Happy New Year!!!

2009 was a pretty good year. The highlight of course was Finley's birth. Every day after that was better than the day before. Mainly I'm just excited about 2010 because I get to buy a new planner;) Just kidding! I'm excited about all the fun things we get to experience with Finley. I really excited about being able to take her to the pool and on beach trips this summer. I cannot wait for her 1st birthday party. Of course Christmas next year will be awesome because she will understand what's happening a little better. 2010 is going to be a great year!!!

We had a low key celebration. We grilled burgers, lit sparklers and then took Finley around the neighborhood to watch other people's fireworks. I suppose that is one of the few(and I mean very few) good things about living outside the city limits. Finley is in bed now and I'm about to get in bed, do a crossword and watch my Seinfeld DVDs. Joey is going to watch Inglorious Bastards. I'm going to skip it as I know it is full of blood and gore. Part of me feels pathetic for not doing something "fun" on New Year's and the other part realizes that there isn't anything else I'd rather do :)

I wish all of you and happy and prosperous 2010!

Teefies!

Finley officially has 2 teeth! It took almost 9 months which from what the doctor told me was a little late. He told me on average babies cut teeth between 5-8 months. The first one seems like it came in overnight and the 2nd one I am positive came in overnight!! One day my baby girl went to sleep and the next day she was a big girl with teeth! I got a couple pictures today, but it wasn't easy.

Church nursery experience.

On Christmas Eve my family went to the Christmas Eve service at church. Since we've been in Mobile we've visited a few churches and even found one we liked, but since Finley was born we haven't been to church because I'm not ready to leave her in the nursery. I've never left her with anyone except family and I'd like to keep it that way until she can talk and tell me if she is being mistreated. That is my worst nightmare!!! I was going to try out MDO, but decided I just wasn't ready so Joey will have to be my MDO as needed;) Anyway, I decided to bite the bullet and leave her for Christmas Eve service because I really wanted to go to church. We dropped her off at the nursery just before the service started and the instant my hands were off of her the tears started. She was doing that cry where her mouth is open and tears are streaming, but no sound is coming out. It was really awful! But I told myself we would be back in about 45 minutes and she would be fine. There weren't many kids in there either so I felt like she would be given some attention. All the other kids were happy and playing so I hoped they would distract her from the fact that mommy was gone. They gave us a pager like you get at a restaurant and that made me feel much better. The beeper never went off and once the service was over we practically ran to the nursery and I peeked in hoping she was smiling and playing with the other kids, but no, my child was catatonic in a swing just staring into space. As soon as she saw me she started crying. She was an emotional wreck. She just put her head on my shoulder and whimpered like that was the worst thing she had ever experienced. She was out of sorts for the rest of the night. Oh well, at least we gave it a shot.

Finley's Favs...

Post-Christmas report:

Finley's favorite toys are...
A pink push car
A piano
A lion walker

Incidentally, these are all gifts from the grand-parents. Thank you Cici, Grandpa and Grammie!

A Four Christmases situation.

We are home from all the Christmas festivities or Holicraze as I like to call it. I feel like we have been around the world, but we got to see everyone and Finley had a fabulous first Christmas! We have unpacked the car, but now the house looks like a tornado hit it. I'm not going to think about that today, I'll think about that tomorrow (Gone with the Wind);) Finley got lots of good stuff and Joey and I got way more than we deserved. I got perfume, clothes, money, an iPod Nano, jewelry and stuff for the house. Joey got clothes, a Bose stereo system, money, shoes and movies. I can't even begin to list what Finley got. She is a blessed little girl! Christmas was a whole new experience with Finley here. It was so much better than it has ever been! I'm already excited about next year, because she will know what's going on and we can do even more fun Christmasy things. To give a quick run-down of our Christmas activities...we drove to Bham Tuesday morning, went to dinner with sorority sisters, their babies and hubbies Tuesday night at CPK, went shopping at the Summit Wednesday, went shopping again at the Galleria on Thursday, went to Christmas Eve service then went to Joey's grandparents house for Dirty Santa and dinner, had Christmas at my mom's on Christmas Day, then went to Joey's parents house for Christmas with them. The day after Christmas we went to my step-sisters house to see my dad and step-mom and have Christmas and brunch with them, then we stopped in Prattville on the way home to see my cousin and his wife and kids and my other cousin and his wife. Joey hunted with my cousins for a while that evening. We stayed there longer than expected, but had a great time. Finley loves to play with her cousins and she slept the whole way home. We got home around midnight. Today we are putting stuff away and putting her toys together. Joey and I are about to watch The Hangover while Finley naps. Whew! We are glad to be home, but of course wish were "at home" in Birmingham.

Giftmas...

I'm really glad nobody went overboard this year on account of Finley's first Christmas. I would hate for her to think Christmas was all about getting presents. On the other hand, Finley is a loved little girl who has wonderful grandparents, great-grandparents, aunts, uncles and cousins who made her 1st Christmas a great one!

Who thinks our families should pitch in to pay for the addition to our house we'll need to store all these gifts?

MERRY CHRISTMAS!!!

So much for taking it easy

If you define "taking it easy" as not getting out of your pajamas all day then I did take it easy as I had planned, but I define it as not doing much and I did lots today. I got all the Christmas presents together for Joey to bring to Bham. I got Finley's presents from "Santa" together also. I'm almost done packing myself and I started on Finley's packing, but only got her clothes picked out. I cleaned the house and did all the laundry because I hate coming home from out of town to a dirty, messy house. I uploaded some pics on Facebook, got caught up on some emails and got our schedule straight for our Bham trip. I have to have a schedule for trips home so I can make sure we cover all our bases and make the most of our time there. Finley and I are coming up on Tuesday because I'm having dinner with some sorority sisters and I am so excited about that!! Wednesday I'm having lunch with my bestie, Shelley, and Finley and I may do some shopping. Thursday we are going to church and then heading over to Joey's grandparents house for Christmas Eve dinner and Dirty Santa. Christmas Day we are opening gifts and eating breakfast with my mom and then going to Joey's parents to eat and open gifts with them. Saturday we are going to my step-sister's house to have Christmas with my Dad and step-mom and then we are heading home. On our way home we are stopping in Prattville to see my cousin, his wife and their kids. It makes me tired just thinking about it, but it will be a lot of fun!! My only Christmas wish is that one day we will be closer to home. (Sigh) This is probably my last post until after the holidays so I hope you all have a wonderful Christmas and a Happy New Year!

