Since I'm not home, it's awfully tempting not tackle a single thing today. Alas, I am running out of clean clothes. Princess' cat fur sticks to everything, which makes it so much more difficult to get more than a single wear out of even a pair of jeans. (But when she crawled in my lap while we watched TV last night, it was all worth it. Even the allergies. Her purr seemed to say,"Thank you for trying to get that Bear to leave me alone!")

Anyway, here's today's tackle list:

1) water flower beds. the sprinklers will do the work. I may just have to adjust them.
2) laundry (that's my typical Tuesday tackle, anyway)
3) take Bear for a stroll-DONE! (she fell asleep and is now napping upstairs)
4) dust & pick up toys in the living room. Tech Mom's vaccuum works great,even if it is a little awkward (It's a Hoover Z thing that they got for $99 brand new from the Hoover store. It's Hoover's preliminary answer to the Dyson, but does have some comfort issues with operation, hence the price cut. I'm assuming the newer model is better. Still, a $400 vacuum for $99 is a great deal.) Now to get the furniture to match the freshly pampered carpet. I dusted all but one side table, and I've picked up blocks and crayons more times than I can count.
5) have dinner with A & M, friends from college. be sure to ask them to pray for mutual friend's father in law, who is having 20 inches removed from his intestines today.
6) take a shower. only a Mom understands why that must get put on a checklist.
7) show Tech Mom how to post pictures of the landscaping tackle from Saturday on her blog.
8) empty and refill the dishwasher

I hope to change the text to YELLOW (in process) and GREEN as the individual tasks are completed.



I took Baby Bear to Tech Mom's work today. She played shy at first, but eventually charmed everyone with her cute words in addition to adorable curls. She even scribbled the lab ladies a picture with their "colors" (markers). On the way home, we stopped by Hobby Lobby. Earlier this week I found a gift card that I had left over from Christmas that I had somehow not spent yet. Plus, Tech Mom wanted me to get Bear some WASHABLE crayons since the ones I picked up earlier this week were not washable. I found her a Blue's Clues coloring book to go with her crayons. Anyway, while at Hobby Lobby, I found their scrapbook papers and stickers were on sale for 50% off. WOO HOO!!!!!! And I bought a cool blade for my paper-cutter... it cuts jagged edges, that sort of look ripped... I think it's called deckled???

When I got back to Tech Mom's, I realized that I had failed to put my adhesives and scrapping pens in the box with my scrapbook and papers. So bringing my scrapping box was apparently pointless. Argh...

Baby Bear fell asleep in her carseat with a waffle fry hanging out of her mouth. I took the fry out and got her up to her pack and play for a nap. Now I must resume tackling the Tuesday mini- projects while she sleeps.

9:55 p.m.- Baby Bear practically kicked us and our friends out the door for our double "date". She repeated, "Bye!" numerous times. She and Tech Mom hung out while we splurged on a meal at Bahama Breeze. I ate delectable almond-crusted salmon, garlic mashed potatoes, and squash. Yuuuuummmmmm-o. Hubby gets a certain amount of "expense $$$" according to the project location. He never spends all of it, and tonight we even got an appetizer. I think I can handle this... having a built in babysitter who I trust comletely, comfy bed, a cat that I don't have to take to the vet, and cable TV with DVR. But I do miss my house and my neighbors.

It was so nice to catch up with friends I've known for almost 13 years... I can't believe it has been that long already! Wow...

Reflections before I tackle...

It occured to me that yesterday was the 2nd anniversary of my grandfather's death. 2 years ago, my family ventured up to NY, and all 13 of the grandchildren made it into town by Cinco de Mayo for Grandpa RJ's funeral.

In our transient society, it is easy to lose our connections to our relatives. Strangers often become closer than family, and family becomes strangers. Somehow, in spite of being spread out across the country, my Mom and Dad have kept in touch with their relatives. So while I might pass some cousins on the street and not recognize them, there are many that I would know. The Internet has helped. Of course, you regulars know that I keep in touch with my sis and mom-in-law and sisters-in-law on here. When one of my older cousins and her hubby recently ventured to China to adopt their daughter, we followed along on their blog. Another sends links to her shutterfly pics so we can see her two children grow, with the occasional photos of visits with other "California cousins". Of course, I've got this blogging addiction that has also turned into a virtual scrapbook for my daughter, and I love seeing her cousins grow online since we don't see them often enough.

Anyway, I find myself missing all of my Grandparents today. I see Baby Bear's curly locks and think of Hubby's Grandma Grace. I remember my Grandfathers, and how different they were. One lived life with 100% energy into his 90's. The other spent the last several years in physical decline, but I will never forget the spiritual thirst he possessed throughout his life.

I hope Baby Bear has the chance to get to know her grandparents even more closely than I knew mine. (We're off to a good start.)

