Hen Party

Wow! I'm really looking forward to tomorrow, and not just cuz it's Carterday! My two BFFs Jill and Sandy are coming over after work for supper and a much needed gossip session! The three of us try and get together for each other's birthdays every year, and unfortunately, we missed Sandy's last fall, so we haven't been together since August. That is far too long! They're both coming early enough to see Carter before he goes home, and I'm having Erin pick up take and bake pizzas on her way home, so I don't really have to cook. The last couple of times we went out, we got kicked out of the restaurants we were at. Not because we were misbehaving -- haven't done that for years -- but because it was closing time. And since we have no quitting sense when it comes to visiting, this will work out great. At least I don't anticipate Greg kicking them out. He'll probably hide out in the basement reloading shotgun shells or else stay out in the shop all evening. Hmm, maybe I should just tell them to bring their pillows and spend the night! They sure won't need blankets - not at Casa Bryson. where it's a nice and balmy 80 degrees all year round!

Don't expect to read all about our visit, what's said at the hen party stays at the hen party. First rule of hen party: don't ask about the hen party. Or something like that. Good times!!!!!!!!!

Weekend

Time for a quick blurb before I head home for the weekend. Actually, I'm headed to Babys are Us first, to pick up some cute baby boy clothes for my friend's daughter. She's expecting her first baby in about 5 weeks, and I'm going to a shower for her on Sunday. It will seem strange looking a newborn clothes again! If all goes well, I might even get to take Carter to the shower. It will be fun to show him off to my friends. Not that I'm a proud meema or anything...

His latest favorite thing is Patty-Cake. As soon as you start singing it, he starts clapping and laughing. He even knows how to find it and play it in his little electronic nursery rhyme book. And I do mean play it. Over and over and over and over and over some more!

My latest favorite thing is singing P@NT$ 0N THE GR0UND to him when I'm changing his diaper. Not sure he appreciates the humor in that. But he does love it when I sing and act silly, so that's all that counts.

OK - gotta run so I'm not too late getting home tonight. Hope ya'll have a great weekend!!! Enjoy this week's Carterday pictures!





Yep - you guessed it -- patty-cake!





look at that sweet little smile --
how could anyone resist that???

Carterday

It’s my favorite day of the week – Carterday. What’s that? Your calendar doesn’t have a Carterday? It’s the day between Tuesday and Thursday. At least in my house it is. He’s taking his afternoon nap, which means I’ve got a few minutes to write something.

No question, watching Carter is the highlight of my week. We have so much fun! He’s got lots of toys to play with, but of course, sometimes he’d rather play with cabinet doors, TV remotes, and anything else he can get his hands on. He’s also obsessed with Hossy. Problem is, if he gets too close, Hossy growls at him, and I’m sure would bite him if he had the chance. That means I have to really be on my toes. Luckily Hossy spends a lot of his time on the back of the couch where Carter can’t get to him.

I can’t believe Carter will be a year old in less than a month. Where has this past year gone? I can’t even remember life before him!

2 hrs later…. nap over, bottle, and half a tub of fruit, and Great Grandma Bryson came to visit. He played peek-a-boo with her, using the sheet on the couch to cover his head. He also showed her how well he can shoot his basketball. Ok, maybe not shoot, but he puts it in the hoop and scores points! He was sure happy to see Momma when she got here.

And now he’s gone home, and the house is terribly quiet. Can’t wait till next Carterday!!!

Here's a couple of pictures from today. I have more, but between my slow internet connection and blogger, it's taking too long to load them.

Mega Blocks = Mega Yum!

What? Can't you see I'm busy!

Fresh Start

I’ve never been much for resolutions; New Year’s or otherwise. In fact, I’ve never been good at following through with anything. Unless you count my marriage I guess. Not so easy to just quit that. So maybe my New Year’s Resolution this year should be to refrain from setting a New Year’s Resolution. Nah – can’t even do that. I have a few things I’d like to accomplish this year, and if I put them in writing, maybe I won’t be able to abandon them so easily.


