The New Year's quiz
1. what did you do in 2008 that you’d never done before?
2005: Plan wedding
2006: Married and Honeymoon!
2007: bought house-got preggers
2008: Gave birth

2. did you keep your new years’ resolutions, and will you make more for next year?
2005:I kept most of them at one time or another. I didn't go to Europe with Kent, however.
2006:I accomplished a few more (I keep a list on the fridge and a few more are checked off).
2007: went backwards here
2008: Can't remember what they were- I didn't keep any weight loss if there were any but I feel I was a good mom. Yes I will make more and here they are: Be a better friend, Lose weight / be healthier, start daycare.

3. did anyone close to you give birth?
2005:My Cousin Chu had his second baby this year.
2006: My friends Genevieve and Rich had Joshua and Chris and Trish had Madeline
2007: Angie had Aaron
2008: Myself

4. did anyone close to you die?
2005:My grandpa Charles Anthony Wuennemann died around St. Patty's day
2006: No, thank goodness
2007: no
2008: no

5. what countries did you visit?
2005: Mexico and America
2006: Mexico and America
2007: USA
2008: USA

6. what would you like to have in 2009 that you lacked in 2008?
2005: more money and a single job that makes me happy.
2006: More time with Kent (travel)
2007: better places of employment for Kent and I- time w/baby
2008: In home Daycare

7. what date from 2007 will remain etched upon your memory, and why?
2005: Hurricane Katrina and the poor doggies left in the storm.
2006: September 2nd: My wedding!
2007: April when I woke up and took pregnancy test- telling Kent... yikes.
2008: The day Obama was elected. I cried with joy.

8. what was your biggest achievement of the year?
2005: Being a good girlfriend to Kent and trying to be a good friend.
2006: Getting "one job to rule them all!"
2007: gestating human
2008: Being a Mom

9. what was your biggest failure?
2005: Not going to Europe.
2006: Getting into Guitar Lessons and having to bow out after a month because I didn't have time to practice.
2007: RFYP - I will say no more.
2008: Not getting a better job.

10. did you suffer illness or injury?
2005: It was decided that I suffer of depression
2006: A sprained ankle, sprained wrist, and a bout with a digestive virus
2007: felt ill most of this year
2008: Was healthy towards the end but had trouble with knee problems and a few fevers/exhaustion.

11. what was the best thing you bought?
2005: I bought a bike off my friend, Melissa's, Dad.
2006: I got a lot of gifts this year so I didn't buy anything too major. Maybe my Honeymoon...
2007: house
2008: a baby

12. whose behavior merited celebration?
2005: My girlfriend Genevieve and her husband Dr. Rich got knocked up!
2006: Everyone who went to my wedding! Thanks for coming- everyone was a joy to be with!
2007: Kent - for putting up w/ me
2008: My Popo retired

13. whose behavior made you appalled and depressed?
2005: I plea the right to stay silent!
2006: Oh my, this really is an incriminating question. You know who you are...
2007: I hereby eliminate this question- too risky...

14. where did most of your money go?
2005: Bills.
2006: Wedding stuff or bills.
2007: house
2008: House/bills/baby

15. what did you get really, really, really excited about?
2005: Planning my wedding, the prospect of moving and going to school, seeing my parents.
2006: Getting Married and going on my honeymoon. Quitting the school job and working at Reach.
2007: my baby
2008: Friendtoberfest in Chicago '08

16. what song(s) will always remind you of 2008?
2005: ?
2006: "Fly me to the Moon" - Frank Sinatra
2007: "Santa baby" METROMIX!
2008: "Applebottom jeans with the fur, with the fur..."

17. compared to this time last year, are you
i. happier or sadder?:
2005: Happy- hooray for medication!
2006: Happier (not due to meds :)
2007: bigger highs and lows
2008: Happier

ii. thinner or fatter?:
2005: maybe a little fatter
2006: a little thinner
2007: fattest ever
2008: Is it possible- Fatter.

iii. richer or poorer?:
2005: Approximately the same.
2006: richer (a little)
2007: way poorer
2008: I repeat, was it possible: Poor

18. what do you wish you’d done more of?
2005: Traveling
2006: Camping
2007: standing up for myself
2008: Spending time with family

19. what do you wish you’d done less of?
2005: sleeping. I slept most of 2005 away.
2006: watching TV
2007: crying and throwing up
2008: eating

20. how did you spend Christmas?
2005: With my honey, Kent, warm and cozy.
2006: with Mom and Dad (lots of food and fun!)
2007: Kent, Mom and Dad- CF
2008: Iowa City with Kent, Lucia, and Grand-In-laws

22. did you fall in love in 2005?
2005:I am always falling in love again with Kent.
2006: ditto
2007: ditto
2008: I fell hopelessly in love with Lucia

23. what was your favorite TV program?
2005: Project Runway
2006: Lost
2007:Intervention
2008: Six feet under (borrowed and rented on DVD)

24. do you hate anyone now that you didn’t hate this time last year?
2005: No
2006: Sort of...in retrospect
2007: oh, yeah...
2008: No.

