"Loofer" (Luther)
So, Luther is way more adorable than I imagined. Annabelle still calls him Loofer. I tried to get her to pronounce his name correctly.
"Not LOOFER, Bella, it's LU-THER. LU-THER. "
"Loofer. That's what i said"
Finally, she sighed and said, "Mama, sometimes I like to call him "Patch".
So while Poppy was gone, she renamed his puppy.
Annabelle and Julian had a great time at Poppy and Tata's house. Julian learned how to turn doorknobs, while Bella learned how to turn locks (and lock herself in the bedroom many times).
Bella also spent most of her days looking after the puppy with an attention that I didn't think possible for 3 year olds. She even took him outside to use the bathroom without any help from anybody. She then picked him up and brought him inside by herself. A very big girl, with a strong desire for a pet of her very own. Someday, we will move into a place that welcomes pets and give her the greatest desire of her little 3 year old heart.
As we were driving home last night, I turned on Cinderella in the back seat for the kids to watch on the long drive. Bella and Julian drew very quiet, but before the movie started, Bella grabbed Julian's hand and said, "Julian, thank you so much for opening that door for me when I was stuck in the bedroom. You were really my hero."
So genuine and precious and grateful. They really love eachother.
And we can't stop staring at Julian. He just got out of the bath, is wearing a one piece zip up pajama, and his little short haircut makes him look like a London-er. He looks so much taller and thinner. I call him Christopher Robin. Annabelle calls him "my delicious boy". And he is delicious. He doesn't look like a baby lion anymore, since we cut off his mane, but he is still ferocious and has reminded us at every opportunity tonight. Lots of growling and attacking. But lots of kisses and hugs too. He feels special with his big boy haircut and new pj's and he's letting us all know it.
Bella told me, "Mama, it really isn't fair that Juju got fruit snacks tonight and I can't have any". I explained to her that Julian did something really brave, in getting his haircut. He sat like a big boy and let the lady cut his hair and didn't fight her (too much).
She declared promptly, "Let's go get my haircut. Come on. And bring the fruit snacks."
sooooo....Julian got a haircut...
Yeah, so I cut Julian's hair. Well,
I didn't cut his hair, but I took him to have it cut. It was his 3rd haircut, but his first REAL haircut. We cut off the curls. Something changed over the week he spent at Poppy and Tata's house. When I picked him up, I saw, not long curly cute baby hair, but a long baby mullet. I promptly took him to the salon as soon as I got off work tonight.
He played with Percy, his new train, ate fruit snacks, and obsessively cleaned the hair off of his safari animal hair cut drape thingy... (what
are those things called???)
Here's a little before and after shot. We all love his new cut, that makes him look less wild and baby-ish and more like the big 2 year old boy that he is.
Dustin and Annabelle are protectively watching their hair, in fear that they will be the next victims of Mommy's hair cutting streak of 2006.
Sunday
Super Sunday. :)
*I slept in.
*Woke up, choked down a fiber drink (I'm doing a cleanse, did I already mention this? I lost 10 pounds this week, which is kind of gross if you think about how I lost 10 pounds)
*Played on the computer and watched a Beatle's documentary. And looked at my scrapbook supplies, which if you are a scrapbooker, know that that is almost the same thing as actually scrapbooking.
*Cleaned the house
*Cleaned me (showered)
*Fought with my hair for 30 minutes. Ugh. But I'm still happy that I did it.
*Waiting for D to get home so we can go get the babies!!! (and see Luther the puppy...I'm almost as excited about that as I am about seeing my kiddos)
*Watch Desperate Housewives.
*Drive 3 1/2 hours back home and try to sleep before work tomorrow.
Pretty boring to most people, but somewhat relaxing for me.
I'm switching to a new department at work this week. No real reason, other than it is an easier department to work in, less physical work for me, less demands, less pressure, and more playtime! I will be getting paid the same amount of money to goof off more and read books in the slow times. But don't tell my bosses that. I don't want to be found out before I get to move!
