Kayden's Third Birthday Shindig!

Well, the party was a success. Everyone seemed to have a great time, and we got another picture with the four generations of women on my side of the family. I truly cherish those moments.

Kayden's theme was Dora, and I think she's going to be Dora for Halloween, too... Of course, I want her to be Tinkerbell for Halloween, because Robert (her bestest friend ever) is going to be Peter Pan. I mean, I like Dora and all, but I want some cute pictures haha. Kayden and Robert were Raggedy Ann and Andy last year, and I made her costume. Uh, not sure that's going to work this year... I'll maybe make Kylee's ... OH MY GOSH, I just thought that I should probably make Kylee into Dora's little monkey-sidekick BOOTS! Hmm...

Anyway, we had a Dora jump house, a big huge water slide and all the food and beer any parent could want lol We really do appreciate everyone coming. Her Meme, Papa, Aunt Shell, Uncle Rick, cousins Cassey and Nicole, Nan, Poppy and Nana all made the trip to celebrate with us. Nana even brought Hardy a chew toy that he has already eaten the stuffing out of it.

Well, I need to get to cleaning, and I'm going to listen to a sermon while I do it. I've been following the pastor's sermons at A&M UMC online, and I really really like his message. I'm probably going to join that church, before we are married there, and Sunday feel so much better, when I either read or listen to a sermon... so I'm off to do the dishes with the Lord lol

I'll post more later.

Oh, and here's the A&M UMC link, in case anyone wants to listen to his sermons either through Windows Media Player or Podcast. You can just read the transcript (much faster ;-)) also.

http://www.am-umc.org/podcast.htm

http://www.am-umc.org/sermon_transcripts2.htm

Teething Hangover in Corporate America

I have a teething hangover.... Kylee is sleeping in 1 1/2 hour increments. I'm sure her little gums are hurting her, but it's making me a zombie. She has the classic symptoms:

• EXCESSIVE drooling - she's a little puddle-maker
• fussiness - and she is never usually fussy
• CHEWING! (she is chewing body parts that will remain unsaid)
• diarrhea - but I am still on 875 mg of Augmentin..
• KEEPING ME UP AT NIGHT! - bless her heart, but Mommy can't just go right back to sleep

I think I need a sign on my forehead that says: "Sleeping.. do not disturb.."

A baby is God's opinion that the world should go on. ~Carl Sandburg

Dance like there's nobody watching.....

Sing like there's nobody listening....

Live like it's Heaven on Earth.....

My Waning Superpower...

So, I think I still want to buy a shirt that says, "I make milk. What's your superpower?" I saw it online when I was pregnant, and I thought it was hilarious. Said "superpower" waned for a bit last week, but it has now recovered. After Chuck and Pepper's wedding, I was pretty sick. I made it to work on Monday and Tuesday, but from Tuesday night on, I was in bed. Long story short, I had a GI virus that started the whole thing. That cute little GI virus weakened my immune system to the point that the mastitis that I had been trying to out-run, caught up with me and smacked me in the face. John took me to the hospital on Thursday, because walking was no longer my mode of transportation. I had to either crawl or John had to carry me wherever I went. Yep, the bathroom, too... and the bed to the bathroom is maybe 15 feet. Not good. By the time I got to the ER, my temp. was a 103, I had chills, a migraine, I was dizzy, and I was starting to become pretty confused.... My blood work showed bacteria in my blood, so I was on IV antibiotics until Saturday. I am now taking 875 mg. of Augmentin twice a day.. FUN FUN! SO, needless to say, I really haven't had the easiest time of things for the past week or so, but I feel better than I have in months. I think I am still running on about 7 of my 8 cylinders, but we're working on that last one.

I picked up my dress last week, which was a very cool moment... I tried it on at the shop and Kylee was with me. When I put it on, she looked up at me and smiled... that was all the affirmation that I needed. I am completely in love with it. It's perfect. I tried it on again last night, and I had Robin help me put it on. I felt like a little girl playing dress-up... it's such a surreal, albeit amazing, feeling to know that this is the dress that I have pictured since I was a little girl... I was one of those little girls that had my wedding planned out at 5 years old....

I have the girls' dresses, too... little monsters... they are going to look so pretty, and I am just going to lose it, when I see them...

Kylee is starting to babble... I'm sure she's going to get my motor-mouth...

Kayden is about to have her THIRD birthday. She's such a big girl. I can't believe she's already 3. What a blessing she is. That reminds me... I need to go reserve her bounce house for her party.... Here's some pictures of the Kyleemeister..

Flags are everywhere and it makes me mad....

Well, so I didn't have time yesterday to finish explaining about how horrible the motel was or what that experience was like... but how dare I bitch about that... Today is September 11th. I made a conscious decision to wear all black today. There are flags dotting the streets here in downtown Fort Worth, and I feel like we were luck, as crappy as it was, to be able to breathe fresh air this weekend and look forward to going home to our kids. We weren't stuck on a hijacked plane. We were breathing smoke inside an inferno, and we weren't free-falling down the side of a building. All we had to deal with were a couple of bugs. How ungrateful we didn't even realize we were being.

