LOST

Tonight was the season premiere of LOST. Yeah! With all the mindless, reality TV going on, and the writer's strike, I had pretty much given up on television.

Ahh, but then the previews started and I started counting down. I was not disappointed. It was glorious to have something to watch and ponder on. I'm still thinking about all the clues and foreshadowing 2 hours later. Will they go back? Who are the other 3 that left the island? Who was in that coffin last season? Does Jin have her baby? What the heck do the people on the boat want on the island? On and on. I probably won't be able to sleep tonight. Just kidding... kind of.

I'm so happy to be watching something. Anyone know when Heroes starts up again? :)

Worn Out!

On Friday, Gimmy came up to visit with McHaney. We took her to Chuck E Cheese to play and eat pizza! After we got home, I had to run out for a work meeting and left the two of them at home to rest. This is what I came home to... isn't that the sweetest little angel face you've ever seen??

Site Meter

So, I added this thing called Site Meter to my blog. It calculates how many people view my blog each day and sends me a report. Yesterday was the first time I had used it and this morning I received a report saying there were 77 views on my blog yesterday. Wow! I don't think I even know that many people! Anyway, it was pretty cool to see.

First Serious Injury

Well, Mc has gotten her first serious injury. Thursday night she and her daddy were playing, as they do every night before bed. He was throwing her around up in the air and she reached over and grabbed a light bulb on the chandelier in her bedroom.

At first, she cried for about 5 minutes and stopped for about 2 or three minutes and I thought. "Wow, not so bad!" Then, I think after the shock passed, she lost it. It was the saddest thing I had ever seen. She'd press her hand onto my face as hard as she could, wanting me to kiss it and make it better. I'd kiss it over and over, knowing that the heat from my face was only making it worse. She'd start hitting me on the mouth then like make it better make it better. So horrible... I mean HORRIBLE!!!

We tried putting real aloe on it and burn medicine. We gave her motrin and tylenol. Nothing seemed to help. It was her bedtime when it happened, so she was already tired. For about an hour she was inconsolable, and she's a pretty tough little girl. The only thing that seemed to ease the pain at all was holding her sippy cup filled with ice and water. She would try to calm down so she could go to sleep and as she was about to doze off, she'd drop the cup. After about 20 seconds she would start shaking her hand, her lip would start quivering and she'd start screaming again. It was definitely the worst thing I've ever been through because I couldn't make it any better. I swear I sang 200 rounds of Old McDonald had a farm. (between her tears she'd scream at me "eiei mama"; I guess it was helping to take her mind off of it.)

Anyway, she finally passed out around 10 and woke up yesterday like nothing happened. Her little hand is blistered pretty bad. There were 5 at last count. I'm just so glad it wasn't worse!

Bug Cakes

Okay, I know I've posted a lot today, but have any of you used one of the cast aluminum pans from Williams-Sonoma? Uh, they're awesome! My cousin Mandi gave me one for Christmas and I just used it for the first time this morning. Mc was bored, so we decided to make some vanilla bread and I thought, "Might as well try out that new pan." Well, look how cute! The little cakes are so detailed. You could ice and decorate them, but why (not these, they are bread, but if you wanted to make little cakes or something)!?!? They are cute just as they are. I just brushed them with a vanilla glaze to add a little moisture and flavor. Anyway, I have to say this may be the first of many cast pans to come for me!

Calling Grammy

As most of you know, Daren's Mom (Grammy) has a miniature donkey farm and it is one of Mc's favorite places on earth; lots of farm animals for her to love.

She has always loved "calling" people on the phone. She calls, my Mom and Dad, Daren, Me and Grammy. Please check out the new video of how she calls Grammy.

New Set

Here is a new burp cloth and bib set I'm doing. I never used one of these shorty bibs when Mc was little, but my friend Suzanne used them all the time on her twin boys and they were great. They never ruined anything because they were always wearing a little cute bib over their nice outfits... hmmm, wish I would have thought of that.

Anyway, I copied the idea of this bib from one Ethan has... thanks for the inspiration buddy!

What Do You Think?

Here is an outfit I made for Mc this weekend. I can't decide sash or no sash. It is supposed to have a sash, but I can't decide. Maybe the sash I'm using isn't right??? What do you think??


Here's another outfit from this weekend. I had made the pants in October but had never finished them b/c I hate making ruffles and just never got around to it. So, I finished them up this weekend and patched a shirt to match.

