Caught, Green Handed!

Yes, it is true, I was caught green fingered today(okay, not literally, but let me explain). So, Salem and I went out to Target to get a few things and before I got out of the car, I did a quick look in the mirror to make sure I didn't look like death before entering. I did the hair, eye, and nose check and don't even act like you don't know what I'm talking about! Then, I noticed that I did have something up my nose. No, it wasn't a full up green one, but more like a white dried up flake. We've all hade 'em! So, I did a quick look around to make sure that there wasn't anyone watching me and then I proceeded to get it out as fast as I could. Well, woudn't you know, it just wouldn't fall out. I had to actually dig around if you know what I mean. Then, the worse thing happened; the car right in front of started backing up. YES, they must have seen the WHOLE thing go down. I hate it when that happens. I get so embarassed and always hope that the person didn't know me. I can only imagine what that would feel like!

I just needed a good laugh today and hope you did too! Does this kind of stuff ever happen to anyone else, or is it just me?

I JUST DON'T UNDERSTAND

Here is the problem I have, and I'm sorry if this is offensive in ANY sort of way. I'm not trying to be persuasive, but simply trying to understand. So, if anyone can explain it to me, that would be fab.
Here we go:

So, last night, we had a couple of our friends over to watch the UFC(Ultimate Fighting Championship). Yes, we are very morbid and enjoy watching men beat the crap out of eachother. Truthfully, it is a very skillful sport that focuses on a combination of martial arts, judo, and boxing. There are three, five minutes rounds, with one one man always claiming victory over his competitor. We watched about 10 fights or so(give or take a few), and every winner, with exception to one, started off my thanking God for his defeat. It honestly just confuses the hell out of me. Did God really like you better? Yes, I'm sure you won becuase God really wanted YOU to beat the living daylights out of the other guy and break his nose, right? "I would like to start out by first thanking my Lord Jesus Christ. I couldn't have won without him tonight." Well, I guess God liked him better and that's why he won.

Same goes for everything. Football, soccer, modeling competitions, everything--just daily living. "Thank you God for making me more beautiful than the other models." So when the Colts win every Sunday(except for one this season), God likes them better than all the other teams? Did they sin less than their opponent?

I think religion can definitely be a good thing, don't get me wrong. I have seen it do wonders with my very own eyes. I've seen it turn troublesome individuals, into the most generous and kind people out there walking the streets today. I've seen it save marriages, drug addicts, etc. , etc. But the other question I have is: Why can't we just be good people? Be kind? Be giving? Be honest? Be loyal? Why am I not known as a "good person" in society, without having God in my life? Why does it effect my job performance? I'm sorry, but whether or not I am saved should have NOTHING to do with my overall evaluation.

As most of you know, my husband is atheist and I LOVE him for who he is. Andrew is amazing to me,loyal, honest, giving,loving, on and on; not because he is afraid of where he'll be going in his afterlife, but because he wants to be known as a good person here TODAY and in this life on earth.

Also, will I be going to hell now that I don't give $ to my local church? Well, did God take note that I donated my time and money otherwise by helping out children that have life threatning illnesses that are on their death beds? Do I get brownie points for that, or am I still going to hell? What about the infant that is born with RSV and only lives for a few days? Where do they go? They didn't even have a chance at life because apparently you needed them; so where do they go? They didn't even have the opportunity to get saved.

Uh, this is so frustrating to me. I thought that Christians weren't supposed to judge others and I have found them to be the most judgemental of all. I don't care if you're Christian, Jewish, Atheist, Morman---if you're a good person, than you're a good person. I'm not going to shun you just because we don't have the same beliefs. And who's to say who's right or wrong?

Where's The Food At?

"I'm so excited Mommy, that I'll even give you a silly face!"
Not a good shot, but a good shot at the same time!
"Daddy, do you have a present for me? Possibly food?" (She even has her fists ready!)
"WHAAAATTTTTT, NO FOOD? But Daddy..........."