25. what was the best book you read?
2005: Harry Potter #6 was pretty good.
2006: another Douglas Adams book. They are pretty funny
2007: Paolo Cohelo- Zahir
2008: I'm going to pick: "Time Traveler's wife" and "The confessions of Max Tivoli" because they got me reading again.

your greatest musical discovery?
2005: That I hate R. Kelly's multi par song "In the closet"
2006: Shakira SHAKIRA!!!
2007: METROMIX CHOIR
2008: Dr. Jean

(I don’t know what happened to 27 and 28)

29. what did you want and get?
2005: I wanted a nice place to have a wedding and I got it... wedding still on the way!
2006: a happy and joyous family filled wedding!
2007: I didn't know I Wanted it but I guess pregnant...
2008: I wanted a healthy beautiful baby and I got it.

30. what did you want and not get?
2005: I generally want too much so I won't bore you with the list.
2006: (shhhhh.... a wedding band)
2007: job stability
2008: A better job.

31. what was your favorite film of this year?
2005: Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire.
2006: maybe "Running with Scissors"
2007: maybe "Once"
2008:I sorta went bananas over "Mamma Mia" b/c of Colin Firth (my idol).

32. what did you do on your birthday, and how old were you?
2005: I turned 28. I can't remember. Must not have been too exciting. Unless it was the one where I got the New England travel guide from Andy and JR- In which case I had a nice breakfast at my friends' Melissa and Sarah's house.
2006: Low key again. I think it was a nice European lunch with my friends and dinner with Kent.
2007: parents came up- I turned thirty and played poker
2008: Made treats for work. I probably had dinner with my folks and played poker with my friends.

33. what one thing would have made your year immeasurably more satisfying?
2005: Traveling to Europe with Kent.
2006: Ditto
2007: if RFYP didn't flop
2008: To get Lucia in a room with all her Obert cousins (but she met them independently, briefly)

34. how would you describe your personal fashion concept in 2005?
2005: Kinda sloppy. Sometimes i dressed up but mostly I just wore what I've been wearing for the last four-ten years. I don't buy new clothes very often.
2006: Improved... more accessories and a little more razzle dazzle.
2007: Boo! fat pregnant clothes.
2008: VERY relaxed: a lot of knits

35. what kept you sane?
2005: Looking forward to moving, going to grad school, my friends, and Kent.
2006: Knitting
2007: Mom
2008: Poker nights with my friends

36. which celebrity/public figure did you fancy the most?
2005: Definitely Colin Firth.
2006: Maybe Johnny Depp
2007: maybe Obama
2008: Definitely Obama

37. what political issue stirred you the most?
2005: Hurricane Katrina and the poor doggies that were left in the storm.
2006: Gay Marriage... want my friends to be able to get legally married in name.
2007: 2008 election
2008: Election of Obama

38. who did you miss?
2005: My parents in Mexico and Kara in Australia.
2006: My brothers and their kids... after getting a taste of my family I want more of that too!
2007: Same as above
2008: Maddie, Patrick and Aaron

39. who was the best new person you met?
2005: i think my best new people are the new associates that worked in the same classroom with me, Jessica Gordon and Brian Rath.
2006: Friends from work at Reach.
2007: does Brian Hagmeier fit here?
2008: Cindy Evans

40. tell us a valuable life lesson you learned in 2007:
2005: There is no such thing as constructive criticism. To construct is to build up and to criticize is to break down and pick apart.
2006: Stay cool- don't lost yourself to stress.
2007: Don't move up too fast then get knocked up- your co-workers will be assholes.
2008: Love what you got.

