Two Things You Gotta Check Out

Numero Uno:  Go to my sister's blog and see Blake's adventure's in babysitting!  Heather and Jonathan kept Blake last Saturday so we could go to a friend's birthday party.  Thanks guys!  You gotta go check out all of the shenanigans from that night.

Numero Dos:  Here is a video of Blake (and me) at my parent's house.  Sike!!!...I couldn't freaking figure out how to get the video uploaded on my mom's stupid mac so this will have to wait.  I will try again later when I am back on my normal pc.  So now you have no choice but to check out Heather's blog!  

To Blake...a 6 month update

I can't believe it has already been 6 months! On one hand I feel like it was just yesterday that we were at the hospital... but on the other, I feel like you have been here forever. (ooohhh, please don't enlarge that picture...yikes) You have made such a smooth entrance into our lives. I did not know what to expect when you got here but you are so much better than I could have ever imagined! We love you so much more than I can explain. I hope that your life is full of love and happiness. Your daddy and I will do our best to make sure of that!!!

Blake Facts:

You have just started holding your own bottle.

Holding your own bottle is tiring!!




• You scoot all over the place. My least favorite place that you scoot to?? off of the carpet and on to the tile. Why? because you like to lick it.

• You started getting on your hands and knees ready to crawl when we were in Arkansas.

• You love to watch Lola play.
  
• You don't laugh a lot but you smile ALL of the time.
  
• You growl when you are frustrated or bored or just because you want to.
  
• You have started making this fake cough sound when you want attention.
  
• I can lay you down at night for bed and you put yourself to sleep.
  
• You sleep until 8:30 or 9:00!! Mommy loves that!!!
  
• When you take a bath you suck on a finger puppet the whole time you are in there. It's kind of gross but it makes you really happy.
  


• You LOVE to be outside.
  


• Your favorite song (and has been since the beginning) is You are My Sunshine. You can be screaming and we will sing it to you and you calm down immediately.


• You can put your pacifier back in your mouth. I lifesaver for me at 4:30 in the morning!


• You are really good at eating baby food...most of the time.


• You make me really happy when you try to roll over while I am changing your diaper. I love that...


• You give the sweetest kisses.

When you wake up in the mornings you never cry, you just talk in your crib until someone comes in to get you.

I love you, sweet girl!! Happy 6 month birthday!!

"I urge you to live a life worthy of the calling you have received. Be completely humble and gentle; be patient, bearing with one another in love. Make every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace." Eph. 4:1-3

What's your opinion?

Okay...read through the following and when (not, if) you comment just put the number and answer yes or no. If you feel you need to explain your answer, great. If not, great. If you want to answer anonymously (sp?) great. But I don't think I put anything embarrassing on here. So, comment AWAY!!!

YES OR NO?????????
1. Music on blogs? Sometimes I enjoy it but other times I forget my speakers are on and it scares the c-r-a-p out of me.

2. Wearing t-shirts out in public? I am about to turn 28 and I realize that as a mom and an adult maybe I should dress a little better when I go out in public.

3. Am I a bad mom? I love to read and since I work during the year, that is what summers are for. Sometimes I cringe when I hear Blake waking up from her nap because I haven't finished the really exciting part.

4. Am I a lizard? This is for those of you that are around me or have been in the past. Do I lick my lips a lot when I am talking? ( I already know your answer, Ryan.)

5. Spandex shorts. Are they ever appropriate?

6. Awkward faces. This is for those of you who have kids. Can you keep from making an awkward face while you are feeding your kids baby food?

7. (Not an opinion, just a fact) Shaving. I am terrible at shaving my legs. Never fails...I ALWAYS miss some hairs, either on my knee or around my ankle. Are you good at shaving?

8. Saving money. Does there come a point, when saving money, that you aren't actually saving you are hoarding?

9. Nail polish. Do you think it is necessary to have polish on your toes for your feet to look good?

10. Getting political. Will you vote for Obama?
If you don't want to answer number 10, for whatever reason, then that's okay. You can just answer this alternate question... will you vote? (title it alt. 10 on your comment...that you will definitely be leaving.)

Happy Father's Day Ryan

Well, here I am...as always... a day (or two) late and a dollar short but better late than never. (Wow, two sayings in one sentence. Amazing. That should be my motto.)

Twenty reasons why I love my husband...

