Anyone out there?

Hi bloggy buddies!

Well my short blog hiatus turned into quite a long one. There are just not enough hours in the day. And despite my best intentions, I did not find time to upload any new pics. My bloggy book next year is going to be very thin if I don't get back on track! We've had a fun month. Charlie's birthday happened to be the same day as Father's Day and it was so nice and relaxing. Avery attended two birthday parties last weekend and a swimming party this month as well. She got her toenails painted hot pink for the first time and now has a toddler bed! (That she definitely has no plans to sleep in!) She is very close to being completely potty trained and her speech is getting better and better every day. We are gearing up to go to the beach next week with the whole family and it couldn't come at a better time. I need a BREAK! I am 'this close' to deciding to leave the laptop (work and personal) at home during vacation too!

If I get bit by the blog bug soon, maybe I'll be back to normal. But for now, I am just not feelin it. Hope you all are having a nice, relaxing summer. I am still reading some blogs and keeping up. At the moment, I need to attend to a very demanding little princess. Toodles!

All My Dreams Came True

This morning I was going thru the routine. You know - makeup, hair, all of that. I was thinking a bit about the legislation that passed last night to break up big banks. I thought about my job with a giant bank, a job that I really enjoy w/ a company that I just.plain.love. I thought about the devastation it would bring to this area if this building closes. I wondered what we would do, since Charlie works here too. And then I realized something. Growing up, I didn't dream of getting this job. I just didn't. All I really wanted was to get married and be a great wife and mom. All of a sudden it hit me, all of my dreams have already come true. So, if this liberal administration wants to take away my job, and my husband's job, they can. But they cannot take away my livelihood. I don't have to let them. And they certainly cannot take away my family. My dream has already come true. God did that.

I'm tired of breaking news updates on my phone. I'm tired of oil spills, floods, and liberal government getting their hands in every piece of our lives. I'm over it. My dreams have come true, but sometimes I'm too busy tweeting or reading tweets or updating my status, or reading statuses, or blogging or reading blogs (yes, I realize that it is totally ironic that I'm currently in the middle of blogging, but...stay w/ me here!) So, its time for a break. The world we live in has more information flying at us than any other generation could've imagined. Maybe thats one reason why there aren't enough hours in the day. So, I'm taking a break. I won't be writing blogs or reading blogs or tweeting or facebooking or googling. And even as I type those words, I take a deep breath. That's not easy for me. But I just need a break. Twitter, including Fox news updates, are officially turned off. So, if this whole thing crashes around me, someone will just have to call me and let me know, I guess. I'm too busy watching my dreams come true all around me. In the midst of total chaos.

Not Me Monday

 

Welcome to Not Me! Monday! This blog carnival was created by MckMama. You can head over her blog to read what she and everyone else have not been doing this week.

• I am not the proud sister of two graduates this year. One is not the valedictorian of his class and the other is not the first (real) college graduate in our family! Nope, not me!
• I did not choose two pictures w/ the princess in them to share picutres of the graduates. I would never do that!

Josh, the high school valedictorian

Mark, the LA Tech college of business graduate, who is now pursuing his MBA.
• I did not decide it would be better to wait until the last minute to bring Avery to graduation.
• I did not underestimate the huge crowd and the parking problems that could create. I did not catch a ride on a trolly w/ only a few minutes to spare before Josh led the graduates down the isle.
• It was certainly not I (Avery in tow) that pushed my way through the hundreds of people waiting in the lobby who weren't allowed to enter, since no seats were left.
• I did not push my way past the graduates into thousands of standing people who were expecting to see the young adults in cap and gowns. I did not get strange stares and "Hey, who is that?" or "What is she doing?" comments. I certainly was not on the large screen walking down the center isle just as graduation was supposed to begin. I'm sure I'm not on the video tape that all the parents will buy.
• I certainly was not relieved to make it to the front row reserved seats just in time for Pomp and Circumstance . Had Josh not been #1, there is NO way Avery and I would've been able to watch!
• I did not just use one story to create an entire Not Me Monday post, but it was just that embarrassing!

Ok so...

After I posted that precious video of our little preemie and her sweet daddy, I watched it from my blog. I noticed at the end, it showed two other videos with "Avery" titles. These are just pubic videos in Photobucket, not at all related to me. This cracked me UP. And made me thankful. Thank God I'm not in the dating scene, that I married my high school sweetheart and settled down. Thank God I don't get corny videos like this waiting in my email after a hard day at work and a good belly button piercing. Yikes.



