2008

Everyone is doing it so I figure what the heck....I've got another 40 minutes till the ball drops, ringing in 2009 so why not post a blog about 2008. Hopefully I won't bore you to tears!! This last year definitely was an interesting one for sure. I remember exactly where I was this time last year. I just had found out I was expecting baby #2 and had no idea what the heck was going to happen. Mr. X and I really didn't know each other that well so I was terrified he would take off like Monkey's dad did. The thought of being a single mom of 2 is a bit scary although I'm sure I would have figured it out if it had come to that. But that's not the issue so enough of that.

I would say that everyone's goal for each year should be to end it on a better note than it began. Right? They always say go out with a bang. Wait, I think thats what they say...I think I may be too tired from staying up this late! Anyways, this past year definitely had a rocky start. Mr. X and I stuck it out and it was definitely rough going. I had to get past my issues of not having control over every single aspect of my life and he had to get used to the idea of a ready made family with another on the way. It turned out ok though.

January and February are a blur as I had horrid morning sickness. March was spent making up missed sleep and packing up my condo. By April Mr. X and I were living together. We found out in May that baby #2 would be a boy and spent the remaining months "debating" over his name. In June Monkey finished pre-k. In July we moved into the new house. August I transfered to a new office location closer to home. Finally in September Toots arrived. September and October I got to stay home on "maternity leave". Yes, I quoted that b/c I was never really and truely off. I was still dealing with work stuff from home. Returned to work end of October and by November had rearranged my work schedule to now work from home. Then of course the holidays through November and December. I lost someone very near and dear to me in December and got to make an unexpected trip home which also meant my family got ot meet Toots afterall.

2008 in all it's glory has been a very long yet very busy year. Honestly....I don't know that I ever thought we would be where we are now. I have to say that I'm happy though. I'm glad that life has taken me down this path and brought me to where we are now. Sometimes I like to even think Mr. X is happy too. LOL Really, he is though. At least thats what he says when it's just him and I snuggled up at the end of the night.

Content. Thats another word I would use. I don't even regret or miss my old lifestyle. I'm perfectly happy to stay at home with the kids and Mr. X just relaxing or something. I love cooking again and trying new recipes. I get to spend way more time with the kiddo's than I ever did when Monkey was a baby.

Over all I'd say that my year is ending better than it began. And if the trend continues...then that means 2009 will be even better!

Happy New Year to Everyone!

Coming Soon....

So Monkey got to meet with the rep at a modeling and talent agency last week before Christmas. I've wondered how people got their kids into it but never really pursued it either. Monkey has big beautiful brown eyes that just stand out and she loves posing for the camera. So it makes sense that it would probably be something she is good at. Well the agent thinks so too. So in March she goes through a 9 week course that teaches her all the specifics. Once thats done she'll get professional photo's done which will be submitted to companies to see if they want to work with her. Companies like Macy's, Dillards, Target. It could be anything from a catalogue to bridal show runway stuff, even commercials. They are a pretty big company, they represent Chad Michael Murray from One Tree Hill. I think it will be pretty cool but we'll have to monitor it really closely. If at any time she stops enjoying it we'll pull her out. Any money she gets from jobs will go straight into savings for her college fund. So be on the look out!! I'm sure if she lands a job I'll be posting it so everyone will know though! LOL

And It's Over

Wow...an entire year building up to 1 day and it's over. Now we start again!! LOL Christmas yesterday was OK. I think I had put too much expectation into it though which won't be repeated in the future. To start off Mr. X was waking me up at 5am saying "Is it time yet?". Uh no. Even Toots let me sleep in till 6am again. Monkey slept till 7:30! By that time I was considering getting her up. She never sleeps that late and I was shocked she had. The first thing she did when she got up though was come out ot see if Santa had arrived. Then came to our room and said "mommy Santa came!". Mr. X wanted to make her wait through a shower but that would have been another 45minutes (he likes long showers) and I didn't want to torture her so we headed to the living room to start. Here's some photo's!

