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!)

Because you can

What has been taking up my time lately? Where have I been? To fully answer these questions would take several posts, but I will touch on one- the one that's most important to me after my family.

Eight years ago, my mom founded the MidSouth ALS Association Chapter. Her goal? That no one had to hear the dreadful diagnosis of Lou Gehrig's Disease and not have any available help, as was her situation.

Patient services- that's always been our main focus. That was Mom's dream eight years ago, and that is our goal today. Sure, we give money to cutting-edge research and we have to spend a little on administration, but 80% of all the money we raise goes to bed-side care, equipment and one-on-one support for PALS (people with ALS) caregivers, and families.

I didn't have any idea how passionate I am about eradicating this horrible disease and helping those people who are so in need of it. I thought I was only passionate about stopping ALS for MY mom's sake. While I was her caregiver, I didn't even go to any ALSA meetings because I was surrounded by the disease 24 hours a day, and didn't feel I could handle any more of it. After she passed away almost 2 years ago, I had an immediate change of heart. I wanted to fight! With that in mind, I volunteered to Co-Chair our annual fund-raiser, the Walk to Defeat ALS.

If you never had the great blessing of meeting Mom, let me tell you that the quiet courage, faith and strength that she had throughout her very long battle with ALS is the same that I have seen in all of our other PALS.

It will break your heart to see a 65 year-old man lifting the nearly-lifeless body of his 35 year-old daughter into a van, while her 6 year-old son watches. It will warm your heart to see PALS meeting each other and encouraging one another, even if most of them have lost the ability to speak.

The Walk should prove to be a great success, though my personal Team, Anne's Walkers isn't doing nearly as well with fund-raising as in years past. As always, we will have tons of children's activities- face painting, balloon animals, Moon Bounce, play ground, mascots running amok!

I love seeing the vibrant colors of the red and white tents, balloons and t-shirts. I remember having our first Walk meeting at our house eight years ago, and Mom laying out her instructions for us. I use the term "instructions" because she did not just have ideas- she had marching orders for us, and, eight years later, her vision is still the framework for every Walk! (yes, Mom- we still have the balloon arch for the "Start" line!)

The tag line for the Walk to Defeat ALS is "Because you can." Simple. Straightforward. Love it.

If you don't know about ALS, check out this site or this one. If you are interested in joining with us as we raise funds to help people in great need, click here to sign up for the Memphis Walk! (over 160 Walks are held around the country each year, but the money we raise stays right here in TN)

Be thankful for something today that we are rarely thankful for, but we should always be mindful of: your health. your ability to walk. your ability to talk. your ability to brush your teeth and use the bathroom without assistance. your ability to hug and kiss those you love.

New digs

Good thing I don't have a large blog following, because they would have declared mutiny long ago. Sorry for the long hiatus, but being a new homeowner, mom and full time student- oh, and wife!- are proving tough to juggle (more on that another day.)

For now, I give you some much anticipated before and after photos from our house:

Living room: notice the lovely "faux finish" on the walls. I think it was applied via the spl;atter paint method with some sort of broom.The little babe's room- I was getting paid back for all of the wallpaper borders Mom and I put up a decade or 2 ago!

Our sweet friend helping us strip wallpaper in the early nineties kitchen from you-know-where
said kitchen again
aaaand- the striped wallpaper of the dining room- alternating velour strips, of course! We debated taking that one down ;)

Here's the dining room after:

Mom's chairs recovered in funky 50's-esque print, rug from PB outlet and some fun paint- once we get art and a light fixture up we'll be ready for some dinner parties!

Well, folks, I'm having a little trouble with Blogger photo uploading, so this is the only "after" you get this time! (or is this my ploy to get you to read my blog more often?)

Either way, I will take some more pics and let you see the changes- the biggest thing we're excited about today is that our coutertops are in and we now have a gas line for our new range! Thank God I have made it this long without a kitchen- now I'll really need the prayers of St. Euphrosynos to cook for my family!

A New Stage

I can now add another adjective to the end of my name. Claire- wife, mother...homeowner!

I have so many emotions going on right now, ranging from jubilant excitement to tired deflation.

One of our goals as a married couple was to buy a house. There are many others, but this is a big day for our family!

A friend asked me if I had "that sinking feeling" when I signed my name (100 times- and I have a llllloooong name!) As I was shaking my head and saying, "Nah," we discovered something not too pleasant in the kitchen dept. at the new house. As hubby was peeling the white, plastic laminate off of our particle board- yes, I thought they were wood- cabinets, I said, "Oh, THAT feeling, Yeah. Just had it. Don't like it."

Welcome to home-ownership, people! I now have the distinct feeling that there will be those moments around nearly every corner. (We had 2 today)

Enough about me- here's the house--this may well turn into a renovation blog b/c we have SO much to do!

The HUD idiots- sorry, but it's true- hired some "landscapers" to come spruce up the house before putting it up for sale. These geniuses came in and chain sawed the azaleas (which were IN BLOOM!) all across the front and the gorgeous, HUGE crepe myrtles- 3 in the back and one on the side. Thankfully, our neighbor came home as they were about to take out the 20 ft. one in the front and said "STOP! What in the _ are you doing?" He told them that was his property just so they wouldn't cut it down.
Party central- back patio. BBQs here we come!

Feel free to stop on by and pick up a paint brush any ol time you want to, ya hear?

Howdy

Play dates

One of the best things about stay-at-home-mommyhood? The play date.

Sure, most of your conversations are spliced with, "Don't touch that!" "No" or "Please take that out of your mouth," but at least you're around other adults.

I feel a camaraderie at play dates. Other moms are going through it, too. How nice to see other people's kids crying, running and generally going nuts! It's not just me!

Plus, they're super entertaining. I love seeing the imaginations of children at play. Take this photo for instance:

SA made about 50 different uses for this cat's toy. This particular shot is her Western-themed lasso. I love the one foot planted in front of the other so she can be stable while she's whirling that thing around. She ended up naming this toy the "cat distracter," as we found out the next time she came over, b/c her first question was, "Where's the cat distracter?"

And here's brother showing off for the ladies- I think Caitlyn likes his song and dance.

And...nanny extraordinaire: the kids adore her!

You've hit play date gold when the kids entertain each other for 15 minutes or more. It's funny that when those moments actually happen, we don't really know what to do. Should we still talk in broken conversation? This seems too good to be true- surely they're up to no good. Better go check.

I guess you get the "they play by themselves" effect when you have multiple kids...but I'm not convinced that's they way to go yet. Zoe's a teething monster right now (picture to come) and I could not possibly handle throwing another one into the mix. A friend asked me if we were "trying" again- I almost fainted. or died. Either way, it made me want to enjoy the 1 for a while before we have anymore chaos.

Play date chaos will do just fine for now!