tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27486160886358645672024-03-05T01:43:20.654-05:00Queen Rabbit's RealmThe irreverent musings of a slightly crunchy mother of 4-the astronaut (for now), the princess, the squirrel, and the little stinky one. I am a semi-crunchy, slightly attached, cloth diapering, breastfeeding mama.
The name of my blog comes from a childhood nickname. I used to nibble with my front teeth and my first name means 'queen,' hence the nickname.Ginahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11202675072115812435noreply@blogger.comBlogger67125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2748616088635864567.post-75483429487038860392010-04-05T18:05:00.004-04:002010-04-05T18:10:23.441-04:00Tis the season......to be wed! My brother and his beautiful fiancee tied the knot Saturday in a wonderfully intimate service. It just reminds me that I am now rapidly hurtling towards my own wedding day. And there is so much I haven't done! I have no flowers or food for this shindig, which is only 53 days away LOL This week, I shall accomplish a lot-I promise!Ginahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11202675072115812435noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2748616088635864567.post-87851120037100022522010-03-15T17:43:00.005-04:002010-03-15T17:57:50.914-04:00My little meatatarin.....<div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://hphotos-snc3.fbcdn.net/hs156.snc3/18367_418066435636_852310636_10535285_4250024_n.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 203px; height: 153px;" src="http://hphotos-snc3.fbcdn.net/hs156.snc3/18367_418066435636_852310636_10535285_4250024_n.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><br /></div><br />So I was in my room, doing a few random crunches on the floor. The Princess was doing some, too, while Side Salad was trying to sit on me. The Squirrel all of a sudden says,<br /><br />"I wish everything I touched turned to meat! And gold."<br /><br />.....okay.....<br /><br />Then, she began running around turning things into meat. "Daddy's TV is meat! The counter is meat! The towel is meat!"<br /><br />The Princess tried to reason with her little sister. "What if you touch us? Then, we will be meat, too. You can't turn everything into me-"<br /><br /><br />"You're meat! Look, Mommy! I turned her into meat!" Obviously, the Princess wasn't very convincing in her argument.<br /><br /><br />She followed me downstairs and patted me on my back. "Mommy, you're meat. I'm just kidding. But everything else is meat, meat, meat!" She bopped off to work some more magic.<br /><br /><br />"Pencil meat! Yummy yum-yum!"<br /><br />"Call me on the line, you can call me, call me anytime-Mommy your phone is meat!" That's right. I am rockin' Blondie for my ringtone.<br /><br />Anywho, the Princess and the Squirrel, as far as I know, have never heard the tale of King Midas. That makes it all the more intriguing that she is touching things and turning them into meat.<br /><br />Guess I know what tonight's bedtime story is :)Ginahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11202675072115812435noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2748616088635864567.post-33709028198983896002010-03-10T07:28:00.003-05:002010-03-10T07:50:16.712-05:00Everything is happenning so fast!This will be a double update post. <br /><br />1. Student teaching<br /><br />I am halfway done. Yippeeeee! I know the hardest part is ahead of me. I solo teach starting next week. I feel like my classroom management skills are vastly improving. I have gotten a lot stricter. But I truly enjoy it. <br /><br />Yesterday was Educator Recruitment Day at my school. I had nine (yes, nine!) interviews in one day. IMO, they all went well. I am confident that I'll get a least a couple of offers soon.<br /><br />2. Wedding stuff!<br /><br />Counting down the days! I'm so excited!!!! So far, I have arranged my church, reception location, the attire, bridesmaids-MOH is another story for another post, and the cake. Oh, and the invites, too. We just don't have any food LOL! We are working on it. <br /><br />Lettuce is far more involved than I expected him to be. He selected the colors and is in charge of the food and the reception. Of course, I am monitoring him to make sure everything goes the way I want it to! If you haven't yet, please visit <a href="http://www.ultimateweddingcontest.com/entries?sort=time#29344">Crate & Barrel </a>and vote for us! And tell your friends! Yay! We're only like 16,000 votes behind the leader!<br /><br />I fibbed. This is a triple update<br /><br />3. Family<br /><br />Side salad is 2 years old! I can't believe it. He has a hilarious vocabulary. His favorite phrase is "I 'on know," something he picked up from the older sibs. Squirrel is sick and hasn't been to school in a couple of days. As you may know, my state is having an issue with a stomach virus. Not fun. Princess, the first grader, is now reading 3 grade level books. Astronaut, the third grader, is reading the Chronicles of Narnia <span style="font-style: italic;">on his own!</span> Love those kids.<br /><br />As a mama and an almost teacher, I know the importance of literacy. We have a gazillion books at my house and growing. I wanted to let you know about a <a href="http://www.musesofmegret.com/reviews/2010/03/09/an-unlikely-friendship/#comment-7986">giveaway</a> at <a href="http://www.musesofmegret.com/reviews/">Muse Reviews</a> for the books "Marshmallow."<br /><object classid="clsid:d27cdb6e-ae6d-11cf-96b8-444553540000" codebase="http://fpdownload.macromedia.com/pub/shockwave/cabs/flash/swflash.cab#version=8,0,0,0" width="184" height="182" id="biWidget" align="middle"><param name="allowScriptAccess" value="always"><param name="movie" value="http://www.harpercollins.com/services/browseinside/widget.aspx?hc.guid=28cfd1b4-7cda-46d9-abd7-cbb76d203a77"><param name="quality" value="high"><param name="flashvars" value="isbn=9780060724863&guid=28cfd1b4-7cda-46d9-abd7-cbb76d203a77&siteId=2"><param name="wmode" value="transparent"><embed src="http://www.harpercollins.com/services/browseinside/widget.aspx?hc.guid=28cfd1b4-7cda-46d9-abd7-cbb76d203a77" flashvars="isbn=9780060724863&guid=28cfd1b4-7cda-46d9-abd7-cbb76d203a77&siteId=2" wmode="transparent" quality="high" width="184" height="182" name="biWidget" align="middle" allowscriptaccess="always" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" pluginspage="http://www.macromedia.com/go/getflashplayer"></embed></object><br /> It's about a bunny, making it perfect for Easter. Drop by and enter, but if you don't win, go buy it. It's $6.99 for paperback at B&N. Stick it a kid-you-know's Easter basket.Ginahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11202675072115812435noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2748616088635864567.post-25333960833837204242010-02-24T20:47:00.002-05:002010-02-24T20:50:34.603-05:00Vote for MEEEEE!!!So, I am getting married :)<br /><br />Lettuce and I are jumping the broom this May after I graduate. I am very excited, even though it's a bit rushed. We entered this contest on Crate & Barrel and I'm very excited. I know I have a snowball's chance in heck of winning, but what the hey-vote for us!<br /><br />http://www.ultimateweddingcontest.com/entries?sort=time#29344<br /><br />Thanks, ya'll!Ginahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11202675072115812435noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2748616088635864567.post-69128848305142868672010-02-22T20:52:00.002-05:002010-02-22T20:58:34.062-05:00SighThe drama never ends when you are student teaching.<br /><br />I am not a perfect person. I am far from it. And, I am not a real teacher yet-I'm still a college student. <br /><br />Today I was teaching a spelling lesson and I made a mistake. <br /><br />[My CT introduces spelling words by first giving the students the word pattern for the week, then letting them know the number of letters in the spelling word, and giving students the definition of the word. It gets their little brains going.]<br /><br />The word was "quarreled" and I mean to say the word meant "argued" but I accidentally said quarreled. Big freakin' deal. I told the kids, "Whoops! I accidentally gave you the word. The final word is quarrel." I was getting ready to move on when this kid says, under his breath:<br /><br />"Great job, Dum-dum."