a "better offer" than what she has in her mouth,

she takes it OUT of her mouth and replaces it with her "better offer"

she's also gotten really good at sharing her food

whether its what she just pulled out of her mouth, or something she didn't want to begin with...

she loves to share with us and she REALLY loves to share with

you guessed it...

nershi!

he's always very gentle

and sometimes unsure if its ok to eat it because

"she's sharing"

or if he's about to get in trouble because he just took food out of her hand...

sweet boy!!

just look at those ears laid back :)

victims

2011-04-07T15:39:00.000-04:00

in years past, when planting flowers & sprucing up the yard,

i've tried to go for themes like

"pretty" or "i saw this in a magazine"

this year my theme is "what have i done in the past that worked"

and "what is nearly impossible to kill"

i have a desire to have a green thumb, but just lack...well,

THE GREEN THUMB.

but i also have a thing for vines...

blah blah blah about some of them "overtaking your house" or whatever

listen up, NOTHING thrives like that at my house.

so, i've got nothing to worry about, right?

i've wanted ivy for years (since we bought the house)... i love ivy...

the leaves, the color, the way it spills and climbs...

heck, i even thought about naming eden "ivy"

(eh, you never know, that name may get recycled one day)

but somehow i'm always talked out of it

not this year!!

i've got ivy and a few other climbing plants

lemme give you a tour!

here's my first pot of ivy

its on the end of the porch that we don't hang out on that much

(because the swing isn't there.)

this area gets more sun than the other side, but its still shady in the late late afternoon

now to the end of the porch that we're always at...

with the SWING!

here's a pot of confederate jasmine

[sniff sniff...and enjoy the HEAVENLY scent]

here's the yellow carolina jasmine

and if you peek behind it and to the left you'll see my cute new birdhouse

i put it there for eden (and nershi) to enjoy

coming down the steps you have my 3 pots of geraniums.

these are new for me, but i've heard they're pretty hearty.

and my lamp post.

here i've planted my clematis plant

(one similar to the one i've round-upped)

hoping this likes this post and climbs right on up to the top

...wouldn't that be so charming?!

and here are my latest two victims.

i REALLY hope these guys work out...

blooming cherry trees!

now, these pictures are meant to be more than just a picture of the tree

...i was trying to give you some perspective

eh, and maybe you can even imagine them getting bigger

and blooming so beautifully where they're at!

(above) new tree on the far right

this is our side yard...well, its really our "back yard" but its not fenced in,

so we've always called it the side yard.

i didn't want it smack in the middle of the side yard--

so, hopefully we'll have some room to play

(below) this is the view off of the back of my deck.

again, trying to plan a little farther out here...

thinking we may get a swing set one day and

trying to plant the tree somewhere we'll have room for that, too!

...my original plan was to have crepe myrtles--but,

we already have 3 of those... and i wanted something that

would look a little different and bloom a different bloom

the tag on these babies says "full sun"

...well, if that's true, they ought to be REALLY happy where we planted them!

laughter

2011-04-05T19:59:00.000-04:00

i could listen to this over and over and over and over.

happy birthday, kiekie

2011-04-02T23:19:00.000-04:00

arriving early

staying late

doing laundry hannah hates

changing diapers

reading books

enjoying eden's silly looks

fixing lunch

playing pretend

taking this chance to say thank you again!

half a century

young at heart

but now you're an old fart

(just kidding, it rhymed)

we love you so much

appreciate what you do

enjoy your day celebrating YOU!

--a hannah original.

spring cleaning and toddler-proofing

2011-04-02T20:27:00.001-04:00

generally speaking, our house is pretty "eden-proof", but the time has come to depart with my favorite rug... the one under our kitchen table.

bless its heart--it was so full of fashion... funky circles... brown and blue and khaki colored... tied the kitchen and the living room together so nicely... but these last few months of table food for the toddler haven't been kind...

i'm simplifying... one less thing to clean... i can just swiffer to my hearts content now... from the laundry room, through the kitchen, down the hall and into the hall bath... with out the gigantic "swiffer dead spot" that i have to vacuum and/or sweep and/or scrub pooch hair out of it.

