A Picture

...from this weekend.

What Have You Done Lately

I stole this from another blog (http://jessicafreyphotography.blogspot.com/) and thought it would be fun. I'm a sucker for these kinds of things anyways.

There are 100 statements and you bold the ones you have done. Grab it and play for yourself!!

1. Started your own blog 2. Slept under the stars 3. Played in a band 4. Visited Hawaii 5. Watched a meteor shower 6. Given more than you can afford to charity. 7. Been to Disneyland 8. Climbed a mountain 9. Held a praying mantis 10. Sang a solo 12. Visited Paris 13. Watched a lightning storm at sea 14. Taught yourself an art from scratch 15. Adopted a child 16. Had food poisoning 17. Walked to the top of the Statue of Liberty 18. Grown your own vegetables 19. Been an exchange student 20. Slept in an overnight train 21. Had a pillow fight 22. Hitchhiked 23. Taken a sick day when you’re not ill 24. Built a snow fort 25. Held a lamb 26. Gone skinny dipping 27. Run a marathon 28. Ridden in a gondola in Venice 29. Seen a total eclipse (solar) 30. Watched a sunrise or sunset 31. Hit a home run 32. Been on a cruise 33. Seen Niagara Falls in person 34. Visited the birthplace of your ancestors 35. Seen an Amish community 36. Taught yourself a new language 37. Had enough money to be truly satisfied 38. Seen the Leaning Tower of Pisa in person 39. Gone rock climbing 40. Seen Michelangelo’s David 41. Sung karaoke 42. Seen Old Faithful geyser erupt 43. Bought a stranger a meal at a restaurant 44. Visited Africa 45. Walked on a beach by moonlight 46. Been transported in an ambulance 47. Had your portrait painted 48. Gone deep sea fishing 49. Seen the Sistine Chapel in person 50. Been to the top of the Eiffel Tower in Paris 51. Gone scuba diving or snorkeling 52. Kissed in the rain 53. Played in the mud 55. Been in a movie 56. Visited the Great Wall of China 57. Started a business 58. Taken a martial arts class 59. Visited Russia 60. Served at a soup kitchen 61. Sold Girl Scout Cookies 62. Gone whale watching 63. Got flowers for no reason 66. Visited a Nazi Concentration Camp 67. Bounced a check 68. Flown in a helicopter 69. Saved a favorite childhood toy 70. Visited the Lincoln Memorial 71. Eaten cavier. 72. Pieced a quilt 73. Stood in Times Square 74. Toured the Everglades 75. Been fired from a job 76. Seen the Changing of the Guards in London 77. Broken a bone 78. Been on a speeding motorcycle 79. Seen the Grand Canyon in person 80. Published a book 81. Visited the Vatican 82. Bought a brand new car 83. Walked in Jerusalem 84. Had your picture in the newspaper 85. Read the entire Bible 86. Visited the White House 87. Killed and prepared an animal for eating 88. Had chicken pox 89. Saved someone’s life 90. Sat on a jury 91. Met someone famous 92. Joined a book club 93. Bought a House 94. Had a baby 95. Seen the Alamo in person 96. Swam in the Great Salt Lake 97. Been involved in a lawsuit 98. Been to a taping of a TV show 99. Been stung by a bee 100. Read an entire book in one day

You do not know how hard it was for me not to add my own little comments on some of them like:

~Riden in a Gondola - saw people riding in them, but was too cheap to pay for one of my own.

~Slept in an overnight train - I was too afraid to ride in one of those, but I slept in regular European trains

~Seen Michaelangelo's David - I saw the replica in Florence (outside the place where you have to make reservations to see the real one...yeah, didn't know that)

~Visted the birthplace of your ancestors - I have been to the country but not the city. Berlin is still a place we want to go.

~Visted Africa - I saw Africa from the top of The Rock (Gibraltar)

~Sung Karaoke - I won't try, as I'll never be as great a karaoker as Jessi. I can never make some old British people so disgusted that they can't drink their wine with a rendition of "Love Shack".

~Been in a movie - I've been in a "Made by 10th Graders" version of The View, discussing Julius Caesar.

~Been to the top of the Eiffel Tower - went to Paris 3 different times. Went halfway up it once, again, it falls into the "I'm too cheap" category.

~Read the entire Bible - started it so many times. I WILL finish it! I WILL!