<br /><br />Okay, I like "Night at the Museum" as much as the next person but that was just plain disrespectful. I turned and asked who the perp was. All his peers ratted him out. I wanted to laugh for a sec. The truth is, these kids are smart. They know when they go too far. I gave him a check and he'll be walking at least one lap for me tomorrow during recess. I am also going to send his parents a note. <br /><br />I have a pet peeve about disrespectful kids. Am I going too far? Is the lap enough? If it were my kid, I'd want to know....Ginahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11202675072115812435noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2748616088635864567.post-90731661056811582452010-02-17T22:49:00.002-05:002010-02-17T22:55:08.184-05:00Why can't we just all get along?So I am about 3 weeks into my student teaching [directed teaching]. It's my last stop before graduation. I have a class of 5th graders at-let's call it TAES or Totally Awesome Elementary School. One of my kids reminds me of me. She is so sweet, just a little awkward. Like me, she attended a different elementary school and came after all the friendships had been formed. She kinda hangs on the edges of the groups. I feel so bad for her sometimes because I remember how hard it was for me. I try to mak an extra effort to show her attention. <br /><br />But today, my little misfit ended up in tears. Another girl wrote her a note saying she didn't want to be her friend anymore. It was just cruel. I wish I had the note, she would have been in deep doo-doo because that is kind of like bullying IMO. I mean seriously, why would someone do that? It's just plain mean. <br /><br /> Or maybe I see so much of me in this kid and I want to help her the way no one helped me.Ginahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11202675072115812435noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2748616088635864567.post-6756064978478724582009-12-31T12:22:00.002-05:002009-12-31T12:29:04.636-05:00There's something wrong with my bed, Mommy.....I don't have cable. Not real cable, I mean. I have the "broadcast tier," which-for a whopping $12.21 each month-gives me channels 2-13, pluse WE and TNT. I need it because we get such crappy reception here. Anywho, the lack of cable makes it necessary to amuse myself by unconventional means. <br /><br />Last night, I short sheeted my children's beds. <br /><br />What is short sheeting, you ask. Well, dear reader, short sheeting is when you take the flat sheet, tuck it under the mattress at the head of the bed. You fold it about half way down and it looks like a normally made up bed-except the sleeper can't get their feet to the foot of the bed. <br /><br />So they do what any intelligent person would do-they kick their legs really, really hard as if it will make a difference. I know it sounds strange but it's absolutely hilarious! I set my camera up and recorded it for posterity. Then, my mother and I watched and laughed! Did I mention my lack of cable?<br /><br />It was really funny, though.Ginahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11202675072115812435noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2748616088635864567.post-23012880100732176672009-11-28T01:35:00.004-05:002009-11-28T02:17:39.825-05:00Due to technical difficulites<div style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: rgb(153, 51, 0); font-weight: bold; font-style: italic;font-size:130%;" >Happy Thanksgiving!</span><br /></div><br /><br />My most sincere apologies first. I know I renewed my dedication to blogging but I hit a glitch shortly after my last post-my cord died. This meant that I could not charge my laptop. My only option initially was to go to my BFF's house and use her sister's cord on the weekends only (since she attends school in another town). They were really sweet about it, being my honorary sisters and all. The sister thing is another story for another day. Anywho, 2 big box stores, and 4 universal cords later I broke down and ordered the cussin' $90 replacement directly from Toshiba. I can't complain. It works and the shipping was amazingly fast. I ordered it late Monday night and received it on Wednesday. I though I might not get it until Friday which would have been even more of a pain.<br /><br />Moving right along, I have much to blog about including date night, turkey day and my new love <a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiyzvbLtzg_pm4AcbnxVYz2ru_Z57ZKZ5XsPKLva12aglWmo2PKaGFsA-yj3RxJuezknS4BfDsemJIjSlFhZcYNfoFEl1CbdDaUANx-679qvuNexdGwYazk5JVT_cJ-Gv1WQ5dKLsNEYJD5/s1600/twilight.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer; width: 240px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiyzvbLtzg_pm4AcbnxVYz2ru_Z57ZKZ5XsPKLva12aglWmo2PKaGFsA-yj3RxJuezknS4BfDsemJIjSlFhZcYNfoFEl1CbdDaUANx-679qvuNexdGwYazk5JVT_cJ-Gv1WQ5dKLsNEYJD5/s320/twilight.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5409048005098093810" border="0" /></a>of the movies.<br /><br />Let's start with movies. I haven't been to the movies in years. I think the last movie I saw in a theater was "Bogeyman." Seriously. It had been YEARS. So "New Moon"-GO TEAM JACOB!-came out and all that changed. I have been to the movies three times in the last week. I went to see NM-GO TEAM JACOB!-on last Friday night. I couldn't see it Thursday because I have class on Thursdays. I got all fancied up with make up and my Cullen crest shirt. I even wore a little red jewel by my eye.<br /><br />That's my fierce sexy vampire look-------------------><br /><br />The acting was better as were the special effects. After all, the actors were a bit more experienced and the budget was a lot bigger. My favorite part was Jacob not wearing a shirt of the last half of the movie. I cussin' swear, that boy has turned me into an incorrigible cougar! I am almost ashamed. He is so cussin' hot. Whew! I am a true Twilight fan because I actually read all four books, not like those Twi-lite fans who just watch the movies to see sexy Taylor Lautner.<br /><br />He IS legal now, right? Ye Gods, he's a hottie. BTW, Rob Pattinson has one big nipple and one little nipple. Watch for it when he is about to reveal in the Piazza. Oh and here is Rosalie's wig.<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiFwbTROPHGh59N__tFXG5rUICDDWsGY31BJgeJToGXAp8XeNFPhauaLv2Rv3UfkFe7U88IM-dcq52-NAlp9W-7NEKao_lwdJhGWWOYP40yGXbRcraI4_FQ4R_AwNtHrrTffucBFJHfRQ8I/s1600/wig.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiFwbTROPHGh59N__tFXG5rUICDDWsGY31BJgeJToGXAp8XeNFPhauaLv2Rv3UfkFe7U88IM-dcq52-NAlp9W-7NEKao_lwdJhGWWOYP40yGXbRcraI4_FQ4R_AwNtHrrTffucBFJHfRQ8I/s320/wig.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5409047341017202978" border="0" /></a><div style="text-align: center;">You can get it for $5 at Walmart.<br /></div><br />Her wig really was that bad. It was like Kim on RHOA's wig. Just a hot cussin' mess. But seriously, I cried while reading them and kept up the whole teen vampire angst by reading LJ Smith's Night World series and Dark Visions. Twilight is the best though. To be honest, the movies aren't really that good. The acting kinda sucks. I just watch because I love the books.<br /><br />I really enjoyed myself so I began plotting on when I could return to the movies. Lettuce's birthday was Friday. I know, I went to the movies without him. Don't judge me, people. He worked that day! So I treated him to a date night on Tuesday. We ate at Dennys-quite delicious, bowled with my brother and his girlfriend, and saw 2012. It started off...cartoonish. But it drastically improved. I liked it, though if this particular doomsday scenario plays out I will not bother trying to survive. It's too hard. I'd just give everyone a big slice of chocolate cake, dose us all with Bendadryl and read the kids a story until we all fall to sleep together. Wow, that's pretty depressing.<br /><br />Moving right along...<br /><br />I shall lighten the mood with concise description of my mad bowling skillz, son! I hit 3 pins in the first five FRAMES. Yeah, cause I totally suck. I ended with a 54. Lettuce had the same score. My brother and his girlfriend annihilated us: he had 75 and she had 71. So sad, so sad.<br /><br />Turkey day was delicious. Veni, Vidi, Vici. I did most of the cooking and it looked like this.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://hphotos-snc3.fbcdn.net/hs052.snc3/13950_349021390636_852310636_9849438_848138_n.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 604px; height: 453px;" src="http://hphotos-snc3.fbcdn.net/hs052.snc3/13950_349021390636_852310636_9849438_848138_n.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><br /><br />I caught the Itis and slept for 6 hours. So did Side Salad. 'Nuff said.<br /><br />So today, and by today I mean yesterday, I took Princess to the movies. The Astronaut was with my brothers and the Squirrel went with her aunt so we got a little us time and while Lettuce and Side Salad hung out at home. We wanted to see Planet 51 but they were having technical difficulties. Probably the feds, always trying to keep us from knowing the truth [cue the X-Files theme]. Instead we saw the Fantastic Mr. Fox. It was a unique movie. I rather enjoyed it. Roald Dahl is the man. All his movies are getting screen time-Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, the Witches-personal fave, James and the Giant Peach. We have those on DVD and I will def be adding FMF to the collection. I wonder if they are going to do the BFG next?<br /><br />The movie I am really waiting for is ALICE IN WONDERLAND STARRING JOHNNY CUSSIN' DEPP. I love Love LOVE Johnny Depp. We literally have over 300 DVDs and he is in like 50 of them. I think I have every movie he is in minuse Benny & June and What's Eating Gilbert Grape. Johnny, Winnona and Leo all in one movie and I don't have it. Oh, the agony!<br /><br />I was about to start typing about how I don't have Girl, Interuppted but I think I am rambling so I will bring this to a close. I like going to the movies and that's the end of it. I will be going far more often.<br /><br />Until next time...Ginahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11202675072115812435noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2748616088635864567.post-70828957529945793182009-11-09T15:21:00.003-05:002009-11-09T15:33:49.297-05:00Positive Motivation<div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family:courier new;">Today is the first day of the rest of my life.