Christmas eve in front of the tree

Monkeys letter to Santa. I cant read it either

Opening her stocking

Chomping on his new toy

The Tag reader

Her favorite toy of all

Chomping on another toy

Playing with Tag

Opening his big gift

Realizing I double wrapped it

And its the Xbox 360!

And then Mr. X got commissioned to make breakfast. His amazing bisquits and gravy. I managed to snap a pic of him cooking in his new Xbox fleece pants he got.

As for me...well I got a picture frame and a copy of a DVD.

Hey Everyone!

We hope your Christmas day is wonderful and magical and creates lots of amazing memories!!!

Is it time yet??

Huh? Huh?? is it time yet? Where is Santa at? Has it made it to our country yet? It's getting dark out so it must be time!

Haha......thats Monkey all worked up about Santa. Me? I'm just ready to go to bed!!!

Santa Bail Out Hearing

Thanks Robyn!

Playing Santa

Well really Ms. Clause if you want to be technical. But Christmas is getting more and more complicated the older Monkey gets. As I was wrapping presents today i had to think about various things. Like the fact that she is learning to read. That means I can't leave packing labels on boxes anymore. All those Walmart site to store labels...I had to pull them off the boxes I was using.

Another thing is I had to buy gifts for Toots to put under the tree and in his stocking. Originally I wasn't going to get him anything. He's 4 months old. He's not going to know any different. But for Monkey how could Santa possibly forget Toots!! So he's getting a couple toys and some rattles/teethers. We even had to include the 2 cats in the stocking line up which meant getting them a couple things. So basically monkey is costing me more money too. LOL

Over all though I'm excited. I so can't wait till Christmas morning that even I find myself counting down the days. I picked up the last of her ballet stuff tonight. Well, I still need to get her ballet shoes but she really needs to be with me to make sure they are sized and fit properly. I'd rather not guess on those. I know she is going to be thrilled when she finds out she starts lessons in January. She is constantly twirling around the house and running around in her little leotard. Plus it's something just for her. She won't have to share with Toots in any ways.

So is everyone else ready for Christmas??? It's only like 48hrs away!

Google by Another Name

We're all familiar with Yahoo, AOL, and Google search engines. Everyone has their own preference on which one works best for them. Personally, I've been using Google these days. Mostly because I use the gmail email now. I LOVE their spam filter. Yahoo's couldn't hold a candle too it especially with how bad spam mail is these days. Anyways, I got a chance to check out Shiny Search to see how it worked and such. Honestly, it looks like google with another name. The difference is I can completely customize how the page looks. I chose the super mom one. Pretty fitting don't you think? You can also personalize it with a name and there are various links right from the search engine page. Also, it appears they use google as the actual search engine too. Bottle line though is they all go to the same place in the end. It's just how do you want it to look when your typing in what your looking for I suppose. It should be interesting though to see if they expand the site at all from where it's at now.

A Neat Game

I recently got the opportunity to check out a new game system from ActionAllStars.com. For those of you who are myspace or facebook fans you may know of Yoville?? Well this is similar to that but it is sports themed and specifically targeted to younger kids. While the younger kids would probably find this fun older teens and adults would probably get bored rather quickly. A few things to point out about the site.

First it is free although there appears to be an option to upgrade to premium services. I don't see where it is necessary to upgrade as I was able to play the games and earn tokens on the free version.

Second it appears to be fairly safe with various safety measures in place. When I first registered it asked me for my "parents" email address to register. It then emailed the parents email for permission to join the site. Obviously any smart kid would know how to get past this but I do give them kuddos for trying. Also for safety they have 2 levels the parent can choose from when it comes to chat. One lets them have basically complete freedom while another limits the type of words and such that can be used. So for a parent setting up the account you can try to be sure your child won't be exposed to foul language and such.

Third there are a decent amount of options available. The player can participate in baseball, snowboarding, and basketball. Games centered around the sports teams due to partnerships with MLB.com and NBA.com I'm sure.

Overall it's a neat little game community for those younger kids who would like to participate in online games but who aren't quite ready for the more adult geared versions.