Bellingrath Gardens Magic Christmas in Lights

Well, after weeks of talking about taking Finley to see the Magic Christmas in Lights at Bellingrath Gardens, we finally did it. It wasn't too cold and there was no wind so it was perfect weather. We bundled her up and drove over to Theodore. We waited in a long line of cars FOREVER! I finally took her out of her carseat and let her roam the car because we were moving so slowly. We parked and got up to the ticket window. There was no line there thank goodness! Bellingrath is basically just like Botanical Gardens so we followed these paths through the gardens and they had awesome lights. Finley loved it just like I knew she would. She just rode in her stroller and looked at all the people and the lights. It was really neat and I'm glad we went! We picked up Wendy's on the way home and Finley was out by the time we got home. She didn't even open her eyes when I was undressing her. I'm hoping because she went to bed so late that she will sleep late. I'm about to hit the hay. I braved the mall today to try to find something to wear on Christmas. I got a couple cute tops and I got Finley an outfit from Santa. I almost teared up right in the middle of Gap Kids because I want to start getting her some things for Spring so I bought a 12-18 month outfit and it was in the big girl section rather than the baby section. Somebody press pause!!!!! Joey got an early Christmas present (Call of Duty Modern Warfare) and he has been playing it ALL DAY!!! I think I'll tidy up the house tomorrow, take Finley for a walk and just take it easy. Maybe one of these days, I'll be strong enough to leave Finley in the nursery so we can go to church, but I'm not there yet. God will understand;) Night, night.

1st Annual Dambro Christmas Cookout

I've decided our party should have a name;) We had a great time last night!!! My friend Courtney brought a friend of hers I had never met and it actually turns out that I knew her husband from my old job. Some of our neighbors that I had never really met, but Joey knew, came over. They were so nice. I took approx. 2 pictures because I forgot, but oh well. Everyone came over around 6:30 and we just ate and talked all night. It was a nice relaxing night. I love to get dressed up and go to a party, but it was a nice change to just put on jeans and grill hamburgers and sit around the kitchen table talking and telling stories. Good times!! The guys stayed outside all night except when they came in to eat, but according to Joey they had a good time hanging around the fire pit and drinking beer. God only knows what they talked about;)We women hung out in the kitchen (it always seems that people gravitate to that area) and just talked and laughed. I am definitely going to plan a game night after the first of the year. I kind of forgot how fun it was to have friends over and how much I missed it. We hardly had any leftover food, just some cupcakes and brownies which unfortunately I had for breakfast. (Sigh) I've got to get back on the wagon. Anyway, a successful party was a great way to start off the weekend. Joey and I have already been to Target this morning and are going to take Finley to Bellingrath Gardens tonight to see the Christmas lights show. I hope everyone has a great weekend.

Teething Bites. Literally!

You can't really see her tooth in this picture, but it's the best I could do.

The other night I was giving Finley an Apple Cinnamon puff and my finger went in her mouth while she was biting down and it hurt! She has a sharp little toofy coming in! It's on the bottom left. I can see and feel a little sliver of white. Yea!! I don't mean to brag when I say this, but she hasn't been the least bit fussy or anything. It's kind of weird. You always hear horror stories about children when they are teething. Aside from having a little trouble going to bed last night, it has been business as usual. About a month or so ago she was really fussy for about a week and we thought it was teething, but we didn't see anything. I'm going to give credit to the teething tablets which is the only thing we have used to help her. In our case they worked better than Tylenol and Motrin. She also likes to keep biting her bottle when she's done eating so I let her. I can tell it feels good. I'm thinking teething pain is like that pain you have in your teeth when you have a lot of sinus pressure. I'm 27 years old and I complain all day long when I have that feeling. Poor baby!

Walgreens is bad...in a good way ;)

A couple days ago out of nowhere I developed some kind of allergy/sinus situation. I have never had allergies of any kind, but my eyes are itchy and watery and my nose it itchy and runny and I'm sneezing all the time. I went to get some Claritin and decided to go to Walgreens. I usually got to CVS because it's right by my house, but I went to Walgreens because Julie (my blog buddy)always mentions going to Walgreens in her blog and says how great it is. Well, she was right. I spent $60 at a drugstore. I got my Claritin, the rest of Joey's stocking stuffers, a gift from Santa for Finley (a big stuffed giraffe), a Precious Moments prayer buddy for Finley and some candy for Friday night. Geez! No more trips to Walgreens for a while.

Reformed crazy lady.

I decided I didn't have the strength to go up to Wal-Mart again and try to get my pictures. I need to learn to let go of things I can't control and quit letting stupid stuff get to me. I don't want Finley picking up that characteristic of mine. I decided to go online and re-order my pictures to be picked up at the Wal-Mart in Daphne. I went to the Eastern Shore for a couple hours and looked around and then I went to Wal-Mart with the copyright release form in hand. Our wonderful photographer Johanna gave me permission to sign her name. You'll never guess what happened. The woman handed me my pictures without asking to see my copyright release form. Imagine that!!

Friday is our Christmas Cookout and I feel like I have so much to do. I want to get my house in order and clean. Joey has a long to do list for outside and I have to grocery shop. I want to take Finley to Bellingrath Gardens one night this week too. I was afraid it would be too cold out, but today is was 70 degrees so I don't think it will be a problem. I was thinking about getting one of those little pop out strollers. I have one that our car seat fits on and it's great when I go to the mall or somewhere and I have a lot of stuff to stow, but I want a little one for quick trips in and out of places. Any suggestions?

Wal-Mart Photo Center is on my list...at the very top!!

I just caused a scene at the Wal-Mart Photo Center. I finally got my blood pressure down and my headache is almost gone, but basically, I uploaded some pictures and went to pick them up. The girl at the counter would not give them to me because she said they looked like professional photos and she had to have a copyright release form. I understand this policy, however, no where on the website(except for the fine print which is located about 5 clicks into the website) or when I was checking out online did it say anything about making sure I brought a signed copyright release form from the photographer. Even then, I still understand and agree with that portion of the policy. But, last week I went to the exact same photo center and purchased pictures taken by a professional photographer and was not asked for a release. I've actually got professional pics printed there twice and never been asked for this information. I argued my case and then left, then went back and argued some more and then gave up. Then Joey went back and got a manager(he's a good hubby!) The brain-dead manager and the brain-dead counter girl whispered behind the counter before coming over to us and staring at us until we spoke. Joey explained that he didn't understand why all of a sudden we had to have a copyright release form. Basically if the Wal-Mart employee "thinks" they are professional photos they won't give them to you (sometimes). The manager actually thought one of the pictures I took with my $70 camera was a professional picture and he thought one of my professional pictures was a snapshot. I asked him which ones he would let me have and he handed me one of Johanna's pictures and I held it up and said this is a professional picture, you're going to give me this one, but not the others? He literally tried to snatch it out of my hand. I said, I'm not giving it back to you you already said I could have it. He started back-pedaling saying that he hadn't "approved" that picture for sale. Sure, Michael, I'll bet you approve every picture that leaves the Wal-Mart Photo Center. It was actually kind of funny to see his face when I said I wasn't giving it back. Then he took one of the pictures I took of Finley out of the pile he said I could have and changed his mind and said it was professional. I said, See you don't know what's professional and what's not so give me all of them!! I tried to explain that he was was about to violate his own copyright policy by giving me a professional pic so he might as well just give me all my pictures. He didn't follow me. In fact, I think he may have been a remote control human whose batteries were running low because he continued to babble, speak in incomplete sentences, trail off and stare blankly at me and Joey. I was infuriated!! I had a list of things to get done today and I haven't been able to do that because they involved these pictures. If I were smart I would have just said I was the photographer, but I tried to be honest and it got me nowhere. I just messaged my photographer on Facebook and asked if I could forge her signature and I'm waiting to hear back from her. What I want to do is forge her name and re-order my prints and go up to Wal-Mart and try to get them without the release. Depending on whose working I may be able to get them without the release in which case I will ask for the manager who I had the unfortunate experience of meeting tonight and let him know that I got my pictures without a release and I will be contacting Wal-Mart and letting them know that the copyright policy was violated on his watch and that he could have avoided the whole thing had he just given me my pictures last night when I proved he had no idea which pictures where professional and which were not in which case the customer should just get the pictures. Who are the Wal-Mart employees to judge what is a professional picture? They obviously don't know the difference. He thought the picture I have posted here was a snapshot. IDIOT!!!!!!!! I could easily just go across town to Calagaz and get them printed, but now I'm pissed and I want Michael (brain dead ignoramus) to feel my wrath.

