It's All About Nay Today

Finally..... SOME GOOD SHOTS OF NAYDINE.

Thanks to everybody who has given me input on how to improve with this new camera. And thanks, Naydine, for finally looking at the camera. I appreciate it, babe.

Also, a shout out to Mary for giving me my first html modification experience and helping me fit my picture into my new header:) Hard times, I tell ya!









The park has been our new hangout. We've gone there 4 times in the last 2 days. Haha.. It was something like 80 yesterday and um, 80 today? If not, pretty close. Close enough for this girl. I LOVE IT. Wait till I'm complaining about the heat and humidity in a month or two!

Dane is going to be the bench warmer for this post. He's been in the spotlight with his pretty blue eyes long enough. Hello, fun girl:








And for dinner tonight, I made a sushi-grade Tuna steak sandwich. Delicious. Have you had?

STUPID BLOGGER

So... a few people have emailed me and asked how to update the header in Blogger and make it work right.
It's mass confusion. Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn't? Maybe it has something to do with the retarded templates... maybe not. Who knows.
I've just tried to resize my header about 80 times to make it fit right and it's just not going to work today. It's not bad but.... it's still not in the box.
Now, if there is somebody out there that does know the rhyme or reason to the header picture fitting in the designated area, please, share.
And I shouldn't call the templates retarded. It's just my personal opinion that I am sick of them. And if I knew anything about html or keeping my widgets to use a custom template, I would. So, I'm at fault.

Now, a few things I need to note about my children so that I can look this up at a later date.

• Naydine, at the ripe age of 2.5, has BIT somebody for the first time. Not just somebody, but her little brother, Boo Baby. HOW DARE SHE?!! In the tub, on the right shoulder. NAUGHTY!
• Dane, you hold the record for most pee's on the floor without drinking alcohol. 3 in one hour. What were you thinking? I was just trying to let your raw, teething butt cheeks air out and you pee by the couch (and play in it!), in front of the tub, and on my bed? HOW DARE YOU?
• Naydine, I had to spank you in the parking lot the other day because you threw a fit getting in the car seat. Which, you have NEVER done before. You love the Britax. Anyway, spanking in the parking lot is risky. I spanked you on your pants, not your bare buns. And my word, you had it coming. Only downfall to this, some EMT's (who were off duty and smoking in the parking lot) were watching me like they were going to call 911 and have you taken away from me. Yeah.... they made me feel like that mom who, a couple of years back, was caught on camera punching her kid in the face! I'm just wondering if they'd have rather me just shut the car door and drove home with you free to wander in the backseat? Being they were EMT's and all..... I'm sure they've seen some bad accidents where the kids weren't buckled up.

Other than that, I am anxiously awaiting my mpix order. I'm totally wing'n it here. Am I supposed to calibrate my monitor or something like that? haha... let me know, pros!

I don't know if all of this is true but...

A little over one year ago:

1. Consumer confidence stood at a 2 1/2 year high
2. Regular gasoline sold for $2.19 a gallon
3. The unemployment rate was 4.5%

Since voting in a Democratic Congress in 2006 we've seen

1. Consumer confidence plummet
2. The cost of regular gasoline soar to over $3 a gallon
3. Unemployment is up to 5% (a 10% increase)
4. American households have seen $2.3 trillion in equity value evaporate (stock and mutual fund losses)
5. Americans have seen their home equity drop by $1.2 trillion dollars
6. 1% of American homes are in foreclosure

I know I won't be winning an Democratic readers here but..... just thought I'd post it anyway.

11 months, 2 weeks

And, we finally have a tooth. Well, you can't actually see it. You can feel it. It's just broke the skin. It'll be interesting to see how his look changes once he has teeth. Not that he could get an cuter:) hehe... kidding y'all (that's me trying to have a southern accent!)

Easter Sunday

It was a pretty good Easter. Besides the fact that every holiday, Eli must be absent. Oh, and we did eat Mac-n-Cheese and peas. High class. And Naydine thought all the eggs were for her and Dane couldn't touch any of them!
But really, church was good. It was fun to see the kids dressed so cute and Naydine trying to find all the eggs in the yard. They really are a joy!




