It's a Roar!

Have you ever done something so stupid you wondered if you should even tell your husband? Or anyone else for that matter? Well, it was so funny that I have to laugh at it...and I'm sure I'll be hearing about this the rest of my life.

Yesterday, I decided to use my birthday gift from Matt and get my massage and pedicure. I was so excited that I had a babysitter lined up (love you Rachel Mc) and several errands to run across town. So I grabbed some lunch and headed for my appointment. The massage was wonderful but you know it leaves marks and lines on your face afterwards (from the face pillows). I'm assuming everyone has had a pedicure before, so you know that you leave wearing these ugly fluorescent yellow disposable paper-thin sandals and your pants pulled up like high-waters so you don't mess up your freshly painted toes (which I don't like the fall colors when it comes to polish). So I get done and I head to the other side of Brandon where my Lincoln Navigator's mirror is ready to be picked up. I'm in a rush (as usual) because Rachel Mc has to leave by 4 and it's 3:15, I'm still in Brandon, so I don't have time to put my shoes on. I see the sign for the Ford dealership and turn in. I'm wearing no makeup, lines on my face, and my pants pulled up to my knees with my disposable flip-flops and I practically waddle and run into the front door. I stopped just as I walked in. I look up at all the people staring at me and my feet. I don't say a word for about 30 seconds. I see the words "CHEVROLET" staring back at me. I keep standing there just wondering to myself. Then it dawned on me that I don't drive a Chevy....I drive a Ford! Without saying a word, I turn around and walk out feeling the stares in the back of my head. Not only did I bring unwanted attention to myself by my appearance ...... but I did it in the WRONG place! Complete embarrassment! I finally made it to the Ford dealership practically next door to the Chevy place. Matt is never going to let me live this one down!

Through blog browsing I came across a very interesting site. I may get the book if I can find it. Check out Christian Women Online. (that's not the homepage though).

Mati Claire has made huge leaps in the last 2 days. She has decided to HELP me do EVERYTHING! She helps me clean windows, vacuum, put groceries in the car from her buggy seat, and finally learned how to put trash in the waste basket (the proper way)!!!!! She's obsessed with animals but lately she keeps asking about the ones that don't really make sounds or noises. What does the hippo say? What does a giraffe say? What does a rhino say? Does anyone have suggestions on these? And the turtle? I keep telling her that these are very quiet animals and they say "ssshhh". But the funniest is the lion. She brings me a lion and says "It's a roar!!!!" Yesterday was a roar for me.

Check out my ride!

I got a little too close to the garage the other day. That's what I get when I'm always in a rush...always running late...so I wasn't paying close attention to the side mirror. Then I almost hit a deer on the way home from Bible Study last night. I guess if something had happened I could always borrow one of Mati Claire's rides:

She has her own garage in the dining room for all of her wheels! There's the KidsOnly stroller for when she wants to let her hair down and just chill. Then there's the FisherPrice scooter when she feels like exercising. Then there's the almighty FisherPrice Barbie PowerWheels when she feels really adventurous. And last but not least the big kahuna ToddleTune car. Not pictured: double seat wagon complete with red and blue interior and a red umbrella.

We have so many toys. Fortunately for us, we don't have to invest in another car for at least another 15 years!

Birthday Weekend

I don't have a new picture to post so I'm posting one that my friend Erin just sent to me from Sydney's birthday party last week. So cute. She loves to color! Thanks, Erin!

Matt surprised me with a 30th birthday dinner at Biaggi's. Our entire family joined us for a great time! It was a big nice surprise to see everyone there! I share my birthday with MLK so everyone was out of school for a long weekend. It's been crazy around here with birthdays, holiday weekend, President inauguration, company coming-and-going, and MC:

MC gave me a wonderful gift of teething again! She has had severe diarrhea for 3 days now. Poor thing won't eat anything but seems to be in a good mood as long as the Motrin is there. We're living off Gatorade and crackers around here! We also found out that her diaper ointment was burning her behind on top of the diarrhea, so she's beginning to feel better (i hope). She has never had diarrhea before believe it or not. So I find myself shocked and not knowing what to do (not much I've learned). We ask her what hurts and she just puts her hand in her mouth. Poor baby!

