10.31.2010

Little Bo Peep

First, she was going to be Mickey Mouse, Then an Auburn Cheerleader. In the end, Maggie went as Little Bo Peep for Halloween, courtesy of Nana’s fabulous sewing skills. Maggie got so many compliments on her costume, I think my mom should go into business :)

Isn’t she adorable?

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We hooked up with Jack and Norah for trick-or-treating. Those three kids had the biggest entourage and, though this may sound biased, I’m pretty sure we had the cutest ones out there. Bo Peep, Tinkerbell and the Train Conductor were a big hit in the neighborhood.

After about the third house, Maggie got the hang of it and proceeded to run to the front door to meet people and see what they were handing out – quite funny for a typically shy little girl.Apparently, she is easily bribed :)

10.30.2010

Peanut’s 1st Pumpkin

Hubby and I took Maggie to Mother Nature’s Farm this morning. There were little piglets, chickens, sheep, goats, a cow, a duck (DUCK!), and even a hay ride, but what Maggie enjoyed the most were the pumpkin patches.

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She spent a lot of time trying to pick them up.

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The first one she had success with was the one we took home. I mean, check out the effort being made to haul that pumpkin up! How could we say no?

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Decorating with Daddy will be later tonight :)

10.29.2010

Meet Baby Will

Here is a picture of Baby Will, the preemie I asked y'all to pray for earlier today.


I also received the following status report from my Uncle Johnny (Will's grandaddy):

Cindy (Will's grandmother) went to see him today and said that he is doing good. They took him off the breathing tube about four hours after he arrived at Baptist South which is great. He did fluctuate with his breathing a few times but the doctors said that he was just forgetting to breathe. They tried giving him some of his mother's milk and he was digesting it for a while. He stopped and they returned to the feeding tube, but now they are feeding him his mother's milk again.

The doctor's say he is doing really well, but that anything could still happen.
Thanks for your prayers.

Thank you so much for being intercessors for this child. I will be sure to keep y'all updated as I receive reports.

5QF: 10.30.10 & a Prayer Request

Before this week's regularly scheduled programming, I would like to ask y'all to pray for my uncle's newest grandchild, Will. He was born 3 months early, and weighs a little over 2 pounds. His parents are hoping to have him home by Christmas, but Will has a long road ahead of him in the NICU, so if you would lift him up in prayer, I know his family would be grateful. Thanks in advance for your kindness.

Now, on to ...




1. If you could be a fly on any wall, which would you choose?  I'd have to say the White House. You know there is soooo much going on that we never even get a sniff of.

2. Do you budget your Christmas shopping or just get it done without budgeting?  I don't usually budger, per se, but I do shop throughout the year to lessen the burden.

3. What is the craziest fad diet you have ever done?  I have never done a real diet, much less a fad diet, thus my current weight of ... ha! Like I'm gonna tell you! :)

4. Is there a TV show that you have seen every episode/season of?  Friends, Gilmore Girls, and Hubby and I are currently catching up on NCIS.

5. What one song always pulls at your heart?  Hmmm. I'd have to say "Unwavering" by Matt Maher ... it was sung at Samantha's funeral Mass and now every time I hear it, I get emotional. I don't even sing it, anymore. For happiness, it is definitely "Sweet Home Alabama" - that one always makes me smile and tap my feet :)

10.27.2010

Soooo ...

... do you know what happens when you try to stand on your picnic table seat instead of sitting on your booty?

A fat lip.

I may just let Maggie be a boxer for Halloween (jk!!).

I Have No Words for This One - It Just Makes Me Smile

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10.25.2010

#1 Baby!

Okay, I just have to do this ... WAAAAAAAR EAGLE!

My Growin’ Girl

I can’t believe how big my girl has gotten. Sometimes I’ll look over at her and it hits me just how much she has grown in only 18 months:

This was taken her first week or so home:

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And this was just a couple of weeks ago:

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You’ve come a long way, baby!

10.22.2010

5QF: 10.22.10



1. Who is the better cook, you or your spouse?  Hm. I think we're pretty evenly matched, actually, but Hubby enjoys it more than I do.

2. How often do you talk to your mom? Just about everyday. She's Maggie primary babysitter :)

3. Are you adventurous in the kitchen or stick to the recipe? For the most part, I'm a stick-to-the-recipe kinda gal, but sometimes, especially if it's a recipe I've cooked often, I'll start to tweak it here and there, just to see what happens.

4. Is your second toe longer than your big toe? No. Why?

5. Do you dress up for Halloween? (Bonus question: What will you be this year?) I love to dress up at Halloween, but Hubby doesn't, so I don't often get the chance to do so. The last time I dressed up for Halloween was for an adult party about 3 years ago: me, my brother and parents all went as Romans, and Hubby refused to wear a costume at first, and then consented only to wearing his "Peter" robe from the Easter Passion he is a part of. So, my family and I were the pagans and he was our Christian martyr.

