Munchkin Pie

Easter 2011

2012-01-06T11:35:00.001-06:00

Breakfast

The girls getting serious about this egg hunt!

L got the golden egg with cash inside!

March and April of 2011

2012-01-06T11:11:00.002-06:00

the girls right before L's school performance

L at her School performance about being green. :)

L is 4!!

Happy Birthday!

C is 7!! We had her Party at Amazing Jake's in Plano!

We didn't take a lot of pics; I guess we were too busy playing games and having fun. :)

L had PJ day at school!

L in a new outfit she got for her b'day!

C got to wear her Tangled outfit to school but I don't recall why? :)

Girls playing with Chu-man

Grama and G'Ma got to go with C on her Fieldtrip to the Dallas World Aquarium!

Tom and Jerry Cake for C!

C on her field trip

L playing in a soccer game she's # 8.

L at soccer practice

Barbie Fashion Fairy Tale Party!

January and February of 2011

2012-01-06T10:03:00.002-06:00

Cousins came over to visit in Jan.

L in Jan

C in Jan

Snow Again!

Girls playing Fancy Nancy and The Posh Puppy!

Playing in the Snow; they now think it's the norm for Texas.

December 2010

2012-01-06T09:31:00.001-06:00

The girls with Freddy the snowman

L out of school for Christmas Break!

Decorating for Christmas

Last minute decorating

L on Christmas Morning

C on Christmas Morning

C in her Tangled outfit

Me in the tangled wig

L performing

Playing with new presents

There outta there! Leaving school for Christmas break!!

Me and A Dawson about to go out for his birthday on New Years Eve - This isn't the best pic ever but it's the only one I've got. :)

Thanksgiving in New York City!!! 2010 - And some other stuff.

2011-12-10T22:07:00.001-06:00

We hung out in the front yard and painted after school one day b/c it was so pretty that day!

We love our mums!!

On the plane to NYC

Grandad and ADL

C's tooth is loose

Cute pics of the girls playing dress-up the week after our trip

Got a ride from the airport in a limo. :)

L's first NYC meal (not including when she was in my tummy :))

The girls in the Brownstone we stayed in.

ADL and his dad the first morning in NYC

The girls about to ride the subway but this ain't C's first rodeo!

C hanging out on the stoop.

C and ADL

Inside FAO Schwarz

C lost her tooth right after the Bubble show!

Sept. & Oct. of 2010

2011-12-10T20:52:00.001-06:00

L started dance class in Sept.

Where's Chuy?

Daddy and L at the State Fair

C hanging our in a tire at the Fair

Showing off her candy!

Cheetah Girl!

At the Fair; they loved all the scary stuff.

Us at Scare on the Square in downtown McKinney

Girls found lady bugs of all things at the fair.

Three year old showing off her drawing

Sisters at Scare on the Square

C dressed as a Judge for school

Grama and L

L having fun in dance class

End of August 2010

2011-12-07T13:33:00.001-06:00

C's first day of Kindergarten!!! (we didn't take pics at her meet the teacher, don't remember why though??)

So cute! (except I was taking meds that made my face PUFFY!)

L's first day of Preschool!

(same here; puffy face due to meds!! had to throw that bit of info in b/c this is ridiculous!)

Meet the Teacher day!

Bike time!

Her very first classroom! Toucans!

July and August 2010!

2011-12-07T12:56:00.001-06:00

The pics are of Galveston beach, Kemah boardwalk, and Moody Gardens. The ones of the pool are at my parent's house.

May and June 2010!

2011-12-07T10:31:00.001-06:00

C's field day

C's preschool graduation

C at a fairy B'day party

Our Memorial weekend trip to Glen Rose

C's preschool performance

My mom and dad's 40th anniversary party that me and my sister threw for them in May.

C's missing tooth! :)

Fossil Rim

Glen Rose ~ swim in the river

Glen Rose Hotel Pool!

Yet another party to host. On my way to host a baby shower in May. A. Dawson had to take pics of me b/c I never dress-up this much. We hosted a Halloween party, Christmas Party, Our kids b'day parties (which were so fun that year, but pretty pricy) Plus a baby shower and Anniversary party which were back to back weekends. I had C's party then the baby shower then the anniversary party the next weekend.... We are all hosted out at this point, but it was fun! (The only pic out of these that are from june is the one of C's missing tooth; I think we were pooped-out in by June!)

Fossil Rim

Hotel pool!

March and April 2010!

2011-12-07T10:08:00.001-06:00

L's 3rd B'Day Barbie Princess Party! In March

Our pretty princess!

Four Seasons in Austin in March

C's School Birthday Crown 6!

L getting her nails painted.

Me and C doing crafts :)

In Apirl

In April

the whole family ~ of course the kids aren't looking though

Austin in March ~ Room Service!

Me and L at C's Birthday Bowling Bash!

run way!

C making a bracelet

L at Pappasittos in March ~ Love these pics playing with dough

C playing with dough at one of our fave restuaruants ~ Pappasittos

C loves bugs!

Hill-rolling with the kids behind the Four Seasons in Austin

C at Dallas Zoo; she loved this butterfly bench!

Daddy at L's princess b'day party!

C Easter egg hunt in our neighborhood ~ she found the bunnies!

C and L riding the Train to the Dallas Zoo during Spring Break in March

Me and C playing games at her b'day party!

L on Easter~ egg hunt in our neighborhood

Getting L changed in to her princess outfit

CAKE!!

Me L at her Party!

L sliding at our house on Spring Break after the Zoo.

Easter!

C enjoying time in Austin

C's CAKE!

2010! ~ January and February

2011-12-07T08:51:00.001-06:00

We went to The Big Woods in Jan. for A. Dawson's Birthday.

February: we got three consecutive snow days! It was nice and cozy by the fireplace.

S'mores at The Big Woods

Daddy and girls at The Big Woods

L in our backyard enjoying the snow

At The Tap in College Station

L in her new big girls bed!!

Oct, Nov, Dec of 2009

2011-12-05T11:40:00.001-06:00

Meeting Daddy for lunch after gymnastics at Gatti Town. (We did this almost every Monday; the girls were'nt in school yet so we had plenty of freedom to do things like this. I miss that already.)

About to go see Dalmations the play/musical

On our way to see the 101 Dalmations musical with Grama.

ICE at The Gaylord Texan in Grapevine

Christmas Party at our house

Lib getting off of the ICE slide

ICE

Christmas Eve after going out to dinner

Christmas Eve after dinner and it started snowing!!

Christmas Morning

Chrismas Morning

Lib stocking

Finally allowed to eat the Gingerbread house

Thanksgiving day 2009 in front of our house.

Me and C at our Chrismtas party

Me and L at our Christmas Party

Our Halloween Party that year

Daddy and girls at ICE

waiting to see ICE

More Halloween food; rat trouffles and more gross treats

The cutie girls 2009

Tom and Jerry 2009

Now on to... July, August, and September of 2009

2011-11-14T18:19:00.001-06:00

Fourth of July

Stars and Stripes!

Girls were being silly after getting new shoes in August

Went to the State Fair in September

C riding a lil tractor with her mouse face at the State Fair

L loves corn dogs!

Grandad took us to the fair!!

L got a dog face

Daddy in our hotel room at Conclave in Orlando in August (kids stayed home)

C getting a stacked bob - she's not too sure yet!

Cute!

Me and C at La Hacienda Ranch. (Couldn't get this one to turn)

Girls shopping after C got her bob. And they had been to gymnastics that morning also!

STILL catching-up ~ Feb, March, April, and May of 09

2011-11-14T16:31:00.001-06:00

So it's not in order but these are some highlights of our Feb through May of 2009. Still making an attempt to catch-up on our blog.

Girl's combined b'day dog-themed party. They turned 2 and 5.

L after the party ~ chillaxin

C opening b'day presents

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Girls in hotel over-looking the San Antonio River Walk

Caverns

Pretty inside

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Acenar Restaurant; we walked from our hotel

Dad and C at Acenar

L and Mommy about to feed some animals from our car

C checking out the Riverwalk

Opening more presents

More opening of presents!

Sea World

C feeding and petting the dolphins

Girls sporting their sunglasses.

Mommy and L hanging out in our hotel room after dinner.

Scary, hungry bird!!

L with blueberry face

Bird

In May before going out to dinner.

L in a box

L in cute outfit

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Me and C heading to Fort Worth Opera -( had to crop my head out b/c was not cute pic at all but wanted to keep C and tickets in!)

Crew of Barkus Parade in Feb in downtown Mckinney

C at restaruant along the Riverwalk

L sporting wedges

Shower I gave for Lauren in March

C at Caverns

Picking up where we left off ~ End of 2008

2011-11-14T12:13:00.001-06:00

Daddy and C at Christmas Eve dinner

Me and L at Christmas Eve dinner.