</span><br /></div><br />This is the mantra by which I try to live my life. It's hard to try to keep my focus. We live in such fast paced times, and it seems like everyday just blows by. There is much we could all do to better ourselves but we get caught up in setting up a perfect situation prior to beginning something new. Why do this? Why not start making a better choice today? Why not change your life today? If you want to make a positive change, why no do it immediately. I am going to make a positive change beginning today. This is how my very busy day has gone and will go:<br /><br /><br />7:30 am Wake up, get dressed fix kids breakfast. We slept late<br />8:30 Astronaut and Squirrel to the ped for well child appointments<br />10:00 Big kids to school, stop by book fair and buy each kid a book<br />10:40 Drop Squirrel off at school and read her class "Where the Wild Things Are" and "Lily Brown Paints"<br />12:00 Home to toss in a load of laundry and fix Side Salad some lunch<br />1:00 Homework<br />2:30 Bus stop, to meet kids<br />3:15 Back home<br />3:20 Blog-I mean, help kids with homework, cook dinner<br />5:00 Take Lettuce to work<br />5:30 Pick up the mommy-mobile from the shop<br />6:30 Leave for class<br />7:00-9:30 Class<br />9:45-10:45 Gym...<br /><br />It's a lot. But the very last item for the today is one of the most significat. I haven't been in the gym for ever and at my annual check up, my NP told me that I could stand to lose a few pounds. I haven't gone to the gym in months. So, today, I will begin anew. I will go Mondays, Tuesdays, and Thursdays, and either Saturday or Sunday. I need to do this for me and for my kiddos. I may even take a class. The point is, I don't have to wait until the first of the year, the first of the month, the first of the week, any special time to begin. I can begin today.<br /><br />Because today is the first day of the rest of my life.Ginahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11202675072115812435noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2748616088635864567.post-13216813628383081822009-11-07T23:18:00.002-05:002009-11-07T23:25:39.863-05:00I'm Back!The Unofficial Hiatus has come to an end. I have been beyond busy of the past months with school and the kids but I have returned. I missed blogging so much! I don't really have much to say right now. I am about 6 months from graduating, the kids are doing very well. I am about to start teaching Side Salad to use the potty. Squirrel goes to school now. Princess just started first grade and is reading at almost a second grade level. The Astronaut, well I got him a Nintendo DS for his birthday so his favorite things are Animorphs books and the DS. More later....Ginahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11202675072115812435noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2748616088635864567.post-83526701247462552932009-07-06T12:35:00.004-04:002009-07-06T12:46:11.184-04:00Day 1: MorningWell, I started my diet today. I am in phase 1, or the <a href="http://www.thedukandiet.org/Program/Attack/Attack.html">attack phase</a>. I am debating whether I want to go 3 days as I originally planned or 5 days. Five days seems like a long time. I've only had breakfast, 2 eggs (one fried and one scrambled) and a cup of tea-Constant Comment. I love this tea. It's yummy. I have Splenda, but I am too lazy to go get it. Therefore, I am drinking unsweet tea.<br /><br />I am only going to say this once so listen up. I currently weigh 192 pounds. This is the most I've ever weighed. Pre-ducklings, I weighed 127. By no means am I trying to weight that little. I would look emaciated. I honestly have very heavy bones (thanks, Dad!) so 127 on me looks like 110. After two babies, I weighed 145-155. That was my best weight. I was comfy and looked good. So basically, I need to lose approximately 40 lbs. I need to stay in attack phase for 5 days to lose that much. I am thinking that I will plan on 3, then see how I feel about going longer when I get there. I really think 4 or 5 days would be better. <br /><br />Oh, about the food. I went grocery shopping last night and I got salmon, tilapia, shrimp, cage free vegetarian eggs, and tea. I already had basa and lotst of steak in the freezer. I will be having meat for lunch and a salmon filet for dinner.Ginahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11202675072115812435noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2748616088635864567.post-56720744842522475442009-07-05T06:38:00.007-04:002009-07-05T07:17:04.781-04:00Hello, All I'm back!<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-aL3oX6i_HtNOe7TCZ4ejJR7t2JnvG63zE9g5aKreWcC7h7fOF0RCG_Mic0XAp8vDZ31_XI1FrvCZSXS06cIu3Qqu-3iUCkWGTxbcUrOhwSpAD0i44I8OzJA8sLHAHRzV53o9MsGaXnor/s1600-h/013.JPG"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 240px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-aL3oX6i_HtNOe7TCZ4ejJR7t2JnvG63zE9g5aKreWcC7h7fOF0RCG_Mic0XAp8vDZ31_XI1FrvCZSXS06cIu3Qqu-3iUCkWGTxbcUrOhwSpAD0i44I8OzJA8sLHAHRzV53o9MsGaXnor/s320/013.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5354927085105844034" border="0" /></a><br />It's been forever and a day since I've posted last. I have been so very busy with the kids and school and life in general. They ducklings are out of school and having a blast ripping and running and going to the lake. They take to the water like ducks. Side Salad in particular likes to grab a pool noodle and dash off as if he knows what he is doing. He has no fear. Here are Squrirel and the Astornaut playing in the water.<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiT37FSviohtc9VebuU0M_Cx8YLK4UheWMzEC1LWCYyHfnCfjY1Y_zplf6ay7xC_Fr5w2guTJV4hs0Jx84e8bx1M1IQ15OLKkDPQxdwd-zdtuHsWBpzDs4nWv0lYZYMIg5QysK9fvov_Qtt/s1600-h/068.JPG"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiT37FSviohtc9VebuU0M_Cx8YLK4UheWMzEC1LWCYyHfnCfjY1Y_zplf6ay7xC_Fr5w2guTJV4hs0Jx84e8bx1M1IQ15OLKkDPQxdwd-zdtuHsWBpzDs4nWv0lYZYMIg5QysK9fvov_Qtt/s320/068.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5354927093512786322" border="0" /></a><br />Notice the smears of sunscreen on the Astronaut's shoulder and forehead. That's nothing compared to this:<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiMN6pvMofQXetKbKeCAjTS5Lw6qFSPDUP8FsMYAWlusbdnGrD-Nk1DGP7_UJZ0aTuV7IHUK-uCR3hVdOMgEWc9f4Cx9RcEg8bIYvKYEszeQxRxpHh8Nv32-e0BYsZW1cpUlOG4w8nkc4hG/s1600-h/019.JPG"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiMN6pvMofQXetKbKeCAjTS5Lw6qFSPDUP8FsMYAWlusbdnGrD-Nk1DGP7_UJZ0aTuV7IHUK-uCR3hVdOMgEWc9f4Cx9RcEg8bIYvKYEszeQxRxpHh8Nv32-e0BYsZW1cpUlOG4w8nkc4hG/s320/019.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5354928635042527906" border="0" /></a><br />[Note to self: never let a three-year old apply her own sunscreen.]<br /><br />I digress.<br /><br />So much has been going on that I don't know where to begin, so I'll just start from now. I am going on vacation next month. That's right, I am taking a week long sabbatical. I'll be in Florida for the most part, and taking a short cruise to Nassau. It's my first cruise. The Astronaut and the Princess will be going with, but Side Salad and Squirrel are staying home with Lettuce. This is because we are going with my mother and she got some sort of deal but only 4 people can go-and all 4 have to share one cabin on the ship. Furthermore, the kids' club on the ship is for age 4 and up. Squirrel is 3 Side Salad is only 16 months old today (yay!). They wouldn't be able to do any of the activities. In light of this, we will be taking a family cruise next summer on Carnival, whose kids' clubs start at age 2 AND who has babysitting services until the wee hours of the morning.<br /><br />Again, I digress.<br /><br />I am going on a trip and I would like to look nice while I am galivanting across white, sandy beaches in a tropical locale. Therefore, I need to go on a diet and hit the gym like it's going out of style. Seriously, people, I need to shed some pounds. So, for the month of July, I will be using my blog as my diet diary. Bear with me, offer support, give advice, whatever.<br /><br />It will be worth it because in August, this will be my vacation diary :)<br /><br />The dieting starts today. I am going to try the Dukan diet. It seems easy enough. Click <a href="http://www.sofeminine.co.uk/guide/health/f5437-the-dukan-diet.html">here</a> to find out about it. I am going to the grocery store after I go to church.<br />One more lake shot, and I'm out!<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjzU0K7NbwNP3-pKyOQU83UdLYK1GikC4ze1z7L4Lfo2RMModd9iwQVq9RJciGUUYBZ8O3T94GiGloD4sejTL7LW-e36sHdPnPonxxxkc7zykyIiRI9Pa0om84N69QBOITHcEsxIDbU5R6f/s1600-h/067.JPG"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjzU0K7NbwNP3-pKyOQU83UdLYK1GikC4ze1z7L4Lfo2RMModd9iwQVq9RJciGUUYBZ8O3T94GiGloD4sejTL7LW-e36sHdPnPonxxxkc7zykyIiRI9Pa0om84N69QBOITHcEsxIDbU5R6f/s320/067.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5354927088206472434" border="0" /></a><br /><br />Ciao!Ginahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11202675072115812435noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2748616088635864567.post-9078954730122055052009-03-27T19:14:00.005-04:002009-03-27T19:45:07.834-04:00My Perfect Princess<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjYkx8grg8xb6VCfuRhvTQ_o4P9azFM3LL4XkcYjnfp2zziY_aWTe31rHWQPCBB3nXc8T1Gc9xLEeGcl7M2B3YZU0hb3ZquKs_UN41NDS9oouW6BfZXYDeSgsZfdjSt6ci7Dzav3hgTCFdu/s1600-h/IMG_0474.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 240px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjYkx8grg8xb6VCfuRhvTQ_o4P9azFM3LL4XkcYjnfp2zziY_aWTe31rHWQPCBB3nXc8T1Gc9xLEeGcl7M2B3YZU0hb3ZquKs_UN41NDS9oouW6BfZXYDeSgsZfdjSt6ci7Dzav3hgTCFdu/s320/IMG_0474.