Isabella turns one!

Congratulations Baby Bella, our Littlest Lou Lou. A year ago you came into our family and forever changed it. Loves you, Princess!

Wet Cleaning Latex Gloves Remove Dog Hair

I have a lint remover brush to get rid on the dog hair on my couch and then I finish with one of the sticky-back lint removers. What I tried recently was wearing my latex cleaning gloves, wet, and wiping down the couch. Works wonders (but keep the bucket of water near so you can redunk and rewipe). Also works on carpets, hard floors, under furniture, and on my bathroom rugs to pick my own hair.

Lexie's Hair Cut

Miss Lexie got her first haircut the other day. Now she looks less like a pomeranian and more like a terrier/chihuahua, hahaha. But she likes it! Here's a few before and after pix.

Sheet Rock on the Garage Ceiling

Getting the sheetrock on the garage ceiling.

Iz & Eliz

11 mo. old Isabella has never really been one for a paci, but when the Makis came to visit, my little creeping niece went right up to her cousin in the bouncer and gave the paci a try. Elizabeth didn't mind sharing and Isabella didn't seem to mind that it was still attached to Elizabeth. What a couple of cuties if I do say so myself. And it's my blog, so I can, so there! :)

6 Month Appt

Height: 27.25" (88th %tile)
Weight: 18lbs, 2 oz (80th %tile)
Head: 17.5" (90th %tile)

Here's a pic of Little Bits sitting in her Bumbo whilst I get ready for work. I set my portable mirror up so I can see her behind me and she can see my face as I put it on, hehe.

A Royal Coincidence?

Modified Head Support

We still put Elizabeth in her infant carrier for travel purposes. I really liked the head supports we have for her, however she grew out of them so fast. So I modified them a little bit by cutting another loop parallel to the higher loops to let the harness through. I then sewed the edges w/ a zig zag stitch to prevent fraying and put dots of velcro to keep them closed around the harness. Now its higher and it supports her little noggin during travel.

Yeah! Clothesline

Here's a Mother's Day gift to myself: This is my favorite household task -- hanging laundry out to dry. I ended up getting rid of my old umbrella style and David was kind enough to hook up my new retractable 5-line clothesline to the house and it pulls out 30' to the new pole. I did some research on it and while some people love it and others dislike it because the brake can break if tightened too far. So far, I love it. I highly recommend it and it holds SO many clothes.

19 Minutes

...is the amount of sleep a woman loses if she has just one drink before bed. (Per Parenting magazine.) Hmmm, interesting.

Timber!!! Good-bye 5 Red Pines

We had 5 red pines in our front yard that were looking pretty sickly and made a mess with their long needles.

So Mr. Brooks hacked them down (with the assistance of his brother) and gave the wood to my brother. Good bye pines! Hello annoying stumps. How do you decompose stumps anyhow?

First Mother's Day

Here's a little something David & Elizabeth did for me. Apparently I just about ruined the surprise by walking in on the photo session, so they had to take the pictures quick and finish when Dave went to change her diaper. Hahaha. Thank you guys. You're so sweet.

To My Better Half....

This is an email I received today. Seems fitting for the occasion:
I know someone who grew up in the 40's/50's with practical parents.

A mother, God love her, who washed aluminum foil after she cooked in it, then reused it. She was the original recycle queen, before they had a name for it...

A father who was happier getting old shoes fixed than buying new ones.
Their marriage was good, their dreams focused.

I can see them now, Dad in trousers, tee shirt and a hat and Mom in a house dress -- lawn mower in one hand, and dishtowel in hers. It was the time for fixing things -- a curtain rod, the kitchen radio, screen door, the oven door, the hem in a dress --things we keep.

It was a way of life, and sometimes it made me crazy -- all that re-fixing, eating, renewing. I wanted just once to be wasteful. Waste meant affluence. Throwing things away meant you knew there'd always be more.

But then my father died, and on that clear spring morning, in that hospital room, I was struck with the pain of learning that sometimes there isn't any more.

Sometimes, what we care about most gets all used up and goes away...never to return. So, while we have it, it's best we love it and care for it and fix it when it's broken and heal it when it's sick.

This is true for marriage... And old cars... And children with bad report cards..... And dogs with bad hips.... And aging parents..... And grandparents.
We keep them because they are worth it, because we are worth it. Some things we keep.

There are just some things that make life important, like people we know who are special. And so, we keep them close.
Happy 4th Anniversary, Honey. Thank you for your love, support, and for bringing out the best in me. I'm keeping you.

OBL Killed -- Really?

OK, so unless you've fallen off the face of the earth, you've heard that Osama Bin Ladin, founder of the jihadist organization al-Qaeda, responsible for the September 11 attacks on the United States and numerous other mass-casualty attacks against civilian and military targets, was shot and killed. (1) It's suspicious how he was shot and buried at sea right away (I'm not thoroughly convinced that it was him). (2) Obama is taking credit, when he was in fact determined to pull troops back and stop searching for him. (3) It was wrong to kill him. He should have been captured, not killed. (4) The TV has been nothing but rejoicing and bragging, Americans boasting that he was killed. That's asking for trouble -- might as well paint a target on our heads. The cocky, prideful attitudes that they're showing on TV is disgusting. No one should rejoice over someone else's death.
Yes, he was a terrorist. Yes he was bad. But you know what? We have no right to kill anyone. It is not our place to judge when it is someone's time to die. We as humans have no right to take anyone else's life. That's God's job, not ours. Be it Hitler, Hussein, or Bin Ladin, it is not our duty to play God. Why? Because this takes away the person's right to reconcile with God. Someone at work today said "oh, he'd never reconcile for his sins." You don't know that. And especially now, he'll never get that chance. I don't believe in the death penalty. Not only do you have to take into account the killed, but the killer. The person who pulled the trigger, flipped that switch, or injected that poison has committed a mortal sin. May God have mercy on their souls.
And I still think it all sounds very staged and suspicious. But, hail our government, right? Arg!

6 Months Old Today

Elizabeth is now 6 months old. Having her has been so wonderful. It amazes me how she takes the simplest things and analyzes them. She tries to grab pictures in a book, not yet realizing that they are just flat drawings. She also tries to grab the water when I pour it from a cup. Isn't it amazing in the process of teaching your child how many things you realize they are just seeing for the first time?
She can now sit by herself (with pillows around her) for a few minutes at independent play. Her favorite song is the alphabet. And she just finished her first bowl of rice tonight. It's amazing how 6 months can absolutely flip your world upside down. Just when you think you have it good, God can be so generous and give you a baby. Happy 1/2 birthday, Little Bits. We love you.