I've been what?

Let me back up here. Over the weekend Mr. X made a comment to me that has made me really think over the last few days. I was in the kitchen and he came up behind me and said "Do all your friends know you've become domesticated?". "What ever do you mean dear?" I asked. Well, not really like that. It was more like a "Huh?". And then he said "It's Saturday morning and your baking.....Sugar cookies. From scratch". Then it dawned on me. Oh crap!! LOL This time in any years past I would have been sleeping in most likely because of a late night out the night before. If monkey got up early she would just snuggle up with me and watch cartoons from bed. Instead now I'm in bed by 9pm at the latest and up by 6am. I often make breakfast including homemade pancakes or muffins. No box stuff over here anymore. To top it off I was making sugar cookies. Something I have NEVER done before. LOL Did I mention I made the homemade icing too?? Even colored it in 2 colors for christmas. Yup, it's bad. I am completely and utterly domesticated now. I won't even go there about dinner....have you seen my recipe blog lately??? LOL

Can we ban commercials?

I know over the years there have been tons of studies done about the effects of movies and tv shows on kids and teens. About how they mimick actions they see and thats why it's recommended to monitor their tv usage and the programs they watch. There is even programming available in cable and sattelite boxes that let you restrict channels based on ratings. Now the question is...do they do the same for commercials? The recent Levi commercial is the talk of the week around here. If you haven't seen it yet check below. Frankly my jaw hit the ground the first time I saw it. If you have never seen it before the last thing your thinking is it's a blue jean commercial. Second....are they blatantly encouraging sex on the commercial?? And not only that....between 2 very young looking people??? There are so many "messages" in this thing it's not funny and they aren't good. Seriously....when do they draw the line???

Sailors Mouth

Note to self: I curse too much. How do I know?? Monkey and I are watching Chronicles of Narnia as part of the 25 days of Christmas. I'm on the computer surfing the net when I hear...and this is word for word.

"A horse person? What the hell is a horse person??"

Ya, we need to re-think some of the phrases we use in this house. Before long I'll have Monkey and Toots talking like a sailor. I should add I had a very hard time keeping a straight face while correcting her language. It was just her tone that had me cracking up. She was so serious!

A New Wish

These days everything is all about technology. The latest, greatest, fastest gadgets. Up till recently our house wasn't full of those things although it's slowly changing with the recent addition of the Wii. (I'm still holding out for the Wii Fit too!) While online I came across this really cool digital photo frame. I know what your thinking. There are photo frames all over the place...whats so great about them? Well this one has wi-fi capabilities. That means that when you set up the plan then anyone from your family or friends can send photo's to the frame, regardless of where they are. Why do I think that is great? There is a chance that Mr. X may stay in the military next year and if he does it's basically guaranteed that he will be deployed somewhere. What better way to send him all kinds of new photo's of the kids with out even having to log into a computer. Plus, he doesn't have to have computer access to get the photo's. It would be a win-win situation for us. The photo frame is made by CEIVA. They have a really cool web page up right now that lets you load a picture and "sit" on Santa's lap. You can check out the website HERE. They have a good deal going on where you can get $100 off the purchase of the frame. Plus they have a contest going on where you can register to win $500. You can't beat that now can you? So go check it out and be amazed as I was. Besides Santa wants to know...have you got a wish?

Away he goes!!

You can hear me laughing and yes, I realize he was getting frustrated but he was trying so hard to get over that boppy!!

I gotta wonder though, if he's doing this at 3 months....how soon will he REALLY be on the move?

Let it Snow!

So we went back home this past weekend due to my step-mom's passing. It was an interesting trip. Very long and tiring but I'm glad I got to see my family and be with them as we celebrated her memory. On the way home though the weather got interesting. It had started to snow before we left so we decided to leave several hours earlier than planned to try and get ahead of it. So didn't happen. 12hrs into the trip and we still weren't even in Virginia. Didnt' help we were only going 25mph and sliding down the side of a mountain. I got X to agree to a room for the rest of the night and we crashed. Finally made it home 24hrs after we 1st left for home. Here is a pic of the snow the next morning.

