Before I had Amelia, I never knew how little sleep one could survive on. I swear we were up and down with Amelia about 15 times last night. Of course I couldn't go back to sleep every time I got woke up, I'd lay there and think about how tired I was and that it was already 2 3 or 4 am and I had to get up soon. There really isn't enough Diet Coke in the world to keep me going on high energy today. The kids aren't all in great moods either today. At least they are all sleeping at the same time though.

So it turns out my friend Mic has a talented photographer for a husband. He set up a photo studio in their dining room last weekend and we got more Christmas pictures taken. There are some really great ones of Amelia, they turned out really cute, now I have to decide if I want to use one of them for the Christmas card picture, or still use the one of Amelia with the Santa Hat. At least I didn't have to go pay someone at the mall a fortune to take so so pictures. I can't believe how grown up my baby is!

On another topic, I know I shouldn't complain about Jeff in my blog, however it's my blog, and he is welcome to set up his own, so here it is. I hate it when he starts big projects at krappy times and then gets mad that I'm not thankful that he sort of did something. I have been whining ( yes I know I shouldn't whine) since we moved that I wanted to switch bedrooms with Amelia. Her closet was bigger, and her bathroom had only a shower, while ours had the bathtub. Her room was also really cold and I was worried that was why she wasn't sleeping well. So anyway, Jeff decided Sunday of Thanksgiving weekend to rearrange the furniture. He started it while I was out running errands. He said it was a surprise for me. I think it was really sweet of him to think of doing it for me, but he started at 4 oclock on Sunday. It's now Tuesday night and both bedrooms are still a wreck. Our clothes are still all in her new closet, nothing is where it's going in her room and none of us are sleeping well. I know I should be thankful that he took on moving all the furniture and stuff on his own, but it's really frustrating that I can't even get to the closet in her room because there is so much stuff in the way. I'm working late tonight so he's going to try and get it finished before Amelia and I get home, because pretty much as soon as I get home from work she goes to bed, and we can't do much in her room with her in there sleeping.

Xmas cards again

Here is the actual picture that I think we are going to use for the xmas card, I guess I forgot to post it earlier.
It totally shows her personality... "Forget you mom, I'm not wearing this stupid hat..."

Frappr

Have you all seen Frappr? I think it stands for Friend Mapper or something like that, anyway it's a map that shows where everyone in a group is located. I set one up for my blog to see who's reading. So come one all you readers out there, add yourself to my Frappr

Christmas Card Pictures

So my plan for Xmas card pictures was to just go to Sears and get Amelias portraits done and buy cards there. Well then I heard how much it would cost, and decided I wanted to try it on my own first. Sears charges 34.99 for 20 cards. OMG thats just insane. Plus you all know we won't get out of there without spending a few hundred on the portraits not to mention the cards that cost almost 2.00 each. At walmart.com ( I KNOW Walmart is evil. However, they are what I can afford!! lol) Anyway, at Walmart they are $.33 So I took a bunch of pictures of Amelia in her Christmas dress sitting in her rocker. They turned out pretty good! She was so funny though. She did not want the Santa hat on her head, and she did not want to sit down for the pictures. I have a couple of pictures of her standing up in the rocker, and one of her down on her tummy trying to figure out how to get down. So anyway, here are a few pics we took that day.

Finally some new pictures...

These are from our trip to Oregon for the kids' birthday party.

We survived!

So we survived the move! I wasn't sure a few times but we did it. I think the biggest thing was thinking we could pack and move and be out of our old apartment in 2 weeks. We somehow managed. I must say I was pretty stressed out about it all, and probably not the nicest wife in the world. At least I apologized for being psycho and stressed out. :-)

I love our new place. It's so much bigger, and more open. And it really feels like the living space is really seperate from the bedrooms. We can watch TV or listen to music or talk at a reasonable volume and not worry about Amelia waking up. I'm also loving the attached garage. My only complaint is our closet is too small. I keep trying to convince Jeff that we should switch bedrooms with Amelia, her closet has 8 feet more hanging space ( I measured it!!) than ours does. Her bathroom is also the one with only a shower, and ours has a tub. So that would also probably be better. I don't think he's too big on moving all the furniture. I thought about just moving most of it while he's gone at work one day, but I'm not sure how well that would go over. :-)

I also finally weighed myself this morning... I had expected to see a big gain. We were eating out a ton since the kitchen was all packed and I'm definitely a stress eater. However I stayed the same, no loss no gain in the last two weeks. So at least I don't have even more to take off to get back to where I was.

