Time to vote!

Remember when I asked for your help with creating a tagline for my new website? Well, Alicia was the only one who stepped up to the plate and suggested one. I have two ideas of my own, and I really want your help deciding which one to go with. Leave a comment with your choice, or if you have any last minute ideas, let me know them too and we will do another voting process tomorrow.

Choice one, from Alicia: Life and times of a clinically insane twenty something.
Choice two: Blogging to avoid housework since 2006.
Choice three: 367 consecutive sleepless nights and counting...

Okay, now get to voting so I can move to my new website already!

Ch-ch-chaannggesss!

I'm moving sometime in the near future. Well, I'm not moving, but this blog is pretty soon. And when I say pretty soon, I mean either this week or 6 months from now. You know, because I'm me. But you love me, right? I thought so. Don't worry, y'all will be the first to know as soon as I'm ready to move this thing. I wouldn't want y'all to miss one single moment of our thrilling adventurous lives.

I've been a little fed up with Blogger for quite a while now. I desperately want my own domain name and a fabulous design, but I just cannot bring myself to pay for blogging, considering I don't have all that much time anymore to actually blog. And I'm not quite that important. So, I'm switching to WordPress, which I am extremely excited about. I wish I would have found them in the first place because they are soooooooo much easier to use. They cater to the stupid and I am the stupid when it comes to HTML and other computer stuff. I heart them very much.

I've pretty much got it all taken care of. Actually, I could switch over there rightthisminute if I want to, but I'm not quite ready for all of you to see it yet. I want it perfect, and it's not quite there yet. I want my own custom header, and this is where you come in. Do any of you know how I can get one of those? Without paying craploads of money? Or possibly for free? Point me in ther right direction.

Also, I want you're help for a new tagline. The blog name will still be Pieces of Me, but that tagline up there about the crazy cat and lazy dog blah blah blah ain't making the move with me. Mostly because I no longer have the crazy cat, and also because I'm tired of it. So, come up with some witty taglines for me. Something cute, funny, silly, whatever. I've got 2 in my head, but I'll wait to tell them to you until I've heard all of yours. And then I'll list them all and we can vote on them. So, get to work!

Who the heck do I think I am?

I just Googled "Homemade Halloween Yard Decor".

Somebody please stop me.

This is what having a child does to you. Actually, I can't blame it all on the baby. I LOVE Halloween. L-O-V-E. And I think that Aeralyn has inherited that love from me. On Monday, we went shopping. And oh my goodness, there are two brand spanking new Halloween shops in my area. Yes, TWO stores with nothing but Halloween items in them.

Ohmygoodness!!

In both of the stores, they had scary displays of ghosts, goblins, hideous witches, skeletons with flashing red eyes, HUGE spiders, the works. Aeralyn was fascinated with them all. And y'all, I might have had to hold in a tear because my little girl likes Halloween too!! Just like her mama!

Like I said before, somebody stop me. Or better yet, any ideas on homemade yard decor for Halloween? Or am I the only freak that would actually decorate their yard for the occasion?

What Matters Most

Around here today, there are many things that need to be done. There are clothes to be washed, and towels to be folded and put away. There are dishes to be loaded in the dishwasher, sinks to be scrubbed, and floors to be mopped. There are carpets that need to be vacuumed, and trash that needs to be taken out. There are errands to run, checks to write, and phone calls to make.

But none of that matters right now. All of that can wait until tomorrow, or even the next day. The only thing that is important right now is that my little girl wants her mama. She needs me to hold her and rock her and kiss her sweet cheeks. The rest of the world can wait because someday, she won't need me anymore. But right now, she does, and that's all that matters.

Well, I don't love it...

My hair that is. But, I don't hate it either. Actually, I like it considerably more today than I did the day that I got it done. I guess you could say that it's growing on me. I'll let you decide for yourselves if you like it or not.



Before:

Don't you love how I blow dried it and straightened it just for you? Hahahaha! No, I didn't do that at all. That is what my hair looks like when it's half blow dried and half air dried. And boy did it look dead on the ends!

And after:

So, what do you think?

Pop Quiz

Why is it that I can't sleep on the night that my child has slept for four consecutive hours without a peep?

a.) I've stayed up too late watching Mystery Diagnosis and I've now convinced myself that I or someone I love has an array of strange diseases.

b.) My husband is out of town and I have a hard time sleeping without him.

c.) I'm worried about getting my hair cut tomorrow.

d.) Lola is snoring and driving me absolutely crazy.

e.) All of the above.

If you guessed All of the above, you were right. Send me your address so I can send you some cookies.

First, let me update you and say that Aeralyn is perfectly fine. Her fever broke on Tuesday and she has been back to her normal, happy self. Thank goodness. She is quite the pitiful little girl when she is not feeling well.

I'm going to get my hair cut tomorrow for the first time in a long time. I mean really cut, not just trimmed. I've been growing my hair out for a while now, and I am so over it that I could puke. It's dry and dull and boring. And there is just way too much of it, so off it goes tomorrow. In my perfect world, I would get it all cut off in a cute little bob or some other easy to manage short hairstyle, but of course, this is not my perfect world. You see, I have enough hair on my head for three people, maybe four. It is also indecisive about whether or not it wants to be straight or wavy, so it usually resides in a state of constant frizziness. Not ideal hair for short styles. Which means I have to stick with medium to long hairstyles with a lot of layers to thin out my hair.