My manager is sad, but said she would do the same thing if in my shoes. But she has made me promise to spend a little time helping her if I see her about to explode from stress, and spend at least 1/4 of my goof off time with her. Pretty fair trade.
My job pretty much sucks most of the time, but I have made some super great friends in the process. Which makes me happy. Have a happy Sunday :)
so here it is.
i'm still trying to learn how to fix it, because i am completely uncoordinated when it comes to doing cute girl stuff, like applying makeup and fixing hair and stuff like that.
although, i can make bella look cute and girly, maybe it's just me. it's like i have two left hands...or worse, two left feet, trying to fix my hair.
anyways...i think i like it today. tomorrow may be another story.
As you may remember, I am childless this week. So Amy read my blog to Annabelle yesterday and she said, "Oh no. mommy cut her long hair? . she wasn't supposed to do that. i'm gonna really miss her long hair."
isn't she cute? miss her super much. and my little monster too.
i cut my hair.
it is short.
i will show you a picture tomorrow.
must...have...sleep...
good night, my little dumplings. :)
our anniversary...
since Valerie asked in the comments section a few entries ago, no it is not our anniversary. our anniversary is April 22 (Earth Day) And since I got an email, announcing
this.........I just have to say....who is going to send us here for our anniversary??? Come on, it's anniversary #6. AND our 7th year of being together. We need this people. Send us to Hawaii. Help us through the 7 year itch!!! :) (all in jest, of course. but I'll go ahead and set up a Paypal account in case... i kid, i kid.)
But if I know you, and you are attending this thing...well, I'm am jealous. Very much. Jack Johnson. Ben Harper. Willie Nelson. All on one stage. I would have a hard time focusing on my sweet husband though, you know how much I love....Willie Nelson. ;)
hey! over there-----> is my bloginality, (blog personality) It's from a small, 4 question test, based on the Myers-Briggs personality test. Very fun and informative. I took it today, twice actually. The first time, I stretched the truth a bit, and picked the choice of the personality that I
wanted to have. After reading the results, I knew I was being false, so I took the test again, and got my results. I was a little disappointed in the results, until I went to a page that gave a list of well known people with the same results. I am proud to be lumped into the same category as
Jane Austen
C.S. Lewis
JFK
and the fictional character Mr. Darcy (from Pride and Prejudice)
There were several others listed, (like Colin Powell, Arnold Schwarzenegger, Chevy Chase, Richard Gere, Susan B. Anthony, Augustus Caesar, Lance Armstrong, Rudy Giuliani, etc. etc.) But those were a few of my favorites.
Take the test if you'd like. I would love to see some of your results. After you take the test, it gives you your blog personality, and then there are several links to other personality types, jobs appropriate for your personality type, etc. If you click on the link that says "Typelogic, ISTJ" (or whatever your type is) It will take you to a page that describes your type, and at the end, gives a list of other people with the same results. Very interesting. :)
IN OTHER NEWS:I ordered some
Advocare products from my online buddy,
Shellie, some vitamins, (designed for maximum energy) an herbal cleanse, and an energy drink called Spark. I went with the high energy stuff, because I drag all the time. I am weighed down with fatigue, dragging all day long, and wanting to go to bed as soon as I get home, but restlessness when i try to sleep......anways...... I started them all today, and seriously, I've never had vitamins actually work before.
I don't know if I'm highly resistant to stuff, because medicine never seems to help (so I almost never take medicine if I'm sick, or if I have a headache) When I was in surgery, post-surgery, the nurses had to remind me to use my morphine drip, because I never felt it help anything, so I never used it. Anyways.....this stuff, especially the spark and the vitamins...WORKS. I'm having the most difficult time typing (as you may tell :) hee hee) because I'm just bouncing in my seat, I can't sit still. Everytime I stand up, I have to bounce. Is that silly or what? I've been jumping around the house all afternoon, waiting on food to cook, after using the bathroom, walking from the computer to the bedroom to see if Dustin's still breathing (he's been asleep all day!)