I received Salem's highchair in the mail the last week, and finally got around to putting it together today. I love it and it folds up flatter than a pancake(I'm sure most of them do these days). It's so funny to me how such a little thing can develop such a big girl attitude with a snap of a finger(or in this case, a snap of a highchair unfolding ). She went from 3 mths. to 3 years just before my very eyes. It was like she knew that the chair was a place for massive food eating frenzies. She hasn't even started on her cereals yet for crying out loud. She was looking around (for food I just know it), and actually salivating out of her mouth. She went from thinking it was THE COOLEST THING, to not liking it one bit once she figured out she wasn't getting anything. Anyways, it was still a moment to grab some shots of her sitting in her big girl chair for the first time. Oh how us Moms HAVE to snap the first shots of everything our little sugarplums do!

*Thank you Nana Midge and Papa Don for my highchair. I can't wait to gobble,gobble,gobble some grub up in it. Love,Salem*

Our Little Turkey

The "fam." loaded up and drove down to Florida to spend Thanksgiving with Andrew's parents and Old Granny(Andrew has called his Grandmother "Old Granny" since he was a little boy). As the rest of you, we ate too much, sat around, watched football, and thought about sticking our fingers down our throats to relieve the sickning feeling in our tummys of over eating. I also managed to go out shopping the day after ended up skipping out on all the crowds. I think I have discovered the key to shopping on such crazy days: GO OUT IN THE MIDDLE OF THE DAY! Seriously, I found parking spots right up front at every store I went to and never had to wait in line to check out. What more could you ask for? The traffic getting to and from was the worse part of all.

Salem had a blast (she told me so) , and has started belly laughing over the weekend. I yanked out that baby calendar and shedded a tear as I wrote down her little milestone. Don't you wish you could just freeze them when they do cute things like that for the first time? You just want to say," Okay, that's it. I am so content with what you just did, that you don't need to do anything else. Sitting up, crawling, walking--forget it! You are so cute right now and I want you to stay right here at this given moment forever!" Uh, she just makes my heart melt every single time I look at her. Life just can't get any better than that!


Andrew's 1 and only job on Thanksgiving is to make sure that there are always more than enough marshmellows on the sweet potatoes. Job well done honey!

Item of the Week #2

Since I went on and on about the first item of the week, I had to add my second favorite thing this week. A few weeks ago, I made a jogging stroller purchase and I JUST LOVE IT! I researched Consumer Reports, running magazines, friends opinions, and on and on. Finally, I made the decision and went with the Dreamer Design Lite edition. Here is some info:


*I found that hardcore runners prefer The Bob. I too would have gone with it; however, it's manufactured more for the runner and not the little person sitting in it. It is SUPER lite, but looks SUPER uncomfortable for a baby. I just couldn't do it.

*So, mine might weigh a little more, but is TOTALLY worth it. I will push around the extra pounds knowing that Salem is comfy and enjoying herself at the same time.


Now, as much as I love my stroller (thank you hubby), I wasn't informed on what a workout it is pushing one of those dang things around. For some reason, all the men and women I have seen over the years using them, made it look incredibly easy. I went into this thinking that it would actually make running easier on me because I could put some of my weight into it. Do you know what I'm saying? For example, if you walk at an incline on a treadmill, it is SO much easier if you hold onto the bars, right? Well, I thought it would be the same for the stroller. It proved me wrong. Really my reasoning for blogging about this is to raise awareness on what an ass pain it is pushing our "love bugs" around town. Try it, you'll see what I'm talking about.

Item Of The Week

Daddy playing!


No, this isn't an Old Navy add. Don't they do "Item of the Week" there? I believe so. Moving on. So, yesterday I bought Salem the best toy/tent/gym ever. It is a Playskool Dome that has all these different toys/activities attached to it. I feel like I got my $'s worth for sure. Toys these days are SOOOO expensive and you hardly get anything for your buck. Well, not this one. It also has a little door attached on one of the sides that they can open and shut(they LOVE to do stuff like that). Even better, it has a doorbell you can ring too! I think Andrew and I (especially Lilly dog) enjoy it more than Salem does at this point. It said it was appropriate for ages 3 mths. +, but by the looks of it, it should be more like 6 mths +. Anyways, just throwing info. out there for moms, moms-to-be soon and moms-to-be later, or never. Whatever floats your boat. It would also be a great gift idea. I got it on sale at Target for $39. Not to shabby.

