Delay on Birthday Pictures

Chloe's party went really well. We had a lot of fun and it was a special day for our little family. I thought I would shed some light on the mystery of the missing birthday pictures. Mark and I packed the camcorder and the camera.

BUT...

We forgot the camera battery.

So, I have a bout 20 minutes of video that won't fit on YouTube and no pictures of the birthday. It was a major mommy foul.

My mom did help a lot when she said, 'Well, you'll still have better pictures than we got for your first birthday!' She's right. Technology has changed so much and for the better. So even with our little camcorder and no pictures, we'll still have better documentation of her first birthday party than Mark and I will ever have of ours! Leave it to my mom to say the right thing at the right time. Moms are awesome like that!

I'm just bummed I won't have the perfect smash cake picture that I wanted!

Mark's dad had a camera so Mark took pictures with it. Hopefully, Mark and I can sneak over there and burn some of the pictures onto a disc. Until we find time to do that, her party will remain a mystery!

Celebrating One Year

 One Chloe Diane

One year ago today,

Miss Chloe came the earthly way.

Her fingers and toes were so tiny

As was her cute little hiney.

With the large space in our hearts she filled,

I use restraint when I say we were thrilled.

So many things she's learned to do,

Like roll-over and clap and coo.

She mastered crawling and rolling the ball,

She's working on walking without taking a fall.

Her laugh is contagious and her smile is bright,

She melts our hearts with her lustrous light.

 

Today we celebrate the 28th day of May,
with cake and presents and games to play.

She's not old enough to know how to wish,

So when she blows out her candle her Dad and I pray this:

She's happy and healthy and always feels love,

We thank God for sending her to us from above!

Happy Birthday, Chloe!

We will be having Chloe's party later today. I hope to post some pictures of her big day by tomorrow. No promises.

Prayer Requests

I have two prayer requests. I was really going back and forth on whether or not to post this stuff. I decided to post it because I know most of you who read this blog are believers and you pray. I'm asking you to pray and pray hard, please.

1. I work with Will Norton's cousin. Will was literally taken from his Hummer during the tornado in Joplin. You may have seen his story on the news. It's all over the place right now. His family is still trying to locate him. Please pray for their strength and a miracle. 
2. This is Simon. His mom was on a message board that was a huge source of comfort in the months leading up to and the months after Chloe's birth. I found her blog on that message board and saw today there her little boy is having surgery tomorrow to remove cancer. Please pray that his surgery goes well, his cancer is removed and that his family is comforted during this time. I can not nor do I want to imagine the emotions that his mother and father are experiencing right now. 

Thanks so much!

It's the Final Countdown

Chloe will be turning 1 on Saturday! I can NOT believe it. I WILL NOT believe it. This has gone by so fast.
I was told it would. I knew it would. But, expecting the rapid arrival of a first birthday doesn't make it any easier.

What makes it easier is knowing how many more 'firsts' await us with this precious little girl. Her first cake, her first party, her first steps, her first best friend (that she chooses), her first baby doll, her first sibling, her first bike, her first skinned knee, her first day of school, her first lost tooth, her first crush, her first school dance, her first car...the list goes on and it's an exciting list!


So Saturday will be just ONE of the many firsts she's already had and the ONES yet to come. Ahhh, I crack myself up!

Here are some goofy pics and some pictures of her first time playing in the wading pool.

The face I get when I say, "Look at mom."

Trying to put her shoe on...

Kissing Tickle Monkey

Typical
'Mom, put me down. NOW!'

Testing it out.

Making an escape.

This is just cute!

Building a Dog Run: Part Two

Saturday. Saturday was intense at our house.

I woke up at 6:30 a.m. for my near 5 mile run! --I'm on a time based schedule for my running rather than a mileage based schedule. I was scheduled to run for 44 minutes. I made it a LOT farther than I thought I would and had to make some changes to my route to accommodate my quickness...haha. If you call a 9 minute mile fast!!! puuuleeeze. No matter. I was still shocked and slightly impressed with myself.--

Once I was back at the house, Mark went to Lowes to get some materials to finish our dog run. He only got the 2''x4''s for the cross-sections. So together, we cut and nailed them to the posts. By 'together' I mean: Mark did most of the work. I just tried to look cute and hold the wood in place while Mark nailed.

Once we were finished with the cross sections, I sent Mark back to Lowes (because we are efficient and eco-friendly like that) to get the pickets. Guess who got to nail the pickets on the fence while Mark watched Chloe?!? Me!!!! I loved it. Honestly, working outside with my hands is a lot of fun. What a sense of accomplishment it is!

So here are some pictures of our handiwork. We just have to finish the gate. We ran out of nails and figured that three trips to Lowes in one day was too many.