I love this stuff, and I have to get off the computer now, because I seriously can't type anymore!!! I'll check in later, if this stuff ever wears off. Oh yeah, and it's all natural vitamins, no drugs or anything. (just in case you were wondering if I was on crack) Super cool! :) BYE!!
Julian is 2 today
My little boy is two years old today.
This is a photo of him that Dustin took last week at
Julian and CJ's birthday party. We celebrated last week on CJ's birthday, because CJ had to work this weekend. I am so glad we did, because Julian and Annabelle are at Mom and Dad's house this week.
Dustin is taking some classes that fell on this weekend and next weekend, so Mom and Amy offered to keep the kids (since we have one car, and I will be at work while Dustin is at class)
I'm a little sad today. I know that Julian isn't even aware that it is his birthday, and is busy having fun at Poppy and Tata's, playing with their new PUPPY! (yes, they got a puppy. not only do they have a puppy, but it is DAD'S puppy. My dad, who has never been a huge fan of pets, now has a Jack Russel puppy named Luther. Bella calls him Lufer) But as his Mommy, I feel bad about not being with him today.
While I do miss them both, I am spending the week (yes, they'll be gone a week. Neither of them has stayed away from Dustin and I this long) doing things that I couldn't be doing if they were here. I have scrapbooking tools and papers spread all over my coffee table, and I don't plan on cleaning it up any time soon, since my day off is tomorrow. I am reading books (
The Artist's Way by Julia Cameron, recommended by Valerie) I am watching movies (all things Meg Ryan today, You've Got Mail, French Kiss, and Hanging Up) I am eating vanilla ice cream with a little peanut butter mixed in. I am planning on watching Desperate Housewives, uninterrupted.
But mostly, I'm missing my babies.
We had chinese food last night. I forgot to eat my fortune cookie, because I fell asleep shortly after. (I had 10 hours of sleep over 3 1/2 days, so I'm making up for that this week too) This afternoon when I got up, I opened my fortune cookie.
...
and somehow, it actually made me feel a little better.
Go watch
this video (if you want to, you will not regret it)
It is by a band, Sigur Ros, from Iceland. When Dustin showed it to me the other night, I cried so hard, it would be considered "sobbing".
Read this:
this is one of the funniest blog entries I've read today. The entry is entitled "US / Canada Part 3 "Painting with Tampons" and it can be found
here. And I can proudly say that this fabulously funny and well written woman is my Aunt Valerie. You will laugh. :)
what is wrong with my blog???
can anybody see my blog? if you can, email me
mindi1111@hotmail.com :) thanks
so my new flash came and i don't know how i ever got along without it! seriously, this thing rocks!!! :)
<----a picture of Julian's favorite, Thomas the train (he calls him "Tatas")
in between playtime, i've been dealing
with a very emotional little girl. i think the last issue, was that i gave her strawberries, blueberries and raspberries for a snack, and julian got pears and raisins and SHE wanted pears and raisins too, and it was just a completely unjust travesty that she couldn't have them too. seriously. she cried and wailed in her bedroom for 10 minutes. like a little pre-teenager. it scared me of things to come. :) little girls are very emotional....
so...speaking of little girls. :) guess who is going to be an
auntie to a little girl???? ME!!!!!!!!!
Amy had her ultrasound today and although the baby kept it's legs crossed the whole time (
such a little lady already) he said he would be VERY surprised if this baby came out as a boy. no visible boy parts whatsoever, and you know in our family, boy parts are VERY visible ;)
so, looks like i'm going to be shopping for sweet girly things over the next few months! i'm just thrilled, and feel a little rewarded for saving every single precious outfit of Annabelle's over the last 4 years. This little girl will be born in April, and since Bella was a March baby, she should be able to fit most of Bella's baby clothes! can you tell I'm so excited??
