Laundromat Anyone?

A little family photo action from the acclaimed Veronica Reeve

Happy Halloween!

Nothing like wee ones to make a scrooge into a party animal. I find myself over doing it a little with each holiday. For some odd reason, I think Bentley will appreciate it.

Today we had the most HILARIOUS and FESTIVE party to kick off the Halloween festivities.

Cupcake and Costume Extravaganza!Picture this...eleven CRZY mom's chatting it up whilst frosting spooky halloween cupcakes, laughing hysterically at ourselves, TWELVE crazy kids running free and playing endlessly! One of THE funnest playdates yet. I have some of the best friends a gal could ask for. This group of gals are my high school pals that have become even closer since we have all moved into the world of motherhood. We ALWAYS make an excuse to celebrate...holidays, wedding days, baby days, new park opening days, new restaurant days, you name it, we will celebrate it!! Thanks for being such great friends. Unfortunatly, some of our gals live out of town now, but we try and get together as often as possible. Miss you gals!

I was a little lame and did not bring any camera sort of items. Check Libby's, Jennie's and Veronica's blog for the darling pictures of the kiddos!!

Thanks again Vern for such a great party!

Convention Life

Convention life can get a little boring at times. We had the chance to spice some items up with a little costume action in Tucson last week-or two weeks ago.

Mother Goose Baby Shower!

My sister-in-law, Jenny, is due in November with her first baby, Greyson. I have been on this entertaining kick since we got our yard in and was really excited to honor Jenn and Ror after trying for this little guy for over five years.

We are so excited for them to finally feel the joys of parenthood. They are going to be WONDERFUL parents.

I chose to do a mother goose themed baby shower, focusing on blue/brown, the colors of her nursery. I forgot to save or take a picture of the invite, but this is the wording I used.

It’s a Boy!!
Cows jumping over moons and dishes running away with spoons,
Just a few things Jen will learn of all too soon.
Mother Goose invites all to come on Saturday,
An open house from 12-2, including curds and whey.
Lindsey may not be an old woman living in a shoe,
But on the 27th her home will be open for you.
Nick, Knack, Paddy Whack give Lindsey a call,
Let her know who’s coming, you are sure to have a ball.

I then did themed food:

Humpty Dumpty Egg Salad Sandwiches on Rye (thanks Vern for the idea)

Little Miss Muffet Curds and Whey: Cheese, Crackers, Fruit and Yogurt

Rub-a-Dub-Dub, Three Men in A Tub: Fruit Punch

Jack and Jill Water Pail

Cow Jumped Over the Moon Sugar Cookies

I had such a blast doing it! Good luck and Congratulation Jen and Ror!!

Speaking of Birthdays!

Jackson Markus Drake

tiene dos anos hoy!

Who would have thought someone so small could impact so many people in so little time. When this little guy came into the world two years ago, he was immediately surrounded by people that loved him.

Amy and Mark are some of the most amazing parents. Amy did not skip a beat when she entered into the world of motherhood and Mark has never shown such patience and love!







My mom has always been a sucker for little kids, but no one would have guessed Jackson would melt her the way he does. She will do whatever, whenever, however she can to make him happy. It is not hard to make this little man happy. He is the most easygoing, carefree, smiley kid you have ever seen.


My dad has never connected with a child (in my opinion) like he has with Doobie. He LOVES him. He wants to see him grow and learn and loves to just lay on the floor and play and observe his little grandson.

Brade had never really had the opportunity to interact and play with kids until Jackson and Tanner. He has turned into a huge teddy bear to both of them.


Emma has always been a kid spoiler, but WOW! Ask and she will deliver. She babysits him two times a week and SPOILS him rotten.


My brothers could not have been more proud to be his uncles. They hover and protect this child like he was their own. If you happen to spot our family in public, you will instantly notice the "bodyguards" surrounding Jackson!

Last, but certainly not least, yours truly. I am a little bit obsessed with "Doobie" He is so easy to love. He makes me just laugh when I am around him. He love to wrestle, to be chased and to just plain rough house. He loves praise and encouragement. Even before I became a Mom, I learned how much a child can impact a family!!







Happy 2ND Birthday Doobie! I hope you have a great day filled with Thomas and Signing Time. I hope you find all the mirrors in the world to dance in front of and you can run through long wide hallways!! Love ya little man!

Happy Birthday to a Great Gal and a WONDERFUL Friend!!

A quick BIRTHDAY shout out to my great friend,

MELANIE J. BASSETT

Here are some of my favorite memories of Mel:

*Driving her parents car in the back yard when we were probably about nine

*Practicing our 2nd Grade Talent Show Showcase in her "Solarium"

*She was always the fastest runner at Valley Elementary and won all the races on Field Day

*I attributed her success to the fact that she had to walk three miles to the bus every day

*She had the coolest bedroom off the laundry room at one time

*Great sleepovers in the new basement

*Her very contagious laugh

*Her fabulous surprise party for me when I moved

*Overall good person who could always make you laugh

*I called her daily in the last few weeks of pregnancy for advice!!

