Summertime Resolutions August Update

Here's the latest update on the Summertime Resolutions~August style! :)
(I backdated the post, so it would be in the right month!) hehe-I hope that's not cheating!

Read, Read, Read: I read 3 books this past month-yes, school threw quite a wrench into my reading time! The first book I read was Comanche Moon by Larry McMurtry. The first 2/3's of the book was really good I thought, but the last 1/3 felt a bit forced like the author was trying to hurry up & tie up any loose ends by skipping ahead several years at a time. He just didn't put as much detail into it as he had in the first parts & in the first book in this series Dead Man's Walk. Overall, though it was okay & I now have the huge Lonesome Dove book awaiting its turn to be read. The second book I read was Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Askaban by J.K. Rowling. Finally, this book started feeling a little bit less like I was reading a children's book & the loose ends were not all neatly tied up at the end. It left me in suspense to start reading the next book, but I'll have to wait for my sister to give me the next copy until then I'll just have to keep reading some of my books that have been waiting so patiently... I will say that it was a good story & I still don't really "get" what all the craze was about with these books specifically, but I am glad that it got more kids reading. The third book I read was Loved By Choice: True Stories That Celebrate Adoption by Susan Horner & Kelly Fordyce Martindale. It contained many true life stories that I could identify with as an adoptive mother about many different types of adoption. It also contained stories from birthmothers, grandparents, etc that I like reading because it helps & challenges me to broaden my perspective & to put myself in their shoes for a bit. I am glad that I am able to do this because I think that it will only help me to be a better mother for Luke down the road. The only think I didn't care for much in with this book was that several things did seem to be "sugarcoated" a bit for the reader. I'm not sure that it would give a prospective adoptive parent or birthparent a completely "realistic" viewpoint of what it is really like during that relinquishment period of time & it does contain a lot of "God" language. Personally, I do believe that he does play a huge role in everything, but I don't necessarily like having it 'shoved' in my face as I'm reading about their experiences & I do think it would turn away some potential readers. I would recommend it though if you are thinking about going through the process or if you are close to someone who has dealt with it in some way.

Exercise: I am ashamed to admit that I have completely fallen off of this one this month. :( With trying to get adjusted back to all of my "new" routines with school starting back up again-exercising fell to the wayside. Fortunately, I am going to try to start anew this week. I will be attempting to get up early to get my exercise in before starting my day. I will keep you posted on my progress.

Get my house in order: Luke's bathroom & the 1/2 bath survived their intense cleaning sessions marvelously & then I moved on to the kitchen. Who would have thought that one room could throw such a monkey wrench into things? I have started to get it back on the top of my things to do & only have the stove, frig, & floor left to clean "really well" before I can scratch this room off my list...until next time that is. I think I'm moving on to the Guest Bedroom after this-it should be like taking a cleaning vacation for a little bit! :)

Photos: I did finally get pictures printed out & ordered this month from about the first 4-5 months of Luke's life, but with a new camera in my hands I have a feeling that I better start making a better effort working with my pictures before I'm too far behind. Yikes!

Being back to work now, I am going to 'tweak' my goals just a bit.
1. Read, Read, Read: I'm going to try to read only about 3 books a month, since I will be reading a multitude of children's books for my job.
2. Exercise: I'm going to try to get myself back into some good, healthy routines.
3. House: Keep doing what I've been doing only more diligently.
4. Photos: Get my photos edited, printed, & handed out to people in a more timely fashion & try to get back to scrapbooking more!

Happy Happy Day!