Amy and Salomon, of course are and I'm sure you will see many many many newborn photos come April.
this makes me laugh :)
just for fun :)
Four jobs you have had in your life:
*SAHM
*Regional manager for a small video/rent to own store
*residential manager for apartment complex
*sales associate at a dept. store
Four movies you would watch over and over:
*
You've Got Mail*
Notting Hill*
Pride and Prejudice (the new one, since I don't have 5 hours a day to devote to movie watching)
*
Love ActuallyFour TV shows you love to watch:
*
Friends (re-runs)
*
Little House on the Prairie*
Desperate Housewives*
LostFour places you have been on vacation:
*East Coast road trip on honeymoon...all the way to Portland Maine
*San Miguel de Allende, Mexico
*Guinea, Africa (although i wouldn't really call it a vacation)
*San Diego, CA
Four places you have lived:
*Arkansas (several places)
*Tyler, TX
*Mexico
*Africa (i don't know if that counts, I was only there a month! :)
Four websites I visit daily:
*
2 Peas*
ILP*
Bloglines (to check on updates of about a million blogs that I read...this thing is really cool if you read several blogs, just add each blog into your account and it almost always updates your list when a blog has been updated...although typepad accounts get skipped over sometimes)
*
MySpaceFour of my favorite foods:
*Tortilla soup from El Chico's
*Anything from a bakery (cookies, doughnuts, brownies, cake, etc.)
*Carne Asada burritos from California or bistec tacos from Mexican street vendors
*Anything made by Dustin, Mom, Dad or CJ (Amy, you and Salomon need to start cooking for me more often, so I can add you two to my list!!! :)
Four places I would rather be right now:
*SMA, Mexico
*Mom's house, with all the fam
*on vacation
*Home Sweet Home :)
I'm tagging (but only if you really want to... :)
Valerie,
Stephen,
Kris
oh yeah, one more fun little thing (to kind of bump the downer post down a bit ;)
the other night, i was headed home from work, and thought about picking up a pizza and a movie, when i thought, let's do something different. Chinese food and wine. Which is way weird for me, because I don't care for either of them, but I know Dustin does, so I stopped and picked up, what turned out to be awesome Honey Sesame Chicken for the chinese food bit, complete with chopsticks and fortune cookies that the kids loved. And White Zinfandel, which isn't Dustin's favorite (merlot) but I thought it may not make me gag. And it didn't. But I would have preferred a pina colada ;)
And we rented a couple of pretty good movies. (Must Love Dogs, which was wonderful, and Wedding Crashers, which was hilarious, but I recommend watching the theatrical version as opposed to the Uncorked version if you want to avoid a little nudity and crass talk)
And it was fun and different and I was so happy to eat something that came out of a tiny little box that said "Thank You". :) So here is a picture :)
Mindi Downer
So, this may be kind of a downer, so skip over it if you wish.
I feel like lately I have chosen to feed off of negativity. I love gossip at work. I spread lots of the gossip at work (not like make up lies and stuff, but I tell what I hear) I don't remember ever being like that (to this degree, i mean most girls are a tad gossipy, right?)
Anyways, I have been dealing a bit with depression for the past few months, and although I can't pinpoint one thing and say, THIS, this is what is wrong with me, I can pinpoint small things that certainly don't help the situation.
I like to hear the juicy stuff. The mean, catty, girl stuff. I like to see people that I don't particular care for have a hard time. It makes me feel better about my own hard times. I feel pretty crappy saying that for you all to read, but I would rather be honest than perfect. And since I am way off the mark in the perfect department, honest it is ;)
Anyways, I just realized it yesterday, as I was sharing something stupid with somebody else, and I realized that I never share fun stuff. I mean, we talk silly about movies and people and things we like, but I never share my passions. Things I love, things that make me truly happy. I don't really even ask about others true passions and interests and happy making things. That makes me so sad. It is not who I am, but I am afraid that it is what I will be known for, and I certainly don't want that. That is no legacy.
And I feel like that snowballs into bigger things. I feel achy and tired and sore all the time. I don't do tons of heavy lifting or anything at work (though I do some) but not enough to make me feel like an elephant has stepped all over my neck and shoulders. That's pure stress baby. Stress from being on the hunt for more negativity. Looking for weaknesses in others. Trying to hide the weaknesses in myself.