These 2 places were my ULTIMATE hiding spots! Haha kids... I still have you beat!


And then Eli made a 6 minute appearance. Which was good since he hadn't seen the kids in 4 days and he's working 10 miles from the house. Naydine is MISSING her daddy!! And Dane.. oh my word, totally misses Eli too. I think I must be NO fun compared to Daddy!!

I think I may have answered a few questions incorrectly

Lord knows that I'd be called the COLON, though. What the crap???? No pun intended... SERIOUSLY! I must have mis-answered a few questions.... I think I could be the explanation point too.... I need to see if Eli is the semicolon. Haha.. does that mean it's a HUGE colon? Ok.. I'm done!!

You Are a Colon

You are very orderly and fact driven. You aren't concerned much with theories or dreams... only what's true or untrue. You are brilliant and incredibly learned. Anything you know is well researched. You like to make lists and sort through things step by step. You aren't subject to whim or emotions. Your friends see you as a constant source of knowledge and advice. (But they are a little sick of you being right all of the time!) You excel in: Leadership positions You get along best with: The Semi-Colon

http://www.blogthings.com/whatpunctuationmarkareyouquiz/">What Punctuation Mark Are You?

I know, I know....

Poor excuse for a Blogger, huh? Well, I've been busy.... But Eli goes back to work tomorrow and I'll get my blog time back. Hehe...

Here is some stuff I've been working on. I brought Naydine to a Princess Party for her friend Abby a few weekends ago and took some shots of a few kids there. Thought the moms might like some of this stuff....

See you tomorrow Blog World!!

Brother vs. Sister

I've always wanted to do this. When my children were younger, I thought they looked so much alike. But now... not so much. They are both 11 months here.

I thought I'd be cheating Dane out of his milestones if I was constantly comparing him to his sister. So.... I guess I'm not doing it but I still wanted to post these pictures!!




And Dane... here's your 11 month picture bud. You are such a good boy!

Don't turn 1, Dane!

Here we are, 11 months. I can't believe my baby is going to turn 1 next month. You really are the most funny baby I know. Here's what you've been up to lately:

• You can say, "Yeeaaahh Boo" and clap your hands with a beautiful smile as if you've just accomplished the most amazing thing in the world. Which, you have:)
• You have a lower pitched laugh now, which makes you all the more boy. And you do a HA. HA. HA. laugh, which is totally fake but... really funny.
• You can take about 10 unassisted steps and then you fall on your large buns.
• You eat adult food at all your meals with out a single. tooth. yet. Where are they, Dane?
• You understand the word nursey. You think it's a game. And you still nurse in the morning and at night. Oh, and maybe once during the day. You're weening yourself off, which I love. Good boy. Way to take control of the situation.
• You are great at using your sippy cup, which was very unlike your sister at this age. She couldn't grasp the concept of tipping the cup back so she had to use the straw cup. You, can't use the straw yet.
• Dane, you love to do somersaults and flips on my bed. You love the snuggly on my bed so you just keep rolling and rolling around. You think you are doing the somersault yourself which is the best part. You will also stand up and put your head down so that I will help you over for a real somersault. A sumo-gymnast, you just might be.
• Dad cut your mullet off for real this time. You were nursing and he grabbed the scissors and had at your hair. The new 'do' looks a little blonder than the old 'do', I might add.
• You are looking more like daddy.
• You poop at least 3 times a day. What is up? You're killing me.
• You love to terrorize and destruct. It's your sole mission in life. Under the kitchen sink, under my bathroom sink, any toy your sister has, and all computers. They're history buddy.
• I caught you laughing for about 20 seconds at a cartoon on TV last night. Bad mommy. Cute baby.
• You understand when you are in trouble and you can high-tail it outta there when you see me coming!
• You love to be outside. It's where you eat wood chips, rocks and soil from my planter.
• You still get so excited to see your mom and dad after you wake from sleeping. It's beautiful, the sheer joy on your face and the wind you create swinging your arms.
• You whine and fuss when you can't find me in the house. You just keep crawling around, searching. It's so cute.... mostly because I'm in an obvious place and you don't see me. Typical man already:)

We love you D Boy... XOXOXO.