Pray for Chatterbox's Dad, Mr. A.... (warning, not a pretty mental picture)

He's having 20 inches removed from his intestines today. Anyway, it sounds like an extreme case of diverticulitis... he has lots of polyps in his intestines/colon, and many became infected, causing bleeding when he thought he needed to use the bathroom. He's in his mid-late 50's, I think. I've known his daughter since high school, and his son-in-law since college.

This will be short...

Baby Bear is begging to go for a stroll. I think we'd better do it while the morning still has crispness in the air.

I received my pics from Shutterfly, and I am very pleased sith the 8X10 collage (click to see the rough draft)that I had printed out. The other pics are good, too. 15 of the prints were free, so the deal was really good. I'm looking forward to taking advantage of the ClubMom photo book offer. I uploaded 10 photos into their online scrapbook, and have received my code from shutterfly for the free 10-page 8 X8 album. I have an idea for a theme... actually a couple of them. (Obviously Baby Bear will be the main theme.)

Ok, I really should consider pay-per-post or adsense if my blog is going to be an infommercial. Time to get off my rear and go enjoy the pretty weather with my beautiful little girl!

neat site for toddler activities ... (thanks to someone on a babycenter board)

toddlertoddler.com

before we got to work this weekend......

as you can see, tech mom and dad already did a lot...

they tore out the old shrubs from in front of the house, planted perennials

and mulched the flower bed

out back:

the fish begged to be fed and said their water is getting cloudy

princess says she thinks that the back beds need fresh mulch and flowers, too...

(aren't the azaleas gorgeous?!!!)

"after" pics to come, soon... at tech mom's blog...

baby bear is having a blast.. visit her cave to catch up with her!

(i decided to give the freshly planted flowers a couple of days to get settled before taking pics.)

Kicking up my feet...

Gramma/Tech Mom and Baby Bear is playing with blocks. Tech Dad is out for a ride on his motorcycle. Hubby drove home and is probably mowing the lawn as I type.... he'll come back tomorrow, after stopping by the office in the morning.

****
Tech Dad just pulled up in a Ford Explorer Sport Trac with Jim the car sales dude, to whisk Tech Mom away for a test drive in his possible future ride. I guess he left his bike at the dealership. He and hubby spent yesterday afternoon drooling... so today he went back for a visit. Actually, it seems like a pretty cool vehicle, much more comfy than the old Toyota. It'll be interesting to see if the dealer can get the $$ part right. If the numbers don't work, it's no deal.

See, the men may not shop as much, but when they do, they spend more than a woman (in this family) spends all year.

****
8:45 p.m. Hubby & Tech Dad ran the #'s, and it looks like self-control will be winning this time. At least they had fun looking at vehicles.

Baby Bear was a little freaked out by the helmet and the noise from Tech Dad's motorcycle. But once she got used to the bike, she loved watching him put it back onto its trailer. She wouldn't sit on the bike with him, though.

Uploading pics to my shutterfly account from my camera card seems to be taking a really long time. Argh.

Tempted to post about the day... but since I am at Tech Mom's house, I will leave it to HER to tell what we've been up to. She obviously thinks she lacks blogging inspiration, or she has to think too hard to come up with something to post... yada yada yada...

I will say that we're tired, but in a good way. Tech Mom, you tell them why.

(My blog is proof that posts need not be eloquent or well thought out. While that helps, it is NOT necessary.)

Maybe, if she posts, I might help her put some pictures on her blog, too.

hubbyism

hubby: "shphhhk!"
me: "huh?"
hubby: "i shot cat with my fake gun."

Farm Wife was inspired to do this by Daring Young Mom, and I decided to join along.

What makes me happy?

Sleeping in til after 8 a.m. on a Saturday morning!
Digging in the garden to plant flowers.
Baby Bear exclaiming "fow-fur", picking a flower, and carrying it around the yard.
Comfy, MODEST satin pj's that I got for Christmas from Caslon and Photo Guy. Did I mention how comfy they are?
My daughter's laugh.
Spending the week (or 2) with Tech Mom and Dad so we don't have to miss Hubby while he works in their city.
Watching and helping Baby Bear explore Tech Mom's house.
Not having to stay in a motel while hubby is working out of town.
Visiting with old and new friends.
Capturing moments of my little girl's childhood on camera.
The sound of her plunking the piano keys.
Reading a good book.
Sitting in Tech Mom's red leather la-z-boy-ish chair and taking advantage of their internet connection on her laptop while hubby uses our laptop.
Hearing baby-bear exclaim "clock" every time she sees or hears one of the many clocks in the house chime.
Listening to music.
The glow of joy on Baby Bear's face when "Baba" (Grandpa) comes home from travelling for 3 days.


That's a start... I've gotta go get dressed for digging in the Memphis dirt today!
Play along on your blog or in my comments!

Are we really in Memphis?