Improve my health. I’m currently taking 7 different medicines everyday, and I hate it. I went back to Weight Watchers in September, and although December was a bit rough, I’ve lost 26 lbs, and I’m not stopping now! If I can continue losing weight, I might be able to go off the blood pressure medicine, and maybe even the diabetes meds.

Spend less time on my butt and more time moving. It won’t take much to make an improvement here.

Write more. This is the 1st blog entry since March, which is when I decided to take up blogging again. I wasn’t very successful at that time. I’d like to try and write a little something every day, but that’s just setting myself up to fail, so for now, I’m just saying more. More than nothing should be a piece of cake!

So I guess that’s enough for now. Hopefully these are realistic goals. Stay tuned…..

overtime

It's Saturday morning, and I should be in my nice warm bed sleeping in late with Hossy. Instead, I find myself at the office. Working. What is wrong with this picture? Surprisingly, not too much. I kinda like working on the weekend. No phones ringing, no constant interruptions. No one wanting to know how much they owe for monthly fees, even though the amount hasn't changed in 2 years (yeah - that's not annoying). Crank up the loud music, turn up the heat and have at it! I don't usually work overtime, but after taking a couple of weeks off when Carter was born, I'm still playing catch up. I love my job, but I don't really have a back-up person who can do it when I'm gone. My boss did submit a couple of the medicaid bills, but other than that, it just piles up. Guess I shouldn't complain, at least I know they can't get along without me. HA. If I know nothing else, I know that everyone is replaceable.

When I finish here, I'm headed home to work on income taxes, and then this evening, Greg and I are going to Erin and Brent's to babysit!!! They are taking a well deserved evening off to have some grown up fun with their friends, which means we get to spoil Carter!

blessings

It's been one month since our lives took a wondrous turn. One month ago, Carter Kahle arrived, and our lives are changed forever. It's been almost 26 years since I first came to know the unconditional love a parent has for a child, and although my memory ain't what it used to be, I'll never forget that feeling of euphoria. The good news is it only gets better! Now we can fully enjoy him without the worries that go with being a parent. There is that pesky problem of sharing him with his Mommy and Daddy, and of course his Grandma and Grandpa G. But I'm learning to live with that.


A friend told me that for now, I should take every chance I get to cuddle and rock him, while he still likes it. How true. I could sit all day staring into those big eyes of his, and not to toot my own horn or anything (ha) but when he's being a little fussy butt, I hold him close to my face and talk softly to him and before you know it, he's mesmerized. He also likes my singing. Hmm, he obviously doesn't know what singing is supposed to sound like yet. Erin says he likes XM 60s on 6. His papa will be thrilled for that. I personally plan to introduce him to something a little more modern. By age two, he'll be singing along with Hinder, Seether, and Theory of a Dead Man. (note to self - go to Walmart and buy the "cleaned up" version of those cds)



And what, you may ask, is better than becoming a grandparent? Just when I didn't think I could ever love my daughter more, watching her become a mother has taken it to a whole new level. I'm bursting with pride!!!

2nd time around

I'm still asking myself if I really want to do this again. Will I be dedicated enough to update regularly? What will I write about? Will it be interesting enough to keep readers coming back? All these questions, so few answers.

I absolutely loved my last blogging experience. It came at a time when I needed to do something creative. Something that made me feel good about myself. But then those needs kinda went by the wayside, along with most of my free time. My other dilemma; I write about the things going on in my life. And presently, I work for an employer that has very very strict confidentiality rules. That's a huge chunk of my day to day life that's off limits.

My first instinct is to write about the newest love of my life, Carter Kahle. And I'm sure I will write about him, but since his Momma has a blog that is pretty much dedicated to telling about his life, I may not have much to add. Once he's a bit older and starts hanging out at the farm with meema and papa, I'm sure I'll have stories to share.

Let's just see how it goes for now.