Real Women book review

Loved this book. It makes me want to go to Seguin and take the tour. It's by Janice Windle Woods, decendant of the 3 main characters she writes about. It starts with Euphemia Texas Ashby as a young girl. About 23 pages in I was cryng in the lunchroom at work. Euphema's sister, Sarah, over the course of her life buried 8 kds. Wow. Euphemia, Phemie, ends up marrying the youngest of the Rowdy King Boys, famous in Texas history.

The next part follows Georgia Lawshe Woods. Legend has it that her grandmother was Ndian, back in the day when Indians were drove off their land. Her family goes to Missouri (don't have the book in front of my so I'm working off my memory). There, she meets Dr. Peter Woods and falls in love. Their dream is to move to Texas. On the way, cue anther scene that had me crying. Colonel-doctor Peter fights in the civil war and then stays in Austin after the war is lost to work on treaties. Georgia and her family are treated horribly by the Yankee troops who come totown and there is a murder.

Third woman s BettievMoss King, Euphemia's daugher-in-law. She lives through the end of the1800s, WWI and WWII. Her story broke my heart because se watched so many around her die. I wonder how loney she was.

I highly recommend this book. Te front age looks like a romance novel, so I was hesitant, but it was great. As the author herself says, it's really a Western. Highest praise I can give is that I was googling all the characters while reading and I will be going to Seguin and San Antonio to walk in their steps as much as I can.

PS - typing on the iPad so forgive any typos :)

Flylady challenge day #13

My sink is shiney
I got up this morning and showered and dressed to the shoes
Put a load of laundry in the washer
Ran errands
Wrapped presents

And the good news is that today is picking up one of Kelly's zone missions and today it's pampering myself!  Could not have timed that better.

In other great news, the featherduster came in and it's awesome.  Absolutely love it.  And it only took 6 days to arrive!  I'm so impressed by it that I ordered a rubba scrubba.  Looking very forward to getting that in. 

I've noticed that I need to be paying more attention to my before bed routine.  I didn't do it last night and it didn't set me behind this morning because it was the weekend, but it was frustrating trying to round up clothes for Elayna while trying to get out the door.  Lizzie needs to realize that tomorrow will come (along with work) whether she does the before bed routine or not.  Doing the routine just makes it easier on us.

Have a couple good quotes that are on my inspiration/funny page in my control journal:

I cannot be head of the universe - the job is already taken.  This is to help me let go of wanting to control everything.

-and-

To truly live a happy life, you have to let go of what could have happened in the past.  So so so so true.  I definitely need to stop with the what ifs and realize that what I have is pretty darn good and I'm exactly where and who I'm supposed to be.

Happy Sunday to all!  Go do something to treat yourself nicely :)

Flylady challenge day no #

I decided I need to work on the habits I've already starte on and haven't progressed to the next day.

I got up this morning and made the bed
I showered and dressed to my shoes
I put a load of laundry to wash
I made breakfast and ate it
I got dinner into the crockpot
I packed my lunch
Did a 5 minute room rescue (living room)
Did a 2 minute hot spot rescue (kitchen counter)
My sink was shiney when I went to work

After work we went down to Galveston.  So I was really glad to have dinner ready and waiting when we got home!

After dinner I gave Elayna a bath and got her ready for bed
Moved the clothes to the drier
Took off my makeup and swished and swiped my bathroom
Finished washing the dinner dishes
Put the clean dishes up and shined my sink
Put up the clean clothes
Going to go to bed and read as a treat to myself

Still need to work on the 15 minute decluttering/missions we're sent every day.  But the 5 minute room rescue and the 2 minute hot spot cleaning I did this morning made a huge difference.  Made a believer out of me!

Flylady challenge day #12

I won't say I've been an epic failure, but I have fallen off the fly wagon.  I knew I would somewhat this weekend because it was my work Christmas party and between breakfast with Santa early on Saturday and then setting up for the party and then going to the party and then staying down in Galveston Saturday night I knew I wouldn't be able to stay up with my routines.

Irony of ironies, it wasn't until looking around my dirty house this morning as I was running late for work that I had an aha moment.  Ummmm, the whole flylady thing was invented EXACTLY because of days like this weekend.  Amazing.

So, I've been trying to not beat myself up about it tonight.  And to be kind to my family because it's not their fault.  I've struggled a bit, but I am working on it.