I'll write more later, I hear Amelia waking up.

Freecycle couch

This is a picture I took when we got the couch 6 months ago from a friend. My camera was not working last night so couldn't get a new picture.

Our trip

The trip up to Oregon went pretty well. Amelia and I flew out a 8 Thursday morning and returned at 11 pm Sunday night. She had a great time with her cousins, I can't believe how big all three girls have gotten! I'll post some pictures from the weekend later, I forgot my digital camera, so had to use regular film. I forgot what a pain it is to wait for film to be developed, dang I'm spoiled now. ha ha. Anyway it was a good trip.

The crazy part though was there was a thunder storm going on in SoCal Sunday evening. So we had to land in the middle of it. I actually was seeing lightning out the window of the plane! It was also really turbulent. Amelia did pretty well, didn't sleep at all. She got grouchy at the end of the flight, and the flight attendant gave her a cookie. I think he just wanted her to be quiet. :-) So my 9 month old ate a chocolate chip cookie. Oh well, just once won't kill her I guess. She sure liked it! We were both very chocolately by the time we landed. It was a really hard landing, I'm sure the runway was slippery from the storm which didn't help make it any smoother. On the way home from the airport Amelia finally crashed in the car. We watched the lightning across the sky all the way home. I was afraid to carry Amelia in from the car when we got home, the thunder and lightning were happening almost simultaneously. We finally just made a run for it. I think the next time I fly, I'm going to get Amelia a seat. She is too wiggley for my lap!!

Amelias bedroom

So now that I FINALLY got Amelias room all done how I like it, we're moving. I like the blue in her room now, but of course I want to do something different in the new room. THe bedrooms have big vaulted ceilings so I can't paint all the way up, and whatever I paint I'm responsible for getting back to white when I move out. So I'm thinking about doing a border at chair rail height, and just painting below it. I'll leave the top half white, then paint the bottom a light green. It will look sort of like grass, this is the border I like, then the green paint color.

Moving

We're moving... in two weeks! I don't know how much I'll be updating in the next few weeks, I have so much to do, and I'm going to Oregon on my days off next week, my nieces are having their birthday party, so Amelia and I are flying up for the party. :-)

We found a new apartment, it's a bit more than what we are paying now, but it's soooo much closer to my work, and Jeff's commute won't be too bad. It also has a garage, washer dryer hookup and 2.5 bathrooms. Wahoo!! :-) Much better than the 900 square feet we have now...

I found this list on another blog and I"m borrowing it. It's the 100 most banned/challenged books. In other words, they are books that people are trying to keep out of schools and libraries. I've read a lot of these, and many of them as a child. I'm sure there are more that I've read and just don't recognize the titles, I'm bad like that. I'll make the ones I've read red.