It has finally arrived-today is Luke's 1st Birthday!!!!
The official birthday party isn't until tomorrow afternoon though, but have no fear we have already begun partying. Our calendar is overflowing this weekend it seems! :) Last night, we all went to my sister's house to celebrate Luke's cousin's 1st birthday (that's right-she's only 2 days older than him-which has made for some very special times over the past year). It was fun to watch her open all of her presents too. She was very excited by some of them, but about 1/2 way through she really didn't care anymore so her big sister (age 2) took over for her. :)
On today's agenda is Luke's uncle's graduation party at the in-law's. He has graduated from pharmacy school & is officially a full-fledged pharmacist (a little scary that we can now call him "doctor") :) so we will be at Grandma & Grandpa's house all day (& I need to get baking-Yikes!!!) celebrating with them.
Which brings us to tomorrow & Luke's party. Am I completely ready? No, not quite yet, there are still several things that need to be done, but I'm going to try to make the time to get them done without feeling way overstressed about it. As long as everyone (especially Luke) enjoys themselves, I will consider it a success & I just keep thinking that if I can make it to Monday-at least I can rest then! Thank goodness for national holidays & a clear schedule (for one day anyway)!!! Enjoy your weekend, however you choose to celebrate!

Tuesday's Ten: Favorite Games

I'm always up for a game be it cards or a board game, so here are some of my favorites.

1. Pinochle (look out for marathon sessions of this card game when celebrating holidays with my mom's sisters & my cousins!
2. Euchre (makes for some fun card parties over those long winter months)
3. Sequence (great combo of strategy & cards!)
4. Cranium (I always like games that combine "smarts" with silliness)
5. Trivial Pursuit (this has been one of my faves ever since I guessed "Toilet Paper" as an answer to a question in college & it was RIGHT!) :)
6. Phase 10 (I LOVE this game & it's 2-3 hour rollar coaster sessions-if you play it how the directions say to!)
7. Uno Attack (gotta love a game with a machine that might spit cards out at you)
8. Up & Down the River (kind of a long card game, but my Grandma & Grandpa taught it to me so it's always been special to me)
9. Bullsh*t (I haven't played this in years, but I always loved trying to pull one over on somebody in this card game)
10. Mad Gab (It's kind of fun listening to people talk like they're drunk & then trying to figure out what they're saying to you)

Feel free to list any games you like that I don't have on my list. I always like checking them out-they can make great gift ideas! :)

What NOT to say

Recently, I learned that a couple I know just found out that they were expecting a baby (pregnant) after just having adopted a baby the previous month. Their children will only be 10 months apart. This is the second couple I know from around the same area who have had this happen to them. They had both dealt with inferility (the first couple I mentioned were dealing with secondary infertility, in their case-they had already had 2 children biologically & were having trouble trying to become pregnant a third time) so they both may continue to deal with infertilty in the future even though they did happen to get pregnant once before. Having been through infertility & adoption, I've learned that a big part of both of these issues is EDUCATION! So today's lesson is about a couple of things not to say to people when you've learned they're adopting/have adopted a child.

#1: "Now that you've adopted, you'll probably get pregnant!"
That would be a big N-O, NO! Many people think that this is a true statement because it has happened to someone that they know. This is why I mentioned the people above. I know them-that is 2 couples I know that this has happened to. How many couples/people do I know altogether? LOTS!!! I read somewhere one time that this statement is actually only true in about 5% of cases, so think about all of the people who have adopted & then think about how many 5% of them would be-it's not very many people. Now think about all of the people who probably know those same 2 couples that I know-when they make the comment above-they are all probably thinking of these very same 2 couples. That's why people think it happens all of the time-because they know someone who it has happened to, but they are all probably thinking of the same couple! Makes sense once you think about it, doesn't it. :)
Another reason I think that this statement is so ridiculous is because their are also many other types of people who adopt & someone would never even think to say it to them. For instance, I have 3 aunts who have all adopted their children (via the foster care system) & no one has ever said to them "Watch out! You might just get pregnant now that you have adopted!" Why? Because each one of them is SINGLE! It would be a very inappropriate statement to make to them & it falls into that same category for the rest of us too.

