Mama & Papa's House

Chloe spent most of last week and last weekend at Matt's parents-Mama & Papa's.

When we picked her up, she was covered with mosquito bites. She is like a magnet to those things. I'm pretty for sure she's extremely allergic to them. They turn into huge whelps, get a fever, blister, scab and then leave a purplish scar. We have to spray her anytime she steps outside. I once took her out in the morning and didn't think to spray her and she paid the price for my mistake. The same happened at Mama's. I didn't think to tell her to spray her before they go outside in the mornings and Mama didn't think about it either.

She has 16+ bites.

Funny story: Mama has a huge fish tank and there is a shelf underneath that is perfect for Chloe to try and step on in order to see the fish better. I looked at her and caught her stepping on this 'not very safe' shelf and in my fear I yelled, "Chloe, no!" I didn't mean for it to come out of my mouth very loud, I just was scared the tank was going to fall on her. Well, she lost it. Oh my goodness, you would have thought I had killed Elmo. I kept apologizing to her, I picked her up, hugged her, asked her, "are you ok?" I put her down because she said, "uhuh."

She sees Mama and starts crying again while giving me the 'go to uhumm' look, and wants Mama to pick her up. She wanted me to leave her alone and let Mama hold her.

Anyways, good news she had a fabulous time and is still calling me Mama. (She only wishes Mama was still around.) Chloe did come home liking a new food-watermelon!! I bought a watermelon at the store and thought, "Let's see if this 'eating H2Omelon at Mama's' is a fluke."

It wasn't, she had some for lunch today!! Now she's up to a whopping 5 different things!

The pictures in the slide show are the evening we picked her up. When it was time to go, she kept telling Matt and I bye, she wanted to stay. So sweet.

(The dots on her face are bug bites.) When Chloe hurts herself now she grabs what hurts i.e head, arm, leg and says, "bug bite, bug bite."

This picture below, is one of my all time favorites I've taken of her.

M.O.P.S.

Can you believe it's that time of year again?! M.O.P.S. is back-Mother's of Preschoolers.

Last year was my first year and I really really enjoyed it. I looked forward to those two Mondays in the month where I got to dump Chloe with her friends while I got to be with mine. It was nice.

If you are wondering what a meeting is like, it's pretty basic. We don't sit around with our Bibles and sing "Kumbaya." We will eat some snacks, do a craft, possible watch a video or listen to a speaker then discuss at will what the video or speaker had to say. It's just a really nice, relaxing, come as you are, time. Even if 'as you are' is covered in stinky spit-up, pooped stained shirt, hair a mess, it doesn't matter because most likely I will walk in looking and smelling the same! Only my messy hair is in a hat.

So if you are in the Bartlesville area and want to meet other moms of youngsters, please come.

The first meeting is Sept. 8.
First Baptist Church of Bartlesville
405 SE Cherokee Ave Bartlesville, OK 74003
(918) 336-6172
Meets: 2ND & 4TH M, EVERY M at 9:15-11:15AM

I am a discussion group leader, wahoo! thanks Betsy for asking, and I would love to see you there! Whether you go to a church or not, this is just a way for you to meet other moms, eat good food and learn how to be a better mom and wife; I know I could use all the help I can get, ask my children and my husband.

Tourist Attraction

I asked Matt last night if he read my post about breast-feeding and my milk supply. I asked him, " Did you laugh when I compared my boobs to Nellie Johnstone?"

"Ha, I did, but I was slightly confused for a second because I thought you were implying that your boobs are becoming a tourist attraction. 'Step right up folks, they no longer work, but aren't they a pretty sight?' "

He says that and I can't stop laughing. "I didn't even think about it like that. I was just implying that my boobs no longer funtion like Nellie, not that people should come check them out."

We have a good belly laugh and I begin to try to pump the remnants out of my oils wells before bed.

Supply & Demand

The world revolves around two words and a conjunction-Supply and Demand.

Breast-feeding is much like the U.S's oil supply. Hang with me a moment and I will make funny, but perfect sense.