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5318015091780020530" border="0" /></a><br />If any of my children is me all over again, it's my Princess. She is a true diva, late to her own birth. She stayed an extra 10 days before her eviction/induction. Our running joke is that she stayed in because her hair wasn't right. This child was born with a doobie wrap. She was due a week before my 21st birthday, but born 3 days after. This was NOT a good thing. Princess was my hardest pregnancy. Six straight months of vomitting during which I lost 20 lbs. My whole weight gain was only 16 pounds. She was 7 pounds 19 ounces and only 18 1/2 inches long. (A wee bit bigger than her mama, who was 7 pounds 1 1/2 ounes, and only 18 inches long). She was born rather quickly; I went from 6 cm dialated to her being in the isolette in about 20 minutes, epi free. That short birth is probably why her head wasn't very cone-y.<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-oXJmv7F28m8Qfxlzlx-5JsuRgnofpYJXH4umqygEeLVDGy7jBEVunKDfItCBAiwx2wEYeJpwQ79kJudxSOtNgttxZGw1L5NG4uW-6Ih3oRYeCxc_DLlLK-JUoEJCtND-dcqXfYXuNp9r/s1600-h/Talia+Newborn.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 120px; height: 90px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-oXJmv7F28m8Qfxlzlx-5JsuRgnofpYJXH4umqygEeLVDGy7jBEVunKDfItCBAiwx2wEYeJpwQ79kJudxSOtNgttxZGw1L5NG4uW-6Ih3oRYeCxc_DLlLK-JUoEJCtND-dcqXfYXuNp9r/s320/Talia+Newborn.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5318013395216828322" border="0" /></a> We are both Sagittarius' and have similar dispositions and similar taste. We even look alike. Our baby picks are nearly identical. Except I think she is much prettier than me. She has this big doe eyes, with impossibly long eyelashes. They literally look like butterfly wings, they are so long. Sometimes I can't believe this gorgeous creature came from my belly.<br />Me at four: <a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhuTatr1111aAfMLbCobAFIOCbJynSXmv3YQeqkrty3IxUIWDFPIiCTxYRr07xY7Sqb17sxP6MxCDj5pQorfCLVgv8_TzxGT40FIPvQT9K39T-5QlH0woXman4aW44RYAKnioiMdzXGfcLt/s1600-h/1985gina.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 212px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhuTatr1111aAfMLbCobAFIOCbJynSXmv3YQeqkrty3IxUIWDFPIiCTxYRr07xY7Sqb17sxP6MxCDj5pQorfCLVgv8_TzxGT40FIPvQT9K39T-5QlH0woXman4aW44RYAKnioiMdzXGfcLt/s320/1985gina.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5318017383711779938" border="0" /></a><br />She at four: <a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgE3J8Zn_BswER22i15JotTXVqePMXr-44L8zO2QhQXr21owssVSCSJqh_7sUrbrEs6pHJa4sJbhC-ab-d0F3lKLTeyXDiIggSnwNxqYUG7ljTxUlaQyNM2hxK3nXr0y4e8bphNFX9wGP1h/s1600-h/talia+fresh+braids.JPG"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 252px; height: 190px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgE3J8Zn_BswER22i15JotTXVqePMXr-44L8zO2QhQXr21owssVSCSJqh_7sUrbrEs6pHJa4sJbhC-ab-d0F3lKLTeyXDiIggSnwNxqYUG7ljTxUlaQyNM2hxK3nXr0y4e8bphNFX9wGP1h/s320/talia+fresh+braids.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5318017389154714866" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><br />She stayed on her own schedule, not walking until she was nearly 14 months, not talking until about a year and a half-but spoke in full sentences immediately. She was very petite and looked like a little walking doll. In fact, I bathed her in the bathroom sink until she was nearly 3.<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhmfG6J9xPc9-1ltxeYs-l4en2dDkHfvy-NCnSO9SGQ3gj7VIeKK_oia1GVusk_srIyCByjKrhFKAYPcRfhdeK-PD7HLeTTu4nQE91EVFEBrCBLbtjzWZJ4PsFrYvkfjh1h6Vnck8bcpqHK/s1600-h/talia+at+13+months+old.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 230px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhmfG6J9xPc9-1ltxeYs-l4en2dDkHfvy-NCnSO9SGQ3gj7VIeKK_oia1GVusk_srIyCByjKrhFKAYPcRfhdeK-PD7HLeTTu4nQE91EVFEBrCBLbtjzWZJ4PsFrYvkfjh1h6Vnck8bcpqHK/s320/talia+at+13+months+old.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5318013399534411362" border="0" /></a><br /><br />But now she's tall and lanky, like the horse who happens to be her Chinese sign.<br /><br />Princess is a tough cookie. Her doc took her tonsils and adenoids at the tender age of 4. Dora accompanied her to the hospital for surgery that day. It was one of the most nerve wracking days of my life. Surgery and the whole anesthesia thing terrify me. But Princess was a trooper.<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhAtRgFmSYnpmnatS4ffnHk-K-ssR6fg728ZPlS2yueadG4L8HBDGkeyYQnc2aAFoWJEy0xXpMSz6g_nppyXJuzRp_6p-rCz3XdWxRkc88whS4HMB6HjeJZUBU6JjTAEer5zb52Sxnkr9nH/s1600-h/Talia+sunrise+%282%29.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 241px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhAtRgFmSYnpmnatS4ffnHk-K-ssR6fg728ZPlS2yueadG4L8HBDGkeyYQnc2aAFoWJEy0xXpMSz6g_nppyXJuzRp_6p-rCz3XdWxRkc88whS4HMB6HjeJZUBU6JjTAEer5zb52Sxnkr9nH/s320/Talia+sunrise+%282%29.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5318013407476790418" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><br />To be candid, she was born at the wrong time. She should have been a firstborn child, the oldest or an only. She is so competitive, has so much drive but she feels so limited and inadequate because Astronaut can do more than her. She gets so frustrated when he does things she can't, but at the same time, she is very advanced. Not to brag, but this child is quite possibly a prodigy. She taught herself to tie her shoes and write her name at 4 years old. While amazing, it is a major factor in her school behavior. She was bored silly by pre-K and it showed. I got a lot of calls home last year.<br /><br />I love my mini-me. She is a challenge. I imagine her teen years will be memorable. And I can't wait until she is all grown up so we can do things together.<br /><div style="text-align: left;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjaBLM9n75hLzEscWZPxZWKDwBsJualqXtxt3CCle3fGRDrnwrOjA2DQUwZgPtqZm3UnWtQlzSv1_dJIQB57gzEKuIU4eX_fD_s2f1IhyphenhyphenTRA9bCD9S5xczz2K4l7Z1a37Oy5lYwHfCn3pdT/s1600-h/Talia+gangsta.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 184px; height: 137px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjaBLM9n75hLzEscWZPxZWKDwBsJualqXtxt3CCle3fGRDrnwrOjA2DQUwZgPtqZm3UnWtQlzSv1_dJIQB57gzEKuIU4eX_fD_s2f1IhyphenhyphenTRA9bCD9S5xczz2K4l7Z1a37Oy5lYwHfCn3pdT/s320/Talia+gangsta.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5318013414308143634" border="0" /></a><div style="text-align: center;">Sweet, isn't she.<br /></div></div>Ginahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11202675072115812435noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2748616088635864567.post-17859057092112328172009-03-21T20:06:00.005-04:002009-03-21T21:11:45.724-04:00Squirrel, in a nutshellThis is my Squirrel.<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgAGEzX_AFPuEPMDRoxiuYyossZTwK9kz9S0TEgRQ7gu0NXSfL2yDOcjUoayDgRdGce8n6n2xnTrr3SoMjKQVmoYrnljsb5RCp4nC5QYTyCivfWCuKlSPkRDHy8kYxm4tlCzrje7P3Q0ipw/s1600-h/101008_1211%5B00%5D.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 240px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgAGEzX_AFPuEPMDRoxiuYyossZTwK9kz9S0TEgRQ7gu0NXSfL2yDOcjUoayDgRdGce8n6n2xnTrr3SoMjKQVmoYrnljsb5RCp4nC5QYTyCivfWCuKlSPkRDHy8kYxm4tlCzrje7P3Q0ipw/s320/101008_1211%5B00%5D.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5315801279142915570" border="0" /></a><br /><br />She is a most unique child. She possesses an almost elven, pixish aura. She is petite, slight, but she is by far my loudet child. She is quite possibly the brightest, most well spoken three year old I know. That is, when she chooses to talk. Squirrel is notorious for not acknowledging the presence of others. She won't talk to people she doesn't know well. She frequently hides from them. She has been known to run. This causes people to think that because she does not talk, she cannot talk. They are shocked the first time they hear her speak. I spend lots of time with her because the big kid go to school all day. We do many things. We play. <a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgo6cRrcWQtVWwlRiB2T3phiiTSyaGXhmHi3ODm1yRhdHdP7AWPgUR-mruGvCCpymq1WdzYPPNBlzvfucUIv1gtSQyjxNpkamlwvqrKj7o4-UuSbDbNiKw37pBKA_OUpyDRu10wJm7b6iwj/s1600-h/IMG_0173.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgo6cRrcWQtVWwlRiB2T3phiiTSyaGXhmHi3ODm1yRhdHdP7AWPgUR-mruGvCCpymq1WdzYPPNBlzvfucUIv1gtSQyjxNpkamlwvqrKj7o4-UuSbDbNiKw37pBKA_OUpyDRu10wJm7b6iwj/s320/IMG_0173.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5315799490094053490" border="0" /></a><br />We put on puppet shows.<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJmkKP2qw3U08zET7ndTxcqcFPMeQQIW9wjsWYCi0d2fs8Xqn_vARiFMDHPs6Nw0YkSCBHXhxkc3td5TM39rvtCK4r0Fo2EGSFV5r0YzISZvU3yC9LkhyOcINlXKE63GTZ2B7Z3ZjLlc48/s1600-h/IMG_0212.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJmkKP2qw3U08zET7ndTxcqcFPMeQQIW9wjsWYCi0d2fs8Xqn_vARiFMDHPs6Nw0YkSCBHXhxkc3td5TM39rvtCK4r0Fo2EGSFV5r0YzISZvU3yC9LkhyOcINlXKE63GTZ2B7Z3ZjLlc48/s320/IMG_0212.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5315803736113118946" border="0" /></a><br />We cuddle.<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjSWsMEzgSjRV8begU0bP0QbidEXPIYQ373S-lyWvFgXv0SXUSX_8y9dC6JyYPJJ7vYh1ZhVHVbbOjKZYs18fHwA0MPzCDDdWEedRiKwHkC5w3-bV3Aa0mtmyrYZJE8k6t4tJIFo-Nj1EKn/s1600-h/IMG_0182.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 283px; height: 211px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjSWsMEzgSjRV8begU0bP0QbidEXPIYQ373S-lyWvFgXv0SXUSX_8y9dC6JyYPJJ7vYh1ZhVHVbbOjKZYs18fHwA0MPzCDDdWEedRiKwHkC5w3-bV3Aa0mtmyrYZJE8k6t4tJIFo-Nj1EKn/s320/IMG_0182.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5315803737463590082" border="0" /></a><br /><br />We talk. <a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjzQ9ZXUeuCN86VdcM3Q0wJmzw9lydiuoqhfOO2xLos1b1KZ8LTNj9d9TfMsvmZSAM-1-nrxj8tSc1XNIYxhBI81-JgHKq0Xi5ZfE_k7LTm1BacnTQPrE1TqrdnsO88updQYBCmPJvafVPR/s1600-h/IMG_0202.