Shameless Plug

First off, before I get to the shameless plug, I noticed I have been getting a lot of traffic recently today from this site. I don't know how they got word of the bittersweet story of Abigail and Madison, but nonetheless, they have added our button to their blog and requested prayers for our baby Abigail...and for that, I am grateful (and quite humbled if I am being honest). If you go to their site and scroll down to this past Sunday's entry, you will see the request. It is also in their sidebar. Like I said, I don't know who they are or how they heard of us, but certainly, they are doing us all quite a service with their blog. So, please check it out.

No, ehem, that was not the shameless plug, in case you thought it might be.

Secondly, last night we went to the Angels game. This officer and gentleman sang the National Anthem and God Bless America. I wanted to ask him if I could take a picture of him with Abby, but I was so afraid she might toss her cookies all over his crisp, white uniform, that I didn't ask. Instead, we just snuck a picture of her right behind him.



We actually did speak briefly to his wife, and she was very sweet. But he seemed a little preoccupied with the whole singing-in-front-of-thousands-of-people-in-his-uniform-on-Memorial-Day thing, so we didn't want to bother him.

Thirdly, if that's even a word, I have been meaning to write a series of posts that I think I will call "Reflections". You see, I recently realized that I wrote very little about the birth of our girls, and the weeks leading up to their birth while I was in the hospital, without the internet. And now that I look back and see what I did write, I realize it didn't make a whole lot of sense. The grammar is terrible. And what's with switching back and forth from "I this and that" to speaking in the third person? I'll tell ya...those were some serious drugs I was on at the time. And although the memories are fresh in my head like it was yesterday, I know in time, they are bound to fade, and I want to be sure I have documented the actual events for Abigail to read someday. So soon...when I can put on a brave face and talk about those days, and when Abby allows me the time to do it, look for my Reflections.

Now. With all the business out of the way, it is time for my Shameless Plug. Once upon a time (until yesterday, actually), I could never really get behind multi-level marketing and direct sales. Not that there's anything wrong with it, I mean, I know lots of people are very successful with Partylite and The Pampered Chef and Cookie Lee and all that, it's just never something I thought I could do. I am not really a go-getter type. I've always sort of lived by the motto "I don't want to buy anything sold or processed. I don't want to process anything sold or bought. I don't want to sell anything bought or processed" (yes, that's a quote from the movie Say Anything). Honestly, I have never wanted to sell anything. Period. No, I would rather fix things. You know...like problems...other people's problems. No wonder I've always been in customer service, training, etc. I'm a problem solver. A happy-people maker. That's right. I admit it. I like people to be happy.

So recently, I've been thinking about what would make me happy. Selfish, isn't it? One thing I know that makes me happy (besides the obvious husband, daughter, roof over my head, family...you get the idea), is wine. Yes, I admit it, wine makes me happy. I find it relaxing to have a glass of wine now and again. Now, don't get me wrong, I don't abuse the wine, but I do find a nice glass of vino refreshing and enjoyable every now and again. .

Have I gotten totally off the subject?

Well...I've mentioned MLM and direct sales, and I've mentioned wine...so No! I guess I haven't.

(here comes the shameless plug)

Drumroll pleeeeaaaassseeee....

I have signed up with a direct sales, multi-level marketing company called WineShop at Home. That's right folks! I have become an Independent Wine Consultant! I have been contemplating work for some time now, trying to figure out exactly what I wanted to do. Something that would give me the freedom to work when I want to work, and something that I am actually interested in. Again...no offense to The Pampered Chef (although I don't cook much), and none to Cookie Lee either (although I don't wear much jewelry...they are a jewelry company, right?).

Anyhow, on with the plug...as a consultant I get my own little business website, which I have decided to call My Branch of the Vine.

"We" do in-home wine tastings.

"We" offer personalized labels to celebrate birthdays, anniversaries, holidays, you name it.

"We" have a premier wine club that allows you to get these fabulous artisan wines delivered right to your door every month, and for a very reasonable price, I might add...compared to some of those other Napa Valley wineries.

So, if you are interested in wine, in any way (i.e. hosting a party, joining the club, designing a private label for an upcoming special event), please, visit my website. If you are someone looking for a way to bring in a little extra income to the household, please, please, visit my website. Or, if possibly, you are a stay-at-home-mom looking to go back to work on your terms, please please please, visit my website.

You can email me too at mybranchofthevine@hotmail.com. I can't wait to hear from you!

Now...how's that for a shameless plug?