Here are a few shots from December 2008 and January of 2009. C was 4 and L was a year and a half!

The first two are of Christmas 08 and the last three are of Jan 09.

We had just moved into our house that Oct. of 2008. Sadly, we didn't take enough holiday pics that year. Wish we would've becasue it was such a great time and extra special to us because it was our first Christmas in our new house.

Ready. Set. Go!

2011-11-11T14:52:00.001-06:00

Ready to start blogging again! I've taken three years off! But now I'm ready to catch-up on what we've been doing these past few years.

Wow, I guess a good start would be what we did for vacations and holidays and I'll also include new beginnings like first days of school for the girls.

But right now I have to go get C from school. So later I'll post something; I hope.

Boo!

2008-11-02T09:36:00.008-06:00

C was a white cat named "Sasha" and L was a pink poodle named "FiFi". They got lots of yummy, unhealthy candy that is now hidden for awhile!

Crazy-Eyed Killa

2008-08-29T20:44:00.006-05:00

Friday. House inspection day. Good report. Tried new restaurant. Nothin' swanky; kid friendly environment a must. Had a fish bowl-sized Margarita. Hubby had dos. Almost went to look at stainless steel bottom freezer fridges and other various impressive appliances. Didn't make it due to the crazies. I think you know who I'm referring to here.

First day at New Montessori School

2008-08-26T21:03:00.012-05:00

C attended her first day at her new Montessori school here in McKinney. (She attended one up in Philly last year) She'll attend two full school days (instead of three half days like last year) each week.

This school is awesome: they practice yoga on Thursdays, have computer lab time, have a green house for gardening, eat organic snacks only and, very importantly, have an awesome art studio/supplies! Public Kindergarten will have a lot to live up to next year.

For now, we are thrilled that we (I) found this school before we moved back from Philly so we wouldn't miss out on enrollment! C loves it! And she insisted on wearing her diamond flip flops to school and one of her friends had on the same shoes (as you can see in the pic.)

Nothing like a cute pair of shoes to hone camaraderie between friends, right.

Property virgins doing some shameless bragging

2008-08-25T10:59:00.017-05:00

They accepted our offer on the above McMansion of our choice. (And I mean McMansion in an endearing way b/c, darn it, It's my McMansion :)) We got it at sixty six dollars a square foot so we feel that we're getting an excellent deal. It's not a brand new home (blt 1998) and there's a few things we'd like to change over time, but the bones of the house are fabulous with tons of closet space - which is a must for us b/c it's something we've never really had and need. It's just a great family home with granite counter tops already in the kitchen,which is a plus, and it's got five bedrooms with a game room and a big, flat backyard for the dogs and kiddos to play. It's in a wonderful gated neighborhood with a densely wooded walking/jogging trail and community pool two doors down from us. It also boasts a blue ribbon elementary school that C will attend in a year and L soon after. We have not closed yet, so it's not a done deal but we're really excited, nonetheless! This is, by the way, our FIRST house; wish us luck!

(The pictures show the previous owner's furniture)

On house hunting

2008-08-21T21:30:00.014-05:00

Well, I've finally stopped my obsessive TiVo-ing of House Hunters on HGTV. And yes, after moving nine times in eight years, we're FINALLY house hunting ourselves (minus the cameras). All I've got thus far is.......

When in doubt?

Drink. And drink, a lot.

Of course, don't forget to read a few books to the kiddos, tuck them into bed, walk down and pass the left over mess from dinner. Let your yapping chihuahua in from the back yard as not to disturb the neighbors. Then, with a feral twinkle in the eye, wildly lunge for the wine cabinet, crack open a bottle of wine with a mandatory minimum alcohol content of 14.5 percent by vol. And just for effectiveness sake, have at least two bottles available, people! Open bottle(s) and enjoy!

Yeah, that's all I got right now on house hunting. I'll get back to ya later.

Gabba Gabba Hey!

2008-08-11T11:09:00.003-05:00

Congratulations to Jessica and Marco on their new little man!

Marco Antonio Guerra II was born Friday 8-8-08 at 7:33a.m. and weighed 7lbs. 3oz. and was 20 inches long. Good job guys!

In a nutshell.....what I've been up to lately

2008-08-08T17:10:00.003-05:00

Click link below

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s-78hfZOu_s

Meditating on the Proverbial Manny

2008-07-26T18:05:00.006-05:00

The kiddos have been out of town since Thursday and it's taken a few days to train my brain. For example, I was cleaning the house while listening to music (I know, what a vacation) and I swear I heard L chattering in the baby monitor. Also, I'd get out of the mini van and have to reassure myself that I didn't leave them in the car. I'm just about totally cured of my delusions and hallucinations today (sat.) and miss L comes home tomorrow.

The dogs, regrettably, are now SPOILED. (Hey, I guess we had to spoil someone.) Our German Shepherd is now officially the whine gold medalist in our house (he's whining, as I type, with his big red rubber ball in mouth ready to fetch) but when miss C comes home she's sure to regain her title and remain the reigning whine champion. I miss her sweet little munchkin voice.

It's back to mommy-ing tomorrow. I did get loads of laundry done and watched some TV. It was nice doing chores in silence and being able to turn up trance/techno music while working out and not worrying about waking the children. I also drove around and looked at neighborhood prospects for the near future without complaint from the little munchkins who are usually in the backseat wanting/whining for teddy grahams or juice like little junkies jones in' for their next crack fix. Oh, how I miss my sweet little juice junkies but I'm thinking a Manny would be a nice addition to our daily household.

Cousins Luncheon...Vivian, Patti, Nicky, Jennifer, Mandy, and Kim

2008-07-20T19:12:00.010-05:00

We had fun this Sat. meeting up with cousins for lunch at the new Cheesecake Factory in Allen. :) Hope to do it again soon! They have the best flavored iced tea ever!

Haute Couture Swimwear for Summer

2008-06-16T22:36:00.008-05:00

C had her first of ten 30 min swimming lessons at the Cooper Fitness Center, here in McKinney, today. She did pretty well; not scared of the water at least.

My little diet monitor

2008-06-13T15:46:00.004-05:00

Me: sticking hand in cheese it box in an attempt to quench my PMS junk food cravings. Just as I had a cheek full of crackers C comments with a very serious look on her face.

C: "Mommy, you can't eat that because you're on a diet and you'll get diarrhea."

I managed to get a few cheese its, but her little comment really made me decide to not eat anymore. Nothing like a dogmatic, candid four year old to keep you on track even if it means grossing you out to the point of gagging and never ever wanting to look at, much less chew on a cheese it again in your lifetime. What ever works, right.

Silent Sunday

2008-06-08T18:07:00.003-05:00

The Skinny Bitch went to South Beach and got a tape worm

2008-06-04T22:16:00.006-05:00

We've all been on diets and since the birth of my second child, I've been on more diets than ever. First, I tried nutrasystem. It's too pricey and utterly nasty. Needless to say, I don't recommend that one. Then, I got wind of Victoria Beckham's favorite book, The Skinny Bitch. Interesting read, but I had already been on that diet before the book was written back in the day. I just wasn't' ready to be that strict again. For the past three weeks I've been on the south beach diet and it's working out pretty well. Other than the major prep it takes, it's great. For the past three days we've had a flu like stomach bug and I've succumbed to eating noodles (which aren't on the diet at all). So I'm hoping that this 'bug' is a tape worm. What? You haven't heard of the tape worm diet? I haven't' tried that one purposefully, yet. I just really wanted to stay on track and I just keep thinking about all those noodles that are going straight to my ass! Let's just hope that the tape worm is gobbling them up at this very moment. Cross your fingers.

Llamas, Pigs, and Bunnies! Oh My!

2008-05-18T19:05:00.013-05:00

We had fun this afternoon at Norah's fifth birthday party. They had a petting zoo in their backyard with tons of animals! The girls had a blast. Chloe's favorite animals were the kittens and Libby wanted to bathe with the little piggies in their mud water, but we stopped her. :)

It was a two mojito night

2008-05-16T23:29:00.012-05:00

Girl's Night Out at the Shops at Legacy

From left to right: Me (Kim) (I'm the blond chic/potty humor girl that writes this blog), Carolyn (cheerleader with me in high school and she was Dallas Cowboy Cheerleader for two years), Shannon (we've known each other since grade school; she also loves the potty humor. So we had loads to talk about at dinner! :)), and Gloria (a very sweet girl, who just had her third child a month ago!)

It was a two mojito night with the girls. It's great to live in the Dallas area again; I get to see and reconnect with old friends. We went to one of my favorite restaurants ever, Mi Cocina, and then to a Martini bar next door. It was nice to get out and talk about old times (grade school and high school) Lots of laughs.

