2 Short Years Ago

It is so hard to imagine that 2 short years ago, I was laying in a hospital bed giving birth to my sweet little Paloma Rae. I had the privilege of retelling my
birth story tonight to a coworker (which I love doing) and all of the feelings, emotions, PAIN, came flooding back to me.

It was 3:00 AM that I was awakened by the excitement/mess of my water breaking after having worked a 12 hour shift and contracting every 4 minutes the previous day. I originally told my coworkers that I would not be working New Years Eve/New Years Day which were my designated holidays to work. I knew I would be having my baby. I remember waking up completely thinking I had peed my pants but quickly realizing that was not the case. Dave was less than impressed.
It was 14 hours later with four final pushes that my sweet little 6 lb 7 oz daughter was brought into the world. Oh how I love reminiscing over that magnificent day.

Miss Paloma,
You have blossomed into an incredibly sweet, loving, compassionate and fun little girl. Though our beginning months were less than stellar, we have enjoyed every moment with you. You are an amazing little girl with an incredibly sweet demeanor and a giving heart. We love you to pieces. From all of us - we wish you a very Happy 2nd Birthday.

Seriously....

I understand that my refrigerator was long overdue for a clean BUT during the middle of dinner prep just 1.5 short hours before heading off to work was not the time for this disaster to occur. Really. I had such a fabulous day today that nothing could have dampened my mood - even this. But I will tell you that a few swear words did cross through my mind as I looked at this disaster and wondered how in the world I was going to finish dinner, patrol the children, get ready for work, and clean this up before my husband arrived home. Because heaven forbid he should walk into our home after a long day of work and stare right at this....
Any guesses to what THIS is. I could turn this into a contest... Ah yes - I will. Contest Time.
If you can correctly identify what this ridiculous nonsense is that coated the inside of my refrigerator - I will send you out a prize. Not sure what it will be but I'll come up with something. Let's take the contest out until Friday morning.
Happy Guessing!

My Thoughts Exactly

Llama llama
red pajama
listens, quiet,
for his mama.

What is Mama Llama doing?
Baby Llama starts boo hoo-ing.

Llama llama
red pajama
hollers loudly
for his mama.

Baby Llama stomps and pouts.
Baby Llama
jumps and shouts.

Baby Llama,
what a tizzy!
Sometimes Mama's
very busy!

Please stop all this
llama drama
and be patient
for your mama.

llama llama red pajama - Anna Dewdney

Christmas - 2008

Christmas Eve

It was a year of funny faces. The camera came out - the kids went crazy. There was so much excitement in the air last night that the last thing my children wanted to do was sit still and "smile pretty for the camera." So this was the best I could do. Scroll through and take a peak into our family album. Oh it was exciting but wow was it exhausting....

My Favorite Christmas Photo

No More Pictures!

Happy Guessing - Updated

Thanks for all the lucky guesses - some of you were correct. With absolutely no prompting from myself, Mattea picked up baby Cassie and said "this is baby Jesus, he's going to the manger." I helped facilitate the story along, but basically Mattea knew what she wanted and how she wanted her skit designed. Please read along below for the complete story of Mary - Mattea - and the baby Jesus.

Ok - for all of the people who stop by my blog - please read! If you are new to my blog, stop by frequently throughout the day, or check in our family every once and awhile, this is a perfect opportunity to say Hi and let me know your out there. Every once and awhile I like to throw a post out there and beg you to take a second and comment. Well today I have the perfect post that is dying for my blog readers to comment on. This morning was a lazy, lay around and play kind of morning. Mattea had a great idea for our creative play portion. Please scroll through the pictures below and guess what in the world my children had me playing. You get one guess and one guess only to try and decipher our photos and decide how we spent the morning. If you absolutely do not want to comment - that's Ok, take a second and simply say HI. Merry Christmas

This is baby Jesus lying in the manger.


