Busy Week (with lots of pictures!!)

This past week I made a birthday cake for my baby boy (who turned 4.....how can that be possible?!?!)

The cake didn't end up being anything fancy. He loved it, though.
I had to take this child in for her 15 month check up....

Doesn't she just look so sweet??! Well, SHE ISN'T!!!! She just knows how to turn on the cuteness. I can tell you how to spell trouble....L-A-N-E-Y! She likes to give me little heart attacks. Today, she climbed up onto the TOP of our little play kitchen. THE TOP! (She then proceeded to fall off, head first, and bust her eyelid open.) When I took her in for her check up last week, she had to get shots. She got the Flu shot, the Chicken Pox shot, and the MMR. She then immediately (and I mean with in 60 seconds) broke out in hives on the leg she got the MMR shot in. We got to spend the next 30 minutes in the doctors office, with nurses buzzing around, making sure she was alright. She was. She just likes to be difficult.

My brother, Drew, and his wife came to visit this past weekend. You know that Laney cuteness mentioned in the above paragraph? Well, she turned it on for her Uncle Drew.


Drew, Marquesas, Tracy, and I all drove over to Orlando to try out for....
WHEEL
OF
FORTUNE
That's right!! The Wheelmobile came to Sea World and we decided "what the heck!" We might as well give it a shot!!


There were 3 separate hours of tryouts. You could fill out an application for each hour (we were there for about 7 hours total). They put all the applications into this big, gold drum, spun it 'round and 'round, and then drew out applications, at random, for people to come up on stage in groups of five. You then got to call out a letter and had 3 seconds to guess the puzzle.

And, I ACTUALLY GOT CALLED UP ON STAGE TO PLAY!!!!! It was fun, but holy crap was it scary! I didn't solve the puzzle (although I knew it by the time it was solved), but I was also the first person to guess a letter. I guessed "T" and there were 2 of them and then I guessed an "I" and there were 3 of them. Woo Hoo! They kept saying they wanted people who could "shine" onstage. If you could "shine" then they would ask you back for a final audition. I figured I would have to get called back for a second audition because I was REALLY shiny after standing in the Florida heat for 7 hours waiting for a chance to audition, but I guess that isn't the kind of shine they were referring to. I had no chance against the pyro-technician from Disney that used to be in the circus and the funny man who could juggle while surfing.
So, although I am apparently boring and didn't get asked back to go on the show and have a chance to win a million dollars, I did win.....

A HAT!!!!!!!!!! (and a key chain and a blinky pin) I know. I know....don't be jealous!!

Oh, and just FYI, this is what happens at my house when I go off and leave Daddy in charge for a day.....






(Yes, that is chest hair on Kyle)

Man, Am I Glad She's On MY Team!

(Jude, I am giving you fair warning...this one might be slightly overwhleming for you!!)

I remember once, my oldest sister, Jill, and I were driving along on a dark road, late at night. We had a conversation about what we would do if our car were to break down along this dark road that we knew was lined with small, alligator filled ponds on both sides. We talked about how we would just be stranded, waiting in the dark in the car until someone came along to rescue us, because neither of us were brave enough to get out and walk. We discussed how we should put some sort of bike or scooter in the trunk. That way, in the future, if this were to happen, she could pedal and I could ride on the handle bars. That makes perfect sense, right??

So, then a few months later, Jill and I had told our other sister, Tracy, about our genius plan. Tracy laughed at us. She was surprised. She said:

"Don't you ever have those stray thoughts where you picture an alligator attack you?? (Which, by the way, is a very common "daydream" for those of us living in alligator infested territory.) What do you do?"

Jill and I both said we would do something like jump up on top of the closest car, cry like a baby and scream for help. Tracy laughed again and then proceeded to tell us that in those little daydreams, she kicks the alligator's butt.

Apparently, Tracy is much braver than either of us. She proved that this past week.....

Tracy and Jill live together.

A few days ago, Jill was outside smoking, late at night. Tracy came and tapped on the sliding glass door.

Tracy: There's a mouse, in a box, in my bedroom.
Jill: WHAT?!?!?!
Tracy: There's a mouse..... In a box...... In my bedroom.
Jill: WHAT?!?!?
Tracy: I caught a mouse. It's in a box in my bedroom.
Jill: How??
Tracy: What do you mean how?
Jill: How did you catch it??
Tracy: With a box, in my bedroom.
Jill: Didn't it run??
Tracy: Oh, it ran. I ran faster.....

You see, they have been having mice issues. The apartment people had laid traps. They had put out poison. They had laid more traps. Finally, they ended up having to call in the exterminators, who laid bait all over the place to try and get rid of them.

Apparently, Tracy was laying in her bedroom watching TV, when a small, grey mouse came scurrying in under her bedroom door. She flipped on the lights quickly and exclaimed "OH NO YOU DON'T!!"

