Introduction to skating

Going. . .

Going. . .

Gone.

This past weekend, Kenzie's cousin Gracie turned 7.  That's Gracie with Kenzie in the second picture.  Her party was at Hamilton Skate Place in Chattanooga.  Kenzie had never skated before, so when we first started out, she insisted on Erin and I both holding her hands at all times.  She gradually got good enough to trust herself with just one of us, and by the end of the party, she didn't really want us around at all.  We all had a great time. 

The weekend before that, it snowed so we decided to go sledding.  Now when I say it snowed, I don't mean it snowed like it did in the rest of the United States that weekend.  We weren't that lucky.  But it was enough to have a little fun.  We didn't get much, but it was a very wet snow which made for icy slick sledding trails- you really can't get much better. . .or dangerous.  We met up with Adam, Ashley, and the kids and started out on a normal, tall but non-frightening hill.  Then Ashley's Dad took us to this really super tall, very steep (ultra scary and terribly perilous looking) hill (I don't even know if it counts as a hill; perhaps "mini-mountain covered in nothing but grass and ice" is a better way to describe it).  In the pictures you will notice one of Erin and Kenzie appearing to be sledding across the street on the pavement.  That is actually what happened as the hill was so high that if you made it to the bottom without flipping your sled (like Adam) or chickening out and putting a foot down (like me), you would fly right across the street into the grass on the other side.  Curbs included.  I was convinced I would bust my head into a million pieces that day, but miraculously, that did not happen.

And yes, Kenzie is wearing rain boots.  That was the best we could do.  We don't have much need for snow gear here in Knoxville.  At least her feet stayed dry.

Kenzie and Baylor climbing Hill #1.

Erin, Adam, Kenzie, and Baylor- still Hill #1

Quick hug from Mommy before we journey to Hill #2

Erin and Kenzie atop Hill #2.  My camera was zoomed in.  For real.  It doesn't look that high, but it really was VERY high.  And steep.  From the bottom, it doesn't look scary, but after you make the mile-high trek to the summit, it is very ominous looking down (especially since the end of the hill is pavement).

They were still moving fast here. . .and didn't stop until they were pretty far into the grass.

Adam and Ashley

I was very happy to be alive- I had just come down Hill #2.

It was a pretty awesome Saturday.

My admiration for the Farragut Taco Bell

First of all, the pictures have nothing to do with what I'm going to talk about, but they make me happy and that's the topic today. 

The first one is Pippa enjoying some "ice cream" that Kenzie made for her.  She must be done because the spoon has fallen out of the bowl.  The next one is Kenzie dancing for us in the living room in beautiful attire, complete with a princess crown.  The last one is the back of her hair from when she went to a friend's princess birthday party a couple weeks ago.  They put glitter in her hair and did her make-up.  She wore it (and insisted on re-applying the brightest pink lipstick I could find) all day long.

Last night we went to Taco Bell for a late dinner.  You may remember that sometime before Christmas Kenzie was asking me what reindeer eat and I told her things like hay, oats, and maybe a piece of bread for a treat (well, at least that's what I gave the family pet jennet back in the day!).  She told me that she thought they ate Taco Bell.  This was very funny to me because at that time, we seriously never went to Taco Bell.  I mean, Kenzie had probably been there once ever.  Well, since then Kenzie has had this thing for Taco Bell (and Moe's, which she also calls Taco Bell) so that's why that restaurant was chosen. 

I have to say that I have never been treated so well as a customer.  The employees seemed genuinely glad to be there.  And it was festively decorated with "Mexican-style, not regular Taco Bell" decor. . .complete with cacti!  Plus it was super clean.  They even had colorful ceramic bowls sitting on the table with sauce packets in them.  To top it off, one of the employees brought their new flavor of slushy drinks to everyone in the dining room to try.  Full size.  The only drawback was that they were out of toys for the kids meals, but come on- unless you're at McDonalds, is the toy ever that great? 

