Wednesday, December 20, 2006

Let It Snow, Let It Snow, Let It Snow

We left Texas on Saturday with the temperature reading 85 degrees. We arrived in Colorado with the temperature reading 24 degrees. We were excited that Avery (and us) would have a white Christmas.

Yesterday the forecast was for six to eight inches of snow. It did snow a little, but didn't stick or stay around. Today we woke up to snow piled against the window. Kenny's dad bought tickets to go see a movie, so we decided to bundle up and head out into the elements.

When I stepped out the front door, I fell into snow...guess where it came...up to my knees! It was exciting, but cold. Of course I didn't bring the proper shoes, so everything was soaked, and my feet were frigid.

We piled into Thomas' (Kenny's oldest brother) truck and headed to the theater. Little did we know, as we were leaving, a blizzard advisory went into effect. When we arrived at the mall, every store was closed, along with the theater.

So, we trudged back to the truck and back home. We did get here safely, and now we're snug and warm in the house.

The wind and snow are still swirling outside, so we'll see what tomorrow brings. (I'll post pictures as soon as I get them off of the camara.)

Friday, December 15, 2006

Sports Gal; Christmas Fun

Avery has been around sports for the duration of her life thus far. From still being in my belly while I ran volleyball tryouts, to sitting in her carseat during practices, to jumping alongside the girls while they blocked at the net. Then on gamedays for me, she enjoyed sharing practice time with Daddy, sometimes getting in a better 3-point stance than some of the football guys.

Of course Kenny and I hope to pass on our love of sports to Avery. We aren't going to force it on her, but it is fun to see that she already enjoys being 'athletic.' We're proud of the way she can already jump with both feet off the ground, her running skills, and of course her climbing abilities.

It is hard to come by girl sports things, so when we find it, we buy it no matter what the cost (within reason). First it was a treasure find when we came upon girls playing sports for her crib material, then the pink basketball (which she has learned to 'shoot'), then last night Kenny and I found a pink baseball and glove! So, we wrapped it up and let her open it that night to start her Christmas fun. We thought it would be more fun for her to enjoy one toy at a time instead of being bombarded with a million all at once.

After opening her new sports equipment last night, she tried to catch the ball, but she never had a good grip on the glove, and it would go flying as soon as the ball landed in it. This morning, however, she picked up the glove, put it on, and threw the ball into it. To my surprise, the glove did not go flying across the room. I picked up the ball and tossed it to her, and she caught it! We continued that game for a while, then she decided to move on to something else...with her glove still on her hand. She didn't take it off until lunchtime.

Glad she's happy with her present....and glad she picks up on things so quickly....athletic scholarship, here we come! :)

Wednesday, December 13, 2006

Everybody Loves Peter Boyle

I am one of those people who feel like characters in my favorite tv shows are my friends. You share in the ups and downs that they go through, and even though the situations are scripted, they tend to hit close to home sometimes.

Of course this actor was great in Everybody Loves Raymond, but my favorite role he played was in While You Were Sleeping alongside Sandra Bullock and other great actors. That's one of my favorite movies, and he was perfectly cast for it.

Unfortunately, the comedic world has suffered a loss with the death of Peter Boyle. See full story here. And since he was my 'friend' I feel I've suffered a loss as well.

I Made The Switch

Okay, so I made the switch to Beta. I guess I'll have to figure out all the bells and whistles when I have more time.

Peer Pressure...

Monday, December 11, 2006

Running on Empty

I have been awake since 3:00. Yes; a.m. I don't know if it was from the excitement of seeing Santa and Mrs. Clause last night at the church Christmas party, but Avery had a very hard time going to sleep last night. Once she did finally fall asleep, she woke up every hour until 3:00 for reasons I will never know, and decided it was appropriate for momma and her to have a slumber party...without the slumber.

She was not fussy (unless I tried to put her to bed); she was not feverish; not hurting (as far as I could tell); she just wanted to stay up and spend some quality time with me I suppose. Good thing I taped The Polar Express the night before. It was both of our first time's to watch it, and I would say we were both pleased.

I tried about every 40 minutes to put her back to bed; to no avail. 7 o'clock rolled around. Kenny got up, got ready for work, then left. Avery was still awake and going strong. I decided breakfast was in order, so we chowed on waffles and scrambled eggs.

8 o' clock: Avery is still awake. (And might I add, that means so am I.)