It's sunny, breezy and COOL! Warm enough to not need a jacket, but cool enough to enjoy a walk around the block. Baby Bear climbed into her umbrella stroller and chanted, "ride! please!", so we went out for a nice walk in the fresh air. It sure beat the trip to super-Walmart. We got what we had to and were in and out as quickly as possible. (I'm making chicken pot pie for dinner and had to get all the ingredients.) Some high school age kids were out messing with a car; I couldn't help but chuckle at the thought that their teachers were probably not missing them in class at the school I taught at for 2 years today. The idea of calling the police for truancy also crossed my mind, but I decided to give the poor teachers a break. If the kids were that rowdy outside, trying to teach them anything would have proven futile on a day like today.

Baby Bear is supposed to be napping, but I can hear her playing with her kitty and an old Pound Puppy from when her Daddy and Uncle and Aunt were growing up. I don't want to know what kind of pain the boys inflicted on their stuffed animals, though they appear unscathed. Anyway, she sounds happy, so why mess with a good thing? At the moment, all I hear is the lullaby from her wind-up giraffe, so perhaps she is going down.

music in my sidebar

i found a cool way to add a playlist to my blog... and there's one song on there especially for farmwife. she referred to the artist in a recent post, and i've had it running through my head at random times since then.

I got in the mood to add a couple more of my favorite TMBG songs... for your listening and singing-at-the-top-of-your-lungs-with-no-care-about-who-might-hear-you pleasure. :-)

(By the way, you can click on just the songs you want to hear.)

Another contest sponsored by 5 minutes for Mom!

Madison's Room provided them with a set of hair clippies to give to a lucky winner, and is offering a 15% off discount when you enter the code "mom" at checkout.

Dinner's in the works...

baked salmon, seasoned in butter, garlic, lemon, salt, pepper & dill
zatarain's long grain wild rice
corn
salad

Tech Mom has someone to cook for her tonight (and I have someone to keep Baby Bear from hanging on my legs while I try to get dinner ready!)

Tech Mom posted- only because I made her! (I made her feel a little guilty by putting the pic of all her children and grandchildren on her desktop.)

It's a drizzly kinda day.

I am in lazy mode. Baby Bear is watching Blue's Clues, thanks to the modern wonder of DVR technology and DirecTV. I want a nap. Why I didn't take one during Bear's 2-hour nap before lunch is beyond me (she went to bed late last night, but awoke at her usual time, making her ready for a nap mid-morning instead of after lunch. I did manage to take a shower. We've eaten lunch. I should call some friends while I'm in town, but I have the drizzly-day sleepy-head syndrome.

Baby Bear is begging for my root beer, so I'd better get some juice to distract her. Oh, wait, she just found a (closed) tube of antibiotic ointment and stuck it in her belly button. I love the toddler phase- she distracts herself!

Be sure to stop by her cave and read my musings on the 1st year and a half of her life.

Wordless Wednesday
For links to more WW posts, go to 5 minutes for Mom.

You MUST look at this photo of tiny baby feet...

It's amazing. Based on the angel decorations, I'm wondering what this baby's story is...

Drat.

I left my USB cable at home. So I won't be able to easily upload photos to my computer while we're at Tech Mom & Dad's. Which could be 2 weeks. I suppose I could put them on their computer using their card reader and upload them in my shutterfly account. Tech Dad thinks attaching files into e-mail is too many steps!

Anyway, there's a cute story at Hannah-Bear's Cave, for those of you I haven't called on the phone.

Answers to Zann's interview questions:

1.Did you do anything special to tell you hubby (I know his name but can't remember what you call him on your blog) and then family members that you were pregnant with babybear?
Hubby, nothing special. I didn't have the self control, and he suspected because he knew I was late. I'm hoping that by the time I get pregnant again, I'll have a little more patience to be able to surprise him. We did out for a steak dinner to celebrate, and my beef aversion began that night. It was crazy.

Family- I hand-stamped plain white note cards and personalized the message inside according to their relationship to Hannah, then mailed them to them.

2. If you could pick anywhere on earth and move all your family there with you, where would you live? A Spanish-speaking country, so we could be immersed in the culture and improve our Spanish skills. Costa Rica sounds nice. I mean, we get Spanish junk mail and calls thanks to our last name, anyway, so we might as well be able to tell them not to call back in Spanish.

3. Favorite hymns? What a Friend We Have in Jesus, It Is Well With My Soul, In the Garden (I couldn't pick just one)

4. What was your proudest accomplishment as a child? Learning to sail with my Dad and brother. Too bad I can't remember any of it. It was so much fun to be able to shift the jib, tie the fancy knots, etc...

5. How old do you feel? Depends on the day. Or time of day. I don't feel my age, but I feel older than many people say I look. I feel old in the mornings, finally wake up around noon, and feel older again in the evenings.

Okay, now I'm turning this into a Meme and tagging anyone who would like to play along. But I am too lazy to come up with questions, so just answer these on your blog or in the comments. :-)