Okay, I'm done. Nighty Night.

Something for Saturday.

Rain, rain go away...
Watching Joey Griswold put up the Christmas lights.
I really want those Playstation games.

Party time!

Joey has lived in Mobile for almost 3 1/2 years and I have lived here for 2 1/2 years. We finally made enough friends here to have a party! Yea! We are having a little Christmas party next Friday night. I was thinking I would be happy if only a few people came, but it looks like everyone is coming! Now I'm on a decorating, party-supply buying, menu-planning, cleaning rampage. Unfortunately for Joey his to do list is getting longer by the minute. It will be fun though. We have made some really good friends here and I am so thankful because they have made Mobile bearable. If anyone has a recipe for those potatoes you cut into triangles and season and bake I would be very appreciative if you would share. I want to make those because we are grilling hamburgers. Thanks!

Big hit!

My BLT appetizer was a HUGE hit! Everyone kept asking me how to make it and saying how fancy it looked. I had a few leftovers and one girl actually wanted to take them home when I said I didn't. Haha! I ended up emailing the recipe to 3 people. Anyway, fear not. It's a good one. I always feel the need to put a picture up with all my posts. I wish I had taken a picture of it:(

Please bring an appetizer...Great.

I have a meeting tonight for the Junior League and of course I was assigned to bring an appetizer. Not a drink, not a dessert, but an appetizer. Geez! I'm not a terrible cook, but I'm not the best and I don't enjoy cooking so I usually panic when I have to cook for someone other than me and Joey. And yes, I consider making an appetizer cooking. I found a recipe for Mini "sinful" BLTs with applewood smoked bacon, Roma tomatoes, arugula and remoulade sauce. I found the recipe in one of my cookbooks and realized it was from the people who catered my wedding and we actually had this at my wedding and it was delicious. I seriously doubt I will be able to do it justice. Here is the recipe if anyone gets in a food dilemma this holiday season. The recipe serves 12.

Remoulade sauce
3 cups mayonnaise
1 cup Creole or spicy mustard
1/4 cup fresh lemon juice
1/3 cup chopped fresh parsley
1/4 cup rinsed drained capers, chopped
salt and pepper to taste

BLTs
8 slices white or wheat sandwich bread, crusts trimmed
3 or 4 thick slices applewood smoked bacon
1/4 cup packed light brown sugar
1/2 cup fresh basil, julienned
1/4 cup EVOO
salt and pepper to taste
4 Roma tomatoes, cut into 3/4 inch slices
8 ounces arugula or spinach, trimmed
springs of fresh basil for garnish

For the sauce
Combine mayonnaise, mustard, lemon juice,parsley and capers in a bowl and mix well. Season to taste with salt and pepper.

For the BLTs
Preheat the oven to 325 degrees. Cut the bread slices into rounds or aquares and arrange on baking sheet. Toast for 5 to 8 minutes or until light brown on both sides. Maintain the oven temperature. Arrange the bacon in a single layer on a baking sheet and sprinkle lightly with the brown sugar. Bake until brown and crisp. break bacon into pieces using size of toast points.

Whisk 1/2 cup basil, EVOO, salt and pepper in bowl. Add tomatoes and turn gently to coat. Arrange toast points on a platter. Layer each with 1 tomato slice, 1 teaspoon of the sauce, arugula and bacon. garnish platter with sprigs of basil.

Good Luck!

What's in a name?

Joey and I agonized over baby names. It took us all 9 months to come up with one we could agree on. I actually wasn't sold on Finley at first, but when I looked up what it meant something just clicked. The name Finley is Scottish and it means "fair-haired courageous one". Love it! It is not a family name. People always ask me if it's my maiden name, but it's not. We just like it. Her middle name, Lauren, was one we also liked, but we wanted something a little more unique for her first name. I like Finley because it's different without being weird. But, I guess it's all a matter of opinion. Now I can barely remember what other names we liked. We liked Caroline and we were big on Chloe for a while. I liked Tara, Jordan and Ava. I like Nora and Charlotte. Now that I think about it, I actually had a long list of names I liked, but Joey shot them all down, but then of course had no suggestions of his own. He liked Madison a lot. It's funny that we chose Finley because I always said I wanted my little girl to have a girly name. We hardly even talked about boy names. I was so sure I was having a girl. When I was little I hated my name. I was Elizabeth in the middle of all my friends named Stephanie, Rachel, Tiffany and Jessica. I felt like I had a grandmother's name. Actually it was my great-grandmother's name;) As I've gotten older though I have learned to appreciate and love it. I hope Finley will like hers. I'm hoping with all the little girls named Bailey, Avery, Addison, Emerson, Riley and Peyton that she won't feel out of place ;)

When the cat's away, the mice will play ;)