The reason it now costs us $75.00 to fill our F-150's gasoline tank is simply greed and greed. But if you take the greed out of it, your left with a little residue of greed, but lets just completely remove all traces of greed within oil companies and take it for face value.

When demand is high and supply is low it costs me $75.00 to fill my tank. When demand is low and supply is high (which is never I know) the cost to fill my tank is like $40.00.

Well, folks, demand is high and supply is low in the 'milk making' industry.

I pump the boob well, 5 times a day. There for a while I was in the 'low demand, high supply' stage of life. Oh how times have changed.

I had to resort to foreign oil (milk) today to fill up Cooper's tank. Yup, the days of home produced oil (milk) is over.

There was a time when Nellie Johnstone (that's B'ville's first commercial oil) runneth over, but that day has come and gone.

(It is now a 'sight seeing' thing. "Come one, come all to the first oil producing well in Bartlesville. Isn't she pretty?"

"Uhh, mister tour guide, sir? Does it still work?"

"No, son that's why we ship our crude in from other parts of the world that hate us. Isn't it clever? That's why your mommy and daddy can't afford to send you to college anymore, they had to pay to fill up their truck.")

(This is Nellie today, she's had a make over.)

What comes with buying foreign oil is cost. The cost to fill Cooper's tank went from 7oz. 5 times a day to 8oz. 5 times a day, now the out of pocket expense went up as well.

I am mixing foreign oil with home pumped oil, and for now all is well (no pun intended). He had two bottles of the stuff this evening and is doing good. He has a little more gas (the poopy variety) but he seems to not care.

I think my body is drying up the well (making the decision for me). I've been wanting to stop, but have been feeling guilty b/c Chloe got pure breast milk until she was 7months. I just want to get back to some normalcy with my body. It's sad though, I love my little boy, but I figure when he's 20 and old enough I'll tell him.

"Honey, I love you very much, but Chloe got breast milk longer than you." Then he'll curse me out and never speak to me again.

Haha just kidding. I'm sure he won't care.

Chloe and Her 'Papa'

Chloe got back last night from her much needed stay with her grandparents.

When we got there we waited on Mama and Papa to come home. Papa came home first and you would have thought Elmo himself walked through that door. I have never seen her as excited as she was when Papa walked in. I'm pretty sure she wet herself in excitement.

Here are pictures of the two of them last night. Papa had to leave for a church meeting and he made sure to say bye to Chloe.

Not Much Happening

With out Chloe, life around the casa seems kind of boring. It's odd though, she hasn't been here since Wednesday night and I feel more tired now than when she's home! I'll get my energy back on Monday night; that's when we go pick her up.

I was reading the Sunday paper; Tulsa World. There was an article about birds singing at night.

Now this may not interest you at all, but I am very much interested on this topic seeing how there is a mockingbird who regularly annoys me with his nightly vocals. Pretty his singing may be, it's odd and disturbing. I keep asking myself, "Is he trying to tell me something? Should I be heeding to his songs of danger? Or maybe he's just looking for a one night stand."

So the article was about none other than (drum roll) birds singing after dark!!

If you get bored, or have a problem with the birds singing at night around your house. This article may help explain this odd phenomenon.

Silence

We took Chloe Joy to mama and papa's house last night; aka Matt's parents. She's going to stay with them for a couple of days. (Wahoo!) Our plan was to work on the house to sell, but since that is possibly put on hold, I plan on sleeping, cuddling with Cooper and then sleeping some more. Thankfully, I'm blessed with children who have my 'could sleep anytime anywhere gene' because Cooper slept until 9:30 this morning, which is typical. (Don't be jealous, it took some work.)

So Chloe's gone, I'm home alone, thinking and looking at random people's blog. This one led me to another, which I can not find again.

The couple lost their 10 week old baby boy, to what I can only guess was SIDS. (That is pure speculation.)

I start reading and thinking and crying.

I finally click on the button that saves me from reading anymore heartache; the 'Close' button.

I then go to Cooper, who is playing on the floor, squealing because his hawk like senses felt me walk into the room.

He lifts up his head, looks at me, "Hey buddy." I say with a huge smile.

I lay beside him, he turns and looks right into my eyes and giggles.

