So Much Fun, So Little Time!

So... The Beast sleeps. This gives me my one shot to get a blog entry in. She is, after all, an incredibly busy little girl.

The last month or so has been filled with heavenly Summer-like activities. Lots of swimming, reading, late movie nights, gym visits, first hair cuts, family BBQ's, and I'll even admit that there was way too much time spent watching HLN during the Casey Anthony trial (Can you guess what's playing on my TV in the background right now?). Some of this has been documented via pictures and video, but for the others: I was too busy enjoying the time to remember to pull out my camera:)

The evidence of fun I did catch:

 2nd Easter. 

LOVED hunting for treats this time around. Chloe did too. :)

 1st Trampoline Experience

1st Birthday Party Invite: Her best friend Jason

 First Frozen "Yoyogurt" Trip. YUM!

Slumber Party with Aunt Sami

Taking Breaks From Shopping at Mall Food Courts

 First City Fair/First Bout of Heat Exhaustion/First Skinned Knee :)

 Delicious Snacks on Hot Summer Days

First Time in Nursrey!

(I might like this better than she does:)

A Favorite American Past Time: Ball Games!

First Hair Cut!

 Swimming Lessons Comming Soon... She Loves the Pool

Fourth Of July. Her First Tutu (she wouldn't take it off)

Uh-oh. She's awake.

But first, the "Grand Finale": A video treat.

Disclaimer: Watching this video may cause auditory pain. Background singer must have been a last minute hire. Chloe, however, didn't care. She found the whole thing delightful. I could eat her up!

Enjoy!

Soakin up the Sun...

Except the sun seems to be on hiatus.

I love the sun and I love the warmth. This isn't to say I don't appreciate the beautiful fall leaves, white crisp winters or the smell of fresh rain under a overcast sky. I hold a healthy respect (somedays, even love) for them. But I have a feeling each person has a "season," and you just sort of know which one belongs to you. Summertime is mine.

So, despite the missing sun over the past few days, my spirits are high and I am ready. My eyes are peeled for the perfect swimsuit, sandals and beach bag... all I'm missing is the beach. Maybe I'll take a cruise to the Caribbean, or just move there. Until then, however, I'll don my jacket before I go outside and pretend that I'm lying on a beach, soaking up the sun.

Maybe I'll pick up a book and work on some crafts too.... after all, summertime is for lazy fun days and doing what you love. This is first on my list:

http://jonesdesigncompany.com/flowers/rolled-paper-flowers-tutorial/

Check it out!

Guess What?

SHE WALKS!! I know, I was wondering if this day would ever come :)
Want a peek?

Congratulations BEAST!  We love you <3

Laundry Solution!

I may not be catching up on holiday postings like I'd hoped--I started with the best of intentions, then got buried in school work . I have a love/hate relationship with school.
But, more on that later. This post is about laundry. (It's better than it sounds, I swear.)
As I mentioned above, my to-do list is ever growing and I have come to miss the feeling of climbing into bed, knowing that I've finished everything I had to do. That sweet satisfaction used to lull me to sleep. No longer, however, because my house is often left messy, my Beast always working feverishly to rearrange everything within reach, and a whole list of school work constantly looming over my head, waiting to greet me first thing in the morning.
So Naturally, I've been putting the laundry off.
Since when do I have time to load machines that do all the work for me? Never. More than that, it's what I have to do with the clothes when it's done. Thinking of the hours of folding that washing would inevitably lend, has been enough to encourage me to let it sit, stinking up my... uh, mudroom (if you can call it that).
I think I found a solution.
Since my husband insists on wearing clean clothes, (*snort) yesterday I proceeded, warily, to shove them in the washer, and pull them out of the dryer. Load after load .
Chloe just so happens to have a walk-in closet. The other day, after completing my umpteenth load, I was wondering what to do with all these clean clothes. The last thing I was going to do was put them all away, and throwing them on the floor wasn't an option for me (and no, not because the floor was already messy). So I began to load her closet up with baskets of clean laundry.
Satisfied with my ingenious solution, I then began working on an essay for school. Mike would just have to dig through Chloe's closet, to get dressed in the morning. I, on the other hand, rarely get dressed in the mornings, so this was perfect. As the minutes ticked by, I was soon wondering why my little Beast hadn't been tugging on my leg, screaming, torturing the dog, or sticking her fingers in anything that will pinch her. I tentatively got up, worried I'd interrupt a rare moment in which she plays quietly by herself, and remind her she was being unnecessarily good, thus draggin her back in--on my leg.
This is what I found:

