Weekend highlights

Friday afternoon, I made a quick stop at Kohl's after work and christened my new credit card with this purchase...



I wanted to wear them so badly on Saturday, but it just wasn't warm enough. But soon enough, I'll get to break them in. Yes, I splurged a little, but I am totally OK with it. A girl's got to spoil herself once in a while, right? Besides, I know I'll get a lot of use out of them, and they're a good name brand (Skechers), so I know they won't fall apart on me anytime soon.

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I tried calling my sister twice on Friday, but had no luck either time--the first time, she was feeding the baby and the second time, she had company. No big deal--I totally remember how hectic those first couple days in the hospital are. But she called me back on Saturday and we talked for a good while. It was so good to catch up with her, and hear some more details about everything. I cannot believe I am going to be with her, in person, cuddling her cute kid, in less than a month!

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Dawn, Kerry and I (plus our kids) hung out on Friday night while our husbands went to a men's fellowship at the church. At one point, I was flipping through a People magazine, when I came across a picture of Johnny Depp. I called Ari over, and pointed to the picture. "Ari, look. This is Johnny. Can you say 'Johnny'? And he is hot. Can you say 'hot'?" After a couple repeats of those 2 key words, I soon had her saying "Johnny" and "hot" when I pointed to the picture. When Tony arrived a couple hours later, Ari performed beautifully for him. And a little while after that, she hunted down the magazine, and brought it to me, flipping through the pages and saying "Johnny" and "hot" while she waited for me to find him for her.

Of all the things I have taught her, I am the most proud of this.

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Saturday was a lazy day for us--we had nothing planned. We did manage to get some things done around the house. (For example, I went through Ari's drawers and closet and weeded out all the too-small 18 months stuff. Some of the 24m/2T stuff is still big on her, but it was easier for me to just get rid of all the 18m stuff in one fell swoop.) In the evening, we went out to the mall--got dinner in the food court, let Ari play in the play area, and did a bit of shopping.

Then my parents kept her overnight last night, since we were there in the afternoon and Mom usually watches her on Mondays anyway. We had planned to go out for dinner, but since we had eaten a late lunch, neither of us felt hungry enough to eat another big meal. We toyed with the idea of going out to see a movie, but ended up going home, renting a movie via the cable box, and eating bowls of ice cream for dinner.

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We came home from church yesterday, and I spied a blank envelope sticking in the door jamb. I opened it up, and found this anonymous note, along with this special gift.



Believe it or not, this is not the first time something like this has happened. When we lived in Florida, we came home on a Sunday to find several bags of groceries sitting on our doorstep, with an anonymous note signed by "X." And a few years ago, in this same apartment, we were floored to find a blank manila envelope in our mailbox containing 10 crisp $100 bills (that's $1000, if you're bad at math like I am).

Who says miracles don't still happen?

Breaking news and a survey

We interrupt this entry for some breaking news...

Well, since Josh posted an announcement in my sister's blog, I think that means it's safe for me to announce it too... my sister had her baby! She was induced in the wee early morning hours yesterday, March 27, and little Matthew Keith made his debut at 12:57 PM, tipping the scales at 9 lbs. 5 oz. and 22" long. I got to talk to Mary yesterday and she sounded tired, but overjoyed. They've sent pictures already, and I have to say, he is a handsome little guy.

And the best news of all is... I am going to get to meet him! I'll be flying out there the first weekend in May to spend 5 days showering him with snuggles and kisses. Oh yeah, and I'll get to see Mary and Josh, too. I am so excited about this trip, and I know the month of April is going to drag by as I wait to go.

We now return you to your regularly-scheduled program, already in progress...

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I rarely do surveys, but not much is going on, so what the heck. I went through this one quickly and then deleted the questions I thought were dumb/boring/unworthy. So pay no attention to the numbers.

1. What is a question that people ask you that always gets on your nerves? "So, when are you going to have more kids?" (I'm waiting for the funny, funny comedian who's going to ask me this in my comments.)

2. Name something you have in common with all your siblings. We all look a lot alike--there's no way we can deny being related (darn it). Behold...



3. What is the greatest amount of physical pain you have ever been in? Being in labor. (Like you all didn't see that answer coming.)

6. Who is the last person you wrote a letter to on paper? My sister. Well, it was a card, but I filled up the entire inside of it with my rambling, so that totally counts as a letter.