#2 "Once you get that baby home you'll probably relax & get pregnant" or in the scenarios above "They probably relaxed after adopting that baby & got pregnant"
Again another N-O, NO! All I have to say about this one is-who in their right mine is "relaxed" with a newborn at home! Between sleep deprivation, worrying about when they're going to sleep/eat/poop/wake up, if you're making the right choices, extra laundry, etc (the list could go on & on) who is relaxed. I certainly wasn't! Relieved to finally have our baby home with us after years of waiting-certainly! Relaxed-not quite so much! Plus, I've never ever learned in any of my biology classes that 'relief' equals easier conception. Sorry folks-it just doesn't work that way.

So the next time you hear of someone adopting or adopting & then becoming pregnant, just say "Congratulations!" or "Wow! What a wonderful event!" & keep in mind that the above statements although well intentioned I'm sure-are not accurate (& may not be appreciated either.) If you slip up every once in awhile though, that's okay-it happens-just smile & move on! ;)

I just can't fight those frizzies anymore!

I have been blessed with hair that will curl beautifully on it's own (when it's long enough) &/or easily when using a curling iron. It can hold it's curl all day long without missing a beat if I ask it to, but when it comes to straightening it-now that's a whole other ordeal! I love wearing my hair straight, but it used to be such a hassle to get it looking okay. Oh yes, the hair would straighten, but then of course I was left with walking around looking like I was wearing a bush on my head because of all the frizziness. This would inevitably lead to me pulling it back into a ponytail or disguising it is some other fashion. Until the past year or so, I can easily say that "my hair was not my friend!" Then came the discovery of affordable 'curling hair gel' that actually kept my hair from frizzing when I would let it air dry/be curly. This helped alot & made for easy hair days, but it still did not solve the problem of straightening my hair. I can thank my sister for turning me on to a thing called 'hair wax'. I LOVE it! (Disclaimer: I always tell my friends that I am like a middle school kid when it comes to doing my hair. Why? Because for some reason there are alot of these products that I have never heard of or have never really learned how to use so when I do figure them out-I get very excited now at age 27! My mom never really had to use any & doesn't wear makeup so I missed out on learning these things from her & when I did 'experiment' with hair products on my own-somehow I just never got the hang of them until now!) :) I have also recently finally gotten to a hair length that I find managable to work with & really like (except it does need to be longer if I ever want to go back to wearing it naturally curly all of the time). It is just the perfect length to straighten quickly (with my hair wax & flat iron for that nice "smooth" look) & not feel like I am spending alot of time messing with it. That is until today! I have been straightening my hair faithfully each morning since school started back up (during the summer time-I could really care less if I mess with my hair much) & it has been going well, but then this morning I got up & looked out the window. RAIN!!! I didn't even try to put up a fight! I just scrunched in the faithful curling gel & headed out the door. I wasn't going to waste my time & effort just to walk outside & watch my hair slowly explode into a massive ball of frizz!

Where, Oh Where Has My Little Baby Gone?

He's growing up!
Yes, I knew the day was coming, but I still wasn't prepared for it even after working with him to finally get to this point. On Saturday (yes, this is the post you were supposed to have gotten that day if you've read this), Scott put Luke down for a nap, but the child decided he didn't really need a nap yet so he decided to cry instead. Well, after a few minutes, Scott went to check on him & all I heard was "Hey Anita! Come check this out." (I should have known that I was in for a rude awakening at this point, but I'm a bit slow sometimes.) Well, what should I see when I get to Luke's door-he was STANDING UP in his crib-Yikes! I was a little surprised to say the least. Now I know he has been trying to do this for a couple of weeks now, but it was still a little shocking for me to actually see him doing it. Some of you may be thinking "What is wrong with this lady?", but here's a little bit of the back story.
Luke has had some delays when it comes to some of these milestones, thus he has been receiving some therapy the past couple of weeks to help him get "jumpstarted" again you could say. Well, they told me that he would probably take off pretty quickly once they started working with him, but hearing the words is definitely A LOT different then seeing it actually happening right before my own eyes. So after 11 months of walking into his room when he's crying/waking up/playing in his crib & ALWAYS seeing him lying on his back to do these things-it's quite a change to my world walking into his room seeing him sitting up one weekend & then walking into his room seeing him standing up only a few days later. (A lady needs time to adjust!) :) Needless to say, time does not stand still (although I wish it could sometimes) & neither does Luke anymore so I'll just have to get myself ready for the next big adventure-Toddlerhood!!!