First Haircut

Last week, I decided Mc needed a little trim. Her hair looked really uneven and scraggly, so I took it upon myself to trim it. I was nervous, but it turned out fine. You probably can't even tell I did anything!

Oh, What a Week

Have you ever had one of those weeks where it seems there just isn't enough of you to go around? Whew, this is just one of those weeks for me.

Work is really busy (we are trying to finish up a neighborhood and get the lots closed, plus I picked up a new listing on a Shoney's in Winchester this week so I'm working on advertising stuff for that), and I can only get in there so many hours because taking Mc with me is comical.

Speaking of, she has been sooooo needy since we returned from Mexico, I guess b/c of all the sickness and then the paci exile, that I can't leave the room that she doesn't have an all out nervous break down. People come over she falls all the floor and screams. i leave the room she screams. I take her somewhere she screams. Is this normal? Do your kids do this? Is it a phase? How long is it going to last???

Plus, I've got a TON of monogramming to catch up on... which, I love doing, but just finding the time has proven impossible this week.

Also, we bought a lot in a neighborhood this past weekend to build a house. I've been running, checks, plans, pre-approval letters, etc to them all week. You know how it is with a kid... you can't just run in and out. Anyway, there is a Design Review Committee for the neighborhood and they have to approve your house. We have a custom plan we had drawn up for another neighborhood and we are in love with it. We agreed we wouldn't build in the neighborhood of they wouldn't let us build the house. Well, long sotry short... they met today, loved the house, but it is 30 ft to wide. UUGGHHH!!!! All that work and back to square one.

Okay, I'm done venting now. I just needed to let it out! Thanks for listening!!!!

Playa Del Carmen

I'm finally getting around to posting pics from our trip to Playa Del Carmen. My parents took the three of us and my sister and brother in law for Christmas. The place was great! It was beautiful, clean, the food was great, etc. Unfortunately, Mc was sick almost the whole vacation thus Daren and I did not sleep the entire week because we were sharing a room with her and she hacked all night every night (Plus, since she didn't feel well, she was attached to my hip, literally... she would not let me out of her sight). By the end of the trip I was taking sleeping pills just to survive! Also, Mom, Lauren and I were all sick with some type of stomach thing at some point during the trip. I felt so bad for my Dad! He was so excited about the vacation and it just didn't go as he had planned! There were good times to though! You can see a few of them here:

There were fountains everywhere and Mc loved it!

The only group pic we got... minus me!

Cute little family pic

Swimming, her favorite past time!

Sleeping. she did this the first two days and it was great! (Then she didn't... not so great!)

The way I spent the majority of my vacation... attached!!!!

One of my favorite pictures from the trip... all the girls

Seester and Andrew enjoying themselves... before the sickness began!
New Year's Eve... I was sick and drugged up by 9:00

Mc's First Movie Review

Well, yesterday was the big day. We took Mc to see her first movie on the big screen. I think it was a hit!

It all started around 3:00 when we arrived at the theater to buy tickets, but the 3:15 show was already sold out. We bought tickets for the 5:20 show instead and headed to the mall to pass time (one of her favorite places!) After an hour and a half of carousel rides, pet stores, sliding, and gummy bears, we headed back.

When the previews started, it was so loud and big, she just started shaking her hands and stomping her feet up and down. I wasn't sure if it was excitement or if she was scared. After the first preview though, I had no doubt; as it went off, she started giving me the hand signal for more and did as each preview ended until the movie started. When she saw the Veggietales logo pop up she started shaking all over and bouncing in my lap. So precious!

She sat pretty still through the whole movie, only getting fidgety a few times. We were able to cure that with craisins and apple juice. The movie was fair. Not their best work by far, but still cute. I'm sure it was all the same to her. Daren and I just thought it wasn't quite as witty and clever as most of their stuff. Plus, it isn't about a bible story or anything... it has overtones of Christianity, but not that a child would pick up on. It is about being a good person and doing what is right. Which is a great theme. My guess is that Universal, who was the backer, wanted them to tone it down. Well, poo poo on them if that's the case.

Anyway, all in all it was a great experience for us and Mc. We will definitley be back. Oh yeah, and the best part was that at the beginning of the movie, during the previews, it messed up. They had to turn the lights on and fix it and then the screen drapes stuck and they had to make the picture a little smaller so we could see it. It wasn't really a big deal though. But, when we left, they gave us free passes for another movie!!! So, we got to see it for free! You can't beat that!