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 252px; height: 190px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjzQ9ZXUeuCN86VdcM3Q0wJmzw9lydiuoqhfOO2xLos1b1KZ8LTNj9d9TfMsvmZSAM-1-nrxj8tSc1XNIYxhBI81-JgHKq0Xi5ZfE_k7LTm1BacnTQPrE1TqrdnsO88updQYBCmPJvafVPR/s320/IMG_0202.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5315803742089983666" border="0" /></a><br />Sometimes, we talk late at night. She's been getting up at night for the last few weeks. She tells me the most unusual things. The other night she got up and we sat and looked out the window at the feral cats (that's another story). She looked at me and said...<br />Squirrel: I know what Mommies and Daddies do.<br />Me: Er, uh...is that so, sweetie? Ah, what is it that they do?<br />Squirrel: They kiss.<br />Me: Really. Is that all?<br />Squirrel: No. They eat food, too. And they look in the mirror and brush their teeth.<br />Me: That is absolutely fascinating.<br />We like music, all of us. We dance all the time. We have big band, opera, classical, disco, pop, R&B-basically our collection has everything from Gregorian chants to Bollywood. We have family dance parties (aka Mommy has to get some kind of exercise when she can't make it to the gym). We do this kind of Soul Train circle where someone gets in the middle and does a dance, then everyone does it. When it was Squirrel's turn, she hopped in the middle, started shrugging her shoulders and shouted:<br /><br />"Do this, ya'll! Shake your hipples!"<br /><br />I love the way her mind works. Appearantly she correlates shoulders to being similar to hips (which they kinda are, anatomy-wise. both have ball and socket joints) and they are close to your chest, where your nipples are located. Hence, we have hipples.<br /><br />My sunny, funny little girl. My little squirrel.Ginahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11202675072115812435noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2748616088635864567.post-54725581246159146482009-03-13T23:06:00.004-04:002009-03-13T23:28:31.329-04:00Checkin' inHello, all!<br /><br />I've been busy with midterms and first birthdays. That's right! Our side salad is now one years old. We celebrated in style at the local Mickey Ds. I think it's okay to have a McNugget or two on your birthday-you only live once...<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgI-iXmg81SC7g0YGkuTPINemM6qF0L-bO2Om82aSYRSMJEx3ztqTp86OFLnHiuyiVGUITrCkj8zyYBdIKhqfOvknhroChQK8AYwm8Z52IwLckpE0wLg7YRFZKw4dsM7PKN-G4qFPfwnK8O/s1600-h/party+people+%283%29.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 272px; height: 205px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgI-iXmg81SC7g0YGkuTPINemM6qF0L-bO2Om82aSYRSMJEx3ztqTp86OFLnHiuyiVGUITrCkj8zyYBdIKhqfOvknhroChQK8AYwm8Z52IwLckpE0wLg7YRFZKw4dsM7PKN-G4qFPfwnK8O/s320/party+people+%283%29.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5312878937870647346" border="0" /></a><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEifZFMqEgXBIiTgS585QR_fAP0lxOY1SI9slLqD_Bjh29vlWELj0ftRJpxx2PVsQprtDxe4QZ2-KJ5u5gUGCEU5rwaxbqJOywmUad8DFjKV4jgMn7RXKleyVHYKqu8ssjjxSn_Kv182nFyF/s1600-h/cake+time+%284%29.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEifZFMqEgXBIiTgS585QR_fAP0lxOY1SI9slLqD_Bjh29vlWELj0ftRJpxx2PVsQprtDxe4QZ2-KJ5u5gUGCEU5rwaxbqJOywmUad8DFjKV4jgMn7RXKleyVHYKqu8ssjjxSn_Kv182nFyF/s320/cake+time+%284%29.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5312878922631519106" border="0" /></a><br /><br />School is...school. I am just exhausted. If I could figure out a way to pay off my student loans and have some sort of stable income, I'd say screw it and just be a SAHM.<br /><br />Lettuce and I had a talk about breastfeeding. I know his family are pretty anti-breastfeeding so I wanted to gauge his feelings on me continuing to do so. He was totally fine with it. He can see the benefits in the health of the ducklings. Astronaut sleeps in his undies only, year round. Literally. The boy walks around in just underwear when it's snowing outside. He never gets sick. Lettuce and I have been together since he was 3 1/2 and he'll be 9 this year and he has never been sick. I breastfed him until he was 13 months old. The girls on the other hand, weren't so lucky. Princess was only breastfed 4 months. She immediatly stopped growing. She had tons of earaches and her tonsils removed at 4 years old. Squirrel was EBF until 6 months, though we started solids at 4 months. She had a combo until she was about 7 or 8 months. The ear infections were constant and she got tubes at 9 months. Whoa!! I've gotten a bit off topic. Anywho, Side Salad will be getting the good stuff indefinitely, that's the point. And here's a pic of us nursing in public to celebrate.<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiL2dCVXLxwpLGiZXjkzPMl4SuJBGM-RiTkWde1qyxm_VEl_LNb983dAlWbWp7PXepm8B1yV6f3aczDyRYL72vnCGidDGIHfCU0M6xpobHzIEX6ydNo0-uCdKTbnYK6e2RumbzB1jngk9DS/s1600-h/snacking+%283%29.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 245px; height: 193px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiL2dCVXLxwpLGiZXjkzPMl4SuJBGM-RiTkWde1qyxm_VEl_LNb983dAlWbWp7PXepm8B1yV6f3aczDyRYL72vnCGidDGIHfCU0M6xpobHzIEX6ydNo0-uCdKTbnYK6e2RumbzB1jngk9DS/s320/snacking+%283%29.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5312878944634851106" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><br />Ciao!Ginahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11202675072115812435noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2748616088635864567.post-48668240969319634232009-02-26T12:57:00.002-05:002009-02-26T13:17:58.759-05:00Picture Blog: Nature Walk 2/21/09<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhMzwaDgtiRsooOD04DqKW57CGtuOUImus-TnX_z6q3w-vjOPTIpBRCgZvaZcFl_RO_sreKdRpLb3IQsITK883FxC-HKHQC-QQoCxHIBDyvPTvmkukJTxEtYSDe1dMIQmDyExYlczWDp_IO/s1600-h/IMG_0229.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhMzwaDgtiRsooOD04DqKW57CGtuOUImus-TnX_z6q3w-vjOPTIpBRCgZvaZcFl_RO_sreKdRpLb3IQsITK883FxC-HKHQC-QQoCxHIBDyvPTvmkukJTxEtYSDe1dMIQmDyExYlczWDp_IO/s320/IMG_0229.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5307171680691097650" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-PJjo2IbwewaI2X1kqe0TQfG4osCUmVlD3KZuWdPkkkc9sFtfz6ip9WEhgohgzcGOV9q_dqoNnlnPYkE_31pvI-1Ap_PpNzujoo6aNqc4Kj7Jv5PGJ_q1Ube8q_od6kc3HvuQHiGlShly/s1600-h/IMG_0231.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-PJjo2IbwewaI2X1kqe0TQfG4osCUmVlD3KZuWdPkkkc9sFtfz6ip9WEhgohgzcGOV9q_dqoNnlnPYkE_31pvI-1Ap_PpNzujoo6aNqc4Kj7Jv5PGJ_q1Ube8q_od6kc3HvuQHiGlShly/s320/IMG_0231.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5307171678871597474" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhD2yjvUhbtnUUC46Ome_gJGg5YaveKAGAik8KZ_sJhbhxsi8YlZxD13yhrG97i3mqni0oC-rR00wunzb7Zx_LpoXjzpMMfHYBEevoYxrr7vnejIEp39y3psSdOv_99LPyYTZHxjqfRZSvZ/s1600-h/IMG_0226.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhD2yjvUhbtnUUC46Ome_gJGg5YaveKAGAik8KZ_sJhbhxsi8YlZxD13yhrG97i3mqni0oC-rR00wunzb7Zx_LpoXjzpMMfHYBEevoYxrr7vnejIEp39y3psSdOv_99LPyYTZHxjqfRZSvZ/s320/IMG_0226.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5307171672275985522" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjiNuynnudnR5UYWyEJXTKgNjaR2nhYfY6pH0Yb8F8l4sXoqXHK0GcDqs9YBnF9dStYoATM6JkCXz2ERK5uKnBK7aBxaVPiEoX4KvQzOC9MkZ8ZUo5yWcZXlt5kDkZnYp75DCgRq8gcG1vT/s1600-h/IMG_0220.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjiNuynnudnR5UYWyEJXTKgNjaR2nhYfY6pH0Yb8F8l4sXoqXHK0GcDqs9YBnF9dStYoATM6JkCXz2ERK5uKnBK7aBxaVPiEoX4KvQzOC9MkZ8ZUo5yWcZXlt5kDkZnYp75DCgRq8gcG1vT/s320/IMG_0220.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5307171667921914690" border="0" /></a><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhTISLsYClIk2UTK0G4H0PSVP4GUfSZojdtl3h6U7D9ua-7FHX3O9o8ljzuMKnhoOPT6Qb-SkFKtkRW2vxauM7urnIbUansl2mw8fRu8r5DbBtkr7Kc5qazfSyHT-eXi5bHD_HS88SXJF5V/s1600-h/IMG_0237.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhTISLsYClIk2UTK0G4H0PSVP4GUfSZojdtl3h6U7D9ua-7FHX3O9o8ljzuMKnhoOPT6Qb-SkFKtkRW2vxauM7urnIbUansl2mw8fRu8r5DbBtkr7Kc5qazfSyHT-eXi5bHD_HS88SXJF5V/s320/IMG_0237.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5307171681747692978" border="0" /></a>Ginahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11202675072115812435noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2748616088635864567.post-18376777669196640382009-02-26T12:47:00.002-05:002009-02-26T12:50:54.600-05:00Haven't been blogging much latelybecause I have been busy in real life. This semester, I am taking a full class load, including a field experience in a real classroom where I have to teach lessons to real kids-psychadelic, I know. It's a pretty heavy classload. Plus, I have to be Mommy, which is a full time job. And I try to squeeze a little gym in there sometimes, too. I haven't had much time to blog. I really miss ya'll. Spring break is coming soon, so I'll inundate you with blogs and pics then :)Ginahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11202675072115812435noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2748616088635864567.post-16223952759154669222009-02-18T16:27:00.001-05:002009-02-18T16:30:27.842-05:00I NIP because I am close-minded<p>Yep, that's what one of my friends said to me on Monday. Let me explain. </p><p> Tris will be one in a few weeks. Over the weekend, my SO and I were discussing his continuing to BF and SO is staunchly on my side. This is surprising, given his family's opinion and I am so proud of him.</p><p>So my friend calls me Monday. Here is the basic gist of the conversation.</p><p>Her: Tris is about to be one. Are you going to wean him?