Gotcha Nose!

Mammy introduced the "gotcha nose" game a couple of months ago and Kyle has taken to it. He loves it, and he is really convinced you have his nose because he doesn't take his eyes off your hands and makes darn sure you give it back. He's really expanded on this game too, he likes to take all kinds of body parts from us and give them back, nose, eyes, ears, cheeks. He also plays this game with himself..."mamma, I got me nose" and puts it right back on his face. And then yesterday while playing naked baby he found something new to play "gotcha" with. Can you guess what he got? He took it off, looked at me, laughed and said "I put it back". Good idea Ky, I have a feeling you may be needing that!

Poll: How do I feel about turning 30?

Well, last week when I put the poll up there I felt a certain way and this week I feel a little differently. You are only as old as you feel? This is do believe in. I don't feel old, I feel overweight, but mentally I don't feel any older and certainly do not act a heck of a lot older. Although I don't know what feeling 30 is supposed to be like. If I act 20 then I guess I could stay feeling 20. Although when I was 20 a McD's chicken nugget meal didn't attach itself to my belly the way it does now....so how loaded was that answer? Never been happier? This is definitely true. One thing that comes with age is confidence. The more years on earth, the more one does, the more experience one has and more things one has time to accomplish. And accomplish by my standards means to accept yourself for who you are and use yourself as the gauge. I look inward for acceptance far more often than I look outward I believe that is more important. I am the most happy I've ever been with myself and my life than I've ever been. This might explain the cranky mood I've been in? YES. I was certainly dreading this day. I worried about and allowed it to bother me and therefore I was cranky and sad. The actual day came and went and was a blast with a Tom Petty concert, my friends, my son, my family and my hubby. The next day was even better with more family and a party and then dinner with more friends last night proved that I am now 30 and loving it! It will only get better from here on out and that's the positive attitude that will keep me young at heart and happy. If I could lost the weight I'd be golden!

No Trespassing!

I guess drug addicts are really in desperate need of a fix these days. We have a dumpster in the yard for Matt to use for big jobs at work. The BatGuys trailer sits right next to it. It also sits on the other side of the house where there is room and where I can't see it from the window, which I thought was a good thing. I hear that dog next door crying/barking midday and I just assume it's 1 of the 100 times he'll bark today for no apparent reason. Something peaks my interest on this particular day and even though I'm in the middle of having my hair foiled (thanks Kell!) I grab Kyle on 1 hip, foil sticking off my head in my cutoffs and tank top and trot my little white trash self out to the driveway. There are two older men dumpster diving and jamming broken pieces of the tent that once stood in the backyard into there 1987 mercury sable. I don't know who was a worse sight, but I'll bet on them. I ask "may I help you" in a tone that clearly states "what the hell are you doing in my yard?" and they go on and on about some recycling crap they do. Instead of facing them head on with their b.s. and calling them on the obvious reason they are in my dumpster I ask them to please leave and do not return. Little unnerving because if that p.i.a dog next door wasn't going crazy I might not have known there we people just taking stuff out of my yard!

About 3 weeks later on a hot summer day; Kell, Ky and I are enjoying a swim in his 3x5 plastic pool (there's another sight) and a truck pulls into the yard, some freaky looking crackhead starts walking into my back yard asking me if I'm going to be putting any kind of metal in the dumpster! No, thanks, goodbye, don't come back. On his way out he say's I saw that there is an old radio in there, can I have that? What the hell is going on? When did you happen to see that there was a radio in there? How many people have been in this yard without me knowing and what the am I supposed to do with a 2 year old on my hip by myself in the backyard being approached by God knows who? I can't believe I had to go to Lowes to get a No Trespassing sign for a freakin' dumpster! Don't get me wrong, I totally understand that idea of 1 man's trash another man's treasure...but these are not treasure hunter's in my yard, they are looking for something to hawk for a fix. Not cool with it at all!

