And the Winner is...

BANANAS! After endless combinations of cereal, cereal & formula, sweet potatoes, peaches and carrots - all with and without cereal, we finally found a 'solid' that she seems to like. Of course it is the sweetest of all of them. It tastes like pudding! But for now, I'll keep feeding her the bananas while she gets the hang of eating in general. Then I guess I'll tackle green beans and peas and things that I just know she's going to hate after being treated to bananas. I'm thinking I will send some of that to school and see if the teachers don't have better luck feeding her. Heaven help us if she is as picky as her Daddy!


Speaking of Daddy.. check out this cutie pic from this morning. She woke up at 6 (after sleeping all the way through the night!) and I fed her and dressed her. Then Josh was hanging out with her while I got ready. He was in the bathroom and we were chatting and we looked at Little Missy and she was conked out cold in her Daddy's arms. Too sweet.

OK, and now on to Non-Eileen subjects..

Did you see the UT Basketball game last night? Not only did we beat Florida, arch rival AND ranked #4 in the country - we beat them by 10 points on national television.
AND our women's coach, the Amazing Pat Summitt, came out early in the first half and sang Rocky Top to the crowd and did a cheer with the cheerleaders. And Loved Son Peyton Manning was there to cheer on the team as well. (there will be no mention of Great Pumpkin Fulmer and his nose issues broadcast around the country). Coverage all over ESPN.

and, I didn't see it, but evidently the lovely ladies on The View have been bashing sororities. Now, I realize that there are certainly some bad things that go in Greek life. But there are just as many good things that come out of it. And for four supposedly well-educated, well- rounded women (ahem, NOT counting Rosie), none of whom have personal experience being in a sorority, to be bashing other women who have Greek affiliations - that is just ridiculous. I imagine this seems petty to most of you. It just burns me up. Some of my best experiences in college were due to being Greek. And I'm not talking about the Frat parties. The leadership roles I held taught me to manage people, schedules, work with authority and also with beauracracy (I have no idea if I spelled that right). Being Greek requires one to keep a certain GPA - so clearly I was studying! Not to mention the friendships. I've been out of school 10 years now (groan) and some of my best friends are those women I met through my sorority. I certainly don't have a national audience I get to speak my piece to, but if this makes anyone else with an pre-formed unsupported negative opinion think twice, well then I did my part.

OK, off my soap box now! Happy Wednesday. 

GRRRR

I had written a nice long blog entry, and for whatever reason, it didn't publish. And now I have a meeting to head to, so you get the short version!

Note the picture at left. Eileen is watching, and loving!, Sesame Street. She actually bounces up and down when she hears the theme song, and then is just entranced for the duration. Too cute.

Sorry it's beena whole week since I posted. Last week was nutty. I was out of work a day and a half b.c I felt like crud. Turns out it was my allergies acting up; after two trips to the doctor I am back on Zyrtec-D. That stuff is a miracle drug for me. After two weeks of coughing, sneezing, sore throat and runny nose, it's nice to feel normal again.
Then on Friday the school thought Eileen had pink eye. I knew she didn't! It was a clogged tear duct b.c she's been so congested. Thank Heaven that's an easy fix and not contagious. She's feeling just grand today!

We ran her around town all weekend and she was just so good. Never fussed. Just chilled out and smiled at whoever was looking at her. We're lucky and I know it. I know better than to take it for granted. May she always be so laid back.
Here's Daddy, Gracie and Eileen hanging out on Friday morning. Isn't that just sweet?

OK, off to my meeting. Sorry so short! I'll check in later this week. 

Splish Splash!

My friend Margo read about our 'tubby tribulations!' She has a 13 month old daughter, so just a few months ago she was in that 'too big for new born stuff' and 'too small for toddler stuff' stage. She had this great tub seat which is just perfect! She brought it over this afternoon for us to borrow.. as you can see Eileen was delighted! I filled up the tub with warm water and she just soaked it up.