Now, you may think I'm making a big deal out of nothing.  But when is the last time you went to a fast-food joint and had service like that?!  When we were walking out, Erin said "you know, that was the best Taco Bell experience I've ever had!".  I was seriously thinking the same thing.  Then Kenzie, who hadn't said much in the past few minutes said, "well, I didn't like them because they didn't even give me my toy!"

Guess you can't please everyone.

The Big Red Dress

Well, I just got done washing, drying, folding, hanging up, and putting away a load of laundry.  As I walked out of the closet, I realized that all of that laundry was washed only with fabric softener.  I forgot to use detergent.

Fantastic. 

Below you will see pictures of Kenzie in the same red dress on 4 different days.  It was a gift on Christmas morning from Daddy and she calls it her "big red dress".  She wants to wear it ALL the time.  Her Bitty Baby even has a matching dress.  It has been the source of more than a few meltdowns when I've told her that we have to take it off for various reasons (we're going outside and it's snowing, it's time for school, it's not pajamas, you have to take a shower, etc.).  She's obviously not bothered by wearing clothes that need to be washed.  I guess I only have to rewash a third of that load.

Just kidding.

Very early Christmas morning

Very late Christmas night at Grandmothers

December 29th, passed out right in the floor.

New Years Day

A little bittersweet. . .

These pictures were actually taken before Christmas, but I didn't get them until last week. It was a bitterly cold day and the wind was blowing, so Christy promised Kenzie that we would immediately go have hot chocolate after we were done shooting. Afterward, Christy took us to this quaint little coffee shop (I can't remember the name) and we waited patiently while they made us some delicious, real hot chocolate. They even just barely steamed Kenzie's milk so it wouldn't be too hot. I guess Kenzie just doesn't appreciate that kind of hot chocolate like we do, because she begged for a juice box from their cooler instead.

It was great catching up with Christy since I only see her a couple times a year. You can see the rest of Kenzie's pictures in the form of a slide show at this link:

www.bonifaciophotography.com/slideshows/bankes121109

Then, check out Christy's website: http://www.bonifaciophotography.com/ She really is amazing with that camera. She has been taking Kenzie's pictures since she was 4 months old. In fact, she took the picture of me and baby Kenzie at the top of this page. This time, the pictures were truly bittersweet. Kenzie doesn't look like a baby or toddler anymore. She looks like a sweet little girl. I'm going to try to dig up a couple pictures from other sessions with Christy. You'll see what I mean. It's wonderful that Kenzie is growing up and all, but I think every mommy wants to keep her children little for just a little bit longer.

Quick funny story. I was in my bedroom and Kenzie was in her room playing with a tea set. I could hear her on the baby monitor (her room is on the other end of the house) as she was having everyone (stuffed animals and baby dolls) drink their delectable concoctions.

Overheard:

"Now you have some and we'll all drink together"

"Ssssiiiippp, mmmm. That tastes SO good going down my drain."

I guess I have never taught her the word "throat". I mean, that's one of those things you don't think of when you're singing "Head, shoulders, knees, and toes".

Before.

After.

The damage actually extends way over to the right side of the living room, but this picture had Kenzie in it so I used this one instead. It was a terrific Christmas morning and Santa clearly thought that Kenzie had been very good this year. I have a funny story about that morning, but I'll have to include it later. It was a really great day.

Picture of the Day

Okay, I know this picture isn't the best quality. I took it with my cell phone. Plus she was moving. But I thought it was totally cute. We got our Christmas tree at Lowe's the other day and after they trimmed it and wrapped it up, Kenzie wanted to pull it on the cart by herself to the checkout lane. It's a 7 foot tree (they didn't have any taller this year) so she just looked so small and determined while pulling it!

Are you kidding?

I have decided that today I will post a vintage pic. The reason is because I erroneously put an SD card into this computer and discovered it's an old one with old pictures. And I am sitting in bed. And it's cold so I'm not going to get the current memory card. So today's picture is from exactly 4 years ago when Erin and I went on a cruise to the Bahamas. I was a little over 3 months pregnant at the time. It was super fun and I'd love to do it again.

