let them be little

I have been staring at this girl every day for nearly three and a half years. How did she get from this:

To this:

Thankful Thursday

It's been a while.

I am thankful that J/P finally had her little boy. Welcome to the world Baby C!

I am thankful that Laura legally has her baby Mercy.

I am thankful for naps

I am thankful for new and old friends.

I am thankful for the time Cha spent with my parents last summer.

I am thankful that facebook allows me to keep up with my family and friends.

I am thankful that the sun finally came out today and burned off the fog.

I am thankful that my husband still looks at me 'that way'.

I am thankful that Cha sleeps so well at night.

I am thankful for my DVR.

The numbers are in

Ugh.

Dr. M called with the results from my recent blood work. Gotta get healthy STAT.

Fasting - 147

Triglycerides - 250

Total Cholesterol is fine but that really means nothing compared to the others.

I am going back in two months. If my numbers haven't improved she's going to put me on something. I do not want that.

Gotta get healthy!

What a week

I'll start out with a pic of Cha at Paige's birthday party. The party was held at BounceU which was way cool.

As you can see, Cha and I both had fun. Here I am sliding down with Maya while Cha is climbing up the stairs herself. We went down together a couple of times but she preferred to do it herself. She likes to dive down head first or jump down so she bounces real high. She's fearless!

Saturday night we had a Valentine's Day Race for the Cure benefit. It was a family friendly Valentine party but we also sold raffle tickets for several gift baskets that were donated by friends and family. It was fun and we raised $300 for our team. Not too bad for a lot of last minute planning.

Some of my favorite pictures of the night.....

Here's Matt playing with birthday girl Paige. It's heartwarming how well the kids get along with the other parents. We've become a second family.

This summer the family is getting together for a little family vacation. We're planning on meeting somewhere in the middle, which is in or around St. Louis, Mo the 3rd week of July. We've got a small army and I'm having a difficult time finding someplace that has space and availability to fit us in. If anyone has any suggestions I'd love to hear them!

Finally, I posted last week about the passing of 'Asa Buchanan'. I am very sad to say that the actor who played Asa's son on the show also passed away recently. Clint Ritchie was the true Clint Buchanan. (Yes, I'm a total soap opera geek.)

RIP - Asa Buchanan

I am so sad about this! Phil Carey, who played Asa Buchanan on One Life to Life passed away this weekend. I've been watching OLTL for decades and he has always been one of my favorites.

He battled lung cancer several years ago and his character actually died on the show last year. It's very sad.

Do This!

I just got a note from one of my BFFs.

My Amex rate jumped to 29.99%. I just called them for a "temporary reduction" in my interest rate and they dropped it, permanently, to 9.24%!!!!

If you're credit cards are out of control give them a call and ask for help. You never know!

Way to go on 9.24%!

Happy Birthday Mimi!

Confession

I am blaming this on the meds and refuse to believe it's age related......

Monday I had a parent-teacher conference at Cha's school. I signed up for a face to face session with her teacher on 2 /2 at 2. Easy to remember, right? I didn't have anything to write on when I signed up so I picked that time so I would remember it until I got back to my desk.

2 / 2 comes and I am sitting at my desk. It's on my calendar and a little reminder pops up on my screen. I grab my coat and bag and head downstairs to the parking lot. I hop in my car and start driving to her school. Only, five minutes from the office I wonder where the hell I'm going. I'm on Trooper Road and can't for the life of me remember why I left the office. There's a WalMart up the street so I think that maybe I needed to pick something up at WalMart. I pull into the parking lot and still can't remember what I needed so I don't even get out of the car. I drive back towards the office and figure I should pick up lunch while I'm out.

When I get back to my desk at 2:20 there is a voicemail from Cha's teacher. She's wondering what happened to me. I slump in my chair. Things like this happen way too often recently. It has to be the meds, right?

I've got an appt with Dr. M next week to discuss a few things. I'm going to ask her to help get me off these things.

Wait, that's not fair!

I was listening to KYW on the way to work today ('two, three, four times a day!') and sometime between the weather and the traffic my ears just about started to bleed. I seriously stared at my radio and said outloud 'What the hell?' KYW was playing a political ad, nearly two weeks after the inauguration. How unfair is that?

I hate political ads. They are nothing more than spin from one party bashing another. The facts are always so twisted that you can't really believe either side. One man (or woman) making another man (or woman) out to be the devil, based on his or her stance on trash disposal or some nonsense. They are so overly dramatic and are only used to scare someone into voting their way. I'd like to think that I'm smart enough to figure out the truth on my own, but I'm sure there are some out there that will do no further research and simply believe the garbage they are hearing.