I can tell we're getting old because we all had two drinks a piece and then left the bar at 10:30 and walked around, window shopped, told gripping, face clinching bikini wax tales and funny breastfeeding stories. And miss Shannon had a couple of very interesting eyebrow stories that involved a razor, a thick black sharpie, cotton balls and hot wax. Good times. Good times. :)

A sign that you're on the computer way too much

2008-05-10T10:36:00.008-05:00

No secret, we like our computer time in our house and we all know that Daddy is very obsessive *ahem* I mean, fond of his PC and is spotted quite frequently typing away in all of his dual monitor glory.

This morning, as soon as L saw Daddy, she made a bee line for the office and reached for the keyboard, her tiny hands typing away.

She was pretending to type really fast and doing such a good job that she had us convinced that maybe she was a court reporter of some sort in a past life. We were cracking-up at her mock typing and wiping our tears of laughter from our faces when, suddenly, we noticed that she had managed to log off and shut the computer down.

She had a plan all along.

So, we're staying logged off and shutting down all of the computers today and 'logging' into the kiddos. Well, I've got to go sign in. (Password: Family time)

Off to The Taste of Addison to eat, drink, and listen to the Black Crows today!

Baby Faces and Love

2008-04-28T22:34:00.001-05:00

Make a slideshow - it's easy!

2008-04-24T14:39:00.001-05:00

Make a scrapbook - it's easy!

A Portal From The New Jersey Turnpike Would Be So Much Easier...If Only

2008-03-24T08:54:00.019-05:00

Just a few recent pictures and a few from last Jan and Aug. In the midst of packing and coordinating our move, Libby has turned one year old and is as sassy as ever! We celebrated by going out to eat and we'll celebrate again in TX.

We've enjoyed our time here in Philly but we're ready to get on the plane tomorrow and fly home to Dallas. Wish me luck with the two drama queens..... Wisely, we've decided NOT to drive cross country with the girls. NOT a good idea! I could just see us now....getting stuck in traffic on the New Jersey Turnpike and Chloe having to go potty etc...Stressful. We'd gladly drive to the NJ turnpike if only there were a portal that would spit us out onto the George Bush Turnpike...no such luck though...well anyway.....off to pack.

Goodbye Rocky

2008-03-19T12:47:00.008-05:00

We're moving back home to Texas and while I'm ecstatic, to say the very least, the one regret I will have is the missed opportunity to jog up the Rocky steps, I envision sporting my gray jogging suit, my ipod playing the rocky theme, Atticus (our German shepherd) running along side me and at the top I would jog in place while holding my arms up and clinch my fists like I've just been crowned the uber light weight champion of the world.

Well, that dream is shattered [wiping single tear from cheek] considering we're catching a one way flight next Tuesday to TX and I'm in the midst of panic packing and waiting on a response from an offer we put in on a house in TX. [crossing fingers and toes]

So long Philly and the Museum of Art. So long spaghetti land. So long Valley Forge and the posh Main Line (shyeah, right and everyone thinks they have big hair in Texas....you haven't seen big hair until you've been to the main line) So long yummy pizza and delish ice cream. So long addictive Turkey Hill iced tea. So long occasional snow and nipple-erecting cold nights.

Hello Sunshine. Hello Tejas!!!!!!!!

The Guinea Pig Whisperer And Much Much More

2008-02-26T09:40:00.027-06:00

As some of you know, I'm a stay at home mom and I've actually had people ask me with a very perplexed look on their face "what do you do all day?" Oh, I just sit around and eat all day and stare at the walls. That just strikes me as such a rude and condescending question in and of itself and it makes it all the more rude considering the doubtful inflection in their voice. The question obviously stems from a preconceived idea that stay at home moms (sahm) must be bored and lazy. And, frankly, this sort of attitude and blatant pre-judgemental question just pisses me off; as it should. Especially coming from another woman.

Around here I take on many different roles. A more narrowed question would not only be easier to answer but more respectful - like "Do you cook dinner every single night?"
"Try breakfast, lunch and dinner, (we go out about twice a week) and I usually cook three different dinners because the girls eat two totally different things than us."
Or "do you ever get any alone time?
The answer is "very rarely; in the shower, maybe"
Or "what do you do while C is in school? Run errands? Workout?"
"I sometimes blog, have alone time play with Libby, clean or run errands." Instead of "what do you do all day?" Do you really expect me to answer that in one or two sentences? Really? Rudeness. Or maybe just plain 'ole stupidity or both.

I'm certainly no stranger to working outside of the home. I worked through high school and through college and after college. I've done my fair share of working double shifts 12 to 16 hours of waiting tables on my feet all day and night. I've taken on a ridiculous work load as a first year educator and was very successful. Like I said in a previous post; I have a strong work ethic. I bought my first car while in high school. Independence isn't an issue with me; I'm very independent. So these women who shoot the intentional or unintentional silent, glazed-over judgemental glare when I tell them I stay home can come back to reality and kiss my....What? You work in the always prestigious corporate America, you commute for an hour each way everyday for what? To pay your bills is one thing but in order to buy Jimmy Choo shoes is another. I'm by no means a judgemental person but, come on, don't judge me unless you want to be put in your place.

I'm a purist when it comes to a career and if you aren't at your dream job? You're wasting your time. Unless, of course, you have to work for income as many women do and you don't have that weird prideful attitude about working for some corporation who could, let's face it, give two shits about you. These haughty taughties who think they're the bomb and, sadly, mistake themselves as glamorous or members of the Cashmere Mafia because they work in downtown Houston or Atlanta at places like Innetech or Innetrode and participate in a much anticipated Hawaiian shirt/jeans Friday can really get a life; really. Don't get me wrong, jeans Friday is great but drop your holier than thou attitude and stop looking down your noses toward us sahm's just because you choose to be a high powered, Angela Bower-esque career woman.

As I said in the intro, I've had more than one person drop subtle hints and looks about me staying home. Make no mistake, I stay home because I choose to and I feel so lucky to be able to. This job is the toughest I've had and it's been the most rewarding, by far. And I've had many jobs. I'm not going to list everything this dream job of mine entails but a few titles come to mind... I'm mommy, the chef, chauffeur, meal planner, social activity planner, manager, financial co-chair advisor, house-hunter/real estate expert, high-end bargain grocery shopper, garden-keeper, organic farmer, launderer, organizing expert, stain remover, safety expert, maid, dog trainer, potty trainer, pron star, teacher, mediator, fecal matter inspector and expert, community philanthropist, psychologist, interior designer, landscaper, writer, keeper of control and harmony, workout guru, guinea pig whisperer, and much more. Oh, and I get to wear jeans everyday.

While I'm sure it's not the first time it's been said...STILL HILARIOUS!

2008-02-23T19:50:00.003-06:00

C and I looking at a picture of a pregnant me......

C: "Mommy, was I in your tummy?"

Me: "Yes."

*Long puzzling pause*

C: "Did you eat me?"

Zen 101: Gratitude and Attitude

2008-02-10T09:31:00.000-06:00

I went to bed last night feeling gratitude for the many blessings in my life; I mean really feeling them. And I woke up this morning with this unbelievable warm feeling still nestled in the center of my chest. It's a place I've been to before, like after a particularly moving church sermon which delivered a spiritual high that, inevitably, soon dwindled. But it's different this time.

I realize that being so cognizant of the miracles in my life brings forth the attitude that anything and everything is possible and that my dreams can, should, and will come to fruition if I just act upon them in due time. But the beauty of it all is feeling good about yourself and your life right now. It's truly believing that you will accomplish certain things in your life but you have to quash and totally extinguish any internal negative self talk that comes so easily to most of us. It's about feeling like you're already in the place that you so desire and, again, really feeling it. So to the Universe, I say, order up! Oh, and eighty-six on the cynicism or any gloomy outlooks.

Because it's my world, and well, you're just gonna live in it.

2008-02-01T11:19:00.000-06:00

I don't believe in New Year's resolutions. I do, however, believe in birthday resolutions. Does it not make more sense considering that it's your special day or whatever? Or is it just me? Well, I make my resolutions on my birthday, nonetheless, and this year it was born out of a phrase that I heard on Oprah the other day that, I think, not only will stick with me through this coming year but be put into practice for the rest of my life.

We've all been in the following situations, some of us more often than others. And we all know that there's a fine line between being overly suggestive and being out right pushy and crossing boundaries. We've all encountered these situations with people, whether it be a friend trying to talk you into going out when you don't feel like it, a co-worker who always wants you to drive when going out for lunch, or a salesperson trying to sell you something you neither need nor want. We've all felt it and we all know that your basic force is compromised when people try to push you in a certain direction, when they know that you really don't want to do it and they continue to ignore your hints and ultimately won't take no for an answer. And when you finally give-in and say yes, you're really saying no to yourself.

