Downright Silly

Oh my GOODNESS!!!!

Have you laughed today? I bet you haven't laughed like you will after you watch this! My child just cracks me up.



Please excuse the poor videography, I was just laughing so hard I was crying. She was just SO proud of herself! Aww, I love that kid. She proves that God is all-knowing, because He knew I needed a this child.

Mookie Spice

I'm starting to put things aside for a little journey we're taking, and Mookie seems absolutely fascinated with the jars of spices.  I'm hoping this bodes well for her future in the kitchen... :o)

Or maybe she just likes the way they sound when she whacks them together.

Please don't worry. The lids are screwed onto those spices VERY tightly.

How Now, Brown Cow

Quite the little galloper, no?

Who Can I Be?

I need your help, folks. I'm stuck for ideas, and want suggestions.

 

We've been invited to a Mardi Gras party in February, and if we show up as Dave and Melissa, we'll be turned away. The hosts are firm believers in the idea that one should not celebrate Mardi Gras without a costume.

 

One year the theme was Music, and we went as Robert Palmer and a Palmer Girl. Dave wore a suit, and I wore a little black dress and had a red guitar around my neck. Nice, huh? Those were good costumes. :o)

 

Another year the theme was Monty Python. I'm not much of a Monty Python fan. I went as that one (prudish) girl, and Dave went as that guy with the red cross on his chest. Whatever.

 

This is the first time in 5 years we've been able to go, and the theme?
Icons

Real people icons, not those you might find on the desktop of your computer.  Historical icons. Cultural icons. Movie icons. National icons.

Wikipedia defines a cultural icon as an image, a symbol, a logo, picture, name, face, person, or building or other image that is readily recognized, and generally represents an object or concept with great cultural significance to a wide cultural group.

And I'm stuck. I don't know what icon to be...so I ask you, friends, who can I be? Without much alteration to my original self, who do you think I can pull off?

So far, here are the names bantered about:

• Twiggy...except I think I weigh too much. :o)
• Marilyn Monroe...except I think I don't weigh enough, um, in all the right places. :o)
• Princess Diana...a good one as long as (a) I don't have to cut my hair to have bangs, and (b) I don't have to say anything in a fake British accent. Plus, I've already got a tiara.
• Uma Thurman...Mike, do you really think she's an icon? I mean, I know you think she looks like me, but, an icon??
• Audrey Hepburn...except I'm about 8 inches too tall, and I don't want to dye my hair black.
• Minnie Mouse...I bet someone around here has an extra pair of ears I could wear! And a friend has a red/white polka-dot dress I might be able to borrow.

I just Googled "cultural icon" and found a list of 200 from VH1. The list is opening my eyes, that's for sure. For instance, I suppose I could pull off Axl Rose, who is #196 on the list. Ooh, or Abba (#168), although it might be difficult to be the entire band. Farrah Fawcett, Barbara Eden (as Jeannie), Cindy Crawford...

Ooh...how about wearing an Andy Warhol (#62)-type painting of my face? 

(By the way, Dave is thinking he could go as Jimi Hendrix. Ummm...yeah. So, maybe while you're thinking of who I can be...maybe there will be a companion icon for Dave?)  :o)

I am SO looking forward to your suggestions! This is gonna be fun!

Dear Mookie: Month Eight

Dear Mookie,

Gosh, this month's letter is hard to write! You are doing so many new things that I have a hard time sitting down to write them all down. And yet, because you are doing so many new things, it will take me forever to get them all documented!

The weather in California has been unseasonably warm for January, and we've been enjoying it as much as possible. Here is a picture of you and me exploring a hibiscus flower at the park. I would like to think you were attracted to the beautiful red flower, but in reality, I think you were excited at how easily the petals pulled apart! :o)

Over the Christmas holidays, though, we did a lot of travelling. To a lot of cold places. You got to meet so many of your family members and it was fun. One of the best things about it is that you got to spend two whole weeks with your papa. The last time you and Papa spent that much time together was right after you were born, and he got to stay home from work for 2 weeks to "help" Mama learn how to be a mama. Except he had to work on his own little baby, his PhD dissertation, and get that done. So this time, Papa was all about his girls. Oh, and college football. You watched football with him before, but this time we learned something new about you. You love college fight songs. Silly girl. Papa sings them and you wave your arms, and kick your legs and have the hugest smile on your little face. It makes your papa very proud, and it just cracks me up. :o)

Gosh, this last month has really been full of Firsts.