This next photo is baby Jesus, the three shepherds lined along the wall and all of the animals gathered in the stable. We had a horse, a sheep, a lamb, a fuzzy bunny in a tutu and a few other animals. I mentioned to Mattea that quite a few animals were around to witness this miraculous birth. She then said, "Yeah the stable was stinky." I said "really, why was it stinky?" Her response "All those animals pooped in it." I guess, technically she is probably right huh?


Mattea then out of the blue asked me "Did Mary have socks on?" I responded by saying, "I sure hope Mary had a pair of socks otherwise her feet may have gotten cold." Even though Mattea had on a pair of socks, she went and got her new boots just in case it was "a little chilly."


Since Mattea's donkey (Mr. Kody) was not cooperating, the baby stroller had to do. I was elected to be Joseph(?) and push Mattea in the stroller from the living room to the manger in the toy room.


Paloma was elected to be one of the wisemen. She picked out one present under the tree to bring to baby Jesus. She liked that of course because she then got a chance to peak at her gift on the long walk to the manger. When she arrived Mattea told her "Melt down, Melt down." Not knowing what her sister was requesting, she simply stood there looking at her with a blank look on her face. "Melt down Loma, the wisemen, melt down." After telling her to simmer down and explain what she meant, we quickly realized she wanted Paloma to kneel down next to the baby.


And there you have it folks. Our family rendition of the Christmas story. Thanks for leaving your thoughts and ideas - or for simply saying HI. If you are stopping by my blog, please continue to leave a comment and say HI. I love delurking.... Merry Christmas.

Did You Know?

The Meaning of the Candy Cane

Many years ago, a candy maker wanted to make a candy that symbolized the true meaning of Christmas - Jesus.
The hardy candy was shaped like a "J" to represent Jesus' name. The color white stands for the pureness of Jesus. The color red represents the blood Jesus shed for us.

*The next time your licking you red & white striped peppermint candy, turn it upside down and take a moment to thank Jesus for all he's done*

Wordless Wednesday othewise titled "Accident Waiting to Happen"

Mattea's Preschool Party

Having been a bit busy lately, I just now realized I hadn't posted about Mattea's Preschool Christmas party which took place last Thursday. The school is so kind and welcomes family to come and join the festivities - which obviously includes siblings. Paloma was so excited when we told her she would be joining Matty at school for a party. She joined Mattea at the big kids table for refreshments and cookie decorating.



She was then asked to come sit down and join her sister on her carpet for the "Secret Santa" gift exchange. She was so excited, as were all the kids when the gifts started flying. You could hear kids squealing, paper ripping, toys playing. And then when the last gift was past, all you could hear was a not so tiny voice come from a little girl in a pink hat and obnoxiously cute flower pants say "wheres my present?" Honestly, I don't know who that little girl belonged to. Certainly not me, I raised her better than that....

Not Me Monday

Hey everyone - once again another edition of Not Me Monday. I am so excited for the upcoming week. Why? Because what an awesome and joyous celebration we will be experiencing. Christmas! It is such an amazing and miraculous time of year. I hope you all have a very Merry Christmas. BUT, that doesn't mean I didn't enjoy last week. And so here goes, another Not Me Monday.....

1) I absolutely, most certainly, did not leave the house last week (running behind of course) with lipstick smeared all over my face. I was on my way to drop Mattea off at preschool and had inadvertently let the children sleep in. They were way too peaceful for me to disturb them. Well, it then becomes a three ring circus to get myself, two girls, and a baby doll Bella ready and out the door in 35 minutes. I did not think I was the bomb since I had my hair combed, make up on, kids dressed, teeth brushed, kids hair combed, backpack packed, and out the door as regularly scheduled. I would not later find out that the lipstick I rushed to put on in the car without a mirror was somewhat smeared "around" my lips instead of on them. Nope - not me.

2) I did not take a dryer sheet to Mattea's hair in a desperate attempt to calm the fly aways before her Christmas program this week. And if I was to do that, I would do it in the privacy of our home, not in the middle of her classroom with her teacher looking on. Therefore I would not have to endure the weird looks of other parents and the question "Does that really work" from her teacher. And I most certainly would not come to the conclusion that in fact it truly does work and then begin to carry a dryer sheet around in my purse wherever I went. Nope - not me.