My sink is shiney
A load of laundry was washed, dried, and put up
We ate meatloaf for dinner instead of running to get something (a la last night)
The baby has had a bath and is getting ready for bed
We're having black bean soup for dinner tomorrow so I cooked up the bacon and onion to throw in the crockpot tomorrow morning
Clothes are laid out ready to go

So, all I can say is I'm working on it.  And now for my complaint about flylady.  I kinda think a new habit every day is pretty quick.  I feel like I haven't had a chance to really get down the habits of 5 minute room rescue and 15 minute cleaning/decluttering.  And now for the beauty of the flylady system, I give myself permission to not have to necessarily do a new habit a day. If I need to take an extra day or two to go on to the next habit, it's allowed!!!  So, I may not be doing a new one every day.

On a sad note, we got news tonight that my father-in-law isn't doing well.  That definitely puts things back in perspective.  It's just a mess, be nice to yourself and your family.  Nobody will remember the house being a work in progress, they will remember the love within it.

Flylady challenge day#11

My sink was shiney when I left for work this morning. Alas, Daniel left dirty dishes in it so it wasn't shiney when I got home.
I rew a load of laundry in the washer this morning. I gave myself a break by doing towels, easy to fold and put up.

Challenge of the day, create a page in the control journal for inspirational thoughts. I'm going to also add things that make me smile/laugh to it.

Daniel is cooking dinner, Elayna is asleep on my lap. So I haven't started anything I need to do tonight, but that's okay. Mi'll get it done.

And for the exciting news...to me, anyway, I purchased the flylady duster today!! I hate dusting. Mainly because it takes so much time to move everything lke hotos. And the swiffer things never work the way they say they do. So after wanting one for a long time and reading rave reviews, I decided to treat myself. This way I can surface clean and only deep dust with endust as needed.

Flylady challenge day #10

So today I woke up and thought it was Saturday.  Not the best way to start a Thursday!  Thank goodness for my wonderful husband who rolled over and asked me if I was getting up for work.  I usually get up about 5:30 (I have to leave at 7).  Today I got up at 6:09!!

So, I didn't really have time for all of my morning routine.  I did not throw a load on of laundry or do my 5 minute room rescue.  But my sink is shiney and we're having leftover chili for dinner.  And I don't even feel bad about the things I didn't get done.  Because my laundy is slowly getting under control.  We have clothes for tomorrow and I'll do a small load tomorrow so it doesn't matter.  I'm not stressing about being behind.  I'm going to jump in where I'm at with my evening routine and let go of perfectionism.

Challenge today is 15 minutes doing something.  Today the challenge is picking up trash.  To be honest, I don't think I have enough trash lying around to use up the whole 15 minutes, so I'll probably end up using part of it as a room rescue. 

Lizzie really got mean with me today.  And I had to sit back and really tell myself that the things she was telling me weren't true.  And for every negative she said I came back with a positive.  And then I realized, it wasn't Lizzie really telling me these things.  She was just repeating things she's heard others say.  Well, that sealed it for me.  I don't need to listen to those mean things other people say.  Now, is it easy to tune out the negative thoughts?  Hell NO.  But I need to.  It doesn't do anybody around me, including myself, any good to listen to these things.  Will it improve the situation?  First, I don't think the situation necessarily needs to be improved.  Second, if it does need to be improved, you can believe that me being sullen and resentful, jealous and unhappy about it aren't going to improve it!  Yes, I know this is incredibly vague, but this is the internet and I'd rather not get too specific :)

Anyway...I have to say the flylady thing is working.  Before, I would have figured I already didn't get what I needed to get done in the morning done, why do anything tonight.  I also would have really let the vague thing mentioned above get me down, now every time it creeps into my mind I stop and ask myself why it's really bothering me.  And I ask myself if I really believe the bad things Lizzie's repeating or if I should just tell other people to shut up.  Truly a step in the right direction.

The house is not spotless.  But dinner is about to be warming on the stove.  We have clothes for tomorrow.  I'm going to spend 15 minutes throwing away trash and then do my evening routine and enjoy a new episode of Burn Notice.  Life is good today.

Flylady challenge day #9

My sink is shiney
I got up and made the bed
A load of laundry is drying
We had chili for dinner

Challenge today as a 5 minute room rescue is the morning. Unfortunately, I read it this afternoon...so I did it this evening. But I kinda don't get it. It seems similar to the 2 minute hotspot rescue. But I will keep doing it.