I have a history of never being satisfied with my hair. I've never once gotten a haircut and said "I LOVE it!". Never. There is always something wrong with it. A little too short here, a little too poofy there, you name it. I think that is mostly because I never go in with something specific in mind to tell the stylist. But this time, I'm going to try and do it differently. I've got it pretty narrowed down to what I want, but not too specific to where the stylist doesn't have any creative leeway. Although, I don't want her to be too creative and end up giving me a mullett or something worse. Wait, is there anything worse than a mullett? I don't know, ask me tomorrow and I'll probably say that the current hair on my head is worse than a mullett.

No, NO! I'm going to think positive. It's just hair for God sakes. It will grow back. It's just, for once, would it be too much to ask to get a haircut that I love? One that puts a smile on my face and makes me feel super confident instead of bringing me close to tears because "LOOK AT MY BANGS! They're AWFUL!"

Now, since I know all of you have all the time in the world and would love to help me on such short notice, I'm going to ask you a favor. Does anyone have a picture of any hairstyles that they think would look cute on me? Anyone out there? Remember, I have a round face with chubby (ok, fat) cheeks, and my hair is super thick so I don't think I can go much shorter than collar bone length. I know I want side bangs, but other than that I'm not too sure. I'm going to be Googling hairstyle ideas to see what I can find, but if you find anything for me, please share!

Now, who wants to bet that Aaron won't notice my new hair when he gets home tomorrow evening?

On my Birthday...

8 things my 23 years old self would tell my 13 year old self if I had the chance.

1. You are NOT fat. You're not even close to being fat, so stop worrying about your weight. You will be fat one day, and you will hate it and wish that you would have enjoyed wearing cute clothes when you had the chance.

2. Don't worry about not making the cheerleading squad next year. You will get pulled in for the JV squad during the middle of the season because one girl got kicked off for bad behavior. Then, much later, you will be the co-captain of your college cheereleading squad. You will have one of the best times of your life.


3. Those bangs you're sportin'? Are not cute. At all. Grow them out for christ sakes!

4. That boy in your eighth grade gym class? Yeah, the one with the blonde hair and sparkling blue eyes. No, not that one, the other one. The one that gives you butterflies in your stomach and makes your heart flutter. Yeah, he's a little nerdy sometimes, but guess what? You fall in love with him. He's going to break your heart one time, and you're going to go through quite a few rough patches, but he's going to be your husband one day. And the father of your child(ren). And he's going to make you happier than you could ever imagine. But whatever you do, don't kiss him in the hallway outside the band room because Mr. V will walk out and catch you and give you in school suspension for the next day. But it will be worth it, so just go for it.

5. Don't worry about your best friend moving away. You will stay in touch and she will even be in your wedding. Stop being so dramatic over the whole situation.

6. You're going to move away from home and go to college. Well, I use the words "Go to College" very loosely considering you spend most of your time not going to college. You will make a lot of mistakes and grow up so much over those 3 years. You will make life-long friends, and a couple of life-long enemies too, but it will all be worth it. Your relationship with Aaron will be tested to the max, and you will realize that he is definitely the person you want to spend the rest of your life with. Oh yeah, you may want to re-think that big party you throw the night before your Biology final. Not really a good idea.

7. You're going to be a mom a little sooner than you think you will. But don't worry, it will be fine. It will actually be the best thing that has ever happened to you.

8. Slow down and enjoy being a kid, please! You are going to be grown before you know it and wishing that you were a kid again. Being an adult isn't all it's cracked up to be.

Mission Sleep Through The Night: Night Two

*sigh* Last night was not great. I put her to bed at 7:45pm, and she was up at 8:20pm. It took Aaron and I right at an hour to get her back to sleep. When I first went in her room, I layed her back down and tried patting her back, but she was NOT having that. So I picked her up and rocked her without offering to nurse. I got her to the relaxed state and layed her down, and she started fussing so I stayed there with her and patted her back, rubbed her head, etc. This went on for about 30 minutes until I couldn't lean over the crib anymore, and as soon as I walked away she started screaming. So Aaron went in and did the same thing (except he didn't pick her up at all), and she fell asleep after about 15 minutes, but only slept for about 3 minutes. Then I went back in and she was so worked up, so I picked her up and nursed her for less than five minutes, and put her in her crib and patted her back for only a couple of minutes, then she was asleep. That was at 9:25pm, and she slept until 12:15pm.

Then, I remember looking at the clock when she woke up, but I have no recollectuion of actually going and getting her and bringing her to my room. That happens all the time. So I think what I'm going to have to do is set an alarm for a few minutes before she usually gets up so I will be up and ready when she wakes up. Then I will try to get her to sleep in her crib. We will see.

My ultimate goal is getting her weaned completely at night. I would like to have her fully weaned by October, November at the latest, but I can't start weaning during the day until she is weaned at night. I have a feeling this is not going to be an easy process...

