Happy to Mommy...

Monday was my birthday, and it was so good! The festivities began on Sunday night with the Gines clan. We had a yummy dinner, and Jo's awesome spice cake with Maple frosting..YUM! Monday morning, I had my first ever professional massage. It was heaven! I will be doing it again, that's for sure. Travis had the day off, which is unusal these days, and it was nice to spend some time with him. We went to lunch at Winger's with my Mom and Addison, and then headed to my Dad's later that night for dinner, and another yummy cake! I have the best family around! Thanks to everyone for your birthday wishes, and sweet cards, and gifts. Thanks especially to Addison who is still singing, "Happy to you, happy birday mommy!" I started 27 the right way!


Not the best picture of us. I was still in massage bliss, and Mom wasn't ready for the shot.





Please excuse my "naked body" friend. She spends lots of time like this lately!



Addi loved the present from Janelle..a cute pair of panties..for the sexier times in life!

Adios Eddie.

Eddie has been our dog for almost 5 years. When we first got him, it was agreed that he was Trav's dog, and that all care, and love would be provided by Travis. Soon after we got Eddie, however, I realized that there was no way Trav could keep his word. He was working, and going to school, both full time, and was a Weekend Warrior for the National Guard. Begrudgingly, I took upon myself the chore of caring for Eddie, really because I had no other choice. We spent lots of time detesting each other, and waiting for Travis to come home and fill the gap between us. Later though, we just learned to understand each other, and maintain our distance while still living under the same roof. Eddie knew that if I got him out, I needed company, and that he could sit on the floor by my feet. I knew that if Eddie needed love..if only just for a minute, he would look at me, turn his head to the side, and wiggle his way into my lap. In so doing, it seems that Eddie also wiggled his way into my heart!


I have never been the most loving and caring owner for Eddie, and I have never kept that a secret. I feel guilty about it, but once Addison arrived, Eddie spent most of his days in the laundry room, starved for attention. My guilt finally got the better of me, and I talked to my husband, who has seemed only to get even busier as the years have passed. We made the tough, but right decision to place Eddie with a new family today. (I learned from Madi and Troy, and Adam and Jess in their adoption adventures that the correct term for adopting someone out is to place them.) We met his new family, and four cute boys today. He is going to a loving home, and they are excited to be getting him. He'll be getting a lot of attention now!

While I hated the hair Eddie shed, and the unpleasant memory Eddie and I shared of ingested pillow stuffing, resulting in a constipated, "stuffed" dog, and poo wrapped in batting for weeks on end, or the visits from various female visitors with higher pitched voices that always seemed to leave our house with a peed on leg, and a dog that jumped to the highest heights to escape from our yard only to chase the neighbor cat, or to chase the skunk that eventually took his revenge on Eddie, or just to annoy me, and run away.


I will miss the joy Eddie brought to Addison's face, the fact that I didn't need to vacuum after lunch time, because Eddie would take care of it for me, and my sweet husband insisting that Eddie needed to come on family camping trips, even though he smelled, and took up way too much room in the car. I guess I will just miss Eddie..and I have tear stained cheeks to prove it!

22 Months...

Addison is 22 months old today. She is almost two, and I have definitely started to see glimpses of "The Terrible Two's"! Addi is still darling, sweet, and my favorite gal, but man oh man, when she's on one, look out! She's pretty choosy and likes to have a say about EVERYTHING..from the clothes she wears (if I can convince her to get dressed at all), to what we eat for breakfast, and lunch, to what song we listen to in the car. If she doesn't like it or doesn't want to do it, she'll say, "No, I not ready.", or "I don't like it." or "a different one.", or she'll just scream and holler!



Addison has been climbing out of her crib for a long time now, but just this week it started to become a problem. Before, she would just climb out when it was nap time or bedtime, and she really wasn't tired. I could put her back in, and she would stay put, for the most part. Now, she'll climb out, and wander the house. Her favorite was to wake up in the middle of the night, ie. 2 AM, and come into our room, wake me up, and ask to sleep in our bed. Every time I would tell her that she couldn't and put her back in her room, she would come right back in and scream. Finally, I decided we needed to do something about it, after 3 nights in a row with a kid who refused to sleep. So, we have started to lock her in her room. It makes me feel horrible, but she only cries for a minute at the door, and then climbs back into bed, and after a few whimpers, goes back to sleep.

Addison still loves Mickey Mouse! Travis and I were talking the other day, and I didn't want her to know what it was about, so I started spelling. Duh! She can spell Mickey Mouse..it's right in the song that she has memorized by heart! As soon as I said, M-I-C-K, she finished with -E-Y and -O-S-E. Even though she spells it incorrectly, it still makes me laugh every time!



My little baby isn't a baby at all. In fact, I see no baby left in her anywhere. She's finally over the blankie and binkie, and only gets them for nap and bed. Hooray! She is so big, and grown up. She is a silly, smart sweetheart that I love dearly! Whenever I pick Addi up, she rubs and pats my back, and whispers in my ear, "I love you." It makes up for any of the other ugliness that we are dealing with lately! I can't believe the time has gone by so quickly. Like every other month, I still maintain that I am sure a lucky momma to have such a sweet girl by my side! I love you Addi Mae!