Happy Party!

That is all I could get Lulu to say when Mr. came home. She really said it with gusto-- jumping and arm thrusts involved.

The present this year was a fancy seafood steampot dinner--corn, potatoes, shrimp, crab legs, clams. He thought it was heavenly. We also had some rootbeer courtesy of Mr's sister. We were supposed to throw the food out onto the wrapping paper, but he thought that was too messy.

I was going to do brownies and ice cream instead of cake, but I went to Costco and saw the All-American chocolate cake. We have almost the whole cake left. Visitors are welcome.

Notice the Pearl Jam concert souvenir shirt. That was birthday too.

Mr. is a hard worker. He is silly, which you would never guess--except for my photographic evidence. When he is determined to do something, he does it. He loves his family and wants to make them proud. Happy Birthday!

The cake will go to work tomorrow.

Putting my foot down

Going to the pumpkin patch is a treat. This year, there was a chore attached to this treat. It has not been fulfilled and now we are not going. Is that mean? We will get pumpkins to carve, but we will not do the extra fun stuff.

Tomorrow is Mr.'s birthday and he isn't supposed to get anything because of the new truck. What do I do? Make a nice dinner, buy a gift, make a card?

I'm looking for a good donut recipe. I made cookies from an online recipe with a 5-star rating and they were really a 2-3 star. I need a recommendation from someone I know.

I ran yesteday for a bit and it felt good. Now, my foot hurts. Time for a bath.

I'm in charge for the next 5 years

That is what Mr. told me this weekend after he signed his life away, buying a new truck. We have been married for 9.5 years and we have never had a new car and actually said we would never buy a new car, never say never. He has not stopped smiling and I hope he keeps that up as the holidays pass and there are no presents with his name on it. It's a 2010 Toyota Tundra TRD Rock Warrior. I think the "Rock Warrior" title was too tough to pass up.

We spent all day at the dealer, 4 hours, and ended up taking them to the cleaners, or maybe it was the other way around. IF you would like to check it out, come on down and he'll give you a ride.

missionary moment

My sister is a great missionary and she doesn't know it. It is surprising how often she walks up to strangers and invites them to her house. I never do that. She is so nice and friendly. I am usually quiet and keep to myself.

Today, while at walmart, I noticed a lady checking out the rice milk. About a month ago, I bought a case of it at Costco, hoping to trick Lulu into drinking that instead of cow's milk. It didn't work. So this milk has been sitting in my pantry ever since. I asked this lady if she wanted my milk and she looked at me a little funny and said maybe. I gave her my number and told her she would be doing me a service by taking it for her baby. I really didn't know if she would come or not.

A few minutes ago, she called and showed up at my door. She came to the door with a paper in her hand. I had hoped that she wouldn't try to pay me, but I thought maybe it was a check. It was a pass-along card from a baptist church. She just said she wanted to thank me and invite me to church if I didn't have a church already. I told her that I go to the Mormon church down the street. Immediately, I wondered if I had any cards downstairs. They are upstairs. So, I just said thanks and have a nice day to her.

Not really a missionary moment, but a moment of kindness to a neighbor that I didn't know. Maybe this will give me more courage to step out of my comfort zone and reach out to more strangers who could use a little friendship.

Pumpkin Rush

I told my neighbor I would make them pumpkin bars. They are getting 4 and I am getting the rest, a 10 X 15 pan. Yum! I'll have to share some with my sisters too.

Mr. said, "Why did you make such a big pan? They taste so good."

Well, that was the recipe and I am trying to fatten him up for the winter. He ate 1 or 2 and a protein shake. Then he had bacon and eggs for dinner. He is the only one I know who can eat whatever he wants and maintain his figure.

After doing 3 days of the diet part of that book, I had to stop. I was supposed to eat 143 grams of protein and it was almost impossible and made me feel gross. I have been doing the weightlifting and it is making me stronger, but it is also packing on the pounds. 8 lbs in 5 days. What? That is not possible, you say? Tell my scale. Luckily, I am only up 3 lbs now. I've got to do more cardio I guess.

Surely, pumpkin bars will help.

The surgery

Everything went well. I was only away from her for maybe 25 minutes--surgery to wake up. She wasn't herself for an hour after she woke up. Mr couldn't force her into her car seat. She arched her back and we couldn't push her down to buckle her in. It was amazing.

We laid on the couch for a few hours and if I moved my arms, she placed them back around her so I could hug her while she rested. We took a nap around 1 pm and she ate dinner. Before dinner, she only wanted milk or pediasure.

She slept from 8:30-5:00 and 5:04 to 8:30. She hasn't cried today or grabbed her ears. I tried to upload a video of her sauced, but it didn't finish before my battery died. I'll try again. She is just spaced out, but it's funny.

Thanks for your kind thoughts and prayers.

Not much to do

When it's 3:30 in the morning and your child is not allowed to eat or drink anything, it can feel really early. 3 more hours before we go in for surgery. We flipped on "Mickey Mouse Clubhouse" to distract her. Chances are she will not go back to sleep. Last night was Lulu night so we tried extra hard to say nice things to her and let her watch extra shows. I'm sure she didn't notice our kindness, but I sure noticed her cuteness. She is a peach.

I'll come back with pictures and an update later today. Goodnight?

I bought a book

Not sleeping has been driving me crazy and I finally bought a sleeping book. It's called "The Sleepeasy Solution." Last night was the first attempt. She went down at 8:17 and cried until 8:43 and then she threw up. We had a crazy clean-up for 20 minutes and then put her back to bed. I gave her water in a sippy to calm her. She slept until 1:05 and I changed her diaper. She slept again, until 6:22 cried for a minute and slept again until 8:00. So, she was mad that she didn't get her milk, but she did a good job--except for the vomit. The book says it takes 5 days to set the routine. Well, she has surgery on Thursday, so it might not stick, but now I know what to do and how to do it.



I also bought "Making the Cut," by Jillian Michaels. I don't really care if I lose a lot of weight, I just want to be tone. Her workouts give me more weight lifting ideas and hopefully I will get some definition. I can't really run yet and her cardio is mainly 1 minute sprints. Her sprint speed in 7 on the treadmill--I should be able to handle that. I am excited to get going. 30 days workout and diet plan. I am supposed to take a before and after picture, but that might not happen. I did take measurements. Mr. said he would try with me, but I think that means not eating dessert and running once a week.

The HEATER turned on last night

I love having to snuggle up in the blankets as the weather gets colder. Pumpkin bars, hot chocolate, sweaters, sweatpants.

Lulu's surgery is next Thursday. We hope it helps her hearing loss and she is able to improve her speech. Mr. says she will talk non-stop when she can really hear what's going on and then she will start talking back. Catch 22. We love Lulu's humor with or without perfect speech. She is one funny girl. She pretends she is asleep when I tell her it is time to change her diapers. She rubs her nose and yells "Booger." Funny to me, not to others. She is super silly in the car. Her dancing skills are amazing and she has this pouty lip move and shake that lets you know she is cool. I'm gonna have to take a video.

The girls and I cranked the I-pod last night and raced around the downstairs grooving to the music. Mimi said, "I love you, mom. You are a fun dancer. Not a good dancer, because you have to make Lulu laugh." I will admit I have no dance background and no natural talent. Humility. So the girls must get their skills from their father. I'll have to set up a hidden camera to get that shot.

We sold a few things on Craigslist this week. In less than 24 hours, we had $120 cash in our hands. Mr. was excited and I can't stop checking the email to see if anyone else is interested in our stuff.