Still to do tonight:
Put up laundry
Take off makeup
Swish and swipe
2 minute hot spot

Today was kinda tough because we had errands to run after work. Makes me want to just sit on the couch. But the reality is that everything I have to do won't take more than 10 minutes. I can do 10 minues!

Flylady challenge day #8

My sink is shiney
I got out of bed and made it this morning
I did a load of laundry, dried it, and put it up
I wore the clothes I laid out last night
I spent 7 minutes cleaning my kitchen counters
Dinner is defrosting on the counter and meat for chili tomorrow is cooked to be thrown in the crock pot in the morning

And all with a sick baby!

Challenge today is to start the morning routine and evening routine sheets in my control journal.  Done!!

Is my house spotless?  no.  Company ready?  depends on the company.  But I've been able to relax today and focus on taking care of Elayna rather than stressing about what needs to be done around here.  So I think giant step in the right direction.

Flylady challenge day #7

My sink is shiney.
I did my morning routine.
There's a load of clothes in the drier.

Mission today was to lay out my clothes for tomorrow. I always ignored this because I wear a uniform to work and never felt the need on weekends. But Elayna's sick and we have a doctor appointment early tomorrow morning so I felt it was a sign. My clothes are laid out and ready to go.

Book review - The Bone Garden by Tess Gerritsen

Tess Gerritsen is most known (or at least I know her first) for the Rizzoli and Isles books that became the hit TNT series.  Yes, I've read the series and highly recommed it.  The Bone Garden is not part of this series, although Dr. Isles does make a brief cameo.

The story starts out in the present day with Julia, a newly divorced woman, finding a body buried in the garden of her new home.  The medical examiner determines that the unknown woman was murdered by a blow to the head over 150 years ago.  Julia goes on a quest to discover who the dead woman was and the rest of the book flashes back and forth between present time and 1830. 

The flash-backs revolve around Rose Connelly an Irish immigrant, Norris Marshall a poor medical student, and his friends Oliver Wendell Homes, Charles Lackaway, and Edward Kingston. 

I loved how a real-life person (Oliver Wendell Homes) was incorperated into the book.  The characters came to life for me and I had a hard time putting it down.  Several mysteries were throughout the book and all came together at the end.  I loved that the original mystery of the murdered woman didn't get solved until the very end.  And, I thought I had it all figured out and I was very very wrong.  Love that!

I would also like to say that a book like this makes me very very very glad that I live in this day and age of modern medicine. 

I don't want to say too much more about the plot because it's very twisty and turny and I don't want to reveal anything that the reader needs to learn on their own.  I will just say this book gets the highest marks from me, I was so attached to the characters that I felt like I lost friends when I turned the last page.  My only complaint is that I wish Tess had further elaborated what happened to everyone after the drama unfolded, but I also understand that the main point of the book is over, and there probably wasn't much else to say.

If you like mysteries and anything having to do with the mid 1800s, The Bone Garden is a must read!

Flylady challenge days #5 and #6

Yesterday's challenge was to write down all the negative thoughts that pop in my head and basically tell them to shut up!  Well, I didn't write them down, but everytime I start hearing the voices (yes, I just admitted I hear voices) telling me that I need to be cleaning and the house isn't perfect I have been telling them that I'm working on it.  The house is an on-going project and it's never going to be perfect and that is ok.

Today's challenge was to spend 2 minutes cleaning up a hot spot.  A hot spot is an area(s) of your house that if one thing gets piled there, it gets out of control with clutter.  Such as a dining room table or a kitchen counter.  I worked on our living room because everything gets piled out there.  It is far from perfect but it's better.  Living room before:

Living room after:

Okay, so the coffee table still needs some work, but I was able to get all the toys put up.  I also started working on the control journal and got good morning and evening routines started, started a list of things we need in our medicine cabinet (which is woefully lacking), and started a list of go-to meals.  I also got all my coupons organized (was several weeks behind).  Go the laundry in the basket put up and washed, dried, and put up another load.  All in all, today was pretty darn awesome.  And, on top of it all, I finished the book I was reading which I will be reviewing because it was AWESOME!!

I got out of bed and made it.  Showered and dressed (but skipped makeup and contacts to give skin/eyes a break).  My sink is still shining with no dirty dishes.  However, Lizzie did win out last night and we ordered pizza.  Ah, well, can't win them all!