the house looked so fresh and spring-y, eden and i ventured to lowe's and got a couple of plants for our porch!

don't worry--i only got plants i've been remotely successful with in the past. and on the way home, i apologized to each of them in advance.

a carolina jasmine plant and a clematis... both crawling vine type plants that in the past, i've managed to sustain for more than the trip home from the store.

my jasmine plant was left outside during the snow a "couplah" years ago and didn't make it...

and the clematis i've even round-upped by accident and wouldn't you know it, it's coming back this year!! wow!...now THAT's the plant for me!! hahah

i've also been wanting to get a hook hanger thing for the awesome wind chime we picked up in jamaica... and i even indulged the impulse shopping trip a little futher by getting a bird feeder. i've been wanting to get one for e--i know she'll love hearing the birds and watching them :)

does anyone know of a strong man to cLimb a step ladEr with thE drill and hang up this stuff?

happy spring, y'all!

renewed and restored

2011-04-01T21:08:00.002-04:00

today i got to do something i've been wanting to do for about a while now... i got my wedding rings fixed!!

just to refresh your memory... the rings in their original state and broken click here

and when i say fixed, i don't just mean re-sized... ever since lee gave me the engagement ring, the setting has been a little high for my taste (well, i just didn't realize how many things i could snag or how many things i could hit it on when it was sitting up so high)

after i had them cut off, i decided that when i had them fixed, i would also see about having the setting re-done.

the folks at jolly's made the suggestion of having the main stone put in a bezel setting--it could sit really low and it would be really secure in its setting... she also mentioned it would make the ring look really clean and contemporary... and that sounded right up my alley!

i got to go pick them up today and i could NOT be happier!! i'm in love all over again!!

the setting is MUUUUUCH lower and its hard to see from the picture,

but the main stone is completely encapsulated,

so no dirt or grime can get under the stone! yippeeee!!

(below: the outer "rim" of the stone is the setting now)

i certainly loved my wedding set before, but i REALLY love it now!

(not to mention the sizing is better this go 'round, too!!) my rings individually could be worn at the size they were before, but the problem was when worn together, the bands are pretty thick at the bottom--it makes it like wearing a MUCH thicker band--so you go up a size or two... (and THAT probably didn't help the situation when i felt like my finger was gonna fall off! oh well.)

a special specialist

2011-03-31T20:17:00.000-04:00

yesterday, eden was able to get an last minute appointment that someone else cancelled with a doctor who specializes in allergies and asthma. (allergist/asthmologist/pulmonologist?!)

a quick summary? what a blessing!!

we were encouraged about the care e has received from the peds. we also had lots of conversation about the timeline of events, types of treatments we've tried, what worked, what didn't, why not, other possibilities and even a pretty good overview of why certain treatments work and some don't.

even though they were pretty sure her problems haven't stemmed from allergies, they tested her anyway for all the common allergies:

tree nuts, peanuts, wheat, soy, barley, dairy, dog, cat, mold, dust, corn, eggs, fish, shellfish... and... i think that's it...

all tests were NEGATIVE!! (i was especially glad she's not allergic to dogs.) eden enjoyed her first peanut butter sandwich today for snack!! yum... she loved it! i got the rare privilege to find out what (if anything) my daughter is allergic to without having a scary incident in a restaurant or on vacation... or anywhere other than a doctors office!

...i digress.

the doctor suggested trying a stronger controller med and a more frequent dose, and a granular medicine we mix in her lunch... we go back two weeks for a follow up.

so far, things seem to be going REALLY well... granted, we're on day two, but she coughs about once a day and it doesn't seem to get the best of her. and her nose hasn't had to be wiped the first time today... that's a first in a MONTH!!

there were lots of other little details, but i won't bore you with all of them... bottom line, i feel like we're finally making some REAL progress, i love the doctor, eden is sweet as ever... we'll keep you posted (even though you're probably getting as tired of this as we are!)

top rated toys

2011-03-28T21:53:00.001-04:00

attention new parents...

you're not gonna want to miss this!

seasoned parents have known this for years...

eden has hundreds of dollars worth of the top rated toys for early development

and THIS one is her favorite one of all!!

an old puffs container with 5 pennies in it and the lid has been taped shut.