Thank y'all for helping me out and encouraging me during this time. It really is hard, especially when I know that I've created this situation. I have found myself constantly questioning and anlayzing my parenting lately, and I'm starting to drive myself a little crazy. I was so focused on breastfeeding in the beginning with Aeralyn, even though it did not come easy for me. She was a very fussy/colicky baby, and the one and only way to get her to calm down was to nurse her. So I did that, for hours and hours on end, day and night. I was obsessed with the fact that I didn't know whether or not she was getting enough, and if she was crying, my first thought was that she might be hungry. Even if she had just nursed 20 minutes earlier, I thought maybe she didn't get enough because I had no way of knowing. It was exhausting and frustrating, but she eventually grew out of the stage where she wanted to be attatched to my breast every second of the day. But, I still kept up with the "on-demand" feeding. I never fed her on a schedule. I never looked at a clock to see what time and for how long she was nursing. And I always nursed her to sleep. So this is how all this got started. It was all me. And I get alot of criticism from people over this situation too. I constantly hear about how Aeralyn is so spoiled, or how they can't believe I don't have her on a routine. Or, "She's not sleeping through the night YET?!", or "Are you STILL breastfeeding? When are you planning on stopping that?" as if it is the worst thing in the world. So, thank you all for not criticizing me here because all I am is a first time mom with no clue what to do. I'm just trying to be a good mom. And poor Aeralyn gets to be the guinea pig.

I'm going to respond to your comments in this post because I hate actually responding in the comments since I never know if anyone checks back to see.

Jessica: Thanks for posting Dylan's schedule. It actually looks fairly similar to Aeralyn's day, excet that she doesn't take a nap that is anywhere close to that long. I think that has alot to do with why she's not sleeping at night too, so I'm working on that. I wish that I would have started putting Aeralyn to bed awake at a really young age. I wish I would have thought to do that because, honestly? That never even crossed my mind. But now, it's impossible to even let her try to cry it out because she doesn't just lay there and cry anymore. As soon as you step away from her, she is standing up at the side of the crib and trying to climb out, all the while screaming her head off. So I just don't see her going to sleep that way, you know? And I have mentioned it to her pediatrician, but I keep my mouth shut now when he asks me if she is sleeping through the night because I didn't like his advice. He told me, get ready for this now....to give her Benadryl to help her sleep through the night. Yeah. And the only reason I haven't changed pediatricians is because I LOVE everything else about him, and Aeralyn absolutely adores him, so I think I'll just live with that. And the other pediatrician in the practice is an AP (attatchment parenting) mom to the EXTREME. I consider myself AP, but not in the ways that she is. She told me not to worry about her not sleeping through the night until she was atleast 2 years old, and by the way, aren't you planning on breastfeeding her until she's in preschool? And no, I'm not exaggerating. So, unfortunately I have no good advice on the pediatrician end.
I am going to do a combination of what you did with Dylan and what the book said to do. I'm not going to pick her up unless she is majorly freaking out. I'm hoping this doesn't take too long. Thanks again for your help and encouragement.

Erica: Good to hear from you! I've missed your blogs lately. Thanks for your comment. Night nursing is definitely a habit for Aeralyn. I know she's not really hungry, she just wants the comfort of it. I have tried giving her formula before bed with a little bit of cereal in it (several months ago), but it didn't help at all. That is how I found out that the night nursing was for comfort and not hunger because I knew she was full from that bottle. She is trained to wake up and nurse. I'm like a human pacifier. And consequently, she absolutely will not take a pacifier. I try to give her one on a daily basis. Or nightly that is. Also, the last time I tried to give her a bottle, she would not take it. I had waited too long since the last time I had given her one, so she would not have it. And when I leave her for a few hours with my in-laws, she would rather just wait for me to come home than take a bottle. She will eat solid food and drink water or juice from a sippy while I'm gone, but she won't take a bottle. I've actually thought about giving her water or formula in a sippy cup when she wakes up instead of nursing her. I wonder if maybe she would realize that she's not going to get to nurse, so she'll stop waking up. What do you think? Thanks again for your comment and thoughts!

Happy Summer!

Today is the first day of summer, so...HAPPY SUMMER! I can't say that I really love summer anymore. Summer used to hold a special kind of magic while I was in school. It always meant the end of one school year and time to have fun. Aaron and I would go to the beach, go out tubing on the boat, go fishing in the river, and go swimming. Now it's just a big pain in the butt if you ask me. I live in Georgia, so I probably don't even have to tell you about how hot it gets here. But, for those of you who don't know, in the middle of July you can walk out of the front door and immediately burst into flames. It's that freaking hot.

So anyway, it's summer. I don't know how many of you remember, but I said I was going to do something before the start of summer. Does this ring a bell for any of you? Well, I have been working on it, and I have to say I am pretty proud of the result.

Here are the before pictures:

And here are the after pictures:

Not too shabby, huh? It is now a scrabooking/storage room. The recliner is only in there until we can get rid of it. And, did you notice my child in the second picture? That is her just moments before she stood up, ON HER OWN, without pulling up on anything. Of course, my camera was too slow to get the picture of her standing up because she only did it for a few seconds, but still, SHE DID IT! And I? Am terrified of what this means.

I got hit on today...

by a state prisoner who was doing road work detail in my neighborhood. Wow, I feel so hot today.

Guilty

On June 8th, Lola turned 2 years old. I didn't even remember that it was her birthday this year, and is it weird that I feel guilty about that?


