HAPPY BIRTHDAY ANDERSON!!!!!!!!!

It all began on Aaron's birthday when Lilly and I announced to Daddy that he would soon be blessed with his little boy!

Happy birthday to my precious baby boy! At 11:40am on Thursday 12/27/07, God blessed me with my handsome man. He was 7lbs 1oz, and 19 3/4 inches long! It's insane to think I'll NEVER again have a two year old (yes, NEVER!)!!!

"We're here, Mr.President! Enlist us!"

It's a good day! I have a dear friend in the military so I thought it would be interesting to get his take on this. He said he was glad to see this happen and that it was time for this blurred line of racism/sexism to end. He asked why the defense of our constitution, freedoms and nation should be limited to people's sexual orientation. He said, "We, as an American culture, "allow" homosexuals to fill the highest civilian positions and entrust them with extraordinary responsibilities but the military kicked them out and essentially told them they aren't good enough to serve their country. Bottom line...America is the land of the free and home of the brave and this was long overdue; it's refreshing to see this form of segregation addressed and the law signed by our Commander in Chief." I think it's interseting to hear this from someone inside the military realm. As a "civilian" (as my military friend so often calls me!), it's hard to grasp the idea that this has been the norm for the past seventeen years. WOOT WOOT to this repeal! Thank you Mr.President!!!

Unconventional or Just Downright Brilliant?!

I read an article this afternoon titled "Unconventional Relationships." After reading and rereading this article, I got to thinking...maybe this is the route to go!
As someone who has become extremely independent, especially when it comes to my living conditions, this separate sleeping quarters, coast-to-coast dwelling seems perfect! I mentioned in a previous blog that I like to consider myself an expert on relationships(granted, as a single gal!). It seems to me that relationships are hard enough, even with the stars all aligned, so if there's a chance to make things a tad bit easier, why not!? Is living together every single day really THAT important? And why must we torture ourselves by sleeping with our slobbery mate if the truth is we really hate it. What part of "til death do us part" includes "in the same bed?"
I hate that relationships have to fit this "mold"...the man should be the one responsible for the bills, a man should make more money, the wife should cook, clean, and pop out babies (okay that may be more of an anatomy issue than anything). But why can't things just be based more on a case-by-case situation? Why does everything have to be accepted based on traditions? Thank you "Unconventional Relationship" article, for reminding me that my single life is pretty gnarly!

Just a bunch of Flynn Rider's

I took the kids to see Disney's "Tangled" this weekend. It was an adorable movie, but it got me thinking....why, in life, do we always fall for Flynn Rider's? In the movie, Flynn not only has the most handsome eyes and sexy voice (can I say that about a Disney character?!), but he's also a rugged bandit, which makes him all the more appealing! There's always been that "good-girl-falls-for-bad-boy-syndrome" going around, but what happens when it becomes a way of life for some girls? Is this something that has been driven into our precious girl minds since we were toddlers?! (Think Aladin!)
I've been single for quite some time now (not complaining AT ALL). Of course there has been the occasional suitor, but more times than not, he is a messy ball of flaws that I can't be bothered with. But I have some friends who just continuously go for the troubled-Flynns and disregard their own warnings and those of their loved ones (me). Although I've had many failed relationships, I still consider myself an expert at relationship-advice-giving! I feel that I have this ability (a gift, if you will) at seeing a person's relationship, picking out the problems (usually they have been brought to my attention, of course!), and offering SIMPLE solutions to cure them. Here's the thing...you always have options. You can keep doing things the way you've been doing them (but please stop complaining to me about them!), or you can change it! Simple. So when someone complains about his soon-to-be-ex-wife and the ridiculous debt she's racked up for him, I say "Well, you have to pay it. There's no way around it. So pay it, and thank GOD that you never have to incur one more dollar of her debt." Or when a friend complains about her husband's lack of help around the home, even though he's currently unemployed, I say to her, "Well, you have two choices. Either let the mess settle for another week and keep bitching about it, or clean it up yourself." It's simple. I'm so tired of people saying, "yeah, but it's the principle." REALLY? You're willing to live miserably for another day just to prove a point to someone? Ugh! It's ridiculous!