Pretending to hammer...or smash the fence.

Pepper inspecting the work.

Still inspecting.

After we finished with the fence for the day, I was off to shower and get ready for a bachelorette party. That's a story for another day. But I will say this: I am WAY TOO OLD, MARRIED and MOM-ish (not to be confused with Amish) for that...even though I did enjoy hanging out with the girls!

Painting with her meat and sauce.

bahahaha. She's so cute!

Get Fit. Get Healthy. Week 15

I know most of you are probably tired of these posts. But, these are for me. It keeps me accountable.

1. Height: 5'9'' 140lbs.

2. Your fitness challenge(s) for this week: Follow my 'training to train' schedule. I'm seriously considering a marathon in November. I have 12 weeks to make my decision.

3. Your health challenge(s) for this week: I will probably have to increase my calories to follow my schedule. I'll have to change what I'm eating as well. I've been eating fruit for breakfast but whole grains and proteins (this can come from peanut butter...not meat) is going to be important. I found a website called the no meat athlete. I'll be checking out his site to see how I can maintain a mostly meat-free diet while pushing my body to an extreme.

4. How well did it go: I may need to start logging my calories again. I've gone a few weeks with no change in weight so somethings not right.

5. Failures and slip-ups: Well, tonight is going to be bad. I've got a bachelorette party to attend. I plan to break all my diet rules. Bite me.

6. Weekly challenge wisdom: Exercising is about more than managing weight. It's about managing life, stress and the aging process. Sitting around doing nothing can literally make you lose your mind. Getting your blood pumping increases oxygen to your brain. So, if you don't want to get goofy as you get older...exercise now. Also, in my case the stress of life makes me goofy. I can literally put on a pair of running shoes and run away from the stress. It falls off behind me on the road and I leave it there for the next person. Who needs it!

7. Advice to fellow GET FIT members: See above. My advice and wisdom are the same this week.

I have the smartest baby in the world!

That statement is probably not true. Even if it isn't true, I still think I have a pretty smart kiddo. I love watching the lightbulb go off for Chloe. Watching her struggle with something and then figure it out is almost as rewarding to me as it is to her.

My mom bought Chloe her ring stacker before she was born. Chloe has been pulling them off for quite some time. But, my mom is always asking me if Chloe has started putting them back on yet. A few days ago Chloe got one ring one a few times. Tonight Chloe really got into it so I grabbed the video camera.

So Shorty, without further audo...I give you your genius granddaughter!

Building a Dog Run

After nearly 3 years of talking about it, we are finally building a dog run. We don't intend to keep the dogs in it all the time. But, it will be nice when we have company or Chloe wants to toddle around the back yard without Clyde leaping over her for a squirrel or Frisbee.

(Yes, our dogs are primarily outside dogs. Pepper spent the majority of her life living in an apartment. She was miserable. Both dogs prefer to be outside and when inside, nervously pace and wait for the back door to be opened so they can dart out into the 'wild.' Ok. I'm done defending our choice to leave our animals where nature intended them to be.)

Mark and I intended to dig the holes for the posts, place them and have the concrete setting by the time my parents arrived from Houston on Saturday afternoon. Unfortunately for my dad, we had a lengthy interruption during the project and were just getting started when they arrived. This meant he got suckered into helping.

Here in this part of the country, we have this wonderful layer of Limestone that is covered by a mere two inches of sand. haha. Clearly, the posthole digger was NOT cutting it.

 So Dad and I ran to Home Depot where we rented a jack hammer. Once that was back at the house, there was a significant increase in testostrone levels at the Granthamania residence. (Also, please note the flipflops my dad is sporting. Probably not the best idea but he has about 23 years more life experience than me so he can do what he wants.)

Much better!

Mark had to use it, too.

Teamwork.

Check out that bead of sweat on the end of his nose. Gross!

 Now, we wait. Maybe this coming weekend we can get the pickets up and start working on a gate.

Just because she's so stinkin' cute when she eats Cherios.

You have to try this recipe!

Tofu Tacos.

You can go here or here to get the recipe. You can substitute fish (or chicken) if you are afraid of tofu. But, I promise you'll like the tacos even with tofu in them. You won't know the difference.

A Face Lift

Well, I'm not due for a face lift for another 20 years or so. I'm talking about our house. We lazily hired someone to come paint our house. Mainly because our house is too tall for me to feel comfortable with Mark up there. Also, it could have taken us a year or more to do it ourselves. Why not let a team of 10 come out and knock it out in two days?!?

And, yes. We did it backwards. The lighter color is the trim and the darker color is the body. We liked that it was different. Hopefully, it won't hurt resale.