HOURS of entertainment and musical development.

this along with the box of wipes, the trash can lid, a cardboard paper towel tube and the toilet.

if you're interested here's the more official list...

e.i.a.

2011-03-25T20:26:00.003-04:00

"eden in action!"

y'all have been so patient with the lack of updates--then i bombard you with doctors visits and nebulizer bits...

so, i thought i'd post more fun stuff about eden!

these are a few pictures of eden over the last couple of days

climbing on the sofa (one of her favorite things to do!)

sitting on daddy's head... another favorite pastime.

reading her poke-a-dot monkey book

i love her face in this next one... she was "reading" it to me :)

here's a little video of her reading her favorite book to mama

and these next few pictures...

eden and i were just being silly in the floor--giggling, tickling, climbing, laughing, rolling around

and i stuck my socks on her hand (which she thought was hilarious)

and this is where i can find her should i forget to close the bathroom door completely:

(notice the WET tp stuck to her hand--well, at least she's figured out that tp goes IN the toilet!!)

and these last two are from lee's cell phone

(he kept her two days this week while i worked extra long work days!!)

this one, she's headed to the doctor for our follow up visit

and this one, she was listening to music with lee while sporting her grateful dead shirt

well... that's about it!

and in case you're wondering, yes, she was sick when i took ALL of these photos...

now you guys can understand why i have a hard time discerning when she's ACTUALLY sick!

relief for wheezy e

2011-03-24T21:48:00.002-04:00

...i'll keep this quick for today because i'm ready for bed. yeah, that and i feel bad for not updating this week.

we went back to the doctor today for what i was expecting to be a quick follow up appointment... even though i had a few (what i thought were) minor concerns. she's really doing BETTER.

after a long visit full of nebulizer treatments, nebulizer complaints from mama (i seriously hate that thing... and the one we got is a dud.), disappointing pulse-ox levels when eden didn't seem to be having a hard time breathing, and some concern about e's coughing while she's sleeping (as in, IN her sleep*)... we've got a ~~better~~ different diagnosis. the doctor spent lots of time with us today explaining a new plan of action and a different treatment and things to look for...

the diagnosis? baby asthma. (yeah, there's probably a fancy word for it...) the type of asthma that she's been tagged with is something that she could outgrow in 6 months--or when she's 3... if not, i'm guessing they'd diagnose her with childhood asthma (or whatever the next developmental stage)... either way, its still something she's likely to grow out of at some point.

*she coughed in her sleep for 2-3 hours last night... i tried to wake her up for some honey in her milk and a neb treatment... she was conked out... but would wake up here and there and would cough when her sweet, sleeping self looked so deceptively peaceful and angelic. eden sleeping... lee sleeping... hannah staring at the baby monitor and googling "home remedies for coughing toddler"

i'm somewhat relieved... the terrible cough is finally being addressed. the cough that has lurked around for way too long.

a diagnosis... yes, that brings relief to a certain extent too, now doesn't it?

is it the RIGHT diagnosis... the jury is still out.

i will say this: she coughed this morning during her nap... went to dr.... took 2nd nap with NO coughs... had bedtime treatments (with inhaler--no nebulizer...wooo hoooo!!)... went to bed and i've not heard her cough the first time.

i'm excited at the possibility for some relief for eden... but still cautiously optimistic... this whole respiratory issue seems to ebb and flow just like her sweet breaths it affects. great one day, pitiful the next... i know eden is in good hands--her doctors are so sweet and call to check up on her--so informative and reassuring... not to mention her sweet daddy who runs to get things for us (tissue, bottle, book, juice, whatever!) when i'm snuggled up with e... and her bulldog of a mama who won't stop until this mess is FIXED.

signs of spring and summer

2011-03-19T20:13:00.003-04:00

what could possibly be cuter than a chubby legged baby in hot pink shorts?

a chubby legged baby in hot pink shorts wearing her first pair of (pink) rainbows!

duh!

hope you're enjoying your weekend as much as we are enjoying ours!

better way late than never.