1. He looks ridiculously good in shorts.

2. He is one of the most sincere people I have ever met.

3. He tells me I look good without makeup.

4. He loves God.

5. He is crazy too.

6. We both think the same things are funny. (which are not always funny to other people)

7. He makes me try to be a better person.

8. He opens my car door... even after (almost) five years of marriage.

9. He holds my hand when we are just lounging on the couch.

10. When I am away or he is away from home he calls at least once a day just to say hi.

11. He does not judge people when they make mistakes. Which is why he is really good at his job. (For those of you that don't know his job...he is a counselor for kids, and their families, that are on probation and who also have a mental health disease like ADD, ADHD, bipolar disorder etc.)

12. He talks in voices that make me laugh sooooo hard.

13. He loves me.

14. He is the greatest dad to Blake.

15. He is good at sports and likes to play sports with me.

16. He is hot.

17. He makes me pancakes and coffee on the weekends. Or if he doesn't feel like cooking then we go to Old South.

18. He is my best friend and I can tell him anything.

19. He loves to travel.

20. He loves me even when I am not being very lovable.

**This list is in no particular order.

And Happy Father's Day to MY dad!! Who is in Spain right now with my mom. But I am not jealous AT ALL. Not even a little.

Now, I am copying my sister but here are the reasons I love my dad.

1. It takes a LOT to make him angry.

2. He is funny.

3. He likes wierd things.

4. He is definitely one of the smartest people I know. If I were on W.W.T.B.A.M? he would be my phone a friend.

5. He used to come watch all of my tennis matches when I was playing. (So did my mom)

6. He had funny nicknames for me when I was young...the most common? Shatzi (sp?) I think it's german or something.

7. He loves all of the grandkids and is great with them.

8. He loves to work out and sometimes spurs me on without knowing it because I'm like "Ok, if my dad can run a marathon surely I can run a half."

9. He is adventurous.

10. He is kind to people. Even ones that he has not seen in a long time but still call the house to talk to him almost everyday.

11. He gives good advice.

12. He's very photogenic. (Come on, dad, you know that made you smile.)

13. He would do anything for me or Heather or my mom.

14. He pretty much used to do everything for me. (I was a little spoiled)

15. He is a very good teacher.

This is my dad putting Laine through the window because they were locked out. See... he is a good teacher.

My list had more than Heather's!!! nanny, nanny, boo, boo......

Vacation Week

This has been the greatest week so far this summer...it is only the second week but whatever. Blake and I flew to see Joni and Grant on Monday and have had a fabulous week of shopping, swimming, laughing, relaxing and hanging in our pajamas 90% of the time. Getting here was the craziest part of the trip. Ryan dropped us off at 8:15 for a 9:45 flight and I took my rolly bag, Blake and the stroller to check in and the lady promptly told me that my flight was delayed by 3 HOURS!!! I immediately called Ryan but he didn't have his phone so Blake and I had an exciting day at the airport. When I finally talked to Ryan he said "well, that should be a little fun, you love being at the airport." True. BUT it's a completely different situation with a 5 month old in tow. When the plane FINALLY arrived at DFW at 12:45 one of the airline people told me that the plane would definitely get to Hot Springs but may not be able to get to my final destination because a computer at the airport was broken. AWESOME. So I had to do some quick thinking and decided to chance it and leave anyway.

TIME OUT...I need to explain that I was one of seven people getting on this plane. So while I am making this decision they are all leaving me and boarding the plane and the guy keeps getting on his walkie talkie and is like "Uh...we have another passenger here." "Hey dude don't forget we have another passenger up here." "don't worry ma'am I'll walk you down there myself." Seriously??!!??

We arrived at Joni's in record time because the pilot decided to "chance it" and went ahead and flew to the airport anyway even though they told him once we took off that it might be best to turn back. How do I know this you ask??? That's because the pilot is also the steward and the door opener and the help you get off of the plane guy and we had a conversation and he said "Ahh don't worry. We missed the storms, it was just like threading a needle." What is that supposed to mean?

AND...Introducing...Joni finally has a freakin' blog. Hip, hip hoooorrraaayyy! Go check it out. www.goshfinally.blogspot.com

Citizen's Arrest

Thank you so much for the comments on the last post. I checked almost everyday to see what people were saying. I agreed with every single one of them! I was worried that what I was trying to say wouldn't make sense but it seems that most of you agree! After reading those comments I have decided thatI am going to try to be more "myself" in hopes to get others to do the same. Then we wouldn't have to have the "first date" feeling as much. So if I start to be too wheels off crazy just tell me and I'll reel it back in.



