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.