"And who is going to clean this up?"

As usual, instead of playing with her toys, she decided to remove my underwear from the drawer and throw them on the floor.

When I posed the question, "And who do you think is going to clean this up young lady?" She looked at me with puppy dog eyes and actually tried to put the underwear back in the drawer. I was so surprised and I watched in amazement.

Two problems:
1. The underwear are not folded, but she is only 10 months old, and
2. She felt the need to put everything in the drawer, including Shelby one of her dolls.

"Help! I need somebody to rescue me!"

NyCee's latest antic is as follows:

She goes to sleep in my arms or on my lap. I walk her upstairs and lay her in the bed. 10 minutes later, she is standing in her crib crying and screaming like a banshee. I try to ignore her in hopes that she will just lie down and go back to sleep. Yeah right! I cave in and retrieve her from the bed, putting her where? In my bed of course.
Can someone please call SuperNanny to rescue me?

A Day in the Valley of the Sun--Phoenix, AZ

Today, I was able to play dress up and fly to Phoenix for a job interview. It actually felt good to wake up, put on make up, don a fancy suit, and a new pair of shoes that I bought last year and have been wanting to wear. (Normally, it's sweat pants, a tee shirt, and a pair of slip on shoes.)

After the interview, I had lunch with friends and flew home. And people wonder why I miss being a flight attendant.

I took my camera but forgot to take a picture while I was there. Lewis took this one when I arrived home. I clean up very nicely when I put my mind to it.

Tuesday's Tidbit

It is time to stop nursing your 10 month old daughter when, she rolls over, lifts your shirt, grabs your breast, places the nipple in her mouth, and begins suckling. Subsequently, as a display of satisfaction, she releases bodily gases from any orifice that will allow, rolls back over and continues sleeping.

My work here is done!

And she finally got me, 10 months later!

After a serious diaper blowout, I gave NyCee a bath. As usual, she played for a while and then I washed her up. I follow the same routine. I wrapped her in the towel, walked to the bedroom, and as I prepared to lay her down on the bed, I felt a warm, wet, sensation down my side. I looked at her and she just smiled.

She has gotten my side of the bed several times but never on me. Oh well, that was my welcome to motherhood.

A Little Taste of Home

Whenever I go home to Detroit, there are four MUST have items:

1) Wings Chinese food,
2) A corned beef sandwich,(this is a heart attack on a bun)
3) Bettermade potato chips, and
4) A Faygo Fruit punch.


Lewis surprised me with number 4. He says, he really does not understand the big deal that I make out of wanting these items. Bettermade and Faygo are hometown favorites. They are only produced in Detroit. There is nothing better than the Bettermade-Faygo combination. My family cuts open a bag of Bettermade Plain Potato chips, sprinkles on a few shots of Frank's hot sauce, pours a glass of Faygo soda, and we are in heaven.

Bobbing for Toys

This is why you never leave a child alone in the tub. Of her own accord, NyCee decided to try and pick up a toy with her teeth as her hands were preoccupied.

(Note: I did not leave the room to get the camera. She had been doing that for a couple of days so I decided to take the camera into the bathroom in the hopes of capturing a photo of the action. It worked!)

A Partially Finished Product

Today was nearly 70 degrees and a perfect day to complete my landscaping project. After breakfast, I put on my gloves and completed my project. Of course, this is just one side and I have two sides plus an area around a tree to finish but I think it turned out nice. Please be gentle when criticizing as I do not have a green thumb.

I did learn a couple of useful lessons:
1. After cleaning the area, you must place the edger rocks in position prior to laying the decorative rocks, and
2. White rocks, like white shoes, are a definite No-No! I tried to add a different color to the rocks to tone it down but it just looks like dirty snow.

Oh well, I tried.

"Goodbye Emma, we wish you well."

Lewis and I made a decision that we will sell one of our cars. I know that most people are saying,"It's about time!" Actually, we were planning to sell the Ford Explorer to Lewis' friend, but she changed her mind. So I decided that I will sell the Altima and drive the Explorer. The Altima is newer and will net us more of a profit. Plus, it is cheaper to insure the Explorer because I can just have liability coverage.

Emma, the Altima, was a cute little car. It had all the bells and whistles (except leather seats) and was a 5 speed manual transmission. My little sister Camille was with me when I bought the car and she exclaimed, "Somebody needs to pay you minimum wage to drive this car. That is too much to have to shift gears. Just get a regular car that goes forward for you." I laughed. There were times when I recalled that statement sitting in traffic.

I named the car Emma because that was the name I had picked out for Taylor. Yet, Lewis said, it sounded old fashioned, thus is why she is named Taylor. Lewis has already picked out our new vehicle. It is the Toyota Sequoia. I told him that I am not buying a new car until after graduation and I buy my new house. Then, I will buy the truck. Emma, served me well for the 8 months that I had her. I trust that she will be just as good to her new owner.

