Thanksgiving and A Lesson

We had a very nice Thanksgiving. I hope everyone else did as well. Time sure went fast and it is back to a FULL week of work. Ugh! I saw New Moon yesterday with friends and I really liked it. So much better than Twilight. Way to go Chris Weitz!

While spending Thanksgiving with family, we also learned a lesson. We were at my father in law's and sitting in the den which has a huge fireplace. The kids have always been good about being careful around it. My nephew was standing on the hearth and out of the corner of my eye I saw Lauren walking over there. Just as I was about to say, "Lauren, be careful and stay away from the fireplace." She let out this god awful scream. She has put her hand on the glass and burned it. My heart literally stopped. I scooped her up and ran her to the kitchen were we put cool water on it and some ice. Thankfully it was now really severe as it took a while to blister. Needless to say the poor thing was in a lot of pain. So we gave her some Tylenol and I put some Neosporin on it and she asked me to blow on it for 2 hours while she sobbed. It was heartbreaking. She finally fell asleep and then I was able to wrap it. The good news is it has not bothered her ever since she woke up from the nap and seems to be healing well. I am so thankful that it wasn't worse or that is happened to her face or something. So...lesson learned.

Lauren with her bandage

Posing with Gram and Gramps Shaw

In her Thanksgiving dress

Out for my parents 40th Anniversary Lunch

Lyla

With Gram and Papa Crowley

With cousin, Carter

Thirty Four

So today is my 34th birthday. I have to say I still only feel about 25. It is weird for me to think I am in my mid thirties now. Time sure has gone fast these past 10 years. I can only imagine what the next 10 will bring.

So far, my thirties have been wonderful to me. I have a wonderful husband, a beautiful daughter and more family and friends then I could ever have hoped for. Life is good. I've had my ups and downs, trying times and such, but overall I am so happy to be at this point in my life. I feel far more confident in myself, as a woman and a mother.

We spent a nice weekend enjoying GORGEOUS weather for late November. In the mid 50's and sunny. What a great gift. My in laws had a nice bday lunch for my on Saturday and then wanted Lauren to stay overnight. So Jas and I finished up some xmas shopping and we to see The Blind Side. Loved that movie!! Sandra Bullock is amazing in it. Actually the whole cast is phenomenal. I highly recommend it! Sunday, we enjoyed a wonderful lunch at 1855 Grill for my parents 40th anniversary. I hope to post some pictures later this week.

Hope everyone enjoys their Thanksgiving and I hope we are all thankful for many wonderful things in our lives.

Happy News

Happy Anniversary to my brother and Jill. Married 4 years ago today. Four years ago we had snow on the ground. Today is drizzling, but near 50 degrees.

Also, I will be an aunt again come June. My brother and Jill are expecting their second child.

Being Safe

I found this the other day while looking around on the internet. These are some great tips for teaching your child to be safe and be aware of strangers. With Lauren quickly approaching school age, this is something I definately want to start talking to her about.

1. Adults don't NEED help from a kid, so if an adult asks for their help (finding a dog, lifting something into their car, etc.) that it should be a warning sign.

2. If someone did try to grab them, I don't just want them to scream (because someone could assume that they are just throwing a tantrum) but I want them to scream "STRANGER, THIS IS NOT MY DAD/MOM, STRANGER, STRANGER!"

3. If someone tries to grab them, their best defense is to fall down on their bums and start kicking as hard as they can (in the groin area) while screaming because it's harder for someone to grab them.

4. They need to know their address and phone number.

5. We teach our kids to have a lot of respect and manners but they have to know that if they are ever in a bad situation that they do NOT have to show respect or manners - they have to do whatever they have to do to get out of the situation.

6. If a car stops along the side of the road and waits while they are walking in the direction of the car, they need to turn and walk the opposite way while watching over their shoulder.

7. Bad guys don't usually LOOK like bad guys and they don't ACT like bad guys either. They often look and act like nice people because that is how they trick kids.

8. Never leave from one location, going to a secondary location with someone if they have not been given permission to do so (by me or my husband) no matter what anyone says.

9. Being scared is ok, but being smart is what can help them to avoid/get out of a bad situation.

10. Always ask a person they trust (teacher, parent, etc.) if they are concerned or scared and don't know how to handle a situation.

Sesame Street

Sesame Street is 40 years old. I remember watching that show a lot as a child. So, my mother in law asked if we could take Lauren to the live show this past weekend. We had a great time. It was very neat to see all the characters I was so familiar with 25 years ago. YIKES!

Lauren is obsessed with music, singing and playing "instruments"

All dressed up for the show

Lauren and Grandma Diane

Playing "I Spy" to pass the time

The stage....we had great seats.

Enjoying some popcorn.

Being silly

The Elmo balloon grandma got her.

Laurenisms

A few funny things that Lauren has said or done recently that I never want to forget.

• She sings the whole chorus to 3 Taylor Swift songs: You Belong With Me, Love Story and Our Song. Soooo cute!
• While teaching her to pump her legs while swinging, her daddy stopped pushing her. Finally she looked back at him and said, "Hey daddy, I need more pumping power."
• While having a conversation a few nights ago about going to bed, she was disagreeing with the time and finally she said, "I am just going to walk away quietly."
• She and I have to play "I Spy" every morning before we leave for work/daycare. She is really good at it too.
• She gave me a goofy face the other day and I asked her what kind of face that was...she said, "It's my pokerface." (she likes that song by the way)
• How every single day she wants to wear one of her leotards around the house. The child would live in them.
• Every night after we put her to bed...within 5 minutes she comes to the door and says, "mommy can I have one more hug and kiss?" How can I resist?

Choppy Choppy

I really think that I am going to chop my hair off after the holidays. I am in need of something new. And...it's only hair. It will grow back if you don't like it, right?

A couple contenders

Indian Summer

We had an amazing weekend here weatherwise. You could definately say we had an Indiam Summer. We reached the mid to upper 60's on Saturday and Sunday....did I mention it is November? So, we took advantage of the fantastic weather and went to a park nearby so I could work on my photography...ha!

These next 2 melt my heart.

Love her little tongue sticking out.

Such a sass!

I also decided that I am starting to accumulate quite a number of books, so I decided to get a bookshelf to put in our bedroom to hold all my treasures. I love how it turned out.

So did Lauren.

My mother in law and I will be taking Lauren to the Sesame Street Live show on Saturday. This will be Lauren's first live show. I am kind of excited to see what she thinks.

Halloween 2009

Well October has come and gone. And it was a rather cold and gloomy one. I spent 3 days at home with Lauren last week. She had a fever which prohibited her from going to daycare, so she missed out on all the Halloween fun. What did we do while off? Dress up, of course.

Halloween was a long, but fun day. We celebrated my MIL's Fall Festivus by eating a lot, making crafts, carving pumpkins and laughing a lot.


The kids in their costumes...not Lauren, she wanted to wait.

After cousin, Caleigh did her face paint.

A little love.

Face painting

Jas carved Lauren a Brobee pumpkin.

Don't they look like sisters?

The costumes...even the dogs!

My little pirate!

Getting ready to trick or treat!

It was really cold.

We had a good time. Hard to believe it is all over again. Only 18 days until New Moon comes out. I hope it is excellent. I am counting on Chris Weitz to knock my socks off!