2011-03-18T20:36:00.003-04:00

eden has entered her 2nd year of life the very similarly to the way she entered her first... not the way we had planned. and heck, it even included the hospital.

let's take a step back and do the normal milestone post. weight. head circumference. height. favorite things... you know the drill.

height: 29.5" (50-75%)

weight: 21.5 (50-75%)

head:45.75cm (75%)

...that big gourd is housing a very busy BRAIN! my goodness she is learning stuff left and right... whether i (or anyone else, for that matter) taught her!

words: mama, dada, dog, book, duck, hey, bye.. and she signs milk and "all done!"... and like i said on the 11 month post--when she wants to say what you're saying, she gets very focused on your lips--i'm trying to make more of and effort to repeat things and really e-nun-cee-ate them. the desire to grow her vocabulary is definitely there. she also loves talking in her own language when she's playing with her dolls, talking to nershi, or other kids.

she points and gurgles and has several varieties of waves--whatever she's in the mood for, i suppose. blowing kisses is her thing! seriously, she knows she ALWAYS gets a reaction when she blows kisses... and if she's doing it and you're not responding enough, she takes it up a notch and sings while she does it (turning in to the indian call...you know the one i'm talking about.) she LOVES climbing (i know i said that in a previous post today, but this is the milestone post. get over it.)--she's become quite the daredevil--she loves being tossed on the bed into the pillows, being flung around, scaling sofa cushions, hanging upside down, tossed up in the air... anything like that. and as far as the climbing goes--i'm ready for e to walk--once she conquers that--we'll be living at the park this summer!! can't wait!

we're eating 3 meals a day now... with snacks in between. generally yogurt and cheerios for breakfast... yogurt/fruit for lunch and veggies and some of whatever we're having for dinner. we're totally off formula--but i'm thinking of investing in a dairy cow. i'll admit, we did a little backsliding this month with the bottle--but thanks to my loving, encouraging blog readers--i'm not sweatting it. she'll get rid of her bottle when she's ready.** she's great with her sippy cup--juice, milk and water out of that--so, no concerns there.

**i'm of the opinion thats when it needs to be done anyway... after all, that's when you move to solids, potty train, adjust sleeping arrangements, and any other important milestone... WHEN THEY'RE READY. she's just not there yet and i'm ok with that!

she's still attached to her blanket--but only when she's tired or not feeling well... she loves to be wherever i'm at, and sometimes has just a touch of separation fussies--but 98% of the time will go to ANYONE... even a stranger. its so funny to me how social she is--the girl can work a crowd (no, not just a family crowd)... during her ages and stages quiz--she's always off the charts on the social stuff and right about where she should be for her motor skills. some of the other boys we hang out with don't seem to be talking as much as eden, but i seem to be observing their motor skills thinking "i should work on that with e". for example... eden isn't putting blocks or things IN a box/container... she's not throwing things either (the doctor advised me to enjoy her "not throwing things" while it lasts. its coming.) ...but honestly, i think girls are just programmed for the social stuff and boys tend to be better early on at the motor skills... but hey, it gives me something to work on with her! i bought her first box of crayons and we're looking forward to exploring with those soon!

size 4 diapers (well, we're finishing up the 3's but my next box of diapers are 4's). and still 12-18 month clothes (wow! she got lots of really cute clothes for her birthday!)

and people... this should come as no surprise... she STILL only has TWO TEETH. omg. i asked the doctor "what the heck" during her well baby check and she said "well, we like for them to have two by the time they're 12 months." ....well, super doc--we've had these since THANKSGIVING. oh well... as all women are, clearly eden is doing things on her own time. i don't know why i'm so surprised.

the tantrums seem to have temporarily subsided... only because i've put a halt on the weaning (illness induced.) and what type of mother wouldn't give her sick baby everything she wanted?! tantrums aren't necessary in such euphoria... or is it utopia... eh, you pick... but i feel like they'll be back around in the next few weeks.

i'm sure i'm leaving out so much stuff--ahh, more favorites: puzzles (sorta...she's getting the idea--again, we're working on the motor skills), books, the stroller is back in action--e and i have squeezed in a few walks before daylight savings time started again... but she and lee have put some miles on it... they went for almost an hour yesterday and she just loves riding in it... she kicks her legs and sips on her juice... such a happy baby! wooo wee... bath time has been taken to a whole 'nother level... she typically bathes in the big tub every night... with bubbles (berry scented--leftover from the party)... she crawls around and splashes and loves laughing at allllll the ducks (again, leftover from the party) "riding the waves" she makes...