And that stress and achiness and fatigue keeps me from wanting to play with the kids, go anywhere fun, workout to feel better, have long sweet talks with my husband. All I want to do is rest. And I never feel rested.
And not doing the things I love, the things that I am passionate about, the things that will make me feel better, leads me deeper into depression. Because what is life, afterall, if you aren't living it? Not much.
So I think it's time to change that. I have to change this liking for negativity. It's not fun, it just makes me feel better (momentarily) about myself. I want to be known for my happiness. My ability to make others feel better about themselves. My loyalty and my friendship and my love for life and my family and my God. I'm hoping that posting this on here will keep me a bit more accountable.
I was trying to come up with a theme for 2006. Something to motivate and inspire me. Something to keep me going when all I want to do is sleep or run away. And this song, this lovely, crazy song that
Waterdeep covered (original by Tom Petty) Called
Two Gunslingers kept running through my head as I was writing. I'm takin control of my life....I'm taking control of my life now. Right Now. Oh yeah. It is just so wonderful and inspiring and it runs through my head all the time. Seriously. All the time. It's become my mantra. The whole theme of my life as it currently is. And Lori Chaffer (of Waterdeep) just rocks it. Very nice. :)
So anyway, there you go. You probably all think I need mental help now, and I probably do. But I'm trying to work on that part. And since I can't seem to post anything without adding a picture, here is a rare one of me. Just me right now. Trying
really hard not to say anything negative about it ;)
Little Juju
My little Juju. He's been such a doll today.
I made this little slideshow two nights ago for his birthday. It is really cute, filled with tons of pictures from his first two years of life (set to an awesome Killers song, "All these things that I've done") Anyways, it's really cool and I grabbed Julian today to watch it. He thought we were going to watch a cartoon or something. When he saw all of these pictures of him, with music, he got SO EMBARRASSED. Seriously. Embarrassed. He kept blushing, and hiding his eyes and looking away. When he caught me or Dustin or Bella looking at him, he would look at the ceiling or the floor, anywhere but the screen. It was adorable. But when it was all over, he said, "Uh-Gen. Uh-gen" (again, again) So you could say he was pleased.
Then, Bella and I got dressed to go to the bakery to pick out a cake for CJ and Julian's combo birthday party. We were trying to be discreet, because Julian is hard to take out into public, especially when I don't have Dustin or Mom or Amy or somebody there to help me. But just as we are about to leave, Julian sees Bella dressed to shoes, and me dressed to shoes, and runs into his bedroom and comes out holding a pair of pants. (we wear play clothes all day unless we are going somewhere) He brought them to me and smiled a Huge grin, and said, "Bye bye. Let'ssss GO!" So much effort and sweetness, so we bundled him up and took him with us. 5 minutes into the trip, I regretted it, but we stopped for ice cream and all was well once again.
so i got my new lens :)
so i got my new lens :) (thank you Kris!!! :) Can you believe this woman still had the original packaging, down to the fitted styrofoam it was packed in??? I'm impressed)
i haven't had much daylight to take the kids outside for new photos, but i have some late night indoor shots of sleepy kids, unshaven Dustin (who has forbidden me from posting any pics on the blog without prior approval) and a cute little heart shaped cereal. :) (
Kashi's Heart to Heart, for any of you interested. The kids love it, and it's like a healthier, sweeter, crunchier Cheerio)
I like how you can see Dustin's face, sideways in the spoons reflection. :)
I also got my upgrade to Photoshop CS2, a couple of books (
Bryan Peterson's "Understanding Exposure" and
Scott Kelby's "The Photoshop CS2 Book for Digital Photographer's" )
Waiting on my new flash to arrive, and by then....I should have no excuse as to why there aren't more pictures on my blog :) Yahoo for Christmas money!!!! :)
My Julian turns two in a couple of weeks. My brother, CJ turns 24 on Sunday. We're having a combo party at our place, so if you're in the neighborhood next Sunday, stop by :)
I'll leave you with a photo of Bella, my baby model.