On Christmas Eve, you crawled forward for the first time. It was only a couple of "steps," but it was still forward movement. You had plenty of time to practice your crawling when we were stranded in Chicago on our way from Michigan to Georgia. I wasn't too pleased, however, with your desire to crawl off the clean blanket onto the manky hotel floor. You crawled a LOT with your Grandpa Willie, Uncle Jonathan, and your cousin, AJ. Once we got home, you really began to move and groove. Thankfully, I can usually hear where you are crawling, so I know when to stop you. You seem to love going after the things you aren't supposed to have, though. Like the cat food. And the lamp cords. And the bottoms of shoes.

You love to "stand" up, though you cannot do it by yourself - yet. I was hoping to just enjoy your crawlingness for a few months, but just yesterday, you pulled yourself up to standing. I know it will be a mere blink-of-an-eye, and you will be cruising around, and then toddling all by yourself. I better get my act together! :o)

I love that you are so loving (and, of course, lovable) :o) You haven't yet hit that stage where you only want Mama or Papa. This was great at Christmastime when we visited SO many family members, and they all wanted to hold you...and you let them! You seemed happy to be held, and didn't mind who was holding you. I know you'll probably hit that stage, and I'll be sad because I like how you like people. Not shy like the Mama. Now, though? A couple of weeks later? You are just on the move - no holding you! :o)

You've been working on your smooches, too. Baby smooches are so much fun. :o) Good thing for me you are more discriminate about that than you are with being held... For now, you're only smooching your old pal, Baby-in-the-Mirror. It's okay, I smooch her all the time, too. :o)

(By the way, you're not really standing up on your own in that picture. Your Uncle Phil is holding you up.)

We've been seeing that baby more lately, since I put another mirror on the floor in your room. Now when you are crawling around, you see her, and you see Mama, and you seem ever so intrigued at how you know Mama is behind you, and yet, you see Mama in front of you. No, Baby Girl, I've not cloned myself (although, I seriously wish I could!), and I'm not magically jumping back and forth, it's just an image of me there looking back at you. :o) Since I did that, you have really taken to waving. Waving at me. Waving at your Grandma, or Papa, or Aunt Barb or Uncle Phil. Or the cat. Or the mailbox. :o) We joke that you are a little princess because you've mastered the wrist-only wave of royalty. So far, though, you don't really wave on command, you just wave when you feel like it. We'll work on it, though. We go lots of places where people are captivated by your bright blue eyes, or your contagious smile, so we'll just practice waving at your adoring fans, okay? :o)

I must say, though, that you are still THE CUTEST dadgum baby girl that there ever was. You make me, and everyone else around you, laugh because you just do the silliest of things. Like the way you flail your arms and legs when you're playing with a rattle -- like you're a dead bug, or something. Or the way you giggle and shriek in anticipation when you think someone is going to "scare" you. And the different sounds you make - oh, how I wish I could understand what you are trying to communicate. You can be SO passionate! :o) And there's the knee-foot-knee-foot way you've been "crawling" lately. Goofy. The other night you were exploring Aunt Barb's pretty painted toes, and then you crawled over to Uncle Phil and started pulling on his leg hairs. Ow! Haha.

Yesterday, when I was lying on the floor, you crawled to me...

...and then proceeded to crawl over me. You did great till the very end when your big ol'  noggin got the best of you and you started to fall off head first. Oops! Good thing Mama was there to protect your sweet head. 

Oh, and you get SO very excited whenever you see one of the cats. First, you say "Ha Tat. Ha Tat." Which, I think, is your sweet baby way of saying "kitty cat." Then you crawl after her like a woman on a mission! Sadly for you, she doesn't stick around to see what it is you want. The repeated disappointment doesn't seem to deter you, though. Which is good. I hope you are that perseverant in everything you do in life. Never give up, Baby Girl. Not when it comes to petting the kitty. Or learning to ride a bike. Or getting into the college you want to go to. Or getting the job you want. Or raising your family your way. Never give up.