Daddy is the cat in this case. Finley and I are the mice. Joey left us here while he went out in the woods to stalk and kill poor defenseless animals who are just eating grass and minding their own business. (He reads my blog) Soooo, Finley and I made a quick trip to Ocean Springs, MS. It is a really cute little town! It's kind of like Fairhope. It has lots of cute little shops and restaurants downtown and it has sidewalks and a trolley that takes you around town. There are 2 childrens shops I like to go to there. One is Lexi Lu and the other is Sugar and Spice. They both have cute things, but Lexi Lu would be the envy even of children's boutiques in LA. They have it all!! Clothes, clothes and more clothes, shoes, hairbows, hats, 1st birthday stuff, tutus, dancewear, nursery decor, diaper bags, baby jewelry, burp cloths, blankets...you name it, they've got it. I like it because they have something for everyone. They have sweet little baby clothes and they have smocked dresses, but they also have what I call "big people" clothes. They have those wild and crazy clothes with tutus and rhinestones all over them also. Clothes that you and I would wear, but in baby sizes. If you are ever in that area, please go by and check it out. Anyway, they had a sale and were doing pictures with Santa, so I thought we'd drive down and spend the day. It only takes about 45 minutes from my house. Finley was great the whole way there. We went to those 2 stores, had our picture made with Santa and then just strolled through downtown. We had lunch at Mellow Mushroom and then headed back. When we got home I took Finley to the front of our neighborhood because they have some cute benches and took pictures of Finley in her Christmas dress from Cici because I really just don't have enough pictures of this child;) I took a green Christmas ornament with me as a prop and I could have sworn it was shatterproof, but sure enough she was holding it on the way back and SMASH! It is now all over my street. Oh well. I'm hoping she'll go down for a nap soon so I can relax. "We" got up extra early this morning and I just lost my 2nd wind.

Ho, Ho, Ho from Bass Pro!

Last night we took Finley to the Bass Pro Shop to see Santa Claus. They had the cutest set-up EVER! Complete with reindeer! I agonized over what to put her in for the picture. I went overboard buying Christmas ensembles because they are so darn cute, but now I 'm not sure how she will wear them all. We only stood in line for about 30 minutes and they had all these toys and games set-up for kids to play with so Finley just watched all the kids running around and was perfectly happy. I assumed once she was on Santa's lap she would cry because she doesn't like strangers, but I sat her on his lap and she looked right up at him and then smiled for the camera and then looked at him again. She did great!!! After I picked her up and was talking to him, she actually leaned towards him like she wanted him to hold her. It was so funny! Maybe she knew he was bringing her presents ;) After we left Bass Pro, we went to eat at one of my favorites, The Original Oyster House. YUMMY! It was so good! We came home and Finley crashed. I'm taking her to see the Santa at the mall with my friend Courtney and her two boys tomorrow so we'll see if she does as well for Round 2. Joey is mailing off our Christmas cards today. I am sooo in the Christmas spirit!

Wordless Wednesday

Happy 8 month birthday Finley!

My 8 month old!

Finley will be 8 months old on the 2nd. Unbelievable! Happy 8 month birthday Buggy! I know her 1st birthday will be here before we know it.

As of right now Finley can...
Crawl
Pull up on anything and everything
Wave "Hi" (I'll put up a video)
Say "Dada"

She LOVES...
most solid foods and table food (especially mashed potatoes and french fries)
Yogurt melts
Baby Mum Mum snacks
Mickey Mouse Clubhouse
Wonder Pets
Dora
looking at herself in the mirror
dogs
being outdoors
bathtime
other kids and babies

She HATES...
Peas and green beans
getting dressed
riding in her carseat(when will it end??)
strangers holding her( not real strangers, but people she doesn't know)
the vacuum cleaner

New Moon: The Movie

Joey and I finally went to see New Moon! I thought it was really good! I know they had a bigger budget and a different director so I knew it would be different, but I didn't expect it to be so much better than Twilight. Kristen Stewart was much prettier and less annoying in New Moon. In fact, she didn't annoy me at all! I actually felt like she was good enough for Edward and I sympathized with her. In Twilight she came across as whiny and spastic. Rob Pattinson looked better too and he wasn't weird in this movie. In the book he is portrayed as this perfect being, but in Twilight he was a little strange. Taylor Lautner was super cute and buff, but his acting wasn't great. Joey and I talked about how immature he seemed on screen. It doesn't seem believable that Bella could be in love him too. Anyway, overall I liked it and wouldn't mind seeing it again. I cannot wait for Eclipse!! June seems like so far away :(

So much to be thankful for...

Finley's 1st Thanksgiving was great!! Joey and I are so thankful for our beautiful, healthy, happy little bug! It was also a really busy one. We drove to Bham Wednesday around noon. She did pretty good on the drive up. Joey's parents watched Finley that night so Joey and I could go on a "date". They are few and far between. The only time we get to do that is when we go home. We ate at Brio and went to see New Moon. It was really good, but I can't help but compare it to the book and of course the book is sooo much better. On Thanksgiving Day we went and ate at my mom's house and then went over to Joey's grandparents house. We saw lots of family and friends and ate WAY too much (Joey and I started a diet today). Friday, my friend Nicole and I went shopping for a little while and had lunch at Moe's BBQ. Then, I headed over to my brother and sister in law's house to watch the Iron Bowl. It was a really good game!! I can only watch football when it's really exciting. That night we ate at Village Tavern with Joey's parents and my parents. Now that I'm writing this, I'm realizing that we ate our way through Birmingham :)!! Joey and I bought a couple Christmas gifts and got Finley some things at The Summit. I miss the restaurants and shopping in Birmingham so much! (Sigh) We went back to Curt and Laura's (Joey's brother and his wife) for their son Drew's birthday on Saturday. He had a Transformers party. Sunday we left around 10am and stopped in Prattville to see my cousin, his wife and their kids. We had fun. They love Finley!! Then we headed back to MoBORING. That's my new name for Mobile. We got home and unpacked and got settled back home. We are all exhausted. I can't believe we will do it again in a month. I'm so excited for Christmas though!!!! We're taking Finley to see Santa at the Bass Pro Shop tomorrow night so that should be fun. I hope everyone had a wonderful Thanksgiving!!!

Traffic School

I got a speeding ticket (don't get me started) and luckily I was eligible for driving school so I paid a little less than what my ticket would have cost and went to a 4 hour traffic school class. It wasn't too bad. We got out an hour early and the instructor was HILARIOUS!!! He was a retired police officer, but reminded me of a funny, hip grandfather. He had a thick Southern accent like he was from Georgia. He kept saying, "poe-lice". He also said things like...

"I was higher than a Georgia pine"- referring to the time he took Leur (sp) tabs after surgery.

"Watch this, ole Chuckie's about to get his bell rang" referring to Chuck, the irresponsible driver in the video we watched.

"If you elude the police and then you kill someone while doing it..well, guess what? you gon' get slam-dunked once for eluding and slam-dunked again for killing someone."

He was great!!

Urge to...

I have had the the urge to color my hair for several days now. I don't know why? When I was in high school and college I used to dye my hair different colors all the time, but I have had it blonde for a long time now and I don't know why the sudden urge to change it. I think its because I'm so pale I think I would look better with darker hair. Naturally, my hair is a dark blonde, light brown color. I have it highlighted so that it's light blonde. I think next time I get my hair done I'll get some lowlights and see how I like it.

