Roses and Chai

Around 11:45am, I called it a day. The morning started off really well and went into a downward spiral pretty quickly. All I'm going to say is that some things came up that caused a domino effect and frustrated me greatly. I realized that it was just going to be better if I went home and played with the Bug (a.k.a. Caitlin). Turns out, it was a great plan. Not only did the Bug help pull me out of my funk, but Dennis came home with roses and an iced Oregon chai (my favorite)!....and yes, it did make me cry happy tears to have such a wonderful and kind husband. Now, I am at peace with the day and enjoying my evening with family and soon warm blueberry scones.

Shocking!

You might just want to stop reading now. What I'm about to say may make some of you sick....but it shocked me so much that I just had to blog about it.

I've been on a search for jeans for the past few months. I usually have to try on about 25 pairs before I find one that fits me some what decently. Anyway, today I was trying on jeans at Target and I actually found a pair that fit! But here's the clincher.....they were a size 4 skinny jean!!!!! Okay, I cannot even remember when I last fit into a size FOUR....maybe early college?....high school? And to make things even more shocking was the fact that they were a skinny jean!!! Have you ever tried on a pair? Completely bizarre! I looked like all the teeny boppers you see hanging out at the mall. And really, are tapered legs EVER a good idea? The whole experience was mind boggling. Here I was in a dressing room wearing a pair of jeans that actually fit, but my mind was saying no, no, NO!!!!.....and if you couldn't tell, I didn't buy them. I just couldn't do it. Yes, I would have loved to have a size 4 in my closet....but in a skinny jean?.....no thank you. I would have never tried them on in the first place, but they were thrown in with the other normal low-rise boot cut jeans. And by now you must be wondering if I went back to check for a "normal" size 4 jean.....you bet I did......and was sadly dissapointed when they did not exsist. And to think I was this close to having a size 4 in my closet!!!!!

1st Shoes

Last Thursday, Caitlin wore her very first pair of shoes!!! They are sparkly silver ones given to her by my really good friend. She didn't mind them at all....now, only how to keep them on her feet?

So Long Vacation

Today is the last day of vacation. I must return to work on Monday. Where did the week go? I wonder this after every vacation, but especially this one. I never did get to take Caitlin to the Library....but I guess there's always next Friday.

Tomorrow I'm hoping we'll go to the farmer's market. There is usually not much there this time of year, but it'll be fun to take Caitlin there anyway.

Oh, I've eaten too much which is making it hard to blog. My mind is sluggish and my words are..well, not appearing as I would like them. So I'm going to hand over the rest of this blog to Caitlin. no nnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnn hj gggggggggggggggggggggggggggggg , IVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBWE XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXZZZmMMMMMMMMMM BBBBB C BBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBF BHG

da da

So Dennis was talking to Caitlin while I was making dinner and he told Caitlin to say da da and she did!!!! It was clear as day! She hasn't been able to do it again and we know it was just a fluke, but it was so awesome!! She's been incredibly vocal today. We just love to listen to her babble on about her day. Super fun and totally sweet!

Picture Sorting

I have had a bunch of pictures hanging around here that I needed to sort and send out.....and finally today (while Caitlin is napping) I finished. All I have to do is address the envelopes and put them in the mail. That alone may take me a few days!

I am happy to announce that I finally finished reading Wishful Drinking by Carrie Fisher. It's a very quick read and I found it quite entertaining. I think I may read some of her other books too. I really like her writing style and humor....it's very crazy and kind of all over the place at times, but that is what makes it fun to read. In the meantime, I started reading Water For Elephants. I really didn't know what it was about at all but it immediately caught my interest and I might just finish it within a record 6 months! I think that's how long it took me to read The Secret Life of Bees. My goal with this new book is to actually read every night before bed. So if that means going to bed at 9:30 rather than 9:00, so be it. I will sacrifice sleep this time.

Happy Easter

We're back home and already missing the family and the awesome warm (but not too warm) weather. Thanks to Dennis, I was successful in clothes shopping and got 4 new tops....now if I can only find a darn pair of jeans!!! Here are some pics of our wonderful weekend.

She started blowing raspberries for the first time on Easter morning!

Her eyes are so blue!

Oooo, this looks good to eat.

Tastes kinda good too!

Mommy! I'm all blue now!!!!

First bow!

Mmmm, cousin Caitlin hand tastes yummy.

Paybacks Miss Maddie for eating my hand! Ha ha ha.

Playing kitchen/doctor with cousin Brady.

Easter pic....what is daddy trying to do there?

It's all about the tongues!

Super sweet Miss Maddie and B-man.

Coloring eggs.

Tummy time!

Hello sunshine!!!!

We arrived in sunny Redding around 10:30am. Caitlin did really well on the trip over and was awake for the last hour at least. She kept cracking up when I made her blue elephant dance to the tune of the chicken dance.....which made me laugh hysterically too. The weather is beautiful here and Caitlin got to hang out in the sunshine bare footed for the first time! I think she really liked it. Miss Maddie and her were having quite a conversation about the nice weather as well. Now the kids are all down for a nap and Dennis is headed out to Home Depot (he'd live there if he could) with JT$. I think when the kids get up we may head to check out the mall....woo hoo! And if you have been to our mall you'd really understand my excitement!

Happy Saturday!

Mikey Likes It!

Or rather, Caitlin likes it....cereal that is. She ate two servings of it plus 3oz of milk at daycare on Thursday! And how did she sleep you ask? Like a log...okay more like a log that wakes up twice during the night...but I'll take it!!!

Today began my Spring break. I have all next week off and I'm super excited! I'm gonna catch up on all my DVR shows, possibly host a playdate for Caitlin, and take her to the library for the first time.