Future Olympic Gymnast

I don't know how she managed to crawl under the tray table, but I give her performance a 9.8.

A pretty & tasty 30 minute meal

Last week, I made Shrimp Scampi with Texas Toast and well let's just say the toast was definitely done. But this time around, I created a tasty as well as pretty 30 minute meal. Tonight's menu: Buffalo Chicken Breast on a bed of spring mix greens with ranch dressing and loaded smashed potatoes.

I do not like bacon bits so why I put them in the potatoes is beyond me. I was just following the recipe. Everything turned out great. There are even leftovers for lunch tomorrow.

Remember, a great pretty, tasty, meal is never more than 30 minutes away. I definitely enjoyed it.

Weekend in Wetumpka, AL

As you know, NyCee is quite the little traveler. This weekend she traveled by car to Wetumpka, AL to visit our paternal grandparents. I often tease my Granddad Ollie that black people move FROM Alabama not TO Alabama.

Nonetheless, we packed up the Avalanche and headed west. The drive was quite pleasant. It was a beautiful day on Saturday--nearly 70 degrees and the sun shone brightly in the sky.

Wetumpka is a quaint little city about 10 miles outside of Montgomery. It reminds me of Port Huron, MI. NyCee slept nearly the entire way thanks to a little help from my pal Benadryl. (She is taking the Benadryl for her running nose but it really knocks her out.) When we arrived that morning, waiting for us were Bar-b-Que ribs, baked beans, mac and cheese, with sweet tea. And don't think anything came from a box. No way! Mrs. Martha makes everything from scratch.



We really had a good time. We laughed and talked. It was very relaxing. On Sunday, we attended church and then had lunch at the Olive Garden. Torrential rain fell as we headed home that evening. It took a little longer because of the rain. I was a little Chatty Cathy so the time passed quickly.

I promised that we would come back and visit soon. And as long as Mrs. Martha will cook me a meal, I am there with knife and fork in hand.

Less than 30 minute meal

One part of my New Year's resolution is to live a healthier lifestyle. I have begun working out again (30 minutes a day) and learning to cook healthier meals. (Okay, really I want to lose the 30 pounds that I gained when I was pregnant with Taylor.) But I do believe that Lewis and I need to live a healthier lifestyle with respect to diet and exercise.

For Christmas, I received three (3) Rachael Ray cookbooks that I have been putting to use. Tonight, I made Shrimp Scampi. It was so simple. I bought the frozen Shrimp Scampi, boiled the pasta, made a piece of Texas toast (I left it in the broiler just a little too long), and added parsley as a garnish. Oh, let's not forget the low-fat Parmesan cheese.


YUM-O!

The little girl and her daddy's shoe

There once was a girl who played with a shoe,

She tried other toys but they just wouldn't do.

She has a walker,

a bouncer,

books and other things.

Yet, she's most content playing with her father's shoe string.

Cookie Monster

NyCee and I had to run a few errands today. Because I had not combed her hair, I put a hat on her so that we could leave the house. I go out looking like utter trash but I do not feel it necessary to subject my daughter to that lifestyle. She looked so adorable and she left her hat alone while we were in the house and I was packing up to get ready to leave.

One of the errands was to the beauty supply store to purchase the detangling spray needed to comb her hair. While in the store, she decided to take off her hat and expose to the world the fact that her mother was lazy. Thankfully, she was such a good girl in the store that she did not draw attention to us.

When we returned home, I decided to reward her good behavior with a cookie. (During a diaper change, I had the forethought to take off her shirt.) As oppose to feeding it to her, I put her in her high chair and let her have at it. (The high chair was a gift from her grandparents for Christmas.) I quickly learned that was not a good idea.

She had cookie in her hair, on her hands, all on the tray table, and on her nose. It was a mess. But the positive to this is that she obviously enjoyed it.

I am glad that I took her shirt off before allowing her to have a cookie.

So I'm landscaping now

The front of my house is just UGLY. Lewis and I decided last year that we would pull up all the pine straw and put down rocks around the entire house.

Well, it was a lot harder than I thought. I had no idea the amount of work involved with landscaping. HGTV is so misleading. They make it look simple. Lewis had to show me how to use the back hoe to dig up the weeds before I could lay the rocks down. I was only able to complete one section. That took nearly two hours and 4 bags of rocks. When Lewis came out to check on me, we decided that the white rocks are too bright.

We will buy a lighter color to blend in with the white to soften the look. I also thought about edging the grass with decorative rocks. In March, I will plant a couple of flowers to give the house curb appeal. As for the back, let's just see how the front turns out before we make any plans to tackle that.