Some of you may be wondering about my child. The one that I have neglected for the past 4 days while I was reading the Twilight books. She is fine. Joey has been watching her a lot so I could read. I have also neglected the housework and going anywhere since Thursday. I am a little less than halfway through Breaking Dawn, but last night I made my self put it down and clean the house and do laundry and dishes, so I feel much better now. I have GOT to go to the grocery store also. Joey has gone hunting, but will be back tonight just in time for my driving school class. (Remember my ticket) Anyway, I plan to take time to read today during Finley's naptime. I wish I knew how driving school was. I have to be there from 6-10pm. What a perfect time to finish my book!!! Joey said he thinks I'll have to pay attention. Boo! I think I'll take a big purse with it inside and see what I can do.

Eclipse

I finished Eclipse this morning and it was soooo good! I still think Twilight is my favorite so far, but Eclipse is a very close 2nd. I started Breaking Dawn, but it will be slow going because Joey has gone hunting and he was my only distraction for Finley so I could read. Oh well. The pace doesn't seem to be as fast as the others so far so I am able to put it down for a few hours ;) I can't wait to find out what happens and now I am even more anxious to see New Moon!

New Moon

Well, I finished New Moon just as quickly as I finished Twilight. I LOVE these books!! I don't see how any of the books can be better than Twilight, though. I managed to get through New Moon even though Edward was not really present until the end. Once he re-appeared I flew through it! The last couple hundred pages were awesome!! I made Joey hunt down Twilight the movie so I could watch it and then my friend Carrie(she made me really want to read the series)and I are going to see New Moon once the insanity dies down. I can't wait!! I am definitely Team Edward. I don't really feel the need to explain why. If you read the books you understand;) I started Eclipse today. I'm going to attempt to take my time with this one. I have a bad habit of starting a book and trying to finish it that day. It's like I'm watching a movie and just can't stop. I think I would enjoy it more if I could just read a few chapters at a time. A few people told me Eclipse was the best one so we'll see.

I cannot believe Thanksgiving is this week. I will not get depressed about packing yet again and driving yet again. I will be positive!! I hope everyone has a great week!

Twilight

Just a quick little blog before I got to bed. I finally gave in and started the Twilight series this afternoon. It is now 12:30am and I just finished the first book, Twilight. Yes, it was that good and I could not put it down! I know some of you are probably thinking what I thought when I first heard about this series...vampires? really? I must say though that this book was so intense I seriously found myself holding my breath in some places. A friend of mine told me that the book takes you back to the times in high school when your mood depended on whether or not you would see your crush in the lunchroom and she hit the nail on the head. It absolutely takes you back to that time!!! Oh, it was so good! I'm going to start New Moon tomorrow. Hopefully, I will finish it this weekend so I can see the two movies that have come out so far. Anyway, I highly recommend them! Night!

Baby Mum Mum...

My step-mom bought these baby snacks called Baby Mum Mum rice rusks for Finley when we came in town. I had never seen or heard about them before, but wanted to let all my mommy friends know how AWESOME they are. Finley devours them and she will sit quietly for 10 minutes and eat hers and not move or make a sound which, let's face it, is wonderful when you need a minute to rest or unscramble your brain. I think they are better than the biter biscuits or cookies because they make very little mess. You can get them at Wal-Mart and they are gluten-free, have no preservatives and they are tasty. I tasted one ;) I just wanted to pass this along in case any of you have never tried them before.

Growing Like A Weed!

Just last week I bought 3 pairs of pajamas at Gymboree. I got 6-12 month sizes. Finley is 7 1/2 months old and according to our doctor she is in the 50th percentile for everything. In my mind that means she is average, the average size for a child her age. Last night I put one of her NEW pairs of pajamas on her and realized that she will not be able to wear them in a week or two. That is crazy!! I guess I will start buying 12-18 month sizes. Geez! I'm glad those pajamas were on sale and I had my Gymbucks!! I know she is going to grow and I'm glad, but I wish she could wear her clothes at least a few times before they are too small. If only I could resist all the cute clothes they have for baby girls and just buy the essentials...who am I kidding, it's useless to try and fight it ;)

We survived!!!

Yea! We survived our first airplane trip! We went to Atlanta to visit my dad so it was a short flight, but I was still really nervous about how I was going to entertain her for an hour in my lap. She was WONDERFUL!! She could not have been better. I got a little anxious right after we taxied out because the pilot came on and said we were would have to sit there for about 30 minutes because too many planes were trying to land in Atlanta at the same time...imagine that! She just looked around and smiled at everyone and played with the toys I brought and looked out the window and sat in her seat. Thankfully the seat next to me was empty on the way there and back. I must say that traveling with a child was easier than I thought. People were so helpful and I got to go in the special lanes through security so I didn't ever stand in line very long. I read on a website that had travel tips that the best thing to do when traveling with a child is to smile helplessly at people and I did and it worked ;) Anyway, she fell asleep before we even got in the air and she slept until we started descending so I just laid her down in the seat next to me and read a magazine. On the way back she didn't sleep, but she talked to the people next to us and she played with the passenger safety manual for about 20 minutes, then she looked out the window for a long time. I really couldn't believe how easy it was!! We were very happy to see Dada and she came home and has taken two naps since about 12:30 so I know she is exhausted. I'm hoping she will take good long naps tomorrow so I can unpack and get the house back together. I cannot believe Thanksgiving is next week!! This year is flying by!!! I also can't believe I was able to get everything I took with me and everything I bought in the same suitcase. The shopping in Atlanta is unreal. It's a really good thing I don't live there. I cannot resist a sale and I got Finley some really cute things. It was a great trip. We got to see my dad, step-mom, step-sister and her husband and son and my grandmother got to meet her first great grand-daughter. My step-sister brought her two dogs and Finley just loves to watch them. She laughs hysterically at them. It almost makes me want to get a dog just to entertain her...almost, but not quite. She also loved the next door neighbors dog. They have an old golden retriever who is so sweet and he hops up on the fence and she just reaches out to pet him and smiles at him. It was so cute! She played with Charlie a lot. he is my step-sister's son. She loves him;) She slept really good while we were there too. We are glad to be home, though. I'm about to collapse into bed! I hope everyone had a great weekend and has a great week!

Happy Veterans Day!

Thank you to all the veterans for fighting for the freedoms we enjoy every day. A special thank you goes out to the men in my family.

My paternal grandfather, Sam Lyle
My maternal grandfather, Charlie Lockman
My dad, Everett Lyle
My cousins, Brandon and Greg Blake

THANK YOU AND HAPPY VETERANS DAY!

This whole Carrie Prejean thing...