Blogger pleading for help here.  Does anyone know how to select more than one picture at a time to upload? There's got to be a better way!  For instance, today I was pulling the pics right off the camera.  So I had to click on select picture, go to my computer, click on camera, click on cannon, click on DCIM, click on cannon 100, and then select a picture.  Repeat for every picture I uploaded.  I'm not the most patient person (yeah, everyone knows!), and this is very trying for me!!  HELP!!!!

Flylady challenge day #4

Hmmmm, today I got out of bed and made it.

I jumped in the shower and then got dressed to the shoes including makeup.

Started a load of laundry.

I packed my lunch while eating breakfast.

Left for work with my sink shining.

Got home from work tonight and have done nothing. okay, in all fairness Elayna is grumpy so we're having some cuddle time until Daniel gets home. And then i'll make dinner, and finish the laundry, and shine my sink and go to bed. Is my house clean? No. But it's getting a teeny tiny bit cleaner and I'm hanging in there.

First thought upon leaving work was Yay, it's Friday!! I get to go home and do nothing!! I had to gently remind myself that I do have a few things to do, but they won't take long at all and then I can watch Supernatural. Funny how bribery works, no matter what the age.

Well I feel sheepish...

I'v been left comments!!! I honestly just now playing around with the design of my blog saw them. So I apologize for not replying, I wasn't ignoring anyone, I'm just oblivious!!!

Julie, I was totally having flashbacks during th royal wedding, too! Funny that I was that calm because I'm never that calm!

Mark from Comcast, thank you for your comment. We no longer need a tech (7 months later...) but I appreciate you trying to make things better.

Jess, great idea. I will definitely start doing that. I have so many great books I've rad to comment on.

So, yay! You guys make me feel like a real blogger. Just wish I had seen the comments earlier... :)

Flylady challenge day #3

Day 3 with flylady. My sink is shiny and i dressed to the shoes. So far my morning routine consists of:

Getting out of bed
Make the bed
Shower
Get dressed to the shoes including makeup but not hair to let it somewhat airdry
Cook breakfast
While cooking, empty dishwasher and pack lunch

It's a start!

I would like to say peace ruled my house tonight, but alas, it did not. Emma was, well, 7. And then in the midst of her temper tantrum she lost a tooth. Yes, it was loose! But we had a good dinner, all the kids are bathed and ready for school tomorrow (Friday!), and my sink s shiny. It could be sooo much worse.

Day #4 tomorrow and I'm not sure yet what the day holds. Can't wait for the weekend. That will be my real test of staying on track.

Flylady Challenge Day #2 Get Dressed to the Shoes

So flylady says that the next most important thing to do is get dressed to your shoes.  This includes hair and makeup and real shoes.  Of course, my uniform of choice is the flipflop.  Luckily, I got to cheat today because it's jeans and tennie shoe day at work, so there you go.  Me dressed to the shoes:

I have to admit, I think I did get more done in my comfy tennies instead of heels.  So I will be wearing comfy shoes whenever possible instead of getting ready in the morning in my heels.

Also, apparently my reading comprehension isn't so good (ironic, I know), because flylady says it takes 31 days to make a habit, not 21, so congrats, you get to follow me on this journey an extra 10 days!

How was my second day of trying to fly?  Pretty good.  My sink was nice and shiney this morning and I left for work with it in tip-top shape.  I was dressed to the shoes.  But at 3:30, Lizzie started acting up.  I had hit that point in my day where I was excited that it was getting close to time to go home and was looking forward to a relaxing dinner, when she started whispering to me that I wouldn't have time to relax because I had to cook and clean and there's laundry to be done and the baby will need a bath and it's not fair.  Now, I think Lizzie was saying all this because all we want to do is read the book we're in the middle of.  So I took a deep breath and told her that those things wouldn't take very long to do and our reward for shining the sink would be to read.  And you know what, it didn't take very long to do.

So tomorrow is shine your sink, get dressed to the shoes, and explore the flight plans, routines, and zones.  I can totally rock this!

Flylady Challenge Day 1

I don't know if you've heard of Flylady but I love her.  I was successfully flying a few years ago, when I lived only minutes from work and could do my zone cleaning at lunch and BE (that's Before Ellie).  I am not proud to admit it, but since having Elayna and especially since moving, the house is utter CHAOS.  I keep trying to flutter along, but my inner child (Lizzie) has been ruling the roost.