Not only are you crossing milestones off your list like mad, you are growing up physically, too. We had to lower the frame of your crib last weekend because you were looking over the railing, and I was afraid you would try to pull yourself up on it. Speaking of bigger and stronger, today you weigh 14 pounds, 14 ounces, and are 28 inches long/tall.  That's one pound and two ounces bigger, and two inches longer than you were last month!

Here you are with Grandma Bear. I swear, she must be shrinking!

How do you get the shiny off? I want the shiny for me?

Yaarrrgghh!!!  What IS that thing? Protect me.

Why, thank you. I agree. I DO look good in lavendar.

Mmm. Grandma Sue? Whatcha eatin'?

Can I have some? Grandma lets me have whatever I want.

Mmmmm. Grandma's banana is yummsters.

Much to my displeasure, there are now 5 teeth in that little mouth of yours. Two more came up on the bottom around New Year's Day, and the 5th came in last week. On top. Ouch. I am just not ready for that! I will say, though, that it makes your smile that much cuter. :o) And it makes it easier for you to eat, eat, eat.

You've "eaten" bits of a bagel, a breadstick, apple, avocado, banana, sweet potato, white potato, and muffin this month. I am very pleased with how advanced your hand-to-mouth coordination is! And how quickly you learned to pick up a little piece of bread in my hand and get it into your mouth. We are just a few weeks away from food all over the kitchen because you'll be feeding yourself. :o) I have to say, though, that I am glad that you like your food. There are babies around you that are older than you that have no interest in solids at all. You? Love it all. Except carrots. And prunes. You don't like prunes, but that's okay, neither do I. :o)  You also seem very interested in drinking my drink. It doesn't matter if it's in a bottle or a glass or a cup - you know you want some! And I've been amazed at how well you drink from my cup. Yes, there have been moments when I thought there was a hole in your chin, but you've done really well.

While I love to watch you eat, and crawl, and stand, and wave, the times each day when my heart melts just a little more are the times I get to watch you sleep. Right now, on a good day, you wake up at about 6:00, you take 3 naps throughout the day, and are ready for bed at about 6:00 at night. Sometimes you miss a nap, but I don't think you are ready to go to 2 naps. And, quite frankly, neither am I! :o) You don't go down for naps easily, but when you do fall asleep, especially if it's in my arms, I just can't help but stare at you. And marvel at you. And thank God for you. You are one of the most wonderful blessings in my life, and I just can't get enough of you.

Seriously, I cannot get enough of you! You are just so much fun to be around, and I am so very blessed to be able to stay home with you. I just love that I've been here for all of your "firsts." Tomorrow will mark another great "first." A first for our nation. Tomorrow we will inaugurate our first African-American president. There has been a lot of talk about "hope" this last year or so, in our country, and a lot of hopes rest on this man's shoulders. When I have hopes, I try to turn them into prayers, because I believe prayers are much more effective than hopes. :o) And while I do have national, and international prayers, most of the time when I turn a hope into a prayer, it's about you. Today, I pray that you will continue to grow healthy, and happy, and strong. I pray that you will feel and know the presence of God in your life at an early age. (Thus, I pray that your papa and I can cultivate that for you). I pray that your mama will continue to take her fears to God, and that He will quiet them. As I look forward to the future, I pray that you will believe in yourself, and know that you have the strength and potential, with God's help, to accomplish anything you want. And I pray that your papa and I will push you, and encourage you, and challenge you every step of the way.

And I pray for one more day of being blessed with your smile, and your giggle, and your chatter, and your wave, and your clap, and your belly, and your toes, and your eyes, and your cheeks. Just one more day of knowing God's love reflected through you. Just one more day of being the luckiest mama in the world. Just one more day of loving you.  And tomorrow I will pray for one more.

I love you, Baby Girl. Forever and ever, and always.

