CHEERS! 

Enjoying a pitcher of margaritas 

Holly, Di, Becky, and Jen at Montelle Winery 

Becky's Bachelorette Party!!

Last weekend, Holly and I took Becky out for her bachelorette party...only another week of "freedom" for her! We had a blast! We started the day in Augusta, at Montelle Winery where we sampled about 12 different types of wine before making our selection...Good thing Holly was Designated Driver!
After finishing 3 1/2 bottles of wine we headed to El Maguey for dinner (and margaritas!). We dropped Toni (Becky's mom) off at home, then it was off to Westport for drinks and dancing! We started out at the Bachelorette Night at Patrick's. Becky had a round of drinks, but wanted to go to Margarita Mama's for dancing.
You can check out some of the pictures from our *GIRLS' NIGHT OUT* above. Enjoy...we did!

Holly's Blogsite...Check it out!

I just wanted to post a link to Holly's blogsite for all of you who are interested in checking it out. It's http://our-new-family.blogspot.com She's going to be putting up some pics of their *GROWING* family. I think you'll like it!
(You may have to copy and paste the link to your address bar.)

(It's the same as my blogsite address, except insert the word "new" instead of "little". For some reason, I'm having a problem posting the actual address on here...hmm...)

Here's my little Ladybug, Keira Grace! 

One More Week...a countdown

I woke up feeling a bit sad this morning. As I rocked Keira to sleep for her morning nap, I thought about how few (week) days I have left that I get to do that(besides holidays, sick days, etc). I'm determined to spend as much time as possible with her this week...I haven't even showered yet (and it's NOON!) because I want to be with her. I'll shower when she takes her afternoon nap, I guess.
I know you probably get sick of hearing, er, reading, about it, but I'm really dreading leaving her! What if she does something new and I miss it!? I know that she'll be learning to do so many new things, the older she gets, and I hate that I won't be able to experience all of her firsts the first time she does them. I've joined a "Working Mom/Dad's" message board, so hopefully I'll be able to get advice, support, etc from others, too.
Thanks for your support, and please bear with me. I know I'll make it through, although it'll probably take a little while.

For Rob and Lisa

Hey LoveBirds!
I just want to wish you two a happy TENTH anniversary! I hope you are just as much in love today as you were on August 5, 1995. I love you both!

Spoiled Baby (for Holly)

Hey Aunt Holly! Don't worry, I'll try not to spoil Tyler too much! Believe me, you'll have plenty of opportunity to spoil him....although my mom said that her grandma always told her, "There are NO spoiled babies, only loved babies or neglected babies." I can't wait until he gets here. I'm so excited for you that soon you'll be experiencing this amazing thing called motherhood. You'll be (and already are) wonderful!

What a princess! This is the dress she's going to wear to Uncle Dwayne and Aunt Becky's wedding. 

She just looks so serious. 

HERE is Mommy and Keira! 

Time Flies...

It's amazing to me how quickly time flies. We had a meeting this past weekend to plan our TEN year high school reunion. Is it really possible that next year I'll have been out of school for TEN years...a DECADE!?! Rob and Lisa are celebrating their 10th wedding anniversary on Friday. Shawn and I are coming up on 5 years of marriage. How crazy! The older I get, the faster time goes.

Mommy and her sweetie pie

This is the most recent picture of Keira and Mommy.

Shop-a-holic!

I've become a shopaholic lately! But, in my defense, I haven't been shopping for myself! I've been stocking up on goodies for my new nephew (baby Tyler!). I went to JC Penney today...just to browse, honestly! Somehow I found myself in the baby department. I found the cutest things for Tyler (and for Keira). It's just too much fun to shop for a new addition!

Win a FREE iPod from Apple!

Shawn wanted me to let all of you know how YOU can geat a free Apple iPod (which holds up to 5000 songs!) and help him earn one in the process. All you have to do is go to THIS link and follow the directions! Thanks for helping him out!

http://www.freeiPods.com/?r=19548851

(just hilight the link, copy and paste to your address bar.)

My Little Baby...