So every time you say yes to someone you're saying no to yourself.

This lesson has been a long-time-coming for me and is a common theme among many women, especially young women. I'm 34 today and I'm feeling old this year for the first time. Not only do I feel older and wiser, (which is a wonderful thing) I'm feeling more empowered to go after the things that I want and deserve, big and small. For example, pursuing a writing career is a dream of mine and sustaining the little things in life are important to me as well. An example of a little, but very important thing that a lot of moms can relate to is not letting other people control or complicate daily life decisions like what time or where to have your child's birthday parties or if your child should or shouldn't know how to tie their own shoe laces at a certain age, etc...

Let me tell you, don't waste another moment listening to such nonsense, (however it may apply to your life) and don't be bullied or manipulated any longer; take the power that is yours back today. After all, These are your dreams and the only ones you'll get. These are your children and the only ones you'll get. This is your life and the only one you'll get.

This is a hard lesson for a lot of women and most rape/assault victims say they were just trying to be nice when they helped the guy carry the groceries to the car or whatever the situation was, even though their gut was screaming 'be afraid', they gave-in and said yes and ended up paying the ultimate price.

What is the root of saying yes when we don't want to, you ask? In my case, it's the fear of not being liked. That's why, in the past, I have often given in to people and said yes to various daily life situations when I really wanted and needed to say no. But no longer, my friends. I'm learning that not being liked is okay. That not having other people's approval is okay. That standing firm in your decision is okay. And that having your way and maintaining your personal boundaries is your right as a human being and as a woman whose life is her own. And I've come to realize that, as far as this realm of thinking is concerned, there are two kinds of people in this world: Those who have to be liked and those who do not. And let me tell you, people, those who don't care about what others think of them are most definitely the happier and the freer of the two.

Of course, if I were a man, this would not be an issue at all because we all know that men and women are socially conditioned in two very different ways and certain behaviors are acceptable for men to display and, at the same time, (even in this day and age) unacceptable for women to display because women are suppose to be cute, enjoyable, pleasant, obliging and very mindful not to have too big of opinions or, God forbid, people just won't like you!

I know that I will do everything in my power to make sure that my girls are not taught this socially sick and distressing lie. I want them to be happy, first and foremost, and if that means not being liked for whatever reason? So be it. Will I be viewed as a selfish bitch in my quest for freedom to do what I want for my own happiness' sake? Maybe to some men and maybe even some short-sighted, imprudent women who have been brainwashed to fit nicely into the social fabric of non-assertive, miserable and disenfranchised women. Am I embracing the power that is my life? Yes. Am I passionate about this? Yes. Why? Well, I don't know about you, but I'm gonna get mines.

Because... that's just how I roll.

Fried Guinea Pig Anyone?

2008-01-17T07:58:00.000-06:00

It's what's for dinner tonight in South America and, apparently, has been for years. These poor little furry rodents are battered, fried-up and savored with a side of rice and black beans. Maybe they wouldn't be so bad with some salsa and a margarita; maybe a few tortilla chips? Yes, that's it! Guinea Pig tortilla soup! voila! *mouth watering* Too bad I don't eat meat. Well, our two little guinea pigs could really come in handy now that we're heading into a recession. Okay, okay I'll just stick to the beans and rice.

C wouldn't appreciate boiled pet soup anyway. Remy and Emile (brothers from the same litter) are fairly new to our household and are a blast to watch. They play, talk to one another and chew on hay just about constantly.......and just when I thought we'd met our quota on poop around here.....

Their names are inspired from the movie Ratatouille. C loves this movie and told me the other day that she wants a chef's hat a.s.a.p.. And just a few seconds after emphatically exclaiming that she will be a chef when she grows-up, she ran to the window and squealed while jumping up and down, "Look mommy, a helicopter!" While I squinted my eyes trying to locate the spec in the sky, Chloe quickly scratched her previous career choice and definitively announced that she will fly helicopters when she grows up instead. I, being somewhat crushed that she so quickly squashed the chef idea, said "You can do both." Again, my hopes were stomped on when Chloe insisted that she only wants to fly helicopters.

I suddenly started to self-analyze and wondered if I felt more bothered by the fact that she's never going to pursue her own show on the Food Network or the fact that piloting helicopters seems so dangerous. Then, the irony of the situation dawned on me....was the universe sending me a message? Was the helicopter a metaphor for something? Yes, but for what? Hmmm.

I'm rushing out now to frantically locate an exact replica of the chef's hat from the movie just after I finish her application to a prestigious preschool called Little Harvard Culinary Chef School located in the posh area known as the Main Line. Cross your fingers!

I'll make sure to deftly pull the blinds closed from now on when that familiar hum of the helicopter blades Doppler their way into our living room. I'll just tell Chloe that the noise isn't coming from outside.....I'll tell her, "It's just the sound of my parenting, sweetie. Now, come in the kitchen, put on your chef hat and apron and start boiling this water for your secret guinea pig *ahem* I mean, secret chicken soup recipe."

Best Christmas Ever!

2007-12-27T14:05:00.000-06:00

We had an excellent Christmas this year! It was miss Libby's first and although we miss our families, we are content spending holidays with just the four of us and the Christmas spirit was over-flowing this year.

We had a fabulous dinner at Ruth Chris Steakhouse. (Love it; they have the best food.) We dressed the girls up in their cute Christmas outfits and headed out on Christmas Eve. After dinner, we opened our traditional one gift per person and left the rest for Christmas morning. Then Chloe set out the reindeer food. To our surprise, Chloe fell asleep just about as soon as her head hit the pillow.

On the big day we had to wake-up Chloe! We couldn't believe it. She, however, couldn't sleep that night for fear that the toys would be gone the day after Christmas. On Christmas day we stayed in our PJ's all day, ate leftovers, listened to music, talked to relatives on the phone, and played for 12 hours- basically from 8 to 8. Thanks Santa! We can't wait for next year!

Good Times!

2007-12-12T14:18:00.000-06:00

(See C's best Renee Zellweger impression below. lol.)

We haven't fully decorated our tree yet but we're working on it. We've already whipped out the Christmas aprons and baked sugar cookies and decorated with various colorful sprinkles- C loves doing this. My little baker!

We're truly looking forward to Christmas as Santa comes every year at our house.....this year is extra special because it's Libby's first. We're going to get back into the kitchen before Christmas day and make some more cookies for Santa and also leave some food out for his reindeer. We may, however, forgo the proverbial milk with the cookies....and serve up some Christmas cheer with eggnog and cookies.......I think Santa deserves a little extra Christmas spirit this year for all of his hard work, don't you? Cheers!

Welcome to the Jungle

2007-10-29T13:43:00.000-05:00

A Sister Haiku

2007-10-01T10:36:00.000-05:00

Laughing, playing fun

Lib and Chlo like Ebb and Flow

memories return

Skewl Dayz

2007-09-05T09:54:00.000-05:00

Well, I guess this is turning into a picture Blog....I just haven't made the time to write lately. Chloe started montessori pre-school today. I wondered if she would have any of the normal anxieties that accompany the first day of school. And she didn't. She was just ready to get there and start "playing" etc... I haven't' been home long and I've already got to leave to go pick her up.

More to come on the subject of school.

Matchy-Matchy

2007-08-22T15:27:00.000-05:00

We got out of the house today, finally. I say finally because it's been raining here for three days straight which makes it tough with a three-year-old and, not to mention, the dogs which have to be taken out on a leash to do their business. (No fence = daily bummer) Even tougher when the three-year-old insists on "helping" and holding the leash which inevitably gets "accidentally" dropped in a pile of muddy water which scares the Chihuahua and makes him bolt-off like he's been walking in the desert for days and finally spots a Taco Bell in the horizon. That's how I spell F-U-N! Chasing a tiny chihuahua who's wearing a small but very cute, yellow rain coat in my sweat pants and no bra- (yes I did, however, have on a shirt) in the rain and all the while ducking as if this would somehow make the neighbors not recognize me. Very embarrassing but in hind-sight funny situation - stressing the HIND sight here.

I guess this makes me one of those annoying girls who dresses their dogs in clothes and has to dress my daughters in matching outfits every now and then too. (and I guess this also makes me one of those annoying girls who doesn't wear a bra in public. Nice.) Yeah, you should have seen this spectacle - talk about Girls Gone Wild. I was wild alright- Steaming hot, also! But not with sex-appeal. Let's just say I felt a touch of frustration. Well, I got over it but it did make me second guess that time in South Padre on Spring Break when I turned down the chance to enter a wet tee-shirt contest. Not that I would actually ever enter one but because I know I will never EVER have that offer again in my lifetime it makes me second guess myself. Trust me, I won't go into the gory details but NEVER again will anyone think that I'm a candidate for that.