3) I did not sneak into the pantry on several occasions this week and grab handfuls of gummy bears from the 15 lb bag that we bought at Costco for Paloma's potty training. After recent events and learning that she can no longer have foods that are made with nuts or processed in facilities that process nuts, we can't let the gummy bears go waste right? (Why gummy bears are processed at a place that processes nuts is beyond me...) But I would not allow my little "almost 2" year old to find me stashed in the pantry shoving handfuls of gummy bears in my mouth only to ask "me want some dummy bears." Ummmmm, sorry sister. Nope - not me.

4) I did not almost eat an entire plate of fudge yesterday at work only to try and rectify today buy attempting to run a marathon on the treadmill. Ummmm - not me.

5) I did not accidentally get my head slammed in the door while reaching into the closet by my 3 year old toddler. She was not trying to help by shutting the door but instead closing (in reality slamming) the door smack on my head. I did not fall to the floor in absolutely agony. My husband did not run over to me, hold me, and ask if everything was OK while tears streamed down my face. I did not take like 10 minutes to compose myself, realize I wasn't seeing stars, stand up, and simply turn to my husband and say "You need to keep her away from me for awhile." I did not yell while she was profusely trying to apologize, but simply walked away upstairs to release all of my anger. Nope - not me.

Here's hoping your week turned out a bit better than mine.
Holiday wishes

Little Loma Update

Just when you thought the Little Loma saga was over, think again. We too believed that once Paloma had her tonsils & adenoids out and her reflux was well controlled, our little pumpkin would be living the good life. Well, she has been until recently. Something inside me told me to get her into an allergist before the end of the year. Both her doctor and surgeon and requested it awhile back, but I had been procrastinating - until recently. Since she clearly met her deductible already for the year, we decided now would be the opportunity. Plus, there just was been a few things going on that I was hoping to get answers and rationals for.
So about a week and a half ago, I took her to see an allergist who spent 4 hours with us gaining history, evaluating, running tests, explaining, comforting, etc... We found out some shocking and not so shocking news. To begin, after having skin testing done, we did come to the conclusion that Paloma is in fact allergic to peanuts. That did not come as a surprise to me - but what did is how complicated and messy life becomes when you have a child with an allergy. We experienced it a bit with Mattea but nothing of this magnitude. Everywhere we go, our epi pen comes with us. Every bite of food that goes into her mouth is evaluated by mom and dad.
Well, that was OK - I guess. I had my suspicions and now I finally was able to have a confirmation and move forward - a bit more cautiously of course.
It didn't quite end there though. After taking a thorough history, the doctor felt it was in Paloma's best interest to obtain a head/sinus CT. This had been discussed in the past by other physician's but I had held off in hopes that surgery would be the "cure all." Paloma was such a trooper. After being in the doctors office for four hours, she sat still as a bug while the CT roared around her tiny little head. Results showed almost a totally occlusion of her sinuses on the left side and quite a bit of secretions in her right sinuses - but at least free air was seen on the right side. This would surely explain why the little turkey is still mouth breathing, continuing to wake frequently through the night, and why she is still a bit on the fussy side (nowhere near where she used to be might I add). This was probably more disturbing to me because I was really hoping after surgery my baby would start feeling better - start feeling "good" and start feeling normal.
The doctor believed she has just pretty much had a chronic sinus infection that never properly got treated and so now it may be a bit of a challenge to treat. His solution: place on a week long course of steroids to reduce inflammation and a 21 day course of antibiotics - UGH! That girl has been on so many antibiotics that the thought of 21 days of it made me nauseated. After voicing my concerns, and talking more about it, the decision was made to go ahead and place her on a one month course. We have to get her passages open and her back to breathing like the rest of us.
So, here we are. Her steroid burst is complete (praise God, she was a monster on that stuff.) And we are almost half way through her antibiotic course. Her GI track is taking a significant hit but we are popping probiotics into her and pushing yogurt until it is coming out of her ears. She has diarrhea 8-10 times a day - which makes potty training difficult. We did move her back to pull ups but her bum suffered a significant break down which forced us back into panties. UMMMM - a few pairs have since perished.
We are hopeful this will work - as of last night she slept the entire night uninterrupted. The night before she was up every hour or two.
Miss Little Loma has definitely caused us a bit more stress than our strong willed first child but despite it all we love her lots and lots and lots and lots. Who can possibly resist that face????