OH! and how could i forget... MUSIC!! this girl has got some moves!!!! she loves standing next to lee's record player and dancing... and she dances whenever we sing songs--whether she's strapped in her car seat, or sitting in the middle of the floor, or sitting in her high chair... she loves dancing... and she loves to watch lee play his guitar... the two of them often make drums out of non-drum items in the house... shakers/maraccas... a paper towel tube (that can be a horn, microphone or a drumstick)

she is a PURE JOY to be around... so stinkin' fun. sometimes lately i find myself wondering if she'll still be a mama's girl when she's older and want to do fun stuff with me... will she be a daddy's girl and enjoy music and dancing with lee... or will she be a great mixture of both of us and enjoy all of our favorite activities...

being a parent is seriously so much more fun that i could have ever imagined--more challenging, more rewarding, more love, more stress, more learning, and more humbling.

and i must say--i'm pretty proud of myself and lee--we've survived our first year of parenting!! yay!! :-D

wheezy e update

2011-03-18T19:46:00.002-04:00

woo hoo! she's not so wheezy anymore... in fact, she's not wheezy at all!

we're backing down her breathing treatments to every 6-8 hours tomorrow. her cough is still there, but its not NEARLY as bad as it has been... and she's not acting like her ear is bothering her either. no more motrin... just steriods (at dinner), antibiotics (with breakfast), and albuterol nebulizer treatments.

we skipped miss kristin's today just in case she is still a tiny bit contagious--which worked out well since lee was off work today anyway... i don't think she's been contagious for a several days, but she has 2 kids and several others that stay--i would hate to know i had passed this off on another baby!

but wow--when i got home from work today i noticed she is back to her normal high-octane self--her usually BUSY self.... into everything, can't turn your eye for a single second, head down turbo crawl laughing when she sees you chasing after her... you get the idea!

and who knew she was still learning so much while she's been so sick... she's now added CLIMBING to the mix... scaling the sofa cushions, pillows, anything piled up in the floor... its her mountain to conquer!

her appetite has been back for several days now and she's learning to tolerate her breathing treatments pretty well...

now, y'all know i'm not much of a summer girl--but it seems nice to see the sun and to get rid of these GERMS! ugh!

thanks for your continued prayers... we're certainly on the mend. let's pray for no more setbacks!

heads up!

2011-03-17T22:27:00.002-04:00

...i posted several things tonite... be sure you scroll all the way down to the goldilocks post... i'd hate for you to miss something! :-D

my turn

2011-03-17T21:50:00.002-04:00

Becky tagged me in a 20 questions thing..... oh ok! i'll do it!!!

Rule #1: The tagged person must write their answers on their blog and replace any question they dislike with a new question formulated by themselves.

Rule #2: Tag 4 people to do this quiz. The tag-ee must state who tagged them.

1. If you have pets, do you see them as merely animals or are they members of your family?

nershi was my first born... however, now that i really DO have a "first born", he and eden are just different types of special to me...

2. If you could have a dream come true, what would it be?

3. What would you do with a billion dollars?

pay off my mortgage... make some renovations to the house we live in now... finish planning for e's college... save the rest...continue working (but take a few more vacations) and probably have another baby. that's it.

...hey, maybe THAT would be a fun blog post in itself...

4. What helps to pull you out of a bad mood?

sushi... and walking... and sitting on my porch swing.

5. What is your bedtime routine?

i LIKE to be in bed around 9:30... but sometimes i get sucked in to blogs/facebook and end up there around 11... and i've been known to go to bed around 7:30 (right after i lay e down) after i've gone to bed too late several nights in a row.

6. What activities did you do in High School? If you could go back, would you do the same stuff or something different?

volleyball... student council... national honor society... beta club... spanish honor society... lab tech... i can't remember the rest--i was busy!! as for what i would do differently--i probably wouldn't have quit volleyball my senior year, but it was seriously infringing on my social schedule... some boy from rocky mount who later became my husband. gosh.

