Abby's Room O' Fun

While I was taking these pictures, I realized how drab Abby's room is! I have not really done much with it except move it in. But I am sharing because I really want some ideas for her "big girl" room.

********

We will probably move her to a big bed within 6 months, but not change the decor until we buy a house. Then it is on!

A view of the whole room.

This is Abby's closet. A whole lotta pink. Note that her giant stroller is in here. 2 reasons: the only other place that we could put it is in our garage/storage unit and also because she has this obsession with pulling clothes off the hangers. This is our "child gate" to keep her from pulling all of her clothes off the hanger.


The infamous toy chest. I am really happy that it is in her room now.


Her changing table. It is pretty bare as she pulls everything off of it.

I also did not get to pick where the crown was hung. I tried to tell Stu that it was too low when he hung it. Now, when we change Abby, she hits it and thinks it is hilarious.


Our reading center. We have about a million books (courtesy of Jess). Abby's absolute favorite "book" is a photo album of about 30 pictures of her 4 months and younger. We have to "read" this book every night. Maybe I should make a new album because momma is running out of stories with this one.

The humidifier is also a must. But that thing condensates like no one's business. So I have an old dish rag under it to try to keep it from destroying the dresser. I can't put it on the floor, Abby is way too curious for that.

Abby's crib. Not too exciting. But I do love the sleigh bed look.

Abby is sitting on a toy that hold blocks normally. She has discovered that she can sit on it and scoot around the room. She also discovered that jumping off of it causes it to fly across the room. Pretty sure there are bruises and falls coming with that.

******

Another book that Abby loves is her numbers book. In it, we count ducks, flowers and marbles. We are still working on the marbles, but she loves to say "Qack, Qack" and "Flow-eey" every time we turn the page.

******

Every night, our dog Ali licks her bed. She works on it for about 20 minutes until she has a significant wet spot going. The first few times, I thought she had peed in it. Nope, just likes to lick it. We have no idea why.

She also will not lay in this bed if even one of her toys is in it. Or if there is a toy, she is as far as humanly (dog-ly?) possible to the point that she is hanging off.

The point of my story is that tonight there were way too many toys in it. So she laid under the coffee table. Eventually Stu and I heard a weird low scratching noise. We look down and this stupid dog is licking the carpet.

I would give millions to know what goes through that dog's head.

The Emmys: Hit and Miss

Oh the first awards show of the season! The Emmys were last night and the fashion was wonderful! I was glued to the TV from 5 to 10 yesterday.

The color of the night was black/navy blue.

********

The HITS:

I have said it before, Heidi can do no wrong. Only Heidi could pull off that short of a dress after having 4 kids. And I am loving that necklace!


I think Claire Danes was probably one of the most beautiful women on the carpet last night. She was absolutely glowing. Her dress was stunning, I loved her make-up, and I think her hair style was casual, yet elegant.


Eva glammed up the black. I like the texture on the bottom.

Very elegant and I love the sash on the back.

I am a huge Sopranos fan, so I am a huge Edie Falco fan. I love that this is age appropriate for her.

I was a little shocked to see Kate Gosselin on the red carpet. For her debut at the awards, I thought that she did very well. She almost (almost) looks like a celebrity.

********

The MISSES:

The misses are always more fun. I can pick apart dresses/looks in a heartbeat.

I was on the fence with this one. I like the edge of this dress, but stand up straight! You are killing the entire dress with your slouch.

I like this one as well and think that it is awesome that she was out a few weeks after giving birth. But I really hate that color.



One of my other maybes. I guess she is young (??) so maybe that is the excuse.

The dress is fabulous, but the eyes!! They really freaked me out!

Oh Tina! You really need a new stylist. This looks like something that a geometry class threw together.

Beautiful, beautiful lady. But why is there a line down the middle of her dress? That is just odd.

Is is just me or does she look like the Red Queen in Alice in Wonderland? Giant head, maybe it was just a bad picture. But my first thought was brush your hair!!! And put on make-up!!!

So wrong on so many levels. The skirt was way too much. The Madonna bra was even more than that. And again with the brushing of the hair.

Similar in color to Amy Poehler's dress. Very drab. I think it looked very prom-ish.

Tell me that is not mesh in the middle. I am pretty sure that it is. And the butt cut with about 10 pounds of product - ugh!

I didn't even have a comment for the dress - I was too overwhelmed with the sight of....the gals! Durn girl, you might be well-endowed, but sometimes understated is better! They are bigger than the gal's head!

Ugly, ugly, ugly. Why the saggy white in the middle? I am confused, is it a white dress/black dress?

*****

But who took the cake?

What the crap is going on at the top of this dress? I think it looks like a sword of armor. I want to touch it, to see if is rock hard. Must be very comfortable.

And I am not a True Blood fan, but I totally think her new hubby is c.r.e.e.p.y. Yes, I know people are all over the age difference and that is not the part that bothers me. He is just very child-molester-ish looking. I'm just saying.

