Small Talk Six

It's been awhile since I've done one of these! I'm still suffering from writer's block, so I thought this might get my brain working again.

This weeks topic is "6 famous people you would love to have dinner with."

1. It it too cliche to say Jesus? I'm pretty sure He would be the most amazing dinner guest EVER!










Anyone after Jesus just seems a bit silly, doesn't it? But, I still have 5 more to go...





2. Annie Oakley would be another cool person to have dinner with. I have always been fascinated with her. One of the first biographies I ever read was about Annie Oakley.









3. On a personal note, I'd love to have my great-grandparents over for dinner. I love family history and it would be so neat to pick their brains about my ancestry.




4.I would also love to have dinner with Bill Gates. I'm pretty sure I could convince him to throw a couple of million our way. I mean, he's got loads of money and he likes to give to charity. If nothing else, I bet the food would be REALLY good!






5.Cinderella. This one isn't for me, obviously. Adelae would FLIP if Cinderella showed up at our door.








6. Cleopatra is my final dinner guest. I am absolutely fascinated with her. I would love to hear all of her stories first hand.

Letters of Intent

Dear Girl Scouts:

I love your delicious cookies. I love your Thin Mints. I love your ThanksALot. I love them all! I would buy cases upon cases of your delicious cookies, if I could afford it. I will most likely go bankrupt buying your cookies since you keep raising the prices. I only bought 5 boxes this year instead of my usual 6. I'm already freaking out because we only have two boxes left! Maybe you could consider having a summer time cookie sale? And maybe another in the fall? I need my Girl Scout Cookie fix!!!


Sincerely,
A Girl Scout Cookie Addict

It's not fun

I've been suffering from writers block lately. I have all these fantastic posts that are in my brain, but just can't seem to transfer to the screen. As a result, my blog is littered with half written posts. Sigh...Such is life I suppose!

I did have a fabulous day of taking two kids to the doctor and running errands all by myself last week. That was fun. Or not. Depending on if you like lugging two kids around by yourself. I've decided that I don't really like it all that much. I think I'll save the mall for when Ben's with us.

Brinna's been on a sleeping strike the last week or so. She has decided that sleeping is over rated. That's fun. Or not. Mostly not. The other night I was so exhausted I had to take a nap just so I had the energy to climb the stairs to go to bed.

Adelae has also decided now that she's 3 that she doesn't need any help with anything. She's also under the impression that she makes the rules. That's fun. Or not. I spend my days saying things over and over and over again. Mental note to self, you really can't reason with a 3 year old.

Ben's working a ton, as usual, so he is just exhausted. That is also fun for me. Or not. Depending on if you like to only see your husband for a few hours a day. It's not really fun for him either though, so I guess we're even.

Winter is still here. That's fun. Or not. We all have a bad case of cabin fever. It's just warm enough that we could go out and play if the yard wasn't a muddy mess. I'm so ready for sunshine and warmth.

Wordless Wednesday--Birthday Style

Proudly proclaiming "I'M THREE!"



Beautiful green Tinker Bell cake



Her favorite presents. They were from Daddy and Mommy of course.



Brinna looking very cute for her big sister's birthday party.



My big girl wearing her new favorite outfit.




For more Wordless Wednesday head on over to 5minutesformom.

My how you've grown!

I can't believe my baby turns THREE today! She's grown up so much in the last year. She's a bona fide BIG GIRL now!

Letters of Intent

Dear person that hit my dog:
You suck. I realize that it's not entirely your fault that you hit our Annie. I know that she likes to chase cars and most likely just got too close. That said, you could have at least stopped. It honestly wouldn't have made that much of a difference, but still, it's the humane thing to do. Also, you were driving way too fast for the road conditions. I think had you been a responsible driver, you wouldn't have hit her as hard and she wouldn't have died. Then I wouldn't have to explain to my almost 3 year old why her doggie is never coming back.