~Kissed in the rain - I hate getting wet when I'm fully clothed or not in swimwear, I'll take a covered patio or something instead.

~Saved someone's life - I save Brian's all the time. As does he, me. We kill spiders...that definitely saves each other's lives.

~Met somone famous - tons of people, except that they aren't really famous...or I haven't really met them. The man who owns the Italian restaurant in Big Daddy. The wine instructor/tour guide guy in Romania (hey, he SHOULD be famous!) Being 4 feet from Yoko Ono. Ditto with David Letterman. Brad Paisley and Will Smith have both waved directly at ME. T-Murph (Aggie Football player). Geoff Hangartner (actually, he does play football in the NFL and he sat behind me in Finance at A&M). I've myspace friends with the J-Train (whoo-whoo) Javorski Lane. I have met a guy who has Michael Jordan's number in his cell phone and a signed golf ball of Tiger Woods (if you know anything about golf, you know that Tiger NEVER autographs golf balls).

~Killed and prepared an animal to eat - a fish. I hated every second of it.

~Been involved in a lawsuit - I think I was in a class-action lawsuit with Verizon once. And the DeBeers diamond one (we're still awaiting our cash money, thank you very much).

~Had enough money to be truly satisfied - I am honestly pretty content. I think too much stress comes with having too much money. We're not rich by any means, but I think we're smart with our money and that'll pay off over time.

~Given more than I can afford to charity - very ashamed of myself

~Bought a meal for a stanger - again, ashamed of myself

Ok, I'm done. Peace out, have a great weekend!

Squealy McSquealerson

The title is self-explanatory.

I apologize for having to listen to Brian and I. The video was probably longer than necessary, so feel free to tune out whenever you need to.

Miss Independent

What you see here is Kaylynn holding her own bottle. Intentionally? Doubtful. But still exciting for us.

Kaylynn is working hard, holding her head up. She was excited to enjoy a few minutes outside on Sunday. It was a beautiful day! I am going to research sunscreen so we can spend more time outdoors.

Our crazy kitty, Zoe longs to be outside, dreams about being outside, and often tries to sneak outside. Unfortunately, she's an inside cat. Oh yeah, and I'm almost done painting our bedroom!

And lastly, Miss Independant and Miss Organic! I bought this onesie (and one with veggies on it) when we lived in the UK at Fresh & Wild (Whole Foods, UK-Style), long before baby girl was a twinkle in our eye. I bought two as a gift for friends and just bought two more in the process, just in case. ;)

Guilt

I'm going to admit it and then I am dropping the issue altogether (considering deleting my post, but that wouldn't change the fact that I did write it).

I feel as though I acted rash with my anger regarding the television comment. I needed to take into consideration that this person/people in all actuality have no idea how I live my day-to-day life and were merely making a comment based on a photo they saw.

It just shows you that with emails and blogs, the emotions and inflections in your writing do not come out as if you were talking in person. Had I been talking my blog, it would have been clear to the reading world that I was making a joke, but alas, it didn't come across that way.

Live and learn. That's all I can do or say about it. I apologize for those who read my angry, frustrating words.

...

And one more before I go back to painting. Baby girl is napping with Daddy, so I am taking advantage of a little down time to knock out some chores.

We have the cutest nephew ever! Just wanted to share a sweet picture that I stole from Melissa.

On a Happier Note

I wanted to share a link with those who care to look. A while back, Ashley told me about a blog/website called The Pioneer Woman. Long story about her, but she's a very excellent writer, so her blog becomes addicting. We tried one of her recipes a few nights ago - The Ginger Steak Salad - and it was delicious! So good that we're having it again.

I love that because they are ranchers, they eat a lot of beef. Now some may argue that eating beef is causing global warming, but I do enjoy our home-grown, grass-fed, organic, raised at my parents house beef...that was free. And we have a LOT of it, so her recipes will definitely come in handy!

Thanks Pioneer Woman!

PS - Dad, can we start raising chickens? Organic chicken would be awesome to have. On a second thought, our dogs would probably kill the chickens, so perhaps that is not a good idea.

Clarification

I'm a tad annoyed. I should have realized that sharing things going on in our life would lead to criticism by others. Call me naive, but I just thought people were too busy with their own things to gossip about how others raise their children and lead their lives. I know we're not perfect, but I didn't think we were the only ones who weren't.

