And He's Off...Sort of

All right. This is for daddy, grandparents, and whoever else gave me a hard time about not posting Ben walking. He's not so much walking as taking steps without holding onto anything, not the easiest to capture on video. Enjoy all 2 seconds of footage!

A Bad, Bad Thing

Shawn travels a lot and when he's gone Keely's and my meals (Ben's still eating baby food) consist of pretty much sandwiches, quesadillas, grilled cheese, and/or soup; don't worry, I always throw in a fresh fruit or veggie just for good measure. Well, this time I decided to switch it up. When we were at the grocery store yesterday I said, "Keely, do you want to try something fun?" She was game. I took her to the frozen food isle and said, "You get to pick your dinner tonight, any dinner you want." She was soooo excited and ended up with a Kids Cuisine corn dog meal (don't judge me). Well, I decided that if Keely was going to have a TV Dinner then so would I. I ended up with a Hungry Man (again, don't judge me) rotisserie chicken meal and we were on our way until a chicken pot pie caught my eye and I thought, "perfect for dinner tomorrow."

Well, last night dinner went great for one person, and it wasn't me. There were actually fries in Keely's meal. Microwavable fries. Sick! Back to the point, Keely was delighted with her meal and was like, "Mom, let's do this every night!" I on the other hand couldn't even begin to make myself choke down the catastrophe that came smelling out of the microwave. How do people eat these things? And why, oh why, did I think I could?

Fast forward to tonight. I actually have very fond memories of pot pies and ate them regularly as a child. While I knew I might not be able to choke down a TV Dinner I thought I could handle a pot pie...not so! I looked, smelled and did not even bother. I ended up with chips and salsa for dinner. Keely, on the other hand seemed to be really taken with the little meat and veggie pie. How are kids' and adults' taste buds completely different? That's an actual question; if you know tell me! Oh well, back to the basics.

The Rose

When Shawn got home from work on Valentine's day he showed up with a red rose for me and a pink rose for Keely. While I was of course thankful there is no way I could have outdone Keely in the enthusiasm department. She was completely won over! She put her rose in the vase of her choice and ran up to her room to find the perfect spot. When she finally made up her mind she had everyone (including Ben) come up to her room in order to admire her rose and she kept saying things like "Mom, we're like roses to dad!" and "Dad thinks we're beautiful flowers!" While I realize her sentiments are a bit cheesy I couldn't help but be delighted at her obvious enthusiasm and I love that she showed Shawn so much appreciation and made him feel so special.

Today Keely brought me up to her room and with tears in her eyes told me that her rose is dying. I explained that this always happens to flowers and that there will be more and she said, "but this is the only flower that I want; my dad gave it to me!" Needless to say I'm either going to press it or dry it to have it saved for her but I love that it means so much to her; I love to see how much she loves her dad.

Peep and the Big Wide World

For any parent who feels like tearing their hair out after watching an episode of Dora, Little Einsteins, Thomas the Train or Mickey Mouse Clubhouse I have a recommendation. If you like any of these shows I just listed I'm very, very sorry; by all means keep watching! : )

This past year Keely has become interested in the older shows (Justice League, Batman, Transformers), which she's definitely not ready for, and bugged by the younger shows ("Mom, why does Dora yell all the time?"), which I can't blame her for. I'm happy to say that we have found a great alternative. A fun, funny, educational show on Discovery Kids called Peep and the Big Wide World. It's about 3 birds (a duck, a bird, and a chicken) who spend their time trying to figure out how the world works. I LOVE the characters, love the story lines and maybe it's because I'm super immature but I also love the humor. I seriously think I like it as much as Keely does and I usually laugh just as hard. Joan Cusack (who I also love) is the narrator and said she took the job because she thought it would be a show that both her 6 year old and her 3 year old would enjoy. I've been shocked at how many people have never even heard of this show so I wanted to just put it out there. If you don't have Discovery Kids it's also on TLC in the mornings. Seriously, give it a try!

Yeah I'm Deep...Real Deep

Friends keep giving me a hard time for never following up on tags, so I decided that I’m going to answer this one. This one's for you Autumn!

1. Pick up the book nearest you (at least 123 pages long)
2. Go to page 123
3. Find the fifth sentence on the page
4. Type the next 3 sentences
5. Tag 5 other people

Okay, Ill just start by breaking the rules. The closest book to me is “The Amazing Spiderman: Essential Marvel Comics Volume 2,” it has about 500 pages but because it’s a comic book it’s not numbered. I turned to what I imagine would be about page 123. Keely’s in love with Spidey right now, so comics are our thing. And instead of 3 sentences I’ll just give you a whole column. Here goes:

J. Jameson: No! You can’t get me…you mustn’t! Get Spiderman instead!
Scorpion: You’d throw anyone to me in order to save yourself, wouldn’t you?
J. Jameson: But it’s Spider-man’s job to fight killers like you!
Scorpion: Well, if he knows what’s good for ‘im, he’ll resign real quick!
Spiderman: If I knew what was good for me I wouldn’t be here in the first place mister! This is for frightening Betty Brant, you fink!

