School Parade

Halloween Week

This is my girl celebrating Halloween Week. Tomorrow is Costume Day with a Parade!!! Notice how it's getting harder and harder to take a photo of her! oiy! :(

AWE...

Aren't they just TOO CUTE!!!

Amelia

Congratulations on becoming a family of 4 today! Amelia is so BEAUTIFUL as is Sophia! Enjoy Guangzhou!!!! Wish I was there with you all! Hugs! Stephe

Typhoon Megi

My friends and other IA parents are in Beijing right now getting ready to head to Guangzhou for daughter #2. They just told me that China is expecting a typhoon. OMG, are you kidding me... include them in your prayers. (3 videos at the bottom)

*reported that the State Oceanic Administration was estimating waves as high as 7 meters (23 feet) off Guangdong.

*The Guangzhou-based China Southern Airlines has cancelled four international flights from Guangzhou already.

*more International flights out of Guangzhou will also be affected in the coming two days due to the bad weather, China Southern Airlines said.

*Domestic flights between Guangzhou and gale-hit coastal cities were also affected, sources at the Guangzhou Baiyun International Airport revealed.

*At 0300 GMT Friday the storm was located 290 kilometers (180 miles) from the border of Fujian and Guangdong provinces, moving at a speed of up to 10 kilometers an hour, according to China's national weather centre.

*on Friday the storm was packing maximum sustained winds of 173 kilometers an hour (107.5mph).

*local authorities ordered to reinforce seawalls and protect fishing facilities.

*Railway ferry services linking the mainland to the southern island of Hainan have been suspended through Saturday.

*Boats were recalled to port.

*In Guangzhou, Guangdong's capital, services of all passenger liners were suspended.

*According to experts with the National Meteorological Center, Megi is the world's strongest typhoon this year. Southern provinces, including Hainan, Guangdong, Jiangxi and Fujian, were subject to heavy rain and strong wind warnings.

*160,000 people were evacuated in Guangdong. Th

*"The storm surge could be so devastating that buildings, docks, villages and cities could be destroyed by it," Xinhua, the official news agenncy, quoted Bai Yiping, a senior forecaster at the State Oceanic Administration, as saying.

*Red Cross Society of China has kind of stepped up preparations and vigilance right along that coast line to meet any eventuality."

100,000

Today is the DAY! I WANT my SUV to last forever...actually, I NEED it to last forever!
Here's to another 100,000 miles. (knock on wood)

http://www.cafepress.com/StepheDesigns

Friendly's (Videos 3)

She's a little excited to be out with Mommy on a special dinner! I love how she taps the papers down like the teacher does! :) Sometimes I miss the days when she was strapped into a highchair! lol

Not sure where the "5"s went!!!! Or the "inside" voice!!!! :0

She picked the dessert with the "FACE"!!!

This was the BEST part of the dinner...I'm guessing!

However, she DIDN'T like the cone and I had to remove it per her request!!!

Gotta LOVE those FRIENDLY's GIFT CARDS and the $9.99 meal deal!!!

Fun @ School

Battle of the Chapstick (Video)

And this was NOTHING compared to the green marker incident later that night. I thought I was a smart mommy by stripping her down to her panties before playing with the markers. Who would have thought her body would be more fun than a coloring book! Lesson Learned.

CHAPSTICK 1 vs. MOMMY 0

PERIOD

This was just too funny NOT to post....

This is an "actual letter" from an Austin , Texas woman sent to Proctor and Gamble regarding one of their feminine products. She really gets rolling after the first paragraph. This was PC Magazine's 2009 Editors' Choice award-winner for the best letter sent via e-mail.

Dear Mr. Thatcher,

I have been a loyal user of your 'Always' maxi pads for over 20 years and I appreciate many of their features. Why, without the LeakGuard Core or Dri-Weave absorbency, I'd probably never go horseback riding or salsa dancing, and I'd certainly steer clear of running up and down the beach in tight, white shorts.