AND Eileen managed to eat almost a whole bowl of cereal tonight. When it was all over, both she and I were covered in it. But at least she was swallowing as much as she was wearing.
I will never ever feed this child while dressed in anything other than my ratty pajamas!

OK. off to bed. Just had to share the tub pictures! 

where's daddy!?

Poor Josh. He's always taking the pictures. We need to get him in more of them!

These are just more pics from this weekend. I couldn't fit them all on one posting.

She's loving reading books right now.. Aunt Sissy & Uncle David read her the Good Pupppy book. It has furry pages and floppy ears to go along with the story.
And Aunt Sissy got in some arm-toning exercises. Let me tell you, do this move more than four times and you will feel the burn. We haven't weighed her lately, but she must be over the 16lb mark.

And here she is with her new bouncer/activity center from Beanie and Grandpa. She hasn't yet figured out that she can bounce herself up and down - when she does she's going to go bonkers. In the meantime- she LOVES this sunflower. It doesn't do anything. No flashing lights. No music. It is just there, and she stares at it endlessly. Poor Grandpa - he attempted to swirl her around to show her the little piano. OH! she would have none of it! She got so mad at being taken away from her flower! Cried and yelled at the top of her lungs! Even at just 5mos, this one knows what she wants. It's cute now, but in a few months I can see it being quite the challenge...

read the posting below for other weekend tidbits and pictures! 

Fun with Grandparents!

Grandpa and Beanie were here this weekend and Eileen had a blast!

Whenever she sees her Grandpa she just giggles. It's the cutest thing ever. He just makes her happy! And she eats up her Beanie who is spoiling her rotten (and we love every minute of it).




It was insanely cold here all weekend, and we actually got some snow. It didn't really stick to the streets, but it did stick to the grass and houses. It was pretty.. though we were so busy taking pictures of Eileen we never got any of the snow! It's all melted now, and in fact it should be in the 60s in another day or two. And, considering that our gas bill was $100 more this month than last month - I am welcoming warm weather with wide open arms. Plus, I can put Eileen in some of her cute clothes before she outgrows them all. She's been living in footies for weeks now. They're cute, but just not as fun as some of her little pants and sweaters!

She still can't master the whole cereal thing. She opens her mouth when she sees the spoon.. takes it into her mouth just fine.. but the whole swallow the food concept is lost on her. She prefers to stick her tongue out with a lump of cereal on it, and then put her hand in her mouth and smoosh it around. And then promptly wipe it on her face and head, and sometimes Mommy's face. Too fun. I even tried peaches this weekend thinking the sweet fruit would win her over. Nope. So we go thru the motions every night, figuring at some point she'll get it. And in teh mean time we did buy a new nipple for her bottles that will allow thicker fluid (i.e. formula with cereal in it) through. I know it's not the best way to get her to eat it, but it is the best way right now to get her to sleep longer through the night! Last night she slept from 8pm to 4:45 this morning... still not all the way to 6:30 or 7.. but getting closer.


She also had her first beer this weekend, as evidenced by the photo. It was a Killians. We're getting her ready for St. Patrick's day - with a name like Eileen, it's practically her own holiday!
(ok - for any of you out there getting ready to call child services - she did not actually drink any beer. She merely grabbed on to Mommy's beer for the Kodak Moment).


It was a fun weekend. After everybody left, we went to Target for the weekly shopping trip. I really could spend hours in that place. And it usually is good for getting Eileen to take a nap.

And then when we came home, Mommy and Eileen slept another two hours in the big bed together. Again, I know it's probably not the best habit to let her sleep with me.. but it's just so sweet! I know in another few months she'll be crawling and getting more independent and want nothing to do with cuddling up.. so while she will let me I'll soak up every minute of little slumber parties togetehr on a chilly Sunday afternoon!
I guess that's about it.. now it's Monday and back to work!

Have a good week!

Happy Valentine's Day!