Happy Father's Day

To my wonderful husband for being a wonderful father. We both knew that becoming parents would be an adventure. We had the talks about raising children and how we'd like to do it, the rules we felt strongly about and the life we hoped to create for our family. I couldn't be more proud of Matt. He is one of the most dedicated and hard working people I've ever known and he does everything with 150% of himself. Becoming a father changed him, not enough that the outside world would notice, but enough that Kyle and I notice and we know how much he loves us and our family and is dedicated to us. Kyle is so lucky to have Matt for a Dad. Matt teaches him everything he knows and Kyle listens very closely. They play together, they laugh together, Kyle asks to go work with him and tells him to "have a nice day" every morning. They fish together, they talk about animals and explore the yard and woods together. They laugh and talk about their day during bath time. It is beautiful to watch them together and it is incredible to me how much Kyle is just like his Daddy. It's no question that he looks like him, but everything he does reminds me of Matt and I think that's wonderful. He has only just begun to learn from Matt and they will share this friendship for many years to come. I am blessed to watch it grow and be a part of an amazing family full of love. We love you!

To my own Dad for being you. For being someone who I can ALWAYS count on for anything. A good hug, a much needed cry, a pure laugh and all that you've taught me and given me of yourself. Very few people understand me the way my Dad does and it's nice to have that all to ourselves and to cherish it. We've done a lot of growing together and I couldn't have become who I am without you, and I am proud of that person. And for being Kyle's Bapa Billy Bob. It's enjoyable to watch a little person bring out the best in my Dad. They are starting to share more than hugs and kisses these days. My dad has introduced Kyle to the world of cars, engines, colors, makes, models and I'm pretty sure he'll be taking my place at the muscle car shows. He's passing on his love of birds. I am blessed to have you and my son is blessed to have you and I am happy to watch you two become friends. And you certainly make a mean cheeseburger and pot of baked beans! :) Love you!

And to the 2nd Dad I've gained by becoming a Grady. Papa Dan is a great friend to me. The brightest man I know and the person I pick up the phone to call when I have a question about ...well just about anything that you'd find in a book that's for sure! He accepted me as a daughter almost immediately and I felt a part of his family very early on. He's very thoughtful and always seems to find the perfect gift. He is also a man who I've seen a new side of since the birth of my son. They find much joy in each other. I'm not sure many other people can get Dan to act silly, play with bubbles and roll around on the living room floor. Kyle does it and they both laugh purely when they spend time together. I can't discard the fact that he's has much to do about raising the man I married into wonderful person and that's nothing to be taken lightly. Thank you for giving me Matt and thank you for being you. We love you!

OK, mush fest over....I'm out!

Let me introduce ...

my new boyfriend...

This show was quite possibly the best live performance I've ever seen. I've seen a few really great shows, great music, great stage performance, great sets, but musically this was the best show I've seen. What a great 30th birthday! Kell, Justy, Matt and I had pretty good seats too. We were surrounded by cool people who were really enjoying the show (everyone in the audience was). And I was reminded of how awesome it is to see a show at Great Woods. Well, it was turned to Tweeter center and now Comcast center, but it will always be Great Woods to me. A really young crowd overall too, I was expecting to see a parking lot full of tokin' hippies, and there were a few older groups than us but we were not the young group anymore. Lots of drunken funny happenings, nothing too rowdy. We had front row seats to a drunken boyfriend/girlfriend fight because the boyfriend looked at a pretty girl who walked by. Did we ever act that way? I'm pretty sure I did once or twice. It's funny to look at them and think, wow they are really young. A random dude in a striped shirt who was circling our cars just clapping every now and then. I'm was certain that he was searching for someone and then came to the conclusion that he was just wasted walking in circles. We were the chill group of 12 hanging out grillin and drinking a few brews enjoying ourselves. There were 4 June birthday's in the crew also and Sara and Alyssa celebrated us with a yummy cake. Matt and I saw some funny sights walking back to our car which was parked in noman's land by the way. A kid standing in the middle of road looking down at his wet sneakers in disbelief, he then drops some knowledge on us "Don't take that shortcut" picks up his shoes and strolls away. Great night! Did I mention $7 sausages? Yup, worth it!