But back to today. I was having some minor sinus issues yesterday and my voice got hoarse as the day went on. It was bothersome, but not a huge deal. I talk constantly at work. And it's not because I just really love to talk (well, that too, I guess), but that's like half of my job. Cut up tissue and talk about it at the same time. Someone types what I say and it ends up being the "gross" part of the patient's report. (That's really what it's called- because I'm doing the gross dissection; not because it's disgusting) That's what I do for the better part of my day. Anyway, this morning I woke up and couldn't talk. At all. As in, no sound was coming out. It is now almost 11pm. The prognosis seems grim as I have really not improved at all.

Does anyone else agree that this is somewhat of an emergency situation for me?

I mean, I talk pretty much all the time.

I suspect that Erin may secretly be happy about my current condition.

Gobble, gobble

Yesterday, Kenzie had a Thanksgiving play at school. She was one of the Indians the pilgrims met at Plymouth Rock. Her line was "We want to be your friends" and she remembered it without being prompted. I was very proud since the play was with the 4 year old's class and some of them either didn't remember their line or started crying and ran to their parents. Afterwards we had Thanksgiving dinner in the gym. I was fixing Kenzie's plate and asking her what she wanted:

"Stuffing?" "No"

"A pickle?" "No"

"Green beans?" "No"

"Turkey?" "No"

Well, then what do you want to eat? "a peanut butter sandwich"

I told her that we had all brought such good things and that we should all eat this good food together. Her reply?

"Mommy, I already told you. I don't like food."

She ended up having macaroni and cheese, bread, and corn. A plate of yellow. Super healthy, I'm sure. We had a great time though and it was really awesome getting to hang out with her at school.

We have been talking a lot about Santa lately and even mustered up the courage to go see him a few days ago. Now don't be confused- we did not sit on his lap and take pictures or even come within 2 feet of him. We spoke to him from afar since Kenzie is terrified of anyone in character (mascots, costumed adults, the Easter bunny, Santa). She did get close enough for him to hand her a candy cane. It's an improvement from last year. And now you know why you have never seen a picture of Kenzie with Santa.

Anyway, on the way home last night, she asked me what Santa's reindeer like to eat. I told her probably corn, hay, and maybe apples or carrots. Kenzie said "oh" sounding disappointed. Then she was quiet for a second and said, "I thought they eat Taco Bell." It was pretty funny.

Kenzie and her friend Olivia

My sweet little Indian girl

The Pumpkin Patch

I was reminded this past weekend by my cousin Kim that I needed to update this blog. She's right. But let me tell you why I haven't. After each milestone, I would procrastinate blogging until I red-eye corrected the pictures. Then I would forget. Then something funny would happen and I would think, "Man, I really want to blog about that!". But then, I would feel ashamed to blog about something funny when I was neglecting the significant event that never got any credit. Like Kenzie's birthday. Or my 30th birthday. Or Kenzie's first day of school. . .the list goes on and on. But anyway, I'm back in the saddle.


And in case you're wondering, the earth did not, in fact, spin off it's axis as I imagined it would the day I turned 30. I survived. But just barely- I will still totally lie and say I'm 29 if need be.

The picture above is from a couple weeks ago when we took Kenzie to a pumpkin patch for a hayride. Instead of a sand box, they had a corn box. Best. Invention. Ever. You don't have to brush corn off when you get out. It falls off by itself. It doesn't make a mess on the floor mats in your car. And last time I checked, it's relatively clean (as in, cat's aren't peeing in it). We had lots of fun. Here are some more pics.

This is the pumpkin Kenzie picked from the patch.

On a hay ride. Kenzie doesn't look excited, but I just think she wasn't paying attention.


In the corn box.

Tough as a Pine Knot

You've just seen the pictures, so you know what has taken place. Long story short, Kenzie was running at Mom's while carrying a bunch of books for Granddad to read to her. She tripped and fell into the coffee table, busting her chin. After deciding that this injury required more than a band-aid, we headed back to Knoxville to Children's Hospital. I was hoping we would get away with just a butterfly bandage or something, but it didn't turn out that way.