Scary Stories (Series) by Alvin Schwartz
Daddy’s Roommate by Michael Willhoite
I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings by Maya Angelou
The Chocolate War by Robert Cormier
The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain
Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck
Harry Potter (Series) by J.K. Rowling
Forever by Judy Blume
Bridge to Terabithia by Katherine Paterson
Alice (Series) by Phyllis Reynolds Naylor
Heather Has Two Mommies by Leslea Newman
My Brother Sam is Dead by James Lincoln Collier and Christopher Collier
The Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger
The Giver by Lois Lowry
It’s Perfectly Normal by Robie Harris
Goosebumps (Series) by R.L. Stine
A Day No Pigs Would Die by Robert Newton Peck
The Color Purple by Alice Walker
Sex by Madonna
Earth’s Children (Series) by Jean M. Auel
The Great Gilly Hopkins by Katherine Paterson
A Wrinkle in Time by Madeleine L’Engle
Go Ask Alice by Anonymous
Fallen Angels by Walter Dean Myers
In the Night Kitchen by Maurice Sendak
The Stupids (Series) by Harry Allard
The Witches by Roald Dahl
The New Joy of Gay Sex by Charles Silverstein
Anastasia Krupnik (Series) by Lois Lowry
The Goats by Brock Cole
Kaffir Boy by Mark Mathabane
Blubber by Judy Blume
Killing Mr. Griffin by Lois Duncan
Halloween ABC by Eve Merriam
We All Fall Down by Robert Cormier
Final Exit by Derek Humphry
The Handmaid’s Tale by Margaret Atwood
Julie of the Wolves by Jean Craighead George
The Bluest Eye by Toni Morrison
What’s Happening to my Body? Book for Girls: A Growing-Up Guide for Parents & Daughters by Lynda Madaras
To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee
Beloved by Toni Morrison
The Outsiders by S.E. Hinton
The Pigman by Paul Zindel
Bumps in the Night by Harry Allard
Deenie by Judy Blume
Flowers for Algernon by Daniel Keyes
Annie on my Mind by Nancy Garden
The Boy Who Lost His Face by Louis Sachar
Cross Your Fingers, Spit in Your Hat by Alvin Schwartz
A Light in the Attic by Shel Silverstein
Brave New World by Aldous Huxley
Sleeping Beauty Trilogy by A.N. Roquelaure (Anne Rice)Asking About Sex and Growing Up by Joanna Cole
Cujo by Stephen King
James and the Giant Peach by Roald Dahl
The Anarchist Cookbook by William Powell
Boys and Sex by Wardell Pomeroy
Ordinary People by Judith Guest
American Psycho by Bret Easton Ellis
What’s Happening to my Body? Book for Boys: A Growing-Up Guide for Parents & Sons by Lynda Madaras
Are You There, God? It’s Me, Margaret by Judy Blume
Crazy Lady by Jane Conly
Athletic Shorts by Chris Crutcher
Fade by Robert Cormier
Guess What? by Mem Fox
The House of Spirits by Isabel Allende
The Face on the Milk Carton by Caroline Cooney
Slaughterhouse-Five by Kurt Vonnegut
Lord of the Flies by William Golding
Native Son by Richard Wright
Women on Top: How Real Life Has Changed Women’s Fantasies by Nancy Friday
Curses, Hexes and Spells by Daniel Cohen
Jack by A.M. Homes
Bless Me, Ultima by Rudolfo A. Anaya
Where Did I Come From? by Peter Mayle
Carrie by Stephen King
Tiger Eyes by Judy Blume
On My Honor by Marion Dane Bauer
Arizona Kid by Ron Koertge
Family Secrets by Norma Klein
Mommy Laid An Egg by Babette Cole
The Dead Zone by Stephen King
The Adventures of Tom Sawyer by Mark Twain
Song of Solomon by Toni Morrison
Always Running by Luis Rodriguez
Private Parts by Howard Stern
Where’s Waldo? by Martin Hanford
Summer of My German Soldier by Bette Greene
Little Black Sambo by Helen Bannerman
Pillars of the Earth by Ken Follett
Running Loose by Chris Crutcher
Sex Education by Jenny Davis
The Drowning of Stephen Jones by Bette Greene
Girls and Sex by Wardell Pomeroy
How to Eat Fried Worms by Thomas Rockwell
View from the Cherry Tree by Willo Davis Roberts
The Headless Cupid by Zilpha Keatley Snyder
The Terrorist by Caroline Cooney
Jump Ship to Freedom by James Lincoln Collier and Christopher Collier

Bush Funny

Someone sent me this and I thought I'd share

Donald Rumsfeld was giving Bush his daily briefing. He concluded by saying, "Yesterday, three Brazilian soldiers were killed."

"OH NO!" Bush exclaimed. "That's terrible!"

His staff was stunned at this unusual display of emotion. They watched nervously as Bush sat, head in hands.

Finally, Bush looked up and asked, "How many is a brazillion?"

A funny

Someone just sent me this quote...

When women are depressed they either eat or go shopping. Men invade another country.
-Elayne Boosler-

Florida and babies

I have to start out by saying I've been a bad blogger lately! It seems like I never post anymore. I promise I'll be on here more often!!

