She's a stand up kid.

I took this picture over the weekend. She WAS kind of leaning on the basket behind her, but I thought it was cool anyway....

It's been a low-key weekend. I've been sick - well we ALL have but I seemingly have gotten the worst of it. And I haven't felt up to much of anything strenuous. I was going to go shopping yesterday and I decided that I was just too tired. Now you KNOW I didnt feel well if that's the case!
Since there's not a lot going on here at the moment (same ole, same ole), I thought I'd pose a question to anyone reading out there... just for fun:

What's your favorite birthday memory as a kid?

I'll answer first: My birthday is in July and for my 11th birthday my parents threw me a "backyard beach birthday bash". We had a slip n slide and some sort of shaving cream war. There were lots of girls there and I remember having a blast. It far surpassed the folk dancing lessons the year before! =)

GM's support of Gay Agenda

While I don't typically use this forum to post moral/political concerns, I recently wrote to GM regarding their promotion of the Gay agenda, recently outlined by the American Family Associations newsletter, sparking outrage by many, including myself. I thought I should post my letter and their response so you can make your own judgement about future purchases with GM. I personally at this point will not be giving them my money to dole out to associations I have major problems with.

-----Original Message-----

From: ....
Sent: 3/28/2008 02:16:09 PM
To: cac@chevrolet.com
Subject: ... Support

Stop supporting the Gay/Lesbian agenda. My Buick Rainier is great, and I'm planning on another Buick, until now.. Stop the support or forget my business.

Sincerely,
Kevin .xxxxx



*****GM's REPLY ***************************


----- Original Message ----
From: "cac@chevrolet.com"
To: xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Sent: Friday, March 28, 2008 4:03:35 PM
Subject: RE: ... Support

[THREAD ID:1-A6FIVB]

Dear Mr. xxxxxxxx

Thank you for contacting General Motors. We appreciate hearing your thoughts and having the opportunity to review your concerns.

General Motors is committed to diversity and equal opportunity for all our employees. This is evidenced by our longstanding policies regarding diversity, equal opportunity, affirmative action, anti-discrimination and anti-harassment in our business. GM will continue to support diversity in the workplace, the marketplace, and in the community.

We have documented your concerns and will forward your comments to the appropriate folks at GM for their consideration. Thank you again for taking the time to let us know how you feel.



*********My last reply******************************************

Tolerance, non-discrimination and equal opportunity are far different from financial support of offensive agendas and media outlets. You are obviously far more "committed" to that than the "EOE/non-discrimination" mantra you are speaking of. No one is asking you to discriminate against your employees, we are asking you to stop the financial support/advancement of such highly offensive agendas.

The finances GM uses to promote such things comes from the pockets of it's customers, and a great many customers do not in ANY way wish their dollars go toward the advancement of things which are very contrary to their beliefs and moral bases. I for one, am one of these customers

I am disheartened that my fundamental support of American-Made automobiles has to be thwarted due to such a ridiculous stance on the part of GM. Sadly, sending my money to Japan via a honda purchase is a lesser evil at this point than giving my money to you, GM.


-Kevin xxxxx

This week in pictures...

We started out the week doing our taxes. Aaack! Not so much fun! Here's a picture of Natalie helping Kevin crunch some numbers.

Then Kevin's birthday was on Thursday. We went to Bonefish Grill and got a sitter (for the first time) to watch Natalie. It was fabulous being out by ourselves and we are definitely going to try to do it again soon.

Natalie started daycare this past week and admittedly it went well. Although, every day when I arrive to pick her up she's in a different outfit. Apparently they dont strap the diapers on as tight as we do and there are, ah.... accidents. Ah well. As a result she's had several baths....

She loves baths!

The weather has been cold, but Kevin and I are trying to take advantage of the sun in the evenings to take walks and get in shape for the summer. Here's a snapshot of our evening tonight... Notice Natalie is PASSED OUT! She plays hard at daycare and hasnt quite gotten the hang of napping there yet.

I've been in a bit of a cooking mood lately - trying to try new recipes out of the various cookbooks we have in our collection. We tried a pizza dough recipe tonight from the King Arthur Flour Baker's Companion - I love that cookbook! Nothing like pizza and a cold beer to round out the week.

Pictures of Natalie

Natalie got some pictures taken of her that are available until next week to view on this site: www.sweetcaptures.com. To view them, click on "Client Proof" in the menu (once the site has loaded). User name is Natalie and password is our last name (with a captial "S"). Keep in mind that both username/password are case sensitive and that we have no "c" in our last name, folks! The hardest part now is picking the pictures I want.

Not so bad....

A little update about Natalie's first day at daycare:

It wasn't SO bad after all. She apparently had a ball and didn't seem at all excited to see me when I showed up - she was too focused on playing. She (as expected) didn't really nap much today because of all the noise, but I imagine that will change with time. Apparently she loves puppet peek-a-boo ???? and being outside. Sigh.... This is a good thing. It will do (for now). Hopefully the rest of the week goes well.

Tag

Miriam has tagged me! These are the rules!

1. Link to the person who tagged you.
2. Post the rules on your blog.
3. Share six non-important things/habits/quirks about yourself.
4. Tag six random people at the end of your post by linking to their blogs.
5. Let each random person know they have been tagged by leaving a comment on their website.

Six non-important things about me:
1. I love waterparks. I'm not sure if its because we went to WhiteWater in Branson all the time when I was growing up and its just really nostalgic or what... But, I am REALLY looking forward to when Schitterbahn opens in KC in 2009.
I'd like to go there for my 30th birthday.

