"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.

Reflection

Like most Americans, I have spent the last couple of days thinking about the past year. It has been a rough one. 2006 was full of joys and pains. Unfortunately, there were a lot more pains than joys. But one thing remains constant, I am truly thankful for another year.

Through technology (the blog), I feel more in touch with my cousins in Minnesota. Additionally, family and friends have told me that they feel closer to Taylor because of the blog. I was going to stop blogging because I thought that most people had lost interest. I had friends who, in the beginning, read the blog all the time. Now as time has past, they have moved on, and lost interest. Yet, a friend told me that under no circumstances am I allowed to stop blogging. She stated, "That is my only connection to NyCee. You CAN NOT stop." My aunts and sister have also expressed how much closer they feel to NyCee because of the blog. So, rest assured, the blogging will continue.

I am excited about the incoming year. I will complete my undergraduate course work and start graduate studies, my daughter will have her 1st birthday, I will have a new job, I plan to move (yes, again), and a gambit of other things are awaiting me in 2007. I have decided that everytime I think about the past, I will put into action the words of the Apostle Paul, "Brethren, I do not count myself to have apprehended; but one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind and reaching forward to those things which are ahead, I press toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus." (Philippians 3:13-14)

May your New Year be prosperous, healthy, exciting, and bright.

8 1/2 hours later

So last night I was feeling guilty about leaving NyCee in her room to cry herself to sleep. I refused to tell Lewis that I let her cry for 20-25 minutes as he would have had a cow. I showed him the photo and he remarked, "My little booty was so sleepy she just fell asleep sitting up." "Yep." I replied.

Around 7:00am I woke to complete silence so I walked quietly into her room to check on her. She was still asleep. I decided to take advantage of this rare occasion, so I returned to bed. At 9:30am, I woke again to complete silence. Lewis jumped up about to go and check on her and I said, "I'm awake and she is not up." He let out some sort of grunt and went back to sleep.

I see that my decision to let her cry herself to sleep as not caused any detriment to her. In fact, it appears that was a good decision on my part. She slept all night without me next to her and I slept all night without moving her over to keep from falling off the bed.

Lately, she has been waking up around 3:30 or 4:30am. Why? I have no idea. As soon as I lay her in the bed next to me, she goes right back to sleep. I hope that moms across America (or at least the one's that read my blog) are not ready to stone me. The world is full of harsh realities. And NyCee's reality is that she can not sleep in the bed with mommy and daddy forever. The sooner I introduce her to this concept the better off she will be.

Separation Anxiety

Lewis has what I like to call, "The carry NyCee around all day as if she is too good to play on the floor" syndrome. For whatever reason, he feels the need to carry her around the house whenever he is home. I have asked him not to do that for a couple of different reasons.

1. The workers at the daycare facility that she attends are not going to hold her.
2. I AM NOT going to hold her all day. I have things to do around the house.

She will play by herself, with her toys, if allowed. For the past two days, she has been very clingy. When I put her down, she crawls back over to me crying and pulling on my leg to be picked up. Well tonight, I had to resort to drastic measures. This method was necessary as there was no other way to get her to sleep in her own bed. When she fell asleep, I laid her in the bed and she woke up. I picked her up, put her back to sleep, laid her in her bed and she woke up again. This went on several times. Finally, I had to put NyCee in her bed and just let her cry. She cried for about 20-25 minutes and finally went to sleep. It was difficult for me to listen to her cry but I had no choice.

When it grew quiet, I walked into her room and this is what I saw:

I feel so bad. After I went to retrieve my camera to capture the photo, I laid her down. This photo is classic though--you have to admit.

Christmas Day at the Thompson House

The day started with NyCee helping her dad open his gift to him from her. It was a bottle of Sean John Unforgivable cologne. I think she had more fun opening it than he did.

Lewis went to pick up the twins and Taylor had more fun helping them open their gifts also.

Later in the day, I turned the workout room into the play room. My sister-in-law along with her boyfriend and children came over. My mother-in-law joined shortly after. Lewis played a game named elefun with the kids.

Next onto dinner. Lewis did not want the tradition dinner so I made, roast in gravy, macaroni and cheese, cabbage, cornbread, and black eyed peas. Also, I made my first sweet potato pies. They were really good. Okay, I admit it. Lewis and I did not wait until dinner to try the pie. We ate a slice at 2:30a.m while watching Miracle on 34th street.

I was finally able to capture a picture of Lewis with all three of his girls. Isn't he the proud papa? Just look at him beam.

NyCee stood out above all the other festivities. Again, I mean that literally. Notice that she is standing all by herself. Man, I really need her to slow down. She just started crawling. What's next? Working a 9 to 5, driving, and dating. Oh my goodness, my little girl is growing up way too fast.

When the evening came to an end, I called my mother and had the following conversation:

D: "Ma, How have you done this for 20 plus years? I am so tired."

M: (Laughter) "You just wait. The fun has not yet begun."

D: "I have had about 4 hours of sleep. I didn't go to bed until 4:00am and woke up at 7:00am to put on my meat. We have opened gifts and played. We did it all. I laid out nice clothes for me to put on and I have on jeans and a tee-shirt."