And maybe that’s why I don’t answer tags. I just can’t follow directions. Hmmm, who can I pass this on to? Michelle S., Elizabeth, Julie S., Jana, and Emily S. You’re welcome. Have fun girls!

Acupuncture

Even though I'm super afraid of needles I've always been a little curious about acupuncture. Well, I decided to do something a little crazy and I went to get acupuncture on Friday and it was better than any massage I've ever had! I have to say that I was seriously nervous and it is a little freaky to see little needles sticking out of your body but it turns out that when the acupuncturist is putting the needles in you can barely feel it. The good part came when he left the room and told me to relax. I got all tingly for a bit and then completely relaxed. I even fell asleep for about 10 minutes and did not want to wake up and get ready to go! There are supposedly a bunch of health benefits that come along with acupuncture which I can't claim to really know about yet, all I know is that I can't remember the last time I felt so relaxed, or the last time that feeling actually lasted for a while and that is worth going back for!

Little Disclaimer: Wow, I didn't expect people to be so interested! This is what it says on the "understanding treatment" sheet I was given before I left. "Some patients find they feel very relaxed. Some people feel tired and want to go right to sleep while others report feeling more energized. Still others report feeling different sensations in their bodies, while some report no changes at all." I'm sure there are a few factors - what your treatment is for, who is treating you, etc. I don't know the average cost of treatment, but the guy I went to is $75/per visit.

Why Start Small?

You know when you were a kid and you saw that pack of gum or that bag of candy in the grocery store that you really, really wanted but your mom said “no,” so then you decided to pocket it anyway, but got caught later and had to go back to the store, pay, apologize and then work off the money that you ended up owing your parents for the purchase? Okay, so maybe not all of you have indulged in a life of crime, but my rundown seems to be a pretty typical story. Well, not in my family, we like to be creative and we never start small.

My first (of 3) steals was a horned toad from preschool. I remember one of the kids, Millie Black, brought this little toad to preschool for show-and-tell. Well, she was getting so much attention that I couldn’t stand it. I nabbed the frog, went and told the teacher I was sick, and then walked the few blocks home (you have to remember that I come from a very small town so letting a 4 year old walk home was not a big deal). As soon as I got home I went out to the backyard and released the toad and then bided my time outside (so my mom would not know I was home). Unfortunately, I soon heard a “Lisa!” from my mom. My heart started beating, my hands started sweating, and I knew I was busted!

Well, this week Keely decided to try a life of crime, and, like her mother, didn’t want to do something simple like a candy bar or a pack of gum, nope, not her style. Instead, while she was shopping with her Aunt Shauri (Shauri has a more detailed version of the lift on her blog), she slipped a fuzzy purple pair of UGG flip flop slippers into the Gymboree bag she was holding. Yes, I said UGG; even though they were marked down 4 times they were still priced at $40 - the girl may not have good taste, but she certainly has expensive taste! Well, obviously Keely wasn’t too concerned about it because she fell to sleep on the way home and when Shauri opened the bag to show me the little outfit she had bought for Keely she was shocked to find the pair of slippers! When Keely woke up I asked her what she had got at the store. She lit up and said, “Oh, I got a great surprise for you momma!” Which honestly took me back and made me feel a little bad that I was going to have to give her a lecture I was about to give. Well, on Monday Shawn took Keely back to Von Maur to return the slippers and have her apologize to the sales person. When I asked him how it went he said, “I think it took them a while to understand what was going on.” I don’t think the sales person could really fathom that a 4 year old would steal those purple beauties! Regardless, we know it is hard for Keely to apologize, and especially to someone she doesn’t know so we’re praying that this will be enough of a deterrent!

Oh, and for those of you wondering, my other 2 steals were all the popsicles from my neighbor’s (the Patterson’s) freezer while they were gone on a family trip when I was 5 (my cousin Eddie was my partner in crime on this one), and, yep I decided to conform on the 3rd – a pack of gum.

Laugh Until You Cry

I only wish I could find this much enjoyment in something so simple. It almost seems like he's crying, but he's really just laughing that hard. No one can get Ben going like Keely can. He thinks she's the funniest person in the world.

Blogging Genius

So I don't know how it happened, but I got lucky! My friend Carly had a custom blog design give-away and somehow I got drawn as the winner (that kind of stuff never happens to me)! Carly is one of the most creative and talented people I've ever met and if I didn't like her so much I would be totally jealous! : )

Really, I gave Carly very little information as to what I wanted (because I'm really indecisive and because I really didn't know). I just told her I wanted something kind of urban and that I like black, white and red. I knew I could count on her to come up with something great! Anyone looking to give their blog a new face can check her out. Thanks Carly, you're amazing!