Nine Month Pics

I know I'm a few weeks late posting these new nine month pictures of Gracie, but I have been one busy mama. I had the online access code in a side pocket of one of my purses and, for the life of me, I could not find it anywhere! Finally, JCPenny emailed me the code, thus the pictures. When we walked into the studio I warned the photographer that Grace is a hard one to crack. She can be smiling and hysterically laughing, but when she sees a camera her smile goes into hiding. It's only on a good day when we're relaxed at home that she will smile for the camera. The photographer responded with great confidence, and conviction even, saying she could make any baby smile. Nope. Not my Gracie. But even without the smile, didn't these come out just beautifully? I LOVE THEM! I'm proud to say that I've been very good about getting her 3-6-9 month pictures taken. Hopefully at her 12 month photo session we'll be able to see those little pumpkin teeth and big ol' cheeks of hers.

Are You Serious?!?!

I'm boggled: Where does one find the words in which to respond when your husband asks, "Why do you always NOT want help?" Uh, what planet did you just fly off? Really. Today, he's such a dork!

Isaiah's Gift

I got a call from my sister Nicole this morning *what a great way to start the day!* She called and invited me over to see her and the boys before I went to work and, of course, I agreed! As I was driving over I was getting so excited. You see, I absolutely LOVE playing with my little nephew Isaiah. He'll be two in just a few months and he is LOADS of fun. When I walked in the door he started screaming with excitment and gave me the biggest hug *heart melted*. After we played for a while I sat to hold Baby Elijah who is almost three months already. How time flies. He was in a good ol' mood smiling - even laughing. I raised him in the air and he laughed. I brought him back down, bitting his tummy and he laughed all the more *so much fun!* Since I was enjoying my time with Baby Eli, Isaiah started coloring while watching "Yo Gabba-Gabba." It's one of his favorite shows. He drew the picture I posted above. The thing that got me was that earlier, he was putting things in my jacket pocket and I'd take them out, he'd put things in, and I'd take them out, like a game. Each time he put something in my pocket he'd laugh and wave his hands in the air with delight. When I finally got to work this morning I felt something crumpling in my pocket. I knew I took everything out when he put it in, but my baby put his picture in my pocket and WITH his yellow crayon. I KNOW he didn't put them there during our 'game' because I was sure to get everything out as soon as he put it in, so I'm thinking he snuck in this little love gift, just for his Tia Kristie. And for him to part with his yellow crayon??? I tell you, the boy LOVES to color and he loves his crayons...and he gave me his picture AND his crayon? *Awwwwe...* Amazing how an almost two year old can make my heart dance and make me feel so loved. I love you too, Isaiah!

This Week's Menu

One of my girlfriends just completely marvels at the fact that I create a Weekly Menu consisting of breakfasts, after-school snacks, and dinners and post it on the refrigerator with a happy little magnet to hold it in place - every week. The Advent of Menus began when I was being asked, "What's can I have for breakfast....what should I eat for snack...or what's for dinner?" every day by my two little adorable angels....and my husband :o) They absolutely LOVE having a menu up. Alliah rushes to the refrigerator almost every Monday after school to see what's on the new list. She reads each line and comments on how she loooovvvees this or can 'take or leave' that. Angel just listens and salivates. So, since this is such a hot topic I thought I'd let you take a peek into what we'll be serving up at our house this week:

Breakfasts:
Monday - Cereal
Tuesday - English muffin w/peanut butter, 1 banana
Wednesday - Ham & Cheese Pocket
Thursday - Oatmeal w/maple & brown sugar, toast
Friday - Chorizo Burrito
Saturday - Pancakes, eggs, potatoes
Sunday - Cereal (and whatever snacks they have a church)

After School Snacks:
Monday - Beef Stick and mandarin orange
Tuesday - Sliced Beef Sausage and crackers
Wednesday - Cucumbers, carrots and ranch dip
Thursday - Raspberry yogurt in a sundae cup w/rainbow sprinkles
Friday - Edamame with lemon

