Our Happy Girl

Lindsay is the happiest baby I have ever met.  EVER.  She has a lot of her dad in her.  She's never met a stranger, and she makes you feel like a million bucks.  We're lucky to have her, and so lucky she's in our family. 

She's also a smart cookie and has lately been studying the bars on her crib to figure a way out.  This concerns me as Laney figured out how to jump out of the crib at 18 months.  I hope Lindsay doesn't follow in her sister's footsteps with that.  Have you ever tried to get an 18 month old to stay in a toddler bed?  They don't...

And finally a very recent picture of me and Arlin.  Actually this was his idea, and I'm happy he thought of it.  There's not many photos where we're both together.  I can't believe it's been 8 years since we've been married.  That makes me feel a little old ...

Why You Don't Leave Brandy Home Alone ... or Otherwise in Charge

This is what will happen to you or rather your homes, my friends, if you leave me in your home, alone, and in charge ...

Yep, that's what you think happened.  On a not too windy day, the top half of the chimney blew off the house.  Now how many of you can say that when you were at a friends' house and they left you alone for a bit, you watched their chimney blow off their house?  I bet not too many of you!

In my defense, I called them before it blew off, to try to convince them the chimney was LEANING and about to go.  Of course, being that something like this doesn't happen a lot, they thought I was crazy until, in the middle of my feeble attempts at convincing them, they heard, "Never mind.  There it went."  And I think it was the large crashing noise that convince them after all, not me.

My poor friends.  To their credit, they still let me come over, and even to be in the house alone.  Brave them!

I'm going to add this to my list of things I've seen and experienced right from the Twilight Zone that I don't know anyone else who has...

1. Chimney blew off house while I was watching home for my friends

2. Husband's car accident resulted in 3 months of complete memory loss - yes complete short and long term memory loss, and no he didn't remember me or you

3. 3 for 3 in premature water breaking while pregnant, with the final pregnancy resulting in my water breaking while we were in the ER for Arlin.  At least I picked the location well.  lol

4. Daughter had concussion from falling face first and hitting her chin (yes, her chin) on concrete at ripe old age of 4

5. Snowed out of town during great snowstorm of the year only to finally get back in town and then get snowed in 5 miles from home at a friends' house

I know there's more, but at this point, odd is par for my course and I just can't remember them to post them up here.  Those 5 are odd enough considering I'm only talking about events of the last 8 years.

Here Comes the Laney Bunny

Arlin purchased a bunny costume for the shop.  Laney found it one day in the bedroom and decided to check it out.

Lindsay wasn't quite sure what to make of the Laney Bunny.

A Loss of Innoncence

So Laney is 6 this year, soon to be 7.  Up until now I was pretty sure she was the most helpful, best behaved, smartest and cutest kid around (no offense to you other mothers out there, but it's true).  I've learned this past year, this year of first grade and being six, that there is some type of disease you catch from turning six.  It's a I know everything, I can tell you how to do it, and I'm still a kid so I don't know how to add coins or sets of 3 yet.  It's a very confusing contradictory time in a kids' life and I'm just the mom.  I'm not even the poor kid.

This year it seems Laney has a real loss of innoncence.  She has started misbehaving at school - nothing serious, nothing constant, but even to get the "Laney was not paying attention" note was a real shell shocker.  She's started spending time with a confirmed "naughty" girl in her class and a boy who gets in trouble a lot.  I've had the be careful about your friends talk already and I don't even think she understands all the vocabulary words in the sentences I'm using, or following my train of logic.  We've had talks and talks and talks.  And her grades are good when she feels like paying attention.  I know she comes by the talking gene naturally so I'm trying to be patient with that one, but I have to admit I feel I'm at a wall.  AND I'm scared.  I mean, she is only six!?