If you are not a pet lover, you probably won't understand this post, so I'll continue at the risk of you thinking that I'm a complete freak.


On July 4th, 2005, Aaron and I got our first dog. She was a teacup Chihuahua that we saw at the flea market, and we instantly fell in love. She was so tiny, only about a pound, and she had redish-brown fur. I named her Bailey Elizabeth (yes, all of our animals have first and middle names) and decided that she would be the most loved and spoiled dog on the planet. She was so tiny and fragile and had the sweetest demeanor about her. But, a few days after we brought her home, we noticed she had a cough. We took her to the vet where she was diagnosed with Kennel-cough. We were told to give her a small dose of Robitussin and that should clear it up in a few days.


It didn't work, and she slowly got worse. The Friday before my birthday, we had to take her in to the emergency vet clinic because she stopped eating and was having boughts with hypoglocemia. They admitted her immediately and started an IV in her tiny neck. It was the most pitiful sight I had ever seen. They said that she had a bad case of pnuemonia, and the prognosis was not good. They kept her all weekend, and I would call 4-5 times each night to check on her like a worried mother, and visit her several times during the day. On Monday morning, my mother in law and I went in before I headed for work to pick her up so I could transfer her to our regular vet clinic. When the nurse put her in my arms, Bailey looked up at me and took her last breath. The vet worked on her feversishly to get her breathing again, but she was just too sick. I was beyond devastated.

Aaron felt terrible because she was my 21st birthday present. I knew that was going to be the worst birthday I'd ever had.

Until the day of my birthday, when Aaron came home with this:





That is Lola-Belle. I'll admit, I was a little wary of her at first because I was still upset over Bailey, but she ended up being just what I needed. From the first day we got her, we knew she was made for us. She was the perfect addition to our little family, and we were head over heels about her.





We spoiled her rotten, constantly snuggling with her and giving her treats, and of course, taking her picture:





She sleeps in our bed, goes with us wherever we go, and has always been a real part of the family.

And then, I got pregnant with Aeralyn. The whole pregnancy, Aaron and I discussed and fretted over how Lola would react when we brought Aeralyn home. Would she be jealous? Would she act out with anger or biting? Or would she be terrified?



Luckily, we haven't had any problems out of her at all. I can tell that sometimes she is jealous and needs a little bit of extra attention, and I try really hard to give that to her whenever I get a chance. Aaron does the same every time he has a free moment, so she still knows she is loved and important. I still feel bad for forgetting her birthday though, even though she obviously doesn't know the difference.

So, Happy Belated Birthday Lola-Belle (AKA "Stinks McGee"). Mommy still loves you, even though she may not get to show it as often as she used to. Thanks for being a great big sister to Aeralyn, and the sweetest doggy in the whole wide world.

Clumsy

A little over a month ago, I had an accident. I know, you're shocked that I didn't tell you, but I didn't think it was a big deal. I really didn't, I promise.

Let me start at the beginning.

I am extremely clutzy. I know you're probably sitting there thinking "Me too!", but I can guarantee you that I am about three thousand times more clumsy than you are. I've gotten so bad that when I yell "OUCH!" from whatever part of the house I'm in, Aaron doesn't even blink an eye or come running or anything. His usual response is to say in an exasperated tone "What happened now?"

I know, he is super awesome. And all mine. YAY!

Ahem. So, like I was saying, a little over a month ago I had an accident. I was aggravated with Aaron over something that I can't even remember now, and I was arguing with him at the back door. I turned to walk back in the house, and my plan was to slam the door. You know, so he would know how mad I was. (I know, childish, but it gets the point across and makes me feel better). Anyway, as I was walking in, my foot somehow got hung up on the rug, and I ended up slamming the door on my heel. And it hurt. Really bad. I iced it, washed it off and put a bandaid on it and really didn't think much more about it.

Then, about four days later, I put my tennis shoe on to go to the gym. My heel was so swollen that it was too uncomfortable to wear my shoe, so I decided I would give it more time before I tried to wear a shoe with a back on it. And now, here I am with a heel that is still swollen and I have no idea why.

I went to the doctor over a week ago, and she made me a referal to a podiatrist. I will be going to that appointment next week. Oh boy! I can't wait to see what the foot fetish doctor has to say. Yes, that's right, the foot fetish doctor. Why else would you want to work with feet all day? That's what I thought.

Thank goodness it's warm and I've been able to wear flip flops. But this also means that I haven't been able to go to the gym in over a month because I can't get my workout shoes on. I'm actually missing it too. So, hopefully this foot thing will be resolved soon. Anyone have any advice?

Meme!!

INSTRUCTIONS: Remove the blog in the top spot from the following list and bump everyone up one place. Then add your blog to the bottom slot, like so.

Eve
Sarah
Elizasmom
a lifetime
Pieces of Me

Next select five people to tag: (if you haven’t done it already)
Alicia
Lindsey
CJ
Jessica
And I'm only tagging four people because I'm a rebel like that.


What were you doing 10 years ago?
Let's see...I was 12 years old, and I was getting ready to end the school year for the summer. I was ending 7th grade, and I hadn't met Aaron yet. I'm sure I was doing the normal pre-teen girl things: worrying about boys, talking on the phone, spending the night with friends and being dramatic.