The rain is suppose to continue through this Friday. So I guess this means I need to head off to Pet-Smart to get a large but very cute yellow rain coat. We have a German Shepherd, Atticus. Gotta keep the pattern. Gotta keep the pattern.

ha. ha. Kidding. Kidding.

From Possible Lead Poisoning to Frankenfood: It's always all about the money

2007-08-14T09:10:00.000-05:00

I find myself being quite irritated about this Mattel Recall. These big corporations are regulated to report hazards within 24 hours of finding a problem. Yeah, I'm sure they jump at the chance to take the moral high ground and would do it anyway even without this regulation in place. Right? WRONG. ( I have serious doubts they do it even with the regulation in place) Last week or so I looked over the list of toys and luckily we didn't have any. Then, today I looked at the new list and we have SEVERAL of these toys and have since Chloe's birth in 2004. I just don't trust this whole 'if you bought it before May 2007 it's okay' or whatever they're saying. This is very upsetting. I'm so sick of these big corporations fucking-up so badly and taking their sweet fucking time to recall or whatever it may be to try and save a buck.

Normal view: babies/children + defective toys = Possible DEATH

Corporation's view: babies/children + defective toys = MONEY LOSS

NO telling what they're putting in our food. *chemicals chemicals everywhere* These big corporations have conjured-up ideas to genetically alter crops that don't produce seeds so you have to continually buy that food from them. Thus, giving them the power to patent and ultimately control the market. I am by no means an expert on this subject but I know enough to realize that they're stealing from mother nature and creating a new market to corner. For example, making corn bigger and sweeter with build-in pesticides but that doesn't produce seed. Cha-ching! Imagine when that takes off? They are systemically going to wipe-out mother nature and the local farmers all together with their Frankenfood. *Chemicals chemicals everywhere*

I'm just irritated. Did I mention that it irritates me? The solution? I'm not sure if there is one. Buying your produce from local farmers is a start. And I plan to continually check for toy recalls now. Or stop buying toys from large corporations altogether- not sure the latter would happen -When Chloe sees the latest Dora collection, etc... We're such products of our environment. *chemicals chemicals everywhere*

DC Trip!

2007-08-05T20:27:00.001-05:00

Capitol Building

Chloe on the driving tour

Jefferson Memorial

Room Service!

Me and the girls

Daddy and the girls

Just a few pictures from our little trip. We were there Wed through Sat - A lot of room service and movies! We watched 'Night at the Museum'- very cute. We met some friends from law school for dinner. (Wonderful food everywhere!) Chloe's fave thing was the hotel pool, of course. It was nice to get away for awhile. We'll probably go back when the girls are a little older so we can do more tourist-y stuff. I already miss the room service.

Happy 7th Wedding Anniversary to me and hubby! Kiss Kiss.

Which is C? Which is L?

2007-07-30T20:44:00.000-05:00

A little Pop quiz for the readers....do you know which is L? What about C? Take a guess.

Answer: Chloe was six months in the top picture with the white dress on and in the picture below that Chloe was around five months. The bottom picture is Libby, taken recently, and she's four months. (I couldn't decide which picture to put up of Chloe so I did both.) They really do favor quite a bit- even more than these pictures show- Our little Twinkies.

I haven't been blogging recently because we've been busy with house guests and enjoying the summer weather. We're headed off to Washington D.C. tomorrow and I haven't packed a thing yet. I plan to get back to blogging regularly after this little trip to D.C. We're going to stay three nights and we'll celebrate our seventh wedding anniversary there. Which means just going out to eat - but I heard they have some stellar restaurants in the city so that's a plus. They also have some great museums and a zoo close to our hotel so maybe I'll try to brave it alone with the girls while hubby is in his conference and go to the zoo and stuff with the girls. Off to pack!

Our Little Line Leader: Shucking and Jiving

2007-07-09T11:15:00.000-05:00

Shuck and Jive used to mean eating sea food, having drinks, watching my sister pass out from too many Jagermeister shots and dancing to Trash Disco into the wee hours of the morning.

Now it means watching Chloe shuck the corn, very competently, mind you. And dancing to Blue Grass. That's her favorite type of music these days; she's exposed to various genres, but always enthusiastically requests,

"I want to dance to Blue Grass, Mommy."

She shuffles her feet as fast as she can, but with direction, almost as if she's performing a very precisely choreographed river dance while intermittently throwing in the occasional hand stand and toe touch. Mr. Bojangles has nothing on her.

She's also very recently taken on the responsibility of shucking corn (when we have it), setting the table, and tossing the salad before dinner. Her preferred 'cooking' activity is definitely shucking the corn.

Chloe went to Summer camp last week; just a day camp for three hours a day. She swam, ran, and jumped a lot. And made like car loads of crafts. I've never seen so much construction paper, stickers, and legumes in the short span of just one week.

She was up at 3 o'clock in the morning the night before the first day of camp asking if it was morning yet. The little cutie was so excited she couldn't sleep. It was reminiscent of her first Christmas. She was so incredibly excited (more like over-stimulated) that she didn't' sleep Christmas night because she knew she had a room full of new toys just waiting to be played with.

Chloe seems to be, naturally, very assertive and a leader. The girl just knows what she wants. As an infant, she would call me (by using a rhythmic grunt and it even sounded like 'momma' sometimes) if I were in the other room. And three years later - she still does the same but with very clear, very loud, and very emphatic diction. She's a little jabber box and has been since day one. Can't wait to see what she'll become and what she chooses as a career/job someday.

For now, she'll continue to bring prideful smiles to Mommy and Daddy's faces when she shows us the imperfect craft she made at School/Summer Camp. She makes us laugh until our eyes tear-up these days with her 'potty humor' and her Mr. Bojangles jigs. Plain and Simple, she's ADORABLE.

Maybe a third isn't out of the question after all.

Who said that?

Slow Southern Drawl

2007-07-01T09:22:00.000-05:00

We went over to our neighbor's house for dinner last night. No, not the Jersey nightmares, they're moving this weekend. Barn animals and all.

It took us awhile to figure out if they were moving because they were using a 'borrowed' ice cream truck (How very mall bang-esque of them) and were throwing in open boxes of shiny, chipped porcelain figurines and old stacks of playboy magazines, somewhat scattered and loose at the foot of the truck. I thought they were gathering junk for a bonfire until I saw them moving load after load and lugging out their stained mattresses and dusty trailer park couches. Moving day!

Yes, I'm endlessly nosy but I saw this display as I was walking over to have dinner at the other neighbor's house. I had come home to grab a bottle of white wine as they were serving yummy king crab. And I had to pass by their moving truck-thingy.

I thought I could slip by unseen and stealth-like. After all, I'd always imagined that I could easily be a Clandestine Agent. If not a sahm (stay at home mom), surely a CIA Agent. A covert op? Cake. I was ready to kick some ass if need be -And I don't mean your standard hair-pulling cat-fight kind of kick ass. I mean, La Femme Nikita round house kick to the side of the head, have enough time to re-apply my lip-gloss and look down at my chipped nail ( my brow dropping in anger because my nails were freshly painted and perfect) and because you don't mess with a girl's nails, lay a non-merciful, deadly karate-chop to the nose kind of kick ass. Yeah, the kind that elicits proud applause from Valerie Plame. And all of this with a full-face of make-up on, lip-gloss still in place, bottle of wine in hand and high heel sandals in tact and unscathed.

And afterwards muttering [from the movie- The Point of No Return] nonchalantly and very ladylike in my best Dolly Parton voice,

"I never did mind about the little things."

After all, I've seen my fair share of Alias episodes and taught my fair share of Kick-boxing classes. But as I was just adjacent to the rear of the truck - (Pamela Anderson's breasts -circa 1988- were screaming out from the once shiny but now 'water-damaged' front cover as if her implants had leaked again and onto the front cover. Yeah, that was probably it.) Mall bangs lady's husband hops out of the truck and says hi very friendly, overly so. This was a shocker because he's rarely made eye-contact, much less uttered a word or sentence to me. And certainly never displayed enthusiasm. I actually thought he was born without a tongue. It was like he had visited Oz and had finally received his brain.

Then I thought to myself - 'he must be excited about moving.' But, no. Who'd be excited about down-sizing to a teeny-tiny apartment? And with all of that junk? Was he being flirty? Ewe.

Just as I was almost past the truck-thingy, I felt the ground vibrate and noticed a humongous presence in the open doorway of their townhouse. It was mall bangs lady and I, being polite and southern and all, said

"hi, ya'll," matching the enthusiasm of her husband but with a slow southern drawl.