I begin to sob.

I can hear Marilyn Milian from People's Court in the background, but it doesn't faze me; I'm still crying.

I'm crying out of sadness for people I don't even know. I'm crying because one of the loves of my life is lying next to me laughing because one of the loves of his life is lying next to him.

I rub his bald, but yet huge, head and thank God I am still able to raise him because at any moment God could take back what is rightfully His; not mine.

As tears begin to roll, Cooper begins to giggle. I wipe my eyes and begin to smile. He knows nothing.

I pick him up, lifting with my legs not my back, crawl into the recliner, hold his naked body against my not naked body and rock; he falls asleep. I turn the TV off and then there's...

...silence.

You Ask, He'll Speak

The Scene: Silence. Chloe and Cooper are napping. The smell of Folgers Gourmet coffee fills the air. (Pretty soon Starbucks will fill the air b/c their new location here in B'ville just opened. Although McD's coffee is mighty tasty, but I prefer coffee with my creamer.)

I begin to say a little prayer.

"Hey God, I haven't heard a lot from you lately. Ya, I know it's my fault, I've been lazy and into my blogging. Sooo, I'd like to hear from you today, but please be gentle."

I open up my Bible and read a little in Psalms before Cooper started hollering because his leg is stuck again in the crib slats. (We had to remove the bumper because he rolls to his belly now and I'm scared he'll get stuck against it.)

Matt calls and asks me to get all the account numbers on our loan application. (For our move.) He says he'll be home around 4 to take it to the people.

4:15pm and he gets the paper work and heads off. I can see the excitement in his eyes. I am the pessimist in this marriage, so I don't get excited until I see results. I haven't even really looked at 'For Sale' homes because I'm getting ready for not good news.

5:15pm and he's back with paper work in hand and he looks peeved.

"What happened?"
"They require 5% down with all applications. I told them 'thank you very much, but I'll not waste anymore of your time because we don't have that kind of money on hand.' I said it in a nicer tone though." He tells me while emptying his pockets.
"OK, that's fine. We'll just stay here for a while no biggy. But did you ask about the money we could possibly make from the sale of our house?"
"No...." he goes on with more but I'll spare you.

So God spoke yesterday. We aren't to move at this moment. When Matt said no, I felt an odd sense of relief and I kind of laughed inside because I knew at that moment God was being gentle and I thought, "I don't have to work my butt off trying to get this house ready." (Although I have a lot of butt I could spare.) I told Matt about asking God to tell me something today...

"Huh, well, you're right. We've been praying that all would work itself out and this didn't so we'll shop around and just see and wait."
"Yep."

The reality of it is because people all over the U.S bought too much home with out too much money, I have to suffer the consequences. It's too bad people ruined it for those of us who pay our mortgages and bought a house we could afford. Oh well right?

The point of this wasn't to be all 'boo hoo woe is me.' It was just to tell you how cool it was that I asked God to reveal himself to me today and He did... and he was gentle.

The Zoo

The last time we visited the zoo was April 1, 2007. I can't find a picture or I'd show you.

I have been wanting to go back for a long time, but Matt thought it fun to tear his achilles, so our trip got post-poned; until now! (In this slide show you are about to see, I misspelled the word 'the.' I know about the problem, but am too lazy to fix it.)

These are the general pictures above. Chloe's favorite animal was the chimpanzee. She through a fit when we left them. She kept making their noise as we walked away; people were staring. Anytime we were near monkeys, chimps, gorillas, lemurs, anything monkeyish looking she'd "hoo hoo haa haa." The giraffes weren't out, which was disappointing, especially when you walk so far to see them. Chloe kept saying ,"raff, raff?" I told her, "They're sleeping." Although Matt and I could see them behind their fence. She did get to see the elephants. Those are a Chloe favorite. We watched them for about 15 minutes. All the passersby got to hear Chloe's rendition of an elephant noise.

Below is the main reason I wanted to go to the zoo. They are having "Feather Fest."

"What's 'Feather Fest'?" you ask.

Well, you get to feed birds. Good times.