9 Months Old

Just a few pictures from our walk to the beach yesterday...more soon, but for now we are off to celebrate the holiday and all of the men and women who protect our freedom to do so.

The W.B.C.

Well Baby Checkup. I had all but forgotten about it. After all, it has been 2 months since our last one! But last Friday was Abby's 8-month (yes, we're a month behind) well baby checkup. She weighed in at 17 pounds 8 ounces. She's 27 inches tall. She is in the 50th percentile for both her height and weight, and that's based on her real age. And although the 50% percentile (I suppose) is considered "average", if you ask me, our little fighter is anything but average.



They gave us the go-ahead to add meats and a little bit of dairy to her diet (yogurt, cheese, etc.). She is loving the yogurt so far and tonight we will try some chicken for the first time. I don't know why I am so excited about it, but I am! Her second bottom tooth has also now appeared and I am quite certain that the two top ones are getting close as well.

And now I will leave you with pictures taken during playtime this afternoon...

Who's a good eater?

Seriously, this is what she does before every. single. bite. And I swear I am not starving her. The girl can eat!



Hmmm, I wonder where she gets that from?

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And before I forget, to answer Yoga Baby's mom's question, YES! She cut her first tooth last week and I think the next one is well on it's way! How could I have forgotten to mention such a milestone? Bad Mommy.

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While we are on the topic of food, and eating and all, check this out.



It's our breakfast today. Pretty, huh? I whipped it up. It doesn't sound like much of a feat for most, but for me, it's pretty huge. You see, I am not a whipper. I mean, I can't just grab a bunch of odds and ends out of the pantry and come up with a meal like some other people can. But today, I tried, and it worked! It was seriously yummy! Or at least I think so. Although I am the only one who ate it.

Before you go being all impressed and everything, I should probably admit that all it is is some scrambled eggs with bacon and sausage chopped up in it. And I used those Pillsbury Crescent Rolls to make a crust. That was all I had on hand to put in it. I would have put cheese in there too, but I don't like cheese, and Brian said he wasn't hungry, so I knew I would be the only one eating it. For not being a whipper, I think I didn't do half bad.

If I do say so myself.

Wordless Wednesday

Staycations, EDAC, and More!

What a crazy week! It started with a little mini staycation. Floyd's Family came down for a couple of days and we had a blast! Swimming, playing, playing, swimming. It was all good.

The biggest excitement came on Friday when Abigail had her EDAC appointment. EDAC is the Early Developmental Assessment Clinic. It is the first developmental assessment she has had, and per the usual, she kicked butt. Here are the stats:

Height: 26.5 inches
Weight: 17 pounds!!!
Actual Age: 8.5 months
Adjusted Age: 5.5 months

Cognitive Age Equivalence: 7 months
Receptive Language: 7 months
Expressive Language: 6 months
Fine Motor Skills: 7 months
Gross Motor Skills: 7 months
Neuromotor Assessment: normal muscle tone and movements

I mean seriously, this girl is a rock star. Not that we didn't know this already, but given her ridiculously early start and the medical setbacks that followed, she is doing AMAZINGLY well and we just couldn't have asked for more. They even think that based on these awesome results we will likely lose the twice monthly infant stim sessions. They say she doesn't even need them anymore!

So this appointment was the start of what turned out to be an awesome weekend. My birthday was Saturday (ugh...36???) and we celebrated with Mom, sis, and friends. And since it's a rare occassion for me to be in front of the camera, here's a picture of me at one of our favorite beachside establishments with my teeny tiny birthday mamosa...



Then, of course, it was my first official Mother's Day. I spent most of the day making baby food, paying bills and catching up on TiVO, and I loved it! We also had our moms over for brunch.

It was just a perfect weekend. Brian gave me a video camera for my birthday, so now I am working on how the heck to get them from the camera to the computer...and of course to the blog.

Consider yourself warned.

Tug of War

We had a playdate/sleepover the other night with Floyd's Family.

Yvette ran to the store with Tyler to get, um, well...a bottle of wine...and I stayed back with the girls.

Everything was going well until they got in a little tug of war over the Sesame Street pop-up-thingy-toy (yes, that is the technical term). And of course, as any good Mommy and babysitter would do I broke up the fight ran and got my camera.



Now I'm no expert, and I certainly don't want to be raising a bully, but I would say from the looks of it that Abby won the war. I mean, the toy is closer to her, and she does have a good grip on Tatum's hand and shirt...

I'm just saying....