Family Prisons?

What do you all think about this? I ran across the article while looking at Yahoo News.

The general idea is that there are now Spanish prisons that provide 'family cells', allowing mother, father and child to live together. In most cases, it says that the child is only there because there is no other family to watch after them, thus they do not enter a foster care world. But in one instance, the mother and father of one of the children in said 'family cell' met in prison, married, and had the child. All while in prison!

My understanding of reasons for prison are that freedoms are taken away, not given. Seems in this instance that these families are allowed to work (in the prison setting), eat, and live together. Basically, they're doing what they would do outside of prison without having to pay rent.

The child is provided the best milk, the opportunity to go to school, and access to the playground. I believe the child should not be punished, but this allows the parents extra time outside as well.

These particular parents are not in prison for theft. The mother is in prison for murder and the father for drug trafficking!

I guess it is good that the families are getting to be together; I just don't know if biological parents would be the best role model in this case. The article mentioned not knowing the mental effects this would have on them in the long run. I don't think I'd want to gamble with a child's life.

What do you think?

Silly Faces Anyone?

Avery's on a new kick of exploring the expressions she can make. It all started one day when she tried to take the top off of one of her fake bottles of cleaning suppplies (funny story regarding cleaning supplies coming soon). She pulled so hard on the lid, while it did not budge, that she shook all over, eyes wide and mouth open. I laughed so hard that she looked at me and realized she did something funny. Of course the silly face appeared again even though she wasn't trying to get the lid off.

So, now one of her favorite things to do is look in the mirror or at one of us and make goofy faces. I tried to capture the main funny one, but our camara is just too slow so what you're seeing is the tail end.

Of course after she makes her faces, she laughes at herself, so that's what the second picture is.


Regarding the cleaning supply story...

Kenny's mom sent Avery a vacuum cleaner, broom and dust pan a while back, complete with a box of detergent and two bottles of cleaning sprays. (All miniatures of course.)

Avery has recently re-discovered the bottles of supplies and enjoys chewing on the tops while her teeth hurt, taking the lids off, etc.

The other day while Kenny and I got ready for church, Avery sat in the floor, playing. I saw she had one of the bottles in her mouth, but of course thought nothing of it. Kenny, however, did not. As I walked into the bathroom, I heard, "Oh my goodness! Are you eating that!!!" (Then after taking the bottle from her), "Did you drink the whole thing!!!" He exclaimed, running toward me. (Well, I exaggerated a little..there was no running.) After I stopped laughing, I explained to him that they were 'pretend,' hence their small size, and that Avery would be just fine because there was nothing in them from the beginning.

Maybe that was a 'you had to be there' story, but for some reason it cracks me up.

(In all seriousness, I'm glad he was concerned about the well-being of our daughter.)

Paintdrops + Lollipops

I think deep down everyone has the desire to manage their own time, not be stuck inside a dreary (or even a not-so-dreary) office on a pretty day, or be available to go to their child's game or field trip without worrying about taking time off. Don't get me wrong. I am glad I experienced four years of working in the real world, and even better that I got to work in the field of advertising (which I spent my college years studying toward).

But...I've tasted freedom now that I'm home with Avery...and I don't want to go back...Ever.

The phrase, "you could sell that" resounds in my ears everytime I design, create, sew, or re-finish something. The wise words of my all-knowing mother. She's been the drive behind me most of my life, even after I gained the other best friend in my life who has the special knack to make me realize I can almost always go beyond the limits I set for myself.

So, with my mom and Kenny in the wings, I've decided to go for it.

And it's helped that I've met a friend, Ashley, with whom I have so much in common, and as an added bonus, has even more talents that help balance me out in areas where I'm lacking.

In other words, Ashley and I have created Paintdrops & Lollipops. A place for fabulous finds for women, baby and home. We've been planning and working for a while now and we're learning that there is going to be much more to come. The best part is that we're terribly excited for the opportunity to use our creative talents to establish a successful business.

Paintdrops + Lollipops will offer products ranging from children's furniture, totes, jewelry, original art, invitations for all occasions, birth announcements, to handmade pillows for tots, teens and home.

Our website is in the making, with a tentative launch date for mid February. We also plan to travel for on-site shows in Montgomery and surrounding cities.

So, for now we request prayers for peace of mind, patience and success. In the meantime, please help us spread the word!

Below is a preview of some of our featured items. Check out Ashley's site for more fabulous finds!