41. quote a song lyric that sums up your year:
2005: The lyrics to "I'm telling you now" by Keb Mo'
2006: Lyrics to "my hips don't lie" - FUN FUN FUN (Chicago's bachelorette party, the wedding, and out with my friends! Also a lot of workouts to my ipod)
2007: "multiply life by the power of two"- Indigo girls
2008: "Patty cake Patty cake Baker's man"

New Years slogans:

I really enjoyed my friends New Years slogan e-mailing last year. So if you guys and other various readers still check this blog lets get the slogan party rolling!
We have a little over a day to nail one down. I will start with some obvious ones:

1. Feelin' fine in '09
2. Walk the Line in '09
3. Thin on a dime '09
4. Hear those church bells chime '09 (for anyone getting married).
5. Sublime '09

Now it's your turn.

snow... SNOW... SNOW!

It has finally warmed up (to 40 degrees). Lucia and I went outside and I built (she watched) a snowman. I will post a pic as soon as I have him properly accessorized. Here are some pictures of our snow from Christmas Eve.

X-mas '08

Here are some shots from our holiday. Lucia was very happy with her gifts and currently doesn't know where to play first because she's so excited.

A huge hit was the stuffed animal toys that she loves to carry around like babies, kiss, rock, sing to and hug while she closes her eyes and goes, "HAummmmmm."

A nice part about that is that she also likes to BE hugged while she hugs the toy. So Momma gets a taste of what its like to have a baby who cuddles for once.

Well, anyway, she's up from her nap and I have to cut this short.

HAPPY HOLIDAYS!

Snow Angel

We are amidst a very "white Christmas" wonderland these days. Lucia and I try to make it outside when the sun is warm on the new fallen snow. First we borrow the neighbors sled and I pull her around. Later, I laid her on the ground and flapped her arms and legs and she was delighted to find her first snow angel. Today, it is 20 below zero and the chances of us going out for anything are grim. But for now, the house is quiet as baby and daddy sleep.

Lucia is a goof ball and she is very physical. Every night its something new. Well, her favorite place right now is inside our end table. She crawls in there and likes to dangle her legs. She also seems to have a new favorite blanket everyday. In the above picture she is wrapping herself up in this orange one I used to have for my Cabbage Patch dolls (I think someone in the family made it).

I just wanted to post this for Genevieve and my family in Ohio. I got this cute little starter hoodie sweat suit at Goodwill's 25 cent sale. It is dirty in the pic b/c I just got done feeding her and Lucia refuses to wear bibs. Anyway, It was very new looking when I bought it.

W

Thanksgiving 08

Thanksgiving was at my home this year. The In-laws joined us and I cooked the meal. It was very pleasant and Lucia really enjoyed seeing family.

• The Menu:
  1 10 lb Turkey
• Mashed Taters and homemade gravy
• Stuffing with apricot
• Cranberry-Mango Relish
• G. Bean casserole
• Spinach Salad
• Oriental Salad
• Sweet Pot.s with marshmallow (Elaine)
  cranberries in Coolwhip and marshmallow (Kay)
• Crescent Rolls (Elaine)
• Homemade Honey Butter
• Village Inn Pie (Kay)
• Oatmeal pie with Cinnamon Ice Cream (Bought by me from Bread Garden)
• Appies were simple cheese meat and crackers, cookies, and trail mix for when we played cards later in the evening.

Lucia conked out really early while we were watching "Epic Surge"- a movie made by our local news station about the flood of June 08. It was really long. I couldn't blame her. Then I finally got to play cards. Luci slept soundly in her crib until 3am (blech). Everyone left around 8 pm and our family was collectively in bed by 9pm. We joked at 3 am (as we were all up) that we could hit the stores (NOT!). Lucia and I fell asleep again in the recliner while watching "Bugsy" this morning and I got to sleep in to c. 8:30 am.

NEW TOY

G-ma and G-pa Ob. let Lucia open a gift early this Thanksgiving. It has become a favorite. At first Lucia would run around back and forth with it. Now her favorite activities involve climbing over it and then sitting down side saddle, dangle her legs and then start over again. She also loves scooting it up to the TV and standing on it while she either turns off the TV or changes the channels. I show her opening the gift and then eating the gift out of pure excitement.

Who's Gettin' Nothing for Christmas?

Lucia was exhausted after "Franksgiving" (our annual thanksgiving with friends last Tuesday) and I took this picture (I took away her sippy cup in efforts to get a nicer shot).

I was going to send this out as a Christmas card with the caption, "Lucia's gettin' nothing for Christmas". But quickly reconsidered that it would be overly misinterpreted as either cruel or serious. I still think it is a funny idea tho'.

p.s. Thank you to Uncle Jim and Aunt Mary for the cute outfit! Perfect timing for the holidays.

Lucia walking at 9 months.