She then proceeded to chase the mouse around in her room, but lost it. She heard it in the bathroom, so she went into the bathroom and chased it around. It ran back into her bedroom where she, you guessed it, chased it around until finally, she caught it under a clear, plastic, Rubbermaid container.




They had to put something on top of the box to weigh it down because the mouse was jumping and scampering all over the place. They knew they needed something stiff to slide underneath the box so they could move it, so they used my sister's CAT scans. Smart, huh??

They ended up sliding the entire contraption through the apartment, picking it up and tossing the mouse out close to the pond (although not so close to the pond that they made themselves easy gator bait!) They knew the little mouse would be doomed, since the Orkin man had baited the entire perimeter of the building the day before. Plus, Florida is home to an abundance of rather large birds. So, odds were definitely against the little guy. But, as Tracy pointed out, if they just stayed outside she woulnd't mind them. But once they cross that line and come into her home, they declare war!

Note to self: Don't make Tracy mad. She might chase you around and capture you in a little, plastic box.

Karma's a B.......Well, You Get the Idea (This Blog is Rated G, You Know!)

On my latest trip to Ohio, I had a layover in Charlotte (aren't the clouds pretty in that picture??) My plane had arrived a little early and the airport was packed, so I decided I would sit in a busy section and people watch for awhile. I love to people watch. People are funny.

So I found a seat, sitting right on the edge of the main walkway. There was a young woman sitting two seats down from me. When I sat down, she looked over and smiled. She was very pretty. She was blond and had these piercing, green eyes. She was balancing her checkbook. What? You think that's weird?? Oh come on, like you haven't balanced your checkbook in a building full of strange people like a million times!

I sat my bag on the floor beside me (because my bag was too big to sit on the seat beside me because the stupid airlines have started charging a stupid fee to check a stupid bag so I had to pack everything I needed for my trip in a stupid carry on and then lug it around 4 stupid airports the whole stupid time!! But really, I'm ok with that). I started watching people as they passed. Most of them were men. Most likely business men. They were all dressed in the same Khaki pants and polo shirts.

It was pretty boring at first. Then, I noticed something. There was pattern emerging that went something like this.

Man comes walking along.
Man notices pretty blond woman sitting in seat.
Man begins to stare.
Man sucks in gut.
Man continues walking, but changes path to move slightly closer to edge of walkway where pretty blond woman is sitting.
Man continues to stare.
Man turns head as he passes.
Man continues to stare.
Occasionally man raises eyebrows.
Man smiles.
Pretty blond woman (completely oblivious) balances checkbook.

It did not matter if this man was young or old. It did not matter if this man was tall or short. It did not matter if this man was skinny or fat or if this man was alone or walking with his wife/girlfriend. In fact, I am pretty sure one of the guys that stared as he passed was with his boyfriend.

One man dropped his cell phone. One man tripped over a small child. One man tripped on the bag in front of him and almost ate walkway. One man almost stepped out in front of one of those beeping cars that carry disabled people (and speaking of them...umm, where do they find the drivers for those things?!?! Are they like Nascar drivers in training? Seriously...where's the fire, buddy??).

I wanted to stand up and yell "HAVE YOU NO SHAME, MAN?!?!" or "TAKE A PICTURE! IT'LL LAST LONGER!" I couldn't believe how obvious these men were being and how totally and completely preoccupied this woman was, just sitting there, balancing away. I found it extremely disrespectful to the woman they were drooling over and especially the women they were with!! What is wrong with men these days?? Ever heard of a little hing called R-E-S-P-E-C-T!!! Look it up! What ever happened to being discreet?? You catch a quick glimpse and then get over it! That's the polite thing to do, right?!?

After about 15 minutes I had had enough. I decided I would get up and go look for some place to buy a cookie or some frozen yogurt or something. As I was walking towards Terminal B, something caught my eye.

There was a young man, sitting in a seat off to the right of the walkway. He had dark hair. He was tall and thin (just how I like them!!). I felt my heart race a little. He was sooo cute (I'm married....not blind!). He looked up at me and had these amazingly blue eyes. It dawned on me that I was staring right at him!! I thought to myself "Eek!! Look away, woman! Look away!!!" He smiled a cordial smile. I smiled back. Then, I promptly ran smack dab into the back of the woman walking in front of me.

The Brand New Me

Is anyone else stuck in a frump?? I am.....definitely.

I do the same things.....

At the same times.....

In the same order....

With the same people.....

Day after day.....after day.

And I am sick of it.

So, I decided that I was ready for a change.

I started searching though magazine articles and looking online at new hair styles and colors. I sat there, staring at celebrities and models, trying to figure out what would help to make ME look totally and completely FABULOUS! I enlisted the help of my daughter, Mikaily. She was not shy about putting her two cents in.

After HOURS of searching, we finally found it.

So, here it is. I would like to introduce the brand new me!








What do you think?? (Just FYI, Mikaily ended up being my stylist.)