</p><p>Me: Naw. Me and Romaine just finished talking about that and we are gonna keep going. The kid is teething anyways. Why make him more miserable.</p><p>Her: They say breastmilk doesn't have any nutritional value past a year or two.</p><p>Me: It's good for at least two years. Kids need it. That's why WIC gives 1 year olds full fat milk. They need it for their brain growth. But Tris is fine. He's happy, his mama is happy, his daddy is happy. We've decided that we won't be making any changes.</p><p>Her: Well, I just heard about that woman in Walmart. They are making laws about it because it really bothers some people.</p><p>Me: Actually, you have it backwards-the laws protect the babies and the moms from being harassed. They don't limit babies and mothers rights.</p><p>Her: I don't know why. Nobody wants to see that. People need to use blankets. They should be discreet.</p><p>Me: I don't use blankets but I am still discreet. Tris doesn't like. He'll pull it off. People rarely notice unless they are staring right at your breasts. And most people are intellegent enough to respect a child eating.</p><p>Her: I saw a woman use a blanket. Her baby was about 6 months old and didn't pull the blanket off.</p><p>Me: Well, my kids never liked blankets and all that fumbling around is aggravating.</p><p>Her: You have to teach them to use the blanket. Who is the parent and who is the child.</p><p>[at this point, i'm like wtf?]</p><p>Me: [speaking slowly] We are talking about small babies. All they know is that they are hungry</p><p>Her: That's why you should just use a bottle. </p><p>Me: Naw, I'm good. I will just feed my child when he's hungry. If people don't like it, they can eat in the bathrooom or put blankets over their heads.</p><p>Her: That's not fair to other people. Why should they be disturbe.</p><p>Me: They dont' have to look at my breasts. It's not like I stand on the table, do a strip tease and shake my boobs at peoples husbands and teenaged sons. We are not talking about sex. We are talking about babies eating. I will not put my child's needs aside for someone's comfort. A grown person should act accordingly.</p><p>This conversation went on for nearly an hour. i made several requests that she just drop it because we obviously felt different about this issue.</p><p>Her main contentions were that:</p><p>* Others might be offended. I don't care. <br /></p><p>* Some one might say something to me. I don't care.<br /></p><p>* People will talk about me. I don't care.</p><p>She could not understand why I wouldn't cater to a bunch of strangers that I'll never see again. She asked me if I would BF in front of my BFF Stacy (ssnelson26)'s hubby. I said that I had already, all four kids. She asked if I'd be offended if Stacy breastfed in front of my SO. She has. My SO and Stacy's hubby are not pedophiles so they are not aroused by babies eating. </p><p>She also said that she worked in restaurants and she knew how people talked. Ironically, I've worked in more restaurants than she had, and breastfed my kids in every single one. </p><p>She said what if someone came up to me and said "Excuse me, my hubby and I are on a date. Could you please cover up?" I told her that I don't breastfeed topless so I am not uncovered, but I would say "Sure, as soon as my child finishes eating." She seems to think that this will be the beginnig of WWIII. Um, I guess so. </p><p>She asked what I'd do if an employee told me I couldn't breastfeed. I told her I'd ask for the manager and pray they said the same because I love litigation. That's when she called me close minded. </p><p>Her: So all you care about is your child? You don't care about how other people feel?</p><p>Me: Exactly. </p><p>Her: You are being very close minded.<br /></p><p>Me: It's close minded to raise my child according to what I feel is best for them, and respecting the rights of others to do the same? <br /></p><p>Keep in mind, she breastfed her child. But she was ashamed, hiding in back rooms and what not. She only lasted a couple of months. Her family didn't support her and she stopped. The converastion finally reached a boiling point when I brought up a situation in which a stranger questioned her mothering in public. She was using foul and profane language and somebody told her she should have more respect for herself and her child than that. She was offended [I think, embarassed] that someone would say something to her. I told her that some people found cursing to be disgusting and that they don't want their children exposed to that. </p><p>I must have hit a nerve. People don't like having their parenting criticized or questioned. </p><p>She got all mad saying no one found bottles disgusting and breastfeeding mothers should use them. I finally gave up being nice and slipped into extreme lactavist and told her I found formula disgusting and it made me sick to my stomach that people would give their helpless babies the milk of another species that was pumped full of sugar and chemically modified in an attempt to be more like breastmilk instead of being unselfish. Mind you, I had to give both of my daughters formula due to life circumstances. I don't really feel that way. <br /></p>I felt bad for saying that, but you have to fight fire with fire, ya know?Ginahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11202675072115812435noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2748616088635864567.post-12023320321531489152009-01-27T00:14:00.006-05:002009-01-27T19:56:59.648-05:00Happy Chinese New Year!<iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.blogger.com/video.g?token=AD6v5dySbH6YKCTfVEG2t5bAKs4p51-WjTjXlc-vWbzCE4uRh9hE18kPNfvHLBIDsQ3ePEPim8JzSWpFv-mdprH2' class='b-hbp-video b-uploaded' frameborder='0'></iframe><br /><br />Ni hao!<br /><br />It is the year of the Ox. We celebrated in style with a dinner of roast duck, orange ginger tiliapia, steamed broccoli, fried rice, and Chinese noodles, with tangerines and fortune cookies on the side. We toasted with sparkling apple cider.<br /><br />Squirrel and I originally went to the local Asian market in search of duck. They had duck, of course, but it was looking at me through the plastic. Literally. The ducks they had were "Buddhist style," which as far as I can tell means that the head and feet are still attached. My goal was to introduce my kids to new foods and I didn't want to terrify them so I went to Bi-Lo and got a less personable water fowl. I roasted my duckie and glazed it with some Iron Chef Orange Ginger sauce.<br /><br />Here is the duck, who we affectionately called "Mr. Duck-Duck." Forgive my ugly roasting pan. It gets the job done.<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgKCGfm7t4IdEWpyol8aYIR18oc6PqSDtdeOhzz8HuvhkSmdnM3TrGZJ0RaZcK6xwWYWAEzcyUnYzZT1kuszslsVaZkSSqnuk07zVvlH4T3ISlEbNb3vXMWi-9N78xJ_hEtj6n4wP3UtQQn/s1600-h/IMG_0129.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 200px; height: 150px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgKCGfm7t4IdEWpyol8aYIR18oc6PqSDtdeOhzz8HuvhkSmdnM3TrGZJ0RaZcK6xwWYWAEzcyUnYzZT1kuszslsVaZkSSqnuk07zVvlH4T3ISlEbNb3vXMWi-9N78xJ_hEtj6n4wP3UtQQn/s200/IMG_0129.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5295841866810543138" border="0" /></a><br /> Anyways, the food was much lovlier when plated.<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh838T5mOpov8tKmfUHyn5ZTvyjgQ7HWttuMeMmvKtk5fy6jA9gYyne7I4szQXRuDypxOYn2cdz9rSDPiHnjMSPLIMv6whl9LSb9pOI3KXEfyY96HDZeMMsup7iUyxuDWZBJP9wAc2PG2KE/s1600-h/IMG_0130.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 180px; height: 182px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh838T5mOpov8tKmfUHyn5ZTvyjgQ7HWttuMeMmvKtk5fy6jA9gYyne7I4szQXRuDypxOYn2cdz9rSDPiHnjMSPLIMv6whl9LSb9pOI3KXEfyY96HDZeMMsup7iUyxuDWZBJP9wAc2PG2KE/s200/IMG_0130.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5295841859046437650" border="0" /></a><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjSABGDc1jnqact-oxudJT6ePvrw6-saTTFEtp-WcrXz37n-jMFyJbQyCgxYMS-f-zbVQbwGYFp_qLuYjQrjbqTQ6OryqNX6Bl6VPN9vCw8sAS-scZyPYqM0eyPNPX6RKQHYVFL9EGOX173/s1600-h/IMG_0132.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 200px; height: 150px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjSABGDc1jnqact-oxudJT6ePvrw6-saTTFEtp-WcrXz37n-jMFyJbQyCgxYMS-f-zbVQbwGYFp_qLuYjQrjbqTQ6OryqNX6Bl6VPN9vCw8sAS-scZyPYqM0eyPNPX6RKQHYVFL9EGOX173/s200/IMG_0132.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5295841856487964130" border="0" /></a><br /><br />Here is a shot of the table decorated with a pyramid of tangerines and plums.<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjN9n8J7nG4b8YorktWWRqjTGDV2Mz-utYN_OsrZJJeXcv1T_Iumm3cDLSh1xwrmqK6BswHBBVFWug-OiAsm7gBK-_AAQtVgg53Q3WzC6DAhbvju647RiMoXc0b4TMorPlKtE55i_F9g19T/s1600-h/IMG_0131.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 200px; height: 150px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjN9n8J7nG4b8YorktWWRqjTGDV2Mz-utYN_OsrZJJeXcv1T_Iumm3cDLSh1xwrmqK6BswHBBVFWug-OiAsm7gBK-_AAQtVgg53Q3WzC6DAhbvju647RiMoXc0b4TMorPlKtE55i_F9g19T/s200/IMG_0131.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5295841849136321986" border="0" /></a><br />It was a lovely meal and the kids enjoyed it. They also discovered that they like duck. Misson completed with flying colors.Ginahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11202675072115812435noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2748616088635864567.post-56904947668552337602009-01-20T11:09:00.003-05:002009-01-20T11:51:42.871-05:00Oh, the weather outside is frightful.....<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-Cr0A3Sa04AdhHjZVY1mbW83vSnC4aaPBPPZ4OrTWh18Brx57h7Txxml06cyxSSLGL_IGg1KxRyDCdcjqH1dXi50U-V4hapIIx9YBo1kPoCPuFJ3dpPrd3OjPCYnHu9t2jusvdA5ot9a_/s1600-h/IMG_0118.