TODAY'S SMILE!

Yea! I'm smiling again!

(I found this while searching the "Splendid Table" website while I was looking up how to cook a good turkey.)

"How To Cook A Turkey"

aka "Thanksgiving Turkey for Dummies"

Step 1 : Go buy a turkey

Step 2 : Take a drink of whiskey

Step 3 : Put turkey in the oven

Step 4 : Take another two drinks of whiskey

Step 5 : Set the degree at 375 ovens

Step 6 : Take three more whiskeys of drink

Step 7 : Turn oven the on

Step 8 : Take four whisks of drinkey

Step 9 : Turk the bastey

Step 10 : Whiskey another bottle of get

Step 11 : Stick a turkey in the thermometer

Step 12 : Glass yourself another pour of whiskey

Step 13 : Bake the whiskey for four hours

Step 14 : Take the oven out of the turkey

Step 15 : Take the oven out of the turkey

Step 16 : Floor the turkey up off of the pick

Step 17 : Turk the carvey

Step 18 : Get yourself another scottle of botch

Step 19 : Tet the sable and pour yourself a glass
of turkey

Step 20 : Bless the saying, pass and eat out
Need help making a turkey seriously?

I FINALLY GOT THE HALLOWEEN PICS!

Here is Lucia making her debut as a monkey...

The first one is of the "Shamrock girls."

Girl on Lucia's right is dressed as Hermoine and the girl on her left is dressed as "Harry Potter." I made the mistake of asking if she was also Hermoine and I got an earful from her!

Two teeth Luci-

Something I failed to mention about our little ankle biter in the quarterly update is that she has popped out the two bottom teeth. Here she is showing that off- and BOY DO THEY DO DAMAGE!

Blast from the Past for all you Chorus Bandits

There were two substitutes working on Halloween: One for me and one for our lead teacher. In place of me was one Miss Viola Swamp and in place of the lead teacher was Mr. Jack O'Leary (a distant relative of Jack O'Lantern). The kids were on their best behavior and were happy to see Mr. Alberhasky and I back to work on Monday. There have been some questions, however...

p.s. I'm waiting on a neighbor for pics of the Halloween Monkey. My camera died that night and relied on the kindness of neighbors to document Lucia's 1st Halloween.

This picture serves three functions:

1. To show little girl at 9 months old
2. To say THANK YOU for the completed Christmas '07 gift from my parents: new curtains! Aren't they gorgeous? Mom made them.
3. To express love to my momma for her birthday

Quarterly Love note to my Lucia #3 (Belated-Your nine month marker was on October 29th):