What were you doing 1 year ago?
I was pregnant with Aeralyn, and I was still in the stage where I was enjoying it.

Five snacks you enjoy: (Just Five?!)
One: Doritos
Two: Roasted Garilc Rye Chips (OMG I can eat a whole bag at one time. These things are like crack, seriously!)
Three: Land o Lakes individual cheese slices.
Four: Cheez Its
Five S'mores Pop-Tarts

Five songs that you know all the lyrics:
One: What hurts the most by Rascal Flatts
Two: Sweet Child of Mine by Guns N Roses
Three: I hope you Dance by Leann Womack
Four: Red Strokes by Garth Brooks
Five: In the End by Linkin Park


Five things you would do if you were a millionaire:
Of course I would invest wisely, but after that I would:
One: Donate a big chunk of money to research for Von Hipple-Lindau.
Two: Buy new cars and new furnished houses for all the people who are important to me.
Three: I would take a trip to Australia, and depeding on how much I like it out there, I might by a house there. Aaron and I have always wanted to go to Australia, and it's just a big bonus that I actually "know" someone there now!
Four I would build a new house with a HUGE craft room that is furnished with all the latest scrapbooking supplies.
Five: I would build Aeralyn a custom made playhouse that is fully furnished. I always wanted one of those when I was little.


Five bad habits:
One: Biting my nails.
Two: Speaking before I think.
Three: Getting defensive too quickly.
Four: Grinding my teeth.
Five: Eating too much junk food.

Five things you like doing:
One: Reading to Aeralyn.
Two: Scrapbooking
Three: Taking pictures.
Four: SHOPPING!
Five: Driving in the car by myself with the windows down and the music up really loud.

Five things you would never wear again:
One: From the looks of the way things are going, a bikini.
Two: Jelly shoes
Three: a pony tail on the side of my head
Four: Frosty pink lipstick
Five: body glitter

Five favorite toys:
One: the laptop
Two: my camera
Three: my new phone I got for mother's day! Motorolla Razr!
Four: Photoshop
Five: all my scrapbooking stuff

Let me know when you're done with yours!!

I should have kept my mouth shut.

So, remember in my last post where I told you how my hair is the most awesome it has ever been?

Yeah. Um, I shouldn't have said anything. It totally looked like crap today. If and when I ever get the time to use my straightener properly, I will most definitely take a picture to show all of you. I don't know when that will be considering my baby has decided she must be entertained every single waking second of her day. I swear, that kid. Doesn't she know I have way more important things to do other than play with her all day? Like, straighten my hair and update this blog.

Relax people, I am kidding.

And yes, it is true that some people are of the opinion that I must have more children. Actually, most people have that opinion I'm finding out. Aeralyn simply cannot go through life as an only child. It seems that I would be commiting a terrible crime to only have one child "this day and age". How dare I be so selfish! *gasp*

I may change my mind one day. I have a right to do that if I so choose, but as it stands right now, I see nothing wrong with having one child. Especially since Aaron agrees with me 100%, and honestly? His opinion is the only one that does or should matter to me. If people think that my decision is selfish, then I guess that's just what they will have to think. Although maybe it is a little selfish considering how cute Aeralyn turned out. The world can always use more attractive people.

Ha ha. Kidding again. Although she is pretty darn cute, you have to admit.

I apologize for the lack of photographic evidence from the hot pink mold on my turkey. I've been scolded for telling the internet such disgusting things. Aaron was horrified when he saw the pictures I posted of the rotten food in our refrigerator last year, and we all know how freaked out he got when I wanted to show you a picture of the biggest shower drain clog of all time. Little does he know, we could have actually won a world record for that thing. Too bad he wouldn't let me take a picture. I tried to Google an image of molded Turkey, but apparently no one has ever thought to take a picture of that before. Now I feel bad because I could have done a great service to all of mankind.

I've got some turkey in the fridge right now actually. Can you say, science experiment? Let's see how long it takes to grow pink mold again.

And this time, I am so taking a picture.

Don't you wish you were visiting me tonight?

Conversation #1: Because it's been way too long since I've reminded you how disgusting I am.

Scene: My house, early evening. Aaron is in the shower and Aeralyn and I are singing yet another round of "The Wheels on the Bus".

Him: *shouting from the shower* HHHHHHHEEEYYYYY!!!
Me: WHAT?!
Him: COME HERE!
Me: *opens the door to the bathroom* What?
Him: come look at this.
Me: is it really important right now because I'm kinda busy with Aeralyn?
Him: yes, come here!
Me: I swear Aaron, if you're going to do the Spongebob no pants thing I'll kill you.
Him: No, this is serious. I need a Wal-Mart bag.
Me: Um...okay. In the shower?
Him: Yes. LOOK!!
Me: *opens shower curtain* OH MY GOD!!! What the hell is that?!
Him: It came from the drain!
Me: GROSS!
Him: I know! It's like, a small dog or something.
Me: I think I'm going to be sick.
Him: Me too if you don't go get me a Wal-Mart bag so I can get rid of it!
Me: *leaves to get bag*
Me: *comes back with a ziploc bag and hands it to him*
Him: Why did you bring me a ziploc bag?
Me: Um...I couldn't find any Wal-Mart bags. Just put it in there and we'll throw it away.
Him: I just saw a ton of Wal-Mart bags in the kitchen. There is no sense in wasting a ziploc bag.
Me: Just put it in there!!
Him: What are you up to?
Me: Nothing...
Him: No! We are not saving this thing so you can take a picture of it and show it to the internet!!
Me: But WHY? Wouldn't it be so gross?! It would be even better than the time I showed them all the stuff in our refrigerator!
Him: NO! That is absolutely disgusting you freak!
Me: I know...*leaves to get a Wal-Mart bag*

