A Zoe fix

"C'mon!" you say. "This blog is supposed to be a bunch of cute pictures of the baby- stop all the talk and give us more of that!" Or, in the words of the King, a little less conversation- a little more...cuteness.

I hear you loud and clear- here goes (though I will indulge myself by writing some captions):

For any parents out there, this picture needs no explanation. To her daddy, Zoe said, "Hat! Hat!" and "Book!" I won't get into all of the mushy feelings this scene gives me, but the relationship a father has with his daughter is truly amazing- and I am incredibly blessed to behold it from the beginning.

You may see a theme brewing- Zoe is very into accessorizing these days. Among her favorite words in her vocabulary, "hat" ranks right at the top with "baby" and "more!"

We are in a new stage of mobility around here. The other day, we looked down to see Zoe in the Tupperware drawer. What is it with babies and that drawer? So convenient for mom because it offers at least 10-20 minutes of safe play time in the kitchen while I cook dinner! (classic Zoe look, btw)

Speaking of her hat obsession...

One of my favorite ways to kick-off Fall in Memphis (other than the ALS Walk, of course!) is the Crafts Fair! I went last week and bought this hat for Zoe. I wasn't sure if she would like it, or even keep it on her head, but I had to have it. Really, could you pass that up? Didn't think so.

When we got home, I was putting it on top of her dresser, and she said, "Hat!" I agreed that it was, indeed, a hat. She kept pointing out the obvious until I put said hat on her little head. If the hat was cute off of her head...goodness. For the next 2 mornings, when I went into her room to get her for breakfast, she greeted me with "Hat!" and pointing to the top of her dresser. She insisted on wearing her hat to breakfast, while being accompanied by "Baby!" Oh no! I have a future Red Hat Society member on my hands! (notice her "string of pearls" bib that my friend insisted "every Southern baby girl needs!" and that was before she knew Zoe, the Fashionista!)

Rah Rah Ree!

I am a cheerleader by nature.

Not by profession, you understand. No, that dream died after I failed to make the 7th grade cheer squad after totally blanking on the dance routine that I had faithfully practiced every night for a week. I got out there, looked at the panel of judges...and totally froze. Thankfully, I was out there with 2 other people who somehow remembered the dance, so while they were shakin their thangs, I did my 7th grade version of the booty dance, and just tried to laugh it off. It worked. The judges cracked up, too. But I digress.

Though I don't wear the short skirt or wave pom poms, I am a faithful cheerleader to the end. I grew up an Alabama fan- going to multiple games a year with Mom, shaking my red and white shaker and yelling all the songs. Those of you who have the the...um...pleasure, of going with me to a game recently know that I still do these things today, even after attending college at that tacky, orange-wearing school!

Once I get attached to something or someone, it will take something drastic to make me not sing it's praises to any and every one who will listen. Yes, I am loyal. But, like every character trait, this quality has it's flaws. I am also obnoxious and overbearing.

However, now that you have a little insight into my personality, I give you my "Rah Rah" list- a list of things that I love and think that no one can do without. I may add some things to this list as I find them, so consider this a jumping off point.

(1) Gimmie a "C":

COSTCO- of course this had to be #1. No one who has been around me in the last year has escaped hearing my Costco shpeal. EVERY mom should be a Costco member. Seriously. The amount I've saved in diapers alone is astronomic- YES, they work as well (and most of the time better) than Pampers, etc. Sheesh! Don't be such a diaper snob! No, I do not check off every item from my list at Costco, but I get the non-perishables, diapers, wipes, coffee (whole bean), butter, bread, chicken (individually wrapped and perfect for freezer)- you get the idea.


(2) Gimmie a "K":

The Costco entry brings me to another topic- Kroger Organic whole milk. SO, I thought I was saving money at Costco by buying 3 half gallons of organic whole milk. WRONG. A friend told me about Kroger brand Organic milk, and now I am saving $3 from the Costco price! This just shows it pays to shop around. (Note: I was saving $ at Costco based on the SuperLo price and the Schnuck's price)

(3) Gimmie an "F":

Feline Pine: You may know that we inherited 2 cats from my mom. With them we also inherited their litter box. u-g-h. SO, for years we've been battling "the smell." We've tried everything: litter box with lid; automatic, robot-operated, outer space litter box; air fresheners (yikes- do not do this one. As a girl in 8th grade said to a girl who was putting on perfume after gym class, "Stank over stank = stanky stank!") SO, we have used the same litter for years, not changing b/c we thought the cats would rebel and start going all over the house. One day, the hubby went to go buy more litter from Target. They were out. SO he decided to chance it, and he got a litter that claimed to "absorb and eliminate the ammonia smell of cat urine." YEAH RIGHT. I was even more skeptical when he dumped the litter into the box and it was saw dust. Seriously. They're not kidding when they say, "Feline PINE." Oh great, I thought. Another hocus, pocus, earthy remedy that doesn't work, but at least it's "green." I quickly ate my words (or thoughts, rather) when 2 days went by without me complaining of "the smell." Even when I am changing the litter box- you don't want to know how close your nose has to get from the contents of the box in order to do this, but let's just say it's plenty close- I CANNOT SMELL AMMONIA. Not even a little. Of course, you're going to smell the other, but eradicating the stronger of the 2 smells is amazing, and I am now shouting the praises of this "green" litter to everyone with cats (and to those without- see, I told you I'm obnoxious)

What's that spell? Say it again! LOUDER! (That 7th grade team didn't know what it was missing!)