We did not paint this house pink! Someone else did.

New colors.

This is a 'during' picture.
This piece of siding had to be replaced due to dog, literally, eating a hole through it.

Back - Before

Back - After





Front - Before

Front - After

Integrity

What is it?

–noun

1. adherence to moral and ethical principles; soundness of moral character; honesty.

2. the state of being whole, entire, or undiminished.

3. a sound, unimpaired, or perfect condition.

I want to take a moment to talk about something that's important to me. It's also something that has been on my mind a lot lately. 

The best explanation I ever got for integrity was my sophomore year of high school. Perhaps over-simplified, it is doing what you say you are going to do. Or another I like? It's what you do when you think nobody is watching.

I strive to maintain my integrity. No doubt, I fail a lot. But it's NOT for lack of effort. And if I'm aware of the fact that I violated that integrity that I cling to, I'll be the first to admit it. Your reputation is something that is tightly woven with your integrity. To the extent that you actually have control over your reputation, you should protect it to the best of your ability.

Of course, things aren't always black and white. But for the most part, protecting my integrity includes the following:

• Doing the right thing simply because it's the right thing to do.
• Doing unto others as you have them do unto you.
• Following the rules. 
• Paying your debts. 
• Keeping the marriage vows I made on October 20, 2007.
• Not violating the marriage vows of another by encouraging (in any way) an affair.

Let me leave you with a story. It involves someone I know but I've changed names.

A friend of mine, Kerry, lost something of monetary value. The item she lost had her name on it. Another person, whom she does not know, found it. We'll call this person, Lucy. Lucy looked up Kerry's contact information via the Internet. Awesome, right? Technology is good for some things. 

Lucy called Kerry and informed her that she found her things and wanted to know if she wanted them back. Of course, Kerry wanted her stuff back. It was valuable. The person then proceeded to suggest that many times when they find things like this the person offers a reward. Lucy even suggested a price for the reward. It was $50. 

Now, Kerry was planning on rewarding the person for finding the stuff anyway. However, Lucy asking for this money walks a find line of extortion. 

I ask Lucy...what if someone did that to you? 

Please, people. I'm begging you. Treat each other the way you want to be treated. Everybody likes to talk about bullies. Where are our kids learning this behavior? It's from us. 

It's the way we 'talk to people' when they cut us off in traffic (guilty). It's the way we treat the service industry workers when they don't have the ability to read our minds and ask a 'stupid' question. It's the way the Hobby Lobby worker asks Chloe 'Where are your socks?!?' without so much as acknowledging my presence. Yes, my friends. I believe that passive aggressive behavior (guilty) is bully behavior, too.

Be nice to people. Do what you say you're going to do. Help people out when you see they need it...if they don't ask, offer. The only way this world is going to get any better is if we/you make it better.

If you get really mad: Kill them with Kindness!

Reckless Kelly Celebrity Softball Jam 2011

Chloe attended her first concert on Sunday! We've been waiting for this for over a year. A quick summary of the day:

Katie, Chris, Cohen and Stephanie came over before we headed to the concert. We left our house for the concert around 2:30pm. It was a little colder than we thought it would be. Thankfully, I had a sweater for Chloe in the diaper bag and a few extra baby blankets for some friends. Once we were too cold to handle any more music (around 6:30pm), we went to the grocery store to pick up some bratwurst and sauerkraut. Most everyone headed to our house to have a little cookout.

It was a fantastic day! I wish we could do it every weekend. Enjoy the short slide show. I put it to some Josh Abbott music. He was one of the Texas Country musicians who performed at the concert (and he's a fellow Red Raider).

Get Fit. Get Healthy. Week 13

Your weight (if you don't feel comfortable sharing this, you don't have to): 139. 4 pounds from my 135 by Chloe's birthday goal.

Your fitness challenge(s) for the week: Continuing to hit the gym. Weights 3x a week and cardio 5x.

Your food challenge for the week: Keep on trucking with the veggie diet.

How well did it go: This past week was a disaster. I snacked too much. I'm not sure why but I felt so hungry all week.

Failures and slip-ups: Snacking and not on the things I should.

Weekly challenge wisdom: (directed at myself) Sometimes you need to do things you don't want to do. It's part of being an adult. Working out is one of them. Grow up.

Advice to fellow GET FIT members: Having trouble finding motivation to work out? Sign up for a 5K. Mark signed us up for one on Mother's Day. I'll be damned if I'm gonna go out there and run without working out for a week. Knowing I have the race forces me to put in the cardio work.

Your Magic Selfie (optional but strongly encouraged): I attempted the selfie. It was terrible. I need to get a remote.