Basketball player? Track n Field? Ballerina? ......

What will our rock star baby be? Weighing in at 12 pounds and standing 24"!!!! Our little fighter is the size of a 4 monther! Above 95% in her age group. I would always laugh when I'd hear parents say that:) Now I know what they're talking about:) Well our strong Amelia had FIVE shots today!!!!! They were out of the cocktail shot and had to add another. Poor girl. She turned bright red and screamed so loud...hey maybe an opera singer? I was so close to pushing Christina, the nurse off of Amelia and say NO MORE SHOTS! Amelia's cries of pain killed me. After the shots, I picked her up and held her close to my chest. She instantly fell asleep while sucking on her little friend. Thank goodness. She's still asleep, every once and awhile sending out a couple shot outs, as if she was having a bad dream:( You're probably wondering...shots? At 6 weeks? yeah somebody messed up, but it was okay. I had no idea, I just followed the lead. Doc said they give them at 6 weeks in England, and she was okay. Okay, yes, okay (like the polish contractor in Under The Tuscan Sun.) Now she has 2 1/2 months till her next round. Daddy came with us to the doctor, thank goodness!

We came home last night, and Straty made a great dinner for Krista, Missy, Aunt Judy and I. Straty is of course quite the Chef! Now, if you put pork chops in a crock pot all day and they fell OFF of the bone, would that be considered pork chops or just tender pork? heeheeheehee...XOXOX Sorry Dad Hadj. if I knew they were going to be like that, I wouldn't of had minded. I dislike Pork chops on the bone that are BBQ'd or shak'n baked.....the rubbery fat and white texture pewy!

Amelia meets Auntie Missy today...

A visit from Great Auntie Judy

My Aunt Judy is in town to visit Amelia and the family. She's from the cold and snowy state of Illinois. We went to the SJC Mission today. It was a beautiful day to be outside. Sunny and in the 80's! Amelia was such a good baby girl. She road the stroller for a bit, ate lunch, road more, but was alert and smiling, then slept and then more food! She has her first shots tomorrow! Pray she doesn't have any after effects and that mommy doesn't cry:)

Vinnie B and Amelia

Leaving Home...

No, I haven't run away from home...but Amelia and I are trying to get out more. Whether it's just the two of us or with Daddy or with the dogs. We've come to realize we need to get out and see the world. Now that I've figured out how to be mobile, we're good to go...well not fully good to go. We still need our Bad A%% girls truck:) Silly boys, trucks are for girls. Ok, so not a truck truck, but something that can hold Amelia and her possy consisting of diaper bag, stroller, pump bag, mom's purse, oh and the camera! Sometimes the pac n play, the bouncey and possibly the kitchen sink. We'd like a black pimp daddy with some bling bling cowgirl get up. No tomboy, no miss prissy, but a cowgirl with TUDE!!! No, we're not talking about Amelia, we're talking about Mom:) The Little Princess wants a truck with a view. She love looking out the window. Right now the little princess is battling gas, mild diaper rash and wrestlessness. Well the rash is pretty much gone, thanks to not using wipes and just using warm towels along with Destiton. She's getting bored with her swing, her Patriot balloon, and her crib. She loves her lady bug mobile, we could do w/o the music:) Oh and the CD Kimmie gave us, I'd recommend to everyone!!!! She loves that CD. Beverly Mahood, "To my Child Songs." We listened to it ALL weekend in the desert to keep her happy. To the point Straty pulled the plug to the radio to turn it off! Amelia has enjoyed her visit with Vinnie B, and is looking forward to visiting with Great Aunti Judy. Oh and for a great breakfast burrito brunch, you have to go to Vinnie F's house! YUMMY Amelia hits 6 weeks tomorrow! My oh my, time is already going by so fast! She's mentally preparing for her shots. Mommy heads in for her 6 week check up too! This weekend was a great weekend! It went by so fast!!! I got some great ZZZZZ's the past two nights. Straty had been staying up till 2am, so he feeds her prior to coming to bed. That means I go to bed at 10pm and wake up at 5am!!! Thanks babe!!!!