Garden Party Frock GIVEAWAY!!!!

Garden Party Frock GIVEAWAY!!!!

Tuesday's Ten: Typos

As I'm typing my posts, inevitabely, I have typos. Many times my typos are from me repeating a letter in a word too many times, so here are some words that have a totally different meaning when you misspell them by doubling up a letter that shouldn't be doubled. Feel free to add any others that you can think of & Enjoy!

1. should be "popped" not "pooped"
2. should be "as" not "as*"
3. should be "wed" not "weed"
4. should be "bob" not "boob"
5. should be "hot" not "hoot"
6. should be "fred" not "freed"
7. should be "bet" not "beet"
8. should be "ref" not "reef"
9. should be "son" not "soon"
10. should be "rot" not "root"

It's kind of fun to see what words you can come up with when you sit & think about it! :)

Away too Long

I've been away from here for too long! I've missed writing, but alas I do have my reasons (none of them are too spectacular.)
First of all, I have had a touch of the "blogger's block" over the past week of so. I just wasn't really too inspired by anything, thus, nothing to write. Not that I didn't try to come up with something-it all just felt too forced & uninteresting to me (so I wasn't going to make you all suffer for it. :)
Second of all, the universe was conspiring against me! I actually tried to start a post on Saturday, but then the computer popped up with some kind of weird message. I had to call in the "expert" (Scott) to check it out, which led to him spending hours upon the computer. (Don't worry-the computer was fine-he just figured out that there were things he wanted to do on the computer & therefore-it was late before I could get back on it (sorry I wasn't going to stay up late typing-I have been suffering from sleep deprivation from staying up too late all week watching many of the athletic events).
Finally, it helped to make for a nice little post telling you all about why I couldn't post in the first place! ;)
Don't worry-I'll try to do better this week so that you don't have to suffer through anymore posts like this one! :)

Tuesday's Ten

I've decided to come up with a theme each Tuesday & make a list of 10 things to go with that theme (I'm hoping that it should make for some easy posting!) ;) If you'd like to play along, leave your list in the comments section of this post (or if you have a blog, you can leave a link)-sorry, it's not a contest so there will be no prizes. :( But thanks for reading! In honor of the Olympics, the theme is "My Favorite Summer Olympic Events"

1. Anything swimming
2. Gymnastics
3. Beach Volleyball
4. Sprinting races during track & field
5. Indoor Volleyball
6. Badmiton
7. Diving
8. Decathlon
9. Table Tennis
10. Rowing

If You Want to Go to School...

When: This past Saturday night
Who: Me & my nephew, Wyatt
What: A conversation

Wyatt: Hey Nea! (that's how he says my name-cute, I know!)
Me: What Wyatt?
Wyatt: Hey Nea (yes, he's a little redundant at times, but give him a break-he's only 3) Do you want to go to school, Nea?
Me: Yes, Wyatt!
Wyatt: Maybe when you & Scott get bigger, you can go to school, & then you can get fruity snacks!
Me: Oh Wow! Really!
Wyatt: Yeah Nea!
Me: Am I big enough yet?
Wyatt: Oh no, Nea! You have to get much bigger to go to school. [Oh Lord-I hope not, but I am glad to hear that he thinks I'm not 'big' yet! All 6 foot of me!] :)

(At this point Wyatt ran off to play & then I called his named & wiggled my finger for him to come back.)

Me: Hey Wyatt! Guess what?
Wyatt: What, Nea?
Me: I'm actually going to go to school on Monday! Do you believe that?
Wyatt: (laughing) Oooh Nea, you're silly-you're not big enough to go to school yet!

So, needless, to say, he didn't buy it, but I did indeed start work at school today (big enough, or not) & I didn't get any fruity snacks either! Maybe I should look into going to his school...