M: "Now you know why in every Christmas picture, I look crazy. Between trying to put together the toys, start cooking, finish cooking, and reading directions, I didn't have time to get dressed."

D: "Well, I just want to say "Thank you" from me and my siblings. I never knew that so much was involved in Christmas when you have children. I will pay the store to have Taylor's toys assembled because I can not imagine how to fit that into the picture."

M: "I doubt if Lewis will pay to do that since he wouldn't pay to have the dining room set put together."

We both laughed and said "Good night."

This first Christmas with NyCee brought back a flood of memories from my childhood. Several times during the day, I just sat and smiled to myself. Merry Christmas to all and to all a good night.

Go!

Whenever NyCee goes to Michigan, she learns something new. In September, she learned to sit up by herself with the help of my niece Taliyah. In December, she learned to pull herself up on a step in my parents' living room. In addition to that, she now crawls. Yes, she is crawling. Gone are the days of putting her blanket on the floor with her toys so that she can just scoot around. I didn't realize that she had gained such momentum. I put her on the floor by the office door and walked across the room.

When I turned around, she was right behind me. Where did she get that speed from?

Now when I put her on the floor, she will not sit still. And forget a diaper change--that is like tug-of-war. I put her down, she turns over to crawl away, I turn her back over and the cycle continues.

Even though, this has been a whopper of a year, I am glad that I had the opportunity to capture these precious moments and share them on the blog.

New Home Woes!

Lewis and I purchased our current home last year after I found out that I was pregnant with Taylor. When you purchase a new home, the builder usually gives a one year warranty as the house has to settle and all the cricks and nicks begin to come out. Well, we have had quite a challenge with this builder. The builder outsourced the warranty work to a company who requires homeowners to complete claim forms with codes and warranty numbers. It has been ridiculous.

Yesterday, I had workers in and out of the house all day. Most of the items were fixed. However, I have a huge box in front of my fireplace to block the cold air coming through. The fireplace builder is saying that it was not insulated. The insulation company is saying that it had to be insulted or it would not have passed inspection. Both parties are passing the buck and had the nerve to tell me that sometimes air just seeps through the vents. That is a lie and a half. That sounds ridiculous. My previous house had a fireplace and I never felt cold air rushing through. I told them, "I don't care whose fault it is. It will be repaired."

I figure the box is apart of the decor just like Taylor's play pin, walker, exersaucer, and host of other toys.

But what really took the cake for me was the front yard. For several months, especially during the summer, there was one particular patch of grass that stayed fertile. I kept telling Lewis there had to be a crack in the septic tank line. (My house sits in a valley; therefore, the builder installed an underground septic tank to help the flow of sewage upward to the main system.) The builder sent the construction supervisor out to our house to look at the problem. He agreed that there had to be a crack in the pipe. The plumbing company argued that there was not a crack. Ray Charles could have seen that one patch of my grass was WAY more fertile than others. So after months of back and forth back and forth, the plumbing company came out and dug up the ground. This is what they found.


Underneath the cracked pipe was a huge rock with metal sticking out. That was the culprit. I knew that I was not crazy. The plumbing company only agreed to dig up the pipe to pacify me. But I got the last laugh. The supervisor from the builder was on site to serve as verification of the cracked pipe.

Even though the plumbing company and builder tried to brush me off, I was persistent. I took pictures of the spot and wrote several letters. Lewis thought I was silly but I watch Judge Judy and knew that I would have to prove my case if I had to litigate the matter.

To the left, to the left

"To the left, to the left, NyCee is holding her bottle in the hand to the left."

That is our rendition of Beyonce's new song, "Irreplaceable." NyCee and I can thank her Tesa for the fact that the song is stuck in my head playing over and over and over again. (I do like the song though--that is what made me think of this blog).
This one is for you Tarisa!

Scholars' Challenge

Well, the last exams are taken and the final grades posted. Another quarter bites the dust. 2 down 3 to go. I know you are wondering how I managed to cut out two quarters (in 1 down 5 to go, I stated I had 5 quarters left until graduation). Due to my stay-at-home mom status, I was able to enroll in two additional classes bring my total to six (6)--that's right--six (6) classes for the Fall quarter. I enrolled in four (4) full session online courses, 1 mini-session online course and 1 on campus course. Also, Strayer accepted 81 of the 90 credits that I attempted to transfer. That was awesome!

I received five (5) A's and one (1) B. Anyone who knows me, knows how upset am I to have received a B. That is just completely unacceptable. But the class was ridiculous and the professor would ask asinine exam questions. But I will take it. I am partly to blame as I did not concentrate as hard on the class in the beginning and could not make up the points needed to raise the grade at the end.

My brain needs a rest. So for the next three (3) weeks, I plan to veg out in front of the boob tube and watch movies in my pajamas. Okay, I will get dressed for Christmas but other than that--Veg city here I come.

A Christmas Cutie

Since NyCee's birth, I have had a revitalization of the Christmas spirit. I remember Christmas when I was a little girl and how we would decorate the tree on the weekend of my dad's or sister's birthday. Our house was filled with decorations on the windows, fruits and nuts to eat, Christmas cards on display, and stockings hung on the chimney with care.