That said, WE DO NOT ENTERTAIN OUR CHILD WITH THE TV - our non-LCD HD widescreen, old-school 25 inch boxy TV. Not that it should be anyone else's business if we chose to. The picture taken earlier in the month was staged for comedic affect, but clearly I didn't make it obvious enough. My bad. I shouldn't have to justify our choices to others, but we hardly have the TV on in our house, so much that we have discussed down grading our cable. I hope that's ok with the readers.

Now I know the working mothers/fathers out there (do you exist or am we the only horrible parents out there who has to earn a living so the mortgage can be paid?) would agree with me...not being able to be home with your child all day flat out sucks. Kaylynn goes to bed around 9pm and she and I usually get home between 4:30 and 5:00. Brian gets home around 8:00. If you do the math, that's about 4.5 hrs for me and 1.5 for Brian. This is less than ideal, we hate it, it breaks our hearts to not get to spend every waking minute with her, but in order to provide for her, her needs, and our needs, we have to work. To top that off, Brian has an endless amount of reading to do, notes to take, papers to write, and research to do on top of his already full day. Not only do we not get as much time with her as we'd like, but there is the regular household chores that have to be taken care of...and when you want to spend time with your child, those things get pushed to the back burner (so there's another topic for you to talk about...we can't keep a clean house).

I am sick and tired of being made fun of and criticized for the way we choose to raise our child. Apparently there is nothing we do that is right. Want to use "greener" diapers - hippy. BPA-Free plastics - weirdo. Chlorine-free wipes - ridiculous. Natural laundry detergents - freak. Organic foods - hippy again. Watching the TV for an hour or so at night to find a little bit of relaxation- bad parents. Oh yeah, we use a pacifier on occasion too.

Did I mention that Kaylynn has been hitting all of her developmental milestones, something that can't be done without proper playing, loving, reading, etc?

Please, let me know if I have any more downfalls as a human being. I will do my best to work on them.

I apologize for the rant, but some things just really get to me. Have a lovely weekend, the weather here is awesome and we got our yardwork done early! Yay for free-mulch day in the neighborhood.

Another post

Yeah, I know...two in one day. I just couldn't help but share these sweet photos of my sweet girl. taken just a few minutes ago.

Splish Splash

These were taken on her 3 month birthday. We kept saying we needed to get some bath shots, as she LOVES the bath. Don't worry, the shots are clean, we're not into exposing our little girl. She'll thank us for that one day. :)

And just for good measure...a couple of St. Paddy's Day photos. She was celebrating Grandpap Frink's birthday!! You can't really tell, but she's wearing a little clip in her hair!

by the by

You have to quiet the music player to hear my horrid voice on the videos. I know, I'd rather listen to the likes of Colin Hay before me, too.

Flip

So as an early birthday present (well it was my birthday present, but since I opened it early, early birthday present) mom and dad got me a Flip camera. You know, those tiny little hand held things that take just enough video to capture something short? You wouldn't want to film your child's basketball playoff games with this thing, but its perfect to video Kaylynn's conversations and stuff.

I've just been playing with it a little bit. The worst part is hearing yourself on the video, but oh well. Sometimes you just have to sound like an idiot to get your baby to smile. :)

I have another one, but its not uploading right now, due to an error on the page. It was kinda gross anyways. I better not let Lindsay watch it...

Enough's Enough

Alright folks. It's no secret. I've been a grump lately. Things seem to agitate me faster than normal. I'm tired. So tired. Physically. Mentally.

I'm doing my best to keep things in perspective and not to let things get to me. I'm trying to remain positive. I'm trying to find the good. But when I'm stuck in a classroom of immature idiots for hours everyday, it's hard. Too hard.

It boggles my mind that these people will be lawyers someday (well, some of them will anyway). It's really scary.

One of the local radio DJs asked a caller a simple question the other day: If you could punch one person and get away with it, who would it be? I got to thinking and decided to try to answer.

This question proved to be more difficult to answer than I thought. But eventually I came up with an answer. However, I could not pick just one person. Instead, I decided that I would line up a number of people and hit the first person as hard as I could. They in turn would go flying into the second person, who would then fly into the third person, and so on. Here is my list.