Check out her new Valentine's duds. Josh's boss gave us the outfit. I love the bows on her feet! All the girls in Eileen's class were decked out in their pink, red and white outfits. Too cute. It appeared most of the other moms had done what I did - old school store-bought Valentine cards for the babies with small treats for the teachers. It did appear that one mom bought little books for all of the kids - which had me paranoid that I didn't do enough! But I think she was the only one who did something so 'big' - that makes me feel better!

As for Mommy & Daddy's Valentine events.. well last night Josh was super Dad. I have a nasty headcold. Eileen woke up at 3:30 this morning wanting to eat. I was delirious from NyQuil. Dear Daddy let me stay in bed while he got up and made her bottle and changed her diaper and fed her. That's just the best Valentine ever!

I just got my prescription filled at Target. We love that pharmacy - they are so nice and it's so convenient. It also causes me to spend money. Of course I had to wait a few minutes to get my drugs, so I wandered the store. Somehow, my
cart got filled with Jell-O, Ginger Ale, the biggest box of Puffs you can imagine (I splurged on the 'good' tissues) and several cans of chicken noodle soup. Oh, and Pop Tarts. The Brown Sugar ones. Random, I know. Certainly not traditional 'cold' food. But I was feeling sorry for my sniffly self and Pop Tarts are just so good! Of course I got back to the office and promptly hid them away so I won't be tempted to eat the whole box. I don't think they fit too well into the Weight Watchers plan.

We tried the new tubby last night. She's not quite big enough for it yet. So she's too big for the baby tub. and too small for the big baby tub. HMM. I think we'll try it again in the downstairs bathroom b.c it's a bigger/easier access tub. Either way - she DID seem to like sitting in the water. She didn't splash around, she just sort of looked around in amazement.


Beanie & Grandpa Jamieson are coming this weekend! We can't wait to show them how Eileen giggles and smiles and plays. Too fun.

OK.. must go now. Have a Happy Valentine's!

movin on up

It's been just over a month, and already Eileen is moving up to the next group at school! Well, just look at her in these pictures and you can see why. She's not so much a "baby" baby anymore!

She'll still be in the same class at school, same teachers and everything. She's just moving to the older side of the room (with the 5-7month olds). A new baby is coming into the little baby side, so she's getting moved up to make room.

She rolled over yesterday. Josh put her down to do tummy time and she just rolled over onto her back! I am betting she's been doing it at school for a few days but they just didn't tell us so we'd think when we saw it it was the first time. I really don't care if her first time is at home or at school, just so long as I get to see it!
She's not sitting up yet- in these pictures I propped her up - but she tries all teh time to pull herself up. Sitting can't be far away.

oh, and the tubby! I've still been using the infant tub we borrowed from Miles. Seeing as how Eileen is now bigger than the tub we decided we should get something else. We got this tub-seat thing. I can put her in the big people tub and sit her in the chair so she can't go anywhere. I think she's going to love splashing around in there! I'll use it tonight for the first time. Hope it goes well!


We're currently accepting donations for this fun looking thing (why don't they make these for adults?!). We actually have a jumper that hangs from the door frame, but the way our doorways are it just doesn't work. This makes me less nervous anyway, she' can't fall from the door! She tries to push herself up now when she's in her exer saucer, so I'm thinking she'll love this jump-y one. And it will get her little legs ready for taking those morning runs with Mommy!

I'm actually at home this morning. Not feeling so goood at all. I sent Eileen to school, went into work for an hour or so, and now am home. I'm going to sleep for a while, then go to the doctor. Then I'll get Eileen and we'll hang out. If I have the energy I'll make the teacher's cookies this afternoon. I'll make sure not to cough all over them. :)

Check out shutterfly for some updated Eileen pictures! (well, give me some time- I may not get them posted until later today!). 

stuff

I'd love to take credit for both of these fascinating images! Both are courtesy of Raven (!! I finally figured out how to make the link work!). She made me the adorable calendar you see .. it is my desktop.. and Aunt Sissy's & Aunt Jaime's desktop.. and I think both Grandpa John and Grandpa Jamieson too! I'm hoping for one every month.. and also hoping Raven doesn't start to charge a fee.