Love,
Mama

To the Port We Go

I know the weather around the country has left a LOT to be desired, to say the least, but here? It's been gloriously glorious. Dreamily dreamy. Fantabulously fantabulous. You need to catch the first flight to LA. The guest room is ready. I'm not kidding.

We've had family in town this weekend, and have just been soaking up the sun, basically. :o) And eating. Mmmm.  And watching Mookie go and go and go.  Seriously. That child needs to just STOP growing already!

Here's a picture of Mookie and Mama at the Ports of Call at Port Los Angeles.

And here's another visitor to the port that day:

Memories of Chi-Town

I should not be on the computer. I have much to do, and not much time to get it done. And I'm tired. Oh, so very tired.

But, on the computer I am. And I'm sharing with you a sweet photo I took in the hotel while we were holed up in that dadgum hotel room in Chicago on Boxing Day.

...um...

...huh...

I got nothing else to say. The words, they are not coming together. My brain is alphabet soup and the letters just won't come together and form words. Much less sentences!  So I'll just leave you with this photo.

I hope you have a great, energy-filled, project-completed kind of day!

Apple Cinnamon Bundles

or is it Apple Bottom Cinnamon Bundles. or Apple Cinnamon Roll Drizzles.
or is it Apple Cinnamon Bundle Drizzle Blobs.

I don't know what they're called, but this is what they look like:

It's my turn to bring snack to my Mom's Group, again, and I wanted to use what I had on hand...but didn't have a recipe that met that criteria. So I improvised. I haven't tried them, yet, but I must admit my mouth is watering! :o)

They were pretty easy, but I would caution you to wait to clean your kitchen till after you make them. I have the distinct pleasure of cleaning my kitchen again. Bright.

To make them, I used my absolute favorite kitchen tool, the Pampered Chef Apple/Peeler/Corer/Slicer. If you don't have one, and you cook with apples, YOU NEED TO GET ONE!

Step 1: Open a 17.5 oz can of Grands Cinnamon Rolls, set icing aside and cut the rolls in half, to make 10 semi-circles.

Step 2: Peel/core/slice two Granny Smith apples, slice in half to make semi-circles.

Step 3: Take one cinnamon roll half and flatten it lengthwise by (sorta) unrolling it, then pressing it down with your fingertips.

Step 4: Place 3-4 apple slice halves in the middle of the cinnamon roll half, pull up the sides and mush together.

Step 5: Put apple half cinnamon roll halves upside down (a.k.a. seam-side down) in a deep pie dish. I used my Pampered Chef Deep Dish Baker.

Step 6: Bake at 375* for 18-20 minutes. Remove and benevolently distribute the icing.

Honestly. I'm not one to enjoy spending time in the kitchen, experimenting with foods...but this was EASY and fun. I hope they taste good!

It should also be noted that, in certain circles, I am affectionately known as The Benevolent Distributor of Icing.  I wear that banner proudly, and I try to fulfill my benevolent distributing duties as often as possible. :o)

Hope you have a great, icing-filled day!

Two Faces I Love

I was going through the 4 bazillion photos I took over our Christmas vacation, and just wanted to post another Mookie-n-Grandpa one for you. :o)

There's just so darn much I love about that picture. How she's totally content to rest on my dad's chest. How her little hands seem to be holding his face in place so she can study it. How those gray hairs show love and life and experience in such a natural way. How his hand so gently holds her so she doesn't fall off. How delicate and pink her skin is compared to his tanned face.

And so darn much I love IN that picture. :o)

Things have been busy around here. I'm finally starting to feel like I've got some energy and am not coughing all the time, which is nice. But now I've got to make up for all the lost time! Mookie is crawling with much more gusto, now, so it takes a lot of my attention to keep up with her. Gone are the days I could just leave her to play with a pile of toys and know that she would be okay while I was 6 feet away doing something else. Well, okay, maybe I should say "gone are the minutes..." because it sure didn't seem to last too long!! :o)