I think I had more fun than Chloe, feeding the birds. Matt stayed with Cooper outside the tent and Chloe and I went at it alone. That is the reason my hand is in a bunch of the pictures. I was trying to get birds on my stick for Chloe and take pictures at the same time; it's hard. She kept trying to give hugs, kisses and groom them, so they kept flying off. When I tried to get the big parrot, the sucker stole my stick!

It's a lot of fun!! I recommend the Tulsa Zoo!!

Gross

I thought when Cooper poops on me that I had it bad, until I saw this...

Proof

I just laid Cooper down for a nap and I kept hearing him growling from in the other room. (Growling is another one of his new things.) So I go into his room to see what the growling is all about...

He's up on his belly trying his hardest to roll through the crib slats; hence the growling.

Coop & Chloe

A midst (is that the proper saying?) all the chaos of Chloe turning 2. I haven't spoken much of the other child I birthed rather recently. In case you forgot about him, his name is Cooper and he is my sweet, rather large, but cuddly boy. He learned just a few weeks ago how to roll from his belly to his back. I'm happy to report he has now learned how to roll from his back to his belly then onto his back then over to his belly again. Before I know it he has log rolled across the room.

This is him the day he learned his new trick. The thumb was preventing him from completely rolling onto his elbows, but don't worry by that night he learned to remove his thumb prior to rolling.

Now I can't leave you with out a picture of Chloe being Chloe.

No you aren't seeing things, she is in Cooper's tub. When Cooper gets out she plays in his tub for a good 30 minutes. I think the only reason she finally gets out is because the water is freezing. Ohh and note there is no water in the regular tub. This is the conversation. "Chloe are you ready to get out?"

"Ummmmm, no."

"Ok, holler when you're ready."

"K momma."

The Cake

Last night, Chloe got her cake and ate it to...

The Cake (oooo, aahhh, mmmm)

"I'm waiting patiently, mom."

"Ohh, a candle."

"Aahh, don't touch." says Dad.

"Ok," says Chloe. "I'll just take a bite then."

"And another..."

"One more bite before I..."

"...blow out the candle."

"I think I'll snag another bite while dad walks away."

(A frontal view of the cake monster.)

(The damage)

Now she eats like a civilized human being; with her hands.

Birthday Girl

As of 0136 on the 11th of August 2008, our little Chloe Joy is the ripe ol' age of two. She has learned many things in her not so long life here on Earth. She often tells me to "go away," launches herself onto the floor, smashing her head when she doesn't get her way and more often than not she tells me she loves me, followed by a fish kiss, Eskimo kiss and a butterfly kiss; always in that order.

We didn't have a party, buy gifts or eat cake. (boo and hiss you may)

Don't think of me as a bad mom, please. Her birthday snuck up on us and to be really honest, I got lazy. BUT there was one thing I realized has been a theme in the two years we've celebrated her arrival in our lives that in my opinion is better than cake and gifts. (Don't get me wrong I too love those things, but keep reading and you'll see what I mean.)

On her first birthday, I requested guests bring school supplies instead of gifts. Chloe and I were going to take them to a non-profit organization that would properly distribute them to children who needed them. Not many people brought supplies from what I remember, but Chloe and I ended up going to Wal-Mart and buying a ton more. The lady we gave them to was very thankful and I can remember the whole way home telling Chloe how nice it was of her to ask for school supplies instead of gifts for her birthday.

(Her first b-day. She fed daddy cake.)

This year, I didn't even realize we followed the same theme, but we did. By accident? Yes and no.

I have been stock piling my maternity clothes, Chloe's clothes and Cooper's clothes. (All of which he wore for just about a literal minute, the boy is humungo.) My plan about 2 months ago, was to donate them to Bargain Box. You know the story there. Well, they close for the summer. So here I was, trying to figure out what to do with them. Ebay? Ya, but that sure is a lot of work and I may only make .99c for a couple hundred dollars worth of clothing. Then it hit me last week....

Birthright.

I called them, "Do you all take donations?"

"Yes ma'am we do." (Ma'am. I still giggle at being called ma'am. I think of myself as a hun. I'm not old enough to be a ma'am, in my mind anyways.)