Wordless Wednesday

1st Ever Christmas Program

Tonight was Mattea's grand debut on stage in her annual preschool Christmas program. Mattea is a pretty outgoing girl and so I was hoping for an outgoing production. That would not be the case.



Mattea landed the role as "head lamb." Just kidding, there is no such role, but in my heart she was the head lamb. I was excited because she seemed excited.



Well, I give her credit for getting on stage, but she had a major case of stage fright. After completing her duties at the manger, she rejoined her group for songs and scripture. I could tell she was scanning the audience for us. Once she found us and waved, I thought she would loosen up - no such luck. She sat the almost the entire time with her hands in her mouth, sucking on her fingers - which she doesn't do at home. But then she wonders why she has a run of crazy rashes around her mouth???



Anyways, the production was adorable and the teachers did great. These beginning shots are of our little star before the show.



Here are a couple of "action" shots of Mattea performing in the Christmas play. The lighting was poor and so many of the pictures did not turn out. And of course, I forgot to reload a new tape in the video camera and so that did not work out as well as I hoped. Like Dave reminds me though, they'll be plenty more in the days to come.



I will always have the memory though of my daughter being asked the all important question (impromptu) about whether or not she knew who Mary was. Her response "NOOOOOOOOOOOOO!" on stage in front of everyone. Guess we need to revisit that lesson. Not that we haven't read the Christmas story a bigillion times already this season. One more won't hurt.

Pondering Thoughts On Parenting

I simply can't hold back any longer. I have been meaning to do this post for awhile - and today of all days I am busting out with frustration so "no time like the present" to complete this post on parenting.

Last week, I headed off to work for one of my afternoon shifts. During shift change, I took report from another coworker and then began a side conversation (which often times happens). Our conversation went something like this...

Coworker: I won't be working very much longer - I intend to stop when I have kids.

Me: Oh really - Why?

Coworker: I want to be the type of mom who bakes for her kids, cleans, sews clothes and curtains, does crafts with my kids. I don't want to miss out on anything. I want to be the one who hosts play dates and interacts with my children. I can't wait.
*The conversation was a bit more detailed but you get the jist of it*

My immediate reaction was one of pure disbelief (for many reasons), but I politely finished the conversation.

Me: You know, you can do both. Our profession is flexible enough to where you can maintain a career and have a successful family if that is what you desire.

Coworker: I know, but I just want to be there with my kids - that's what I've always wanted to do. Oh wait - (with a long pause) your that kind of mom.

Not sure how to lead the conversation from there, I proceeded with caution. Realizing I was speaking to someone who was much younger than me with no children and recently married, I couldn't spew out my thoughts the way I wanted. The "fantasy" family versus the "reality" family is much different. Now in no way am I saying that you can't, shouldn't, or want to be the kind of mother that she described. Not at all, if that is your calling - than more power to you. I think we should all follow the path that we are called to take. But what I would caution you on is to not point fingers at those who choose a different path than you. I have the scripture saying on my sidebar that references passing judgement. There is not one single one of us who is worthy of standing up and passing judgement onto another - especially in the are of parenting.

I am a working mom - I get great satisfaction out of watching my children grow and develop, play and learn. Watching them learn to walk and talk is something I highly enjoyed. BUT, I also get an immense satisfaction about getting up and heading off to work with the population that I have chosen to work with. Pediatrics is a great area and the kids I have cared for I have also come to care about. I have had the privilege of doing some amazing things in my career - and I've only just started.