For the Hubs

Hon, I bet you miss him. Huh?

Eli's out of town, again, so I thought I'd post some shots of the boy. All these expressions in probably a matter of 30 seconds. Now, if I could just get Naydine to look at the camera.

I also wanted to try out a few adjustments in PS. I kind of like this one... It's a little bit vintage and I colorized the eyes a bit.




Loved this shot... He was just being a monkey and climbing all over the chair. Muah, boy!

Once Again.... FOR SALE

Luxury Town Home living in downtown Southern Pines! This house is beautiful with 9' & vaulted ceilings, granite countertops, cherry cabinetry, high-end GE stainless steel appliances, 2 panel smooth skin doors, nickel hardware & fixtures, hardwood & tile floors, and tons of windows.
Real cedar shakes, Hardi-plank, Cultured Stone, wood/clad windows and a Craftsman style front door give this home curb appeal. The Homeowners Association is responsible for maintaining your yard, sprinkler system, pressure washing the exteriors, painting, cleaning the gutters, private playground, and an annual termite contract.
Walking distance to downtown attractions such as shops, restaurants, clubs, churches, parks, the library and a short commute to Fort Bragg and Pope AFB.
Please call or email for more information.

So, let's see how this goes.... I just checked the ticker and I already had 2 hits. I love using Military By Owner.....

So, for these shots I was able to borrow a 10-22mm lens and a flash. Um... I seriously think that I don't see a difference between these and my point and shoot. Which means I really need a class on photography. And never mind the carnival mirror effect you get with the wide angle. I can hear all the pros out there laughing at my skills:) Tu, if you are reading, bring your pretty wife and come visit me. Oh, and you'll be giving me another lesson:)

I really was just running around today, filling laundry baskets full of crap and then moving them to a new room so I could shoot the kitchen, for example. I'm pretty much exhausted right now. And, some of you might recognize the master bedroom from Is Your Bedroom Nice post. My bedroom still isn't nice and right about now, I don't care:)

Ok... point out my typos and my run-ons (which seem to be okay in real estate descriptions) and tell me if you'd inquire about my ad (if you were looking for a townhouse in NC).

Williams Sonoma?

Have I mentioned that my 2.5 year old has been carrying around a Williams Sonoma magazine for 2 straight weeks now? I know, she is me.... we are clones. But, why?? She's addicted to this thing. She has to sleep with it. And they way she says ma magazine is so cute. I should go sneak in her room and take a picture of her sleeping with ma magazine but... I'm not risking waking her!

Some random shots....

Nay and her Daddy

The Dora Scooter. She's getting pretty good!

And then I saw this..... and was excited that Spring is here!

And then I have these shots of Dane, walking outside yesterday. And, go figure, I didn't even get his feet in the shot! Crap... they are still cute so I'll post them later.

However, right now, we are having a crazy hurricane storm. Oh, and there go the sirens. I was just waiting for that.... The lights were flickering, the rain was coming down so hard, and then the wind decided to swipe 1/2 the items right off my deck. I'll pick those up tomorrow...

Get to Class!

So, I'm sitting here downloading 215 images from my camera to my hard drive and..... let's just put it this way: I have some time to kill.

I'm going to have to put blogging on a T.O. Time out, that is. I signed up for this CS2 class, paid my lovely $60 (not bad), and only did the first 5 classes. Now, it's about to expire and the classes that I really NEED are the ones that I haven't completed yet. (Right, Jess? Ha...) Anyway, I'm going to browse through them real quick and then save/print them so that I have them for future reference. The class just lost interest when the first courses were so basic... I was falling asleep reading them. But I know the lessons I haven't done, which are marked advanced, will be helpful.

56 of 215 images saved. Great... on a roll.