I ask, "Do you take maternity clothes and baby clothes?"

"We sure do."

"Is there a cut off age of clothing?"

(I can't remember if there was or not, sorry to leave you hanging.)

So Monday morning, before the kids get up I loaded the truck up with all of the clothes. (For those of you that handed down clothes to Chloe and Cooper, you also made a difference because I took the ones that didn't fit or we didn't need.) I hand them off in the rain and the lady was so thankful.

On my way home God hit me with a thought and a realization. (I love it when that happens.)

Chloe has given away things of hers two years in row!

When we had her, and now Cooper, I wanted them to grow up yearning to give things away, to help others, to give because they have so much.

I like to think I am accomplishing that goal.

When we got home I said to Chloe, "Honey, thank you for giving your clothes away. That was very nice of you."

"Yaaa." She says while checking on her baby doll and holding silky.

"Happy birthday honey, I love you. I promise next year will be super fantastic. Oh and we are eating cake tonight!"

Rain, Rain Don't Go Away On My Day

Grrrr.

I have all of these great pictures, one hundred and seventy-five to be exact, to show you and photobucket won't work!! GRRRR!!!

Don't worry, I am not going to post one hundred and seventy-five photos.

Take Me Back Ohhh 10 Years

I did it folks.

I went to my 10 year high school reunion.

If you have been reading, I was very much against going. I am happy to report... I had a great time. I'm glad I was talked into going. It was good to see people, catch up and talk about what all we've been doing. Funny how conversation isn't "what are you doing Friday night?" but that it's "how many kids do you have?"

Time changes everything eerr sometimes.

Have No Fear...

Have no fear new postings are near!! They're gonna be good!!

If You Haven't Cried Today, Here Ya Go

I love Steven Curtis Chapman. His music is super fantastic, he is one of my all time favorites. As you may know, his daughter was accidentally killed in the driveway of their home. The family appeared on Good Morning America and shared their grief, hurts and faith as they journey through loss. It's a great interview, but if you don't want to cry today don't watch it. If you do need a good cry; watch it.

http://abcnews.go.com/video/playerIndex?id=5524419

Click the link and it'll take you to abc's site to view it.

China Revisited

A few days ago, I posted some of my gripes I had about China. I just want people to know I have tweaked my perspective a little. I still 100% disagree with some of the things they do and the way they behave, BUT some of the things they do and some of the ways they behave I am starting to like.

I will compare again to a friend coming over.

China handed out manuals to their people on ettiquete towards the Americans. I think that's really nice. They also took dog meat of most of the menus around the country, probably mainly around the Olympic site. We would behave a certain way if we had important guests arriving at our home. We would ask our children to be respectful and we wouldn't serve something that might be offensive.

I think they are doing their best to try and be welcoming despite their in your face flaws. I can appreciate their efforts.

Go USA... Remember the opening ceremonies begin tonight at 6:30 on NBC!! You can see pictures of it online... China is a day ahead, which is why everything will have already happened when we see it, at least most of the time I would assume.

C.J.=Chloe Joy

A few mornings ago, I woke up and went out back to take some pictures of my hummingbirds. Chloe was eating breakfast and watching Sesame Street. Can you see the hummingbird below?He's on the wire, close to the tree. I don't have a zoom lens or this picture would be better. I keep hinting to Matt, "Did you see my hummingbird pictures? I'd be able to get them better if I had a zoom lens." He doesn't say anything. I put my feeder up on Sat. and already have 3 hummingbirds. I love hummingbirds, they are so funny to watch.

After watching the hummers, I went back inside and brought Chloe out to play. Since it was going to be one thousand degrees in a few hours, I thought I'd give her some outside time while it was still cool. She loves the outdoors.

This picture on my computer is much better, her eyes really pop. I am just starting to figure out the focus area when I am zoomed in on a face. I keep cutting off the tops of heads.