10.20.2010

Blue Sand Equals Messy Fun

Maggie got to spend Monday with Grandma and Grandpa. Grandpa bought her blue sand.


Thankfully, the grandparents sent her home clean and de-sanded :)

10.18.2010

Toys are Everywhere

You can have fun with just about anything, as Maggie proves as she runs around with Uncle Randy's water bottle.


Back and forth.


To and fro.


Just goes to show you don't need the fancy toys to have a good time.

10.15.2010

5QF: 10.15.10



1. What is your favorite Halloween candy? Hmm. I love the Indian Candy Corn. And the fruity Tootsie Rolls. Chocolate is always good but you can usually get the chocolates used for Halloween throughout the year. (Unlike Easter, which requires me to make massive stockpiles of Cadbury Mini Eggs ... oh those are my super-favoritest candy!)

2. Do you fold your socks? I used to. Back before Maggie. Now when I get home from work, all I want to do is spend time with her, so the socks *ahem* when they make to the drawer *ahem* are just thrown in and I match them up as I go.

3. What is something that you wish you had been warned about? Did we answer something like this once already? My answer still remains thus: I wish I'd known that my 20 year-old metabolism would come to a screeching halt at 30, and that the fries I ate in my 20's would land on my butt in my 30's.

4. What is the most significant difference between you and your significant other? Hubby is an extrovert, and I am not. He's super social and talkative, and I tend to be quiet. We balance each other well, because his ability to talk to total strangers allows me time to acclimate to a new situation.
5. What are three words you would use to describe yourself? (And, just for fun...if your significant other is around, ask him/her what 3 words they would use to describe you!!) I guess I would say caring, helpful, dorky. I can't ask Hubby because he has choir and band practice tonight, so I won't see him until tomorrow.

10.14.2010

I've Never Been Accused of Profound Thinking So This One Comes from the Holy Spirit

Earlier this week, my husband was given a guitar by one of the guys in the RCIA class he helps facilitate. A very nice guitar, in fact, and when Hubby called me to tell me about it, he was all but stuttering in his disbelief. Especially since he works in a music store and knows the value of an item like this.

When he gave Hubby the guitar, the guy told Hubby that he doesn’t use it, it’s just collecting dust at home, and that he really appreciates what Hubby does each week with regards to music for RCIA and for Mass on Sundays, so he wanted him to have the guitar.

Hubby was stunned and didn’t know what to say. The one thing he kept asking me was, “Should I keep it? I think I should give it back. It’s too much.”

I did a little online research the next day and the unanimous opinion was that to give it back would be rude and would discount the generosity of the person giving the gift. You should accept it gratefully and sincerely - there are no other expectations attached.

(You should also send a nice handwritten card. The Southerner in me demands that.)

Anyway, Hubby has accepted this wonderful and unexpected treasure, and his conscience is somewhat soothed. He is taking a thank-you card to class next week and will again express how grateful he is to the generous soul who gifted him so abundantly.

And it made me think…

Don’t we do the same thing to Jesus?

He gave us a gift – an amazing, awesome gift that can never be reciprocated or earned. But we (or at least, I) spend so much time feeling unworthy of that gift, that I totally discount the generosity and love that was involved in the giving.

Jesus gave us eternal life because he is completely in love with us and wants us to be with him for all time.

The gift is incredible, but the reasons behind the gift are just as important. They are what give the gift meaning.

He wants us to have it so much that he died for us. Horribly. Barbarically. Died. For you and me.

So, take time to sincerely tell Jesus ‘thank you’.

He deserves at least that.

10.11.2010

Camera Demise is No Fun

So, my camera is officially unusable. Totally hacks me off.

Basically, whenever I take a picture now, there is a big ole blurry circle in the bottom-middle of the picture. I have been semi-expecting something along those lines since Maggie's 1st birthday party when my niece jumped to catch the little cake Maggie was pushing off her table and had my camera in her hand, thereby coating the open lens and all with pink frosting, but I will admit to being super hopeful that it since we'd made it this long nothing would happen. I was wrong. And because it's a little Nikon Coolpix from 2004, I may as well replace it. Fixing the lens just seems a silly waste of money.

However, our family has a "no buying stuff for yourself" rule from about October 1st through Christmas, so I have to wait and hope. My mom has been generous enough to share her camera with me, but it's a learning curve and I don't know yet how to adjust her settings, so hopefully the pictures come out okay.