Plus, we've got family coming to visit next weekend, and I've got to get the house ready for 5 guests. I've got beds for them all (does the recliner count as a bed??), and I think I'm going to have to come up with a shower schedule. No one gets more than 8 minutes in the shower, or I'm gonna start flushing the toilet repeatedly till they stop. Sound fair? :o) I'm totally looking forward to it, though. I'm hoping the weather is a spectacular as it was this weekend, because HELLO, it was gorgeous. Clear, blue, warm, sunny, fresh, YUMMY. We'll take drives along the coast, and play with the baby, and go to the fish market, and play with the baby, and eat at the Omelette and Waffle Shop, and play with the baby... Do not worry, my friends, I fully understand, and accept, that they are not coming to see me, they are coming here to see my child. :o)

But now that I'm feeling better, there are so many things I want to do, and so many things I need to do...and those two lists don't seem to get any shorter! I haven't blogged about it, but I got a new toy for Christmas, and I'm DYING to play with it. And a friend and her daughter came over yesterday and we painted (acrylic on canvas), and she did an AWESOME job, and I'm totally inspired, and I want to paint some more. I should have taken a picture of it, because, well, because I'm jealous and I want to copy it! :o) And I've got a bunch of cards I need to make, and a few million pictures to scrapbook, and a blog to keep up, and a Flickr! account to populate, and our wireless Internet connection has been on the fritz, and, and, and...oh, so many things on my want list.

My need list involves Thank You cards, Happy New Year cards, cleaning, cleaning, and more cleaning, clothes to donate, sorting-and-organizing, making lunches and dinners for us, preparing for another trip...boring stuff.

I'm gonna try and be good, though, and do more from the need list than from the want list...which means I'll probably be a little scarce here for a week or so. I'll be thinking about you, though! :o)

Hope you have a fabulous week!

Smiles and Saucers

My dear bloggie friend, Megan, posted her first video on her blog today. And, boy, is it a good one! :0) You should totally go there and soak up that sweet little man of hers. :o)

But only after you soak up this sweet little girl of mine...



Unlike Megan, I didn't edit mine, so you'll just have to suffer through a whole minute of the cutest little girl face west of the Pecos. (Well, okay, east of the Pecos, too).

Have a great day!

Oh Five!

I'd like to first say,

Well Done, Dave!!!

And then I'd like to say,

Praise God!!!!

And then I'd like to say,
  SIGH!!!!


(which is all to say that Dave has been selected for promotion to the next level. We don't know when, but at least we know that!)

Quirky Bird 2, Revenge of the Quirks

You know those memes that go around where you're supposed to list 7 oddball things about you, then tag 7 other people to list 7 oddball things about them? Well, it's been awhile since I've done one, and I think people have kinda stopped tagging other people, because that's so 2007.

BUT...I'm still an oddball, and I thought it would be fun to share some quirks about me that have come to light recently. They've been a part of my personality for a while, I just didn't remember them last time I did a meme. Which was last March, when I revealed to you that I like/dislike foods because of their texture. And other wierd stuff.

So, for a little January fun, here are some additional quirks character enhancements about me...:o)