Yesterday was my first day of summer. Blake and I had a great day of hanging around the house doing absolutely nothing. My allergies have been killing me since the wind started blowing 829 mph two days ago so I have been a little lethargic. Today I did one of the things on my list (see post from a few weeks ago) and I had cereal and coffee before the day actually began. It was great! I was also very wife-ish and went to the grocery store, cleaned the kitchen, did laundry, made lunch and made supper. Look out!! I may have set the standard a little bit high on this first day of summer. But we'll see.



On Tuesday Blake and I went to the library so I could get a library card. While I was getting her out of the car I heard a dog barking. I could tell it was a little dog but I couldn't see where it was. So while I was getting Blake in the stroller I looked around the parking lot and realized the dog was in a car behind mine. The car was not on and it was like 100 million degrees outside. So I strolled Blake over and looked in the back and saw a little weiner dog in a crate in the back of a car. The windows were rolled down about a half inch. Are you kidding me???? I am surprised the dog had enough energy to bark as much as it was. So I immediately started hatching out a plan of how I was going to bust this person. As soon as I turned to march into the library and demand to speak to the owner of a grey chevy trailblazer I saw a cop. So I waved my arms around like an idiot and told her the situation. I told her that I would take care of it and I would be glad to drive the perp downtown myself but she seemed to want to handle it her way. While I was getting my library card she had them page the lady (which Iwas totally going to do too) and talked to her nicely (which I would NOT have done) and asked her to take the dog home BEFORE she spent an hour in the library with her kid. What an idiot!!!

This is a picture from Blake's first trip to the Ranger's game in April. It was a little cold that night.

Here she is at her second visit to the ballpark. Sunny, hot and this is the night when the 829 mph. winds started.

Friends...

**When you read this post, don't read it with a mean voice in your head. I am not ranting...this was just on my mind. When I read through it just now it sounds like I am mad...but I'm not and I don't know what to change to make it sound different. SO just read it with a happy voice and maybe that will help...

I have found that as an adult, it is kind of hard to make new friends. I'm not talking about "fake" friends...you know, the ones that when you are with them it feels a little bit like a first date??? Do you know what I mean? Well, those aren't the friends I am talking about. I mean really good friends that you want to be with and actually take the effort (because, in a big city it takes a lot of effort...that's a whole other blog topic) to be with them and have a meaningful, fun relationship. I know that one of the reasons it is so hard is because everyone is at a different point in their life when you are an adult. When you are in school...everyone is in school. When you move off to college and have to make new friends, everyone has to make new friends. But when you are an adult,that's just not the way it is. For example: You might find some friends who all married but some of them are trying to have kids, some are pregnant, some have a kid and some aren't ready for kids at all. Or maybe most of your friends have kids and it seems like you are all at the same point but really you aren't. Because some might be on their first kid, some on their second. Some moms work and some don't. Some kids are easy so their parent's get out a lot and with some it's just easier to stay home. No matter the situation...you are just at different stations of life.



And I am almost convinced that I will never find better friends than the friends I made in college. They are the girls that I can really be myself around. I have always considered myself a very open person...I will share anything, sometimes too much. But I sometimes find myself having to edit my conversations with people who are my "friends" because I wonder what they might think if I said one thing or another. I would NEVER worry about that with my girlfriends from college. Why is that??? Is it because when you live with someone they see all aspects of you and you see all aspects of them? the good and the bad? the pretty and the not-so-pretty?
I wish it were still that simple. I miss having really close girlfriends right across the street or in the next room or a few blocks away. Ryan is my best friend in the whole world but it is still nice to have girl time. There is just something about being with a group of girls and talking and laughing that makes my world a better place!



All of that to get to this...today I was thinking...what does a really close friendship look like to me? And there was one thing that kept coming into my mind... I know I have a close friend when I can make fun of them and they can make fun of me and no one gets their feelings hurt. I am not talking about making fun of the way they look or dress or mean things like that. I am talking about if you do or say something stupid, I can call you out on it and we can laugh about it. Because I say and do stupid things all the time and I like to laugh at myself. And I like to have someone laugh with me. Please don't think this is my main goal in life...I don't sit around and make fun of people. I just mean that I know I have a close friend if I can joke with them and say what I am thinking and not have to edit myself.

So, to my faithful readers out there...how do you "judge" a close friendship? Don't answer with the cheesy things like "I want a friend who is patient" or "I know I have a close friend because they are nice to me." Duh...no one wants a mean friend.

5 month picture...s

These are getting more difficult each month.

Summertime and the livin's easy...