Unlike the people I'm talking about in this post, I will not dislike you because your opinion differs from mine so tell me your thoughts if you have any. I love to talk about stuff like this!! Also, I am totally aware that these topics are trivial compared to other things going on in the world, but we all need a little fluff in life and pageants and reality television are my 2 main guilty pleasures:)

Judge Perez Hilton asked the question: “Vermont recently became the fourth state to legalize same-sex marriage. Do you think every state should follow suit? Why or why not? “ Miss California responded to the question by saying, “I think that I believe that a marriage should be between a man and a woman. No offense to anybody out there, but that’s how I was raised.”

Okay, I do not get why Carrie Prejean's answer to her Miss USA question was such a big deal?!! Perez Hilton, asked her about her OPINION on gay marriage and she said she was against it. End of story. You asked her opinion and she was honest and gave it. If she had said marriage should be between a mermaid and a unicorn then that is her opinion and she has a right to it. I also think she has a right to voice her opinion and not be berated because of it especially because she was asked. She didn't just go around opposing gay marriage. Do I think she has done some really stupid things (like make a sex tape, let someone take nude photos of her, etc)? Absolutely! But, she shouldn't have every mistake she has ever made dragged into the spotlight because the liberals in her state didn't like her answer. If California Miss USA directors were so concerned about that, they probably should have chosen a state winner based on her political and religious beliefs rather than her gorgeous face and body. I think they are trying to use her to blanket Christians and others who may oppose gay marriage and portray them as ignorant hypocrites. It's not about bringing down Carrie Prejean, no one cares about her per say... it's about bringing down anyone and everyone who agrees with her. It is all about discrediting her supporters. I'm not defending her actions, but leave that girl alone!!

Kate Gosselin is another person who I think gets hassled a lot. Obviously I don't know the woman, but I truly believe she is doing what she thinks is best for her kids. She didn't have anything growing up and now because of the show she has the chance to give her kids amazing opportunities. She said in a recent interview that she has money put away now for their college education. She would NEVER have been able to send those kids to college on a nurse and computer analyst salary no matter how many overtime shifts they both worked. Those are her kids and she knows them best and she is their mother so she gets to decide. She had no idea what would come of doing a reality show. She and her husband signed on to do a reality show about their life. Eventually, she and her husband divorced. Why all of a sudden because she got divorced is she exploiting the kids? So when everything is good, it's not exploiting, but when things aren't picture perfect (reality usually isn't) she's a horrible woman who treats her children like sweat shop workers. Really?? Funny how her brother and sister in law and then Jon had no problems with the show until they weren't wanted on it anymore. Why aren't the other 5 or 6 reality show parents being hassled? Raising Sextuplets, 20 Kids and Counting, Little People, Big World, Table for 12. They are all reality shows about family life, just like Jon and Kate plus 8. I don't get it.

I actually like all the shows I just mentioned and wish I could just watch them without people creating drama behind the scenes. If I want drama I can watch The Bad Girls Club.

First Airplane Ride

As some of you may know, my dad and step-mom live in Atlanta. They go to Birmingham often because I have two step-sisters there so I see them a good bit when we happen to cross paths on the weekends there, but I really wanted to take Finley to Atlanta to stay with them. She also has never met her great-grandmother who lives in Atlanta as well. Joey had some Skymiles built up so we booked a trip!! We leave this Thursday and come back Sunday. I'm really excited and really nervous. The flight is only an hour and 15 minutes, but I've never flown with a child. Joey isn't coming so I'm in this alone:( I keep telling myself that even if she screams the entire time it would have been worse had we driven there. Driving was out of the question!! I don't expect her to scream, but I am afraid she will get restless and start fussing and crying. Now that she is crawling, she knows she can get down and go explore. I didn't get her a ticket because that would have wiped out our Skymiles so I'm hoping the seat next to me will be empty. If any of you have any tips for me I'm all ears. Our flight leaves really early in the morning so I'm hoping she will have had a good night's sleep and be in a good mood. She usually isn't hungry right when she gets up so I think I'll get to the airport in enough time to feed her right before we get on the plane so I won't have to worry about trying to make a bottle on the plan while holding her. Then if I can just keep her occupied until we land I will consider it a success! I think we'll be alright because there will be lots to look at and once we get in the air I can get up and walk her around. I am thinking positively, but can't help but hear a little voice telling me that kids NEVER do what you expect them too especially when you really need or want them to;)

There's a hurricane a comin' !

Not really. Now it's just a tropical storm so no worries. Anyway, we are north of I-10 so rarely are we in the danger zone.

This year we decided to put up a little tree instead of our usual big one. We bought a living room set that we intend on "growing into", but for now it just takes up our entire living room so we didn't have room for one in there. We put it in the breakfast nook/kitchen instead. Most of the things from last year still looked good. I had to get new garland and I got a couple cute picture frames from Kohl's. I cannot find this really cute little red tree I used to put on my kitchen table so I need to replace that. I found a cute red tree made out of Christmas balls at Target I may go back and get. Luckily Finley has absolutely no interest in the tree so that's good, but I'm going to tie it to the windowsill just to be safe.

Making Memories...

I decided before I had Finley that I wanted to collect something for her. Like dolls or figurines or something, but I couldn't decide what. My sister-in-law had a great suggestion for something that would really be meaningful, but not take up a lot of space. She suggested I get Finley an ornament every year that represents something she is "in to" that year. Then, when she gets married, I'll give them all to her in a nice box for her to use on her tree. She also mentioned how it would be neat for her to tell her husband and children one day what each one meant. Isn't that a great idea?! So I still need to get her "1st Christmas" ornament, but I got her a Mickey Mouse ornament today because she loves that show Mickey Mouse Clubhouse. Seriously, every time it comes on she is GLUED to it and when they start singing the hot dog song she starts grinning from ear to ear. It's so funny!! Anyway, so that's the story with that. I also want to get her the Holiday Mickey and Minnie Mouse plush animals. I saw the ones that are old timey looking. They are the classic Mickey and Minnie. I thought that would be cute to get for her 1st Christmas and I can put them in her room each year. I feel like this Christmas is a big deal because it is the first Christmas where Joey and I will be making our OWN memories and starting our OWN traditions with Finley as a family rather than following the traditions our parents started. I'm sure every mom knows how I feel, but I want everything to be PERFECT for her even if she doesn't remember it or doesn't realize what's going on ;)

National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation= Best Christmas movie ever!