7. Have you fired a gun before? Yup. My first time ever touching a gun was in 5th grade at summer camp, and I won a first-place trophy in riflery. *pats self on back* Last time I shot a gun was a few years ago in a shooting range with a friend of mine-- now that was some serious weaponry. (Oh, and also? I was really bad at it.) But it was awesome fun. I'd do it again, anytime.

12. Name a person whose diary you would love to read. Ariana (if only she knew how to write... or how to form complete sentences). Because I really want to know what's going on in that devious little head of hers.

14. Name something that makes you happy. A Love It size German Chocolate Cake creation from Coldstone. (I'm easy to please.)

16. If you were in an emergency situation and had to deliver a baby, could you do it? Am I the one giving birth? Because if I am, I guess I don't have a choice, huh?

17. What is on your refrigerator door? Oh, gosh, what's not on my refrigerator door?



See?

18. Name the closest thing to you that is green. My eyes. (Can't get much closer than that, huh?)

21. Name a movie you are looking forward to watching. Sweeney Todd. (Johnny Depp... *swoon*)

22. Have you ever called 911? Yes, only once, and no one answered. (True story.)

24. Do you own an iPod? Yes--finally I am one of the lemmings. But it only cost us $50, so that makes it better.

27. What CD is currently in your CD player? The soundtrack to Hairspray, the movie. (*so happy to have a working CD player in my car again*)

28. Do you prefer regular or chocolate milk? Do you even need to ask?

29. Has anyone told you a secret this week? Do the anonymous people at PostSecret count? Because in that case--yes. Tons of them.

30. When was the last time you had Starbucks? Never ever ever. Blech.

35. Would you ever date anyone covered in tattoos? No, silly. I'm married.

36. What did you do before this? I answered question #35.

38. How many hours of sleep do you need to function? Well, I can function on some level with any amount of sleep, or none at all. If you mean, "how many hours of sleep do you need to function well?" then... I don't know. But if I ever get the luxury of finding out, I'll be sure to let you know.

39. Are you picky about spelling and grammar? *laughs in the face of this question*

42. Do you watch the News? I can't answer this question until I know why they felt the need to capitalize "news."

44. Name the one place you would rather be right now. In bed, sleeping. On a cruise ship. In the Caribbean. With the window open and the warm ocean breeze lulling me to sleep...

46. Are you hiding anything from the world? Yes. (... What? You thought I was going to tell you? Ha!)

I think I'll keep her

Just a few random stories...

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I was the Workout Queen yesterday... I took a 15-minute walk at work, a 20- to 25-minute walk with Ari in the evening (since it was a gorgeous 50+ degrees when I got home), and still did 30 minutes on the Gazelle while I watched the last half of American Idol. And I kept my eating under control. (I've been a slacker ever since pigging out on Easter weekend.)

So this means I can have a candy bar today, right?

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I opened the cabinet last night, looking for something to eat for dinner, and saw a brand-new box of Kellogg's Frosted Mini-Wheats staring me in the face. I yelped, "Aww, I love you!" out loud before realizing Tony wasn't home to hear me.

But I did remember to say thank you when he got home.

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Tony, trying on a suit the other day to see how much it needed to be altered...

Tony: Well, I need to get these pants taken up. *chuckle* I don't usually have this problem.

Me: Welcome to my world.

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I was on the computer last night while Ari sat/stood on the chair next to me, entertaining herself and trying every so often to climb on the table when she thought I wouldn't be paying attention. At one point, I felt her staring at me, so I turned to see what was up. Her lips were puckered up, and now that I was looking at her, she leaned in for a kiss. But not just one kiss--she kissed me about 10 times before finally dismissing me and returning to her regularly-scheduled shenanigans.

I think I'll keep her.

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Easter weekend

This was the first official weekend of spring, but it sure didn't feel like it. It wasn't freezing or anything, but it just didn't feel like it was about to be Easter. I guess that's what happens when Easter falls so early in the year.

Matt, Kristin and Nicholas came over on Saturday night for pizza and then a round of Mario Party on the Wii after the kiddos went to bed.

Ari and Nick are quickly becoming good friends.



She picked a fuzzy off the couch, and then tried to eat it. Weirdo.



Matt and Nick were wrestling, and Ari got such a kick out of it.



So Matt decided to let Ari fill in for him, and Nick wasted no time in tackling her.



But he was also a gentleman, and allowed her to feel like she was winning for a few moments. (I love the way they're smiling at each other in this picture.)



He was lulling her into a false sense of security.