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 200px; height: 150px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-Cr0A3Sa04AdhHjZVY1mbW83vSnC4aaPBPPZ4OrTWh18Brx57h7Txxml06cyxSSLGL_IGg1KxRyDCdcjqH1dXi50U-V4hapIIx9YBo1kPoCPuFJ3dpPrd3OjPCYnHu9t2jusvdA5ot9a_/s200/IMG_0118.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5293412310282599970" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjIAtAiXeJLq7W8-lB1wPyd5tsizGyKvQvgzwaEzfXlc7vpNwsxYF4siq45ewcmIgwUtxpCOsGu7Shr4O6ngIdcjDpAnQ_YaENTQmeS97LOAZGEz5YV1K0dXytplz-pTxFTalZrCHtQLh2j/s1600-h/IMG_0114.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 200px; height: 150px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjIAtAiXeJLq7W8-lB1wPyd5tsizGyKvQvgzwaEzfXlc7vpNwsxYF4siq45ewcmIgwUtxpCOsGu7Shr4O6ngIdcjDpAnQ_YaENTQmeS97LOAZGEz5YV1K0dXytplz-pTxFTalZrCHtQLh2j/s200/IMG_0114.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5293412304914271026" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgozG4EJGyUBXf6qOHcft1vQGWmIvE-9xquQ8uz4UGgJRvY7BYw73xkIUuNoq_8iPLnOs-Knq0iQ87JF2bmq1cGzenSGBZS_fkz3nc19H28m1p-O4gmhzMIUScDo-0uvjKavBcSboXytl1c/s1600-h/IMG_0115.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 200px; height: 150px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgozG4EJGyUBXf6qOHcft1vQGWmIvE-9xquQ8uz4UGgJRvY7BYw73xkIUuNoq_8iPLnOs-Knq0iQ87JF2bmq1cGzenSGBZS_fkz3nc19H28m1p-O4gmhzMIUScDo-0uvjKavBcSboXytl1c/s200/IMG_0115.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5293412302117292498" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiItaeb3Vbq3nm7bPiAhS_jDXrsEBAU538_gxEKqXT963H-ksgK3K935zocKs3-uBcBWun1cRcN_Wx9MBnRaBpsmL5Shr1L3NTbh3pIZlLVXjWAegC4E4KQBycUr2fuzs6E9ysDrQ2Oye5Z/s1600-h/IMG_0113.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 200px; height: 150px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiItaeb3Vbq3nm7bPiAhS_jDXrsEBAU538_gxEKqXT963H-ksgK3K935zocKs3-uBcBWun1cRcN_Wx9MBnRaBpsmL5Shr1L3NTbh3pIZlLVXjWAegC4E4KQBycUr2fuzs6E9ysDrQ2Oye5Z/s200/IMG_0113.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5293412293576431362" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhTf2v05RPAuy_QHSwxF8neg1MGoBWj06cF2zUgAEcvQRdvlQousTBIPfHiZF3aHOMIZ7rYwAOMJ1EgxCG4sg9icaNAPp23e34IgbT6Peyzvvh37WqQLdfyPC_40ZQ_hg0-zjxaPfizD3tH/s1600-h/IMG_0117.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 200px; height: 150px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhTf2v05RPAuy_QHSwxF8neg1MGoBWj06cF2zUgAEcvQRdvlQousTBIPfHiZF3aHOMIZ7rYwAOMJ1EgxCG4sg9icaNAPp23e34IgbT6Peyzvvh37WqQLdfyPC_40ZQ_hg0-zjxaPfizD3tH/s200/IMG_0117.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5293412281509655602" border="0" /></a><br />That's right, it's snowing. Can you see the little flakes blowing around? Look close, they are there. My friend K who is a yankee say's it's dandruffing. <br /><br />The kids are out of school by default. This is South Carolina. Our highways turn into die-ways at the mere hint of inclement weather. The district made the decision yesterday, before the snow began. This is due to the Great Snow Travesty of 2004. Or maybe it was 2003. It was one of those years. I remember it like it was 5 (or 4) years ago....<br /><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">It was a cold winter, one of the coldest I'd ever seen. We got up that morning and the clouds were so full of snow they looked pregnant. The flurries began before sunrise. Everyone expected the district to issue a two hour delay to see how the weather was going to play out. Most of the time, the snow here doesn't stick. In fact, it melts by noon and then it's 50 or 60 degrees the rest of the day. This time was different. It was in the high twenties and falling. The snow stuck immediately. I warned my mother about sending my brothers to school. "They are just going to cancel." She didn't think so. After all, the district didn't even delay.<br /><br />They should have.<br /><br />She sent my brothers to catch their buses and went to work. By the time the kids go to school, it was a mess. The snow had begun to accumulate, a rarity here. Half the teachers couldn't even get to school due to the wrecks that littered ever intersection, stretch of highway, and side road. Two buses hit ice and ended up in ditches. No one was hurt seriously. School was cancelled at around 8:00 am. The district also stopped the buses from running. So, you had kids at school with no way to get home. The buses wouldn't take them and their parents were at work. I got my car down our hill as soon as it started sticking; otherwise, I would have been snowed in and I don't know how my brothers would have gotten home. I had just moved back from I had just moved back from Virginia-it was 2003, I remember now-and had some experience with real snow. I got in my car and went to get my brothers from school. On the way, I passed multiple wrecks, along with stalled motorists. I saw people so scared to use their brakes for fear of spinning on the ice that they just rolled throught red lights. I was more scared of the other drivers than the ice. We made it home safely in the end.<br /><br /><span style="font-style: italic;"></span></span>Ever since then, our district is paranoid and overly cautious. There was a PR sh*t-storm after all this took place, of course. So my kids are home drinking cocoa and playing Operation.<br /><br />Right now, our snow is only sticking in areas but I see the conditions being conducive to worsening. It's cold and getting colder. The ground might get really cold and the snow will stick everywhere.<span style="font-style: italic;"><span style="font-style: italic;"></span> </span>Then it will ice over. <span style="font-style: italic;"><br /><br /><span style="font-style: italic;"></span></span>I need to go to the store and buy some bread and milk.<span style="font-style: italic;"><span style="font-style: italic;"></span><br /></span>Ginahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11202675072115812435noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2748616088635864567.post-4708619511375129102009-01-18T02:08:00.006-05:002009-01-18T03:16:45.115-05:00My slackness is forgiven!<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhywkhMTTPlMrt-HsH8HeyM6tDjw3gBnGdx9Mt0kzmrc6BvxiREtUWikOyQZ5mM6fqLkWdB-9s7QB0yqnC_xBv-cnS16YUHmqrz_VKHwdKV1kZH9WoQP0GOp7J5jQsmWsqYBwgqJ08JIMjP/s1600-h/2009+Inaugural+Ball+007.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 200px; height: 150px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhywkhMTTPlMrt-HsH8HeyM6tDjw3gBnGdx9Mt0kzmrc6BvxiREtUWikOyQZ5mM6fqLkWdB-9s7QB0yqnC_xBv-cnS16YUHmqrz_VKHwdKV1kZH9WoQP0GOp7J5jQsmWsqYBwgqJ08JIMjP/s200/2009+Inaugural+Ball+007.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5292530041559583298" border="0" /></a><br />The Inaugural Ball fundraiser for my kids' school was Friday night. We all went. We actually had primo seats so thanks to whoever sat us at the Presidential Cabinet table. The stage was nice and the whole set up classy. Let me fast forward to the actually coronation. Her are the contestants for Little Mr. Inaugural Ball. Astronaut's in the green. Little Mr. is for K-2nd grade. <a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjiE_IgvN4e0mIIcLeotpBiRVCxkyHZyTPqQvLurpz2IsHs23bw0dK7k_3gsqP_vM4ebYyIh-HKPHlvZvGIBSmWar3iBlI3JRkHNmOHlvbtxRX3FsukSYqJWuhBKaSd8SugLd9qczgp-4vF/s1600-h/IMG_0074.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 200px; height: 150px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjiE_IgvN4e0mIIcLeotpBiRVCxkyHZyTPqQvLurpz2IsHs23bw0dK7k_3gsqP_vM4ebYyIh-HKPHlvZvGIBSmWar3iBlI3JRkHNmOHlvbtxRX3FsukSYqJWuhBKaSd8SugLd9qczgp-4vF/s200/IMG_0074.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5292530049092606546" border="0" /></a>And guess what?<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEifqxiSaqoNeO6HgqzDHwQRhPvbAK2CaGzugXnblKT-Q1TU4byrMOfGt9Mel2x7crkUKRVYlklywXguswye_0l2KHBi27z8pE-G9S1zWmfds4oHOuySj_rvneygCQGFWn37VII_34UaKPQZ/s1600-h/IMG_0080.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 200px; height: 150px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEifqxiSaqoNeO6HgqzDHwQRhPvbAK2CaGzugXnblKT-Q1TU4byrMOfGt9Mel2x7crkUKRVYlklywXguswye_0l2KHBi27z8pE-G9S1zWmfds4oHOuySj_rvneygCQGFWn37VII_34UaKPQZ/s200/IMG_0080.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5292530055520078338" border="0" /></a>That's right! Astronaut got third runner up! My son placed, even with the paltry funds he took.<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJM_Q5pluNZYev0hf_9d_BNz4b8FwYxKQU6FIg40um61dUdlTJVCrFikqVUlDmD034JUO_miErMys6YOL8WPYmEWeLmqr_ELPgZYPrsR6z06Au2Io0likdi7RKvE4SDs4H2asUh0l6gAgV/s1600-h/IMG_0079.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 200px; height: 150px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJM_Q5pluNZYev0hf_9d_BNz4b8FwYxKQU6FIg40um61dUdlTJVCrFikqVUlDmD034JUO_miErMys6YOL8WPYmEWeLmqr_ELPgZYPrsR6z06Au2Io0likdi7RKvE4SDs4H2asUh0l6gAgV/s200/IMG_0079.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5292530050124398594" border="0" /></a>Not one, but TWO trophies! He was super proud and so are we. To be fair, he got last place but since there were only 4 boys, all of them were winners. It gave him confidence. He even wants to do it again. Not bad for a shy kid. He was very apprehensive about particiating. He is super shy and was terrified of having to dance. However, he practiced a lot and when the contestants danced the shag-our state dance-he was in the front. Here is my boy, shagging like a true Southern gentleman.