I hope everyone had a great long weekend and has an even better week! Who's 30? Not me! I turned 29 (again).

Hangin Around

We're just playing and hanging out around here lately. Our neighbor JA came over for a playdate yesterday morning, and they had such a good time talking and laughing! They both seemed to get quiet as long as I was in the room, so I peeked around the corner to watch them. Adorable. Pretending to drink tea and playing so nice!

Then my parents brought Kennedy down with them for a whole week! I have finally seen a 'pro' or a 'plus' in my book when it comes to having more than 1 child! MC is not stuck to my leg or a shadow behind me. It has been wonderful. So wonderful that I find myself not knowing what to do! (Trust me, I found things to clean and do around the house unfortunately)

Since my parents were coming to visit, I decided to cook a big dinner for everyone last night. Instead of number scale, Matt and I use a "do you 'like it' or 'love it'?" scale. I guess you could throw in a 'hate it' too. I have NEVER received a "love it". But last night, I got a very enthusiastic "is this chicken pie?" That is as close to 'loving it' as I have come in almost 5 years. I haven't heard Matt that excited about dinner in a long time. How sad is that??? I'm not the best cook but I don't think I'm terrible either. So here's to many more almost 'love it' dinners!

Pilates is going better. The instructor is very interesting. In ballet, we knew mostly French words like jete, plie, and arabesque. Now I'm using words like 'downward-facing dog' and the 'pregnant cat'. Crazy! I still haven't figured out exactly what the pregnant cat is. But I'm sore from my head to my toes so something must be working right. I think I am at a disadvantage though when I look at the 80-year old behind me who does everything so well and doesn't even break a sweat! She inspires me :)

Progress Report

I think I now look at our pediatrician as my therapist. I just unloaded on him with our so-called problems (overall these are not really problems in the big scheme of things but rather inconveniences for me). Dr. Russell told me to stop forcing foods (no surprise there). He said if she wants vanilla wafers for the next 4 years - give them to her. Obviously keep offering her fruit and veggies, but he tried to explain and stress the fact that kids just don't think like adults do (it's hard for me to grasp this concept because I don't understand their lack of rationalization). However, if I hadn't forced bananas, then she still wouldn't be eating them today. Eating has never been 'fun' around here (at least for MC) and I'm going to make it my resolution to change that. I know she doesn't like the healthy stuff, but that's my job! My job is to make sure she's healthy as she can be. She weighs 27 lbs 11 oz and is in the 90% across the board. She's such a big girl - you wouldn't think she doesn't eat very much. She's getting all of her canines/eye-teeth in! She also got 1 vaccine, so she's been a little fussy since Friday.

MC enjoyed herself at Sydney's 2nd Birthday party in Vicksburg! She had a "wild" time and even stuck her finger in the icing (without me forcing it). They had the cutest monkey and giraffe cupcakes I have ever seen! Erin did you make those yourself? I managed to get about 3 pictures before the camera died and got to catch up with people I haven't seen in years!

I'm going to a Pilates class tomorrow. Pray for me while I embarrass myself! It's not like dieting isn't torture enough, now I'm going to workout in front of some very fit women. MC is helping me out with my diet. I fix my plate (of whatever diet food I found hidden away) and she eats half of it......leaving me with HALF of my diet dinner. So I apologize to anyone who heard my stomach growling in church this morning!

Short bus and Big Stall

I thought to myself - what better way to spend a gorgeous afternoon than to go shopping??? I had a few errands to run, and decided to go to the new Renaissance mall in Ridgeland. If only I could be a fly on the wall today. Here's how my day went with a 1 year old and a stroller:

We got there and I managed to pull MC's stoller out of the gigantic pile of stuff in the back. If she doesn't have snacks in the stroller, she's a nightmare. It keeps her occupied instead of pulling tags off clothes and items off shelves. So of course the first store went okay (I was going after the exact same pair of pants that I already own but in a different color because I love them and it's hard to find pants that I'm willing to buy two pair!) I find the same size and was about to NOT try them on but at the last minute decided I better just in case. The lady helping me said "I'll give you the special stall." What? The "special stall"?? What is that? Is that the same as the "bigger stall" or does it come fully baby-proofed? Okay, ignoring that comment. Back to the pants. Sure enough - too small. How can that be? The size I own already is smaller and they fit great....AND I've been dieting and exercising...how can that be? So the lady goes to get me the bigger size. She said, "Did you say a 2 or a 10? Um...okay do I look like a size 2 carrying an 18 month old? Just as I opened the door to repeat myself, the lady in the stall next to me (with a perfectly behaved 1 year old with NO stroller) opens the door and asked if she could get a size 2 - looking at me smiling. Okay, I'm still not letting that ruin my shopping trip.