Today, we went to the mall so that she could have her first picture with Santa. She was so cute donned in her red velvet dress that her grandparents bought her when we were in Port Huron last week. She did an excellent job. She sat up like a big girl and smiled for her picture. I was so proud of her. My mom was concerned that she would cry but she didn't. Not one tear was shed. In fact, Santa commented that he wished all children's picture were as easy as Taylor's was.

In all the excitement, I forgot to take a photo of her on Santa's lap. I had the camera in my bag but was so excited that she didn't cry--I never even took it out. For your viewing pleasure, I have taken a picture of the picture to display on the blog.


She must have been tired waiting in the line for Santa. When we arrived at the mall, Santa had to take his lunch break. By the time we got to the car on our way home, she was asleep.

Our 1st "Little" Christmas Tree

Lewis and I have celebrated three (3) Christmas seasons together, yet this is the first year that we have had a tree. I love Christmas time but the houses we lived in before were so small, we did not have storage for everyday items let alone Christmas decorations.

With the birth of NyCee, I decided that we HAD to have a Christmas tree for her. Also, Nia (one of the twins) told me last year that we had to have a Christmas tree for Santa Claus to put presents under. While in Michigan last week, I bought Taylor her 1st Christmas ornament. Isn't this too cute?


The title told you that our Christmas tree was little. Literally--it is only 4 feet tall and I had 2 put it on the dining room table because NyCee was trying to pull the ornaments off.

I promised her that when we move into our bigger house with storage space, I would buy her a real Christmas tree and we would decorate for the occasion. Lewis was rushing me in the store (because he was trying to get home to watch football) so I could not pick out the tree top. Also, he would not let me get icicles citing that they make a mess and he would be subjected to vacuuming them up until summer. He's being a Christmas party pooper.

Special Delivery

Lewis and I were unpacking the suitcases when we arrived home yesterday. NyCee insisted on helping. As you can see, her toys are spread out around the bag. Then she attempted to climb into the bag so I decided to help her out.

If I ship her fully clothed, will someone sign for the package or mark it "Return to sender?" Or I can address it to Minnesota where her little cousins live. I don't think Cari would mind one more mobile monster around.

Christmas 10 days early

Tarisa decided last night (Friday, December 15, 2006) that she wanted everyone to open their Christmas gifts because she wanted to see the reactions. The original plan was that the gifts would be wrapped and then placed under the tree and opened on Christmas Day. My father was the only one who did not oppose opening gifts early. Boonie then decided that would be a great idea too and would prevent her from spending the money on shipping.

The downside was that Tarisa decided against wrapping the presents and simply handed them out in the shopping bags. Tacky I know but the thought was there.

The festivities began with Taylor. She received an outfit from Tesa, a strawberry scented carebear from her cousins, and books from her Ti-Ti Boonie. The books are really cool as they have sounds along with the story. I am really glad that Boonie bought those as I have started reading to her daily.

Boonie is the eccentric of the group. So to compliment her personality, Tarisa bought her two retro funky hats. Boonie loved them. Actually, I liked one of them too because it was pink. In the mall, Tarisa stated, "Boonie will rock these." I assumed that meant wear in a fashionable way.

When Boonie opened the hats, she smiled and said, "You know I will rock these." And from the looks of things, that is what she plans to do.

Taliyah opened her gift and it was a pair of cream corduroy pants and matching shirt. She really did like the outfit although you can not tell from the look on her face. We had to wake her up to join the party. She was not pleased about that.

Ce-Cee and Kari opened their gift together. I know that sounds bad but it was a gift that they will have to share. It was a Madden 07 gamecube video game. The price dictated that they get one and share. But Tarisa was kind enough to buy an additional game that was on sale. So they did end up with two games.


My mother is the EASIEST person to shop for. If we bought her a key chain, wrapped it, and put it under the tree, she would be happy. So you know that she really liked the outfits that Tarisa picked out.

On the other hand, my father is a different story. It is so hard to buy gifts for the man that either buys it for himself or has everything. My father is a shop-a-holic. But he loved the gift that Tarisa bought--Sean John Unforgivable cologne.


I received awesome gifts: Rachael Ray cookbooks (3), a candle, and champagne flutes [for Lewis and I but he was not present so by default I had to open the gift (HA! HA!)]

Close up to show the detail on the flutes.

Since graduating from culinary school, Tarisa has become the resident go to girl for cooking instructions. As a result, she received a great bake ware set.

After a hard day in the kitchen she needs to relax. She can do so with her candle and candle warmer set. The candle warmer helps to magnify the smell of the candle.

NyCee and I had a wonderful week in Michigan but it is good to be home. Lewis couldn't go with us because he was working. He really missed his little girl and has not put her down since we arrived home.

I almost forgot to mention that Lewis received a CD player from the kids (Ce-Cee, Kari, and Mama Liyah). I did not open his gift. I brought it home in the gift box. No one is allowed to use their gifts until Christmas Day or after. You know that Ce-Cee and Kari were crushed by that announcement. I showed Lewis our gifts but told him that we have to put them under the tree. Like the kids, he too was upset by that announcement.