tickled pink

So to the left is a Pink Dragonfruit. I wanted a pink fruit, so I searched google for "pink fruit" and this popped up. (image from designverb.com)

My background is pink for now, I felt more like pink dots than purple dots, for today.

I am pretty happy, right now. We have been spending more time together as a family, and Joe has been working a bit less, which has really helped my sanity. I think it is easier for people who have their perfect schedules and lives, when their husbands come home regularly at a predictable time each day, not that I am making excuses.

We are pretty happy as a whole. Scarlett is really into "race cars!" We figured out how to make a bridge out of her blocks, and she drives her little red dye cast car underneath it, and just thinks its the coolest thing ever! We picked up some more little cars at Walgreens today. She is way more into cars than she is babies. She doesnt like babies at all. Definitely thinking we will probably get a dog instead of another baby, once we have enough space for one.

Last night I had the most wicked abdominal cramps, I swear they were as bad as my contractions were, when I was pregnant with Scarlett. When I told Joe this, he freaked out a bit, but I told him, it is probably nothing. I used to have terrible cramps long before i was ever pregnant with Scarlett, normally during those lovely "aunt flo visits", so I figure it is just some lovely discomfort associated with womanhood, or digestive issues.

Joe is still dieting. He has lost over ten pounds. He has YOR Health shakes and omega rich peanut butter for two meals a day and rice and beef for lunch. Sounds awful to me, though, I have been trying to take some of YOR's supplements to see if I can benefit at all from their magic.

Sending happy thoughts your way.

My little Cuddle Bug.

Gosh, considering the real heartaches and sadnesses that take place in other people's lives, REALLY makes me grateful for the blessings in my own life. My Scarlett, is a beautiful and loving little girl. She constantly runs up to me with open arms for a hug, or kisses me wherever is at mouth level, be it leg, butt, arm, foot. She loves to be touching me or Joe at all times. Just that physical contact, is so comforting. I love her so much. I love her sweet little spirit. I love her curly hair, and her million faces. She is so special to me, and I really do try to give her the best that I can in life. She is one of my very best friends, and my constant companion. She is always sad to see me go, even if it only happens maybe once every few weeks and only for a couple hours.

Here are some pictures I have taken of her this week.

(right before bed)

(good morning, Mommy!)

"MMM, Icecream is GOOD!"

Having a good time running around in the play place at Chick-fil-a.

Stayin Alive.

Here are the rest of the pictures I didnt post last time in a slideshow.

Not many new or exciting things going down around here. Still alive. Still doing my best.

pop art

Sometimes in life, things get crazy. Okay, more than sometimes. A lot of times, 2 year olds decide that sleep is for the birds, and they wish not to participate. You can beg, and plead, you can cry and pray, and yet, NOTHING seems to make the kid give into sleep. Sometimes, you think of all the parents out there DYING to have children, and think, well, maybe I should just give them mine.

If you have just read that, and can honestly say as a parent you have never thought those things, then I am willing to admit that I am crazy.

But, I think it is important at times to remind ourselves, that the best IS yet to come.

Some day between toddlerhood and puberty, I will have good times with my daughter, tantrum free. She will go to school, and learn even more things, and become an extreme conversationalist. We will spend hours together, talking about anything and everything on her mind. I will be her confidant, and listen without judgement. These are the sorts of things I am patiently waiting for, and trying to remember not to sweat the small stuff, like sleep, and perfection.

Love and Laughter,

Red Rawlins

Better Pics?

So I still haven't splurged for a new camera, but while we were in AZ we did get new phones. Joe got the newest iphone, which looks pretty much identical to the old one, though he assures me it is "leaps and bounds" better.

I got a blackberry curve. I love it, but what I love best is that it takes pretty decent pictures. And I can have it email them to photobucket, which uploads them for me :) then I just have to copy the image location to paste it into the blog. So much faster :)

love you all. Heres some cute pics from today.

dumdums are yum yum!

my little cookie monster.

Scarlett doing a little cleaning. Also nicely showcases the granny bun. (just had a grandma weezy flashback there) As I type scarlett is "cleaning" the chair next to me with a pink eraser. She is saying, "There! Clean is better!"