I can only faintly remember a time when we brought you home that happy pink sleepy infant. Today seem to be more toddler than you are an infant. When I wrote the last note I think you had started crawling. Today you walk and talk. Why do you want to grow old so fast, little girl? Momma want more time just cuddling you- warm and soft in my arms.
There are so many wonderful things to enjoy about you these days, however, Lucia. For one, you have SUCH personality. You are always looking for ways to get a reaction from Daddy and I. You look at us, give us your best Jack Nicholson eyebrow raise and grin, then start in with something that makes us come running to prevent certain peril. You are too smart.
Let's review August. In August, I took you to the Iowa State Fair with Miss Cindy and Miss Lindsey from next door. YOU LOVED IT. You loved it mostly for all the animals. You are not afraid of an animal to save your life. I get images of vicious dogs and snarling hogs ready to gobble you up and you giggling and tottling up to them. Let's see... You sat on a horse, you pet pigs, lambs, bunnies, kitties, and of course doggies. You love to subject any defenseless creature to your iron like fisted grip on their unsuspecting fur. You usually send them running yelping away as you sit laughing. I suppose that has something to do with loving to get a reaction out of people. I wonder where you got that from... hmmmm....
August also brought upon your first visit with the Arizona Oberts. Although we didn't spend much time with your Aunt and Uncle as they were very busy with Uncle Mike's class reunion we did get to spend a whole evening with your cousins, Patrick and Aaron. You think they are just great and Patrick is a real ham. He loved goofing off and you love watching him. It was very nice getting your picture with your Aunt and Uncle. I now have a photograph of you as a baby with all your closest family members!
Developmentally speaking, August was filled with laughter, eating solid foods and you started really "cruising" around that time. Sometime in this quarter I know you really started talking. You now can say, "Mama", "More," "Ah'dah' (all done)", "Hi", "Da Da," "Duck" and "Dog"(not to mention you love barking like a dog). You love your rubber duckie mostly because you chew on it's head. September was when you took your real first step without holding onto anything. Today you are up to 5-8 steps before you go boom on your bottom.
In September, Momma was back to work. We went to all the homecoming parades. It was fun watching you clap and bounce to the marching bands. Again, you were not afraid of the loud noises at all. I think it was after one of these parades that your Aunt Melissa gave your first taste of sweet candy... A bit of sour pail kid (do I have that name right?). It was high payback time as I used to feed their Baby Liam ice cream all the time to get him to love me. It works like a charm. September was filled with all kinds of adventuring on farms. You picked apples at least 3 times in September and were able to pet more horses. The weather was awesome and you ate lots of organic in season baby food that Mommy made for you. There were squash, apples, pumpkins, and sweet potatoes. Every so often we would go for a walk with your Aunt Genevieve and visit the Public Library and watch Josh play on the downtown playground equipment. We tried to get out whenever we could and felt up to it.
I love to play games, tickle you and watch you crack up. We play a variety of games that you love such as "You're mine!". You crawl away as fast as you can and I grab you and drag you back to me yelling, "You're mine! My Baby!". You think that is great. When I let you get away you turn around and look at me as if to say, "Hey! Where did you go?!" You love patty cake and will start up a game of it either by clapping yourself or by grabbing Mommy's hands and making me clap. Another favorite is tossing you, throwing you or bobbing you up and down or side to side in any manner. You love to play rough. Again, you have no fear.
As we tried to make the house look a little festive for Halloween this year you were a bit "unsure" about a few decorations. Grandma Obert gave us some spooky voice activated or touch activated things that took some getting used to. A witch that cackled sent you grabbing onto me and a couple of singing frogs. You were Okay with the tenor frog but when the littler bass frog sang you cried a bit. Some other things you are not happy about are the vacuum cleaner and our "spot bot" (it's a carpet washer). You scurry away from them like you are running for your life. You can really crawl fast! Secretly, I do enjoy watching you startle from the noise of these contraptions. It's not often that I see that expression from you.
You went trick-or-treating for the first time in a Monkey costume. It was fun but a little stressful on Mommy. Daddy had to work that night and we procrastinated pumpkin carving until that very night. You stayed awake for all the fun. No one had told me that taking kids trick-or-treating was a husbands sport. I was the only Momma in the bunch of the "Shamrock kids". So essentially the cuteness of you was really lost on those guys, they didn't see why you were out there if you couldn't eat the candy and they were really looking for a reason to cajole and enjoy their "walk-tails". We stopped short and got a visit from Aunt Genevieve and Josh. Josh was wearing an Elmo costume and Gen was a pirate. It was very sweet of them to come all the way out to the east side to see you dressed up for Halloween.
Well Lucia, despite what I said about missing the tiny baby you, I'm just beaming with pride that you are who you are. It is the day after elections and, more than ever, I am optimistic about your future. In some ways, I'm jealous that you have the world spread out before you and anything is possible. You are so smart, strong, and hearty. I love watching you take on all your challenges with the single-mindedness of your father mixed with the easy-goingness of your Mom. Its a wonderful combination to be determined but not frustrated when you don't get it perfectly right the first few goes. You just enjoy the trip. Keep enjoying and trying Lucia. You inspire me in so many ways.
Love, Mommy

The First week of Fall

Lucia and I have really been enjoying the best season that Iowa has to offer: Autumn. This week we were invited out to a friend of a friend's farm to pick more apples and harvest some of the garden. I now have a fridge full of Italian large leaf parsley, red, green, and yellow apples, peppers, and lots and lots of tomatoes. I have big dreams for the weekend of making plenty of pesto (some for fresh and some for freezing), bruschetta, and apple confections.

Tonight Lucia joined my friends and I in our annual tradition of watching the Homecoming Parade. Lately, either one, some or all of the Coghill-Behrends' have been in the parade and our dear Sara B. had been in the parade since her employment with Big Brothers Big Sister. So Melissa, Genevieve and I gather up what kids are not in the parade and find a nice spot to watch. I love the excitement of hearing the bands, cheering on my favorite causes while listening while Iowa City boos conservative causes (sorry republican Oberts and others- just close your ears). I live in a VERY liberal college town and republicans are few and far in between. However, republicans, you will be happy to know many of the people I love most in the world or planning to vote McCain/Palin.

