Pictures...

 

When it comes to taking pictures, for me - at least, it's point - click - done.  That is why "Wordless Wednesday" is the kind of pictures you might see in any family, it just so happens that they are (mostly) my family.

I have a DSLR camera (which I LOVE), but I've never actually taken the time to play with the settings to figure out all those crazy little details about photography.  However, I do adore photography.  It's one of those things that I find mysterious and captivating.

The photo today - taken by DH and not me, unfortunately - is one I adore.  Gallery quality artwork, in my opinion, and definitely something I would proudly hang on the wall.  It's like a "surprise" Christmas gift!

I'd like to think I had a small part in the picture.  I did, after all, say, "honey, would you go take a picture of the moon?"  I had no idea that the result - - although it may have been a mere "accident" and not intentional - would be this picture (among others). 

Is it a ribbon, like the ones you see for Breast Cancer?    I'm not sure.  But - to me - it's beautiful.


Love: Surprises... once in a while!
Hope: We make it to a local photographer's "show"next week!
Do: Start apple crisp for dessert tonight!
Number: 30 - the number of hiccups the baby produced on the airplane this week.  Of course, 34 (number of weeks pregnant) also comes to mind for today...  As does 2011, for the last time in a while.. 15, for the number of years my bro and his spouse have been together... and 2, for the birthday party we attended today!

Some Days...

Some days, I can easily let things go.  Other days, I brew.

Unfortunately - for some reason - this week I am brewing and stewing and letting something get to me (that likely shouldn't). 

So, for Christmas, I got a "book of AWESOME."  It's a really cool book that has the "positive" attitude that I try to maintain.  As an extra bonus, it seems like it should be a highly bloggable book.  On a day like today, it seems appropriate to pull it out since I need a pick-me-up.

So.... I share with you my first (of many? time will tell..) glimpse of the "AWESOME" book.  After the book excerpt... I'll share a personal "awesome" for the day.

From the book: the first page I flipped to:  Giving babies high-fives.  They never let you down, and they never "psych" you out.

From my day:  Easy-breezy bedtimes.  I tell Kiddo it's bedtime, and he gets up to head to his room (only turning back, at my request, to give out goodnight hugs and kisses).  Then a book, and no tears, and bedtime is done.  Yep, AWESOME.

Love:  Sweets.  Of any kind.  But today, pumpkin pie with whipped cream and chocolate/caramel popcorn come to mind.
Hope:  I can just "let it go" (that is, the thing I am stewing about...)
Do: Get some shopping in over the next few days (or go crazy... however, I choose shopping!)
Number: 7

Holiday time is here!

I always enjoy seeing and spending time with family over the holidays.  I'm a little sad that I live so far away from so many dear friends, however.  So today - my beloved readers are in for a rare treat.  One they have not seen in quite some time.  What's that, you ask?  (a small digression first.... my DH described my blog as"playful" - and I think one of the reasons why is this type of question - followed by a digression before the answer.  At least, that is what I will continue to think!)


The answer?  This blog will include words (the usual whatever is on my mind) and pictures, both!

This year, we decided to open family Christmas presents before heading out of town.  Here is Kiddo, opening his favorite toy - - which nearly prevented him from opening anything else he got from Mom and Dad - a"Race Car"! Daddy knows best!

Speaking of Daddy... Kiddo and his daddy, chilling out...

 

 My BIL with his 3 boys, out in the pasture... feeding the cows...

I was also "helping" with the feeding of the cows.  No worries, despite how it looks, that is not my water breaking!

Kiddo loves puppies.  This guy, Raffin, is especially fun because he can spend hours and hours playing ball - and he even drops the ball for you!

 Yeah, I'm pregnant.  Really pregnant.  In fact, 32 weeks.  I'm also showing, can you tell?  I'm going to attempt to post about being pregnant without mentioning to you all the miserable and horrible things that go with it.  Doh!  Another failure.  At least this time it was brief.  And only 7 or so more weeks to go.. 

 Mimic Grandma, pretending to be a snake?  Why, of course!

Kiddo with his cousins, uncle, and Grandpa. Kiddo wasn't in on the "strategy" part or the actual game play, but I'm sure he wasn't quite able to tell the difference!