Yes, I know my way of solving married-people's-junk is a little pitiless and unkind, not to mention out of my realm. I compare this much to dog-owners giving me parenting advice. Annoying. So I understand if this seems harsh to you married folks. But my point is, stop crying about it and CHANGE the way you're doing things, and if you CAN'T change it, change the way you think about it! ;)

Neighborhood Kris Kringle(s)

Many of you already know the heart-warming story of a little boy who wanted Christmas lights hung on his house in time for Christmas...but for those of you who aren't familiar with it-- it goes like this:

We drove through the neighboring housing additions, admiring the perfectly placed holiday decor. My kids sat in the backseat, wide-eyed, mouths-opened, just "ooing" and "aww-ing" at the bright, flashing lights. Their little eyes sparkled as I looked in the backseat at them, obsessing over how awesome these other houses were. My heart broke a little because I knew there was no way I'd hang lights on our house this year. The idea of propelling myself up on the rooftop in the snow and wind doesn't rank anywhere near the top hundred activities on my "fun list"--no, not even for my kids! It just wasn't going to happen for my little elves this year.
Anderson asked a hundred questions like, "Why can't daddy hang the lights for us?" to which I replied, "Daddy won't be here before Christmas and it'll be too late once he does get here." Then Anderson thought, "I'll ask Crampa to hang lights." "Anderson, Crampa can't do it either. He won't have a ladder tall enough." Then the best one yet, "I'm going to ask Santa if he'll just hang lights on my house before Christmas." The boy sure knows how to tug on my heart-strings! I was telling my neighbor Amanda about this adorable little story, thinking nothing of it...until I came home from shopping last Friday to a little blue note taped to my front door. It read "Santa asked us to fulfill a little boy's wish for Christmas lights this Christmas!" I looked up and there were lights all over the front of our house! At precisely 5:15 the house started glowing and my kids started screaming! They were SO excited!
THANK YOU SO MUCH JOSH AND AMANDA! You guys are AMAZING!!!!!!!!!

They're More Mine...uh oh!

I'm realizing more and more how much my kids are like me. There are times when I push their less alluring traits on their dad, and proudly take the credit for their loving, adorable personalities. I've made a list of each of their personality traits and which parent those traits favor.

Lilly
-sassy (Me)
-dramatic (Me)
-sensitive (Me)
-loud (Me)
-mature (Me, for sure!)
-helpful (more Aaron!)
-fiesty (Me)
-stubborn (Aaron, for sure!)
-smart (Me)
-selfish (Aaron)
-perfectionist (Me)
-systematic (Me)

Anderson
-dramatic (Me)
-whiny (Me)
-passive (Aaron)
-hilarious (Me, haha!)
-loud (Me)
-ornery (Aaron)
-fearless (Aaron)
-loving (Me)
-cooperative (Me)
-flexible (Aaron)

Whether I like it or not, they have most of my traits, even my not-so-enchanting ones! Look out world, we're in trouble!!!! Hehehehee!

"We're HOME!"

As promised, I'm trying to keep up with my blogging. I left off with our dreadful hotel debacle. July 26th we closed on the house. I took two days off so I could clean, paint, and get things unpacked. I wanted to do everything, right away. Financially, that just wasn't feasible..so I have slowly made changes. Here are some pictures.



Of course there are a MILLION more things to do to the house, but those things will come with time! So far I've changed the flooring in the living room and dining room, painted almost every room in the house (or hired it done!), put new flooring in two of the bathrooms, and even bought all new living room furniture! I've loved transforming my house into my HOME! I sat here today watching the snow fall like CRAZY outside, and I just realized how insanely happy and content I am! I LOVE being a homeowner!!!