Lizzie is mean.  She throws temper tantrums when she doesn't get her way (which is quite often).  She gets angry and resentful when she has to cook, clean, grocery shop, do laundry, go to work...you get the idea.  She in turn yells at her family.  She has made the house an unpleasant place for me to come home to.

I don't want to dread coming home because all that awaits is chores.  I want to look at the blessings I have rather than giving in to Lizzie's sulking.  I want to start enjoying my weekends again.  I want to let go of the idea that my house has to be perfect.  I want to be patient and kind to my family.  I want to stop being a martyr.  I'm full of wants!

So, I've decided to jump fully on the flylady bandwagon.  I'm going to completely 100% follow her babysteps and be on my way to flying.

Baby Step #1 is Shine Your Sink.  So I did! 

Sink before:

Sink after:

Notice that the bottle washer has been put up!  After all, Elayna stopped drinking out of bottles over a month ago...  And I wiped down the counters around the sink and under the coffee station while cooking dinner!

And it still looks that way after cooking a delicious spaghetti dinner!  Daniel washed ALL the dishes and I dried them and put them up after giving Elayna a bath.  And it was a candle-lit dinner.  I would like to say it's all rainbows and unicorns already, but the kids fought us about homework, the rest of the house is a disaster, and we have a ginormous Mt. Washmore going on, but it's a start! 

I'm also going to jump ahead and follow another important rule tonight - going to bed at a decent hour. 

They say it takes 21 days to make a habit.  Let's see what throwing myself fully into flylady can do!

Day after Thanksgiving...

Is all about decorating for Christmas!!! Had to convince Nick to join us. Had to restring some lghts on the tree because of burned out bulbs. Realized even plastic ornaments aren't safe in Ellie's reach because of the hooks. So only the top half of the tree is decorated. And it looks awesome!! I would share pictures but...

I broke the camera. Yup. Dropped it. On the tile. We do still have the memory card so the photos aren't lost, thank goodness.

Anyway...we also hit black friday shopping today which was not at all crowded. Nice but surprising. Got most of our shopping done, yay! Love this time of year, now if it would only get cold!

Happy Thanksgiving!!

Ahhh, Thanksgiving. Turkey day. Day of endless gluttony. So many things I'm thankful for this year. Family, friends, health, job, house, husband (no, these are not in the order of importance!), Elayna sleeping in her own bed...

Yup, you read right! I started with her nap on Monday and she has slept in her crib in her room every night and nap since with the exception of today's naps in the car. It only took me 13 months and 1 day to get her out of our room.

Of course I still don't sleep any better because the baby monitor is pressed to my ear all nigh, but it's a step.

Hope everyone had a great Thanksgiving and got their fill of turkey and the fixins!

Happy 13 months!

I can't believe Elayna's 13 months old (yesterday) already!  At 13 months, she's

learned how to sign "more"
nods her head and says "yeayeayea"
wears size 3 diapers
wears size 4 infant shoes
is in 6-9 month clothing
still hates being in her car seat
is still nursing with no signs of stopping
has the cutest giggle EVER!
is quite fearless

I love you, Ellie!

Happy 1st Birthday, Elayna Marie

Happy 1st birthday, Ellie belly!  Elayna on 10-20-2010:

Elayna today:

We got up this morning and took Hobbes to the vet, did Elayna's 12 month check up (poor baby got 5 shots), bought her Halloween costume (angel), met Nana and Papa for sushi lunch, and went to my work so everyone could admire her.

At 12 months, Elayna is:

Walking everywhere, of course
Still wearing size 3 diapers
Wearing 6-9 month clothes
27 inches tall
19 pounds 11 ounces
Shakes her head and says nuhnuhnuh
Waves goodbye
Hi-fives
Wears size 3 infant shoes
Blue eyes
Dark blonde/light brown hair
Hair is LONG - about 1/4 of the way down her back

On the way to pick up Hobbes from the vet we stopped by the park for more pictures.  Elayna just wanted to be held so she's crying in most of the pics.

I've taken a picture of Elayna almost every day of her life.  It's amazing how much she's changed but still looks like herself at birth at the same time.  Okay, that sounds weird, but it makes perfect sense in my head.

Happy birthday, princess.  We love you and can't wait to celebrate many more birthdays with you!