Now, it's important to point out that when we first saw Kenzie, you would have thought that we were offering to treat her cut with salt or something, because she was screaming and fighting us just looking at it. We really didn't know what to expect from the E.R. visit, but if last weeks visit to the pediatrician for shots was any indication, things weren't going to go well. During the hour long drive, I fully prepared myself to hold back tears while they tortured my baby.

We arrived and to our amazement, we didn't wait long, nor did Kenzie cause a fuss when they took her band-aid off in triage to replace it with lidocaine gel and a piece of tape. We were assured that the gel was pretty much the stuff that miracles are made of, and it turned out, they were right.

While we waited to see the doctor, I explained exactly what they were going to do and told her that if she would be very still while they used their "string band-aids", we would get out of there much sooner and that we would head straight to Toys R Us for a special toy afterwards. I was still apprehensive about them scrubbing the wound clean and actually stitching her up, but they said they have a girl that comes in with toys and bubble to distract kids while they have procedures done. We honestly thought that it wouldn't matter if Spongebob himself showed up, nothing was going to distract Kenzie from someone coming at her face with needles.

As it turned out, we were totally wrong.

Kenzie didn't move a muscle the entire time and didn't cry a single tear. We were about to burst with pride and were relieved that we didn't have to see her suffer. (Plus, I also knew that my kid would be one that was remembered as incredibly well behaved and brave once we left).

After being given a popsicle at the hospital and checking out, we drove straight to Toys R Us and told her she could pick out anything she wanted. We were so proud, she could have asked for a tree-house and we probably would have said, "sure honey, whatever you want- did you want a pet goat as well?"

Lucky for us, she decided on Play Doh and a little baby doll.

Murphy's Law at it's finest

You know, I feel awful that I have not yet posted about Kenzie's third birthday, but this is worth writing down before I forget about details. And I promise I will post about her birthday as well as our recent camping trip. This just could not wait, you see.

We have been looking for a bed for Kenzie. A big girl bed. And not just any old bed will do. I had a picture in my mind of what I was looking for and so for the past three days, Erin, Kenzie, and I have been shopping for a bed. Like shopping where you look at a bunch of places, compare pros and cons as well as prices, and leave every place with nothing. Well, yesterday, we had finally decided on a bed (a cream wooden day bed with a trundle/storage drawer underneath), went back to one of the places we had visited, and Erin had negotiated a very handsome price.

He got them to knock off a little over $400 below the sale price.

We were walking out, feeling really good about ourselves for getting such an awesome price break. I mean, we had really done our homework and put in time at these stores! On the way out this salesman asked,

"Are you guys driving that G37 outside?"

"Yes", we replied.

"Did you know that you have a tire that's almost flat?"

I wasn't really excited to hear him ask that, but I thought "whatev, we just saved $400 and the tire probably just needs some air". So we left and did find that our tire appeared to be struggling pretty badly. We drove to an air pump nearby and decided that something was clearly wrong with the machine, because it wouldn't put air into my tire. Then we drove to a Pep Boys a mile away and after a failed attempt at airing the tire, they told Erin to take the wheel off. And you know, they didn't offer to do this for us even though they had a couple guys standing around doing nothing, as well as a bay open in the garage. But I digress.

Erin takes the tire off (in the parking lot of Pep Boys. . .a car garage!) and finds a nail in it. Not what we were wanting to see, but we were hoping it could be fixed since no one (seriously, no one) carries my size tire in stock. (see for yourself- it's a 245/40-19) He carries it over and the guy points out a 3 inch gash in the inner side wall. Totally not fixable. Terrific.

This next part is Murphy's Law at it's finest.

Anyone know how much that tire is? Anyone? I've replaced this size before on the G35 I had before, so I'm quite familiar with the price.

It's just over $400, of course.

*UPDATE*

In true Murphy's Law style, when I took the car in on Monday to have the one tire fixed, I was informed that the opposite tire had 2 nails in it. Two! I don't frequently drive my car through construction sites or take it muddin' so I'm not sure how that happened. Either way, I ended up replacing BOTH tires. It was wonderful.