Y'all, I am not even kidding or making this up. I think you all need to personally thank Aaron for saving you from the most disgusting thing you might have ever seen. Seriously though, if you would have rolled that clog into a ball? It would have been the size of a softball. A SOFTBALL sized clog came out of my shower drain! And I wanted to show it to the INTERNET! You see? Do you see how much I LOVE you? *bats eyelashes*

Conversation #2: Because you need to be informed of yet another one of my terribly bad habits.

Scene: My kitchen, right after Aaron got out of the shower. I had just put Aeralyn to bed and I was working on painting some big Easter eggs I had just cut out of poster board.

Me: Ahhhhhhhhhhh!
Him: What?
Me: UGHHHHHHHHHHHH!
Him: WHAT?! *turns to look at me* What is all over your mouth?!
Me: AHHHHHHHHHHHHH! Heyuhp muh!
Him: *laughing* What?
Me: *gesturing wildly towards the sink* Heyup MUH!! Cuh hah mah hair!
Him: Help you come hold your hair?
Me: YYYYEEEHHHH!
Him: *dieing laughing and coming to hold my hair* What did you do?
Me: *laughing as I'm rinsing mouth out under the faucet*
Him: Did you lick the paintbrush?
Me: No!
Him: What the heck did you do?
Me: I was opening the paint....
Him: *cuts me off before I can finish explaining* ...with your MOUTH! Geez Heather, how many times have I told you not to open things with your mouth? You're going to break a tooth one day.
Me: Thanks DAD!
Him: Well, now that you got a mouth full of yellow paint do you think you've learned your lesson?
Me: *glares at him*
Him: I have got to call everybody and tell them what you just did! *laughing hysterically*
Me: I hate you!

Yes, I open everything with my mouth. Soda cans, nail polish bottles, things wrapped in plastic, paint bottles. And no, I have not learned my lesson.

Coversation #3: Because Aaron and I need to go back to kindergarten.

Scene: Still in the kitchen, I'm still painting.

Me: What color should I use next?
Him: Hmmm....do you have blue?
Me: No, Wal-Mart was out of blue today.
Him: What? No BLUE?!
Me: Nope, no blue. Hey wait! I can make blue!
Him: How?
Me: Yellow and green make blue dummy. *rolls eyes*
Him: Are you sure?
Me: uh, yeah!
Me: *mixes yellow and green*
Him: hmmm...that doesn't look blue to me.
Me: I just need to add some purple.
Me: *adds purple* *thinks to self this looks like crap*
Him: Let me call mom, she knows. *on the phone "What two colors make blue? Uh huh. Uh huh. Yeah. Okay, thanks."*
Him: You can't make blue.
Me: What do you mean you can't make blue?
Him: Blue is a primary color. You can't make it.
Me: Oh yeah. I knew that.
Him: Right, I'm sure you did.
Me: I really did. I just forgot.
Him: What was that thing about ROYGBIV?
Me: Uh...that has nothing to do with what we're talking about.
Him: I know, I just thought of it. What was that again?
Me: The rainbow thing.
Him: Oh yeah, the guy that invented the rainbow.
Me: *crickets*
Me: You mean like Roy G. Biv?
Him: yeah....*smiles*
Me: you're kidding right?
Him: of course
Me: oh thank God!

Yes, I really tried to make blue. Unsuccesfully. Somebody really needs to work on that. Maybe I'll call up 'ol Roy G. Biv and ask him for help. Surely he knows since he invented the rainbow and all...

I heart Australians!

These questions are fromErica. I am quickly learning that I will do anything that she asks just because I'm pretty sure she has an Australian accent, even though I have never actually heard her speak. But I'm a sucker for Australian accents. This is why I love Curtis Stone - The Take Home Chef. I want him to come talk to me and teach me a few things. You know, about cooking.

Ahem.

Anyway, I told her "Ask me anything!", and well, she did. I think she came up with some pretty dang good questions.

1. Is there anything you would do differently (if you could) with the birth of your daughter?
Absolutely. I would have gotten the epidural right away instead of waiting for 13 hours. Also, I would have said no to the dose of Stadol the nurse gave me. Apparently it turned me into a clone of the devil himself for about 4 hours during my labor. I have no recollection of snatching off my oxygen mask (and breaking it), yelling at my husband, or snapping the head clear off of my mother in law.

2. You are a world famous rockstar - how do you deal with the paparazzi who never seem to leave you alone?
The paparazzi are the reason that I never want to become famous (as if there were some possibility HA!). I understand that they come with the territory of being a celebrity, but I think some go way overboard sometimes just to get a picture. If I were a famous rockstar, I think I would just handle myself with poise and I would do my best not to give them anything to talk about. I know they would still find things to say and pictures to take, but atleast I wouldn't be going around shaving my head or making sex tapes, you know? I definitely wouldn't take any tips from Britney Spears.