*******

**Disclaimer - I have no fashion sense myself, so take my opinions with a grain of salt.

Fun Times with Great Friends

This weekend, we had Katie's Bridal Shower. I had my camera, but didn't know that I had it, so I don't have any pictures :( I did get to hold the sweetest baby in the world, Ethan, for about a half hour though. Let me just say, I am not used to holding a baby! My arm was trembling!

******

That night, 11 of us went to eat at Tokyo in Smyrna.

Here are some people on the other side of the table. Amber, Teesha, AK, Seth, Randy and the beautiful birthday girl....Amanda!

After dinner, we walked next door to Sullivan's and played pool.




For some reason, my flash temporarily quit working. But if you can't tell, we are all taking celebratory shots! Randy (who started early), Amanda, Me (hidden in the back), Stu up front, Benton, Michelle, and the bride-to-be Katie.



But then the flash started working again!

Michelle, Amanda, Katie and I. Some of the best gals to call friends!

****

Today, we went swimming at my parents neighbors. Abby was exhausted as she has spent the better part of the weekend with Gammy and her cousins.

I still took her swimming though.

Poor gal was so tired....she fell in the pool!! She was on the top step and trying to take a step down and just fell face first into the water. Of course, I was only a foot from her so I grabbed her in about 1 second. It scared her, but after a little loving, she was fine.

I can look back now and laugh about it, but it did scare the crap out of me!

******

For my own bad memory, I will let you know a few of the posts that I have scheduled to write this week.

-Abby's pictures that I finally shared with family.

-Abby's room (gotta clean it first!)

-Tagged questions

-I also wanted to write about some books that I have read recently that I love. I read a new book every couple of days, but a few have stood out that I really love.

-Emmy: Hits and Misses

******

Here's to hoping the week flies by....three day weekend!!!

Blogger Questions

I am up (too) late as Abby has been coughing non-stop. I am heading to bed shortly, but since I had no other ideas to blog about, I'm glad that Heather tagged me for a survey. Sadly enough, I love this type of thing.

****

On to the Questions:

1. What bones have you broken and how did you break them?
The only bone that I have broken is my right second toe. That may not count as a real break, but it hurt. I was on a mission trip with my church youth trip and we were doing home repair in the mountains of East TN. I don't know how exactly I broke it, but I remember it just hurting. Since you can't do much for a broken toe, other that tape it to another toe, I just left it. Ask me about it now and you can see my crooked toe.

2. If you could get any type of plastic surgery what would you get?
Boob.Job. Not anything that anyone would notice except me. Let's just say that after having a baby, the gals are different.

3. What was your biggest fashion mistake?
Oh, I wish I had pictures. I might be able to snag one next time I go to my parents. But I wore boxers. Over my undies and under my shorts. I really have no idea why. It was really not attractive as the top part was above the shorts. I would also have to say giant bows, tight rolled jeans, and scrunchies.

4. How did you find out there was no Santa Claus?
I actually found out about the Easter Bunny first. A neighbor (that had older siblings) informed me of the lies. He made me look in my parents closet where I found a Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle for my brother. I promptly ran to my brother (who really was too young for me to ruin it for him) and told him. My parents had to create a web of lies about how they had bought it for him and the Easter Bunny just happened to get him the same thing. It took me a few weeks, but I then began to question the whole Santa/Tooth Fairy conspiracy.

5. What is the best job you ever had?
I love, love, love my current job for where I am in life right now (28 and college educated). But to be 16-17 and working at Baskin Robbins decorating cakes....it was awesome. Of course, I got paid about $4 an hour, so I would never go back to it now. But if I didn't have to work and didn't want any challenges, I would love to simply scoop ice cream with not a care in the world. Although now, I would probably be bored out of my mind and constantly try to improve on everything.


6. If you could live anywhere in the world, where would it be?
Tuscany, Italy. My all time favorite move is "Under the Tuscan Sun". I think the scenery is beautiful and I would love to wake up each morning, fling open the window, and just bask in the scenery. I have never been to Italy so this is just a movie dream.

7. What reality TV show would you most want to be on?
Warning - Embarrassing. Supermarket Sweep. If you don't know what I am talking about, consider yourself lucky. It is a silly show where contestants run through a supermarket and throw crap into their buggy to see who can get the most groceries. I dream of running through stores and just throwing stuff in the buggy.

Just realized - that is not really a reality TV show, more of a game show. So, I guess my reality show would be Road Rules. I love MTV, I don't think I could do Real World as all they do is get drunk and make out. But at least with Road Rules, there is a purpose and they get to travel.

8. What is your favorite season?
Fall - I love the weather, the pumpkins, hay rides, my birthday, Halloween, the changing colors of the leaves. Everything about it.

*****

It is too late to think much more, but this is a great idea. Check back and Ill think up some questions and tags for mine as well!

