As My Husband Would Say, "That's Weak Sauce"

I got a speeding ticket yesterday. 30 in a 25 thank you very much. Apparently, there is a section of road in my neighborhood between two stop signs that drops from 30 to 25. It then goes right back up to 30. This is more commonly known as a speed trap. How I lived in this neighborhood for over 3 years and didn't know that is beyond me.

Not only did I get a ticket for speeding but I also received one for expired registration. Now, I had every intention of getting that tag. After all, it is SUPER DUPER easy to get online and renew it. However, I lost the paperwork for it. So, I had been casually looking for it around the house thinking I just won't get pulled over. No problem. I'm generally a rule follower anyway. WRONG. I found the paper work on Monday (the day BEFORE I got the ticket). My plan was to do it as soon as I got back from Vegas. ARG!

Well, I went to the JP office and tax annex today to get the new registration ticket, plead guilty (like a criminal) and ask for deferred disposition (where you take Defensive Driving to have the offense removed from your record).  I got the registration sticker but the JP office is CLOSED FOR EMPLOYEE TRAINING.

 It's ok though. Because, they "are sorry for the inconvenience" of me getting myself and a 10 month old ready (which takes close to 2 hours), driving to the annex only to have to turn around and do it all again tomorrow.

That's what I get for speeding! Now I REALLY need this vacation.

BLOG frustration!

I am not happy with the design of my blog. Excuse the mess...I am working on it. 

 That is all.

How Awesome is this STUFF?

Chloe doesn't need anything else. But if she did, this is what I would be buying her. How cool is this stuff?

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Illusion not Allusion

Seriously?

You would think I was an Aggie or something.

See this post or don't even worry about it.

Next Gerber Baby?

Our friend, Aunt Fanny, pointed this out the other day. Can't say the thought hadn't already crossed my mind, but I speculate that every parent thinks their child looks like the Gerber baby. Hmmmmm?

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Sleeping Beauty

...is Chloe's name today.

She's taken two very long naps. Judging by these pictures, I think she's still feeling the effects of yesterday's shots. Bless her little heart.

She rubs her ears when she's sleepy.

Still looking snazzy in the outfit Shorty made!

 On the plus side, it's given me a chance to:

1. get caught up on laundry.
2. write a couple of thank you notes.
3. make some more of these fun leg warmers.

Halloween Leg Warmers

Pink and Purple

Blue and Green

How To: Baby Tutu

I wanted to share this link in case anyone was interested in making their baby a tutu. This is where I learned how...Baby Tutu...it's super easy and QUICK.

Like this one...

Or as seen here with our friend, Katie!

Adventures in Babysitting

This is just a random collection of photos from the other day when I was watching my neighbor's daughter and Chloe. None of them are particularly great photos...just thought I'd put it down so I'd have a keepsake.

On a side note, my mind is racing the past few weeks. There is so much I want to write about but I'm struggling with myself and my privacy right now. I'm not sure I even want to keep this blog. Sometimes, I wish I had just started a journal but I never remember to write in them...the blog is the only way I remember to write. I guess my point is that if my blog stinks lately...you'll know why.

We are getting better at tummy time.



This is my night gown...it's nearly 28 years old.
Thanks for passing it down, Shorty.





Chloe loves her 'iPod' haha



Chloe was trying to figure out how to pick up that dinosaur.

Mom, you're so silly.

The little girl I babysit. She's asking me if her tongue is blue from the roll-up.

Shopping

This disgusts me.

Pile of crap?

If you think this is my laundry pile, you're wrong. They are the items from our closets that we are purging. I have not cleaned out my closet (other than removing a few select items here and there) since graduating Tech in 2006.

Hangers from our cleaned closets.

I don't want to delve too deep into this pile. We do not need all this stuff. Truth be told, we never did. But we have it and we hang onto it for some unknown reason. I hate shopping and this is why. We end up going back through the stuff and we realize we never wore it, forgot we had it, outgrew it or ruined it. It makes me sick.

But of course, what did we do today? We went shopping. In my defense, I only walked away with two pairs of jeans and some much needed running shoes. All of which will be used until they literally fall apart. Mark did well, too. He got a few polo shirts and some new jeans.

Prime Outlets in San Marcos.