Dinners:
Monday - Two Soccer Team Pizza Parties (oh yeah!)
Tuesday - Double Cheesey Quesadilla bake, cauliflower
Wednesday - Sirloin Beef Soup, biscuits
Thursday - Lasagna, green salad, garlic bread
Friday - Marinated Tri Tip, Garlic Mashed Potatoes, steamed broccoli
Saturday - Grilled Chicken, zucchini, chicken fajita rice
Sunday - Spaghetti with hot Italian sausage, garlic toast

So there you have it. Just let me know what night you'd like to stop by and I'll throw in some extra :o) Have a great day!

Christmas Already???

MERRY CHRISTMAS? I walked into the Dollar Tree with my husband yesterday and I could have swore I had entered a winter wonderland. There were Christmas decorations, poinsettas and garland, ornaments, wrapping paper, snow men, candy canes and more filling the shelves. I stopped and asked Larry, "Uh, didn't we just finish Halloween? And we haven't even HAD Thanksgiving yet!" He just shook his head in an "Ayyyyye know" kind of way and voyaged straight for the cookie aisle with cart in hand. As I wondered through the aisles I just could not bring myself to buy Christmas stuff! I'm not ready for Christmas to be here yet! I still want to enjoy the autumn air, still see the leaves turning beautiful colors as they fall to the ground. I want to relish in my hot turkey with cranberry sauce, homemade mashed potatoes and gravy, and enjoy a slice (or two) of fresh pumpkin pie with a pumpkin latte to boot. I don't know what I'm going to do about this Christmas. I really don't appreciate how quickly it is presenting itself before me. Get it? Present-ting LOL *enjoy my humor?* So, for now I'm just going to ignore Christmas. I've already told my kids I don't want to hear about their Christmas Lists or talk about Christmas activities at least until December 1st. I am an "all at once shopper" as it is. I love chooseing one day, starting at about 9am with a good, hot breakfast and finishing up all my Christmas shopping by dinnertime that same day. Thanksgiving Dinner and all the comfy qualities of fall are swimming in the pools of my heart. I'm not giving in to Christmas in November! 'Tis the Season to be Thankful and I'm going to enjoy THIS season.

The Conversation

I know I already published a post today, but after the call I just received I just have to blog about it so I don't forget this story! Let my preface this story by saying Angel got a new teacher last week. His teacher, Mr. Calvert, was his "temporary teacher" until Mrs. Runge returned to school from a medical absence. Angel loved Mr. Calvert and he had been Angel's teacher since the beginning of the school year. Mrs. Runge is, from what I gather, more strict and not as laid back as Mr. Calvert. So, my cell phone rings and it's a number I don't recognize. It's an 831- area code, so I answer it.

Me: Hello, this is Kristie.

My Son: Hi Mom....it's me Angel.

Me: Hey Son, what's going on? Whose phone are you using?"

My Son: Uh, my teacher's cell phone. She said I had to call you because I wasn't behaving.

Me: What were you doing?

My Son: Talking to Jordan when I shouldn't have been.

Me: Oh, well, if youre teacher has you calling me, that means that you haven't been behaving for a while, huh?

My Son: Yeah.

Me: Okay, then, well...(think mommy, think...what do I say?) Have you had recess already?

My Son: (I can *hear* the tears welling up in his eyes) Uh...noooooo-w

Me: Okay then, tell your teacher that I said you need to stay in for recess.

My Son: (after repeating what I said to his teacher) She said to ask you one recess or two? (he's crying now)

Me: That's up to her. That will be her decision.

My Son: Awwww-www....o-kaaaay. (He mumbles, "My mom said it's your decision" and teacher agrees to two recesses)

Me: Okay, son, well, I'm sorry this is happening, but you sit at your desk and think about what you've done and me and dad will talk to you about it when you get home.

My Son: (tears now really falling) O-kaaaaay Mom...bye.