Blackberries and Boysenberries,

on our way back home.

We had a great time in AZ, but unfortunately, all good things have to end. We got to see a lot of great friends while we were there. Joe even got to come up for the last two days. It was nice to get to go out on a "date night". We love our friends and family out there. Perhaps one day we will come back for good. Until then, we probably wont be back before Christmas.

xoxo

SomePing new....

For the past two days Scarlett will calmly ask for "Someping new" I assume it is because in Blues clues it says, "Learn something new, join our blues clues band TODAY!" but, I am never sure what someping new she is looking for. Last night I got to go see two movies. The first one I saw with My sister in law Nikki Shumway, 500 Days of summer. She is adorable. I loved the movie. Was very familiar and reminiscent for me, as to things that have happened in my past relationships.

The second one I got to see with My sister Wendy and friend Joel. We saw Julie and Julia. I was so excited for this movie, which makes me wonder if my hype causes a hurt to the films I see. They just can't possibly reach my expectation? I'm not sure because sometimes I will hype, and it will EXCEED expectations, so I will just go ahead and blame the movie. Nobody wants to watch Meryl Streep have sexy time with anybody. She is old... and not in any way sexy. There was a preview for another movie in which there will be more of the same.... the title escapes me, but I think I am going to skip seeing that film. The last couple of Meryl Streep films that I have thoroughly enjoyed however, were Mama Mia, and The Evening. I also really loved The Hours..

My lovely friend Samantha watched Scarlett for me. She is so wonderful, the best babysitter EVER hands down.

Thirteen.

So, Scarlett has now added 13 to the end of her counting string.

She is also loving to sing her Gabba Gabba songs.

She is saying more and more things every day.

She is also LOVING Debbie, Mom and Dad's Dog. Here is a few pictures I took with Debbie months back, but never posted to the blog.. thought that would be an easy way to add pics to this particular post.

Also, I got to give Scarlett a tubby in the the Laundry Room Sink that I used to bathe in when I was Scarlett's age (or close to). I inisisted on bathing in that sink until I could no longer fit. :) Scarlett loved the fawcet, which has one of those attachments on it so that you can get a spray stream to come out of it instead of just the regular flow of water. she would say, "It's SO raining!" I sure love my little girl.

Saturday we spend the day shopping with Wendy, then had oven pizza and played here at my parents with Wendy and her Kids. Sunday Scarlett and I slept in. Then we had dinner at Ben and Kim's house, they were so nice to have us over and invite all of the siblings in town to come for Steak at their house. It was a lot of fun and the food was GREAT.

Monday we had lunch with Sarah and Tyson at Peter Piper Pizza or as Scarlett calls it, "Pizza (de)Yiver!" Then we went over to Grandma Ellsworth's where Scarlett took an excellent Nap, and then when she woke up watched a few of her favorite shows on Grandma's cable.

Then we came back to my parents house, where we had Steak again for dinner, and Adam and Nikki and their kids came over for dinner, too. We were going to swim but it got late fast. Today we had lunch with my friend Nina. She and I have known each other for so long, and even though our relationship has had its ups and downs she is still one of my best friends. We had a lot of fun eating at Serranos. Then we came back to my Parent's house to sit and talk a while. Then we watched some Blues Clues and (wonder)"Pet Pets!"

Right now Scarlett is asking Debbie, "What ya Doin?!" Debbie is looking at her wondering when she is going to leave her alone. Lol. Scarlett does this silly forced laugh every time Debbie comes into the room, she thinks she is soooo interesting. Maybe we'll just get a dog, and not have any more babies. It sounds like a much more responsible plan for us, lol.

Joe got home safely from Vegas. We are really starting to miss him. We are probably going to head back to Cali this weekend, or Monday at the latest.

photo booth!

This new computer has photo booth, which has made for one happy ME! catch you all later. I am probably headed to AZ for a week or so, may not be able to blog so much.... xoxo

here are the couple of pictures I promised from Joe's phone, there are more, but he hasnt sent the rest to me yet...

Pictures and Popcorn,

Fun fun fun!

We had a lot of fun having dinner with Paul and Lizette the other night. They didnt end up coming over, so all of my cleaning was strictly for the benefit of our household, but I'll take it, either way.