Today, six years ago, I was laying on my couch in Stephenville. I was probably hung-over. I didn't have anything "real" to worry about that day, other than the fact that I had skipped yet another Animal Science class. Then...

I think I turned on my TV to watch the Today show. The first plane had already hit, and they were saying it was a bomb. I just laid there for the next two days glued to the TV. I hated my degree plan and pretty much life at the time, so it seemed like a good idea. I couldn't process why someone would want to do this, and I think I became a little jaded in a way after that. You want to believe that everyone is born inherently good, and those that become murderers just go wrong somewhere along the way. These terrorists or murderers seemed like they had been "bred" in a way to do this. Actually, I think that was the intention, if I remember correctly. Since then, I think that we as a country have forgotten. Tell someone that they have forgotten 9/11 and watch them bristle. When it was all happening, you couldn't have convinced anyone that someday it wouldn't be in the forefront of everyone's mind.. always... but it happens. People move on and graduate... get married... have kids... or in our case have kids and then plan a wedding... change jobs... change their perspective... and naturally wounds heal. The problem is.. we are still sending boys who have graduated out to fight for what happened to their nation when they were 12. Some of those boys won't get the chance that we have had... to graduate... to get married... to have kids... and if they do... their kids will grow up not really understanding all of it.

I guess I was just struck this morning by the fact that our streets are lined with beautiful flags today, and patriotism is running rampant. But, what about tomorrow? Will those flags fly tomorrow? I just asked an open question at work about what a couple of people thought about it, and one answer was that they would be stolen if they were left out. Another answer was that they would start ripping and fall out of the holders... blah blah.... I just am bothered by the fact that we are only remembering because it is the "right" thing to do, but not because we just ... do. Make any sense? So, I made the decision to wear black today. No, I don't think I should wear black and carry a flag around everyday. Nor do I think that we should talk about it all the time or have tributes weekly or something crazy like that... I DO think that we need to make sure that we don't ever forget ...

More later...

My Last 20's B-day with the roaches...

So, we went to the Kroll wedding. Let me first say that it was a beautiful wedding, and we had a great time. The setting was in the back of a beautiful country home, and you could hear the river running in the background during the ceremony. Pepper looked awesome, of course. I cried when I saw the flower girls walking down the aisle... All I could think was that my girls will be doing that very thing for me in less than a year. I was sniffling like a baby. I had to let my nose run though, since I didn't want anyone to think I was a retard... However, Mr. Hunting Shirt (some dude was wearing a hunting t-shirt with some dumb saying on it) in front of me was probably the only one that could hear me other than Carrie. Anyway, I was touched and sweaty, and hoping upon hope that my deodorant would come through for me. I never got any complaints, so I guess I didn't stink.

I'll post more later, after I finish my work day. Stress....

I'll also explain about the roach friends we met at the hotel.... gross...

The Harms

30 stories and ants

You know, people look like ants from this high up.

I moved into my new cube on Friday, and I'm lovin' it. We can have meetings in here, which was my goal. I am t-minus two employees today, so it's pretty quiet. The calm before the storm.

According to John, Kayden isn't so keen on Miss Danita's class. She didn't want him to leave, which makes me really sad. She loves her old teacher, but I'm sure she'll love Danita. She's a funny chick.

We had a great weekend. Kayden and Kylee got to meet Miss Emmaline. She thought Kylee's head was pretty tasty.

I'll post more later... ah, pseudo-Mondays... after a holiday.... gross

The Natives are Sleeping...

So the monsters are down... for now... I feel lazy today, even though I've done the dishes, cleaned the house and done four loads of laundry. I'm laying on the couch, so maybe that's why. Rain is tapping on our windows daring me to go to sleep, and I just might!

John just finished mowing his yard.. yes, HIS yard. I'm no longer allowed to do any sort of grass grooming. To me, he grooms the yard. It's no longer mowing, when you are on a first-name-basis with the Scott's Turf Builder guy on the other end of the 800 number on the bag. Maybe it's a manifestation of some sort of primal man-preening... who knows. Whatever it is, it makes him happy.

I thought Kayden was asleep, but she just started chanting "Rain, rain, go away.." That's the cutest version of that little song I have ever heard. Only a Mother would think that.

We had a great weekend. I met with the florist and she understands my "vision". Lord. I really think she's going to be great, though. I brought her my vases, which are truly a find of the century (silver plated, medium-sized, and only 15 each woo hoo!). We went over what I had originally budgeted, but it was well worth it. I'm a flower freak, and I think she's going to give me what I want. Bridezilla, anyone?

Ok, so now I've jumped on the blogger bus... I've been meaning to start this blog, but I just haven't had the time. I'll try to keep this updated every couple of days, but I'm thinking that's a tad ambitious... we'll see... anyway, here we are and add us to your faves!