A blog that isn't about Kenzie

You're probably wondering why I have posted such a random picture. Well, those of you that know me well may already be able to guess why that sink fell to the floor in the vanity.

For those of you who are still scratching your heads, here is the story:

Erin, Kenzie, and I went away for a quick trip to Atlanta this past weekend. We took Kenzie to Stone Mountain which was really cool. I haven't been there in years and it was such a beautiful weekend to be outside. We decided to drive into Atlanta and find an inexpensive hotel. It was almost 9pm already so we weren't looking for anything fancy. We decided on a Days Inn in the Buckhead area figuring, it's probably nicer than most because of the location.

Um, yeah. About that. . .

I'm not saying it was awful, all I know is that we have since decided that in the future, we will always ask to see the rooms before paying to stay there. I remember living in an apartment in the early 80's that had fixtures and such that were appropriate for that era- ironically, this Days Inn had the very same things! Although, I bet that apartment complex has updated it's dwellings, while it appears that this particular Days Inn has not. But I'm not really talking about design, as much as true age, and with age comes wear and tear. I'm including carpet in that category.

We make it through the night on a "queen" sized bed that should actually be called "very small full" size. It had one of those mattresses where when two people lay on each side, they kind of both roll to the middle because the springs are saggy. Kenzie's bed didn't seem to have that problem, but then again she only weighs 28 pounds and she slept in the middle of it anyway.

Let me describe the vanity. And pay attention, because my description is key to the story behind the picture above. There is a sink in the counter (on the left) and empty counter space on the right. Under the sink, there used to be a cabinet door, but this has since been boarded shut and painted over. Under the other side of the counter are three drawers which have also been glued shut, painted over, and have had the hardware removed. Most of the girls in my life are aware of the fact that I sit in the sink to apply makeup. It sounds strange, but it gives a perfect distance to the mirror. You actually sit on the outer counter rim and put your feet in the basin, with your legs in kind of an indian-style position. Your knees rest on the sides. Try it sometime. It's very convenient.

So, Erin is taking a shower and Kenzie is watching tv and I'm applying makeup in the sink. Much like a regular day at home. Except at home, you wouldn't expect the sink you're sitting in to suddenly crash to the floor below and for you to fall in the hole.

And that's exactly what happened.

I wasn't hurt, but that sink and all of the pipes are certainly not in working order. And no, I have not gained weight. If you look closely, you may be able to discern the mildewed and molded walls. I stand by my opinion that I didn't break the sink; I just helped it receive a clearly overdue maintenance call.

And for those of you who are curious, upon check-out, Erin did not tell them that I was sitting in the sink when it fell in. He told them I was brushing my teeth. I don't consider that a total lie, only because I think that it would have eventually fallen in while someone was doing just that. Instead of charging us for a plumbing bill (which would have been totally unfair and ridiculous) they just apologized for our inconvenience. They also didn't act that surprised when Erin told them about it, which leads me to believe that they are used to having major appliances and fixtures break!

That's my story and I'm sticking to it.

Two and a half, going on 12.

I know it's been awhile. And I know I always say that! But I have a quick funny story.

Yesterday when I went to go pick up Kenzie from Talitha's, she had done something bad (that we won't discuss here in case she ever reads this and gets embarrassed), and I told her that I wasn't going to spank her there in front of everyone, but that I would have to when we got home. For all those people who think I was being super mean, let me add that she had already gotten in trouble for this twice already that day, so a spanking was in order. We were driving and I was asking her about her day and we didn't say anything else about it. A few minutes later, out of the blue, she said, "I don't need a big spanking. I just need a little one." I told her that we would talk about that when we got home. She was quiet for a few minutes, and then said, "Mommy, you don't have to give me a spanking. I'll just give myself a spanking."

Riiiight.

The picture above was taken in January at my grandmother's farm in Rock Island. I'll post some favorites from that day tomorrow. Really. I will.

So my little girl is a genius.