There was one heck of a fire in downtown Knoxville yesterday. Three (or four?) warehouses burned.. and at least one of them was over 1oo years old. They were all vacant, but gorgeous, buildings. The fire burned for hours. One of those awe-inspiring events.

You know it's never a good sign when you go to pick up your child from school and she's in a different outfit than what she had on in the morning! That happened to us on Tuesday. Little Missy had quite the bathroom event, requiring a change of clothes. AND, even tho she's only been there a month, the outfit(s) I have at school (left there for just such events) are already too small! Her poor little toes were about to bust out of the footies! So I'll be bringing in some new outfits.. probably some that are currently too big! Anyway.. the good news was that after her little 'event' she was in a GREAT mood and slept like a rock! And hey... we didn't have to be the ones to clean her up.. so that's another positive.

Josh has been working feverishly on a pitch this week.. working day and night.. today is the last day before it's due.. poor guy. It will be nice for him to just sit down and relax tonight (after we bathe Eileen and make dinner and clean up the house and make tomorrow's lunches and coffee and bottles...). We have to watch last night's Lost, and there will be a new Office and we still faithfully watch Smallville. And we have three weeks worth of Gilmore Girls. Oh, and CSI will be a new one tonight too! What did we ever do without Tivo?!

Oh.. and we have our first school holiday event next week - Valentine's Day. It's funny.. when we became parents.. we focused on making sure Eileen was well-fed and clean and warm and happy. Things like school parties are not the first thing on one's brain. So early this week when I picked up her daily activity sheet there was an extra page attached. A list of all the babies names and all the teachers names. It was simply titled "Valentine's Day." now what am I supposed to do with that?!? My mind instantly reverts to when I was in 1st or 2nd grade.. trading Snoopy and Cabbage Patch Valentine cards with everyone. And now I am thinking: this is a room of 3-10 month old children.. the older ones crawl and the younger ones sit in the swings.. none of them talk and they most exciting thing they eat are pureed sweet potatoes and bananas. What do they get for Valentine's day?!

Luckily, a girl I work with has her daughter in Eileen's class. Maddie is about 8 mos old. So Jen, being a mother 3 mos longer than me, is a qualified expert! I talked to her to find out protocol. We decided that baking treats for the teachers and the cheapie store-bought cards for the babies is fine. I don't want to be breaking the budget for little people who have no clue what Valentine's Day is.. but I don't want to be that slacker Mom who does nothing! oh the pressure! This is worse than being in middle school!

There ya go.. there's my stream of consciousness blog entry for the day... Happy Almost Friday!

MVP.. I should say so!

He got robbed of the Heisman (ahem, and where is Charles Woodson now?!).

The Gators just kept getting away from him.

He stayed one more year (even tho he got his degree in three) and still wasn't able to get that elusive NCAA title.

Finally, last night, our boy got his due.

He's got a laundry list of records and accomplishments. He's got some pretty funny national ad campaigns. He's actually a decent role model. And now he's got that Super Bowl ring.

I know, if you didn't go to UT during the Peyton Years or haven't lived in this town that bleeds Orange, you probably think it's weird that I am posting an entry about a football player I don't even know! (actually - I did meet him a loong time ago.. I got to interview him when I was an intern and he was in his 3rd season here- but I'm betting he doesn't remember me- ha!)

I think those of us here in Knoxvegas were just as stoked as those in Indianapolis! Even at the gym this morning the little old biddies in the locker room were talking about Peyton.

OK, and now on to the things you REALLY want to talk about:
1) the commercials
2) Katie Couric's hair.