Because of the flexibility in nursing, I have been able to juggle both areas - home and work. Some days are easier than others - but I've been able to do it. I do not feel like I have missed out on anything. And for those out there who think that working mothers are "missing out" I would challenge you to point out what it is that I've been missing out on. I've been present at most holidays, watched both of my children take their first steps, been there during sick days, always attended family vacations, and have been fortunate enough to take part in a plethora of extracurricular activities. Besides, those things are not what define me as a mom.

Because my child attends every single birthday party she gets invited to, or she gets to participate in gymnastics, swimming, soccer, etc does not define me as a mom. Neither does cooking, sewing, art projects etc. None of that makes me a good mom. And none of that is what I use as a compass through this journey into parenting. Whether my meatloaf looks like turkey jerky (which it did last night) or whether my curtains are store bought - I know in my heart I am a good mom.

When I get to the gates of heaven, God will not be rewarding me for my clean house or my endless batches of cookies. He will not say "good work my friend - you made all your curtains from scratch." I am not defined by the things I do but rather by who I am. I am doing my best to raise Christ loving kids. And I can successfully do that(with God's help of course) while maintaining my career. Working moms are not evil and they are not lazy. We all make choices and we all do the best we can to raise our children to the best of our ability. Because lets face it - none of us know what we are doing.

Rambly post - YES. Feeling better - YES. In tears - YES.

Let's all just try a little harder to lesson the judgement passed onto others. Words are dangerous and they are hurtful. Parenting is hard enough but when you believe that you can constantly being judged for the decisions you make, it is even harder. Support and encouragement go a long way and that is what I've tried to do within my network of friends. I do not always agree with the decisions of other moms but what is right with them is not always right for me.

SOOOOOOO - with all of that being said, I definitely need to kick it in gear and get ready for my little Mattea's preschool program this evening (Which for the record I'm not missing out on - even though I am a working mom).
Blessings to all

Snow Day

Muffin Tin Monday - Revisited

Date Night

Yeah! Despite blistery cold and icy conditions, Michael W. Smith's bus arrived last night and the concert went on as scheduled. After joking with the crowd about the fact that the truck carrying all of his "stuff" (meaning clothes, CD's, etc) was stuck somewhere in one of the mountain passes, he performed an awesome concert - even if it was in blue jeans and a sweater. I still thought he looked good. It was a wonderful holiday concert and I'm so glad that Dave and I were able to go.



After an enjoyable dinner, we were off to the concert. (Despite a major "wardrobe malfunction" that my waitress failed to point out - I decided to post the picture anyways.) We had a good time and can't wait for date night to return.

Getting To Know Me - Holiday Edition

So I figured since it is the holiday season, why not take the opportunity to share a few tidbits about myself...

1) Real or fake tree? Oh our little family has always gotten a real tree. Last year we even ventured out into the forest for one (This year I wanted a pretty one). Growing up, we always had a fake tree - absolutely no fun to drag the box upstairs and assemble your tree branch by branch. Despite the dog having an annual accident on it, we will continue the tradition of a real Christmas tree.

2) Favorite Christmas song - Oh Holy Night - Hands down. This is by far my favorite Christmas song and I love when just about any male singer performs it. Although Jewel does a great rendition as well.

3) Believe in Santa Clause? - Nope, and neither do my children.

4) Favorite Christmas Dinner - This is tough because for the longest time it was just Dave and I and we usually made something light and easy. Then when the kids came, we decided we had to take it up a notch. Our family does not eat pork which eliminates the old ham for Christmas. Since Thanksgiving just ended and left us with an additional 15 lbs of turkey, I see no reason to redo the turkey theme. We decided this year to start a tradition of cooking Christmas Dinner from around the world - meaning we would either do Mexican, Italian, Indian, etc. and rotate each year. We still haven't decided which country would be first.