3. Because you are this world famous rockstar, at one of your after-parties and everyone has gone home, you find someone has left their blackberry wedged in one of your numerous couches. Who does it belong to and how do you react?
Since I'm playing with the fantasy of being a rockstar, I'm going to also say that I'm single and childless. Now, with that being said:
The blackberry belongs to Curtis Stone. He was the caterer for this particular after-party, and I invited him to stay and enjoy himself once the food was served. Since he is one of my dearest friends, I call him up (speed dial #2), and let him know that he has left his blackberry behind. He agrees to come right over and pick it up. Lots of cooking ensues. And listening to his amazing voice. LOTS. Um, yeah....cooking.

4. What is your least favourite food?
My least favorite food is a weird one, so get ready. Chicken with bones in it. If I'm eating chicken, it has to be boneless. Just thinking about the slimy bones in chicken makes me gag. Blehck

5. Who is your favourite person, and why?
Curtis Stone. Just kidding!! Well, obviously I could do a total cop out here and say Aeralyn. Yes, she is my favorite person, but I think you would all expect that. So I guess that would be a boring answer. Tied with Aeralyn in first place of my most favoritest people on Earth is Aaron. Maybe that's a boring answer too, but oh well. He is my favorite person because he is the only one that I can be raging mad at one second, and then the next be rolling on the floor laughing with. I may complain about him, but really? I don't think it gets much better than him. He's pretty awesome.

So, there you go. If you want to play along, leave me a comment and let me know. I'll think of 5 questions to ask you. Just make sure to leave me your email address.

A Music Meme

Erica tagged me for a meme, and I am embarrassed to admit that I was extrememly excited because I haven't done one of these in a while. Here are the rules:

List seven songs you are into right now. No matter what they are. They must be songs you are presently enjoying. Then tag seven other people to see what they’re listening to.

If you click on each song, it will send you to a link so you can listen to them and watch the video. You're welcome.

1.Into the Ocean by Blue October - I love this song. I don't really have a profound reason, I just love it.

2.Better than Me by Hinder - They are my current obsession. Check that: his voice is my current obsession. It is sexy. 'Nuff said.

3.My Love by Justin Timberlake ft. T.I. - this is my ringtone for when Aaron calls me. It has been one of my favorite songs for a while now. And I love the video.

4. Sweet Child O Mine by Guns N' Roses - long time favorite, but I've recently just started listening to it again. Alot.

5.Wasted by Carrie Underwood - the newest by her and my favorite of hers so far.

6. Waterfall by Griffin House - you all know this song, you just may not know that you do. You know that Rembrandt commercial with the kissing couple? That's this song.

7. Tell me Bout it by Joss Stone- It's really catchy and I like it.

I'm supposed to tag 7 people, but everybody is pretty much already tagged. So, if you read this and you haven't done it yet? Consider yourself tagged. Let me know if you do it so I can come and see!

Clean House

**Updated 11:30am**
**Updated again at 12:44pm**
**Updated again at 2:51pm**
**Updated again at 7:00pm** Holy poop is it really 7pm already??!! I hate this time change! I guess this will be the last update for the evening because it's time to get Aeralyn ready for bed.



Hi my name is Heather. I have an aversion to cleaning my house.

*Hi Heather.*

It all started when I was just a wee little girl and my dad would make me clean up my room, and the problem just continued to grow from there. Now, I have an excuse not to have an immaculate house because I have a baby that keeps me too busy so I can't clean. Somtimes this is completely true because we either have one of those days where she will not let me put her down long enough to even go to the bathroom fortheloveofGOD! Or sometimes we have days where we just get so into playing and reading books and taking pictures that the housework is forgotten. But then there are other days, like today, where I just flat out don't want to do it, so I spend Aeralyn's nap time writing a blog entry and surfing the internet.

But soon, the aforementioned baby will be on the move. And that means that I will be forced to clean my house all the time because I have a feeling that spare change, dryer lint, and cat hair (yes we still have cat hair even though the cat has been outside for months now), would be lovely little treasures for her to find and promptly put in her mouth. I'm pretty sure if I let that happen, I would be the worst mother that ever walked planet Earth, and I'm not ready for that title just yet. Maybe when she's a teenager, but I've still got a long ways to go before that happens.

The best way for me to get things accomplished around here is to put it on paper and mark it off as I go along. Although, I have been known to just say to hell with everything and throw out the list and forget about it until another day, so this is where you come in. I'm going to post my to do list right here, right now, and as I complete my tasks today, I'm going to come back here and update the list. This will work out much better because then all of you will know whether or not I did what I said I was going to do today, and I don't want to run the risk of disappointing the entire internet by failing. HAHAHAHAHAHA!!

List of the competely disgusting and/or daunting variety:

1.) Take a shower. (yes, this has to actually be put on a list because it may or may not get done today) (don't you want to come over for a visit?) Yay! Now you can all come over for a visit and you won't have to smell me!
2.) Unload and re-load the dishwasher.
3.) Gather up trash from all rooms.
4.) Fold laundry that has piled up for two days.
5.)Wash and fold laundry that has piled up for God knows how long. 2 Loads down, 70,000 to go!
6.) Go to the grocery store. A three hour trip to 2 groceries stores. Ugh that totally threw off my day.
7.) Vacuum.
8.) Straighten up living room.