Elayna's first birthday party

Elayna's 1st birthday party was Saturday, October 15th.  We had quite the turnout, almost 30 people.  Which was totally awesome because for months I had nightmares that nobody would show up! 

The party was from 1:00 pm - 4:00 pm.  We got up bright and earlier on Saturday morning, worked out, and then Daniel worked on cleaning and prepping food while I ran to Party City for balloons.  And tableclothes.  And a yard sign.  And forks and knives.  And still managed to forget extra plates which Nana and Papa were kind enough to go get for us.

Ellie started getting fussy so I fed her and she fell asleep around 12:30.  And it turned into a loooong nap.  At 2:00 guests were anxious to see the birthday girl (who was asleep on her boppy in the living room) so I rubbed her feet until she woke up.  She was a bit shy at first, I think she was overwhelmed by all the people.

See the suspicious look she's giving my boss??

We did a butterfly theme with most of the decorations coming from Oriental Trading. 

Rubber ducky butterfly chew toy :)

My mom (Nana), made the dress which got a ton of compliments.

Beautiful cake and smash cake came from Kroger.

We opened presents and then put her in her highchair for her smash cake.  She didn't want to touch it, so I pushed her hand into it and she FREAKED OUT!! 

With the crying baby, we totally forgot to put her candle on her cake and sing happy birthday. 

Once she calmed down Chad put together their gift to her and she rode all around the house.  It's a big hit.

Using my legs as a tunnel :)

All-in-all the party was a huge success.  In typical Courtney fashion I didn't take nearly enough pictures, but I love all the ones I did remember to take.

Excited!

Tomorrow's Elayna's first birthday party! Been working all week to get ready.

Cookies made - need to decorate
Cupcakes made and frosted
Cakes ordered and ready to pick up tomorrow
Pasta salad made
Meat defrosted for sliders
Hotdogs ready to become pigs
Punch ingrediants ready to mix
Avocados screaming MAKE ME INTO GUACAMOLE
Table set up
Ellie's dress ready to be worn

Tomorrow I have to guy buy the balloons and a few more plates and plastic silverware. And then much cooking and a little cleaning. Can't wait to party!!

11months

Holy crap!! How is Elayna 11 months old already??

At 11 months, she's:
Still nursing
Eating table food like crazy
Wearing size 3 diapers
19 pounds
In 6-9 month clothes
Hates bathtime
Giggles like no tomorrow
Knows she's cute
Daredevil, constantly getting cuts and bruises
Still hates the carseat
Climbs stairs - oye
Is learning to throw trash (aka her diaper) away

Busy planning the big 1st bday party. I just can't believe it's already here. I need to detail Ellie's birth story, it's a good one!

MIA

I know, I know, I've been MIA for almost a month now.  But, in my defense, it's been a crazy busy month!

August 15th - Elayna took her first steps.  She is now completely full-on walking.  Falls down and stands right back up and starts walking.  Early early walker and into everything!

She started transitioning to the toddler 1 room yesterday and is loving it.  Has spent all day both days in with the big kids.  I'm so proud of my big girl but it's also sad. 

I've been working on planning the big 1 year old party. And having crazy nightmares about it!  I never throw parties so I'm definitely sweating the small stuff - cookies not getting made, people not showing up, rain for an outdoor party.  I need to relax because it's supposed to be about FUN!

Elayna has turned 10 months old.  Again, have photos of the big day, just don't have the cord for the camera to post them.  Sheesh.  At 10 months old she's:

Still wearing 3-6 and 6-9 month clothes
Size 3 diapers
WALKING!!
Standing up like a big girl, not having to pull up on things
Has said mama, dada, bubba, and ok
Still going strong nursing
Working on transitioning to a sippy cup.  Doing good, but she likes to blow bubbles and drool
Loves table food.  Eating everything she can, just excluding age-restricted items like eggs, dairy, pb, honey...
Waves bye-bye most of the time and mouths it with no sound coming out
Loves to dance!
Her hair is definitely going blonde and is soooo long!   We have to pull it into some sort of pony everyday or it's in her eyes
Can climb the stairs
Clapping
Good natured - she's always laughing and she's such an easy baby
Loves swimming although still doesn't love when we practice her floating skills

I love you baby girl!

Let's see, I'm back on fluttering (flylady.com).  It truly does help keep the house in order, but my inner snotty brat child sure does balk at having schedules and routines!

