Randomness

I know it's been a couple days since I've blogged, but things have been crazy in this household. So this is going to be a random list of all you've missed in the last couple days---since I'm that exciting (can you sense the sarcasm??).

**Bug is all over the place. This week she has morphed into a little super baby. (Yes, I'm aware that it's totally normal progression....but I'm her mom, so Super Baby she is.)  Like I said earlier, she started crawling this week to chase Cleopatra's shoes. Since then, I have found her crawling down the hall with leaves brought in by one of my dogs in her mouth . I was sooo tempted to take a picture for the blog, but my internal monologue went something like this, "Wow, Mom of the Year, you already have a Bug with leaves in her mouth and have won a M.O.T. Y. award for that. Do you really need to win another one for choosing a blog photo over getting the leaves out??" Would've been cute picture though. :-)

This same week, she managed to pull herself up in her crib, take down the video monitor that was a good 5 inches away on the wall, and toss it on the floor when she should've been napping.  She's already letting us know that we're all up in her personal business. I mean, haven't we heard of an 8 month old's need for privacy? RUDE!! Super Baby has also been trying to fly this week and had I not had a firm grip on that diapered behind, she would've----right into the ground. She grabs the edges of the bed to pull herself off head-first in order to check out the scenary below. This means, I'm holding her butt at the top of the bed while she's got 1/2 of her body off the bed. This girl is fast, which means I need to move faster. No head injuries YET! :-) 

So I realize you all don't really care about the fact that Bug is doing what all babies her age are learning to do SUPER BABY, but....this blog is also my form of a diary, so you get to read stuff you don't care about while I get to document these little things that make me amazed by all God's little miracles in her life. I mean, it's amazing that 8 months ago she couldn't even hold up her own head. These little things we take for granted are huge strides for our little ones---but you all know that. You know the feeling of unabashed joy, the sound of angels singing, and the rays of sunshine that fill up the room when your baby goes from constipation to a beautiful blow-out up to their neck!! Beauty is in the eyes of the beholder, right??

**On to random topic #2--yesterday's Pampered Chef get together. So this is the main reason I haven't posted in a couple days---parties stress me out! It's a lot of work for ME to attempt to become Cleopatra (remember that post??). Things that involve entertaining that are common sense to most people, are not to me. I grew up in a small town with a big family where people just dropped by all the time. My birthday parties were wings and pizza, a boxed vanilla cake with chocolate icing (no decorations other than candles that counted your years)...and all on paper plates--WHITE ones. No clever themes, goody bags, blow up slides. There was none of this "presentation" or cutesy entertainment. We were the definition of casual (and "casual" is putting it nicely). So needless to say, trying to be cutesy and homemakerish is not my cup of tea. Don't get me wrong, I'd LOVE it if it were because I admire that in people...but it's going to take me some time to get there, and by "time" I mean MIRACLE! I love white paper plate girl who doesn't care, but I also love Cleopatra. Is there a way to be a Cleopatra who doesn't care or stress out with these things??

Overall, our little get-together went off pretty well. One of my besties came up to help me--another one who's good at entertaining. Love you, N! Cleopatra was out of town, but called me to make sure I was feeling good about things--love her! My husband managed to stay married to me and even endured the pre-party, stressed-to-the-max, bossy me. I didn't think I'd turn into that person but between little things to finish around the house, a baby who needed to eat, and a P.C. consultant who needed my assistance with her set-up (most MY responsibilities)...an ugly side of me came out with my Darling Dearest. "Honey, can you do this?? Hey, I need you to move this! Can you hide this upstairs where everything else that doesn't have a place has gone in preparation for this party bring this upstairs?" I mean, can I BE more annoying (said in my best Chandler voice)?? Does Cleopatra act like that before a party, or is she cool and together, sipping on a glass of wine and waiting for her guests to arrive since everything was finished hours beforehand??? Needless to say, I got to see some awesome people I haven't seen in a while, ate some delicious food, saw some pretty cool gadgets that I can't afford since I'm not working, and had an overall great time!! On top of that, I'm still married and my husband still loves me....until my next attempt at entertaining.

And we're off......

This post is going to be short and sweet (for the record, whenever I say this type of thing, it always ends up the opposite--probably because of extra details I put in parentheses). I think Bug has officially become a crawler!! Now, she's been taking random crawling "steps" here and there this week--normally 3 at a time. But tonight, she was on a roll. What inspired all this action?? Cleopatra's silver, shiny heels (yes, my awesome friend came over to help me get my house cutesy for a get-together this weekend and even brought her fall decor)!!!

So here's the play-by-play:

Cleopatra took off her heels to stand on one of my chairs, and before she had even gotten the second shoe off, Bug's eyes were saucers and she CRAWLED toward that little piece of metallic heaven with a passion and persistence I have never seen. And she got it!!! So I moved it farther, partly because who wants their daughter chewing on some one's shoe and mostly because I wanted to see her little booty shake across that floor again to capture her a sexy heel. SHE DID!! I even completely changed directions and moved it AGAIN. There was no stopping her. That hot little number of a shoe kept her interest the entire night. Did I mention that she had toys surrounding her?? None of which interested her in the slightest once she found that shoe. I was sooo excited, I almost gave her that shoe she worked so hard to get and let her chew her little heart out....ALMOST!