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We did have fun and Chloe did really well. We left the house around 9:00 and didn't arrive back at the casa until 2:30. It's the longest 'adventure' that Chloe has had to date. She's sound asleep now from her long day of shopping.

Things Chloe and I Learned from Our Two-Year-Old Neighbor

1. This is, and I quote, "AMAZING!"

2. Some Most things are just too darn important to waste time using the toilet to take care of business.
3. It is perfectly acceptable to ask for pancakes at lunch time.
4. Everything gets done faster with a song and a dance incorporated.
5. Sometimes you have to throw yourself on the floor and scream at the top of your lungs just to feel better.
6. The best way to have a conversation is to repeat everything the other person says in the form of a question.

Little kids are hard work but they sure are fun and funny!

What's Been Missing?

It has been nearly three years...




since we moved into this house.




We have been here exactly 979 days and...




every time we go into the kitchen...




we talk about how we need to get...




a paper towel holder.




Today we did! See?

Things That Make You Go UGH!

This is random. Being at someone else's house reminded me of two three things that drive me nuts!!

When loading utensils into the dishwasher...

They go this way.

Not this way.

Otherwise, you can stab yourself when reaching in for forks and knives. You also have to touch the part you eat with after they are clean. Nobody wants your germs on their eating utensils.

When putting dishware and glasses in the cupboard...

They go this way.

Not this way.

Otherwise, you get dust in your glasses and bowls.

I know it sounds O.C.D. but that's how I feel about it. Also, I can't put dishes into the dishwasher without thoroughly cleaning them first. If they have crust or goo on them, they do not go in the dishwasher yet. That sounds wasteful and redundant. Do what you want with your kitchen, but if you come into mine...you've been warned...that's how it goes. ha ha.

Am I alone here? What are your kitchen (or 'otherwise') quirks?

California

Mark sent this picture tonight. He's in San Jose training for his
Google job. Tonight they went to the bay and he saw these cute little
things. I asked him to bring one home but I think it would make the
house smell a bit fishy. I wish Chloe and I were with him in CA.

I Hate Credit Cards!!

I was watching the Today show this morning and they shared this handy bit of information!

You know those annoying pre-approved credit card offers you get in the mail? I get a ridiculous amount...more than one a day. Grrrr. You can reduce the number that gets sent to you by going here.

You can opt out of pre-screened offers for five years via the Internet or permanently via snail mail. You can also 'opt in' if you change your mind. It's hard to believe that would ever happen.

I just thought a few of you might benefit from this information.

Ebates = Awesome!!

Did NOT know about this site! You get cash back for shopping online at A LOT of stores. So, if you're like me and shop online at all then you might want to check this out! Heck, if you don't shop online you might want to start!!

T.V. Made for Me

Mark and I love to cuddle up together after Chloe goes to bed watch a little television. We don't watch all that much but here are the few that we make a point to see:

TrueBlood

The hit vampire series on HBO. I believe I became 'addicted' last year. I missed the season finale because we canceled HBO. Mark and I are now caught up thanks to AT&T UVerse! They offered us free HBO for 3 months. (BTW-It never hurts to call your cable company and ask what promotions they are offering. Mark does this periodically and that's how we get free movie channels.) Call me crazy but I think Eric is my favorite hunk this season.

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Top Chef

A reality show on Bravo based on our favorite topic: food! This season takes place in Washington D.C. Mark and I love to pick our favorite chef and watch the drama unfold (and dream of how delicious the food tastes). This season we like Kenny and Angelo but Tiffany (from Dallas) is hard to not like. 

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Tosh.O.

Daniel Tosh is hilarious. Most of this stand-up comedian's show is done in front of a green screen. He delivers one-liners and off-color jokes about web video clips. This is the funniest show I have seen in a long, long time.

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Enjoy this video clip that had Mark and I laughing through the commercial break from last night's episode.

Of course, we can't wait for It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia's new season!!

What are your favorite shows?

Something to think about...

I just wanted to share this with anyone who reads our blog.

I read through the message boards on some' mommy sites.' I use the boards as support system. Being a new mom is often confusing and sometimes scary; therefore, I read the message boards to try and get a sense of normalcy in my life. This is beside the point. My point is: I found the quote on the message boards. I have no idea who originally said it.

I can't recall having ever heard this quote before last week. If I have, it touched me in way that it has not in the past. I encourage you to think about it for a bit and let it really soak in a bit.