Only 6 days left!! I am really excited about summer this year! The last two summers I was taking classes at UNT but this summer I got nothin. Here are some things I am looking forward to:

1. Being with Blake in the mornings because that is the time of day she loves the most.

2. Not having to set my alarm.

3. Wearing tank tops and shorts.

4. Taking Blake swimming.

5. Not putting on any makeup unless it is absolutely necessary.

6. Eating lunch at home.

7. Getting to hang out with Ryan more.

8. Meeting friends for lunch and playdates.

9. Blogging more often because there are people (at least one that I know of, thanks Mel) that check my blog daily for pics of Blake.

10. Using my new scanner to upload pics to my blog from back in the day (heads up Wally Hotts)

11. Only washing my hair every other day because it's probably up in a pony tail anyway.

12. Going to bed late because I don't have to wake up early for anything.

13. Reading.

14. Seeing some movies at the matinee. (I just realized that matinee is very close to manitee)

15. Going to the zoo. Thanks mimi and paco for the zoo memberships!

16. Going to the zoo with friends!

17. Hanging with Heather, Laine and Bowen.

18. Traveling.

19. No stress...at least not the school kind.

20. Playing with Blake as much and as often as I want.

21. Eating a bowl of cereal and having a cup of coffee BEFORE my day starts. (usually I do this as the kids are coming into my room.)

22. Not having to pick out what I am wearing the night before.

23. Not having to iron.

24. Using less gas because I am not driving all the way to school.

25. Finding some projects to work on around the house.

Completely different subject:

Has anyone ever taken their baby to the daycare at the gym?? We just renewed our membership because Bally's was offering an incredible deal where we only pay $18 per month for both of us and we get to work out free until August...anywho, Ryan and I thought we would go at the same time but that would mean Blake would have to go with us. I think she is too young and we should work out at different times...but I am not completely against the idea either. Any advice?

Nap time

Blake is not a good napper. She sleeps well at night but she does not take long naps during the day. Except for today! She has been asleep for about 2 1/2 hours! Yippee! Nap time will be something we perfect this summer...which is only 9 and 2 half days away! Double Yippee! I feel sorry for people with "real" jobs who don't get to experience the excitement of summer time. I have had a summer off my whole life and I can't imagine anything else. Sometimes when I think teachers should make more money I remind myself that I work 183 days a year and then I feel pretty good.

We have had an eventful weekend. Friday night we decided to go to Central Market to have burgers and listen to music. We got there around 5:45 and there was not an empty table in sight. So we left and went to Mellow Mushroom pizza. We sat outside and had some great food.

Saturday Ryan played in a softball tournament. We went to Panera bread for breakfast before and ran into Rick Atchley. When I first saw him I felt like I was spotting a celebrity...weird. We were at the games until about 4:00 then went home and decided to go to Pei Wei because we still had a gift card from Christmas. We sat outside again and then went to Central Market for gelato and to listen to music. This time we were successful at finding a table. One of our favorite things to do at CM is people watch and it was great entertainment. A random lady sitting next to us came over and to a picture of Blake...awkward. I didn't really know how to respond but she seemed really nice and then asked for our address and she would mail us a copy. So I guess if we have a stalker in the next few days we have a suspect.

I hear the Blakester...time to put mom pants back on!

Thank you Julie Clark...

There are many people out there who think that shows like Baby Einstein are just babysitters for your kids so that you don't have to play with them. I say... Dang right! It's not that I don't want to play with Blake every minute when I come home...it's just that there are certain things around the house that need to get done. When she was an infant I could carry her around in the sling and do things. But now she wants to wiggle around and play so I hate to constrict her in the carrier. Plus there is a real danger of dropping her on her head into the dishwasher when I am unloading it. So, thank you Julie Clark...your concept was so simple and yet so amazing. Blake loves it! (Writer's note: Baby Einstein movies only last about 20 minutes...it's not like she is sitting there for 2 hours...it is a nice thought though.)

Here she is after she watches a few episodes:

This entry actually needs two titles: So here is title #2 (ha...that just made me laugh)

BLAKE ALWAYS GETS CALLED A BOY BECAUSE SHE DOESN'T HAVE MUCH HAIR AND I DON'T MAKE HER WEAR A BOW ALL THE TIME BUT MAYBE I SHOULD BECAUSE I AM SICK OF IT...