...is growing TOO quickly! I've been experimenting with feeding her rice cereal from a bowl with a spoon. She hasn't been too terribly interested until today. This morning I decided to give it another try. You should've seen her! She'd open her mouth wider and wider for each bite. She almost ate the whole bowl full! She seemed so big to me. It almost made me want to cry....she won't be my tiny baby forever. Soon she'll be sitting, crawling, talking, walking! Wow...I'm not ready for any of that!
Today is Shawn's 27th birthday. We're going to go out to a movie and probably to dinner. My mom and dad (Gramma and Pop) are going to watch Keira for us. We've been to 3 movies since we had Keira. The first one was "Sahara". Shawn's parents (Nana and Papa) watched her then. Uncle Rob and Aunt Lisa watched her when we saw "Batman Begins". Today we're going to see "The Wedding Crashers". We've been more selective in what we see at the movies lately. However, we do rent a LOT of movies now. Check out www.blockbuster.com for a great deal! (Do I sound like a commercial or what?)

To Tattoo or Not to Tattoo

I had a friend once who got a tattoo when she turned 30....she called it a mid-life crisis! Three of my best friends (Kelly, Holly and Amber) all have tattoos, Tim has tattoos, Becky has a tattoo. I've been thinking a lot about getting one. I'm trying to weigh the pros and cons....I know that it's something permanent, it'll be with me forever. I've been trying to imagine what it will be like having a tattoo when I'm 80. Kelly's mom said, "When you're old and in a nursing home, everyone will make fun of you". In reality, most of the residents our age will probably have tattoos, too. Anyway, I can't think of any compelling reasons TO get one...except that I just want one.
Kelly says that "Tattoos aren't just for inmates and sailors anymore..." If I do get one, it'll be something feminine and pretty. Of course, when Keira comes to me asking for permission to get a tattoo, I won't be able to tell her she can't....oh well, I'll just have to choose my battles.

Dear Family, please read this...

After re-reading my previous post, I realize how insensitive some of my comments were. I think I must have been feeling especially...I don't know, crabby that day. Still, it's no excuse to say/ er...write...things that could be hurtful to the people I love, so I apologize.
You are my family, who I love dearly, and who love my daughter as if she were your own. Please know that you can call her anything you want! She is "your" girl...."your" granddaughter, "your" niece, "your" cousin. I should know that I don't have to worry about being replaced (as one of the girls on a message board I belong to put it). She knows I'm her mommy. And she's such a lucky girl to have so many wonderful people who care about her. So am I.
Thanks for taking the time to read this. I'd appreciate it if you'd leave a comment just so I know it was read.
LOVE YOU ALL!

Just Venting......

I realized today that I'll be going back to work in just under a month. The thought both excites me and makes me crazily upset. I'm looking forward to another school year, to working with another group of kids, to feeling like I'm accomplishing something every day...having tangible evidence of my accomplishments.
On the other hand, the thought of not being here with Keira every day is starting to make me crazy! I look at her and think how lucky I've been to be able to spend so much time with her. How lucky I've been to watch her grow, to see every single change. Shawn is happy to go to work and come home in the evenings to us. I hope I can be that happy when the dreaded day comes that I have to return to work. I remember how extremely hard it was for me the three weeks I had to go back to school after maternity leave. Dropping her off in the mornings was the hardest thing I've had to do in a long time. But, God, how incredible the feeling was when I picked her up in the afternoon! I'm hoping that I'll be able to focus on the joy I feel when I see her rather than the ache I feel when I drop her off.
If I'm being completely honest, I'm also a bit worried (probably unnecessarily so) that she'll bond with her sitter (my aunt) and it'll weaken the bond that she and I have. I know that that's a silly thought....I'm her mother, after all, and she knows that. Part of me (a big part) is thankful that I have a family member who is willing and able to watch Keira for me. Another part of me thinks that daycare would almost be easier, emotionally, for me to deal with. I can't really verbalize what I mean by that. I don't have a doubt that she'll be safe and well cared for, and loved. Maybe I'm worried about losing some of my power as a mom...You know what I mean? It's harder for a daycare provider to become as attached to one child and as involved personally outside of the daycare setting. With a family member, it's different. If anyone out there can sympathize or offer any advice, please help!
ANYWAY thanks for listening to me rant, and feel free to offer advice. Sometimes I feel like I'm all alone in here.