1. Gnatty McGnatterson
The skinny little gnat that invades my space in torts. Here's the deal: we have assigned seats in our class. On the first day, I picked a spot that kind of secluded me. I had two open seats on my right and four open seats on my left. This provided me plenty of space to lay out my notebook, my textbooks and my computer.

The little gnat comes into EVERY class late. Why? Because she is not strong enough to walk up the stairs. She is too lazy to get to the elevators before they get crowded. So she comes in late. All the time. In fact, people in the row in front of me take bets everyday on how late she will be (she was 11 minutes late today). I am not kidding.

About two weeks ago, Gnatty McGnatterson came into class late and, instead of heading to her assigned seat, came to my row. No big deal, right? There were 4 open seats to my left. I still had plenty of space. Except I didn't. Gnatty sat in the seat RIGHT next to me. I had to move my bag and my books so she could sit down. Then she proceeds to start talking to me about what she missed when I'm making my best effort to pay attention to the robotic teacher. THEN she starts copying my notes. THEN she starts making as much noise as she can in an effort to push a piece of gum through the foil packaging (as I mentioned, she is skinny and not strong...there's an inference here...pick up on it).

Gnatty McGnatterson is definitely in line.

2. Tardy McTarderson
This chick is similar to Gnatty in that she comes into every class, every day. Not only that, but she is NEVER prepared. All that does is piss off the professor who in turn gives us more reading/assignments to complete. Fantastic.

Tardy is different than Gnatty in one respect. She doesn't invade my space. She actually heads to her assigned seat. Sure she's late for the same reasons (too lazy to get to the elevators early - heaven forbid you take the stairs), but she's at least respectful enough to try to quietly get to her seat with a somewhat shameful look on her face.

3. Rude People
Oh man, there are so many people to include here. Gnatty McGnatterson falls into this category too. When she comes in late, she doesn't tip toe around. She scrapes her bag along the wall. She slams her books down on the desk. She talks. She distracts. She sits in her seat and throws her half full bottle of water into the trash can, making a HUGE noise. Honestly, I'm to the point where it is nearly impossible from stopping myself from picking her up and throwing her in the trash. But instead, I'll let Frinkenhagen's Line 'o Punishment take care of her.

Also included in this line are the Poppy McPoppersons (there are two or three of them). The Poppys decide that it's necessary to blow bubbles with their gum and make loud popping noises. I mean, seriously? Do people not have manners?

Additionally, there are the clock watchers. The minute the clock hits the end of class time, these people are slamming their books shut, standing up, zipping bags, etc. All this while the professor is wrapping up and indicating the next class assignment and such. And then these watchpeople are pissed when they read the wrong assignment. There are three or four people in this group.

Finally, there is the chick that decides that she needs to leave in the middle of every class. I get it. Some classes are boring. Sometimes you're thirsty. Sometimes you have to go to the bathroom. Fine. No big deal. But if you have to do so, you can at least do so quietly. Not this chick. Nope, she stands up, lets her swivel chair slam against the desk, and struts out of the room like there's no one else there. What a b*tch. She did it today and I almost stuck my foot out to trip her to remind her there were others around. Instead, she joins the que.

4. The Dishonest
Attendance to class is optional. Of course, you can only miss a certain number of classes per semester before you're dropped. How do professors know if you're absent? They take attendance by passing around a sign-in sheet and expect people to honestly sign only their names. This is probably the simplest test of one's ethics. Lawyers are supposed to be ethical creatures, right? Well, some people obviously forget that. There is a small group in the class that have a rotational system in which one person signs in several different people. They think they are clever. They are not. One of the professors is onto them and they are informing the other professors. There is a cloud of distrust over our class now. And what does that result in? More work. Just what I need.

The dishonest are almost at the front of the line...

5. The Know-It-All
This guy is at the front of the line and will take the brunt of the punishment. If there's one thing I cannot stand in this world, it is people that put others down because they think they are better (ironically, is that what I'm doing here? What a hypocrite...). This guy sits near me in almost every class. He thinks he knows the answer to every question yet he doesn't raise his hand. When people ask questions or provide answers to the professor's questions, he leans over to his buddy and says how stupid they are. He sighs all the time. He takes off his glasses and throws them on his desk because he is so disgusted that he has to be in class. He thinks that the professor's lectures are completely pointless (...wait, he may have a somewhat valid point here).