Is it just me or was that brutal? Ok, so I know I'm wrong for basically stealing that guys video and putting it on my blog, but he should really make those intimate videos to his sweet Avery PRIVATE! Hope it made ya laugh!

Forever Thankful

I've been watching The Duggars lately and all the episodes about their preemie, Josie, remind me of so many NICU memories. I thought about this video, one of the first ever taken of our 2 lb miracle. Sometimes, you just need to be reminded of the miracles you've watched, the trials you've gone through and the faith that got you through them. Forever we will be thankful.



Can you tell that sweet little girl already had her daddy wrapped around her finger!

You Deserve It!

Being a woman is hard. I don't care who you are. There is just more pressure. And God forbid you can't have, or don't want to have, a baby. I guess I can be cynical about it, without coming off as bitter, because I'm not exactly in that category. But I will never forget the Mother's Day I spent when I was. Standing in a  church full of women with their motherly glow. Celebrating them, and of course my mom, but I was not one of 'them'. Why did that feel so bad? I'm not sure. But I do know that it shouldn't. I know that God values us whether we are a mom and a wife, or not.

There are daily reminders of being a woman vs a man - the fact that we have to spend way too long blow drying, straightening or curling and styling our hair. And that most of us wouldn't dare go to work without full makeup on! There is the monthly reminder, that I won't go into. But that is NO fun at all. Then there are society's reminders - the magazines at the grocery stores - when is the last time they all had cute guys on the cover? Friends and family tend to remind you often, especially babyless women - "So aren't you ready for a baaaaby?!?" or "Isn't it time for another baby!?!". I'm telling you, women deserve their own day each month! But at this point, we'll take what we can get. I looked back at last years post and it's basically the same. Maybe I haven't had enough Mother's Days to forget about the one that wasn't very fun. I hope you're not having that kind of day today, and if you are, you should celebrate you. Mother or not! Treat yourself to a pedicure, or your favorite meal, just because you know you deserve it!

Please don't get me wrong: Avery Grace is more than I can type or explain. She makes me want to celebrate my womanhood. The fact that God chose the female sex to bring precious little lives into the world is overwhelming.

I hope you and yours have a wonderful day as I celebrate my mom, the best mom God ever made. And I will treat myself, because I deserve it. That's right, I said it! ;)

Flashback Friday: Father of the Bride

I looked out of the window the other day while cleaning and saw this. I had to snap some blurry, far away pics. It so reminded me of that scene in Father of the Bride when the dad is remembering playing basketball w/ the bride. (Btw, Amanda W. - has anyone ever told you that you look just like her!)

Faster Daddy, Faster!

Avery has one of the funnest dads I've ever known. He is always ready to play! She is one blessed little girl :) Their new game is where he basically serves as a horse, lol. She loves this one. For a while I couldn't take pictures because I would hold onto her and go around the house with them (man, our neighbors probably think we're nuts!) But now, Avery knows how to hold on! It is so cute. She even gives him a little kick when she wants to go faster. I love watching them together, she sure loves her daddy and has him wrapped around her little finger!

Wordless Wednesday

Plan D

Nonna came for a visit one Saturday to attend the Beth Moore Simulcast and that afternoon, before she left, we decided to take Avery to the Children's Museum. The same one we wanted to go to on the day we settled for Jungle Gym. So, off we went! We walked in and Avery was already excited. Unfortunately, the lady told us they were closing in 20 minutes and we would still have to pay $15 admission, for 20 minutes. Ughh! Avery threw a fit, but it probably would've been worse if we could've only stayed for 20 minutes. We tried to think of somewhere fun and decided on the park. My little heartbroken toddler wasn't too happy! I kept saying, "Avery, do you want to go to the park!?!" and she would reply with an emphatic "NO, MAMA!" Nonna mentioned cupcakes and Avery seemed happy with that idea. I mean, who turns down a cupcake? Off we went to the best little cupcake cafe - Curl's. Of course, Curl's had closed an hour ago. I wasn't about to go home without getting her that cupcake! So, plan D was another little Coffee Shop in town that sells gourmet cupcakes. Avery didn't seem to notice the difference! Can't wait until we get to attend a birthday party soon at the Children's Museum - I know she is going to love it!