So from this exciting milestone, I've drawn a few conclusions:

1. My little bug loves her some sexy heels!
2. She likes girlie things with some sparkle and shine (don't we all??).
3. She was trying to steal my very-put-together friend's cute shoes because she feels bad for her mother and the shoes she attempts to pull off (some with nails coming out that they wreck one of her best friend's mother-in-law's wood floor at a baby shower--YES, that happened--some with the wedge completely worn down that the "heel" is rounded and impossible to walk in, some with inserts that are coming out, some with the sole disconnecting from the toe, etc.). Yes, my Bug is embarrassed of the shoes I not only own, but attempt to wear and pull off, no less!!! Who does that??? Good thing I took advantage of my 50% off Oprah coupon to Payless this weekend and got some flats that are in shape...FOR NOW!

SO with her new skill, I'm thinking of putting her to work at my party on Saturday and maybe catching myself some new pairs of shoes. Ladies, hold on to your shoes.....I've got a Bug, and I know how to use her!!

PS. So much for short and sweet..........see what I mean??

Becoming Cleopatra

Sorry, it's been a few days. Things have been crazy around here with Halloween creeping up! In the midst of all that is scary this time of year, I encountered the scariest thing of all yesterday....the ugly green-eyed monster!! Yep, I admit it....I'm officially house jealous. Now, it's not even really about the house (although don't get me wrong, I'm sure if I thought about it--it could be), but it's about the home-maker.

One of my favorite hottie friends (we'll call her Cleopatra since she made a fabulous one last night) had a little get-together last night (ok, it wasn't that little...good thing she's the Hostess with the Mostest who can handle that kind of event because I'd probably pee my pants a little). Cleopatra is ridiculously PERFECT. She's gorgeous to the max, an awesome teacher, a great wife, friend, and every other title she carries....but not only that---she's a sickeningly amazing homemaker. Seriously, her house looks like it's straight from a Martha Stewart magazine, except with a modern/homey feel. The worst part of it is...she doesn't even know how amazing and talented she is or how perfect her house is. It's decorated to the T, and she even finds great discounts. I mean, I saw the green-eyed monster popping up the second I stood on her door stoop. Yep, even her 3' by 5' stoop is better decorated than my ENTIRE house!! How bad is that?? She always has said that if she stops teaching, she should be an interior decorator. And you know what I think??? She should. Better yet--she should start with my house pro bono. :-)

I guess I'm just not "girlie" in that sense. I'm not a natural homemaker, by any means. I don't love to cook. Although I'm not a bad cook, I don't have a natural sense of food, tastes, etc. (good thing Darling Dearest and I were raised similarly where dinner wasn't a big deal and neither of us are foodies--we may actually be food bores). I don't love to clean...but I think people who actually enjoy it are on something (sorry to my OCD friends-you know who you are). :-) I'm not a cutesy decorator. My house looks okay, but would you actually walk through it and say, "Wow, your house looks great!"???? HECK NO! Unless of course you're a worse homemaker than me (while that may be possible, you'd be in bad shape if that was the case). Sorry, Mom! hehe!

So lately I've been down on myself about my lack of what is stereotypically a girl's thing--something that should come naturally, right?? I mean, making your house cute and homey is what girls should be able to do...according to the stereotype. Well, if that is the case.....I'm the worst. I think a good amount of it is because I'm cheap (financially forced to be cheap...did I say I'm not working yet??), and never EVER go shopping for things for my house. I also don't really watch all those home shows (I'm too stuck on mind-erasing reality shows), even though I do love them when I stumble upon them. I guess I just wish someone (namely, Cleopatra) would come do it all with me (translation: FOR me) and tell me what is cute, what is not, what goes with what, etc.

So I've decided to turn a new leaf. Instead of letting the ugly green-eyed monster creep up on me again, I'm going to learn to be a homemaker. I'm a teacher and a self-professed nerd. I'm an academic perfectionist, so why can't I study a different type of subject?? I'm going to buy cute, girlie magazines (not the ones on make-up and clothing like I usually do). I'm going to watch decorating shows for inspiration. Shoot, if I can't naturally come up with my own cute ideas, I am not above stealing someone else's!!! I'm going to become THAT girl. I'm going to become Cleopatra (and several of my other best girls who have the same talent--ugh! Am I the ONLY one bad at this stuff). Hopefully, she'll give me some tutoring sessions and take me under her perfectly put-together wing. Hey, you never know...I may go wild in my effort to become a lady. I may actually stop biting my nails, updating my chipping toenail polish (and by "chipping" I mean that there may only be a few remnants of color actually ON some of my nails...GROSS!), and I may even start DOING my hair! So here's to becoming Cleopatra and fighting the green-eyed monster, so he can go creep up on someone else when they enter MY house!!

Oh, and here are a few pics of Bug, etc. @ Cleopatra's party. Wish I would've taken some pics of her gorgeous house so you all could be envious with me.