I think we've lost another family member to the warm states. My cousin Connie is in Florida, and I have a feeling she isn't coming back. :-) She is 18 years old, and grew up in a little bitty town in Washington ( the same one I grew up in.) She just graduated from High School. Her boyfriend moved to Florida after graduation, and she decided to go visit for a while. She left last Saturday. My mom talked to her today and she loves it there. She said it's just like where I live only hotter and smaller. LOL She is going home to visit for Thanksgiving, but she bought a round trip ticket so I think she's planning to go back to Florida after the holidays. I'm so proud of her for doing this. It's always a good thing to get out of Ilwaco!!! Too many people stay there and never get to see what the rest of the world is like.

I'm sure the family isn't very happy that she left, ( I still don't think they've forgiven me for leaving) and who knows, maybe she will change her mind and come back, but I hope she has a great time first!! I know I grew up and changed so much when I moved to California all by myself.

On to my next topic of Babies. I was reading in someone else's blog about 2nd babies and how hard it is (in part) because toddlers don't sleep through the night. I don't know if I'm just lucky or if circumstances are different, but the kids I've nannied for have all slept through the night by 6 months and pretty much stuck to that. With my last 2 families that was the case, and I'm pretty sure Mason did the same. Unless they were sick or had a really bad night of teething. I'm wondering though if it's because the kids I've nannied for have all been Cry It Out babies? They are all thumb suckers as well. I'm sure they wake up at night, but they go back to sleep on their own. Bed time is also pretty easy. Do night time routine, put child in bed, say good night, turn off the light, close the door. Quiet ensues.

Amelia is somewhere in the middle. She is not a thumb sucker but a pacifier baby. Once a week or so she wakes up and needs to be snuggled before she can go back to sleep. Other than that she wakes up and finds her paci and goes back to sleep, OR she cries till we come find her paci and she goes back to sleep. I have learned the difference in her cries, she has the "i'm tired, I don't wanna go to sleep though" cry. That one I usually leave her for a few minutes, and she conks out almost immediately. She also has the "something is wrong, get in here now cry" that one makes me come running. There are others that are in between and I admit, sometimes she cries for a few minutes before I get to her. I want her to be comfortable with herself, and being alone, and I want her to be able to soothe herself to sleep. She is finally starting to be okay in her crib, she will wake up and play in there for a few minutes, a couple times lately I have gone in to check on her and I find her standing up smiling at me around her pacifier. Honestly, I think parents need to listen to their guts and to their children. Not just listen as far as is my kid smiling or crying right this second, but see how they are doing. So far I've been blessed with a pretty happy, mostly healthy child.

We must be doing something sorta right! :-)

New furniture and sick

Well we bought the new furniture. It arrives in a month. We got the couch, the chair and the ottoman. I like it because it feels pretty tough, I think it will be hard for the cat to rip up right away. I'm so excited for it to get here!

I'm still doing good with the WW, I am down 2 more pounds this week. Being sick might have helped with that. I'm home from work today, have a fever throwing up etc. Soooo not fun. Jeff is being great though, he went and bought me chicken broth and diet 7 up and brought them home at lunch time. :-)

Amelia will be 8 months old tomorrow! I'm thinking we should go get pictures done this weekend.

This is the furniture set I really like. Now I just have to convince Jeff... :-)

This is so funny... I'm one of those people who corrects other people's grammar in my head while they are speaking. I never tell them though!



You are a GRAMMAR GOD!


Congratulations! If your mission in life
is not already to preserve the English tongue,
it should be. You can smell a grammatical
inaccuracy from fifty yards. Your speech is
revered by the underlings, though some may
blaspheme and call you a snob. They're just
jealous. Go out there and change the world.


How grammatically correct are you? (Revised with answer key)
brought to you by Quizilla

Funny

I just thought this was funny. Go to google and put Failure in the search box. Then click on I'm feeling lucky. Ahh it's the little things that amuse me these days.

Either Amelia is teething finally or she is getting sick. She is soooo grouchy. She is sitting in her high chair, playing with veggie puffs, but not actually eating them, she has a pacifier in her mouth. It's keeping her calm while I make dinner though. Poor grouchy baby. :-(