But my favorite feature has to be your revolutionary Flexi-Wings. Kudos on being the only company smart enough to realize how crucial it is that maxi pads be aerodynamic I can't tell you how safe and secure I feel each month knowing there's a little F-16 in my pants.

Have you ever had a menstrual period, Mr. Thatcher? I'm guessing you haven't. Well, my time of the month is starting right now. As I type, I can already feel hormonal forces violently surging through my body. Just a few minutes from now, my body will adjust and I'll be transformed into what my husband likes to call 'an inbred hillbilly with knife skills.'

Isn't the human body amazing?

As Brand Manager in the Feminine-Hygiene Division, you've no doubt seen quite a bit of research on what exactly happens during your customer's monthly visits from 'Aunt Flo'. Therefore, you must know about the bloating, puffiness, and cramping we endure, and about our intense mood swings, crying jags, and out-of-control behavior. You surely realize it's a tough time for most women.

The point is, sir, you of all people must realize that America is just crawling with homicidal maniacs in Capri pants... Which brings me to the reason for my letter. Last month, while in the throes of cramping so painful I wanted to reach inside my body and yank out my uterus, I opened an Always maxi-pad, and there, printed on the adhesive backing, were these words: 'Have a Happy Period.'


Are you f------ kidding me? What I mean is, does any part of your tiny middle-manager brain really think happiness - actual smiling, laughing happiness, is possible during a menstrual period? Did anything
mentioned above sound the least bit pleasurable? Well, did it, James? FYI, unless you're some kind of sick S&M freak, there will never be anything 'happy' about a day in which you have to jack yourself up on Motrin and Kahlua and lock yourself in your house just so you don't march down to the local Walgreen's armed with a hunting rifle and a sketchy plan to end your life in a blaze of glory.

For the love of God, pull your head out, man! If you have to slap a moronic message on a maxi pad, wouldn't it make more sense to say something that's actually pertinent, like 'Put down the Hammer' or 'Vehicular Manslaughter is Wrong'.

Sir, please inform your Accounting Department that, effective immediately, there will be an $8 drop in monthly profits, for I have chosen to take my maxi-pad business elsewhere. And though I will certainly miss your Flex-Wings, I will not for one minute miss your brand of condescending bullsh!t. And that's a promise I will keep.

Always . ...

Wendi Aarons
Austin , TX

Lewes Beach

Visiting her PopPop & MiMi at Lewes Beach!

a stroll down the main street of the little town.

nosey as usual...

now off to chase all the dogs!

Time for a little beach therapy!

Scooping...

playing...

time to rinse off the toys and head home. G does NOT like the water at the beach...

I convinced her that she had to rinse off the shovel. This is the shot just as she was falling into the water! She was NOT a happy camper. Good thing we were leaving...

School Photos 2010

Click HERE to see the before and after of last years photos!

Halloween 2010 #1

Heart Donor

Wow, AMAZING. Don't watch unless you brought tissues.

Awe! (Video)

Is life perfect?

Well, in photos it is, right? lol

I had stopped by a fellow IA mom's blog last week, Wendy, and she talked about issue with her child and how not many bloggers post the hard stuff. It's because you always have those JERKS that post something rude and that what makes most of us not post. So we just stick with the fun parts of life. I rarely even toss words in anymore...just pics. Anyway, the irony of my reading her post was that I had a weekend with some issues!!!

IT'S ALL ABOUT CONTROL...

It's hard for those reading this that don't know me personally. I am usually super consistent and pride myself on nipping bad behavior in the bud. 95% of the time, G is close to a model child...it's just that DARN 5% that I have to work on with her...

As some of you know, the biggest issues I have with G is her temper tantrums. You saw at our reunion in Amelia…how if someone took something away from her she would throw herself down on the floor and wail. She seems to think it’s all about her 24/7…and mostly it is but I still need to set boundaries. I’m pretty consistent with rules and stuff but this weekend…oye.