I hope you enjoy the season - and spending time with your family!  I also hope to post again soon - perhaps with even more pictures!

Love: Family
Hope: Remainder of adventure is relatively tame
Do: Get moving today!
Number: 2912 - the four digits that were recently transposed to 2192 and I did not notice (and yet somehow, a few hours later, the number is still stuck in my mind!)

Wordless Wednesday

3 years, a new pet...

DH and I finally got around to celebrating our 3rd anniversary - it was the 6th, officially, and we opted to take care of the "easy" babysitting that daycare provides with a holiday Parents Night Out.  It was a magnificent day for me (with only a couple hiccups), and during pregnancy, those seem to sometimes be few and far between.

It was our Holiday event at work, which meant we got to skip out a tad bit early, which is always nice!  I came home - and didn't have to pick up Kiddo - and laid on the sofa, catching up on a bit of TV.  Then I took a nice relaxing bath, and even dressed up (read: makeup, blowdrying my hair, and jewlery!) for the occasion.

Once Hubby got home, he had our dinner spot picked out (a Mexican restaurant, not a dive and not a fancy place), along with an activity (a stroll through local business in search of a potential anniversary present).  My only request was pie for dessert.

As it turned out, we spent the night going "local."  Local eatery, local shopping, local dessert - - And did I say it was awesome?  Good company, and I was fairly relaxed.  Pretty good food, and we found a very quaint little store, where I will be back!

In our quest for an anniversary present, we found a match.  A little frivolous, a little silly - - but the kind of thing that is perfect for an anniversary.  A new pet.  Now, mind you, any four-legged creature coming into our house must get along well with two kids under 3, and two four-legged creatures (one in particular) who already run the house.  So, it suits that this particular pet is quite low maintenance.  This pet doesn't need to be fed, and doesn't shed.  It's very compliant (nodding "yes" often), and has a tail that wags.  It's a little big - but we are "big" dog people.  It's made of metal.  It's adorable.  I've named him Rusty.  Be sure to check back for a Wordless Wednesday picture of our new pal!

All-in-all, the perfect way to spend time with DH.  And to remember that at least sometimes, it's okay to be a little bit of a girl (with makeup and jewlery and all).  But mostly, to enjoy the company of my best friend and dearest companion.

Although I wish I could raise a toast to the love of my life, it doesn't seem right to toast with fruit-juice... so instead, I'll honor our relationship and the life that we share with a blog post.  (Wow.  Somehow that sounds so unromantic... maybe I'll think of better eventually!)

Love: My DH of 3 years
Hope: Our love continues to grow for many years to come.
Do: Need to finish getting Kiddo a couple of items for Xmas!
Number: 4 - the number of days we are into year #4 of our marriage!

Wordless Wednesday

Family...

For some reason, family has been on my mind a lot lately.   From the kicky-one in the belly to the father I still miss when visiting Kansas....It seems as though these and other thoughts and images of family keep swirling in my head... In so many ways, it is almost making me dizzy... I guess 'tis the season, eh?

Watching Parenthood, buying Christmas gifts, shopping with Kiddo.... maybe when I am forced to "settle" with the new baby, I will have time to sort through the many thoughts?  Hard to believe it's only 10 weeks ... or so... away!

It seems like I have been in "busy" mode, and somewhat unable to stop and smell the roses (or pine, as the season may be..)

As for now, I suppose it is back to Laundry and Christmas Presents, taking out the dogs and settling in for another night!

Is it just me, or do others once in a while feel like a "brain dump" is necessary?

Love: Family
Hope: Things eventually settle...
Do: Work on Christmas Cards?
Number: 12 more work days before the year is over!

Wordless Wednesday

Wordless Wednesday

Wordless Wednesday

Third trimester

Depending on your definition - I have finally reached the third trimester of pregnancy.

Might I add, being pregnant -for me at least - is NOT FUN.

This baby has moved quite a bit more than I recall with the first kiddo.  Although somehow, oddly enough, I'm not sure Kiddo has felt her or understands yet that he'll be a big brother soon.

We are in the process of redoing his room - and if everything goes as scheduled (which it didn't the first time around), he'll be in a regular twin-sized bed by Wednesday!  Daddy also decided to make his bed.  And by "make" his bed, I don't mean put the sheets and pillows on it - - I mean he intends to hand-craft, starting with the raw wood, some type of headboard and what-not.