2. Many of you know that Kevin and I got engaged after only 3 weeks of dating. I think I would die if Natalie did that. I imagine that many of my friends thought I was absolutely nuts, but 6 years later the proof is in the pudding!

3. I've had a burning desire (since college) to get a nose piercing. I really think they're fun and a little "edgy". But Kevin absolutely HATES the idea so alas... no nose piercing. =)

4. When I was in high school I used to get asked out by "dorks" only. (I'm sure these guys are rather successful and good looking now so if you're reading this.. dont be offended.) I actually told one guy that I had "family game night" one night and couldn't go on a date. What?!?!?! Did I mention that I'm a REALLY bad liar?

5. My first job was McDonalds and I loved it. I started out as the "bun toaster" (yes, its true) and worked my way up through "bathroom cleaner" to "cook" (not on the same day) to "drive-thru girl". One time I was handing a guy a large drink through the drive through window and the lid popped off and the drink sloshed all over him. He cussed me out and drove off. I felt terrible! I couldnt believe it when later he stopped by to apologize and I dropped a cheeseburger that I was holding because I was so nervous. He must have thought I was the biggest clutz!

6. My friend Kera and I started a jewelry and handmade card business a few years ago after The Apprentice came on television. We were inspired by the show and how they did a competition where they had to sell t-shirts in Manhattan and made a lot of money. We hit up all of the craft shows in the area peddaling our wares only to discover that neither one of us were sales-oriented and there wasn't a huge market for stuff like that. Both of us agree that neither one of us could do a home party business... its just NOT our cup of tea.


I tag:
1. Rach
2. Lib
I dont know any other blogging friends who havent already been tagged... =( Anyone, Anyone???

I Hate It! I Hate It! I Hate It!

Natalie started Kindercare today and in the words of McDonalds... "I'm not lovin it". I'm sure its a great place and all, but organized daycare just feels so institutional. We decided a couple weeks ago that we ought to really get on it about looking around since our terrific friend, Heather, couldn't take care of Natalie indefinitely. We'd had our name on the waiting list at one center for a good few months with no word of availability and thought we should maybe submit our name a few other places as we had discovered that EVERY center had an infant wait list. We opted not to go with a home daycare situation since we were leery of dropping our kid off at some person's house we didn't know. There just didnt feel like much accountability.

Much to our surprise... Kindercare (KC) had an immediate opening since not one of the 6 infants on their wait list could start until April. *sigh* So, ready or not, here we go. In KC's defense, I took a tour and it seems like a good center - very kind teachers, happy kids and (according to the set of parents I stopped in the parking lot) satisfied parents. But with all of the things it has going for it, its still a daycare and a place where Natalie will, assuredly, get sick. She also hasnt really been around that many kids at once and I imagine its going to be a tad overwhelming... not to mention she's expected to nap in a crib that's in a brightly lit room full of playing children. (Note to the reader: she only naps well in a quiet room in a swing and KC doesnt have swings). If you think about us, say a little prayer. The next few weeks should be interesting.

The Attack of the Killer Green Bean!

Here's a before and after picture of Natalie's close encounter with green beans on Sunday. Ahhh.. what if we always made this much of a mess when we ate?

It's been a fairly low key weekend. Natalie got some 6 mos pictures taken on Saturday and I'm excited to see how they turned out. My friend Meggan took the pictures - she owns Sweet Captures and took the pictures of Natalie when she was 9 days old. I know they'll be terrific as she has a very creative eye.
Other than that we've just been hanging around. I talked to my friend Miriam last week and she encouraged me to find a sitter for the occasional night out with Kevin. I asked her what the going rate was these days and she said $8/hr where she lives. Good grief! I remember when I was 16 and thought $7 was ROLLING in it (my average was around $4-$5 per hour I think). Ahhh.. times have changed and I guess it WAS a while ago that I was 16. Ha! Its funny how internally you really dont feel any different, but you look in the mirror one day and go - "really? I dont look 21 anymore? What are you talking about you're not going to card me?" I had this really random dream last night that I was driving in a car (with my mother) and I kept getting honked at by all sorts of guys. The funny part was that ALL of them were in the over 45 age bracket. What this bizarre dream means I have NO idea, but I do remember feeling a sort of disillusionment at not looking 21 anymore. *sigh* Ah well, age is really just a "feeling" anyway. And, like I said... I still FEEL 21. I'm going to take the realage.com test and see how old it says I "really" am. Details to follow....

Thanks, Mom!

My mom is in town visiting for a bit this week and she offered to babysit for Kevin and me so we could get out of the house sans ankle-biter. Let me tell you it was our our first date in a VERY LONG TIME and we had a wonderful time! We went to an Italian joint called Scotto's and sat in the romantic, dimly lit corner booth. After dinner we sat and just chatted away as we enjoyed being out on our own. Afterward, we stopped at the grocery store to buy night lights for our scared-of-the-dark cats and my darling husband bought me the most beautiful bouquet of roses to top off the perfect evening. Thanks, Mom for being so supportive and giving us a night out! We love you!!!

New Purchase!

Well, craigslist has done it again! We recently spent a whopping $8 on one of the best inventions ever. I had one when I was a baby and now Natalie is enjoying hers. The Johnny Jump Up is sure to get a lot of miles as she loves to spring and bounce just about any time of the day. We're in the market to find something...anything to wear her out so we make sure she sleeps well and this seemed to be just the thing. In all actuality, she is sleeping well at night. Naps are hit and miss, but you can't have everything!
On another note, I wanted to post these two photos of a face she makes a lot. These are two pictures I took this past weekend and I'm not sure WHAT the look on her face is saying. Any ideas????