I definitely don't miss all that snow. And the cold!! While we were home I ran out one morning to get things for breakfast. Sporting my typical flipflops and it was 11 degrees out! My car was completely frozen over and I of course don't own an ice scraper. Needless to say...I like being back home. Ya, it's a bit chilly but at least I don't have to let my car warm up for 30 minutes before I can go somewhere.

December 2, 2008

I didn't get a chance to post this yesterday. It was a pretty emotionally and physically draining day and by the end of the night I just wanted to crash. Needless to say it's now 3:30am and here I am blogging so go figure.

Yesterday morning started like any other morning. Got Monkey off to school and headed up to walmart for a couple things before I needed to head into work. While in Walmart my cousin called although I didn't get it right away. Darn signal. I knew something was up though when I got the voicemail and text. Something not good and it wasn't. She was calling to let me know that my stepmom had passed away that morning.

S was mom to me though, probably more of a mom to me than my own mother was. There are so many memories I have that involve her.

She married my dad when I was 3 and I was their flower girl. Even now I remember shopping for my dress which really wasn't a dress. As a kid I was very tall but even more skinny so finding clothes was a huge pain. I ended up wearing what was actually a silk nightgown with these flowers on it. It had this pretty robe that went over it and tied with a thin ribbon. In the pictures it really does look like a dress, only we knew differently.

I remember when I asked shortly after the wedding if it was ok to call her mom instead of by her name. How she hugged me and she she would love that.

I remember when she started teaching me how to type when I was in third grade. Telling me knowing how to type quickly would open doors for me later on in life. I remember thinking it was crazy being able to type 100+ wpm and now knowing how right she was.

I remember my first lesson in cooking. Peach cobbler. How she just handed me the recipe and sat back and watched as I dumped every ingredient into the bowl. Only to find out after it was in the oven that not everything was supposed to go in at one time. Then I watched as she still tasted it even though I had screwed the whole thing up.

I remember how she could step out on the back porch, hollering our names into the neighborhood when it was time to eat or come in for the night. Her voice carried so well and it was better than any phone.

I remember how she swore her hearing was so good she could hear all three of us breathing upstairs and knew when one of us woke up before our feet even hit the floor.

I remember when my dad left. How she took all of us across the alley to grandma's to break the news. And how she let me stay with her even though I wasn't her natural child. She kept me as though I were. I remember how she cried with me at his leaving.

I remember the holidays, birthdays, weekend BBQ's with friends. Everything with her involved. The late night chats or being able to sit for hours when we would visit home, talking about our lives and remembering things from the past.

I can still hear her voice as she told me she was proud of me and what I had become. That I had made mistakes but we all do. All we can do is learn from them.

In recent years those chats were fewer with more space between. I lived 750 miles away and had my own responsibilities with my family and work. The days just blurred by and as so many relationships do it eventually was left to holidays and special occasions. Sometimes those nothing more than quick chats as time was always limited.

I hope she knew though that she was always with me. Every meal I made I thought of her and the lessons she had taught me. Every holiday holds a memory that involves her. Every major milestone in my life she touched somehow. When I think of the lessons I want to pass on to my kids I think of the things she taught me.

I will forever miss you mom and I hope that you knew how much you meant to me. I wish that I could tell you now but I know that your suffering is over and your in a much better place. From now on, you'll be my angel and I hope that you will watch over Monkey and Toots. I hope that I continue to make you proud and that the things you have taught me are reflected in them and their upbringing. One day when they are older and ask who taught me these things I will tell them about you. And although there will be sadness that you are no longer with us, there will also be happiness for the memories that we do have. You are gone from the earth, but you will never be forgotten.

"I thought of you with love today

but that is nothing new

I thought about you yesterday

and days before that too,

I think of you in silence

I often speak your name

Now all I have are memories

and your picture in a frame

Your memory is my keepsake

with which I’ll never part

God has you in His keeping

but I have you in my heart."