So Long "Home On The Range"

Well, yesterday at 11am "Home On The Range" became someone else's retreat for happiness and relaxation! It was a sad good-bye, as I drove out there last Wednesday night with the dogs and Amelia. We started going through our stuff, throwing stuff out and packing things up. Straty joined us Thursday to fill up the truck. He had to make a couple trips to get everything home. Mom and Sarah showed up Friday to watch Amelia and help, as we threw a ton of stuff into a dumpster. Some of our prized posessions we brought home is Straty's tombstone (the big round stone golfer plaque that was up front) and of course the bar top we made, that show cased some of our funniest memories. Bill came Friday to pick up some of their stuff. We stood in the driveway and said good-bye. I wanted to cry so bad then! That's the spot we got into one of our first knock down fights. That house is where we spent hours upon hours debating Christ, Politics and many other topics! On the patio with a cup of Joe and a pack or two of cigs. Or the all nighters! Gosh the last one, Bill and I stayed in the pool from sunset to sunrise. Bill was actually in the water the entire time! We got up and went to Del Taco for breakfast! Mom and Sarah left with a load Saturday. Sunday was painful. We knew eventually that day we were going to have to say good-bye. So many times I wanted to rush in the room to tell Straty to cancel escrow, which of course as the seller you can't:) I kept praying and praising the Lord. Knowing the sell of the house, was an answer to prayer, and he knew what was best for our family.

The whole day we'd stop and gazed around the home. Memories would cross my mind. All the hard work we put into that house! Straty wondered how many times we ended up actually painting the living room! K&B any number come to mind? We laughed when we 1st bought the place and I steam cleaned the carpets and shrunk them! They were wool??? In the desert. After a visit from Dave and Raette and then Kelly and Mandy, it was time to bid our home a fond farewell. We grabbed a tall glass of beer and headed for the patio. We sat in our white chairs and started to sob. OK I was sobbing:) We laughed at the wall, the one Kim feel over during one of our Halloween Hoe downs "I haven't had enough!" she proclaimed, and the strangers that came onto the patio to check out the party. Or the little firepit by the spa that cracked in half! The time Michelle pushed Kelly into the pool and then Michelle and I played army women crawling on the golf course. Oh the golf course!!! Flash light tag during PD Troop Girls weekend (RIP Bananas)! The fireworks on 4th of July! Horse Shoe contest when Dad was there along with Shawn and Ken W. Or the contest the boys would have walking barefoot and playing the hole with their putters??? Or when they'd all drive up in the golf carts to grab a beer! Oh the 4am cartwheels with Ali and Marcella! or the Oklahoma Boys weekend. The hiding Angela with goldshlogger. The day after our wedding we had a BBQ there with all of our friends and family! Dad and Sarah filled up 6 shopping carts for that day!!!! PD is where Straty and I got married and it's where I (in the Ralph's parking lot) told Straty (golfing) that we were pregnant! The hot summer days trying to catch some cold water in the pool, the cold winter nights with a fire! Either season, you'd find Straty standing at the grill with a beer in one hand and the spatula in the other and me star gazing with a coffee and cigs! Oh the Christmas we had when we lived out there! Mom, Dad, Krista, Sarah and me and Straty. The serious Sequence game!!!! The visits with Uncle Nick and Auntie Mary, oh the airplane ride:) Straty's family visits to enjoy the desert air and natural springs! The games, the laughter, the relaxation...all the movies watched...all the stories told...all the memories made, will live in my heart forever and ever. There are so many more memories, they just keep popping up into my head! We left the sidewalk with our signatures, in hopes the new owners will recognize the love that is in that home. I did leave a note, if they plan to rip it out, Bill and I will be on our way!!!! We said our good-byes to Dan, Wendy and Arin, our awesome neighbors! A few last photos and one more walk through the house. We turned off the lights and stood in the dark holding each other where the entrance meets the living room. We cried and cried. I was drawn to pray and praise God for the amazing times and to thank him for selling our house. People say, how did you sell in the economy...PRAYER. God knows best. We locked the door and shut it. As I drove off with Indi and Amelia in my car, I cried and cried. I know this is really silly to say, but I totally feel responsible for the selling of our home. I know I know I shouldn't, so don't say it...I just feel if I hadn't gotten laid off from SNP we'd be in a great state. I would be bringing home an income and we wouldn't worry about bills. Funny thing is, we don't have to worry about bills, since half of them are gone with the selling of HOTR. So worry no more about financials!!! And yes I hear you saying it now...but you have Amelia and we may not have been so fortunate if I still had the busy job. There are so many angles to look at this and so much praise in it all, I know. I'm not being ungrateful, just mourning a wonderful place.

