Another day, another boil

Aaahhhh....we JUST finished having some old (Alaska and Valdosta friends) and some new ( Texas buds), over for our very own crawfish boil. Andrew did an amazing job working his ass off and we enjoyed having the company of our friends.
Salem was an angel (unlike the BS that she put me through yesterday), and acted like a little adult all day and night. She just sat and hung out like she was one of us!



Me, Salem, Heather (Alaska), and Heather (Texas)

Lets just say that Andrew bought 40 POUNDS of crawfish...this is just one batch!


Tomorrow Heather, Heather and I are going shopping and out to lunch together!!!! Andrew, Pat and Nate are going to watch/hangout with Salem for the entire afternoon. They might even adventure out and take her somewhere. It'll be exactly 3 men and a baby!...I love it!

This is funny......

Heather (the blonde Alaskan one), reminded me this evening that the first time I met her was at the O' Club @ Eielson, and that I was up in front of everyone drinking and singing karaoke. Oh man, those were the days....not really because I married to a total douche at the time and I was only 19, but you know what I mean by "those being the days." I guess being young and free would be the best way to describe it...not to sure though.

Sleeping Beauty that needs an Orthodontics fund

Not surprising. Not surprising at all, being that she came from me. I took Salem to the dentist this morning and even though her teeth are free and clear of cavaties, the doctor warned me to start setting aside dinero for braces in the future. WHAT? Are you serious? I didn't even know you could determine such a thing at such a young age, and I even used to work in the dental industry!

She did well considering that she HATES anything that has to do with adults shoving large objects in her mouth to clean or check her teeth. I also was unaware that the recommend first dental visit for a child is at 12 months. Oops!!!! When I called to make her apt., they informed me that I was behind and should have had her in here months ago. Again...What? Me not on top of things? It made me feel like I was a horrible mother and for what, nothing (other than the fact that she got stuck with my shitty ass teeth and will have to pay for it with braces, like I did, when she is a teen).

On another note, I took some photos of her sleeping so peacefully with her lamb, or Baaaa!, as she calls it. My very own Sleeping Beauty!!!

My bro!

My brother came to town yesterday on a layover back home to Phoenix (he now lives in PA, and is going home to AZ for a visit). So, Salem and I met him at the airport for a quick bite to eat/coffee. He hadn't seen Salem since she was only 1 month old, and she just made his heart melt. She even called him Tanner.....it was so sweet!

I'm now looking forward to Monday, for he will be heading back through SA for at least 3 hours this time. We're trying to get his ticket changed so he can spend a few days with us. He has never been to this part of Texas before, so I would love to show him the area (River Walk) and the town we live in.

Happy Keester!

The Easter bunny was very generous to baby Salem this year. I was confused on whether or not it was Christmas again around here because she received so many gifts! The bunny started off by leaving a trail of eggs that started outside her bedroom door and led to her assortment of goodies! In the beginning, she was more interested in what the bunny had stuffed for her inside the eggs, but later, warmed up to the toys,coloring books, lacing beads, etc!




How sweet! She kept giving her bunny lots and lots of loves!

Mmmmm...........a mouth full of bite sized fig newtons that were stuffed in an egg!

We had a yummy breakfast that consisted of pancakes, egg beaters, turkey bacon and 2 pots of coffee! Andrew and I are considering taking Salem to the park to do a picnic for lunch.....my fear is that it will be SUPER crowded considering it is Easter, nothing else is going to be open, and children in Texas are at the end of their spring break. In the evening, we're going to top it all off with a king crab dinner that we're going to make. Yum....just the thought of such deliciousness makes my mouth salivate!

Hope you all have a wonderful Easter!

Never in a MILLION years...........

did I ever think that I would allow Salem to have a princess theme bedroom. Now, the time has come, and there is No turning back. For her upcoming birthday, my mom purchased her a princess castle loft bed (it's a white framed bunk style bed with the bed on top, and a loft area on the bottom. The castle part is pink and purple with stairs going up on one side and a slide coming off the top on the other). It is very cute and I KNOW Salem will love it. Okay, I couldn't pull the photo up, so I just took a picture of it with my camera.


For her bedding, I decided NOT to go with a princess theme. Too much of that stuff would make me want to vomit. So, I went with this set from Pottery Barn and I'm SOOOO in love with it. I also got her name embroidered on it for an extra special touch.
(I just took a picture of one of the shams to give you an idea. The colors are purple, light purple, teal, and green.)





Then, I found this lady, through a friend, that does custom paintings and dirt, DIRT cheap. I paid $89 and she did 6 custom drawings for me on canvas and even matched them perfectly to the colors in the bedding. I couldn't believe it and I don't know how this lady made and $. She lives here in Texas (in Georgetown), and ships anywhere in the U.S. If any of you are in need, please email or call me and I can put you in touch with her. Not only that, but all you need to do is give her a detailed description of what you're looking for, and she'll email you back and forth with sketches of possibilities. She can also make murals; which I think are even better, but Andrew liked the individual ones better because it allows you more flexibility on where to put them. The canvas's are 16x20, so they are a nice (large) sized paintings.