I'm at 78 books read so far this year:
Well on track to meet the challenge of 100 books this year.  But running out of stuff to read.  HELP!

1.        The Amber Room by T. Davis Bunn

2.       American Assassin by Vince Flynn

3.       The Winter Palace by T. Davis Bunn

4.       Imposter by Davis Bunn

5.       The Hiding Place by Karen Harper

6.       The Cold One by Christopher Pike

7.       Falling by Christopher Pike

8.       Among Thieves by David Hosp

9.       The Concrete Blonde by Michael Connelly

10.   Angel’s Flight by Michael Connelly

11.   When the Devil Whistles by Rick Acker

12.   Black Madonna by Davis Bunn

13.   The Templar Conspiracy by Paul Christopher

14.   The Last Templar by Raymond Khoury

15.   My Before and After Life by Risa Miller

16.   The Key to Rebecca by Ken Follett

17.   If Chins Could Kill: My Life as a B Movie Actor by Bruce Campbell

18.   Foul Play by Janet Evanovich

19.   Storm Front by Jim Butcher

20.   Fool Moon by Jim Butcher

21.   Grave Peril by Jim Butcher

22.   Summer Knight by Jim Butcher

23.   Death Masks by Jim Butcher

24.   Blood Rites by Jim Butcher

25.   Dead Beat by Jim Butcher

26.   Proven Guilty by Jim Butcher

27.   White Knight by Jim Butcher

28.   Small Favor by Jim Butcher

29.   Turn Coat by Jim Butcher

30.   Changes by Jim Butcher

31.   Side Jobs by Jim Butcher

32.   The Passage by Justin Cronan

33.   Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Slayer

34.   Tales of Beetle the Bard by J.K. Rowling

35.   Two Kisses for Maddy by Matthew Logelin

36.   A Glimpse of Evil by Victoria Laurie

37.   Dead in the Family by Charlaine Harris

38.   Ghost Story by Peter Straub

39.   The Last Coyote by Micheal Connoly

40.   The Black Ice by Michael Connoly

41.   A Dark More than Night by Michael Connoly

42.   The Book of Fate by Brad Meltzer

43.   The Poet by Michael Connoly

44.   The Scarecrow by Michael Connoly

45.   Demons are a Ghouls best Friend by Victoria Laurie

46.   Ghouls gone wild by Victoria Laurie.

47.   The Millionaires by Brad Metzler

48.   Ghouls just haunt to have fun by Victoria Laurie

49.   Blood Work by Michael Connelly

50.   Void Moon by Michael Connelly

51.   Reversal by Michael Connelly

52.   Echo Park by Michael Connelly

53.   The Book of the Dead by Douglas Preston and Lincoln Child

54.    The Innocent Man by John Grisham

55.    Sizzling Sixteen by Janet Evanovich

56.   The Closers by Michael Connelly

57.   The Narrows by Michael Connelly

58.   Nine Dragons by Michael Connelly

59.   Lost Light by Michael Connelly

60.   Ghost Story by Jim Butcher

61.   Lincoln Lawyer by Michael Connelly

62.   Post Mortem by Patricia Cornwell

63.   Body of Evidence by Patricia Cornwell

64.   All that Remains by Patricia Cornwell

65.   The Curse of the Holy Pail by Sue Ann Jaffarian

66.   Cruel and Unusual by Patricia Cornwell

67.   The Body Farm by Patricia Cornwell

68.   From Potter’s Field by Patricia Cornwell

69.   Cause of Death by Patricia Cornwell

70.   Unnatural Expose by Patricia Cornwell

71.   Point of Origin by Patricia Cornwell

72.   Black Notice by Patricia Cornwell

73.   The Last Precinct by Patricia Cornwell

74.   Blow Fly by Patricia Cornwell

75.   Trace by Patricia Cornwell

76.   Predator by Patricia Cornwell

77.   Book of the Dead by Patricia Cornwell

78.   Scarpetta by Patricia Cornwell

I need to get back to working out, just can't drag my lazy butt out of bed when the alarm goes off at 5. 

Hope everyone's doing well!

Love, Courtney

When it rains it pours...

Or when we're in a drought it's really, really dry would be more appropriate. Downstairs AC appears to have gone out again. Why would I say that? It's 86 degrees in my houae right now. I'll be calling good ole Weeks tomorrow. Thank goodness for our emergency fund!