5) Christmas card vs. Christmas letter? I absolutely love doing Christmas letters and I think it has to do with being so far detached from family. It is kind of our way of catching everyone up. I usually sit down after Thanksgiving dinner and begin writing our family letter. I also started a tradition a few years back where I save a copy of our family letter and picture in a binder. That way you can look back each year and be reminded of particular events or memories. It was an idea passed on to me through a coworker.

6) Do you drink eggnog? No - But I think I might try this year.

7) One family tradition..... I started a tradition of giving the children a special pair of pajamas everyone year on Christmas Eve. They open them and then are allowed to wear that special pair to bed that night and into the next day. It isn't a big tradition, but cute nonetheless. A friend of mine got me hooked on that one.

8) Presents on Christmas Eve or Christmas morning - Christmas Eve for sure. Especially right after church. We have been attending the earlier service which allows us time to drive around and look at Christmas lights. We then sit down to a piece of birthday cake and hot chocolate and then the opening begins. The kids get dressed in their new jammies and are off to bed at a relatively early hour. We do save one or two gifts for Christmas morning.

9) What is in your stocking? Nothing usually - Dave and I don't typically exchange gifts.

10) And finally, what is your favorite holiday cookie? This too is difficult because Dave and I don't do a whole lot of holiday baking - BUT I do enjoy eating other people's fudge - say the ladies at work!!!!

Ok so here is a brief look at my take on Christmas. Since this isn't an official "tag" I won't pressure anyone, BUT I would love for Kim, Kelly, Merranda, and Kim H. to play along. If anyone of you reads the post and decides to play along let me know.

Happy Holidays.

Introducing Our Family

Here it is - The family picture that made it onto the Christmas Card. My Christmas cards (for the most part) are sent, so I thought it would be safe to "unveil" the photo that we liked the best. With two young kids, it is quite difficult to catch a good smile out of both - so usually Dave and I are happy if one of the two flashes a big grin. Mattea won this year with a completely cute and cheesy smile. If you can remember last year, she was also the one of the two that smiled big when asked on command. Here's hoping next year little Loma can get the hang of it.
Merry Christmas

Christmas Decorating Party

Today was the day we hosted our annual Cookie Decorating Party. What a blast. I don't know about everyone else, but we all had fun. We had plenty of kids, tons of cookies, lots of giggles, and a whole bunch of frosting. Sounds like my idea of a perfect morning.



Here the kids are just warming up. The cookies they decorated were beyond beautiful. Inedible -but beautiful. Between Dave and I we made over 100 cookies.



My sweet Paloma wasn't about to miss any of the action.



Paloma had way more frosting around her mouth than she did on her cookies.



An adorable picture of one of our guests. After the action of decorating subsided (or the high from the sugar wore off) we enjoyed pizza and snacks and a birthday cake for Jesus. He is the reason for the season - right?



After awhile, the sugar started affecting all of us - some more than others.



And of course, a sampling of the finished product. What a glorious day. We are so thankful to all our friends who made it out this morning to celebrate with us. Can't wait to tackle it next year.

Needing 45 Minutes To Yourself?

On one of my many shopping trips to Target, I discovered this $4.00 box of water crayons. My children love to color and my children love to take baths. Didn't take long before I put the two together. That night I went home and let them bathe in our master tub which is two times bigger than their tub. They loved it. I actually laid down on the floor near the tub with my Parenting magazine and flipped through the entire thing before I looked up at the clock and realized it had been 45 minutes and they still hadn't washed their hair or cleaned their body. Amazing! Although it was noisy and wet - I had 45 minutes to myself! Ahhhh! So the above photos were taken the following week after they had some time to practice with their new crayons. I kind of like their artwork. Too bad it vanishes when I scrub the showers.

Wordless Wednesday - Updated

Now that Wordless Wednesday is complete - I can officially add words.