She is the easiest child to photograph. I say, hey Bella, put your thumbs in your pockets, and show me a baby model face. She gives me this. She also gave me one with a sweet smile, but i kind of liked this one better. She looks at pictures of other photographer's children (on blogs I visit) and says, "What is her name? Is she a baby model too? "
Here is a typical shot of Julian, upset. (well, a typical shot that doesn't involve him, a sippy cup of soy milk a
nd a movie watching gaze). We welcome Julian's two's with nervous anticipation. He may start talking, but I'm not sure we're ready to hear what he has to say. :)
CJ's visit
Before Christmas, CJ came to visit for the weekend, do some Christmas shopping and teach my Aunt Diane a new recipe. He met me at work around 6pm and we headed out to do some shopping. I love my brother so much. He is truly one of the most generous people I have ever known (second only to my Mom, which makes things great for me to have the 2 most generous people in the world in my immediate family!)
We walked the mall, shopping "CJ style", which means talking him out of buying a million things for everybody he's ever met. Including myself. He found a scarf in Mason's Boutique (kinda pricey) that was really soft that he bought for his girlfriend.
Then he decided that Amy needed one too. And then while debating what colors to purchase for me and Mom, I reminded him that he had already bought our presents and considered taking his money away until we bought what was left on his list.
After shopping, we decided to go to dinner. Now, remember that CJ is a chef, and a pretty good one at that, so your typical "Olive Garden-esque" dinner isn't gonna cut it. We head to a really really really nice place called
"Bordino's" It was so beautiful inside. It was dimly lit with red accents everywhere, and these little picture boxes all around the wall that held everything from baseballs to seashells to thread and yarn...they're called "
art boxes" and you can see them on their site. Fresh cut flowers and classy looking waiters, way too many pieces of silverware and really beautiful wine glasses that I was bound to break.
We sat down and after looking through the menu for something in my budget (uh, like maybe $10 or less) CJ said that he would be paying. Such a gentleman. So we browsed through the menu and with the news of CJ's buying,I was able to search beyond the menu of sodas and into actual food purchases.
Our meal was amazing. Conversation was so sweet and much needed. I love to hear his ideas about the future and his opinions and thoughts on things. This was the relationship that Mom always told us we would have, if we would just stop beating the crap out of one another. I treasure it.
After our appetizer (which we split), our meals, and drinks, the waiter brought the check. I was floored. This is my grocery bill. For 2 weeks. CJ didn't flinch. He said, "Mindi, there is about one meal a week that I don't have to eat standing over a trash can in our restaurant's kitchen. I try to make it a great one and I'm willing to pay well for it."
I told him, "CJ, most guys bring girls to places like this in hopes of getting laid at the end of the night....I'm sorry I can't do more for ya, because it ends here." :)
After paying, we headed down the street to Brewski's for a drink and more hilarious conversation, mostly involving embarrassing moments, and our crazy family. We drove home to a screaming Bella ("UNCLE UNCLE UNCLE!!!!! He is like a celebrity around our home) and I promptly fell asleep, full and happy and content. Sometimes I just need some CJ time.
Mommy
*Bella* "Mommy, is this my new carseat?"
*Mindi* "Yes. This one goes in Mom's car, and the other new one goes in Tata's car".
*Bella* "Oh....what's "
Mom"?
*Mindi* "
Mom?"
*Bella* "You said this one goes in "
Mom's" car."
*Mindi* "Oh! Well...I'm Mom. (puzzled look from Bella) Bella, who am I?"
*Bella* (smiling big) "You're
MOMMY!"
Annabelle just walked into the livingroom with one of my magazines. She pulls out an insert (to buy Ladies Home Journal or something like that) and says, "Here Mama, read this." She is obviously torn up over whatever the insert says. I read it and ask, "can you read it to me, Bella?"
She turns the card over, and in a little voice, reads, "In two weeks, you will never move away from this apartment and you will never get a pet." She slumps her shoulders, pokes out her pouty lip and shuffles sadly back into my bedroom.
We have to move. Soon.
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