The cell phone is about to go caput. Is that even how you spell caput?? Part of the screen doesn't work, which is kind of a bummer on a touchscreen.

Ellie went mascara diving this morning. Just like dumpster diving, but instead she went after the mascara she dropped in the sink and bumped her nose on the faucet. So she has a nice bruise.

Just another manic Monday :)

Awesome weekend

It was such a great weekend. Started off with us picking up Nick and Emma. Then off to take Elayna's 9 month photos. She's so active! Had us chasing all over the place.

Sushi lunch with Nana and Papa. Movie in the park Saturday night. Tangled. I love that movie.

Sunday was swimming and then hibachi dinner for mom's b-day. That's how a weekend should be.

That laugh!

Or should I say giggle? Makes me smile every time. How am I so lucky to have such a happy baby?? Now if she would just stop gettin into everything!!

Happy 9 months

Elayna turned 9 months on Wednesday. I can't believe it! Right now she is:

18.6 pounds
26 inches long
Wearing size 3 diapers
In mostly 6-9 month clothes although still fits in some 3 months
Has taken a tumble down the stairs
Has long dark blonde/red hair
Is crawling
Standing on her own
Travelling
Clapping
Says mamamama to me
Loves peek-a-boo
Loves mr monkey and her glow worm
Gives slobber kisses
Loves the pool
Is still nursing
Eats table food and loves spices
Dances

I did take pics but can't upload them right now. I will soon!

Swim lessons...

Tonight was Ellie's 9th swim lesson. And she floated!! Completely on her own with the instructor several feet away from her. It was amazing. Daniel and I are so proud of her.

And then our princess came home and had a nice pasta primavera for dinner. That's right, pasta with olive oil, garlic, basil, shrimp, squash, and zucchini. She ate so much! It's amazing what an adventerous eater she is. No baby food for her.

Tomorrow she'll be 9 months old. Unbelievable. It has been a wonderful 9 months and every day gets better. (i say now, lng before the teenage years)

First day of swim lessons

Elayna started swim lessons tonigt. It's the ISR program (infant swimming resource, I think). Basically it teaches infants how to turn onto their backs and float if they were to fall in water.

Ellie is a water baby. Loves being in Nana and Papa's pool, kcks her legs, splashes the water, dunks her own head. So we thought this would be a breeze...

Now I know it's only day one, but she hated it! Screamed and cried the whoke time. I'm traumatizing my daughter. And the best part? We go back tomorrow. And the next day.

I know this is a good thing for her, but it's a huge committment. Hopefully she'll catch on super soon.

8 months!!!

Dear Elayna,

You're 8 months old today. I can't believe it. Unfortunately, I was sick today so only got a couple of pics of you in your highchair. At 8 months you:

Have one tooth (lower left)
Are crawling
Wearing size 2 diapers
Hate being in your carseat
Will be starting swim lessons tomorrow (supposed to be today, but with me being sick I had to put it off)
Are eating lots of solids
Still love nursing
Pull yourself to standing on EVERYTHING
hair has a definite red tint

I love you!

Updates

So much has happened in the last week.  Ellie broke her first tooth!  I could feel it free of skin on Thursday the 26th.  She also has officially started crawling, although just barely.  She's getting up on hands and knees and a few times she's moved one knee forward before getting on her belly.  Saturday was the first time, very exciting.

We planted our peach tree and avocado tree and are trying to figure out what to do in the backyard next.  I spent a few hours today painting the girls' bathroom, pics will follow once it's done. 

Okay, I guess it doesn't sound like much on paper, but it's felt busy!

7 months

I can't believe Elayna's already 7 months old.  Time is flying by and she changes so much every day.  Right now she's:

Still not crawling.  I'm okay with this :)
Size 2 diapers
Still in 3 month clothes although beginning to fit in 6-9 month outfits without being swallowed up by them.
Eating more solids - loves avocados, broccoli, green beans, watermelon, she's going to be a very healthy eater!
Constantly talking
Her hair is getting even lighter
Eyes are still blue - I think they're going to stay this color
Into EVERYTHING

And currently has Dom's tail in her mouth.  He doesn't seem too bothered by it!




Took photos this morning and she was in a grumpy mood so they're pretty funny:

Yes, I did buy this outfit 'cause the butt says LOVE :)

Love the bumbo but I don't think she'll fit much longer

I can almost hear her saying "huh?"

I love you, Ellie belly!