Wow. Actually the title pretty much says it all. And to all of you people out there who have "baby" looking babies that if dressed in the opposite gender's clothing pass for that gender, do you get pissed when people assume your kid is the opposite sex? At first I just ignored it. But we were at the Abilene mall on Saturday and FOUR people came up and asked things like "ohhh, how old is he?" "He is so cute, what did you name him?" That question can be awkward anyway since I can't say something like "Mary" and then they automatically know they made a mistake. I have to say "Her name is Blake" and then they maybe think that they didn't hear me right so they look even more confused.

But my suggestion for everyone who has run into the situation of not knowing the babies gender try this: FIRST-take in all the context clues. If the baby is wearing PINK (or a pink and black zebra outfit) then it's probably a girl. Or if the baby is covered in a PINK blanket then it is probably a girl. If you take in all the visual information and you still can't tell...DON'T GUESS! Because if you are wrong then eventually you will probably get corrected and you will feel like an idiot and in the meantime the mom is trying to decide if you are worth correcting and if you are then how they are going to go about doing it. But...that's just my opinion.

Family portrait on Mother's day. I love how you can see my aunt Linda in the reflection trying to get Blake to smile.

Science TAKS is OVER!!!

Yipppeee skippeee! I have been Debbie Downer for the past 2 1/2 weeks because all we have been doing is reviewing for TAKS. But now it is OVER!!! This morning I was able to accidentally sleep in, drop Blake off, pick up donuts for my kids and still make it to school on time! A great start to TAKS day. Now it's over, Blake laughed at me several times this afternoon (always a good confidence booster) and I am thinking of going to pick up some Pei Wei. A great end to TAKS day.

Next week we are dissecting frogs. I told my students and most were excited. There were some that are all freaked out about it. When I was at Franklin Middle School I remember that some boy took an organ from the frog we dissected and put it on another kid's lunch tray. Pretty sure he got in big trouble. I also remember that a kid in my group (Michael M.) was cutting the frog and the scalpel knife broke off and hit him in the goggles. I always tell my students that story when they ask me why they have to wear goggles. Michael might only have one eyeball now had it not been for a great science teacher enforcing the rules!

A few firsts this 4th month of Blake's life: she can now role from back to tummy.

And she is testing out some good old rice cereal and baby food. So far the cereal has been successful combined with carrots, green beans and peas.

I've been a long time gone...

I don't look at blogs anymore. Not because I don't want to. But I have so many other things I want to do instead. And I read soooo many blogs that I'm always on the computer forever and I would either rather play with Blake, hang with Ryan or go to bed. Anywho...I really wanted to catch up on blogs and I felt guilty reading and not posting so here I am! I am going to have to figure out blogging time into my schedule. We'll see...only 5 more weeks of school and then I can do whatever I want!

This is an update blog...by the way, I have realized after catching up on your blogs that many of you have way cooler lives than I do. I wouldn't trade though.

We had a fun weekend with Beau, Joni and Grant. We had Joni's shower, went to church and went to Central Market. Grant and Blake are in love!

A few weekends ago we went over to Jeremy and Julianne's apartment with some other great friends and played volleyball and had a cookout. I love Blake's face in the picture with Ryan.

This weekend is pretty busy. Ryan's parent's are in town. We are meeting friends tonight for supper and then tomorrow we are going to a musical (that's right) of Wedding Singer with Meredith Bills (one of my bffs) and Nate (one of Ryan's bffs). More pics to come!

Denial

I think that I have been in denial that Blake is actually getting older. I know that she does more stuff and has gotten bigger but I just really have tried to keep her from getting older in my mind. Does that even make sense?

Today was Blake's first day with her "nanny". I like to call her that in my head because it sounds fancier than babysitter. She is staying with a wonderful lady who lives across the street from us. Today when I came home they were sitting out on the porch and I just walked over and picked her up! It doesn't get any better than that.

We had a fabulous weekend with Beau and Joni and Grant! I will post some pics tomorrow. I haven't uploaded them on the puter yet. Blake and Grant are definitely boyfriend and girlfriend now. It was fun having all the girls over on Saturday...see Shauna's blog for pics.

So, I am officially a working mom now. Our house is a mess. I have yet to cook a meal. And Blake has been eating more formula because pumping is more of a hassle than I thought it would be. But on the bright side of things...I have not been late to work yet. I think that I am a better mom now. Blake has the hugest grin on her face every time I get home from work. My afternoons are carefree. Blake sleeps from 9:30-7:00 eats and then goes back to sleep until about 10:00. (Please don't let me jinx that by talking about it...) Ryan gets to have Blake and daddy time every morning. I miss being at home but summer is just around the corner! Forty school days left!!!