This dude knows it all. Except he doesn't. He is the arrogant a-hole that needs a reality check. I wish I knew what everyone's grades were in the class because I'm sure there are people out there that don't say a word that kicked his butt last semester. But, because he's a know-it-all, I'm sure he has some excuse for his poor performance.

That's my line. Come to think of it, I think it is too long to actually reach the people at the back. ::sigh:: Such is life.

10-4, over and out.

3 Months

Dear Kaylynn,

You are 3 months old today and I can hardly believe it. I'm sure one day you'll get tired of reading how each month/year "I can hardly believe" how old you are or how much you've grown, but it's true. This may have been my hardest month since having you, as I had to leave you with someone else during the day while I go to work. I cried on Sunday, knowing that Monday was the day, then I cried all morning Monday, held it together long enough to drop you off, then bawled all the way to school. 3:50pm could not get here fast enough that Monday (March 2nd, 2009) and I sped home to wait on your arrival. Luckily, you've started getting over the "I'm fussy in the evenings" phase and could not be happier in the afternoons. I keep telling myself that it's because you are so happy to see me. I know you don't know any better right now, but it comforts me and so I'll keep telling myself that, until you are able to grasp the concept of me not being around.

You took your first airplane ride this month and handled it like a pro. You were the model baby (though I think you are all the time) and hardly cried at all. I can't wait to travel with you and take you all kinds of places. I know you will love to travel, as you get it honestly from your Daddy and I.



We got to experience your first "real" laughs this weekend. You had been very close for a couple of weeks, but we were finally able to discern the laugh from the squealing. One day I'm going to get a video camera so everyone else can hear how cute you sound. Daddy had you rolling last night while playing with your feet.



I think bathtime is your favorite part of the day. If you are grumpy or crying, we can take you into that bathroom and as soon as you hear the running water you perk up. Afterwards, you spend a few minutes talking to me, telling me how fun bathtime is. Soon you'll be able to play with all the toys you have!



As I mentioned earlier, you have developed a love for the wall sconces on our wall. You carry on the most in depth conversations with the pieces of metal. I'm always curious what things look like to you and if you actually see wall sconces or if its some crazy alien or animal or something to you. Whatever it is, it makes you happy!



I can't wait to see what happens in the next month, baby girl (I often wonder if we call you "baby girl" too much and if you'll learn that your name is Kaylynn).



Happy 3 Months!



Love,

Mommy

Get a Grip

More pictures...keeping the grandparents happy. Kaylynn will finally grasp other objects besides our fingers (and her soothie). I forced this little telephone rattle into her hand tonight. She happily shook it for a few minutes, then threw it down. She won't pick up anything on her own yet, but she's well on her way.

Just like a woman, always on the phone. :)

And I just think this one is funny. I was sitting on the couch, while Brian and Kaylynn were on the loveseat. She was just sitting there, like a big girl, hanging out with her daddy.

An Affinity

affinity - (noun) a natural liking for or an attraction to a person, place, thing, idea, etc.

Our little girl has a very strong affinity for, get this - a wall sconce. That's right. Our pride and joy LOVES a metal object that hangs on the wall. Once her eyes catch it, she gets the biggest smile on her face, and then she acts all coy by hiding her face into our chest. What a little flirt she is. She can carry on a conversation with this sconce for half an hour.

In fact, I think she's given us her first laughs, while looking at the wall sconce. She definitely takes after Brian and I, as it doesn't take much to keep her entertained. :)

Stevie (the TV)

Kaylynn has discovered TV. I purposely have to hold her facing away from Stevie as she'll just become fixated on it. Now I have a real reason to not watch The Family Guy, Kaylynn doesn't need to be watching that. Seinfeld, now that, I'm ok with. ;)

Honestly, I think it's the pretty lights she likes, because I have her sittin up next to me, facing the computer (and away from Stevie) and she's focused on the screen. The lesser of the evils, huh? When I am home with her, we usually didn't turn on Stevie until around 4pm, so at least she wasn't staring at it ALL day. :)

I'm a horrible mother. It's ok though, it was Jon & Kate +8, a family show!

I took some pictures tonight because my parents were sending me hate mail. :) Here she is practicing sitting up like a big girl. Her shirt says "Daddy 'hearts' me". Boy, does he ever!

I couldn't catch her smiling, but I got her talking. :) I believe she was saying "agaa" which is code for, "When is Daddy coming home, I miss him?"