Because I was out of town for a decent part of this week, DH had to hold down the "fort." At our house, that means daycare pick up and drop off, dinner, and taking the dogs outside 3x/day (since our onery girl-dog has to be kept on leash, even in a back yard with a 6 foot fence).  It makes me tired thinking about it! 

Although I do not travel much, I enjoy trips - even business trips.  I got my favorite tea (Argo bubble tea) three times, I did some walking (good for me!), and I got to meet several new people!  I gave a presentation, caught up with many that I work with from all over the country, and ate fairly well.

In a somewhat rare romantic gesture, my DH then met me at the airport WITH FLOWERS.  Purple carnations.  Perhaps the highlight of my entire week.

So - although it has been a good week - I look forward to a "routine" week before we dive in to the holiday season!


Love: Travel - and routine!  Balance is good (but harder pregnant).
Hope: Kiddo adjusts to his "new" room and big boy bed!
Do: Finish the cleaning and organizing project of the weekend:  Kid rooms!
Number: 4, for the number of nights spent away from home this week.

Wordless Wednesday

Travels....

Away from home, and one word comes to mind:

QUIET


For some reason, in hotel rooms, I often neglect to turn on the TV.  Which means it is nearly silent.  Wow. That's something that is often hard to come by, with a two-year old at home!

Even when the day is broken up by plenty of meetings and receptions, the hotel room is a quiet escape.  It reminds me of when I lived alone (even though it was for a short time). 

I know many people who prefer to have music playing or the TV in the background.  For me, the quiet is somehow majestic, and seems to allow me to regain inner strength.  Okay, maybe that sounded too "heavy".

Regardless - for at least a couple of hours - I am going to enjoy the sound of silence.

Love: Quiet time
Hope: I come home refreshed!
Do: Meet more people...
Number: 4 - the number of different cheeses I sampled today!

Wordless Wednesday

Social Kid...

Kiddo is often very quiet at home.  He talks some, but generally he's fairly relaxed, and somewhat quiet.  Until he starts saying, "Go, go go!" - and goes to fetch shoes and jackets for everyone in the house.

The car ride is almost always silent - or - if we are in daddy's car - there might be a request for "Elmo" (his camera toy).

Once we get somewhere (out to a restaurant, or as last night- to the neighbors for pizza) that quiet little boy changes into an over-excited party goer!  He screams.  Loudly.  And somehow his energy level is amplified by several levels.

So - as you can perhaps imagine - trick or treating was, for him, a time to get as much candy as he could fit into his little hand, all while saying "treat treat treat" (his variation of trick or treat), and lots of "Thank you!  Bye!  Seeya! Thank you!"

He definitely had fun.

And tonight, we have another social adventure in store... Mommy and Kiddo have a date to see Yo Gabba Gabba - one of his favorite TV shows - Live!

The adventure continues!  Happy November!

Love: Kiddo's social butterfly personality

Hope: Kiddo doesn't have to be carried too much this evening..

Do: Take lots of pictures!

Number: Well I didn't count the pieces of candy... so I'll guess at 60 (after only about 15 or so houses!)

Wordless Wednesday

Weekend?

Where did the weekend go?

Although I did get some R&R in on Saturday, today we seemed to make up for it!

After doing some laundry, we headed to the fair!  We saw the flower garden and area - including a "butterfly" that was a bush, which was kind of cool.  We entered the village of yesteryear just as it opened.  We rode on several rides (including kiddo's first "solo" ride).  We did lots of walking around - and for some reason, I managed to not get too worn out!

We got all the required fair food:  Corn dogs, lemonade, cotton candy, candy and carmel apples, roasted corn, and our first taste of NC State Icecream!

After coming home (more laundry, cleaning out the car) I headed to Prenatal Yoga - which I've been meaning to do for a long, long time.  Somehow I managed to come home, cook dinner, do dishes, clean the kitchen - and yes, more laundry (it seems to never end!) and even some playing with Kiddo and TV time thrown in.

All in all, a great day - topped off with a little bit of a conversation with my little bro!  But I'm ready for the weekend, now that it's over!