One! Ah Ah Ah!

Our Avery has learned something new...Again. And I'm sure it's due to watching Sesame Street, working with Momma, Daddy and her pal Chris, who reads to her whenever she wants.

Drumroll please...

Avery can count! Yes, with numbers. She's not that great when you ask her to show off, but when she's in her own little world, we'll catch her counting. During her bath yesterday, I was singing the counting song from Sesame Street. I got to three, and she took over from there. Then she got stuck saying "ate, nin, ten" over and over and over.

Today Kenny and I went to lunch with Avery at a Chinese restaraunt. There were fish everywhere (along with Santa Clause, wreaths, and garland, but that's another story). I asked her to count the fish. She said, "one, tee, foe, fife, sicks, ate, nin, ten!" Yes, she skipped two and seven. I asked her again. This time she skipped four and seven. Lucky number seven; or is it unlucky?

Anyway, I'm proud of my 19 month old child who can count. Or maybe it's just memorize. Either way, she's still learning!

Cause and Effect

Avery and I have spent part of our morning building "tall" (in Avery's words) towers and then of course knocking them down. It's hard to tell which part is her favorite because she enjoys building, but she also squeals with delight when they all come crashing down.

...Maybe we have an architect on our hands. Or possibly a demolition expert?

(Yes, that is a santa hat. She loves walking around with stuff on her head. This is the latest.)

I'm a Supa Star!

I stole this from Laura and Kenny. Different pictures yielded different results except for Vanessa Marcil. Huh?

http://www.myheritage.com

A View of the North Pole!

Below you'll see pictures from our fun filled day at the North Pole (two days after the blizzard and the day before the park closed for the season!) We got there just in time!

Cool Slideshows

A Taste of Things To Come

Here you will find some of our pictures in the snow, as promised. I get cold just looking at them.

It's taking a while for me to get them edited...who knew it would be time consuming to skim through over 430 pictures?!

The last picture is from our day at the Garden of the Gods. The last time I was there, I was a little older than Avery, so it was fun to go back and share that experience with her.

I'll post more later from our day at the North Pole.

Pictures

We get home tomorrow, so I promise I'll post pictures as soon as we get settled in!

(I haven't been able to get them off our camara at either of our families' homes.)

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.)

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! :)

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...

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.

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.

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."

Sweet, Sweet Little Girl

Avery has not been feeling well lately. She's had a cold and all the yuckiness that goes along with that, but after some great decongestant medicine the doctor gave her, she's been better.

Yesterday she started running a fever, but it would slowly drop after taking medicine. I could tell she didn't feel well all day. She didn't cry a lot or even whine, but she layed around on her blanket and wanted to be held a lot. Her fever subsided and she was ready for bed last night at 7:15. I layed her down and she slept soundly until 10:30. After calming her down and taking her temperature, it was back up to 103. As I headed to the kitchen to get her some more medicine, I remembered Kenny saying he gave her the last dose that evening. (So, thank you Kenny for getting out of bed to make a Wal-Mart run at 11:00 at night. I know I downed Wal-mart in a previous post, but it is nice to have a place open 24 hours a day.)

Anyway, her fever started to go back down, and after watching some of Disney's Sing A Long, Avery was ready for bed again. I checked on her throughout the night, and her fever continued to return to normal. At 4:00 it was completely gone. I got a good night's rest from 4-7 because I thought she was better. Then at 7:00, I peeked in on her to see how she was doing.

She was just laying there in her bed with her eyes open, not moaning, talking or crying. Her fever was back to 103. After some medicine, she went back to bed at 8:30 a.m. It's now 10:00, and she's still asleep.

I started this story to brag on how sweet our little girl is. Last night, in the middle of the night, I gave her some juice. I could tell it took all of her might, but when she handed it back to me she said, "tank too." (Thank You.) She did it again this morning. Nothing sweeter than that...

Well, maybe this... I take her temperature with an electric ear thermometer. Each time I took her temperature last night or today, she would take the thermometer and put it in her ear. When she was satisfied with her 'reading,' she would put it in her other ear. Then she would hand it back, snuggle down and rest.

I hate that she feels so bad, and there's not much I can do except comfort her, but at least I can comfort her.


(You may be asking why I'm not freaking out about why she has such a high fever, but our other little friend had the same thing last week, so I'm assuming it's that.)