Afterwards, Genevieve, Joshua, Lucia and I got a Whitey's Pumpkin milkshake had some dinner and a glass of Merlot at the Bread Garden Bakery and Cafe then left Joshua run off some steam in the downtown playground. Its nights like tonight that I'm happy and proud to live here in IOWA CITY and to be a HAWKEYE! GO HAWKS!

(If my family picks on us, Hawkeyes- I will need you to represent!)

Today's Smile

Cookie Monster in Martha Stewart's Kitchen:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gT_gxpyavag

One more Orchard Picture....

Shamrock Drive's Day at the Orchard

Today's Smile:

"What did the Hurricane say to the Palm Tree?"

"Hold on to your nuts this is gonna be one hell of a blow job!"

Today's Smile

I was really inspired when I read Lemme's (the school I currently work at) Daily Newsletter. Our principal is a really great guy and writes the newsletter everyday.

He asked:

"What would you attempt to do if you knew you could not fail?"

So, I wanted to know from all of you the answer to this question. Dream Big!

Today's Smile

I laughed to myself (at a time that I needed a laugh) when I thought about that episode of Newlyweds:

"Where is the Strangest place you have made whoopee?"

"Uh.... That would be in the butt, Bob."

AAHHHH hahahahah! (*note in the image above the couple over his right shoulder!)

That one ALSO gets me every time.

"Get a Hobby!"

Once upon a time, long before I was married, I told my boyfriend he needed to get a hobby. Today his hobby has grown to epic proportions and has recently become the interest of many of the young lads and, well, fathers, who live on our street. In case you forgot... Kent is still a Lego maniac.

Cutting Corners- The thrill of the Hunt.

It has not been a secret among my close friends and family that this summer has been a struggle for Kent and I, financially.
We had a new home to furnish and new baby. I did my share of going to Target and buying novel and shiny items from the store. However, then comes the time when the gift certificates die and the excitement of a new person in this world wears thin.
I have prided myself at becoming quite thrifty with a little extra work when it comes time to buy our Lucia a new toy, to put new work clothes on Kent's back, or to curb an ever so needed retail therapy session for me.
First of all, I'm not ashamed to say that I am about a weekly customer at Goodwill and Stuff, Ect. They have promotions like "25 cent" Tuesdays for certain color tags. Stuff has a very nice clothing collection and I have found almost brand new items/never worn for dirt cheap. They have a running promotion that items that are a certain age are either 50% or 80% off.
Garage sales are fun when I can remember them or have time to plan to go to them. Kent and I have scored patio furniture that people just wanted to get rid of before moving for $1.00. Today, I went to the Regina school's Garage sale. I scored Kent some very nice brandname work shirts and some Christmas decorations all for no more than a dollar a piece.
Lastly, I've just started to really look on line. Websites like Craigslist and groups like Freecycle on Yahoo are really interesting prospects. Everyone really benefits by this kind of acceptance to the not shiny out of the package brand new stuff idea. We keep garbage out of a landfill and I don't stress too much every time I want or need something for my family.

Someone called me "Ma Ma" today.
Well, it happened. You are a mom the day you give birth to your baby. Thereafter, everyone calls you Mom. But its a whole new ballgame when someone only knows you by the name, "Ma Ma" isn't it?
Mom said that I should have taught her to say Da Da. So, as soon as I could I got her to repeat, "Da Da" and she did. So, I'm telling Daddy she's saying Da Da.
All week long I kept giving her the hairy eyeball for "pretending to chew" all week. Little did I know that she was practicing the mouth movements to say our names.
SO HAPPY.
p.s. happy 7 month birthday, Lucia (a day late).

Work has been a struggle.

Sooo.... When I am needing a laugh this is what I have been thinking about:

The scene in "Better off Dead" when Lane Meyer is trying to kill himself again by jumping off a bridge. His druggie friend pats him on the back after talking him out of it. Lane falls into a heap of garbage of a dump truck as it drives beneath the bridge. Two Black telephone pole workers see him.

One says to the other, "Damn shame... Folks throwing away a perfectly good white boy like that."

LOL... gets me every time.

Happy 6(0)th Birthday, Ansel Adams...

Have fun getting back to your photography/art now that you are retired. Love you Pop-0.

Little Girl gettin' her pattycake on...

Shenanigans

I was talking to Momma today during Lucia's nap. When I was done I went to check on the baby. While walking towards her room I heard the faint sound of music from her mobile. I turn the corner and there she is pressing the buttons to her mobile with a HUGE grin on her face. I asked her "What ARE you doing?"

She responded by doing a Jack Nicholson impression with her eyebrows.

That little rascal.