I think every parent in the world has at one time or another, thought that their kid is the smartest child in the U.S., maybe even the world. Every new thing that Kenzie does that surprises me always makes me think that she is incredibly smart. Like the fact that at not even two and a half, she recognized the whole alphabet and knew what sound each letter makes. This may be very common for children that age, but as far as I was concerned, she was ready to start studying rocket science, you know? In the back of my mind I'm always telling myself that other kids probably do those same things.

Well, not this time.

2 events since last weekend have led me to believe that Mensa will be beating our door down any day now, looking for Kenzie.

I give you Exhibit A: You know how when you're in a public bathroom you wouldn't dream of flushing the toilet with your hand? Yeah, me neither. Well, Kenzie's favorite part of the bathroom is getting to flush and she is always incredibly let down that I don't let her when we are in a public bathroom. I always tell her; "Don't touch anything. And Mommy has to flush with her foot because it is very dirty in here, okay?" I've noticed that recently whenever I take her into a stall, she has been telling me, "Don't. Touch. Anything. It's dirty.", before I even have to remind her. This past weekend, we were at home and Kenzie already had the toilet room door open and I asked her if she remembered to flush. She immediately said "Yes, I have to flush with my foot" and before I could run in there, she had stretched her foot all the way up to the handle and flushed. Think of your toilet at home. How high is the handle? On ours, it's right at Kenzie's forehead. I think that is both amazing because of how high she can stretch her leg while holding onto the wall, and smart because she no longer wants to flush with her hand since "it's dirty".

Exhibit B: Since you're viewing this on your computer, I will assume that you are at least vaguely familiar with the Paint program. It's where you pick colors and different drawing tools and use the mouse to create your very own Van Gogh. Well, I got Erin and iPhone for his birthday and it has a Paint and Draw application on it. If you've not seen the iPhone, you touch the screen to make it do stuff instead of pressing buttons. Since the screen is small (I mean, big for a phone, but small for a drawing board), you have to switch back and forth between different screens and icons to change colors, brush size, erase, zoom, etc. Erin showed Kenzie how to do it and a mere one day later, she can turn on the phone, find the correct application, and stay entertained for a good 20 minutes. It really is incredible to watch her in action.

I'm convinced. She's a genius. Oh! I almost forgot- she can also use the DVD player, but I don't want to brag about that one because although she knows how to now, she did manage to break one during the learning process.

Above you are looking at a picture of Kenzie doing what normal two-year-olds do. . .building a block tower. I have to admit, I was just as proud of her "tower" as I was of her flushing with her foot.

Merry Christmas Eve!

Well, you know I'm not going to be blogging tomorrow- I can barely manage to blog once a month! But I wanted to wish everyone an early "Merry Christmas". I am definitely looking forward to tomorrow morning; it's Kenzie's first Christmas where she knows who Santa is and why he stuffs himself down people's chimneys once a year. When anyone has asked her what Santa Claus is bringing her, she has been telling them either "a cookie" or "a pink toy".

I'm also looking forward to tomorrow because it's one of the rare days of the year that I get to see lots of my family in just one day. I realize that there is a lot of traveling and a good bit of time is spent in the car, but it's totally worth it.

I never got around to sending out Christmas cards this year (shocking, I know), and I feel bad about that. Maybe I'll send out "Happy New Year" cards.

The day after Christmas is Erin's birthday (and yes, all his life people have given him a gift that's supposed to cover Christmas and birthday- doesn't seem fair, does it?) so happy birthday honey, what are you, like 38?

Just kidding. That's a little inside joke. Everyone who knows Erin knows he'll be turning 32. Again. . .

Merry Christmas, everyone!

Still catching up. . .

I realize November is over halfway gone (I cannot believe it is almost Christmas!), so I'd better do a quick post to catch up on Halloween. I LOVE Halloween. It is definitely in my top 3 of favorite holidays. I mean, what's not to like? It has dressing up and candy involved! Erin and I were invited to a Halloween party at his friend Linda's house. He was a Ghost Buster and I was a "tavern girl". The label on the costume said only "Gretchen", so I wasn't exactly sure what to call it, but after talking to several people, we have all agreed that I was a tavern girl. Linda went all out on decorations in her house and she even had a fog machine. It was super fun and we hope to be invited back next year. The picture above isn't blurry- it's the fog.