Let's talk about #2 first.
Why on earth was she even there? She's not a sports person. at all. She sat at the desk during pregame with Shannon Sharpe and gang looking ridiculously out of place. Never mind that the story she did was about a player from LAST YEAR'S Super Bowl team (to give credit: it was a heartwarming story about Hines Ward. But he plays for the Steelers. Not the Colts or the Bears). She normally wears her hair in her sleek yet perky bob. Professional enough to be the face of CBS News. Yet last night, someone attempted to make her look like one of the young, hip, sideline women sportscasters with long wavy hair. Key word: long. If you want to wear your hair in chunky waves, it needs some length. Katie's hair just looked like it was sticking out in many directions. Why do I care? Why am I devoting all this time to it? I really have no idea. It has just been bugging me. I wish I could find a picture for you.

OK, back to the commercials.
Was it me, or was an insane amount of time spent on CBS self-promotion?
Full disclosure: I worked a couple of years at CBS Network (yes, the big one in NYC, not an afiliate) in the promotion dept. I know what goes into building promos and promoting the network.
But there were one too many last night. Then again, maybe it was because of the lack of decent paid commercials to put on the air. The Bud Light ones were funny. Gorillas were the best. And the completely random Robert Goullet (sp?) one for Emerald Nuts was pretty funny. That weird weird robot one for Garmin industries was horrid. That music about put me over the edge. And what about that GoDaddy.com nonsense? Oprah & David Letterman were funny. The 'homemade' Doritos one was pretty good. The Chevy campaign was somewhat amusing, but did I want to run out and buy a Chevy? umm. no. now, the Toyota Tundra ads were somewhat fascinating. I have no idea how they did those. I don't want to run out and buy that car either, but still impressive. The Snickers ad? disturbing. Not because of the men sharing the candy bar, but because of the way the first guy ATE the candy bar. Who eats a candy bar like that? gross.

I could go on and on. But I do have things to do.

For those of you checking in on Eileen.. she's just great! She watched part of the game with us last night. She loves football. :) Just like her momma!

Happy Monday.

Weather people: WHY?

She loves her Aunt Sissy and Uncle David! (she really does love Uncle David even tho she's got that funny little expression on her face!).

OK, now on to the important issue of the day:

Why do Weathermen exist?!?!?

Is it solely to cause all Southern grocery stores to run out of bread, milk, and eggs? Is it solely to get children - and adults!- all hyped up about the storm of the century? Is it solely to close all of the local schools and make parents scramble for childcare when the streets are actually DRY?

For two days now, the local weather people have prattled on about the prime conditions for a big storm. Ice and snow and all sorts of nasty stuff. How it's been a couple of years since we've had any real winter precip and this frontal system and the jet stream and yadayada are just right for creating some major complications.

As of 11pm last night, all local school systems were closed. Thankfully, Eileen's school stayed open!

When we woke up this morning, there was barely a dusting on the ground. One local weather person talked about how the system was staying South and East of us. Another local weather person warned of the apocolypse of snow we'd see by mid-morning. How can two stations - just a couple of miles apart, presumably using the same software to "predict" the weather- be so completely opposite in what they have to say?! Bizarre.

Oh - and back to the milk/bread/eggs thing- as my boss said yesterday- what's everyone going to do? Make French Toast?!

Clearly I'm annoyed that we're not at home having a snow day. I didn't actually think my office would shut down- but a delayed opening would have been sooo nice. Oh well. What's done is done. Perhaps the forecast for Monday will be for sunny skies and tropical temps. THEN we might actually see snow.

OK, I'm done. Back to work now. Happy Thursday!

(oh- one good thing: today is the beginning of February sweeps for TV! for those of you not in the TV world - basically it means today starts a whole month of new episodes of all of your favorite shows. Can't WAIT for The Office tonight!)

cereal days

who knew cereal would be so entertaining?

We're still learning to eat with a spoon. Eileen wants to play with the spoon full of cereal. Then, when we get it in her mouth, she wants to bite down on the rubber part. The concept of actually swallowing the food seems lost on Eileen. IF I can get the bottle in her mouth fast enough, she swallows the cereal by default. Otherwise, she spits it back out and the result is what you see here.




