CA Girl

Pete & Carolynn  announce the birth of their baby girl Lourie Jean Born Sept 2nd 8 pounds 14ounces 21 inches Yep!  That baby is yours truly!!!  And I was all of 5 days old in that picture! Yeah, I was a big baby. 

"The next person who burps at the dinner table will be doing the dishes!"  Silence.  It worked great until I got up from the table and then Emily let loose.  So proud.  She did the dishes with only a little protest.  "It's because of my testology" a reason given to me by Ryan as to why he shouldn't go to school.  Really.  You're not even six yet (almost) and you are already inventing illnesses to miss school!?  So proud.  In his defense, he does have either a cold or his allergies are running amok. Holding her cell phone, hanging her head out the car window at 50MPH and taking her picture.  I told her not to.  Luckily her phone remained in her hands.  The picture was hilarious.  I tried to get her to upload it to Facebook.  She refused.  A funny picture.  A risky move.  The teenager.  Another proud moment. These are just a few of the many happenings that go on daily at our house....

It's "We Want to Know" with Mamarazzi and Queso .  The questions can be fun, serious, juicy, funny and your answers can any of the above.  It's fun to play.  Grab the button and play along.     {1}Do you prefer to text or call?  Text is def my preference.  I am always distracted and this way I can give you better attention. {2}What is the last text message in your phone and who is it from?  The last text I got was from Rich telling me to come inside.  I was outside his work waiting for him to be done for the day.  He was done, just waiting on a student. {3}What are your favorite phone apps?  Right now I love Fooducate and Instagram.  I find myself taking pictures of just about everything.  It's fun. {4}At what age do you think kids are ready for a cell phone?  So hard to say.  You see these kids with their smart phones and think what in the world??  I will say though, Kristin had her first basic...

I am linking up with Emmy today for her monthly Meme:  Ten Things to Smile About.  A chance to look back at the month and see what it was that made you...smile! 1.  Spending time with my BFF 2.  Watching little ones get "chip-faced" 3.  Celebrating my mom's birthday with family 4.  School starting...bittersweet...my babies are not babies anymore! 5.  Finding out about this great new app:  Instagram!  I am having fun with it. 6.  Having this for lunch....  7.  Chocolate chip cookies!!! What?  I like food! 8.  Losing a pound despite those chocolate chip cookies!! 9.  Surviving the mess that surrounded Emily's registration 10.  And the best for last.... Welcoming this guy to the world and the family!  He is almost a month old now!!!  Hard to believe. What made you smile this month???

I could be griping about the 100 + heat for the 5th or 6th day in a row.  The fact that my car has no air conditioning so I am left with nature's air conditioning. My "windblown" look There is a lot I could be griping about.  But instead I am excited!  Yep.  Why?  Today is the big reveal.  What?  You mean you don't know!?   You must know! Yep I'm all aflutter.  Tonight during "Bachelor Pad" they will reveal.  But, don't tell ABC...we just go and visit the site at 7PM after the show airs on the East coast.  Psssh!  Like I'm going to sit through that! So I will not gripe...much.  And I hope all my East Coast friends are safe.  Has anything got you happy today?    

Do you know who "Edith Ann" is?  It's okay if you don't.  I won't hate you too much.  She is a character once played and created by Lily Tomlin.  A little girl.  She was on the show Laugh-In.  What?  Oh for heaven-sakes!  Go look it up on You Tube!   I will wait. **** I just thought it was a funny way to lead into this week's confessions with Mamarazzi !   I  confess... I have been play acting like a car mechanic.  I pop the hood of my car and stare at the engine.  I know where the coolant lives.  I know where the fuses hang out.  They have a nice place actually.  My hands even get dirty.  It makes me feel all bad!  Too bad that's all I can do.  I wish I could do more.  I can wash my hands.  Wouldn't it be cool to do it yourself???   I confess... Little middle is turning into a teenager complete with eye rolling.  One of us is going down.  A new ...

It's hard to make my kids go to school.  Really hard.  It's hard because I spent so many years of it not wanting to go.  I hated school.  Not always.  I loved school.  I loved it until I got to middle school.  I don't care who you are, middle school is brutal.  And my teen went through some really harsh times.  She experienced bullying, lots of pressure, and betrayal.  And I let her stay home during some of those times.  I let her stay home because I didn't know what else to do.  I let her stay home because she was making herself sick.  I let her stay home because I remember how much I hated going.  I pushed myself each day to go.  It was a constant battle within.  I didn't always win and neither did my own mother.  It's awful. Tuesday night Kristin hurt her back.  How?  Even she didn't know.  We decided though, that she must have been stressed about auditioning for the school play....