So, all of this wouldn't have been my first choice on room decor for Salem's "Big Girl Room", but I know SHE will have a lot of fun with it, and that's all that matters, right? I figure it's a cheap way to have a cute room, and after we get settled in one spot in the next few years, then we'll buy her "nice" bedroom furniture. Now, I just need to find the nearest IKEA to buy coordinating white dressers, bookcases, etc. I guess I'm more or less letting my kid be a kid. Salem acts older than her age, so at times, I have to bring myself back to reality and remind myself that she's only 19 months old and not 10 (not that she acts 10, but you know what I mean). If it were 100% up to me, I would already decorate her room in teeny bopper stuff (NOT Hannah Montana or High School Musical crap, but cute girly stuff), but what fun would that be for a 2 year old?

So, be honest with me with and tell me what your thoughts are on all of this!

The Morning After

Gosh,my title sounds like an add for the Morning After Pill; which I'm sure local Planned Parenthoods are banking off of today after an evening full of too much boozing and drunken random sex with strangers. Anyways,...................

Last night was a blast! We had our neighborhood buddies over (kids and all), for a St. Patrick's Day fiesta! I served:

* Green beer...a must!
* Guiness....another must!
* Shepherd's pie, which they all said was "the best" they've ever head (courtesy of food network.com)
* Homemade cheese bread
* Homemade Guiness Irish french onion soup with Irish cheddar cheese
* And Cheesecake Factory cheesecake that was very, very tasty! (courtesy of Kris and Dawn).


My girlfriend, Janelle, brought Bailey's over (for those of you who think you know me very well, you should definitely know that IT is my drink of choice), and we didn't even bust it open; I couldn't believe it! With 3 pre-toddlers running around, you kind of forget about the important things going on around you that have to do with the specific occasion....like getting your drink on!


What's even funnier is that Dawn and I picked up the same sure at Target and didn't even plan it! We were the "Green Beer Taste Tester's!" I'm surprised that Target even sold a shirt that said such a thing. I'm glad, but was shocked when I came across such a thing there. I was expecting to find your average Target apparel there when I was searching for the perfect shirt: Kiss Me, I'm Irish, or their signature style plain tee with a sequined clover on the front. Not, Green Beer Taste Tester!!! I snatched that thing up so damn fast, and obviously Dawn had the same idea too!




She was puckering her lips up and waiting patiently for a kiss!

I'm hurting today and don't want to get out of bed. Not from too much green beer ( I didn't even drink), but I have a cold, it is rainy out, and I'm dreading all the crap I have to get done today. I need something to motivate me.........Aaaahhhhh, maybe the leftover cheesecake will do the trick!

Fascinating St. Patrick Facts

* St. Patrick was born in Britian, not Ireland, and stout may be good for your heart!!

* In Ireland, they consider wearing the color green on St. Patrick's Day to be "unlucky".

* Patrick was kidnapped by pirates at the age of 16 and sold into slavery in Ireland. During the 6 years he spent in captivity, he began to have religious visions, and found strength in his faith. He finally escaped and went to France, where he became a priest and later a bishop.

* Patrick's real name is believed to be Macwyn Succat. He adopted the name Patrick, or Patricus, after he became a priest.

* Little is known about St. Patrick, including his birth and death dates. March 17 is traditionally considered to be one of the two, although there is no documentation to corroborate this.

* There were NEVER any snakes, or reptiles for that matter, in Ireland for St. Patrick to chase out.

* The phrase, "Erin Go Braugh" means Ireland Forever!

* The Irish toast "Slainte'!", pronounced SLAN-cha, means "health".

Heat Wave

My God, it was 97 degrees here yesterday! Myself, along with a couple of my girlfriends, decided to get our little ones out in the rays and under some water, somewhere. So, we decided on utilizing our Sea World passes and make it a fun day for all! It took a short while for them to warm up to the water idea, but after short whining stint, we were well on our way to some much needed cooling off!!!! We had a wonderful, wonderful day, and hope you enjoy yourselves this weekend!!!!!

My very own Jackass!

Let me explain. No, I'm not calling my daughter a jackass, I'm just referring to her actions to those of the cast of the Jackass show/movie. For those of you who are unaware, they basically do incredibly stupid, STUPID stunts that always involve hurting themselves. Salem these days, also finds it hilarious to do such things to herself. See below.









We go through this at least once a day. What is it with putting a blanket on your head and running into things at full force...like a wall, door, etc.? Usually she laughs and gets right back up to do it again; but at times, she will hurt herself and it still doesn't stop her. She'll cry for a few seconds, and then haves as it again. I'm not sure I understand this behavior, but what I am I to do with her? She loves it!