She did finish a bowl this weekend, tho again- not sure how much she ate, and how much she wore. But the empty bowl seemed blog worthy anyway.

Nana Janet was here over the weekend. We had lots of fun. Eileen got to stay home from school for two days! Mommy and Daddy even went on a date. We went to the new Irish Pub in town. They pour a niiiice Guinness. Sunday was Nana's bday; we went to Aunt Sissy & Uncle Davids and ate home-made beer & cheese soup.
It was super cold here. We were hoping for some snow (actually, Nana was hoping for a blizzard so she'd get stuck here!) but we just got a very few flurries. When it's that cold (yesterday I think it was in the single digits!) and there's no snow- well, that's just annoying.

Yesterday was back to normal. Eileen was so tired from school she fell sound asleep at 7:15. I barely had time to feed her and give her a bath! Hoping to make more cereal progress this week. We'll keep you posted on the late breaking details of that little adventure!

updated pics: www.eileenloebner.shutterfly.com 

updated pics: www.eileenloebner.shutterfly.com

TEE HEE HEE

She had her 4month checkup today.. she's 15lbs 6oz (90th %) and 24.5 inches long (50th %).

She got her shots- screamed while that happened but as soon as I picked her up she was smiling again. Whew. Hopefully that becomes the norm.

Doctor says we can start to give her cereal, and once she's used to that, we can move on to baby food. Here's hoping the solids fill up her tummy and she sleeps thru the night - she's almost to that point. Perhaps a full tummy will help us cross over.

Someday Eileen will probably hate me for taking - and publishing! - these pictures. After her bath tonight, mommy started playing with her hair. She now has enough for a mini-mohawk! Cousins Matt & Jack would be so proud.

We still can't really figure out what color her eyes and hair are. Most times her eyes are deep gray (think Martina McBride), and other times they are greenish brown like mine. Some days her hair is light brown, and other days it is downright red!

Nana Janet comes tomorrow. She won't know what to do with this baby! Last time she saw Eileen it was Thanksgiving, and Eileen was about 9 weeks old. Now, at just past 4mos, she's like an entirely different baby. Laughs and giggles and 'talks' all day long. Hard to believe how much she's grown and changed in just a few short months.

OK- time to go. American Idol is on, and they are showing the tryouts from my hometown of Memphis! How hilarious would it be if I saw someone on here that I know? (except most people I know these days probably exceed the age group for people allowed to compete). Hopefully there won't be TOO many freakshows to embarrass the town....

updated pics: www.eileenloebner.shutterfly.com

just checking in...

sorry I have been MIA!

Love this picture of her in her swing. Look at those TOES! too cute.

She had her first little cold last week. It was so sad, yet just adorable. Every time she sneezed or coughed, I found myself giggling- which is terrible because I know she was miserable! I think she actually caught it from Daddy, not from school. Anyway, it wasn't too terrible. She had one rough night. We went to the doctor and he got us some good decongestant stuff, and then I kept her home from school for an afternoon. She was good as new the next day. (Well, she's still a little congested in the morning- but she's all smiles, so I know she's feeling better).


Just had to post this one of Gracie. She's sound asleep, with her foot up on the wall. Crazy dog. She does that all the time! Of course there's a big smudge there on the wall - but these days I just learn to ignore such things. (if it REALLY gets to me, the Magic Eraser works wonders).
Finally, it's gotten cold here. On Sunday I was running around in flip flops. Today I don't know if it's gone above freezing. This morning all the weather people were buzzing about possible snow coming on Sunday night. Really folks. It's only Wednesday. But at the same time, it's hard not to get excited about maybe seeing a good snow. Would LOVE another day off of work! But I've lived in East TN long enough to know that even if it DOES snow, it will melt within an hour of getting to the ground. Oh well.

But at least it's cold enough for Eileen to show off one of her new sweaters - Daddy picked it out all by himself! As many clothes as she has, she has very few sweaters! They're all on clearance, so we got her a few so she'll look snazzy and stay warm at school.