I think that souds like a good list for today. Check back for updates!

Discovery!

This morning we went for a walk. I put Aeralyn in a short-sleeved/shorts outfit because it is absolutely BEAUTFIUL outside. The high today is 76 degrees and we have a nice light breeze...perfect outdoor weather. Are you jealous? Don't be for long because tomorrow we have an 80% chance of rain/severe thunderstorms. Oh joy!

Anyway, while we were getting ready for our walk, I remembered that I bought Lola a new harness a while back, and I've never used it. I started looking for it, and you will never guess what I found. Not the harness..oh no, not that. It has gone into the black hole I'm sure. NOT even the keys to the truck that we have been looking for.

Are you done guessing now?

I found the present that I bought Alicia OVER A MONTH AND A HALF AGO!!! I never sent it to her and I completely forgot about it! It's a good thing it isn't anything super important, or I'd feel like an even bigger jack-ass.

I PROMISE that I will get it out THIS WEEK! I swear.

I'm terrible at forgetting things. Aaron's birthday is on Christmas day, so I bought him a Christmas card from me, a birthday card from me and Aeralyn, and a Christmas card from Aeralyn. I completely forgot to give them to him, and I didn't even remember until I was giving him his cards for Valentine's day. So, I gave him his Christmas cards on Valentine's day. Almost 2 months later. I am awesome.

About a week ago I also found the cards I bought for my sister and nephew's birthdays back in January. I think I'll just save those for next year!

Is it just me, or are any of you like this too? Please tell me you are to some degree, even if it's just to make me feel better.

I promise there is a point at the end of all the rambling.

Today is Friday, which means that it is time for my Friday weigh in. I'm still at a 6lb loss, but let me assure you that that is nothing short of a miracle considering the enormous amounts of food I've been consuming here lately. And also, I may as well be flushing fourty dollars a month down the toilet instead of sending it to my local YMCA.

This is much harder than I expected. I've tried diets before, and they've never worked. But the reason for that was because I would finally decide that I wasn't all that unhappy with my body, so I would just stop worrying about it. But this time, I am definitely not happy with my body. I am uncomfortable in my own skin, I despise shopping for clothes, I can't keep my jeans from falling down because my waistline is just as wide as my hips, and I avoid mirrors because I can't stand to look at my double chin. I also avoid cameras, so there are probably a total of 5 pictures of Aeralyn and I together since she has been born. And summer is right around the corner, which means I will be forced to wear short sleeved shirts that display my flabby, un-toned arms. And once again, I will be sweating to death because I refuse to wear shorts. I haven't put a pair of shorts on my body to wear out in public since the summer before I started college. That has been five years ago. And I don't think I need to remind you that it is HOT around here people. But I'm doing it for you, all of you, so you won't have to look at my flabby thighs. So really, you should be grateful to me for that.

Last night I actually had a nightmare about shopping for a swim suit. I have come to the conclusion that I will not be able to wear a bikini this year. In fact, I might never be able to wear one again, but I am okay with that. The only problem is that I'm not even looking forward to wearing a swim suit period. It wouldn't be so bad if I could just wear one in the comfort of my own backyard while taking Aeralyn swimming in the pool. I can handle that. What I cannot handle is wearing one in front of all of my in laws when we go out in the boat several times over the summer. I could just not go, but that's not fair to Aeralyn because I know she will enjoy it.

And I'm becoming a little bitter about the whole issue too. I had to stop myself from screaming at someone (who will remain nameless because it's not fair to call her out on here): "WELL I WILL TRY NOT TO CRY MYSELF TO SLEEP TONIGHT FOR ALL YOUR TERRIBLE PROBLEMS!!" all because she told me of her dillemma of buying the smallest pair of shorts that a certain store had, and they were still too big. The poor poor thing. I'm sure that is a real problem, but I'm sure it would still be much easier to solve than mine. I should have offered her some Oreo's. I'll bet that would have fixed her problem right there.

See what I mean about the bitterness? It is taking me over.

I know I should stop acting like a total brat and pretending that being fat is the end of the world. I know that much worse things could be happening to me right now. I really do know that. But what I also know is this: if I don't do something about it now, then I will be faced with much worse problems later down the road. My father had high cholesterol, numerous hear attacks and high blood pressure. My grandmother also had high cholesterol, high blood pressure, and a few strokes. So I don't exactly come from a genetic gold mine here people. And I know that I would like to be around for a long LONG time for Aeralyn's sake.

So, since obviously doing all this for my sake isn't working, I'm going to have to change my reasoning. I'm now doing all this for Aeralyn's sake. All so she can have a healthy mommy that will be here for years to come, and so her children can have a grandmother. Also, I want to teach her much better eating habits than what I learned growing up. I will definitely not let her sit down in front of the TV with a tube of Pringles and let her eat the whole thing. Yes, my dad let me do that. No, I'm not blamig him for all my weight issues, though, wouldn't that be so much easier now that I think of it?

Now if I don't go to the gym regularly, I will be letting Aeralyn down. If that's not motivation, I don't know what is. I hope this works.