I'm so ahead of the game that it's not even funny ;) My Christmas cards are in their envelopes, addressed and sealed. I'm going to get stamps tomorrow and then on my desk they'll sit until December. I got 2 more Christmas gifts so only 3 more to go. All my gifts are wrapped and ready to go under the tree. I still have to finish getting stocking stuffers for Joey and Finley, but that will be easy. This afternoon, I'm going to put up decorations. I don't think I'll finish today, but we'll see. Some of our decorations may have had it so I might have to replenish. I have a really cute idea for my mantle so we'll see how that turns out. Anyways, I feel really good because I know I will have all this done soon and I can just enjoy the season and not fight my way through the mall every weekend. Also, I always feel like my decorations are up for a week and then its time to take them down so it will be nice to have them up for a while this year. I have Finley's Christmas wardrobe ready. She has a smocked dress to wear to church, a couple pairs of Christmas pajamas, 2 comfy outfits to wear Christmas Eve day and Christmas Day. Joey keeps telling me I'm doing all of this too soon, but this week I'm going to visit my dad and then 2 weekends after that is Thanksgiving and we will be in Birmingham for a few days at least and then its December! I think he forgets how fast it comes. I hear my little bug moving around in her room...gotta go!

The Littlest Angel

Well, we are having a much better day today. Finley seems to be in a good humor and I decided against letting my bad week get me down so we are going to the mall to get my grandmother a Christmas gift. She loves sweaters from the Gap and I just happened to get an email with a 25% off coupon. Yea! Actually last night my week made a turn around because I got Finley's Christmas card pictures and they are perfect!! She looks so sweet and innocent in them. Notice I said "looks". Just kidding! She really is sweet and happy most of the time. Hopefully, getting her out today will help with the fussiness. A couple weeks ago Joey won a bunch of gift certificates to local restaurants. I think we have used all of them except Longhorn so we are going to use those tonight. I think we may take Finley to the park or Bellingrath Gardens tomorrow. We are doing something outside for sure. This weather is too good not to be outdoors. I hope everyone has a GREAT weekend!!TGIF!!!

Crappy week...

I have had a crappy week!! Monday, I locked my keys in my car an hour before I was supposed to meet Jessica to take Finley's Christmas card pictures. Pop-A-Lock came really quickly, but I still had to pay $50 and I was wound up pretty tight because I was trying to pack up the car and get there on time to meet her. Then as I went to pay him, I realized my debit card was missing so I had to call Joey so he could cancel it. I'm sure they charge to get another card although I don't know how much. I tried to start over yesterday, but Finley just isn't happy. I think she dislikes Mobile as much as I do because she just crawls around whining and fussing all day. Today, I was on my way to Hobby Lobby minding my own business when I pass by a cop on a motorcycle hiding in the bushes. I look right at him and then glance at my speedometer. I wasn't even going 40 mph so I just went about my merry way and then here he comes pulling me over!! For a second I was thinking why in the world is he pulling me over. My window tint? Is my tag expired? I really wasn't sure what was going on. He comes up to the window and says he clocked me doing 39 (I'm still thinking, yeah and...)in a 25 zone. The road I was on was not in a school zone or a residential neighborhood. It is just a two lane road that runs by Target and comes out on Schillinger. 25 mph? Really? It turns off a road where the speed limit is 45. I was really ticked off. I am all in favor of cops pulling people over who speed. I never speed (knowingly) anymore because I always have precious cargo with me and I was totally unaware that the speed limit on this road that I drive on all the time was 25. But, it really ticks me off when cops resort to hiding (in the bushes nonetheless)in places where the speed drops ridiculously low all of a sudden. GRRRRR! There is a difference in seeing someone driving recklessly on the highway or in a school zone and pulling them over ( and there are plenty of them because I spend many days trying not to get killed on I-10), but hiding and pulling someone over for going 40mph? I don't care that it is over the speed limit, it is really slow. My neighborhood speed limit is 25 and that road didn't have a house or business on it. I felt like mentioning to him the time our house alarm went off at 2AM and it took the cops 25 minutes to get to our house. I think that should make us even. Then he told me to have a safe day. What a jerk!!!! I am safe you butthole, I'm driving 40 mph!!!!!I am eligible to go to driving school so it won't go on my driving record, but I still have to fork over over $100 two weeks after Christmas. OH IT MAKES ME SO MAD!!!!!!!! What makes it even worse is that I see people FLYING (wheels screeching around my corner)through my neighborhood all day long and using it as a cut through to another main road. Where are the cops then? Mobile is one of the most dangerous cities in America and I'm being pulled over for driving 40mph on a service road. I realize that I'm making excuses and maybe being irrational , but I don't care. I am staying at home the rest of this week and starting fresh on Monday.

Finley's 1st Christmas!

I'm starting to get excited...maybe a little too excited ;) I couldn't resist putting up her tree any longer. Thank you Cici for my 1st Christmas tree!

Have a Holly Jolly Christmas card

Oh the time has come to do something I have been thinking about doing since I found out I was pregnant. The Christmas photo card!!! I don't know why I am so excited abut this, but I am. Monday afternoon I met Jessica Wright at Samford to take Finley's pictures for our Christmas card. Jessica is great! She is so sweet and fun to work with. I cannot wait to see how they turned out. I have a feeling I will have a hard time deciding which one will grace the cover of our Christmas card this year. How fun! I love sending out and receiving Christmas cards. I love the ones with family pictures on them and I always put them on display in the house. I'm starting to get the Christmas spirit! I think because I realized this past weekend how holidays take on a whole new excitement when you have a child. Only 2 more months!!

Sometimes I can be a little witchy ;)

We went to Birmingham this weekend for Halloween. Yes, it was the 3rd time this month. No more trips til Thanksgiving, I just can't take it. The packing, unpacking, re-packing, ugh! Anyway, we went over to Joey's parents house Saturday night so Finley could trick or treat with her cousins. She had a great time. Joey and I took turns carrying her from house to house and we got lots of good candy! People probably thought it was a little strange, but hey we wanted candy too!! Her costume was so cute!! She was a witch and she didn't mind the pouffy tutu or the hat so it actually stayed on her. We took lots of pictures and I would say it was a successful first Halloween ;)We took her back to my mom's and put her to bed and we started getting ready for our Halloween party. We dressed up as Kanye West and Taylor Swift. People seemed to get a big kick out of it. My friend Carrie from Mobile has a sister who lives in Birmingham and she was nice enough to invite us to her Halloween party. There were some great costumes there! It was lots of fun! We left there and went down to Lakeview and it was insane!!!! People were everywhere and there was a long line to get in every place down there. We walked to the Barking Kudu because it had the shortest line, but once we got in it was so packed you couldn't even walk. We stayed for about 30 minutes then left and went home. We got home about 2am which is the latest we have been out in a really, really long time. Joey and I saw lots of old friends and just had a good time going out together. Of course, we both had a little too much to drink. I haven't had any alcohol in a really long time, so I could tell before I went to bed that 5am was going to come really early. Well, Miss Finley knew we went out and had a good time and drank too much. She got up at 4:30am and refused to go back to sleep. Absolutely refused. Oh, it was not fun! I finally woke Joey up about 6:30 or 7 and told him he had to get up and take her. He did and she finally went back to sleep. They just know...it's eerie.