We're already in a pretty good work/school routine. I am still enjoying being back at work. Lots of things going on to keep me busy.. the days fly by. And I run around like a chicken with no head- which is good for two reasons: 1) it's extra exercise! 2) i'm never at my desk so I hardly eat all day anyway. All good for finishing the losing of the baby weight. And on that note, I do have several other things to get finished up before I head home for the night... so -
Happy Hump Day! 

 

teeth and ABCs....

Can you believe it?! Eileen is cutting her first teeth! She'll be 16 weeks tomorrow.. she's just about 3 1/2 mos.. seems so early. But Nana Janet tells me I cut my first teeth at about the same age, so I guess it's not so out there.

She not her usual happy-go-lucky self this week. I know she's tired - she is not napping very well at school, and she's due for a 'squishy diaper' - if you know what I mean- so between the lack of sleep, new teeth, and backed up pipes, I guess I can see why she's a bit grumpy. But even grumpy, the little munchkin is just so cute!


Now how's this for fun,... I blatantly stole it right off of Raven's blog.. "The ABC's of Me" - also known as a good brain break from work!

A - Available or taken: Taken! Been together 6 1/2 years.. sometimes it seems like so much longer than that, and other times it seems like it was just yesterday that we met.
B - Best friend: Sissy
C - Cake or pie: cupcakes! they're just so fun. yellow with chocolate icing. mmmm.
D - Drink of choice: depends on the time of day.. morning = COFFEE; evening = red wine
E- Essential item you use everyday: blow drier. whether it's curly or straight, this hair needs all the help it can get.
F - Favorite color: green. unless of course it's a little blue box.
G - Gummy bears or worms: neither. anything cinnamon. (did I spell that right?)
H - Hometown: Born in Walpole, MA.. but I guess Memphis counts as my hometown since that's where I grew up. But I still live for the Red Sox.
I - Indulgence: sleep
J- January or February: January. It's my birthday month!
K - Kids & names: Eileen, 16weeks.
L- Life is incomplete without: hugs. lots and lots of hugs.
M - Marriage date: May 8, 2004
N- Number of siblings: one, Sissy. OK, her name is Shannon, she'll be 30 in a few mos. But I pretty much only call her Sissy.
O - Oranges or apples: Apples. Small Royal Gala are the best.
P - Phobias or fears: Failure.
Q - Fave quote: Nothing tastes as good as skinny feels. No clue who said it. I saw it on a WW chat once. And since I'm working on shedding baby weight, it is my current mantra.
R - Reason to smile: Eileen and Gracie. Actually, there are so many good things in my life, the list could go on and on. But babies and dogs are just to die for.
S- Season: SUMMER. I love heat.
T - Tag 3 people: Nicole, Kimmie, and Sissy.
U - Unknown fact about me: I can't stand Phil Collins. No idea why. He just makes my skin crawl. Isn't that odd?
V - Vegetable you don't like: Turnips and Collard Greens. Gross.
X – X-rays: too many to name. Mostly my feet and knees from all the running.
Y - Your fave food: CHEESE.
Z - Zodiac sign: Capricorn.

There, now wasn't that just fun?

sooooooooo annoying.

well folks, I just wrote a NOVEL that should be posted on this blog.. but for whatever reason the post did not publish. ARGH!

And now it is about time for me to head to bed, so I am not going to rewrite it. Here is the short version:

- Eileen started school and had a fantastic week. Loves her teachers. She's holding her own bottle (tho not always and she doesn't have the best aim- as you can see by the formula smeared all over her face!)

-Erin went back to work and was quite happy to be there. Good to see friends (adults!) and good to have some time for me (I know, it's crazy to say my 'me time' is at work - but whatever works!).


Happy Birthday to me (and Nicole!). I turned 32 on Saturday, she will do the same on Monday. We had fun hanging out at their house and chowing down on steaks and carrot soufle (divine!).

I'll check back in a couple of days and hopefully have more success in writing!

In the meantime, Happy Sunday!