One Baby Demolition Crew

Memo

To: Luke, Demolition Baby

Task: Destroy anything that looks nice, neat & organized!

Re:Memo

From: Luke, Demoliton Baby

Task Completed! Stacking rings-unstacked (check); Books in basket-thrown out of basket (check); toys neatly arranged-knocked 'em down (check); magazines in basket-attempted to fling from basket, but intercepted by lady who calls herself "Mom"(will keep trying); DVD's & videos on shelves-pulled off onto floor (check); magnetic toys on fridge-strewn across floor, heard tall person step on one & say "Ouch!" (check); & finally, plant in corner-attempting to pull all of the leaves off-mildly successful, however, the subjects are becoming smarter & now have it barricaded (will find another way somehow!)

Hoping to have better luck in future as I continue to perfect this whole crawling/walking thing.

Let the Games begin!

8.08.08

That date means it is time for the Olympics to begin again! Hooray! I love the Olympics (especially the Summer Olympics!) At my house growing up, they were kind of a big deal. We didn't really do anything special in regards to them, but you could bet that each day & night we'd be watching them for the 2 weeks they were on TV. If we were home, we'd always watch the first night of the opening ceremonies followed by the first week of gymnastics & swimming. Then came the second week, which of course kept us tuning in because they switched it up by starting the track & field events! It was great getting to cheer on the U.S. & hearing the National Anthem when we won the gold. As a little kid, I was always enrolled in gymnastics & swimming lessons over the summer months too, so my sisters & I would often pretend to be doing the events as well. (*Note-having parents who are 5'10" & 6'3" means that you're probably not going to be an Olympic gymnast hopeful someday-but we didn't really give that much thought!) I even remember being on vacation a couple of times when the Olympics were going on & watching it on the TV in the hotel room & then "racing" in the hotel pool later that day or the next. Another aspect I always liked too was all of the history the commentators give you about the Olympics & the country that is hosting. They can definitely make any place sound appealing. I also love the "stories" they tell about the competitors & things people want to be an Olympic event (like Bridge-the card game). Of course, they always talk about the big stars of that particular games, but they will also tell you about the "random" competitors from these little countries who probably don't have much of a chance to win their event, but who cares-you find yourself cheering for them anyway!

I thought all of this was pretty normal behavior until I was going on about it to Scott this week & he's like "Well it wasn't really that big of a deal-we'd watch it some." What? You mean to tell me that all families weren't scanning the paper each day to see which country had the most medals & gold medals (hopefully the U.S.!) Then as I was having dinner with some friends-someone asked what the date was & I responded "Oh, tomorrow is 8-08-08, that means the Olympics are starting!" This resulted in a discussion about how they didn't really watch them that much maybe a little bit of the ice skating during the winter Olympics. This resulted in me listing a few of the events I like from the winter games & when I mentioned the luge & curling-they burst out laughing at the fact that I knew my "Olympic terminology". What?! I thought these were common terms in everyone's household! :) What can I say? I'm an Olympic nerd & proud to be one, so if you don't mind I think I'll go watch some swimming or gymnastics or rifle shooting or softball or beach volleyball or equestrian or weightlifting or......... (well, you get the picture!) ;)

Oh the Places You Could Go

Short & Sweet today! Since I like to make lists, I thought I'd make one about 10 places I'd like to see at some point in my lifetime. Feel free to add your own suggestions.