Onto the next store. Is there a graceful way to open a store door with a stroller? I'm using my butt to hold the door open and then push the stroller in. But the wheel got stuck somehow. I'm leaning over to the opposite side of the stroller trying to fix it...flashing everyone in sight. Meanwhile a line forms on both sides of the door with people trying to get in and out none of which bother to help me get this wheel unstuck. My bags are falling out everywhere because they won't fit in the stroller where my purse and diaper bag are. She's throwing her sippie cup and snacks are flying. If only I had my camera at that moment.

Next store...which is a toy store! MC suddenly gets in a better mood because she's surrounded with books and puzzles and games! I find Sydney's birthday gift for Saturday! Yay! I get to the checkout desk, where there is (to be nice) an oversized woman who is asking a TON of questions about toys that the store doesn't even carry...and she's not buying anything! So I have to push the stroller off to the side because the employee is trying to ring me up AROUND this woman. Which was okay because, yes, I'm in a rush to get my child out of there! Not realizing the stroller was close to the "itty bitty stuff" that they put close to the registers (you know what I'm talking about). I'm trying not to hit this woman in front of me, when all of a sudden I hear CRASH! Squinting my eyes and scared to look down, MC had removed 3 magnets off their wall, dropping and breaking them! So I yelled "I'll pay for that!" and apologized more times than I can count. The employee says "oh it's just a magnet - it's okay." I don't think she realized that they cost $3 a piece and that 3 of them were shattered. Then the employee gives MC a balloon trying to keep her occupied instead of breaking more magnets because I obviously can't move the stroller due to the large woman STILL standing there in my way! A balloon? Oh my goodness. She created a monster. MC goes NUTS over balloons. So I tie it to the stroller. We get back to the car finally (MC yelling "boon!...boon!") and MC has a death grip on the string. I finally get her out of the stroller and what? Where's that darn balloon? I look everywhere! I even look across the street to see who is watching me look for a balloon...maybe they saw where it went. Then I hear "bye boon." I suddenly felt stupid.............again.

So I get her in the carseat, and I'm trying to put her stroller in the back of the Nav. The tailgate wouldn't close because the stroller was sticking out. I probably spent 10 minutes trying to maneuver the stroller. I said "Mati Claire, your stroller is just too big or we have a short car."
Embarrassed, I turned around to hear someone say, "Do you need any help?"

Now you ask me. I rode all the way over here in a short bus to use a special stall.

18 Already?

After rainy days and being cooped inside, I had to post a picture of my favorite pajamas! She's not a climber, but can do the best impression of a monkey! It seems we live in our pj's around here. She amazes me everyday with something new and has developed so much personality! I love it! We're struggling with food still, but we'll see what Dr. Russell has to say on Friday.

MC is 18 months old (Thursday)! I can't believe it! I saw baby Cole today and I was just amazed at how little he is and couldn't remember MC being that small! Continue to keep the Townsends in your prayers. Daniel went back to work and Jennifer is adjusting to having 2 babies by herself. I can't imagine.

Finally

After 2 days of looking for a background...i find one VERY similar to my old one FINALLY! I can't help it - I like polka dots! Looks a bit Easter-ish but I'm ready for spring. I've had enough of this rain.

I try to never post a picture of myself, but this is the cake that my boss gave me on my last day. If you look closely, it is a LONG story but I was playing a joke on my boss a few months ago by wearing a Hooters T-shirt...in a Waffle House. Ah...good times! But I'm FINALLY done with my 2 weeks notice.

And we FINALLY took Christmas decorations down. Yay!

Blah Blah Backgrounds

This will have to do until I can find something else (had to get rid of the holiday stuff). How can I start a new year with an old background? I'm off on a bad foot already!