Next up, we have Kenzie's Halloween. As I've previously mentioned, she was a little cat with a sign around her neck that said "Free to a Good Home". This year she got really into trick-or-treating and remembered to say "thank you". She probably had 20 pieces of candy that night- a lot for a two-year-old!

In this one, I asked Kenzie to growl like a cat.

As promised, I am back to discuss some recent events. I think I can group these into "ways that I am terribly unlucky" and "reasons I am lucky beyond belief".

First up, the Unluckys. So, a couple weeks ago I left work and drove to Talitha's to get Kenzie, just like I do every other day of the week (well, except when Mom comes to stay with her). I went inside and was back out with Kenzie in about 3 minutes. It was super cold and windy that evening. When I went to start the car, things started going crazy; the lights on the dash and navigation screen were flashing and looked like they were shorting out and one of my blinkers even came on. Rest assured, I had not left anything on! And even if I had, I was gone a mere 3-4 minutes, tops! The engine wouldn't even turn over, but it was difficult to tell what was going on because I have a push-button start meaning I can't actually turn the ignition. My car has a fob instead of a key. As long as you are within a couple feet of the car, you can push a button on the door to lock or unlock, push a button on the trunk to open it, and you also start the car that way. Quite the little gem. . . until your car goes haywire and you can't even open your trunk. I realized quickly that I would need to call roadside assistance. I knew from having a dead battery a week after getting the car (that time was my fault for leaving something on) that Infiniti would simply call a local service to bring a battery charger, so I was positive I would be on my way in about 45 minutes.

Now, I'm not knocking hoopty cars, but what came to my aid was a circa 1983 Toyota Corolla with no hubcaps bumping some gangsta rap music. Fine. I was still confident until he pulled out some rusty, taped up, jumper cables that looked about 20 years old. The next hour was spent with him plus about 6 of Talitha's neighbors, all convinced they knew what was wrong, hovering over my car. At one point there were two sets of cables hooked to my car at once because one of the neighbors thought it was best to include his old Bronco to the mix of power. He wanted to "try something" that I had never heard of to get it to start, but I gently suggested that might void my warranty. The whole time, everyone there wanted to complain about how "if they made cars like they used to" and "if every darn thing wasn't computerized". . .for once I kind of had to agree.

Obviously, a tow was necessary and the Corolla wasn't going to suffice as a tow truck. 2 more service calls, and an hour and a half later, my car was finally on it's way and Erin was finally on his way to get me. This entire time (4 hours, add it up) I stood in the cold. Why? Because I couldn't go in while people were working on my car and I had been instructed to wait by my car so help would see me unless I was in an unsafe location. At least Kenzie got to stay inside with Talitha, so I didn't have to worry about her.

The next day I was informed by Infiniti that my battery had suffered a short. Fortunately, it was still under warranty.

This post is ending up longer than I planned so I will be quick with the next unlucky thing. This past Sunday when we got to church, they told us to take Kenzie to another room than the usual because they were singing with other ages that morning. We didn't think much of it so we dropped her off and went to join the congregation. We had missed the past two Sundays because of the weekend at the farm and Erin working. Halfway through worship, the little kids were brought in and stood in the front on the stairs to sing a song. I was so proud and excited I just about cried. Kenzie was in the front row and sang the song, did the moves, and danced the whole time. I even caught her eye once and waved and she waved back then kept singing. This is the first time she has ever performed in front of any group of people and she's two, people! I had no idea if she would run off the stage or start to cry, but she just did fantastic! I couldn't have been more proud!

You are probably wondering how this is an unlucky event. Well, the event itself was fabulous. The fact that I had just picked up my camera from Rock Island the day before and JUST took it out of my purse in the car right before we walked into church really, REALLY sucks.

You know it would be nice if I would post a picture of little Kenzie singing her heart out at church. . .oh wait, I CAN'T! I'll put up a recent cute pic of her instead.

I am such a slacker.