The Mommy Job

Finley had a cookie today. I think she liked it ;)

As some of you may know, I've had a lot of different jobs over the years. I mean A LOT! I've always loved to work even though I may complain about it. I always had a job when I was in high school even though I didn't have too. I got my first job when I was 13 working at a church daycare in Montgomery. My most recent job was as the medical director's assistant at a community mental health center. It would take me a while to sit down and list all the jobs I've had in between. They've ranged from restaurants to retail to public relations, sales and marketing. BUT, being a mommy has been by far the hardest job I have ever had and the hardest job I can ever imagine having because it doesn't start at 8am and end at 5pm. It is 24/7. There are no sick days, vacations, lunch breaks or holidays. There is no leaving early because your boss is out of town and no coming in late because your boss is in a meeting;) There is no paycheck, health benefits, retirement, bonuses for working hard or overtime for putting in extra hours. There are no thank yous and no pats on the back. It is truly a thankless job (especially if your child can't talk) Your looks suffer, your style suffers and your interests and friends fall to the wayside because you simply don't have the time and/or energy for it all. As I sit here and type this, it's 5:30pm and I haven't had a shower since yesterday morning, I'm wearing sweatpants and a t-shirt and I have no make-up or jewelry on. My brown roots are showing and the paint is almost completely chipped off my toenails. Joey and I haven't been on an actual date since...I don't know. I don't even know what we used to talk about after work or at dinner before Finley arrived. What did we do on the weekends? I couldn't tell you. My shoulders are aching from carrying Finley around because she cries if I put her down and I'm so tired I feel like I could lay down and sleep for 3 days. Sound familiar?? Honestly though, I'm the happiest I have ever been! All this to say, writing this brings a smile to my face because you have to laugh about it. It's so...I don't know...ironic? This has been the greatest 6 months of my life and I wouldn't trade it or change it for anything. Honestly, I wouldn't! This is simply an observation and revelation about the past year and the changes it has brought. Good changes though!!!

We are headed to Birmingham tomorrow for Halloween! I'm so excited!
HAPPY HALLOWEEN EVERYONE!!

A Funny Story

Disclaimer: I don't think suicide is something to joke about. I think it is something to be taken very seriously. The following story was kinda funny though because it did not end in tragedy.

Today Finley has been...ummm...difficult. It's raining (surprise, surprise) so we ran a couple errands this morning, but have been confined to the house most of the day. As I explained in the previous post, Finley HATES to be stuck at home. I texted Joey earlier today asking if he could come home early because I needed a break. I had a few things to do that I cannot get done during the day because of my permanent sidekick ;) He texted back that no he couldn't come home early. I texted back to him that I was going to jump off the roof. Of course, I was joking, but I accidentally texted that message to my friend Courtney who immediately texted back asking if I was okay. I thought oh no!! she really thinks something is wrong. So I tried to call her, but got no answer. Then Joey called the house and I had to practically hang up on him because then Courtney started calling my cell phone and I had to answer to tell her I was fine. We talked for a few minutes and I explained that I sent it to Joey jokingly because I had had a long day. She has 2 boys so she totally understood and we got off the phone. I had to laugh afterwards at my 10 seconds of insanity worrying that my friends thought I was suicidal. Anyways, Joey is coming home soon to relieve me so I have to get dressed so we can do a handoff at the door. Yes, it's been that bad. I'm telling you, it is a nightmare when Finley has to stay home all day. I have tried bouncy seats, jumparoos, exersaucers, sitting in the floor with her and playing, carrying her around with me in a baby carrier, you name it, I've probably tried it. Taking her outside for a walk or going somewhere is my only relief. I thought when she learned to crawl it would help because she would be a little more independent, but that is not the case. Okay, enough complaining for now :)

The never-ending to do list...

I always thought as a stay at home mom I would have plenty of time to take care of the baby, household chores and errands with lots of free time left over, but for whatever reason my to do list is never ending. It seems like every time I complete a task I add a new one. I really don't know how working moms do it so my hat is off to you :) I usually break my list down into weeks. For instance, this week I HAVE to get all the laundry done so we can pack for Birmingham, finish all 3 of our Halloween costumes, get some storage boxes for various things, get my hair did and get my nails done. I got a lot of my list done yesterday. I got Christmas shopping done for my niece, my nephew and my sister. I returned a few things and I got all my holiday gift wrapping supplies. I think my problem is that I want everything done NOW. Even though I have weeks to frame Finley's Baptism invitation, make my casserole for the Junior League Christmas Jubilee and finish my Christmas shopping, I have the urge to get it all done in one day and so I continually set myself up for failure. I think I will try really hard from now on to take things as they come and do only what I have to do in a particular week. We'll see how that goes.
I also had lunch with my old co-workers yesterday and that was fun as always. I miss seeing them on a daily basis as they have become my best friends down here. Finley was so good as she always is when we are out. That child HATES to stay at home. I think she gets bored even though I have tried everything to entertain her. She is happiest when we are out and about or outside walking. Unfortunately we live in the rainiest city in America. Today it's raining so all outdoor activities have been suspended. She's napping now and I'm already thinking of what I can do with her when she gets up. These are the days when I really miss being near friends. So many of my friends have babies now and I would love to be able to call them up and say "Come over for a play date!" One day...

The picture above is just for fun! Clicking on it makes it bigger. I think that Finley is a good mix of us both. When she smiles I think she looks like Joey, but when she has a straight face I think she looks like me ;)

Dear Waistline, I really miss you. I'm sorry for what I put you through. Please come back soon. Sincerely, Elizabeth

Tomorrow I'm not eating anything. I'm going to find a jogging stroller and I'm meeting Joey after work to play tennis. That's all I have to say...

Christmas shopping update...

So after my tirade about how I was dreading Christmas shopping I decided to have a better attitude and do a little shopping each week and get it done by December 1st so I can enjoy the season. Today I kicked butt!! I got my dad, my step-dad, my father-in-law and my brother-in-law DONE!! Yea for me! I always do the guys first because they are the easiest. My mom is always the last one I buy for ;) I also got Finley some books, an outfit and pajamas for Christmas. I love books! I have always loved to read and I hope Finley will too. I could spend hours in the children's books section. There are so many good children's books. I had a hard time deciding, but I got her The Mitten. I remember that book from when I was young. I love going through and seeing the books I used to read. I also got her 3 Berenstein Bears books, a box set of Dora the Explorer board books, a Wonder Pets book and a Baby Einstein Touch and Feel book. I'm going to hit up the Robert Moore Christmas Village next week for her keepsake ornament. I may try to do my sister and step-mom tomorrow because I already know what to get them. I'm on a roll! Thank goodness Finley is a good shopper. As long as she's in her stroller and has something to look at or we're moving, she's perfectly happy! Here is her swag so far. I may take Lauren's suggestion for a Pottery Barn hybrid chair, but I might wait until her birthday. I know it will be here before we know it!