When Chloe gets mad she throws herself backwards usually resulting in her banging her head. Last week, she threw herself back and busted her head on a window frame. On Sunday, she threw herself back, while on the recliner, flipped out of it, hitting the end table on her way down resulting in an injury to her side. I just let her scream, but Mat ran to her aid. I don't have any sympathy for her when she does that; throws herself backwards. Anyways, she is looking at her ouchie. Keep in mind she reminds me of her ouchie approximately 100 times a day. This is what I hear, "Ouwa, ouwwa, ouwwa.... " On and on until I respond, "Are you ok Chloe?" She always says, "YEP!"
Looking down the hill at the neighbor's dog.

She had sidewalk chalk. It got all over her hands and she kept rubbing her face. She looks smurf'ish.
She's blue.
Notice her injury on her right side?

My Ringing Hands

Matt's new job has left him with limited time in the evenings to spend with the kids and myself. So to help make the most of his shrinking time, I have decided to take on yard work. Gasp! you may, but it really isn't that bad.

I've mowed two times this summer. I think Matt has mowed two times as well. What has happened in the past is I would mow and he would weed eat.

I mowed a week ago and he still hasn't weed eated. This normally wouldn't be that bad, but the 'weed beds' in the back yard are starting to look scary and I need to not get lost in them when I begin staging them for the sell of our home. (Yes, I do believe you can stage a home and a flower bed.)

I call Matt, "Hey babe, ummm how do you start this weed eater?"
(Long pause)
"Uhhh, you push the primer button a few times (yada yada yada, I'll spare you the instructions on how to start our Craftsman Weed Eater 3200 gas/oil combo.)
I can hear the fear and hesitation in his voice. I know he's thinking, "I'm going to get a call in about 30 minutes either from her yelling at me b/c she can't get it started OR Bartlesville PD telling him 'your wife has mangled her darling 4month postpartum legs with what they can only guess is a Craftsman Weed Eater 3200 gas/oil combo. Oh and she through it against the house and it no longer works, sir.'"

30 minutes later

"Hey babe. I did it!" I say awaiting his praise and 'atta girl.'
"You did?! Good, whatda think? Did it work ok?"
"Yea, I think we need new string or something. I kind of destroyed the grass uhh weeds. Oh and I thought I'd give edging a try... it's harder than it looks so don't say anything when you get home."
He laughs, "OK, that's fine, it'll grow back."
"Ya, that's what I figured. Plus it was a stress relief for me. I think when I get angry I'll just go weed eat. There's nothing like destroying something to release my tension."
He laughs again and has to go.

Now let me tell you ladies. If you are stressed and in need of a stress reliever, I'm telling you go grab your hubby's weed eater and go to town on your backyard. Not the front because people will see and stare at your clinched jaw and shaky arms.

I can hardly lift my fingers right now, but by George I got some tension out! If you see some misspellings or words that may look slurred, it's because my hands are not functioning at this moment.

Reunion....

Saturday is the day I head back to the town I went to school in and see the people I went to school with. (Wahooo) That was a sarcastic 'wahoo.'

I had a dream last night. The girl that talked me into going called. She said, "Megan, now I'm not for sure if this is a rumor or not, but my dad heard that Melissa __ is planning on beating you up when you get there and that you had better watch your back."

That was the dream.

I woke up this morning rejoicing because that meant I didn't have to go, I mean I was going to get beat up. At this point, I'm looking for any reason what so ever not to go, even if it means real or dreamt physical threats of violence.

Too bad it was just a dream. Guess I'll be hanging out in 215degree weather at what Cleveland people call a park, I just call it stagnate water with twisted metal some may call a 'playground.' Maybe it's different now, who knows.

One reason I'm not looking forward to going is this?

The girl who talked me into going had a baby 2 months ago and competed in a triathlon last weekend! What?! Yeah, I'm 4 months postpartum and I for sure haven't competed in anything besides a big boob contest. My worry is I'll get a complex. Who am I fooling, I already have a complex. I love nursing, but that dictates what I can and can't do in order to shed some lbs.

Oh well, right? I get to walk in, with my 2 b-e-a-u-tiful children, my one and only husband. I'm sure some would prefer to have that over being skinnier huh? So as you're reading this, don't think badly of me for my weight issues. This talk is actually milder than I used to be. Maybe one day I'll share a secret only few know.