1. Niagra Falls-I've heard it's beautiful, plus I could travel abroad-all the way to Canada! :)
2. Germany-Many of my ancestors came from this country back in the 1800's & I've always thought it would be neat to go back to the land of my roots.
3. Italy (more specifically, Rome)-What can I say-I love their food! Also, being aCatholic, Rome has always appealed to me as well-so I guess you could say I'd like to get back to the land of my religious roots (are you sensing a theme here!) :)
4. U.S. Virgin Islands-those of you who know me in real life may remember that Scott & I went here on our honeymoon & I'd love to get back here at least one more time-they are just so beautiful!
5. Grand Canyon-not as excited about this one, but I'm sure that I will see it at some point because Scott always talks about going there & how amazing it was.
6. Hawaii-it sounds so fascinating with it's tropical places, volcanoes, & beaches.
7. Australia-I remember when the Olympics were there a few years ago-it seemed like such a pretty place & I'd never pass up the chance to see a kangaroo! :)
8. Great Wall of China-again, another Scott idea that I can say I wasn't too thrilled about, but after helping 3rd graders learn about it last year-it does sound intriguing
9. California-never been & it's a LOOONG way from Illinois, but it looks like fun & a place where you can experience a lot of different types of settings (coastal, mountains, etc.) without traveling too far.
10. Disney World-again, never been, but I would always beg my mom & dad to go, however, I think my mom had been once or twice already & wasn't too thrilled about going back so this one is definitely a childhood "dream" never fulfilled :)

He's a big boy now!

Luke has finally pulled up all by himself! Some of you might be thinking-well isn't the child almost 1-& you would be correct, but Luke has had a few motor delays in recent months, so this is a BIG deal at our house. Now he has been able to pull up with our fingers for quite some time & we have tried not to intentionally help him with our fingers, but how do you know for sure that you are not helping "just a little bit". We don't really have any lower lying furniture that he can practice with (safely) regularly either, so our hands have had to step into that role. On Friday, I was lying on the floor doing my Pilates video & when I flipped over to my side to do the leg lifts-I heard Luke scooting across the floor towards me. I didn't think too much of it, since that is what he normally does so that he can play with my ponytail, but all of a sudden I felt his two little hands on my hip & with some effort (& me lying very still)-Luke pulled himself into standing. Needless to say, I was very excited for him (& a little upset at the fact that my hips are just the right height for this) :) Then on Saturday, while I was putting away laundry-Luke did it again, but this time he was in a bit more difficult position. I had about 4 baskets of laundry to put away so I put him on our bed with 3 of the (now empty) laundry baskets stacked together in front of him, while I emptied the last basket. I hadn't really thought about him pulling up with them, but all of a sudden there he was standing (this time with NO help from any body parts!) I, of course, was happy about this feat again & found it fairly impressive because of the "wobbliness" of the mattress combined with the wobbling of the laundry baskets while he was pulling up. So now that the "big" guy has figured out what he can do, there is no stopping him. He constantly wants to be pulling up & trying to walk. Unfortunately, he is trying to get just a little too ahead of himself because apparently he thinks that pulling up means that you also don't really need to hold on to anything either to start walking or you only really need to use 1-2 fingers, which really freaks out Mommy (since she understands something that he doesn't-you've got to have some balance first!)

Life ain't always beautiful

I heard the song Life Ain't Always Beautiful by Gary Allan the other day & it really stuck me. It has a great message for anyone struggling with something difficult in their life. Because hindsight is 20/20, I can look at the words & see how it really does reflect my journey through infertility/adoption very well, especially the first part up through the chorus. I can say that the same holds true (for me anyways) for other tragedies/disappointments that have occurred in my life. I think the lines "Life can knock you down, it can break your heart" & "And happiness has it's own way of takin' it sweet time" just about say it all. So anyone out there struggling through a problem, just hold on-it does get better & one day I hope you can look back & say that it was indeed a "beautiful ride".