I've got a lot of crap to do this week. Join the club, huh? Life as adult is not fun and games.... NOT FAIR. But anyway.... I do this to myself so, I'm over it.
Wanna see another list? No, I didn't think so. This list is for me.... move onto a different blog for entertainment because you're not going to find any here.

• The house is trashed again, Jaime. Clean it (That's a whole different bullet point. See your notepad.) Then you can:
• Take pictures and get the ad ready for MilitaryByOwner.com
• Finish CS2 class and save/print material
• Finish the laundry and try to put it away this time. Your last effort at this was ridiculous.
• Wash the bedding. It's getting gross. I'm no Oprah, people.
• De-clutter the high top counter for the 100th time this week already, keep it that way!
• Finish Design Boards and send them out for printing.
• Oh my... there are some cute shots that you just downloaded. Post a couple to your blog and show people how dang cute your kids are:) hehe... kidding.
• Go take pictures of the new coffee shop downtown. You love the color combination and wanted to email it to Manda.

Are you guys still reading this? Good.. I didn't think so.

Good. 215 images saved.

Seven Deadly Quirks

Oh man.

This first quirk would blow you all away if I was completely honest, so I'm not going to be.
I'm sorry if it's offensive. If it is, just click X on your browser.

1. When I am in public and I am about to walk past somebody who looks smelly/is obese and looks like their chubby rolls might smell/appears to not have showered in quite some time/etc., I will continue to hold my breath until I am a good distance away so I do not risk smelling any foul odor. I will actually blow all the air in my body out my nostrils, in case some smell has infiltrated my nostrils, so that I have a fresh breath of air. EVERYTIME. I know, I can't help it. It's a smell thing.

2. I hate wet socks. Please dry off before exiting the shower so that I do not step onto the rug and wet my socks. Ugh.... hate that.

3. I have to put lotion on after every shower.

4. I follow a strict bedtime routine, in this order: Floss teeth, brush teeth, wash face, apply lotion. If I brush my teeth during the day, I want to wash my face, too.

5. Once I get into bed, I have to put the covers in between my knees so they are not directly touching. And from there, I rub my legs together till I get too sleep. Eli is finally okay with it. But I know it used to drive Libby nuts if we ever were sleeping in the same room!

6. I, also, like to sort my grocery on the conveyor at the store. I'm starting to think this is not a quirk anymore, since I've seen it on a few lists.

7. My clothes are color coordinated in my closet. I know this is a stretch at getting a 7th quirk but... Eli's gone and can't help me point out all my craziness right now.

Who has 2 middle names?

Me. That's who. And my brother Jer. And now his new little baby girl. Poor thing. It's never really caused me much trouble except when they called my name at graduation and now that I've been TAGGED! By the way, the only reason I'm going to do this tag is because I like Jess. Otherwise I would have bowed out when I heard the rules:

(1) You must post the rules on your blog before you answer the questions.
(2) You need to list one fact about yourself using each letter of your middle name. If you don’t have a middle name use your maiden name instead.
(3) When you are finished with your answers, you tag one person for each letter of your name.

M - Musical. Well, not extremely but I can read music and play piano, flute, and bariSax.
A - Antsy. I get antsy when I'm bored.
R - Rebellious. I just don't want to be told what to do.
I - Independent. Kind of goes with the above.
E - Eclectic. I love mixing styles together. Modern + traditional = E


J - Jiggy. I like to 'get-down' every once in a while.
O - Ovaries. Nothing wrong with 'em. I had 2 children 20 months a part, not on purpose.
Y - Yeeeeehaaaaw! Because I used to call it heeehaawww before I met my first Southern friend, Jana, who taught me how to say it with a drawl. And she thought I had an accent:)

My first tag... Did I do it right?

Now, I know I'm supposed to tag 8, yes eight letters in my middle name, people to follow the rules. But I just can't. I don't even know that many people in blog land. So, I'm going to go with Leah at A Day In The Life (because she has a cool middle name and she needs to blog more) and Libby at Bebe's Corner (because she's smart and knows what an adjective is. Plus, I want her to blog more too!).

I hope everybody has a great week!