Giving To Jesus

I'm not sure if I've shared the story of the first time Kenny and I gave money to Avery for her to put it in the collection plate at church. Here's a quick re-cap for those who haven't heard.

Avery was about 9 months old at the time, and we gave her two pennies to put in the plate that morning. During the service leading up to time to put the money in, she held on to her 'treasure' so tightly that her fingers turned white. Our worry was that she would not put the money in once the plate passed by.

Our worries subsized when the plate came by. She looked at the plate, then looked at her money. It was then that she threw the pennies over her shoulders and grabbed all of the money already in the plate.

Fast forward; Avery is now 18 months old. I don't know why we've waited so long to try to teach her again about giving, but we decided to give it another whirl.

In our church building, there are giant pictures hanging in the space between the balcony and lower levels. One of them contains a representation of Jesus, and Avery is fully aware of where "Jesus" is at all times.

This morning before time for the collection plate to be passed around, we gave her some change. She was very careful with the quarter and nickel. Kenny explained to her that we were going to give the money to Jesus.

It was then that she looked up, found the picture of Jesus, and held out her coins to give to Him. It was wonderful to see this time she was willing.

In the Twilight Zone

I knew going into it that my grocery store of choice was going to be lacking as usual. Little did I know how lacking.

I normally go to Wal-Mart simply because of convenience. Usually, they have everything you need all in one-stop shopping...not the one on Atlanta Highway. They normally are not well stocked, but I've learned to deal with it although it is very annoying.

Today Avery and I took the trek to get our shopping completed for all the Thanksgiving goodies we intend to prepare for our much anticipated company that will arrive next week! (My mom and dad, along with our good friends from Huntsville, Jon and Stacy with their two kiddos, Lawson and Jordan.)

When we arrived, all was normal. Then we got to the back of the store and noticed a bizarre phenomenon.

There was no food in the cold sections. I say none, but there were a few items. Milk, assorted bisquits, some butter, orange juice. But get this; where there actually was food, it was only the name brand, and there were only two or three items on the shelf. Same situation was going on in the freezer sections. The only thing that was pretty well stocked was turkeys. I guess they knew there would be an uprising if there were none to be found the week before Turkey Day.

Of course these were not ideal conditions in which to shop for a Thanksgiving meal; however, Avery and trudged on. I must admit that I was perturbed and silently vowed to never shop there again. The last straw is the last straw, right?

Then I heard it. A woman saying to the stockers what we all were thinking. "You all are sure understocked, huh? (polite laugh)"

"Yes," answered the man. "Our electricity was out too long so we had to throw out all the food and start fresh."

Well, at least what I was able to grab before the two people behind me finished everything off, was fresh. Then I felt bad...for a second.

The more I think about it, I realize they did whatever was needed to fix the problem. But my question is this. Don't grocery stores know that something like electricity going out could be a problem, and shouldn't they have back up generators?

If someone could please explain this, I would appreciate it.

Pat the Bible...

Every morning after breakfast, Avery and I enjoy a Bible lesson together. We start by singing songs and asking simple questions, then we move on to the 'lesson.' We've been working on the days of Creation, and so far she can tell you what was made on days 1-3 without prompting of the actual word: "Lye, Sdy, And" (light, sky, land). She can repeat everything from days 4-7, but one of these days I just know she's going to surprise me and know it all.

The other day we sang "The B-I-B-L-E," and she yelled, "BIBLE!" before we even finished spelling. I'm just repeating myself when I say how it amazes me how much she can soak up. I also got to watch her in Bible class last Wednesday night (because I couldn't quit coughing in ours). It was a joy to see her know all of the hand motions to songs and questions.

But I digress...On to the fun that started me writing...

One of her favorite songs when she was an infant was "Pat The Bible," ("Pat the Bible 1,2,3. God loves Avery and God loves me"), and I'm happy to say that it continues to top her list of favorites. My heart jumps everytime I see her cute, chubby hand patting her little pink Bible.

This morning, I handed Avery her Bible while I put her milk back into the refridgerator. Upon my return I heard her sweet voice, singing. (Her singing is a higher pitch than her talking voice..so sweet!)

As I listened closer I heard, "Pad da Bibul, la da da..Dod wuvs Avee..da la la." All done while patting her pink Bible. I held in my squeals of delight until she finished, but no longer. When she looked up, she had a happy little twinkle in her eye. And that's just what she is to me..a twinkle in my eye.