Here are the lyrics, in case you don't know the song:
Life ain't always beautiful
Sometimes it's just plain hard
Life can knock you down, it can break your heart


Life ain't always beautiful
You think you're on your way
And it's just a dead end road at the end of the day


But the struggle makes you stronger
And the changes make you wise
And happiness has it's own way of takin' it sweet time


[chorus]
No,life aint always beautiful
Tears will fall sometimes
Life aint always beautiful
But it's a beautiful ride


Life aint always beautiful
Some days I miss your smile
I get tired of walkin' all these lonely miles


And I wish for just one minute
I could see your pretty face
Guess I can dream, but life dont work that way


But the struggles makes me stronger
And the changes make me wise
And happiness has it's own way of takin' its sweet time


No, life aint always beautiful
But I know I'll be fine
Hey, life aint always beautiful
But its a beautiful ride
What a beautiful ride

Wholesome Country Songs

I love music & I grew up listening to mostly country (my parents believe that most of the other forms of music are just "noise" except maybe polka & oldies, which I also like). Although, I have grown quite fond of most other forms of music, since being introduced to them somewhere around junior high, Country music still holds a very special place in my heart. I like it all, but especially the "old" country & being the naive person that I am-I held the belief that country music is more "wholesome" than other forms of music (i.e. rap, rock n roll, etc.) However, (& my former college roommates can attest to this) as an adult, I have come to realize that a lot of the country songs out there are very "dirty" & personally, I love "dirty" songs! Back in the college days, it seemed like I would come back to school fairly often just having found out that one of the "old" songs I had heard over the weekend was actually implying something other than what the literal words were saying. (Trust me, my former roommates had several good laughs over my naivety!) This all came back to me this week while Luke & I were "kitchen dancing" & the song Don't Call Him A Cowboy by Conway Twitty came on the radio. I hadn't heard it for quite some time, but oh my was I surprised (granted I know that lots/most of his songs are "dirty", but it had been awhile since I heard this one.) Of course, I thought it was quite clever-check out the lyrics for yourself.

So you came from New York city
And you want to see the sights
You've heard all about those cowboys
And those crazy Texas nights
I see you've got your eye on something
Leaning on the bar
But the toughest ride he's ever had
Was in his foreign car

Chorus:
So don't call him a cowboy
Until you've seen him ride
'Cause a Stetson hat and those fancy boots
Don't tell ya what's inside no
And if he ain't good in the saddle
Lord, you won't be satisfied
So don't call him a cowboy
Until you've seen him ride

He's the Hollywood idea
Of the wild and woolly west
In his french designer blue jeans
And his custom tailored vest
You think he's the real thing
But I think you oughta know
He can't even make it through
A one night rodeo. No.

Speaking of horses & saddles-one song that I do remember only "figuring out" in college is I've got the Horse (She's got the Saddle) by Mel Tillis & have since then always claimed it as "my song" because the implications were so obvious (even in the title) that I should have caught on years before! What can I say, I'm a little slow sometimes!!!

What does your future hold?

I sometimes like to ponder on what Luke might do when he grows up. I watch the things he does & try to figure out what career might best suit him. Here are some things I have come up with...

Plumber/Electrician-what can I say-he's pretty fascinated with running water-sinks, bathtubs, toilets, etc.

Priest-every time we pray-he stops whatever he's doing & watches us very intently until we say "Amen", plus he LOVES his praying bear.

Plastic surgeon/personal trainer-Luke has a great "pincher" grip that he likes to use to grab that "arm flab" so I figured he may either try to talk people into getting rid of it by cutting it off or my working it off.
Doorman-He loves shutting doors-refrigerator, microwave, cabinet doors & actually waits for you to get whatever it is you want or need before he SLAMS it shut.
Book reviewer-I'm happy to say that my kid loves books & if it continues maybe he can get paid to read (& let mommy borrow his books too!)
Bus Driver-The way he is able to maneuver the walker around (forward, reverse, U-turn) I have no doubt that he may be able to do the same thing with a bus down the road, especially when I see him holding onto the flower mirror that stands upright off the front of the walker like he would hold a steering wheel as he moves around. :)

That'll do for now, but I'm sure that I'll have other ideas down the road as he continues to grow & change so stay tuned!

Fields of Gold Frock GIVEAWAY!!!!

I love this lady's site-she is always giving away free clothes that she has made, unfortunately most of it is girls' clothes, but if I win-I might have some lucky nieces! :)
Fields of Gold Frock GIVEAWAY!!!!