Annnnnd, she's no longer having fun.



It's such a riot to watch them play--he is all boy, so much rougher than she is. She held her own pretty well with the wrestling, but as you saw, he got the best of her. At one point during the evening, he latched onto my leg as I walked by him. My first thought was, Oh, how sweet, he's trying to give me a hug. Then I realized he was really just trying to take me out. It's so funny to me how differently he plays, compared to Ari.

Today was Easter, and it was a struggle to get any decent pictures of Ari in her dress. But I did my best. This is the only picture I got of her with the barrette in her hair. Once she forgot it was there, she didn't mind it, but one careless swipe to her head quickly disposed of it.



We put a sweater over her dress because it was so cold. I love this picture--I just wish the lighting was better.



Our church had an Easter Egg Hunt for the kids right after the service, and they let all the really little kids get a head start on the others. Tony helped her find eggs while I took pictures.



I love this shot--she's looking right at the egg.



She lost interest in the eggs pretty quickly--she was just thrilled to be outside. She loves being outside, regardless of how chilly it is.



She was just as thrilled about this stick as she was about any of the Easter eggs.



Enjoying the great outdoors...



Her dress came with a matching overcoat, and this is the best shot I got of it. The inner lining of the coat matches the pattern of the dress.



We went to my parents' house after church for dinner. Here she is opening her Easter gifts from my parents.



And, some mother-daughter shots.



She was telling me a story...



...and showing me her toys.



And the whole family.



And that's all. I am off to bed because tomorrow is the start of a brand-new, long week, and I need some sleep.

It's all well and Good Friday

(Don't ask about the title... I don't know. It made some kind of sense in my head...)

I have more Ari stories. I have a feeling this is going to become a pretty regular topic of conversation...

Ari managed to lock Tony out of the house the other day, when he was home alone with her. He was letting the dogs out the back door, so he stepped outside with them. The door is a sliding glass door, and the lock is a simple one that flips up or down. Ari likes to play with it, so after Tony shut the door behind him, she managed to flip it into the locked position. Luckily, she was in a cooperative mood, and she came back to the door when he called her through the glass and unlocked it for him. And I was on my way home from work anyway, so it wouldn't have been a huge disaster.

Ari was at the babysitter's yesterday, and Mary called my cell phone to share a story with me. She told me Ari was saying "pee-pee" and wanting to go into the bathroom. Curious, Mary followed her, to see what she would do, and Ari gestured toward the toilet. She was already down to her diaper, having decided earlier that it would be fun to strip, so Mary took off her diaper and sat Ari on the toilet. She didn't pee, but she sat there, content, even holding on to the seat by herself. The reason Mary called was to ask me if Ari had ever done that before, and I said no. I mean, we've been explaining to her what we're doing when we sit on the toilet, and we've sat her on her own potty fully clothed. Well, a couple times we've sat her on it right before a bath, but she's never peed in it. But she's never actually asked to sit on the potty naked before. And I'm pretty sure she's never said "pee-pee" either.

We took Ari to the play area last night, and at one point, she was sitting inside this little cave with a little boy who looked to be about her age. And she was flirting for all she was worth. She smiled at him, touched his arms, hugged him, and I swear I even saw her lean in for a kiss once. After that, she was laying her head in his lap and just being a goofball. The boy's back was to me, so I couldn't see his face, but he didn't seem bothered by it (though he wasn't returning any of the affection).

Last time we were there, Tony helped Ari climb up on top of this cave--it's probably a good 3-4 feet off the ground at the very top. Last night, the little showoff scaled the curvy walls of that cave all by herself, and sat proudly at the top. And she even managed to get down--by laying on her belly and sliding slowly backwards. Of course, once she got to a certain point, she wasn't sliding slowly anymore, so she would land hard on her feet and end up plopping onto her butt. I held my breath the first time she did it, expecting tears from the ungraceful landing, but she got right up and trotted over to us with a Cheshire-cat grin on her face. By the third time she pulled this stunt, she managed to land on her feet, just as hard, but without toppling onto her butt. She looked almost as surprised as I was by this feat, and then grinned even bigger than before.

And so begins the weekend. We're going to my parents' house tonight (Happy Birthday, Daddy!), and then tomorrow we are getting together with Matt, Kristin, and Nicholas. And then Sunday is Easter, so I will finally stop being a slacker and will take lots of pictures of Ariana in her adorable little dress. Happy Good Friday! (Ooh, that sounds so grammatically wrong...)