I hope everyone has a wonderful Easter. We're going to head over to see J, K, B-man, and Miss Maddie tomorrow morning. The last time we went over, B-man opened the door and the first thing he said was "Caitlin!" It was super adorable! We'll see what he says this time around :)

Sweet Potato Pie

Dennis has been wanting a sweet potato pie for a few days now. So while he's out bowling I decided to make one. I'm not sure if my crust will come out the way it usually does. I didn't really have the time to pay attention to it like I normally do.....Caitlin wanted my undivided attention and didn't want to share it with the pie crust! Anyway, it should be out of the oven within a few minutes and I really hope it turns out!....I should have him stop and pick up some vanilla ice cream or whipped cream at least!

BTW, Nancy (the K teacher) became a Mama Duck today! She had been incubating duck eggs and wasn't sure if they would hatch.....but today when she got to school, there were five little ducklings!!! It was the talk of the whole school!

Super Sipper

Today I sent Caitlin to daycare with a sippy cup and she kinda really liked it. I got the idea to let her play with an empty one from one of my books and last night I did. She was really fascinated by it and Dennis suggested I put milk in it to see how she would react...surprisingly, she didn't reject it and actually drank a tiny bit! I think she likes it because she can bite on the spout and it feels good on her gums. Here's hopimg she'll drink more because of it!

5 months....yesterday

Caitlin is now 5 months old! We took her to the mall and Dennis picked out a toy for her....fabric keys that crinkle held together with a wooden ring....she loves it! For dinner she had filet minion and garlic mashed potatoes via mommy. But for an appetizer she had strained carrots...mmmm. In a few days we will try sweet potatoes....daddy's favorite! She's beginning to put EVERYTHING in her mouth which coupled with her odd sleeping habits make me wonder if she's beginning to teeth!!! So I brought out the teething rings, but she would rather bite down on mommy's finger.

Muffin or Cupcake?

As found on merriam-webster.com:

muffin: a quick bread made of batter containing egg and baked in a pan having cuplike molds

cupcake: a small cake baked in a cuplike mold


Okay, so what is the real difference? Dennis had a discussion on this last night and I said the difference between a cupcake and a muffin is the frosting. You could have a chocolate cake in a "cuplike mold" and if it didn't have frosting, it would be considered a muffin....NOT a cupcake. The theory works in the reverse as well. If you take a apple cinnamon muffin, for example, and put frosting on it, it would now be considered a cupcake. I'm truly surprised that the dictionary doesn't mention the use of frosting to define a cupcake.....because really, the same ingredients make up both!

So, what's your definition?

Carrots anyone?

Caitlin now weighs 12lbs 9.5 oz and is in the 10th percentile for her weight. The doctor said we should try to give her more cereal and introduce other foods so she can begin to eat them, specifically at daycare. So tonight she tried carrots for the first time.

Daddy's super excited!

Caitlin got really really excited.....thinking she was getting rice cereal that is.

Realizing it WASN'T her rice cereal.

Okay, maybe it's not so bad.

Daddy's having lots of fun while Caitlin is taking the new food in stride.

She also got shots today and cried a total of 30 seconds.

See! Thumbs up!.....It was all good!

More Cereal Please

So I think Caitlin is taking a liking to her cereal. She got cereal ALL over her face and Dennis had to give her a bath to get it all off. Tomorrow, I send her cereal to daycare! I am also sending extra bibs too!

4 Ounces!

Today Caitlin drank a record breaking 4 ounces!!! Shocking, I know! I hope she does the same tomorrow too. She has a doctor appointment on Thursday for a weight check so I hope she starts to eat well at daycare this week.

As for me, it was a rather blah day. Yes, I had a wonderful night of sleep thanks to Caitlin only getting up twice, but work felt like work today. Not sure why and I hope tomorrow isn't the same. So now I'm enjoying by Ben and Jerry's Triple Caramel Chunk while I listen to Dennis give Caitlin a bath.....A nice way to end a rather blah day.

Family Visit

Take the picture already! We're outta here!

Aunt Cindy, Brady, and Uncle Dennis....why so sad B-man?

Uncle Dennis, Aunt Cindy, and Miss Maddie

Aren't they adorable. Kelly discovered she had duplicate outfits, so we had to use it as a photo op of course!

We arrived back home from visiting family. It was a whirlwind trip! We left around 6:30am yesterday morning and got back into town today a little after 5pm. We headed to my dad's house first and then over to my sister's for a belated birthday party. We had BBQ pork ribs, pasta salad, and pie......super yummy! Then we left to go see J, K, B-man, and Miss Maddie. It's always so fun when we get the kids together. This morning we went to Turtle Bay for the first time. J and K have a membership and the B-man LOVES to go there often. It was a lot of fun and we had a blast showing Caitlin all the cool things. Dennis's dad and Kathleen met us there too. They haven't seen Caitlin for a while, so they were excited to see her. One of the best unexpected delights at Turtle Bay was the art exhibit. There were beautiful oil paintings and pieces by Jackson Pollack. We got to watch the giantnormous fish get fed and checked out the awesome gecko exhibit. While the boys were getting us some much needed coffee, we watched the B-man squeal with delight as he chased butterflies in the park. I don't remember the last time I'd seen so many butterflies at once! I think Caitlin had a good time during our visit. I have to say, she does travel pretty well. She didn't sleep as much as last time. Instead, she played with her favorite blue elephant and sucked her thumb.

Cousin Hunter

Auntie Brenda and Caitlin

Grandma Dea and Caitlin

Me, Caitlin, Grandma Chi-Sai, and Papa

I hope your weekend was as good as ours!