<br /><iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.blogger.com/video.g?token=AD6v5dwH6f8DVsnoykFQeRY8ovaoNCFPtNaA4AnfhwXh_Pgz_kffyEPucBfGj0WWDQtrHyL5Fh90VV32csSVUGIvIw' class='b-hbp-video b-uploaded' frameborder='0'></iframe><br />And then we had a catered dinner of baked chicken, rice and gravy, green beans, corn, rolls and sweet tea. Hey, it's SC. We have to have sweet tea. Oh, and there was cake, yummy cake.<br /><br />Then there was dancing. It was like a mini club in there. We did the Electric Slide-whereupon the children began to chant,"Go, old people! Go, old people!"-and some contemporary dances a la Soulja Bo, DJ Unk, and Vic.<br /><iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.blogger.com/video.g?token=AD6v5dxnxujxS90GzR2dcGnwG6hQYyp-lT_Xq4WEmGU5lWZFfiBP1yn3aDW6B8hUsSi-TIJMCqMMiR1_XtzzmtUQig' class='b-hbp-video b-uploaded' frameborder='0'></iframe><br />The girls obviously had a great time and we got home late. It was a night to remember.Ginahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11202675072115812435noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2748616088635864567.post-42639177425356007882009-01-18T01:51:00.002-05:002009-01-18T02:06:03.568-05:00Tag-I'm it!I just got tagged by fairlyluvr from <a href="http://lunamama2.blogspot.com/">Building Castles in the Sky</a> and I am psyched!<br /><br />Here are the rules:<br />Rules:<br />~Link to the person who tagged you<br />~Post the rules on your blog<br />~Write six random things about yourself<br />~Tag six people at the end of your post and link to them<br />~Let each person know they've been tagged<br /><br />Here goes..<br />1) I never eat anything blue. Seriously, I sort my M&Ms before I eat them.<br />2)I want to live on a farm, with my kids and some animals. <br />3) I think I am most beautiful when I am pregnant, which maybe why I have spent so much time being pregnant.<br />4)We're thinking about not getting cable when we move into a house this year (and just keep our tv for movies)<br />5) I love historical fiction. Some of my faes are "Memoirs of a Geisha" by Arthur Golden, "The Birth House" by Ami McKay, the Outlander series by Diana Gabaldon, and anything by Philippa Gregory.<br />6) I don't like condiments on my sandwiches or burgers. Just cheese for me, thanks.<br /><br />so here I go to tags you...<br /><br />1. <a href="http://monkeyandturkey.blogspot.com/">Stacy</a><br />2. <a href="http://ljboldyrev.blogspot.com/">Lacey</a><br />3. <a href="http://riskybeads.blogspot.com/">Lori</a><br />4. <a href="http://cutiebootycakes.blogspot.com/">Renee</a><br />5. <a href="http://nowenteringmomville.blogspot.com/">Mary</a><br />6. <a href="http://teanhoneybread.blogspot.com/">Tamecka</a>Ginahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11202675072115812435noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2748616088635864567.post-42662724892086393532009-01-17T22:46:00.003-05:002009-01-18T00:22:17.194-05:00Today was my Princess's party :)Today, Princess had her birthday party. It was a full month after her birthday. We had it at the marionette theatre, of course. "Beauty and the Beast" was playing and it was fantastic. She had a blast and got some nice gifts.<img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 258px; height: 193px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhYc7Hj4qRDGqDVUwINspVG5GDKlNDcbzOsxu4ktffRdcrYrBTynPYgKLP4M_kPhpvrpP_sdrk-QXanxIatpuy3Bvza3igXis-5DK34NKQt_lWcGSRiAEbyIZuSRVfLgf-bYgAzofJZyNzP/s200/IMG_0111.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5292490663880186530" border="0" /><br />Here of the party guests. My Princess is in the middle holding Side Salad. The Astronaut is the one in the glasses and Squirrel is down at the bottom in the pink<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhGeYt3riJf-Byd0GF3QIUAVWEeIaHiiJZ5wgZLbG5QgIK9TcW6NqG1B0WDGfviQ0VLiH_MzRGltPXxcJgUJwixZ1Fv1k9AFBepnu54-luBd27gKT6ij__Ao71iQDNx3_huOyDtbHUMMgyt/s1600-h/IMG_0107.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 200px; height: 150px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhGeYt3riJf-Byd0GF3QIUAVWEeIaHiiJZ5wgZLbG5QgIK9TcW6NqG1B0WDGfviQ0VLiH_MzRGltPXxcJgUJwixZ1Fv1k9AFBepnu54-luBd27gKT6ij__Ao71iQDNx3_huOyDtbHUMMgyt/s200/IMG_0107.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5292490660095587394" border="0" /></a>Princess, holding one of her gifts: a Tinker Bell blanket.<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjXVZZWe6I2K7gNfW6dwqBL97WTNrCMXyMZTczCU-9GSi2jr2B6_bTPZsQyL5nzYtSpo8CAYrA5VlLdcRnBNNbeEKCaK7ZLrkXlmelwk9ANjDURjDWp1O_hwYaZLPmhI2OclDf27kkNVmJW/s1600-h/IMG_0108.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 200px; height: 150px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjXVZZWe6I2K7gNfW6dwqBL97WTNrCMXyMZTczCU-9GSi2jr2B6_bTPZsQyL5nzYtSpo8CAYrA5VlLdcRnBNNbeEKCaK7ZLrkXlmelwk9ANjDURjDWp1O_hwYaZLPmhI2OclDf27kkNVmJW/s200/IMG_0108.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5292495655629182274" border="0" /></a><br />And another that all of the kids got excited about: Operation.<br /><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhgDtQUvpF8vi9qfVf5U8Um-IBwWbSKmoJ1RSE-0NrtClkJJHG-F_nw_bXJ6VZf5jxyPR6GxbJjpt8rQdKBhqo9A6NT694PKFcyzBUwz_lNSmkvpZIK2xz9jjXwUGNsfa6jrrykVcA4W4a8/s1600-h/IMG_0099.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 150px; height: 200px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhgDtQUvpF8vi9qfVf5U8Um-IBwWbSKmoJ1RSE-0NrtClkJJHG-F_nw_bXJ6VZf5jxyPR6GxbJjpt8rQdKBhqo9A6NT694PKFcyzBUwz_lNSmkvpZIK2xz9jjXwUGNsfa6jrrykVcA4W4a8/s200/IMG_0099.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5292490654240190754" border="0" /></a><br />Getting ready to blow out the candles on the awesome custom mermaid cake! Here's a shot of the cake just for Smoo, who unfortunately had to miss the party.<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjPz3oX8K7apw4nhUrbSMg1mbKXH6in-RyWUQNiOOHtqFByiUm-9TobsPDjvjF10UeI1Un7PqkSN3tRE3VRxmccYRf5y7vmbv5ilnb2ZaHoZ9JAMaDltLYNtx5B84XL9z4uLoM378LxxMuK/s1600-h/IMG_0101.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 150px; height: 200px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjPz3oX8K7apw4nhUrbSMg1mbKXH6in-RyWUQNiOOHtqFByiUm-9TobsPDjvjF10UeI1Un7PqkSN3tRE3VRxmccYRf5y7vmbv5ilnb2ZaHoZ9JAMaDltLYNtx5B84XL9z4uLoM378LxxMuK/s200/IMG_0101.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5292495662101642674" border="0" /></a>Ginahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11202675072115812435noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2748616088635864567.post-44782969435789988802009-01-15T09:09:00.003-05:002009-01-15T09:19:50.578-05:00Boiling WaterI was just thinking about something that happened few years ago, when I was momma to not as many kids. The Astronaut and his buddy were just hanging out. They were a couple of kindergardeners and were hanging out after school. His buddy was going to stay for dinner so I was making soup-shrimp and corn chowder to be exact.<br /><br />They were watching cartoons and I was standing in the door way between the dining room and living room, talking to the boys. I'd placed a pot of water on the stove to boil to begin my soup. We were just chatting when the following dialog took place.<br />Astronaut: Mommy, the stove is on fire.<br />Me: No, that's just steam from the water starting to boil.<br />Astronaut: But it has fire on top.<br />Me: That's not funny, A. Mommy can't burn boiling water.<br />Astronaut: Mommy, you need to call the fire man.<br />Me: (agitated) A, for that last time-OH, MY GOD THE STOVES ON FIRE!!!!<br /><br />I put the fire out with baking soda. And threw away my pan. And endured the laughter of 5 year olds, who retold the story to everyone for weeks.<br /><br />Let's just keep this one a secret between you and me.<br /><br />But here is something that is not a secret, the <a href="http://www.menuplanningcentral.com/newyearsformoms.html">New Year's Survival Pack</a>. It will help you get organized and lose weight in the new year. I think the meal planning guide is absolutely fab.Ginahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11202675072115812435noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2748616088635864567.post-72937593997502429452009-01-13T11:38:00.003-05:002009-01-13T11:54:38.336-05:00I am a slack mama.The Astronaut, my second grader, is participating in his school's Inaugural Ball. It's basically a big fundraiser/pageant thing. I have raised absolutely no money. I am really disappointed in me because I worked so hard to get him to be a part of this. We joined late and I am thinking that I wasn't sent all of the information. Then Lettuce got sick and had to have what was supposed to be outpatient surgery. Except it wasn't outpatient and they kept him in the hospital. It's just been so stressful that the Inaugural Ball slipped my mind. Now this thing is Friday, and I just feel so bad. I am going to send out a last minute call for donations but I don't know what will happen. Then all of a sudden the school sends something about business sponsors. I had no idea we were supposed to solicit businesses. I hate asking the people I know for money, much less strangers. I feel so bad. I wanted him to do this to get out of his box. He is kind of a shy kid and I thought it would be good for him. And I totally fail.<br /><br />I talked to Astronaut and he still wants to do it, so Mommy is going to have to make a last minute miracle.<br /><br />If the kid only has a hundred bucks-donated by me, I will be there clapping for him. And taking pictures.<br /><br />I am very disappointed in me today.Ginahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11202675072115812435noreply@blogger.com0