So, when I decided to do this whole blogging thing, I intended to post almost daily. Or weekly at the very least. If you have looked at my blog lately, you have noticed that I haven't posted anything new in awhile. I'm sorry for that; I know am a slacker and promise to do better. I do have a lot of things to discuss, but I'll divide it up into individual posts. Topics will include Halloween, the election, my 3 month old car breaking down on the coldest night we've had so far, and my most recent weekend at the farm, spent with Cara and our girls. The reason I'm not going to blab about these things today is because I like to post pictures. And do you know where my camera is? Well, until my aunt Deloris went to hunt for it, it sat outside in the grass for a few days at my grandmother's house (where we had our weekend at the farm). This is in Rock Island, a good 2 hours away from here. Thankfully, it has not rained or been dewy in the mornings and no wild animals had drug it off. I plan to meet Deloris sometime after TTU Homecoming this Saturday, so by Monday, I'll have some pictures. If my memory card was somehow ruined, I'll just be wallowing in self-pity and regret for being stupid enough to leave it in the grass. We'll see. I have posted a picture from that weekend, only because posts aren't nearly as much fun without pictures. This is from the camera Cara had. The camera that she was smart enough to take with her when we left Rock Island.

It is also my anniversary. I love you, Erin!

Stop the madness!!!

When it comes to sweets, I have zero willpower. I will eat whatever is in sight and not think a thing about it. Now, luckily, this isn't usually a problem unless it gets totally out of control like it has for the past few days. At work, we have a candy drawer. And it's a big drawer. Most of the time there's something decent in it, although it does occasionally go through dry spells where there might be a few peppermints and a butterscotch disc (neither fit my description of candy, by the way). Well, it's Halloween-time so the candy drawer has not only been full, but full of the good stuff: Mounds, Heath bars, Snickers, Twix, Reese's, etc. Most people might just have one or two pieces a day, but me? Oh, I'll have about 6 or 7, thank you. And it's not the bite size, it's the "fun size". Fun, indeed.

Monday was one of our doctor's birthdays. Of course we had the biggest sheet cake that Sam's Club offers. It had the good fattening icing, not the whipped, "supposed to be better for you" kind.

Thursday was Bosses Day, but we celebrated on Monday with 3 dozen Krispy Kreme doughnuts because one of our doctors wasn't going to be at work for the actual day. I should also point out that we are celebrating again on Tuesday when all of our doctors will be there. We are having Salsaritas cater and I have been told that we opted for their dessert option as well.

It's Friday. One of my coworkers decided that what we all really need today is a huge pot of homemade spaghetti. So she has been in the break room making it for the past hour or so. And she bought bread (pre-buttered with garlic) too. It smells delicious.

What is my point in all of this? Well, the first pair of jeans I put on this morning "fit" but were absolutely not appropriate to wear to work, if you know what I mean. Clearly this is a classic example of a cause/effect situation. I have got to stop the madness! I am totally not buying bigger pants, so I am going to have to decrease the hand to mouth motion that is happening far too often lately. I figured it up and I ate about 3000 calories yesterday. You may recall that I am not quite 5'2 and weigh 108-110 pounds. . .for now.

The picture above is my motivation to do better. It's not my favorite picture in the world; I mean, my hair might as well be a rag mop and my left arm looks wonky, but I'm loving the fact that there is an abdomen with very little fat on it. And it was one of the few bathing suit pictures I have on this computer, so it will do. This is my goal, friends. Let's see if I can at least keep it under 2750 calories today. I mean, you gotta start somewhere, right?

Some pictures to share

After reading Cara's new blog, it occured to me that I should post some pictures of my family.

This is me and my awesome husband, Erin at Fired Up, a pottery place in Ashville, NC. He did a mug and I did a platter. They turned out great and we actually do use them at home.

This is Kenzie. She was the flower girl at Jen's wedding. We were nervous about her just turning two and attempting a walk down the aisle, but to our surprise, she did great.

This is my favorite picture of my two favorite people. I only wish I could see Erin's face in it.

This was taken at Mandy's house. Kenzie has Ariel mermaid fins on.