[And instantly, wondering why I hadn't noticed how southern I sounded before? Must be the contrast effect. And I use way more terms of endearment in public and 'ya'lls' than I had previously realized. How very southern-esque of me.]

I don't know if it was me or Pammy. But at once, after reluctantly saying hi, her nostrils flared and she looked like a mix of Roseanne from She Devil, a Sasquatch and a Woolly Mammoth that was about to charge. Let's put it this way, if they had hot dogs to move, I know where they would've packed them.... in her nostrils! (1)

I strutted off, unaffected, and heard 'staying alive' playing in my head; one of my staple power songs. (that and 'what a fool believes' by Michael McDonald. I know, nerd-ville!)

Don't get me wrong, I wish mall bangs lady and her family well and I hope they're happy in their ice cream truck-thingy down by the Jersey river. To them I say, Buh-bye now.

As I skipped happily into the other neighbor's house after getting the wine, my power song quickly stopped [the sound of a record scratching] as I heard a burst of laughter while walking in the front door. Then a pause.

"What's going on?", I thought.

Then, I heard my husband, the intellect, joking using a popular catch-phrase.

Referring to grilling the salmon, "Get 'er done!"

Laughter.

Let me tell you, what a crowd pleaser because these people were cracking-up.

I'm thinking 'Can we say, easily amused?'

Whatever works, I guess.

Yet, more laughter.

[Albeit, mono-toned and lacking the familiar southern charisma I'm accustomed to, there were long bouts of guttural- laughter coming from the small crowd gathered around the grill.]

Ears open and waiting.

My husband, in his best Texas trailer park voice and even louder this time,

"Get 'er done!!!"

nice.

[my eyes rolling as I start to uncork the wine]

His slow southern drawl filling the air.

1.) Too mean? No. These people are not nice and purposely disruptive. Besides, she does look this way and it's my duty, as a blogger, to keep it real. And even if she looked exactly like Claudia Shiffer or Angelina Jolie her ugly side would still shine through b/c she's a miserable person, I guess, and in turn mean to others. And loud. And yes, I do feel sorry for her. And yes, I've been very nice to her since we've lived here. I didn't ever turn in the log thing - I did the log for myself to see just how disruptive they are and it was pretty bad. I did talk to her about it again, nicely. Remember, I'm southern. They apparently were already planning to move - so we lucked out. Maybe that's why they were being so loud in spite of everyone b/c they knew they were moving and wouldn't see us again. Mean. Remember, we have a newborn. Anyway, we now have nice, normal noised neighbors. From Jersey, mind you. So it's all good and I'll stop complaining now.

Return of the Kitty-Kat Princess

2007-06-28T14:28:00.001-05:00

She's baaaack. She's a cat. She's a princess. She's THE Kitty-Kat Princess! (With side-kicks Mouse Princess and Cinderella) Saving the world, milk in tow, with one wave of the wand and able to leap piles of toys in a single bound!

Chloe had her friends, Arianna and Arden, over to play today. They ate pizza and watermelon and had a blast, in general. A lot of dressing-up and pretend play. Luckily, no pushing, biting, kicking, pinching, jabbing, punching, puncturing, eye-gouging, stabbing, elbowing, kneeing, karate-chopping, or spitting took place...... just a lot of Munchkin laughter and, of course, purring.

Cutie Patooties!

2007-06-23T21:23:00.000-05:00

We went to the mall today and got these pics taken. It's close to the fourth of July but I opted out of the gaudy firework background; just would have led the eye away from their beauty. :)

My Dad

2007-06-17T09:48:00.000-05:00

It's Father's Day
And we're so far away

I wish I could be there
To drink coffee, laugh, and share

Not only are you my dad
You were my coach and a friend
And you're still my personal comedian

Yes, you're the funniest person I know
When you want to, you can even make Robin Williams seem slow
And your charisma could easily sell snow to an Eskimo

You gave me a deep love of music; Folk and Bluegrass
And you're such a hard worker; you inspire me to just get off of my ass!

You are a writer and a poet at heart
And you gave me a love of nature right from the start

Camping and boating
Laughing and racing

Your spirit is free
And that's such a valuable lesson in me

You even built us a real tree house
And my very own regulation balance beam

You even made yard work seem fun
Like we were all a part of a team

You taught me how to drive and, to this day, I don't even have to think-
I can easily parallel park in just a blink

I still brag that I knew how to drive a standard before I was fifteen
And thank you for the fast-twitch muscles and the jogging gene

You're a mover and a shaker
And, back in the day, you even taught me how to prime a carburetor

At seventeen, when I got my tattoo
Mom freaked-out, but not you

When we would practice soccer, you'd make me spit out my gum
And even now, I hear "Another one bites the dust" when I run

Even when I ditched soccer and went for cheerleading
Although disappointed, you were supportive and it wasn't fleeting

Although you rarely give yourself credit
There are few books that you can say you haven't read it

You have a big heart and the jack-pot always seems to be yours for the taking
You're up and running when the rest of us are just waking

Your creativity mixed with tenacity has brought you far from your humble beginnings
As an added bonus, you're always gathering the winnings

You pulled yourself up by your own boot straps
And, although, not free from hard times
Your special character has guided your path

You always extend an available ear
And when I was little, you held my hand when I couldn't shake my nighttime fear

We still talk often and never run out of things to say
When I'm feeling down you give me support and tell me to pray

Maybe it's all part of the master plan
But thanks to you, I knew how to spot a good man

My girls have a wonderful Daddy just like you
And he wants to give them the world too

Thank you for being my friend and My Dad

I'll Love You Forever

Happy Father's Day

Pimp My Slide

2007-06-15T09:48:00.001-05:00

Chloe's been in full-on play mode since yesterday's play date at the park. Afterwards, we went to the grocery store where they have an awesome play center called the "Tree House" where she played some more while Libby and I shopped. Then we had a play-a-thon in the basement yesterday afternoon for like three hours.

As not to mess with her mojo, we started the playing again this morning. She delved into her dress-up box and ended up sporting a pink pimp hat.

As you can see, she's quite the poser- I gave her minimal direction. I just told her not to slide down so I could take her picture as she's always willing to ham-it-up.

All that's missing from this picture are some phat pimp platform shoes and a bong. She had a blast modeling her boa and bling while saying "kewl" over and over. She's been saying "Kewl" a lot lately. Kinda kewl, huh?

Sex, Cries, and Video Tapes

2007-06-12T11:15:00.000-05:00

What I meant to say is no sex and very loud, frequent cries due to our inconsiderate neighbors. And video taping may be necessary.

Why no sex? Well, we're too tired from our neighbors waking us up at 7 am on Saturday mornings! (sometimes they let us sleep in until 8 am and if we're lucky - 8:30am) Which to some people this may seem late, but my kids have always been very good sleepers and used to sleep until 9 or 9:30am. Also, my newborn can't nap peacefully during the day. I'm constantly trying to calm her after she's woken up by the loudness.

Sadly, we don't have the luxury of sleeping when WE want to sleep anymore because of our loud neighbors. We have had to adjust our schedule and go to bed much earlier than we used to. I go to bed at 9:00pm now. I used to stay up as late as 12:00am. But, no longer b/c our schedule is now dictated by our neighbors.

We've contacted the front office of the problem after we talked directly to the neighbors, nicely, about it and still no change. So I've started a log in Microsoft word. I don't know what else to do except to log the happenings. It is so bad that if I were hearing impaired, I would still be woken-up because it vibrates our bedroom as well. (and let me tell you, that's the only vibrating going on in the bedroom lately due to sleep deprivation.)

Documenting these events by way of video tapes may be necessary because it is SOOO loud. Did I mention how loud it is? Am I a hard ass for thinking of video taping? I don't think so. Simply b/c I don't think the neighbors or the front office understand how disruptive they really are.

I'm just not used to sharing walls with people much less people who think they live in a freaking barn or something. I haven't done this since college but at least we understand to be considerate simply b/c we know we live in close contact with others. (by the way, I never had this problem in college.)

Our neighbors seem to just live their lives in spite of us and everyone else. They also know that we have a new baby and they were especially loud the day the front office contacted them in reference to their loudness. My husband and I were shocked at their reaction. Very immature behavior.

But what can you expect from a lady from Jersey who still wears mall bangs and has the look of someone that has just been punched in the face. Harsh? No, not after she's deliberately been loud and refuses to control her loud kids. Besides, I can't help it if she looks exactly like a troll doll. As my sister always says, she's been chasing parked cars. These are the facts, people. I'm just speaking the truth. Nothing against people from Jersey, she's just from some remote place in Jersey that produces rude, troll-like inconsiderate folk. Maybe I shouldn't blame this on place of origin. Maybe this should be blamed on her rearing. WHATEVER! I don't want to spend my time psycho-analyzing mall bangs lady.