Anyway, the point is that I was listening to a political ad in February. I listened to the entire spot waiting for the 'this message was paid for by.....' That's when I learned of Americans United for Change, which was previously called Americans United to Protect Social Security. I'm assuming they adopted their new name to jump on the Obama bandwagon (and collect more donations). They are up in arms about the Republicans blocking the current stimulus package so they produced a commercial to bash conservatives for not playing fair. (Quick question for the liberals, how does providing repairs to the Jefferson Monument stimulate our economy?)

Is this what this country has come to? Will we be subjected to slanted, scary political ads 24/7-365, regardless of the year? Don't we get any sort of break? It really isn't fair.

Blah

Let's just say that you've been going to the same coffee house for three years. It's a comfy place and you know all the staff and have become close friends with the other patrons. It becomes a home away from home.

Then imagine one day you get into a little tiff with the barista. You ask for half and half and she tells you that she's anti-dairy and can't believe anyone would allow such vileness into their body. You roll your eyes, make a snide comment and walk out the door. When you return three days later you apologize to the barista and she apologizes in return. You both admit to being a tad sensitive and acting poorly.

Two weeks go by and while you sit in your favorite comfy chair, drinking your latte and reading the paper, you realize that things just aren't as comfortable as they once were. Sure the coffee is still the same and you like seeing your fellow patrons but the tone of the place is different. Then one day you say 'Hey! There's a coffee shop right across the street and I think I see Bob.' You head on over and Bob is there with Margaret and they're waiting for Betty to show up. You sit down and join them and before you know it, you're hooked on a new coffee shop.

That's where I am now. Finding that once I hit 40 I am not as tolerant of uncomfortable environments as I used to be. I'm not talking about the typical joys of a fun, dysfunctional family gathering, or the craziness of the work place but in the places where I go voluntarily. Life is too short and there are too many other positive places to stay where it just doesn't feel right.

I love my husband and my child and the rest of my family. I love my friends and my life.

Life is good. Why go someplace that tries to mess all that up?

My big girl

She's in her grown up room. Heavy Sigh! We've known for a while that Cha was getting way too tall for her toddler bed but it's such a big step. Well, a big step for me. Cha is an easy kid and transitions with no problems.

It was a long process because first I had to sell her old furniture and then find just the right bedroom set. And I needed to do it all on a budget. Boy did I score!

I sold her toddler bed and mattress on Craigslist for $40 (originally bought it for $25). It sold in a day which was a bit of a bummer since that meant Cha had to sleep with us. This kid is a super kicker so Matt and I weren't getting much sleep with her in our bed.

Her dresser set went for $100, and while it was a bargain for the buyer I still made money. I bought it three years ago on Craigslist for $125 and it came with a crib.

I really loved the four poster bed but had a hard time finding dressers to match. I continued to look at consignment shops, on Craiglist, and (gasp!) at new furniture stores but no luck.

Friday afternoon I stopped by Liberty and found a gorgeous set tucked away in a corner, amoungst a half dozen cribs. My jaw dropped when I saw this set and the super cheap price (twin headboard, two dressers, a night stand and a mirror for only $100). It was in perfect shape so I bought it on the spot. Who cares if there was no way it would fit in my little Yaris. I called Matt and begged him to pick it up on his way home from work. I was giddy thinking about how perfect it would look in my little girl's room. Seriously, I can't remember the last time I got this happy over a purchase. I couldn't wait to see the look on Cha's face when we put it all together. (Not to mention, I would have loved to have a room like this when I was a kid.)

So, here's my score....

The original twin bed that I still think is darling.The dressers, and nighstand with the old bed.

The matching headboard with two happy kitties
Note the hello kitty bedding

Cha did the stickers by herself.
I moved a few around but it's mostly her doing.

And finally, her closet. Way tacky I know but the clothes
are easy access and the bookcases fit.

She was so excited the first night that I had trouble getting her to sleep. She just wanted to play in her room all night. Eventually she fell asleep in her big bed and I am very relieved that she didn't fall out once.

The second night she went to bed even easier. Earlier today I was cleaning upstairs and Cha was playing in her room. When she saw me she told me to leave her alone and shut her door in my face. I gave her some space and 20 minutes later when she was much too quiet I opened the door to find her polishing her nails. The room stank like polish but other than a very sloppy manicure and pedicure there wasn't a mess anywhere. She'll be a teenager before I know it.