To the Left, is just a cute little photoshop thing I made. The quality really went down when i saved it for use on the web... not sure why. If you are wondering about the numbers 1-12, Scarlett can count to twelve all by herself, and begins counting as she pulls on you to get you to play blocks with her, or help her get something she wants.

Joe is going out of town for work tomorrow, and I am trying my best to keep from jumping in the car and driving out to Mesa. I really am starting to miss it out there, mostly just the family and friends, but also the dollar stores, thrift stores, lower taxes and prices, too.

I did get the oil changed in my car, which would be a big plus for making the trip. The gas cost, would be a minus. I told Joe I was seriously considering going, and he said, "Then go." I said, "you don't really want me to go." He said, "Well, it'll be a while before I have enough money to bring you back!"

We send our love. Joe took some really cute pictures of Scarlett and I last night which I can't wait for him to send me so I can hopefully post them on my blog, hopefully tomorrow.

Oh yeah, Deborah feel free to steal this background, thecutestblogontheblock.com actually has this polka dot background in like 4 different colors under the Minima Stretch backgrounds, category. I had resisted them for so long, but the cheerful blue color is doing good things for my disposition, I think.

Our DVR box is on the fritz so after we drop Joe off at the office tomorrow for his fun ride to Vegas till Tuesday (practically) we have to call and raise a stink with Cox. Hopefully they will trade out for another one, since we have only had this one a couple of months! I don't even think we are through paying for it!

Rectangles and Restaurants,

Red Rawlins

Just Peachy

My left foot is asleep, and tingling as I type. Today I cleaned the living room and kitchen areas. I also managed to convince Scarlett to bring the blocks up stairs, which is going to help with her sleeping, because she likes to see them on her floor, and climb out of bed to play with them ALL NIGHT LONG!

We tried the park bench thing today. She really didnt even want to sit on the bench. I did discover that she can climb up into her car seat all by herself now, which is a cool new discovery, to save my aching back! So we did sit on the bench until Scarlett decided she wanted to take her shoes off, at which point I caved, and said, "Alright, you have to walk to the car first, and then I will take your shoes off..." a good compromise I think. Besides, I had a few moments prior realized there was an ant problem and that ants were crawling onto our empty fast food bag, and one was biting my leg.

The weather was quite warm, but the calm breeze was nice. Scarlett got some sunshine. I pulled her hair all up into a little bun when we got home, she was just getting hot under all that heavy hair of hers.

We didn't end up meeting with our friends Tuesday, so hopefully we can meet up with them Wednesday (Today). They came into town because they have an event out here in Anaheim this weekend. Hopefully we can still get together while they are here, cause I really do miss them!

Napkins and Nose-rings,

Bringing Sexy Back

Remember how good my car looked in the advertisement pictures on Craig's list back in November of 2007? if not, you can go back and check out this post. (yes, the pic on the left is from that post) I was so excited to get this baby. It was my dream come true. A red car of my very own :) Truly, I think this car and I were made for each other. We are very comfortable and at ease with one another. You might wonder, what has sparked this sudden flash-back?

I took Scarlett with me to Manny's Family Hand Carwash (formerly Danny's according to the label on my oil change sticker). I got my car "VIP Service" washed, and the oil changed for "High Mileage Vehicles" my poor baby is up to 141k miles now. When I walked out and saw it all clean, I thought, MAN, it looks as good as the day I bought it, at least on the exterior.

We picked up lunch on the way to the place which helped Scarlett to not be ill at ease while we waited for them to finish with our car. She still didn't keep her shoes on for long, but did at least walk in to the Cashier station herself. I am always glad for any reprieve from back breaking-ly carrying my 35 lb daughter who does NOT hold on to me or help in the carrying process! She won't even hold her own DRINK!

I did also pay the majority of our bills today, and am really excited that our friends Paul and Lizette are coming to visit us tomorrow. When I wake up I am going to try to tidy up a bit more for them to come, and take some trash out. I love them so much they are like family to us. I'll let you know what we do and tell you about the fun time we have hanging out, tomorrow.

Orange Juice and Orangutans,