This is probably the most boring weblog entry I've done yet. See, every aspect of my life is being affected!

It's so bad that I fantasize about waiting until they're asleep and going out on our upper deck that's right by their deck and next to their master bedroom and slamming loud cymbals together.

Or letting our German Shepherd out there and command him to 'speak' over and over.

Better yet, I should plan a bounding up/down the stairs party and have all of my friends come over in their heaviest shoes, drink a few, then organize a race up and down the stairs. Bounders Unite!

Even more sinister, rent a large animal, like a donkey or something, to trot up and down the stairs when I know they're sleeping. Because, frankly, I wouldn't be surprised if they have a bunch of angry swine and more assorted farm animals running up and down their stairs desperately in search of their next meal or something. Yes, it's that loud.

Crazy people. Inconsiderate people. I guess they're just stupid.

Hershey Park

2007-06-06T10:44:00.001-05:00

We made it to the famous Hershey Park this past weekend. It went something like the following:

1. Load mini van frantically to the hilt with so much extra stuff that our neighbors probably didn't guess we were going on a weekend excursion but moving house. But where? In our van down by the river? They know we're from Texas but, come on, some benefit of the doubt would be nice.

2. Stop by the store and buy so much water that you'd think we were expecting the second coming any moment.

3. Also, fill grocery cart with so many greasy, sugary snacks that you'd think I was an advocate for or starting a campaign in favor of childhood obesity. (And adult obesity, for that matter)

4. Rub Chloe down with like SPF 1 million. This sunscreen was very close to the consistency of tar. White tar. She likened Casper the friendly ghost after I was finished with her.

5. Libby gave us a solo performance the whole hour ride.

6. Chloe scarfed down her beloved gold fish.

7. Parked far far away. Kind of like on the movie Vacation only the parking lot was FULL and we didn't run, although I did hear Chariots of Fire playing; was that in my head?

8. We didn't see a Moose at the front either - We did, however see a giant M&M creature/thingy -And I channeled Mr. Griswold for a moment and thought about punching the chocolate drop in its center nutty area after Chloe saw it and kept asking for candy.

9. Sweat our asses off.

10. Drank like a gallon of overpriced lemonade in an effort to quench my primal thirst (in spite of all of the water weighing down the stroller) only to be even thirstier and also sporting the bitter beer face.

11. Watched a bear shit in the woods.

12. Feel very sorry for all of these captured animals. People were staring and pointing at them and banging on the glass. I was hoping that the glass wall would fall and free the gator on the other side. And maybe the gator would've eaten that lady that was tapping on the glass so loudly. (Jeez, I never thought that I would turn into such an animal advocate and be such a tree hugger, in general- maybe I should volunteer for PETA or something.)

13. Last, but certainly not least, watched Chloe have the time of her life!

Ah, the fresh smell of Ozone

2007-05-27T10:56:00.000-05:00

As you can see from the pictures, the children started out very civilized in their Sunday best, only it was Saturday and we were headed out to go shopping - a sacred family event, of course. Chloe was pondering on, oh, I don't know, things like string theory, wormholes, and just who/what this ultimate observer is anyway. Ya know, your everyday basic ponderings on the theoretical sciences.

Chloe says to herself,

"Hmmm, I wonder if Steven Hawking got that email about my breakthrough on time machines."

Just the night before she said,

"No, I don't want to read Good Night Moon! Gosh mommy, brush up on your conceptual foundations of quantum physics, already!"

Me with eyes open widely and nothing else to say, "Okaaay."

And in the picture below that, Libby is wondering when I'm going to take that damn foo-foo bow off of her head.

Well, we headed off to shop at the all-mighty Sam's Club. (No, there's not a Cosco nearby, darn-it.) Alan and I, in the spirit of Memorial Day weekend, purchased two huge maroon (Gig Em Aggies! whoop!) beach- chair loungers with the ever so crucial drink holders, that are not on one, but on both arms!

We idealized laying side by side, the wind in our hair, the lush trees at our feet and gazing up high in the sky at the exotic birds that fly by our deck. Wow, what a view! Wow, what a margarita! Another? Of course, I'll have another. Got any tiny umbrellas too?

Crack! Here came the dark rolling clouds and we instantly scattered like teenagers at a busted house party.

Well, it did take a little vocal prompting (okay, nagging) to convince Chloe to get off of daddy's lounger that she had stolen earlier after he went to make us more drinks. But Daddy was happy to stand on the deck and let Chloe relax excitedly on the lounger. That is, until this fast-moving, water-producing storm showed up. (Libby was inside napping at this point) (Chloe nap? Never.)

Somewhat giddy at this point, we hurriedly swooped everything up and rushed inside. Thundering loudly. Big heavy rain drops. Ah, the smell.

We went to the lower level and before we knew it, somewhere between the x and y margarita, we had let Chloe get virtually naked and start rain dancing out on the deck. Instantly, her civilized ways went feral . Oh, what a feral exhibit. Little feral one. Our little feral child. Queen to all the docile, cultured domestics turned beastly, savage bruts.

Again, I say feral.

Super Nanny! Where are you?!

2007-05-24T12:30:00.000-05:00

Forget the terrible two's - that's mere child's play. The three's are up there with root canals, Ted Bundy, and blue cheese sprinkles. (yeah, I hate blue cheese; utterly revolting.)

Today started out pretty well. I did feel a little sleep deprived so I made coffee and all was well in mommy land. I was so inspired by Folgers Gourmet Selections that this post was originally going to be an "Ode to the Coffee Bean". Because, frankly, where would we be without the coffee bean, people?

I started feeling confident about finishing the laundry and maybe even sneaking in a Winsor Pilate's video (which is almost a necessity after a c-section) and, besides, getting on a regular workout schedule again is a personal goal of mine. Oh yeah, I have kids under the age of five so forget any personal goals or hygiene for that matter. Instead, Chloe decided to use toilet paper as streamers and screamed at the top of her lungs because she wanted golden, not dark, raisins. Oh yeah, she also wants to go to Sesame Street to see Elmo, right NOW. And wants to go for a ride on a dolphin's back in the ocean with Ariel. Verruca Salt syndrome? Nah. It's called being three, I think.

We do have plenty of play dates, if you're wondering. She gets more than enough social interaction and, although sometimes exhausting, I pretend play with her daily. I guess this behavior is just a function of being Three?

If I remember correctly from child development classes, it's also the fact that past desires have consistently been fulfilled so she thinks that ANYTHING is possible. (Hence, the I Dream of Jeannie bottle idea I had around five; I think that was the age. I truly thought that if I rubbed on this bottle that a Genie would certainly come out. A very lucid memory.)

She's already ahead of me, she wants to slide, virtually fly, up and down the banister - she explained to me that she had a dream that me, her, and her daddy where all flying up and down the stair banister and when she woke-up she was ready and determined to make this happen. Ah, her first flying dream; she was amazed. I was amazed that she was telling me her dream and she wasn't quite three at the time. Any who, omg, I just typed any who - I don't ever say that - ewe.

Well, I guess this too shall pass. But in the mean time, I think I'll warm-up another cup of coffee and get Mr. Chicken (the time-out egg- timer) cranked and ready to roll!

Sticker Fetish=Future Tattoos?

2007-05-20T09:36:00.000-05:00

Sugar and Spice and Everything Strife

2007-05-16T12:21:00.000-05:00

Let the Games Begin!

A Gold Medal Performance

Okay, about the two children thing; Some days I think this is a piece of cake and other days I think,

"Oh my God, what have I done?"

While one starts screaming, (usually Chloe) the other starts at it like they're in fierce competition, like they're training for the Whine Olympics which makes mommy want to train for the Wine Olympics. Jeez, not a moment of silence and certainly no shower for mommy. (Luckily, I do rush into the bathroom, usually with baby in tow and attached, and do the one-handed-triple Lightfoot deodorant roll-on technique (1) which I've perfected at this point - hey, speaking of, maybe this should be a new Olympic sport- After all, I get more and more agile everyday and keep breaking my own record. I'd definitely get the gold people.

Okay, so it's official, I really must be insane because, in spite of all of this unabashed, ear-piercing balling, I've been in battle with my ovaries over a third child - my ovies nag at me every once in awhile like they're whispering (2) (English 101 people- personification)

"Have a third child."

I respond,

"No, please leave me alone. This is too weird; talking ovaries?"

ovies respond, in unison, in their little Oompa-Loompa voices,

"We're ready when you are. Come on, embrace the chaos."