Picture Studio Frustrations

"No, no, you can't do that in here."

Just like Katie, I too, had MAJOR issues today getting Salem's 3mth/Holiday photos done.

Reasons:

1) I tried taking photos of her with my own camera(HELLO, for blog purposes), and the bitch snapped at me and told me I couldn't take shots of my OWN daughter with MY camera--JESUS!
2) We did our photos at The Picture People (which I do like); however, $200 later just about explains it all, doesn't it? For holiday cards and their member card---GOOD GOD!
3)Okay, this isn't their fault, but of course Salem was just not having it today and wanted NOTHING to do with any damn pictures. I shouldn't complain because it made picking out the best looking one easy, because none of them were AMAZING and "Oh my God,Gorgeous!" But on the other hand, it does piss me off more because of the fact that we spent so much dinero on something that doesn't make me think that I have the cuttest baby ever. Other Moms out there know EXACTLY what I'm talking about.....THE CUTTEST shot is what we always strive for and well, I didn't exactly get that. Aahhh, hells bells.
4) Why is it that we always get the photographer that has no patience when it comes to working with children? Seriously, I hope our lady comes across this blog because maybe, just maybe, she would realize that her job is obviously not for her. She needs to re-think her profession that she has got herself in. SHE SUCKED ASS. Salem was drooling and she was completely disgusted by it. She acted like she had never seen anything like it before. She would put her camera down, put her hands on her head and say: "Oh my god, she is like covered in spit ALLLL over." It was such an exaggeration. In all honesty, I would like to schedule Salem's 6 mth. apt (when she starts cutting teeth) with the same lady so she can really see what drool is. "Oh my god, drool again."
Give me a break lady. Go find a new job.
5) The place was also just a Mad House; which gave me even more of a headache. All these kids were running around, and around, and around, while the parents picked out the best photos of little Sussie and Timmy. I wanted to hang them all up on the walls by their little sweater vests and frilly holiday dresses. I would recommend bringing Grandparents/relative/friend(s) / SOMEONE to help you during such a chore. Pictures are exactly that, A CHORE. Salem is only 12 weeks and we brought along Andrew's parents with us. Some way or another, all 8 hands kept busy the entire time. They were very helpful.

Needless to say, I am tired and completely done in for the day. Pictures ran me into the ground and drove me to drink. I HAD to go get a 'rita with some chips-n-salsa after that feascal.
Oh well, I learned a lesson or two and one day I'll look back on this experience and laugh, hopefully!


Later in the day---my little Ski Bunny with her Daddy



So BEAUTIFUL!!!!

SA Meeting

27 pairs with me(she has 1 on) and 11 pairs packed up in storage-yikes!

Me: Hello, my name is Noel and I am a "shoe-a-holic."

Reply: "Hi Noel!"

Yes, instead of a AA, I think I need to go to a SA (Shoe-a-holic Anonymous) meeting. Seriously, there are so many people out there addicted to other things than just alcohol. Why do they not have:

Gamblers Anonymous
Sexholic Anonymous
Fishingholic Anonymous
Shop-a-holic Anonymous
Eatingholic Anonymous
AND WHY NOT:
A Shoe-a-holic Anonymous?

Why do the drunks get all the goods? It would be nice to have someone to talk to on the days that I order 3 pairs of shoes online and then feel bad about it later ( like when my husband walks through the door with this sad look on his face that makes me think he knows I just blew $100 of his hard earned money; even though he has no idea YET.) Yes, those are the days that I feel bad. Others, Nah, I really don't give a shit. Shoes make a damn outfit. I buy the shoes first, then the outfit. Life would be so much easier if people would just follow that simple rule. Trust me, you can always find a dress to match the shoes; but not always shoes to match the dress. Catch my drift? I think people in general need to judge more on what's below the waist. You don't always have to find the goods on top. Quit looking at the boobs and take a nice hard look on the shoes. Heck, sometimes they cost as much as a nice rack. Just use me as an example. I had to buy mine and they're still not all that great.