Sincerely,

A devastated pet owner


Dear PBS,

Thank you for all your fabulous childrens programming. We adore Super Why, Dinosaur Train and Sesame Street. I don't feel bad letting my child watch them because they actually teach her things.

Sincerely,
The mother of a way too smart almost 3 year old.

Need to see more letters? Head on over to Foursons and check 'em out!

Farewell Sweet Annie

Our Annie got hit by a car today. She suffered several internal injuries and we had little choice but to send her on her way to heaven. We loved our dog. She had the sweetest temperment. Annie could often be found cuddling up with our herd of cats, chasing cars, playing fetch and waiting at the back door for us to toss her our leftovers. She was a favorite of our neighbors and the garbageman. Even the mailman was known to throw her a treat every once in awhile.
When I noticed Annie was injured, I brought her in the house and the first thing she did was curl up on the floor next to Brinna. The only way Annie would sit is if Adelae was next to her. I've heard of animals snapping at people when they are injured. Not our Annie. She just wanted her favorite girls next to her. I think she was telling us all goodbye in her own special way.
Ben rushed Annie to the animal hospital, but there was nothing that could reasonably be done. He held her as she passed. Ben said that she was a good girl right up until the end. As she passed, he told how much we all loved her. Ben said he could tell that she understood and he felt that she was ready to go. Annie was the best dog. I don't think we'll ever find another that will be as sweet as her. We love you Annie and you will always have a special place in our hearts.








Time To Go
The time has come I think you know
the Lord is calling so I must go
I love you so much; I wish it wasn't so
I wish I could stay; I don't want to go
You're the best family a dog ever had
so kind and gentle, never mean or mad
I'll never forget the day that we met
I was so lucky to become your pet
You opened your door a...nd showed me your heart
I'll never forget you; we'll never part
You loved me and cared for me over the years
you taught me everything and took away my fears
The Lord is calling now I must go
but before I go I want you to know
I know it hurts to lose a friend
but I'll be with you even at the end.

Same shirt, different kid

We have this one outfit that we simply adore. Adelae wore it when she was a baby, and now Brinna wears it. I think it's natural to compare the girls to see how much they look alike. The first picture is Adelae (and her Mommy) and the second one is of Brinna. I think Adelae was about 3 or 4 months and Brinna was 6.5. Obviously, Brinna is MUCH smaller than her sister was at that age. I can definitely see the similarities though!

Not Me! Monday Video Style

I certainly did NOT take a ton of videos this weekend. And I most certainly am NOT going to post them all!

Letters of Intent

Better late than never right! :D





Dear Winter;
Please go away. We are sick of being sick. I'm sick of being cold. I'm sick of paying $300.00 electric bills. I'm sick of the wind. I'm sick of the snow. I'm sick of the annoying plastic on my windows. I'm sick of the water for the animals freezing almost immediately after I give it to them. I'm sick of not seeing the sun. I'm sick of being stuck inside all the time. I'm sick of looking pale. I'm sick of wearing 4 layers of clothes just to run to the store. I'm. Sick. Of. It. Please go away. Please let spring come. Please?

Sincerely,
Sick of it!


Dear Ice Cream:

Thank you for being delicious all the time. I love you.

Sincerely,
Your biggest fan

Posts From Another Mother

A few weeks ago my friend Ashley and I put her heads together and decided to do some guest blogging. We opted to do posts and the differences between a stay at home mom and a mom that works outside of the home. Ashley is a fantastic friend that has gone from an online friend to a friend in real life. I think you'll find what she has to say very interesting. And don't forget to check out my guest post on her blog!



"Ashley Here! If you don't know me, I am the author of What's on your mind, you ask? and a mother of almost 3 year old Hayden. I have been friends with Shaun for about 2.5 years also.. This friendship with this awesome lady is the product of online message boards. I am so happy I found a group of girls to hang with who understand me.