We hung up. Now I have to think about what I'm gonna say?! He was already disciplined by his teacher by missing two recesses. What more should I do? Then again, if the teacher had him call me from her CELL PHONE then he must have been really acting up. His dad is going to hit the roof. Angel's whole class had to write a letter yesterday apologizing to his teacher for being "rude" as Angel put it. He wrote an entire page apologizing for everything under the sun: not listening, playing around, talking when she was talking, not doing his work, and on and on. I'm still thinking about what to do. I'll let you know what happens...

My Wednesday Night Group

Every Wednesday night a couple of ladies from my church meet together for bible study. It started out as a full-fledged bible study with a weekly video series, fill-in-the blank workbooks for daily homework, maintaining a prayer list, etc., but as time progressed the daily homework wasn't getting done and we weren't keeping up with the reading and we all felt just plain guilty about it. Some women even stopped coming! So, as a group, we decided that we would come together to watch the video and then, of course, what else but TALK! BKCML (before kids changed my life)I absolutely LOVED women's bible studies with workbooks and homework and memory verses because I had all the time in the world to do it! And do it well, mind you. Now? Phfff....I can barely look up one scripture to 'fill in the blank' before I hear someone yelling out my name (Mawwwwm!!) for a shirt, a bottle, a pen, food, keys, misplaced homework or something else that can't be found. It got frustrating. Last night, however, was wonderful. There's five or six of us who come to this group. It's nice to have a small group because it's so much more relational. And that IS what we women want, right? So, we all sat down to watch the video and then shared our thoughts about it and gave the 4-1-1 of our lives this past week. It's amazing the bond that can be created when people get together to just care for one another. I mean, how often does someone ask, "How are you?" and actually stop to hear your answer? I'm asked "How are you?" everyday by the grocery clerk, the guy at the gas station counter, the man that takes my order at lunch, the girl that works in the office next door to mine...but rarely do these people stop and wait for an answer. I ususally follow with a, "oh, I'm good, you?" and they reply, "Good" and life goes on like that conversation never existed. I am thankful for this time to meet with my sisters in the Lord and leave encouraged, like I have back-up if back-up is needed. It felt good that people remembered what I shared the week before and said they had prayed for me that week. We share our prayer requests and know that everything that is shared will be held in the strictest of confidence. God has placed some amazing women in my life - women of all ages, all backgrounds, married, single, divorced, widowed. As I finish up this post my heart is filled with more thankfulness than when I typed the first letter. Thank you God for the blessings of your daughters. I am forever grateful.

Random Pics of Grace

I had over 90 images on my cell phone so I decided it was time to clear them out. I just had to digi-scrap these cute pics of Grace. In this album I call them "Glimpses of Grace." A perfect description for pictures of my beautiful baby girl. I know you're gonna like this one!

Halloween

The Smilebox below captures just a glimpse into a very busy Halloween Day. Hope you enjoy it!

Under Construction

I'm sitting here in my office on a beautiful Monterey day. The weather is perfect! The sun is shining, the sky is blue, a slight breeze is in the air. When I should be concentrating on the client billings I need to get out today, I'm finding it extremely difficult to concentrate. I have a lovely window - a large window that takes up the entire eastern wall of my office.


And right in front of me I see a gigantic Deere tractor, a white chevy with a concrete pump on the back, a water truck, and about four construction workers scratching their shovels accross broken out asphalt. Oh, and I forgot to mention the dude with the dirt compactor, which is making my office desk, my chair and my brain shake. While you would think a vibrating office chair would be nice....IT'S NOT! And the constant buzzing from the generator is really ruining my office ambiance. I even blew out the candle on my desk. Whatever they're doing out there I hope they're all gone tomorrow. The whole block is blocked off (it's a small block) and I had to park at the market across the street, walking in front of all of the construction crew. Ladies...we KNOW we all hate that. Oh, now there's two or three guys pacing around on their cell phones. That's can't be good. They're putting out more of those orange cones. Does this mean they'll be here again tomorrow? I pray not! I need some Aleve. Over & Out.