1. I like to shave in hotel showers.   What? TMI? :o) It's because, if I was OCD about anything, it would be about hair. Mine, Dave's, anyone's hair. I especially don't like to have to clean hair out of the shower drain. So, whenever we stay in a hotel, I make sure to budget enough time to shave when I shower. (Never fear, this doesn't mean I don't ever shave at home, I just don't like it as much.)
2. I will never, nope, not ever, take a bath in a hotel bathtub. I don't really like taking baths all that much anyway, but taking it in a bathtub where the cleanliness is questionable? (And the likelihood that there is someone else's hair in the drain is high???) No THANK you!  It's the whole thing about sitting in dirty water. And, by the way...
3. I absolutely, positively do NOT like to shave while taking a bath. Like, I see NO reason to ever Ever EVER have to do that. Think about it. You shave your legs, and then you rinse the razor off in the bathwater? That you are sitting in? And then when you drain the tub those little bitty shavings are going to cling to YOU, and the side of the tub, oh, and YOU. Just. Plain. Gross.
4. (moving on...) I don't like to fruit in my granola. No raisins. No cherries. And definitely no dates. I will pick out everything that is not a grain or a nut and toss it to the birds.  (I think it's a texture thing, again).
5. Speaking of granola, I like to sprinkle granola on my yogurt - spoon by spoon. I don't like to mix it in, because then it gets all soggy and gross.  I just get a little pinch of granola, get a little yogurt on my spoon, and sprinkle it on the spoon...then gobble it up. Yum.  (can ya guess what I'm eating right now?)
6. I have to eat ice cream with a plastic spoon. Seriously, I cannot eat it with a metal spoon. It changes the flavor to me. Yes, I suppose you could blame it on the summer I worked at Baskin-Robbins, but the quirk is still the quirk. I've even gone so far as to eat it with a "toddler/training" spoon when a grown-up plastic spoon couldn't be found! :o)
7. I like the way good pens sound when they are writing on good paper. Yes. Pens make a sound. And the better the pen, the better the paper, the better the sound. It's like music to mine ears. Yes, I'm a snob. I'm over it. :o)
8. I have over 500 pens. They are, by no means, all good pens. There are felt tips, and rollerballs, and Bics, and Biros (a little British "Hiya!"), and highlighters, and fountain pens, and calligraphy pens, and Sharpies (oh, the Sharpies!), and dry erase markers, and archival pens, and, well...I cannot list them all. Suffice it to say, I have a bunch. Do not, however, say I have too many. Because I don't. They all have a special place in my heart. Now, if I could only find a special place to keep them all... :o)

And with that, I will bid you adieu.

Unsteady, but Determined

...an apt description for my child right now. :o)

And now that she seems to have mastered The Crawl, she's ready to move on up! :o)

This is for the Grands and Greats. It's 45 seconds of Mookie crawling and chattering. Enter at your own risk. :o)

It's Saturday Afternoon, and it feels like a Tuesday.

I'b zick. Ad so is Bookie. Yay.

She pretty much freaks out if I cough when she's nursing. And I'm pretty much coughing every 47 seconds, so, that's all kinds of fun.

Dave, however, is well. Stinker.

Having been away from home for nearly 2 weeks, and Dave not working for nearly 2 weeks, I've completely lost track of what day it is. I'm not complaining at all! I like that we got to spend so much concentrated time together as a little family. Nuclear, and visited with lots of electrons.

:o) Hehe. A little chemistry humor for ya.

Two neutrons walk into a bar, and they order drinks. When they go to leave, they ask for the bill, and the bartender says, "For you, no charge." 

:o) Hehe. Get it? No charge? Protons and electrons have charges (+ and -, respectively), but neutrons and neutral.

You're beginning to wonder why you're here, aren't you? Or maybe it's that you're beginning to wonder why I'm here, and not in bed, because, clearly, I'm delirious.

But I have to tell you about the Contest Winner! I promised a randomly generated winner, and the randomizer picked Comment #1 -- Jen from NYtoNZ. (Let me know if you want it sent to NZ or MN since I don't know when you guys are leaving. Oh, and let me know the address, too! Hah! My email address is in my profile.)

But GOSH, I want to thank those of you that commented about your grandmothers. Natalie? I cried when I read yours.What a wonderful legacy she left for you and your sisters (and cousins, I presume). I love thinking about how our grandmothers knit our families together. And taught us each SO very much, without ever making it seem like a chore, or an effort, or a lesson. But more like they were getting blessed by spending time with us. Yup. That's the kind of thing I was hoping to read about in the comments. And, truly, these are kinds of characteristics and traits that I hope to exhibit myself one day. :o)  And hopefully before I become a grandmother, eh? :o)

Mookie is awake from her nap now, so I must go tend to her snotty nose. Hope you are well!

She's A Little Inchworm

We're HOME!! Yay! I missed my home. I love everyone we spent time with over our traipsing vacation, and everywhere we stayed was incredibly comfortable, but I miss my home.  I miss my kitties. I miss my space. I miss my stuff. I'm glad to be home.

With home, is full-access to the Internet...which means I can upload ginormous videos guilt-free! :o)  So, here she is...



She's getting better and better every day. She doesn't wobble as much as she did just a few days ago, and she goes a foot or so farther before she crashes.

And, of course, she just gets cuter by the minute! :o)  If I get more-better video, I'll share it.

Happy New Year!