Love: Busy days
Hope: Next weekend is a little slower..
Do: Keep working on the back-up of the laptop (on which the e, d, and c keys must be typed with the "on-screen" keyboard.)
Number:  8 - for the gate we entered and exited at the fair today!

Babbling Day... or so

Before you get too far into this post, you should know that I'm celebrating Babbling day - a day late.  SO - I would recommend you get a nice hot cup of cider (it is fall!) - or at least understand you'll be committing more than just a couple of minutes if you are going to read this (long overdue) post!

On my crazy calendar (thanks to Oriental Trading company), I have been able to keep track this year of many of the more obscure holidays.  Yesterday was "Babbling Day" - which in my world, equates to the perfect opportunity to post a blog!  (I was just informed via Facebook - one of my most newsworthy sources- that today is National Make A Difference Day.  I'm not sure that this post will make a difference, so I'll have to figure out some other way to celebrate that particular event!)

I had good intentions of posting this yesterday, but instead enjoyed a long overdue movie with the hubby after Kiddo went to bed.

Anyhow...

Babbling, you see, is not only one of my favorite words, but also one of my favorite pasttimes!  (Perhaps this isn't news to you if you've followed my blog for a while.)

So today I'm going to do some babbling.  Which means the post may be a little long, and may also be a little all over the place.  (But hey, it's a post, and at least sometimes- they are fun to read!  At least I know I like to read other people's posts...)

There have been many babble-able (and therefore, blogable) moments lately.  Kiddo is in the midst of potty training. It's not fun.  We started today with, "let's try underwear all day."  After two accidents, I gave up and put him in a diaper.  At least we were encouraged most of the morning to remind him to try to potty.  Of course, for a while, that was just "no potty!" followed by crying.  We'll get there.  Today (and this weekend) aren't the day.  Of course, I figured that out a while back.  Daddy is convinced that he only pees in the toilet for Mommy.  I guess I'm good for something.  After being away a few days, Kiddo needed some warming up to.  He keeps going to daddy for things like putting his shoes on, even after I'm the one who said I would take him outside!

I love the word Kiddo.  Once I have two kiddos, will I still call them Kiddo and just let the reader figure out which kiddo, or do I have to have distinct identifier for each kiddo?  Just another thing to figure out along the way with the kiddo in my belly.  Of course, that one still needs a name.  But that's another story for another time - maybe for her birthday!

Travelling can be exhausting.  After being away a couple days, I came home fairly needy.  My next trip, however, is only a couple of weeks away and will be over twice as long!  It will possibly be more exhausting, but for different reasons.  I won't be playing as much of a "hostess" role on the next trip, but I still have a presentation to make!  It's a little intimidating presenting to "peers" with many more years of experience, and mostly higher credentials, as well!  

In some ways, it's unfortunate that you can't babble everything you know.  Those thoughts have to swim around in your head with nowhere to get out of the pool.  Well, at least some eventually make it out - but some don't.  After all, some of my deepest darkest secrets and skeletons probably are better left in the closet.  And sometimes I know things about other people that probably just need to stay in their closet (but now that I know, is the secret still in their closet, or has it migrated to my closet, or is it just in the pool?)

I say thank goodness for Wordless Wednesday, because it has least forced (encouraged?) me to post pictures at least once a week.  I wish I were a little better at the other, non-wordless posts.  Maybe Babbling day will be an inspiration.  Or maybe I just need to find a way to post more regularly.. maybe lunch at my desk and a blog?  Or maybe a more regular post while Kiddo is napping?  (When he's not naping, he often loves to sit on my lap and watch videos.. particularly Elmo's song, which is absolutely his favorite!)

Today, I took advantage of at least part of the naptime to take a nap myself.  Thank goodness for the weekend and  a day where I can be a little bit lazy - and thank goodness for my dear hubby who allows me to once and a while be lazy!  (Of course, if he wouldn't allow me to be lazy, I'd just pull the, "you know I'm carrying your child.." card, which usually works OK.)

Well, Kiddo is up, which means an end to this post.  Definitely not as long as it could have been.  I hope you've enjoyed today's babbling!

Love: Random topics and reasons to blog

Hope: I post again soon!  (See?  You're not the only one who thinks I should post more regularly!)

Do: Drink more water.

Number: 2 - for Kiddo's 2nd birthday last weekend!

Wordless Wednesday