This one is from my cell phone:

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Whenever she comes to my work, Maggie wants my Ya-ya (Mickey Mouse) pen. Why she has the doorstop is anyone’s guess. She’s such a funny girl :)

10.08.2010

5QF: 10.08.10

I forgot to tell y'all that Maggie had her 18 month check-up on Wednesday (can you believe she's a year and half already?!) She weighs 22.5 lbs and is 31.25 inches tall. The girl has got some legs on her! She only gained a half a pound since her last appointment, but that is apparently normal once kids start walking and burning off kinds of energy. The Doodle is in the 25th percentile for her weight, and the 30th for height, so she's doing extremely well for a preemie. Which we already knew :)

Now, on to our regular Friday feature:



1. What do you listen to while driving?  Depends. Most mornings I actually prefer silence because, well, it's early and I'm not a morning person. After work on my way to pick up Maggie, I usually have the dial tuned to the local talk radio show (I know! I blame Hubby.) When I have Maggie in the car, it's KLOVE or the oldies station. Gotta fill the girl's ears with goodness :)

2. What is your least favorite thing about Fall?  The fact that we don't have one here in Arizona. *sigh* I miss fall.

3. What does your dream house look like, inside and out?  Two stories with a wrap around porch, painted a warm yellow, dark green trim and a red door (and to complete the hobbit look, a doorknob in the middle of the door - I kid! Sorta). A porch swing and rocking chairs. Old hardwood floors. A kitchen with lots of counter space. Big front and back yards (or just horse property). Crown molding. Flat walls (I detest textured walls and that is all I see here in AZ.) A formal dining room. A small library/reading room. I can't wait to live there.

4. Would you ever own a minivan?  I have always said a very emphatic 'NO'. However, I have to admit that the new minivan we got at work is AWESOME. It's all that room!! It would sure make our California road trip easier, though the cool points would definitely plummet.

5. Do you wash new clothes before wearing them?  Sometimes. For Maggie, yes. For me, it depends on the wrinkley-ness of the item and how quickly I want to wear it.

10.06.2010

My Multi-Lingual Maggie

I don't think I've told y'all that, in addition to working on speaking words, we are also teaching Maggie sign language to help her communicate. No, I am not fluent in ASL. I did take it in college, though, and remember enough basic signs that we decided to teach Maggie a few of them in an effort to help her better make her wishes known.

Most of her wishes are related to food, by the way.

Let me tell you, though: my girl is smart.

Yep, that is totally bragging but I don't care ... it's true! Not only is Maggie saying new words all the time, she picks up the signs we have taught her so quickly. Of course, with special attention paid to the food-related signs :)

'Milk', 'eat' and 'apple' are her current favorites. We are working on 'melon' and 'more'.

I'm pretty sure Maggie has hit a growth spurt the past couple of weeks because (1) have you noticed how long her legs have gotten? and (2) she uses the "eat" sign all day long and basically snacks  her way to bedtime. The girl is putting away some groceries. 'Eat' is definitely the sign we see the most, followed closely by 'milk'.

The ASL has not hampered her speaking. It has only given her another tool as she learns to convey her needs and wants. The side benefit of that is fewer frustrations and little tempers :)

10.04.2010

Simple Fun

We had dinner at Red Robin when we were on vacation.

(Riveting information, I know.)

Anyway, I never get to go there because most of my family aren’t big fans, but I love their bruschetta chicken burger and convinced Hubby to eat there one evening for dinner.

Maggie, of course, had a grand time. What’s better than being handed a pack of crayons and munching on fries? For this girl, not much :) This is the face of a happy french fry stealer:

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Me and Mini-Me:

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Of course, as we were leaving, Maggie was given a balloon. This was the first time she had been given a balloon at a restaurant and she was tickled pink (though she got an orange one because it is her favorite color).

She had it for approximately 4 minutes, but as Hubby said, it was a glorious 4 minutes.
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She ran with it, grinning the whole time. The Doodle had a fantastic time with that balloon! As an adult, sometimes I forget that such simple things can bring such joy. Kids are a good reminder of that.

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Unfortunately, the balloon must not have been tied to the string very well because when we went to get in the car, it floated away from us leaving the string tied to her wrist. Luckily, she’s an easy going little kid, and was not fazed by the sudden disappearance of her newest fun.

Maggie had a grand ole time with that balloon while she had it, then easily let it go when it was over.

And that is how you enjoy life, my friends.

10.01.2010

5QF: 10.01.10

Updated:

I just remembered! The answer to #5 is actually a Bon Jovi concert t-shirt from my first BJ concert (in 1987) when I was 13 years old. It is so small (was I really that small?!) and thin and worn out and I'm never throwing it away.

Original Post:

Happy Fall, Y'all! Can you believe it's October 1st?! The temperature here is supposed to hit 105 today. Yippee. Where the bleep is the fall weather, already?!! Okay, enough complaining and on to today's regularly scheduled program:

 
 


1. Did you have a pen pall when you were little (or now)? Where were/are they from? Not really, I wrote to a girl (Sevgi) I met in Turkey a few times, but it didn't last very long.

2. If you could do a different job for one day, what would it be? I'm tempted to say President but I don't think I would get a lot changed in just one day, so I'll say ... hmm ... newspaper columnist or librarian or something to do with books or writing.

3. Do you remember your biggest fear from when you were little? Cockroaches. And they're still after me.

4. What do you think is a waste of time? Why? Reality TV. I just don't get it.

5. What is the oldest item you have in your closet? A slate blue baby-doll dress I got in Turkey in 1995. I can't make myself toss it.