Problem solved: I get an entertained Beast, a little peace and quite, and as a bonus... we get to wear clean clothes. What is that they say? Win-win-win?
Indeed!

Making Funny Faces

Today's post is a video, it's all I have time to do right now, but I'll be back to add more soon.

This is my first time posting a video, so I have no idea how the quality of picture or sound will be. Here's  to hoping it's decent enough to sit through!

Chloe loves to see herself on camera, and it just so happens Mike's iPhone has the option of recording a video while you see yourself on the screen, the Beast LOVED this! In fact, while I was learning how to edit and post the video, she sat still, watching the whole thing, remaking the faces as it was playing. You should have been here, it was hilarious!

A Little Gem

I came across this poem today, it just so happens to be one of Audrey Hepburn's favorites, which seems so fitting. I have more posts to make, but they'll have to wait until Sunday. Don't quote me on that though:)

"For attractive lips, speak words of kindness.

For lovely eyes, seek out the good in people.

For a slim figure, share your food with the hungry.

For beautiful hair, let a child run his or her fingers through it once a day.

For poise, walk with the knowledge you'll never walk alone.

People, even more than things, have to be restored, renewed, revived, reclaimed, and redeemed; Never throw out anybody.

Remember, If you ever need a helping hand, you'll find one at the end of your arm.

As you grow older, you will discover that you have two hands, one for helping yourself, the other for helping others.

The beauty of a woman is not in the clothes she wears, the figure that she carries, or the way she combs her hair. The beauty of a woman must be seen from in her eyes, because that is the doorway to her heart, the place where love resides.

The beauty of a woman is not in a facial mole, but true beauty in a woman is reflected in her soul. It is the caring that she lovingly gives, the passion that she shows, and the beauty of a woman with passing years only grows!"

-Sam Levenson

Blog Entry: Check.

I told myself I would keep up with this blog, "so help me!" and I even despite the hundred or so moments in which I thought, "now would be a good time to update that blog thing" I didn't. I sat instead and did...probably nothing. Sometimes I relish those moments of doing 'nothing' and I can't manage to move. at all.

So, the question is, should I go back and fill in for all that was missed? Or start anew? Or both?

The answer:

Or both. This time will be 'anew,' so you'll have to check back to see what we did for the Holidays later.

My husband has run off tonight, with the beast in hand, to watch the Avalanche play. He is an AVID sports fan. If he is home, sports is on. Any kind, it doesn't matter. So when his brother called saying he bought Avalanche tickets and wanted him to go, I bet you can guess what he said. AND you better believe he wasn't going to do something so important without his baby. No, not me silly, he knows I 'tap out' after five minutes of watching almost any sport on TV ( I do a little better live, or if Nadal is playing:) but it isn't for me. I was talking about Chloe. Do you know what's crazy? She has been known to sit on the couch for an hour, a long time for such a tiny beast, and watch basketball, or any of the 500 other games he watches. AN HOUR! Thats longer than she'll sit with me to do anything... other than eating. maybe. She does love to eat.

So it's settled. She is going to be a ferocious eating, sports playing, adrenaline seeking, little daddy's girl.

As long as I get my little craft making, cupcake cooking, doll playing, dress up loving baby girl next, it will all be okay. Just kidding, maybe.

So the point is, I'm at home without the Hubby or The Beast, melted into the couch with the wood burning stove on, watching Save the Last Dance (totally puts me back in High School) and loving every moment of it. AND this time, when I got the urge to blog, I did.

Now comes the hard part. I have to decide weather to make something to eat and finish the movie, or hit the bedroom and turn on Buffy reruns. Hmmmm......