Anyway, I have been working ever since Hayden was born. It wasn't really a decision for me, it was more of an expectation. I knew that until we could get to a secure place where my husband was making enough to cover half of my pay, I wouldn't be able to stay at home. And you don't even know how much I longed to stay at home with Hayden. I did have the ability to stay home for the first 8 weeks. Benefits of a state job. When I headed back, we only needed a part-time babysitter: 4 days a week, about 4 hours a day. I worked 1st shift and my husband worked second. It worked out well because then, my mother in law watched Hayden during those times. We'd give her money when we could but we never officially had to "pay for a babysitter" at that time. I can't say that I never once felt guilty about working. I missed a lot of his firsts that way. I almost felt like he was growing up without me. But I was doing what needed to be done so he had what he needed.


In 2008, I went part-time at work... working 20 hours a week. Having no car payments gave us that ability. That's as close to stay at home as I got. I worked 3 days a week and loved it. I got to see Hayden take his first steps and didn't feel like my child was growing up with someone I didn't trust. But, that only lasted for a short time. We needed to move out of our 2 bedroom apartment so back to full time I went. But it proved to be harder because my husband has also started school. Which meant we needed 4-5 day babysitter, all day.


The search for a babysitter kinda was easy for us both times... we found people we trusted after the first interview. But when I saw both times.. I mean we had to fire our first babysitter. I realize now that she wasn't very truthful to us from the beginning. She never mentioned exactly where she lived until we needed to know because she knew she lived 45 minutes away from my job and 30 minutes away from our home. We stuck with her though until ... lets just say we has an unfortunate mishap with my face and her dog and all was lost. We once again relied on my mother in law (during school break thank god so the hours weren't long) until we found another babysitter... 2 minutes from our house, cost were less, and the nicest lady I've met.


I can't say that I've ever felt judged by a stay at home mom at any point of time. I did feel like I wasn't able to do as much because I worked. I would have loved to cloth diaper Hayden but I felt that we me working I wouldn't have the time to do it.. and I wouldn't want to put that on anyone else. But i can say that I think we have found a good balance between work and family time. Yes, my husband works full time and is in school so he isn't home as much. But we have 2 nights where we are all together and all day Sunday. Hayden gets his private time with both of us so I think he understands.


So don't think that you can't be a working mom and a mother. Just think of it as an added challenge that you can always conquer."

Wordless Wednesday

Tomorrow is Ben & I's 4 year "dateversary." (The anniversary of when we first started dating) I was going to wait and post this tomorrow, but well, I have an awesome guest blogger tomorrow. So, I thought it would make the perfect WW post. This was taken right after Ben and I started dating. I was much skinnier then :D (Excuse the poor quality. It was taken with a disposable camera)





Go to 5 Minutes for Mom and see what others are Wordless about.

Not Me! Monday

I certainly did not get sick this week. I mean, I JUST got over a cold. There is NO possible way that I got another one.

I also did NOT decide that a coat wasn't necessary cause I was just running in and out of the doctor's office. Of course, that means that the car did NOT break down. I mean, that would just about figure right?

I would NEVER decide that we were having chicken nuggets for dinner because I didn't feel like cooking dinner. That's incredibly unhealthy and I always serve a balanced meal.

I would also NEVER spend the entire weekend telling my husband "I told you that you should have fixed the alternator a month ago." That would just be rubbing in the fact that I was totally right and he (who was a mechanic in the Army) was totally wrong. Nope! I would also NEVER do the "I was right dance" over and over again. NOPE! NOT ME!

I would NEVER accidently drop my cell phone in the toilet. Then I would NEVER call the warranty department and tell them that my phone just quit working. That would be with holding the truth and I would never do that just to save a little money. Nope!

I would also NEVER put my almost 3 year old, that never naps, down for a nap just so I could take one myself. NOPE!

I would also NEVER tell the babysitter that it was ok to serve my child cereal for dinner. NO way! I would have a hot meal prepared for both of them. I would also never tell the babysitter that if she decided to serve lefovers to load it with cheese cause that's the only way my very stubborn child would eat it. NOPE! Not me!

So, what did you NOT do this week? Don't forget to link up at My Charming Kids.