7. What kind of books do you read?

i don't. but... i'm REALLY trying to get better about that... i'm finding things that interest me... and i'm trying to stop being so addicted to my laptop* and do more stuff like that. enrichment.

*my laptop battery is slowly losing its "chargability" and the battery is dwindling away to nothing... so, perhaps this problem will take care of itself shortly.

8. How do you see yourself in 10 years?

wow... i'll be 35... and i'll have an 11 year old daughter! ...that's almost a middle schooler... so, probably committing myself to an insane asylum. :-P

9. What’s your fear?

this sounds really ridiculous--but my biggest fear is getting a paper cut in my eye. that's it. see, i told you! ridiculous.

10. Would you give up all junk food for the rest of your life for the opportunity to see outer space?

hmm... i'm a real veggie lover... i could probably do that. but, then again, we all have our vices, don't we?

11. What’s the first thing you do when you wake up?

go pee. then go scoop up my cute bed head blonde haired, blue eyed baby. then snuggle with her in the brown recliner with a bottle and try to catch 20 more winks.

12. If you could change one thing about your significant other, what would it be?

hmm... this is tough... because to change any one thing about him, would make him someone else... but since its a silly questionnaire: i wish he had a job where he didn't have to work on nights and/or weekends.

13. If you could pick a new name for yourself, what would it be?

i like my name... i wish people didn't get it wrong so often. spelling/saying/not remembering it correctly.

14. If you had to choose between six months of sun or six months of rain, what would you choose?

i'm gonna have to go with the unpopular answer of "rain" here... i realize that i'm wired a little differently than 99% of the population... i really like inclimate weather--its always different! because sun is always sunny... and hot. and sweaty. rain can be lots of different things... sprinkling, misty, downpour, thunderstorm, snow, ice, sleet... all depending on the other conditions.

15. If you could only eat one thing for the next 6 months, what would it be?

asian food... its sort of generic--but i never get tired of chinese, japanese, sushi, thai, mongolian food... never ever.

16. What is the thing you enjoy about blogging the most?

hmm... i like blogging about eden... duh... but i also enjoy blogging about challenging topics (but only when i feel like i can adequately express myself.)

17. Do you prefer salty or sweet foods?

i'm gonna have to say salty--there's a few sweets that i really do enjoy--but i'm a chips/dip sorta gal...

18. What items are in your purse right now?

wallet, keys, phone, shades, a book for eden, cold meds, and a box of crayons that i just bought for eden! :) (i'm sure that will have its own post later.)

19. One week, anywhere in the world, all expenses paid – where do you go?

barcelona. i love it there... and i miss it.

20. What do you watch on television that you know you shouldn’t?

i'm OBSESSED with sister wives... lee and i have (sometimes jokingly) talked about what that sort of lifestyle would be like...

tag:

my little leprechaun

2011-03-17T20:35:00.004-04:00

thought i'd post a picture of my un-pinchable baby decked out in green

...whoops, that was last year. ;)

this year she doesn't stay wrapped up in a blanket...

she's much too busy reading her book.

10 little monkeys jumping on the bed

(and each of the monkey's bellies are a bubble wrap type of button she pushes)

and you bet your pot-o-gold she pushes

every.single.one.

the book counts down from 10 to 1 as each monkey falls off the bed

it is her favorite book and she always pulls that one out first from her collection

goldilocks

2011-03-17T20:14:00.003-04:00

e's hair is filling in at an insane rate...

from one week to the next, its crazy how much hair she's getting!!

and she's got these gorgeous little curls in the back...

and to say "i'm obsessed" would be an understatement

[this next picture is hard to see...you may need to click to enlarge]

so cute!! its probably big enough to do a little sprig at the top, but i like it how it lays so naturally! its so feminine and dainty...

what am i going to do with curls?!?! i've spent my entire life with hair that found a faster way from "a" to "b"...straighter than straight.*

*although, my hair has aquired some curl since childbirth...maybe one day, i'm going to let it air dry naturally and see what it REALLY looks like! ...and i MIGHT blog about it--you know, depending on the results.