Can you tell me when kids typically have the loss of innoncence?  At what time does their naughtiness go from cute and annoying to worrisome and stressful?  When should I think she's getting started down the wrong path, and when should I remind myself she's six and this is not her life choice?  I hear bossy, picky six year old girls are pretty standard and run of the mill.  Girls who want to talk to their little girlfriends and who begin to think about having boyfriends (when boys are yucky)... But should I be panicky right about now?

Recent Pics

We been busy since Lindsay has come to town...NICU life, Christmas, New Year's, the great snowstorm of the century, moving, spring, life, the salon.  BUT, we do love our newest addition, and here are some pictures to prove it!

We just love our happy baby girl!

Fitting In

It's been a long time, but we're all due for an update on life.  We have moved.  It's a local  move, but I still had to pack everything up and move all the boxes.  Our place right now is temporary so we're all camping together with our stuff packed away still.  I'm not going to say it's easy, but we've had it way worse before.

Lindsay is 8 months old now.  I can't believe it!  She's sitting and eating some food.  I think she might be one to skip the crawling stage and go straight to walking.  We'll see.  She always wants to be on her feet and never laying down.  She babbles like crazy and she's never met a person who she didn't convert to a Lindsay fan.  She smile and giggles and grins and sparkles her eyes at absolutely everyone.  I love it.  There's nothing like a baby's laugh, giggle or smile to put all things awful into perspective.  I've got some new pics so I'll be sure to post them soon so you all can become Lindsay fans too.  :)  She is finally going to be blessed this Sunday and I can't wait!  At least we got it in before her first birthday!!

Laney's fitting in and doing well at her new school.  She got student of the month last month and while her grades did drop the first 5 or 6 weeks, they're coming back up and she's fitting in.  My only complaint is she's a 6 year old girl and thinks she is everyone's hall monitor.  It's a little annoying to be bossed around by your daughter, but she is cute so that helps.  I think she needs to wear a sign for innocent by-standers though, to warn them of the impending tongue lashing she will give them if they dare to step out of line.  ha ha Poor unsuspecting souls!

Arlin and I are hanging in and trying to roll with the punches.  It's been tricky to say the least.  It's a big ball of stress that gets thrown at us pretty routinely lately.  We've been busy looking for new employment for us, and even busier running the salon. Which is doing well, but definitely needs some fine tuning.  We are riding on highs and lows all the time, it's crazy.  Life is life I guess.  We couldn't predict or expect any of this stuff.  If so, I'm sure we'd run screaming all the time!  ha ha ha

Let's Watch that Ride Keep Going Round and Round ...

Here we are again.  I can't believe, hate to say it, and am ashamed to admit it, but, yes, we are moving again.  God hates me.  He really does.  That or He's like a 9 year old brother and knows what things you hate and brings them up all the time.  I'm back to living out of a suitcase for a couple of weeks, and then into our space again.  A space I am grateful for, a space that was not mine before, but will be for a short time.  My house is in boxes and plastic tubs.  (yes I move so frequently, I have purchased plastic tubs because they hold up better between moves).  I'm working night and day to pack, do laundry and clean out the empty spaces.  Tomorrow will be our last day in our nice big house.  I'm feeling pretty meloncoly about it really.  I'm happy to see the nice big spaces that need to be cleaned all the time go, but I'm also really pained to be moving into a new space that requires readjustments and growing pains.  I mean, I have to figured out all over again where the junk drawer will be and what shelf to put the plates on.  Sometimes it's the little things that take too much brain power and energy.

But even with all that is going on in my life.  All the packing, cleaning, frustration of each individual wondering where their stuff is, there is one thing I can say.  I'm glad I'm moving with my family.  I'm so happy we'll all be together and we're not separated by states and miles and time zones.  I'm happy to have a husband who kisses me good-bye in the morning and means it, and to have a baby that smiles at me when I walk in the room and say hello, and my girl, who gives me good hugs and is the best helper a mother could ever have.  So I say, it could be worse, yes, it could be worse.  BUT Dear Lord, please do not take that as a challenge to see if we can make it through worse.  I'm still tired from this one.  Amen.