I just wanted everyone to know about the wonderful and fun outfits our family used for our annual Christmas photo. I wanted so badly to make these pictures formal but the idea of getting everyone "dressed up" just seemed like too much work. That is when I stumbled on my friends blog - Two Little Byrdies.
I got this crazy idea to have these custom matching shirts made for all of us - after getting the OK from Dave that he would in fact wear it. On short notice, I emailed Courtney who immediately said "Yes." After having no sense of direction or even vision from me, Courtney was able to put together a scheme and off to the sewing machine she went. Check this out for the finished product.

The girls love them and feel very fancy when they pick out their "name shirt." So if you are looking for unique, individual, and custom shirts, bags, purses, etc. Miss Courtney has it all. I encourage you to stop over to her blog and at least browse.

Happy Holidays

Mattea Moment

While desperately trying to get my children changed into their pajamas in anticipation of nap time, I began singing an old DC Talk song. With the wonderful voice that I do not have I began busting out
"I want to be in the light, as you are in the light...."
Mattea abruptly stops me to say

"Mom, Mom - Why don't you want to be in dark?"

Not Me Monday

Are you all ready for another great edition of Not Me Monday? If not, well get ready - because here it comes. Some things are just too good to keep to yourself.

1) I absolutely did not sit down one evening after a long and chaotic day with my children and turn on the TV. While I was NOT sitting on the couch, relaxing and doing nothing, I did not recognize the surge in aroma of our ever so beautiful Christmas tree. I did not sit for a moment taking it all in only to look down and realize that my Dalmatian had peed all over it. I absolutely did not get so mad that I spanked that dog and made him sit outside and shiver the entire time I was not cleaning up dog urine from my great and wonderful tree. On the flip side though - my tree smelled really stinkin good. Nope - not me.

2) I absolutely did not attempt to take my 23 month old potty trained daughter out in public this week for the first time without a pull up on. As an experienced mother (grinning of course) I would have learned my lesson from my first child that venturing out in public with a newly potty trained child (and a young potty trained child) is probably not a good idea. I did not make it through most of my morning only to get to the consignment shop and find a surprise waiting in my daughters coveted Tinkerbell underpants. I did not strip her of her underpants, make her go "commando" through the store, and stuff the rotten ole underpants in my jacket pocket because the thought of throwing away Tinkerbell made her downright irate. Nope - not me.

3) I did not learn my lesson from the above incident and then put my young, newly potty trained daughter in a pull up for a very quick Christmas shopping excursion at Target this week. While waaaaay back in the toy section, we did not happen to be pacing the doll aisle when Paloma - of course - did not say she had to go potty. I absolutely did not encourage her to simply "remember her pull up" because the thought of trekking all the way to the other end of the store for her to go potty was just too much to do at that moment. When she continued to pull on my jacket and tell me she had to go potty, I did not then say to her "mommy will hurry, but just in case - remember your pull up." Oh no - not me!!

4) I absolutely did not stay at work this Saturday when the possibility of going home early arose because I knew it was Dave's weekend with the kids and there was an entire house to be cleaned and laundry to be done. Being the dutiful wife that I am, I would have jumped at the chance, drove home as fast as I could, rolled up my sleeves, and hit the housework with full force and a gigantic smile on my face.

5) Finally, I did not just invite a ton of children over for the annual Christmas Decorating Party. What would I be thinking to invite 20+ children into our home and let them loose with frosting and sprinkles. I would never even contemplate the idea - being the anal, obsessive-compulsive woman that I am. Wait!! I do confess, I did take the liberty of inviting a ton of toddlers and their parents over on Sat. morning for the biggest cookie bash we can possible throw. It will be messy, chaotic, loud, and obnoxious and we couldn't be more pleased. With tons of cookies, lots of frosting and a birthday cake for Jesus - our home will be the place to be bright and early Sat. morning.

Hope y'all play along this week. There are quite a few of you on my blog list that I am sure would make one interesting Not Me Monday. If you play, leave me a comment and let me know. And again, if you stopped over from Mck Mama's blog, leave me a comment and I'll be sure to check out your fantastic week.

It's My Party

And I'll cry if I want to.....