Running (Abby not me)

Abby has really started running around the house. And.....it is ugly. We have decided that she has no hopes of becoming a track (or graceful) runner.

But at least she does it with a smile!

********

After her bath, the "ritual" is pj's, brush teeth, brush hair, then a walk. For whatever reason, this is getting harder and harder. As soon as the diaper is on, she is off. Screaming through the house, refusing to brush her teeth. The pj's are a full on battle. Meanwhile, poor Ali is sitting at the front door with her legs crossed.

We are working on it!

********

Day care went better today - no new drama.

Staying Strong

Oh Gawd, it is so hard staying strong for the paci wars!

************

Stu called me irate today because when he picked Abby up from day care, they told him that she had a rash. Apparently, she got it from another boy that was there that was sent home. He wanted to know why we weren't called - they said he had changed his number. Liars, they have my number as well.

He also had to have a talk with them about the inconsistent teacher situation. Every time he drops her off or picks her up, it is a different person. They told him that they were struggling with keeping people, "because people just don't want to work". Don't even get me started on how lame of an excuse that is. And they told us that we can't bring her back if she still has the rash (which she doesn't). You guys are the one that gave it to her!

So anyways, Abby was a little cranky/tired tonight because we had given her Benadryl to help with the rash.

*********

It all starts out innocent enough, pointing towards the paci, saying "Mine? Mine?"

Then the sad puppy dog face.

Moving on to the full blown throwing herself at appliances.

The "Why Do You Hate Me?" stage.

"Oh wait, is that me?"

Then I thought that she was ignoring me - turned out that it was potty time.

The best part of the night was Stu teasing her with the paci. He put it in his mouth backwards and wouldn't let go.

She was distraught - he did eventually give it to her.

The payback for that little game was throwing an entire case of cd's on the floor.

And loving it!

******

As for day care, I am going to start looking into another place here in Smyrna. We have just had so many little issues with the current one. They are very disorganized and can't give straight answers. The few times that I have picked her up, it is closer to 6. So when I go to her "room" she is not in there and I have to hunt her down in whatever room they have corralled all the leftover kids in. I can't tell you how mad that makes me.

The Real Housewife

Isn't she going to be such a cute little housewife one day?

Not that she has to be a housewife...she can be anything that she wants! (Ignore the alien dog, she wanted in the picture too)

But I can just see her in her apron (thanks again, Julie!) all grown up.

************
So, we have this neighbor that is about 50-60. She reminds me of that little ole lady in There's Something About Mary - SUPER TAN with neon yellow hair. I am pretty sure that she is at the pool every day.

But the worse part is that she wears an itty bitty purple bikini - with a long ago Mommy gut that you just can't help but stare at. And she walks around barefoot (barefoot! In the parking lot - Ugh!). When she is not in her infamous bathing suit, she is in a daisy dukes with a tiny tank that showcases her beautiful abs. It is quite the scene.

The point of my story is that she is finally moving! She has the most gigantic moving truck parked in about 5 of the 10 spaces that we have for our whole building. And her entire redneck family helping her (think shirtless, beer guzzling, cussing men). It has been a nightmare, but I am hoping they are out soon!

********

Tonight again, Abby was holding on to that paci. She wanted her milk so I offered to hold her paci. She sat down, put it between her legs, pointed at me and said "No!". Then drank her milk with one eye on me and one eye on the paci.

So possessive!

Oh Happy Days!!

All of you (OK, my whole three readers), were right!

My 'lil brother is engaged!

Check out that bling. The picture does not even do it justice. I got to see it in person today and the shine was blinding!

And I am pretty sure that Jess is happy about it!

I let JD borrow my camera for the occasion, since Jess' had stopped working. I was quite shocked at the amount of cat pictures on it. (Lol, there were really only a few, but it still cracked me up)

The newly engaged couple!

And Abby really is excited about it, even though her face doesn't show it!

*********

We are so thrilled to have Jess join the family (even though she already felt like a part of it). Of course, now I am bugging them about a date (less than 24 hours later). But I am so excited for Abby to have an Aunt. She already has 3 uncles, but an Aunt is def. needed!

***********

Other than this, we had a pretty low key weekend. Next weekend is my BFF's birthday and Katie's bridal shower - can't wait!

What a Message!

We're Tying the Knot!!! More details to come - celebrate tonight! Love you!

**********

Can't wait to share who this message came from!!!

Lazy Nights

I have had a migrane the past two nights/days, so I have been pretty much doing nothing the past two nights. So not too much to report on!

Abby had a high temperature at day care today and was pretty tired tonight as well. About 7:05, she walked in her room and pointed at her bed until I put her in there. She laid right down and I never heard another peep. I just checked on her and she was out cold!!

But I did manage to get this shot during bathtime. She loves her baths (today, it changes daily).

Look at all that hair!

Glad tomorrow is Friday - I love the weekends!