"Do not measure your insides by another person's outsides."*

This quote keeps coming back to me. It reminds me of my other favorite quote:

"Where you stand depends on where you sit."*

I heard this from my government teacher, Ms. Woolsy, in high school. I think the reason both of these quotes mean so much to me is complex. I'll do my best to explain briefly.

We spend so much time judging others. We also spend a lot of time judging ourselves by comparing ourselves to those that we wish to be like (or unlike). People are complex and our God is complex. The reasons people are-how-they-are or do-the-things-they-do is circumstantial. We don't know and can never know many of those circumstances. Therefore, it does not make sense to try and judge others' actions or behavior. You don't have all the evidence. Conversely, don't compare yourself to other people. Your circumstances are different and you cannot know their heart. And remember, looks can often be deceiving.

Who is the ONLY person that you know inside and out? YOU. That's the only person you need to worry about because that is the only person you can give a fair trial.

I have to remind myself of this daily.

I have one last thing to mention before I get off this soapbox: I recommend the book 'The Shack.' It hits on this from a Christian perspective and it really turned my world on its ear.

*If you know where either of these quotes originates, please enlighten me. I'd love to find out!

Postpartum Blue Jeans

I have to celebrate with you fellow bloggers and blog stalkers.

I have been hitting the scale daily hoping to see some semblance of my pre-pregnancy body. Don't get me wrong, I love my new curves but I don't want to wear maternity clothes FORVER! Although, you may remember a time when I claimed that maternity clothes were awesome and I DID want to wear them forever. Times have changed.

I hit my pre-pregnacy weight about two weeks after Chloe's arrival. What I now realize: that weight does not allow me to fit into my old clothes. Pregnancy warps your body in strange and wonderful ways. So I stepped off the scale for a few days.

Today I tried on my old jean Capri pants (granted the largest size pants I own without elastic but whatever...). And...

THEY FIT!!! They are even a little baggy! So, I am well on my way to putting up the maternity clothes for a while (I hope).

Now, if the doctor would just clear me to run and lift. I want to start P90X again!

This is a test. I am trying to set my blog up so that I can blog with my iPhone. That way you can get 'realtime' updates on what we are doing here in Granthamania!

April Showers

It has been raining a lot here in the Austin area. But, I'm not talking about rain. The past two weekends have been shower weekends for baby Chloe. I should be finishing up my 'thank you' notes right now, and I will, but I wanted to share some of the fun we've been having around here.

Last weekend my friends Stephanie and Katie threw a shower for us. It was A-M-A-Z-I-N-G! They made a beautiful diaper cake for Chloe and had a bib decorating station for all of our guests to make Chloe a bib. They also put up mommy and daddy baby pictures. It was so cute to see my hubby as a baby and think about which of our features Chloe will have.

We played games. Suzy (Mark's mom) won the contest for guesing how big my tummy was but his Granny came a very, very close second! This picture is Mark's cousin, Abby, measuring my tummy to see if she was right.

Me and Mom

Grantham Family

(from right to left: Abby, Nancy, Granny, Me, Suzy and Ellen)

We had another shower on April 17. Mark's godmother, Sandy, hosted the shower. Sandy made the cutest wreath out of cloth diapers! My mom has pictures from that shower. So I will post them when I have copies.

The best part of both showers? I got to see my parents two weekends in a row!

A couple of other items I should share:

1. 
   
   Mark started a new job two weeks ago. So far, he is loving it. He's doing close to the same thing but with a different company. He's also in the I.T. industry now and not hardware/software. This opportunity just kind of fell in his lap so after many prayers, we are confident that this is meant to be.
2. 
   
   Mark finished tiling and grouting the tub! He finished today. The plan is to have the resurfacing company come to their magic this week sometime. Slow and steady with this project.
3. 
   
   I'm getting everything washed for Chloe and I love the smell of the baby detergent. Everything smells so fresh in her room. Every time I look at the diaper pail, I remember that smell won't last for long :).
4. 
   
   I went to the doctor last Tuesday. She showed me how Chloe was laying and told me where to put my hand so I could feel her little foot. I could have guessed what i was feeling but it was nice to have a medical professional say, "Put your hand here. That's her foot." I almost started crying! We start our weekly appointments next Tuesday. The time is near...