The Pirates Who Don't Do Anything

Well, a long awaited day as finally arrived at our house. Since October, we have been anticipating the release of "Veggie Tales: The Pirates Who Don't Do Anything". Well, today is the big release day. Many of you may have never taken your child to a movie before (I never have). Well, if not, let me recommend that this be their first. It is sure to hold their attention with action, songs, bright colors and more. (Plus, you'll actually enjoy it. Daren and I think the Veggies are hilarious!)

We hope to attend Sunday afternoon for Mc's first movie experience. I'll post a full review after seeing it!

8 Things About McHaney

Ethan tagged me to tell 8 things about myself, so here goes:

1. I have a small Veggie Tales obsession. Well maybe it isn't small... I have movies, books, toys, clothes and even food that depicts the characters. All things Veggie is what I'm about.

2. I love the water. I could live in the water. I'm also a certified survival swimmer.

3. I have about 12 nicknames... seriously. Sugar Bear, Bits, Mc, Mc Attack, Big Mc, Mc n cheese, Stink, Boo, Angel, Princess, Princess Peanut, Sweet, etc, etc. I'm lucky I even know my name!!!

4. I really like farm animals. Cows, ducks and cats in particular. (My Grammy lives on a farm and when I pretend to call her on my cell phone I make all of my animal noises.)

5. I'm in the process of giving up my ba (pacifier). I'm two days clean. No meetings yet.

6. Head, Shoulders, Knees and Toes is my favorite song in the whole world. But, I like to sing it "Head, Me's, and Nose".

7. My favorite time of day is when my Daddy, who I have nicknames Deda, comes home.

8. I am a daredevil. I love to be thrown around, jump off things, ride things, and risk my life every chance I get. So unlike Mommy... she is scared to death most of the time].

So, I guess that's it. Eight things about me. I'm supposed to tag 8 more people. So, Sadie Jane, Annabelle, Mary Carter, Sydney, and all 4 Shirley's, you're it. (I realize this is 9, but I'm making my own rules... as usual.)

Hope you enjoyed!

McHaney

Christmas Morning

Here are pics from Christmas morning. It was much more fun this year because Mc knew a little more about what was going on. (check out the new video)

Utah is also pigging out on her stocking. She always cracks me up because she knows one of the stockings is for her and she gets into it herself, pulls everything out and picks something to eat. So rotten!

Also, I know this picture of me is lovely, but this was my first time to ever get to open a Tiffany box! You can't see it here, but you can see the goody from inside!!!!

My Little Model

Here are a few pics of Ava Hunter in one of the dresses I made for her 2nd birthday. I was so happy to see her in it!

Christmas Eve

We always spend Christmas Eve at my Nan's house. First we go to church for the Christmas Eve service, then we head over to her house for dinner and gift opening. It is always fun!

Mc got called out this year in church. Seriously, middle of the service, preacher called her out... "I've been sitting here watching the little girl in the green dress with the purple pacifier..." It was sweet though. He was saying how sweet it was that she was so interested in what was going on.

Anyway, that was our excitement for the evening. Here are a few pics from the night.

Mc and Papa Leon

Opening presents with Gaga

Lauren, Andrew, Mandi, and Ned

Christmas at Gimmy and PawPaw's

Sunday before Christmas we went down to Tullahoma to spend Christmas with Daren's Dad and Stepmom. We always go down with Dennis and Anna and spend the night. This year, the girls were both there too and it was so fun to watch them get all excited about their toys and stuff!

I don't remember much of the trip because I got the worst head cold of my life on Saturday and am still fighting it. (Yes, Saturday as in December 22nd and I am still fighting it 2 weeks later!)

Anyway, Mc got a kitchen from Gimmy and Pawpaw and she loved it! She may be a little young for pretend right now, but she still loves opening and shutting all of the doors, turning the knobs, etc.

Here are a few pics:

Opening Presents with Gimmy

Opening the Kitchen

Playing with the Kitchen

Playing with Zoe and Utah

One of my Favorite pics from Christmas...
Reading with Uncle D and Sadie Jane

Still Here

Just to let everyone know... I'm still here! After a very busy Christmas, one of the worst head colds I've ever had, an eventful week in Playa Del Carmen, and double ear infections for Miss Mc, I've been a little short on blogging time. So, I plan to catch up very soon.

I'm dead tired now though and about to head upstairs for the hot bath I've been dreaming of since leaving the country last week. I'll try to post some tomorrow!

Hope you all had a great Christmas!

RP