* The sad part is, Salem only has one pair of shoes that she can fit into right now; the rest of them are too big.*


These are all my favorites!
(Polo,Pedipeds, Vans, Robeez, Robeez, Old Navy)

Nana Midge!

Salem and my Mom, Nana Midge!

On Sunday, my Mom and Stepdad drove down from North Carolina(they flew out there to buy furniture) and got to spend a day and a half with us. I know, not enough time. My parents are building their new home in Tucson, and had to get back ASAP to stay on top of things. We had such a great time with them and managed to get a lot of things done in the 32 hours they were here: we ate great food, shopped at the local stores, shopped online, they babysat Salem so I could go to the dentist, and my Mom and I met up with Kelly at the ONLY Starbucks for a latte and some much needed catching up. Kelly is Canadian, and my parents actually live in Canada during the summers, so they had a lot to talk about! I am always so grateful when you get the opportunity to run across a military wife that is a dear friend again. I told my Mom after we departed Starbucks, that Kelly is such a special (not in the retarded type of way) person that I can't say one bad thing about. You don't run across many types of people like that.

My BEAUTIFUL friend, Kelly!
So, it's a good thing Andrew and I are moving to

San Antonio and not Tucson because I couldn't
afford to live there and keep up with my Mom at the same time. WE ARE TROUBLE TOGETHER. Very bad, very, very bad. So, I think we were only out actually shopping yesterday for maybe 2 hours or so, and we managed to do some damage on Nana Midges credit card in such a short period of time. That's what Grandmas are for, right? I must say that I do feel a bit guilty looking at all this this morning. If it were over a week span or so of shopping, I would feel better about it; but this was only a few hours. We also managed to buy Salem her highchair off the internet that is not pictured in the photo. I was able to find one that matches the rest of her gear (the Laura Ashley print). I am sooo excited to use it! She won't be needing it for at least a few more months, but I just had to have it!

Pretty good for only a few hours of hard work!

Happy Halloween?

The boots, gatta love the boots!
This is supposed to be a hat. Hhhmmm... does it look like a hat to you?
Cowgirl Salem to the rescue!


Can I be honest and just flat out say that Halloween sucked this year? Did anyone else have this problem? Hello,............ there were no cool parties, we didn't even get dressed up,our A.C. went out, Salem was sick(from her shots), and I bought a shit ton of candy and only had 5 "little treaters" show up. Maybe I'm mistaken, but I live in an apartment complex now and thought I would have a way higher volume of kids coming for some dang candy this year. Most people would be happy about that, and well, I'm just not okay. I am also very disappointed on the costume selection that I'm assuming the parents picked out for their young ones. I'm sorry, but putting your 4 year old in overalls and some princess slippers doesn't cut it in my book. Poor thing, I wanted to snatch her up in my hands, and take her somewhere and let her pick out a costume. She is 4 and it just had to make her heart hurt watching the other (well the other 4 I guess) all dressed up (even if their costumes sucked). I know, I should have put a pair of my shoes in her bag instead of some candy, that probably would have made her feel a little better. Slippers.........what was she thinking?

Moving on.........
So, I love,love,love Halloween for the simple fact of getting dressed up, kicking back a few drinks with some friends at a local party, taking drunkin' photos of ourselves (just to get in a good laugh later on in life) and on, and on.
Andrew, on the other hand, has a completely different philosophy. He aspires to be much more than the rest of us. He sets out every year with one thing in mind to conquer............
To win the "Best Halloween Costume," of course.

To sum it all up, I've decided that I will not have another Halloween like this again. I will make sure that next year is filled with nothing but fun and we will host a party in San Antonio.

I hope you all had a good one and enjoyed your evening!