So, we were at a children’s resale. She was FAB. She had enough sleep and a great breakfast on the go…she ate in her stroller as I shopped. Then there was a flea market outside the school. I asked her if she wanted to go. She said yes. I said “stroller or no stroller” and she picked “no stroller”. She did great for about 15 minutes and really, really enjoyed looking at all the stuff. Then we get to a section with all Glass and she keeps wanting to pick up. I tell her not to touch and to hold my hand in this section. Well…

The strong willed defiant child of mine threw herself down in the parking lot and began her drama queen routine. I told her to get up right now or we are leaving and I wasn’t playing. She huffed at me and continued. So I scooped her up and this CRAZY child kicked, whaled her arms and screamed bloody murder all the way to the car. It didn’t stop. She kept SCREAMING “I go shopping”. We are stopped at a red light and the car next to us has their windows down too and can hear G. They actually looked like “moms” and seemed to sympathize but started giggling when they realized she was SCREAMING “I GO SHOPPING!!!!!” This lasted 48 minutes. She had almost completely lost her voice and the only reason it stopped was she managed to kick her heal at the stroller and make her blister pop and bleed. Then she cried softly because “I BLEEDING” and pleaded with me to fix her boo-boo.

However, this is NOTHING compare to last night…
Bed time. Actually 20 minutes past bedtime…I tell her we are going to bed. She says, “no, I go watch movie” and runs and turns on the TV and pushes the movie in to start. I tell her “no, it’s bedtime, you have school in the morning” Now the drop to the floor happens and the wailing starts. We already had her in her jammies and she’d had a bath and done her teeth so I scooped her up, took her upstairs and put her in her crib. I almost dropped her on the steps from her kicking and flailing hands. Anyway, I put her in her crib still SCREAMING and she backs up and to my surprise…CHARGES ME AND SLAMS HER HAND INTO MY CHEST AND KNOCK ME TO THE FLOOR. (I swear I’m not kidding) Actually I didn’t get all the way to the floor as I grabbed the bed next to the crib on my way down. I got up only for her to back up and do it again. I blocked her. I thought I was in the twilight zone. She did it three more times screaming BLOODY MURDER AND CHARGING ME as hard as possible. After the second two times I was actually shoving back a bit but not hard enough to make her fall in her crib but more as a warning to back off.

SERIOUSLY. SOMETHING INVADED MY CHILD. I was in shock. I’ve thought I’d seen it all. This was not, could NOT, have been normal. At this point I don’t care if it’s adopted related or age related. It was wrong on so many levels and if it keeps up, we will most definitely have to seek help. I cannot stress how much I thought it was above and beyond any kind of tantrum. I am praying that it was a fluke and her testing the ultimate boundaries. I did still tell her I loved her and rubber her back in the crib when she succumbed. She awoke at around midnight and was screaming…. She was even more mad when she saw me. I took her out of the crib and forced some snuggle time and gave her a thousand kisses and just as I thought she was good she says “I GO WATCH MOVIE”! Are you kidding me!! She awakes like nothing happened and she’s a happy girl. OMG!

(OLDER PHOTO OF MY BABY)

So, to all of you that think the grass is greener...well...maybe it is...IN THE PHOTOS!!!!

Feel free to comment with advice. If you have nothing nice say...keep it to yourself. Thanks.

Rah-Rah!!

We now have a CHEERLEADER amongst us!!!!

Ready to go, even in the rain!!!

Brother Garrett watching Aiden cheer!

G snacking instead of watching!

I dream of G being a cheerleader or something but it's looking more like concession stand worker to satisfy her passion! lol!

G and Aunt Deb!!!

Marlin?

In honor of G's uncle Jay's Marlin Win!!!!

isn't she cute!

Girl always has an itch when I try and take a photo!

Look at those pearly whites!

Me and Mommy!

Freaking out!!!

Okay, I've got enough on my plate right now and trying to AVOID all of it but now I just found out that...

BLOGLINES

is closing!!!

I swear, I think it's my life!!!

You like what you know, right!

Can't figure out Google reader...basically resisting change.

HELP

Anyone have a solution?????