Well, I've chalked this up, not to psychosis yet, but to an overload of hormones. I'm sure this urge to perpetuate my genes will grow more and more silent as Libby and Chloe get older and even more demanding. At least, lets hope. Otherwise a new sport will be on the rise and the Ovulation Olympics will soon be born with a bang! (no pun intended)

Oh, my poor, poor husband.

1.) Patent Pending

2.) No, my ovaries don't really talk to me and I don't see dead people or anything. Well, maybe the latter. I have gazed upon the dead staring back at me while executing the one-handed- triple Lightfoot roll-on technique while assuring Chloe that she'll get her precious juice while trying to walk in a manner so that Libby doesn't feel as if she's nursing on the high seas.

Playtime!

2007-05-14T21:41:00.000-05:00

Biker Chick

2007-05-14T19:15:00.000-05:00

Hi y'all! It's me, Chloe Bea. I turned three years old a few weeks ago and Mommy and Daddy surprised me with a new bike! Daddy picked it out all by himself. Good job Daddy! I love it (as you can see in the pictures - I'm doing the Toyota jump-I'm so excited.) I haven't learned to ride it yet but I'm working on it. I'm also sporting my absolute favorite new shoes that my Aunt Sissy got for me. Last time I was at the park I saw a boy with the exact same shoes in a different color and I kept repeating to him over and over

"Hey, your shoes! I have those Mickey Mouse shoes, too!"

but he just looked at me blankly so I pointed at him and said,

"Run! A scary dinosaur! He's going to eat us!"

Girly-Girls Dishin'

2007-05-14T18:12:00.001-05:00

Hi. It's me, Elizabeth Claire (a.k.a. Libby). These are my latest pictures; aren't I adorable? That's me and my sis, Chloe, hanging-out in her bed. And above that is me surrounded by a bunch of poofy pink stuff. And mommy just had to put that big bow in my hair and dress me up in a sun dress. I guess I'd better get used to this frilly girly-girl stuff because today my big sister put a crown on me and dressed me up as a butterfly princess and, of course, she was the kitty-kat princess. Prrrrr. ( But Mommy forgot to get pictures of this. Shame on you, Mommy!) I also got to hang-out in my big sister's room. This was where she crowned me The Butterfly Princess of all the land. What did we do, you ask? Oh, just your everyday gossip between princesses. We dished, y'all. It was great bonding time.

A Milky Haiku

2007-05-08T10:44:00.000-05:00

Libby will not sleep

she is wanting more booby

sleep does elude me

(Hey, it is about nature- the booby)

Little Miss Bossy Pants

2007-05-07T12:57:00.000-05:00

My three year old little munchkin, C, is so incredibly bossy that I told my husband yesterday that we need to have yet another kid just so she can direct her overwhelming bossy energy at someone other than us. (1) Well, he wasn't too keen on the idea considering that we have a seven week old. I guess our dogs will keep her busy doing as she commands for now; Although, they may not live up to her ever so demanding high standards.

"Dance Chuy ! Dance!"

She says in her tiny little munchkin voice to our eight pound chihuahua who thinks he's a cat.

"I'm sure Chuy would dance if he knew how to, Chloe, but doggies don't understand how to dance." I try to explain. (2)

"Mommy, tell Chuy to dance." she persists.

She says it with a certainty that I can somehow make this happen, like the time a thunderstorm was rolling our way as we were coming home from our fav Mexican restaurant.(3) As we pulled into our neighborhood, the sky lit up with a lightening bolt and then another. Chloe squealed with delight and then she waited for about a nanosecond and said

"D0 it again mommy!"

My heart melted; she wanted mommy to make the sky light up with lightening bolts. I, of course, reluctantly explained that mommy can't control the weather. (4) Why reluctantly you ask? Well, as a parent ...no...... as a mommy I wish I could stay that end-all be-all that C saw through her eyes at that moment and control her world forever. But as a parent I knew that I couldn't take credit for the miraculous light show in the sky. Besides, I couldn't bare to send her off to kindergarten someday telling her classmates and teachers that mommy makes the sky light-up. What would the other parents think? Uni bomber? Or even worse, that I lied to my child. Oh well, I've come leaps and bounds from controlling the lightening bolts, let me tell you. Now I don't even have control of the living room - toys everywhere- much less the heavens. Captain of the control boat has officially declared mutiny! Full on mutiny, I tell you! (5)

Just last weekend my husband and I overheard Chloe's conversation with our 6 year old little neighbor boy, Chris.(6) She was out on our deck eating the proverbial peanut butta jelly sandwich and talking this poor kid to death! He couldn't get a word in as C was telling him to go get his dog and then she had to go get her dogs. Then she pointed out to him that she has not one but two dogs. She also pointed out so eloquently that

"Your dog can't talk!"

as if to imply somehow that her dogs can talk. Aah, already the master at maintaining a little bit of mystery with the fellas. You go! Okay, I'm back now.... where were we? Oh yeah, then little miss bossy pants demands to know where Chris's daddy is.

She says,

"Where's you daddy? Is he in your house?"

Um, this must have been a rhetorical question because without any time for Chris to respond, C yells,

"Daddy come out here!" to her own daddy.

And as my husband kindly follows her demands almost before he could put one foot down on the deck C looks at Chris and says,

"Chris, say hi to daddy!"

Well, my husband really liked this. He plans to use this phrase again in about eleven/twelve years - well probably, in his mind, he thinks he can keep this little phrase in his back pocket for the next..say.. fifteen to twenty years. (Sorry honey, C will probably be dating before she's twenty something.) But he plans to say it in a Dirty Hairy tone while clutching a shot gun.

Little miss bossy pants is about to wake up from her nap and start the bossing so I'd better get her juice cup ready, if not, I have a sneaking suspicion that it will be the plank for me!

1.) Okay, I know, I know that's NO good reason to bring another child into the world.

2.) Excluding those creepy animals I've seen on America's Funniest Home Videos which has, so cleverly, been changed to AFV.

3.) Yeah, this was back when Chloe actually ate food.

4.) Jeez, I wish I could control the weather come January in the Northeast!

5.) For those of you who don't know, the Captain I'm referring to used to be me, well, no I'd say that I was co-captain (have to be pc) my hubby, of course, was captain, but no longer, my friends!

6.) Okay so we were eavesdropping. Give us a break, we weren't invading the poor little boy's privacy because it was more like a soliloquy anyway!

Green Blogger- But Feel'in cooler already!

2007-05-02T13:32:00.000-05:00

Hopefully I won't bore everyone to death and maybe one or two of you might actually read my blog. Looking forward to finally being a Blogger. That's me to left about six weeks ago looking quite jolly and round.

Wow! I already feel cool! Let me tell you, it's a good thing to get some cool back into your life after two kids and the ever-so-practical mini-van. Yeah, the whole mini-van image is just so uncool...We all know this... but another element...no more cool music either. It seems that all the kid movies and music came with the mini-van in a sweet little kid-friendly package- just a given, right? These days we listen to Little People CD's and The Little Mermaid Soundtrack and I find I'm singing Ariel's ballad throughout the day now instead of something like

"Will the real Slim Shady please stand up...please stand up..." or

"Say Ho, yeah you. Can I ask you a question? You like to f*@#?" (Just a little Too Short from back in the day)

Aaaahhh, It's nice to reminiscence about the long lost days of humming gangsta rap instead of The Little Mermaid whining about wanting to have human legs! (1) Get over it Ariel! All the fish in the sea aren't good enough for you?! If you ask me she's a bit of a mer-slut! You can take all of your whining and complaining about wanting to be human and..... Well, I didn't realize I had such animosity for Ariel- I think we need to take a break and listen to Sarah Lynn, Sonia Lee, Michael, and Eddie for next few days and let me cool down a bit, don't you think? Well, I've finally come full circle, after examining my choice of music these days- I’m feeling a little uncool at the moment. Maybe the Happy Feet soundtrack would be a nice compromise for the mini-van cd player - I think that just might satisfy Chloe and seep at least a little cool back into my world. (2) Happy Feet it is! I'm officially Blogging! Woooohoooo!!!

1.) Okay, okay so Eminem and Too Short aren't technically what one would call your authentic "Gangsta Rap" that's all I could think of, okay, cut me some slack already!

2.) I don't think the baby has big opinions about music yet, although she does get a little more bright-eyed when I sneak in the occasional BB King song. I see her through the baby-in-sight mirror, she perks up and flails her tini arms about as if she's been trying say something all along; almost as if she's trying, with all her might, to start a fire in an effort to send up a smoke signal so she can finally say,

"Yes! this is what I've been trying to tell you lady! The thrill is gone! Gone, I say!"

Maybe this means I should stop breastfeeding now.