9 o'clock: It happens. Avery twirls her hair behind her ear=the ultimate sign that she's sleepy. I take her to her room for the umpteenth time, give her a pacifier and her blanket. She is clearly tired, but as I bend to lay her in her bed, she stiffens and screams. Luckily, once her back touches the mattress, she stops the screeching. I tiptoe out of the room, only to hear all four pacifiers being thrown overboard. I decide to take my chances and see how she does without them.

Amazingly enough, she fell asleep. And slept, and slept and slept.

Then I am faced with the dilemma. I am not at all tired. Not one droopy eye. Unimaginable. I even lay down thinking I would magically fall asleep. Nope.

I don't know if it's adrenaline or what, but I've decided that I get more accomplished while sleep deprived than on a normal day.

Our bedroom is now clean. (If you've seen our bedroom, which I have made sure no one has, you would know that's an accomplishment in itself.) This included finally packing away my summer clothes and taking my winter clothes out of the boxes that have been sitting at the foot of our bed. I don't normally switch out seasonal clothing, but once again, if you've seen our bedroom and closet space (or lack thereof), you would know why I have to do this.

The laundry is caught up. Yes. All of it.

The refrigerator is cleaned out. The leftovers had gotten a little out of control.

I exercised. Hopefully this is a start of a routine that unfortunately got interrupted due to Thanksgiving.

Last but not least, I had time to get showered and completely ready for the day. Finally, at 12:15.

Unfortunately, I'm still not tired, and not even hungry because I'm not used to eating breakfast. What to do. Should I wake up Avery so she'll possibly take a nap this afternoon? That's a gamble in itself because if she does not take another nap, then she's just cranky because she didn't get her sleep in. Tonight is Bunko night for me...girls' night. Don't want to leave Kenny with a whiny Avery.

I didn't have to debate with myself too long about waking Avery because she woke up happy as a lark at 12:30. We had lunch, and she's going strong again.

I hope this is not the beginning of a new routine...even though a lot did get done. I know about 4 o'clock I'm going to want to crash...

....but I'm sure Avery will make sure that doesn't happen.

Thursday, December 07, 2006

Reasons Why I Love Avery

She Makes Me Laugh



....She did all of this herself. There's nothing like walking into a room and finding her doing something silly that she thinks is perfectly normal.

Friday, December 01, 2006

Crazy..Madness!

Life around the Simpson home has been weird for the past week. Between Avery and me not being well, I feel sorry that Kenny has to come home to us each day feeling yucky. I finally thought we were on the downhill of things until late last night when Avery started throwing up.

Tons of scenarios run through your head: "Is it left over from her fever bug?" "She hit her head this morning on the coffee table; is this a side effect?" "Have I passed the flu back to her?" And to top it off, "When did that rash appear?"

Sometimes I wish I had gone to nursing school just so I wouldn't have to call the doctor for every single thing that happens to her. Common sense and motherly instincts can only take you so far.

To say the least, this morning has had its ups and downs. The only way I can function without hurting, feeling nausiated, or having a splitting headache of a lifetime, is with a miracle medicine that Kenny found at the store. Side effect: extreme drowsiness.

So, I have been fighting a nap while Avery has been fighting...whatever it is she's fighting right now. One second she's happy, thus making me happy and think she's better. Then, I turn around and she's crying in her tunnel for a reason I still have yet to find.

Between the giggles (which are few and far between) and the cries, of course she still has time to throw her sippee cup in the trash, pull a deflated balloon out of the trash, and last but not least...undecorate the Christmas tree.

Our house is not safe anymore.

The first time I left the room this morning, I came back to find three glass ornament balls in Avery's baby's crib, two glass balls in her Barbie Jeep, one in her hand, and various sports ornaments sprawled on the floor.

She was so proud of herself. She walked up to me with a football ornament (yes, we Simpsons have many sports ornaments on our tree...imagine that.) "Fuball!" She points and says. Next, "vuyball!" Yes, that's right.

Here's the kicker with the glass ornaments. Luckily none are broken (meaning: she was not cut to smitherines), but all were missing the top metal parts, which were in fact still hanging on the tree. You'd be surprised how camoflauged they can be when you're trying to find them all.

I still have one that I can't find. Maybe Kenny's eyes will help when he gets home.

Of course I popped her hand and said no for safety reasons. I really don't want her to get cut.

Now she walks up to the tree and says, "NO! NO!"

I hope I haven't warped her and she can still enjoy her "kitmas tee."