I thought I could make it through this without crying, but I was wrong...I sit and watch our little one sleep. Her arms just flew up into the air. I swear she's praising the Lord when she does that! I know PD was an ending to a wonderful era, and that there are many more memories to be made on the road in Goldie. We are meeting the McDowalls in Pismo Beach!!! Straty had a great point as we said good-bye to PD. With Goldie we'll have many views to gaze at...ocean, Grand Canyon, desert, mountains...he's right.

I am realizing how a career had such a huge effect on me, in a not so good way. It's my gage of how I was successful in life. The salary, the higher the better I thought I was, or what people think. The praise, the awards and special notes was what I worked for....acceptance. I enjoyed the structure, the rules and the timelines. I worked long and I worked hard and I felt pretty good! I had control for the most part. Fun suits or casual wear and of course the hot shoes! I had a place, I made a difference. Right now, I'm feeling pretty inadequate. To be honest, I don't even know if that's the right word to use. I can't put a description to it...Sure I have the greatest job, being a mom. I love Amelia very much. I'm still adjusting to not being in control:). I was soooooo worried I wouldn't have enough to do being a stay at home mom/wife. I was stressing before she even arrived that Straty would resent me for being at home. Holy cow was I wrong. My day consists of feeding, pumping, change diaper, change clothes, sun bathe, bath time.....before you know it the sun has set and you start all over again. This job isn't one you can leave at the office. It's in your home, in the place you used to look forward to coming home to with a glass of wine or beer and relax. I don't wear the fun clothes or hot shoes. I wear spit up and poopie pants:) Sometimes I don't even have time to shower or change out of my pj's till 3pm! I know this all sounds familiar to you mommies. I'm starting to understand your madness:) My evaluation is the doctors visit. It's where he tells me if she's okay and if I'm doing a good job. Very sad, I still seek approval. But don't we all in some corky way? I'm trying to work on it. All you mom's out there who never got a raise or an award of excellance, as mom, you deserve it. Take time to reward yourself! To those dads or kids...remember to appreciate your moms or MR. Moms. I know for me, I'm in awe of mine each day! I was her first and I'm learning how that love feels. Thank you mom!

So, I've totally done a 360 from Desert good-byes, work and motherhood. My emotions are a wreck:) I'm laughing and crying all under the same breathe. It's all good though. I'm learning with each tear and each laugh. Sure there are hard times to come, but with that there are many wonderful times to be made, and through it all the three must stand strong...FAITH, HOPE AND LOVE!

Oh Amelia is wonderful! She's growing so big, so fast!!! Yesterday she wore Great Aunt Judy's outfit. It was jeans, with a kitty cat on her shirt and a red jacket with leopard print lining, Oh and Auntie Krista's cowboy boot socks, the black ones. She was very fashionable in the rain:) It made her look older than 5 weeks! Today she's in her pock a dot, bunny on the butt outfit with her pink ballerina socks. I love the socks!!! Cowboy and Ballerina!!!! Tonight we have dinner with Vinnie B. We're still trying to figure out what she's going to wear. She has this princess outfit with a crown on the butt that I'm wanting to put her in. She just got some really cute mary jane socks with bling bling on them yesterday! I might put the two together. I tell ya, I haven't purchased a thing for our daughter!!! The gifts from you all are so wonderful, Thank you!!!!! Thanks to you all, our little Amelia is the best dressed 5 week old in OC!!!! I hear grunting from down the hall....Amelia is napping in her little bed in our Master Bedroom, while Miller is napping right next to her in the big bed:) He loves his Amelia. She's just like her daddy, loves sleeping with the fan on.

Thanks for listening...I feel better. Everything takes time, I know. Uh oh, I think she's waking up!!!! XOXOXO

My funny Valentine

Happy Valentine's Day!

Happy One Month Baby Girl...

Straty and I looked at each other just at the time one month ago our baby girl was born. We're still in awe of our little one. She's doing very well! Gas is our enemy! Very happy that's all we have to worry about though. We've been blessed with the sweetest little girl. She's growing so fast and is very alert, looking around, lifting her head and making many noises:) She's our little Miss Piggy. She's enjoyed her visit with Yaya and Papou Hadjiyannis. She also spent the day at Grandma's work. She didn't make it to the barn, maybe next time:)

Thank you everyone for all of the lovely cards and gifts! This girl is going to be the best dressed:) Some of the dresses are so fancy, Straty and I have decided to go back to church, so she has somewhere to wear them. Just Kidding!!!!

Our birth photos are ready. I can't wait to see them.