*She pulled me through those agonizing days

I hope you have a wonderful Birthday today Mel. You deserve it!!

Here are a few pictures to take you back Mel!!

Photos courtesy of my great pal, Stac!

Happy 8 Months Cesa!

Bent is the ripe ol' age of 8 months today! Wow, how time flies!

Just a little entry about the happenings in her world at this time!

She said her first two words this week-Dada and Mama.

I thought I had trained her so well. I would practice over and over-MMMAAAAMMMAAA-accentuating my lip motions, but to no avail. Dada was definitly it for her. She says it mostly when she is really excited or REALLY mad!

She rolls at about 83 MPH to anywhere she needs to go. She has no interest in crawling.

If she can't get to it by rolling, she lies on her back and does a pelvic thrust that in turn flails her body in an upward motion. This move is especially fun when she is in her crib and does not want to take a nap.

She loves her dad, LOVE LOVES her dad!! Funny how that works.

She still HATES solid food. She is slowly learning to like carrots and peas, but still gags at the first taste of anything sweet.

She puts EVERYTHING in her mouth. She loves anything that crinkles or makes noise.

Give that girl a piece of paper or wrapper and she is set for hours!

She loves comotion, noise and people. She gets bored when we are just home on the weekend. She sleeps best at a loud concert, in an auditorium or at the circus!

Love my girl!

P.S. Cesa is her nickname of the week.

Attempt at Domestication

Cold, snowy day

+

WAY TOO much time in airports and on airplanes reading

"DOMESTIC" magazines

=

My attempt at domestication

Crackling Fire and Hot Cocoa Anyone?

You know those mornings on a cold weekend when you wake up and crave a nice, cozy crackling fire and some hot cocoa while you read the paper in your pajamas? We finally got one of those weekends.

We have waited and worked hard for that little slice of heaven, but in the end it was all worth it.

This was our living room this time last year.

(warning: grainy phone pictures)

..and this year. Yes, that is real wood ablazing!

Hair Today, Gone tomorrow!

Three posts in as many days...I am exhausted.

My shaggster had her first little trim yesterday. She may not have quite as many hairs as some folks, but she definitely had the hair muffs and the widows peak to be proud of.

I took her into my sister-in-law, Jenn to work her magic. Yes, this is probably something I could have just chopped myself with the kitchen sheers, but I was worried she would come out of it looking like a rookie marine. It was best left for the experts.

She immediately went into a trance when Jenn started combing her hair.

As long as she could look in the mirror at all the action...she did not move.

Finished product! Jenn found enough hair on that head to give her a bam-bam pony.

It was a day of grooming for Bent. Ever since I cut TWO fingertips while trimming her nails on the morning of the Fourth of July, I have thrown in the towell on torturing my daughter. Something about drawing blood on your five month old makes you think twice before the next attempt. This too is better left to the experts.

I tried filing her nails when she was younger...don't try this. Did not work.

Now, my sister-in-law, Keesha, cuts her nails weekly. Thank goodness for in-laws!!

My One Wish

My one wish for my daughter...to be a respectful, nice, friendly girl to everybody. That is one thing I stress about so much. I just want her to be NICE. We all remember the "bratty" girls growing up. (if I ever came across as the "bratty" girl to anyone, I am really sorry).
My one dream...SHATTERED. My SEVEN month old already thrashes and throws fits. Really? Can this really happen? Is she giving me a glimpse into her life as a socialite?
She is the happiest, most laid back, smiliest baby in the world until...she does not get her way. If I don't give her the phone when it rings, I have to hold on to her with both hands or she will thrash herself out of my arms to the floor. If I take her out of the bath before she feels she has had sufficient play time...she has a COMPLETE meltdown until we give her a bottle and put her to bed. Really? Should you have to have a ritual of draining the bath water and making her realize the water is gone before you can pry her out of the porcelain vat?
If I decide that maybe she needs a nap and she decides it is not on her agenda, she will yell this little "Baahhh" over and over and thrash her legs in the crib until she has shoved her head into the corner of her crib.
Oh and the worst one...heaven forbid I decide to try and look at a piece of paper without letting her taste test it first!!
Am a raising a "mean girl?" What do I do? I don't feel like I can ruin my child at the age of seven months. She is so sweet and so innocent and I just laugh at her because it is so funny for such a little girl!
Any advice here would be great!
Oh yah...on one other side note...my child won't eat. Plain and simple...she gags on EVERYTHING I put in her mouth. OK, anything that is food that is. Give her paper, a phone, lotion bottle, Motrin bottle, skin, fingers...she loves it, but DO NOT give her food!