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!