My Small Political Soapbox

The Olympics are just around the corner folks!! I have a disappointed excitement. "What do you mean, Megan?" you ask.

Well, I have my opinions about China. I feel like there are so many things that they want the country USA to believe, like they make their inhabitants believe, that aren't true. It seems the things they do that are so evil and wrong are getting hidden behind the curtain that everyone is afraid to pull down. I mean Dorothy wasn't scared of the 'wizard' behind the screen. Now, I know the Chinese people are scared, and brainwashed, by their 'wizard,' but I just don't understand why us as Americans are falling prey to the same 'man' behind the curtain.

I read an article before this post that pushed me to write this blog. I have been fighting the urge to blog about this as to not be 'that girl who talks political talk.' I have political opinions and I usually only share them with Matt and my neighbors, not all of them just one particular couple. They, that particular couple, are on a mission to spread the Gospel to all the world. They have seen and they live the suffering other countries and people go through on a daily basis. I'm not going to go into detail, but they have taught me so so much about what being a Christian truly means. I don't mean the accepting part, I mean what others go through. You and I will never truly understand, unless we live it. I pray we never have to 'live' what 'underground Christian's are living at this moment around the world, and in China.

If China ever does allow freedom of religion, I would bet all the money that was lost in the housing market, that the actually freedom part never happens. They will tell the world they allow freedom of religion, but the fine print will read, "as long as you don't get caught."

People's homes were destroyed for the erection of an Olympic building! The mindset behind the Olympics is to unite, not destroy in order to succeed. I don't know, I've had these bottled angry emotions inside and they need out.

I just 100% disagree with how China treats their own and those seeking a sanctuary from another country. It's kind of the mindset of this scenario.

Scenario: Friends are coming over, our house needs to look its very best so make sure everything is in its place and cleaned. Crap, the furniture doesn't match. Lets just go buy some, even though we can't afford it, we'll put it on the credit card. OR we could just return it when our friends leave. They'll never know. When they get here, we have to make sure the kids are shiny clean, so we had better clean their room. Oh and get rid of that cat, even though it was hear before the friends, who cares! It's just a cat. It'll find another home. What?! The neighbors cat has been living in our backyard? Get rid of it, send it back or better yet call the pound. They'll take care of it.
It's all a facade.

My point is, you can't hide reality forever. Now let me step down off of that soapbox, ouch the concrete is hot... ok I'm down, carry on.

(If this whole post through you for a loop, sorry. Please come back.)

A Year Ago Today...

One year ago to the day, I was selling tons of Chloe's baby clothes, my maternity clothes and anything that wasn't too heavy for me to lift. I also managed to sell some of Matt's hunting apparel and for those of you married to an outdoorsman, you know that this is very difficult to do if not impossible. If you don't have permission, I don't recommend. (Don't worry though, I had the 'go ahead' from the pit boss.)

The garage sale ends and it has been one week since my last period. I tell Matt that I may be pregnant; he doesn't believe me. I jet up to Wal-Mart, buy a test and pee on it as soon as I get home. This is what I saw...

Nine months and one day early, this is what I pushed out...

Four months and one day later, this is what he looks like...

Oh and did I mention the day I found out I was pregnant was exactly one week before Chloe's FIRST birthday? Yep, Chloe is turning TWO a week from today!! (sniff, sniff, tear, tear)

"Noodles"

A few nights ago, Matt, Chloe and myself were at the dinner table eating an 'already made, cook in the oven' lasagna I bought with a coupon. If you get this very same Stouffers coupon, the lasagna isn't all that tasty.

I take a bite, "I don't think the noodles are done all the way."
"Yeah..." says Matt. He'll eat anything cooked or under cooked.

A few minutes go by, all is quiet and Matt says, "Man, my noodle is hard...." He immediately busts out laughing. "I mean my lasagna noodle is hard!! HAH, I didn't mean it like that!"
"OHHH, MATT!! I wasn't even thinking like that. You have a dirty mind." I start cracking up and can't stop.

So we had a good laugh and still laugh about it.

There's something about hearing Matt laugh so hard he can't stop, that just cracks me up.