Big thank yous...

I totally forgot to make thank yous to all those who sent me cards for my birthday. It was much appreciated. Why bring this up a week later? Because it's Tuesday and I'm still laughing at one of them. My aunt and godmother (one person, two roles - she's fabulous like that) got me a freakin' hysterical card. It's an Ellen DeGeneres card. Front - Ellen holding a martini saying "For you, your birthday is a celebration of the day you came into this world". Inside: "For me, it's just another reason to drink on a Tuesday!" HAHAHAHAHAHAHA!
And last night, I ordered a bunch of fun stamping supplies - I am way past excited. I've decided to not work so hard at night since I'm doing it all day. So, I did a load of laundry tonight (amazing how that just doesn't stop piling up because there are too many other things to do - equally as amazing is that while I help with the dishes - my DH's main chore - I can't even get help separating or folding laundry unless I help.
Quote from my dayplanner for today

"Women are having to do way too much. They are multitasking, working long hours, and ghey are still responsible for most of what happens with the family; they are caregivers, best friends, listeners; they are amazing, amazing people." -Dawn Tarnofsky-Ostroff

12 hour work days should be considered like working in a sweat shop. I think I'm too punchy and I just need to stop for tonight.

i *heart* Sharpies

Ah, big prototype builds. In some ways I love them. For the hours, I hate them. The newness of the product is neat. Being able to watch something come together is so cool. And the office supplies that we find are needed at the very beginning makes it somewhat worth while. It's like starting school all over except now my school supplies are LOADS of Sharpies (thin, thick, chisel, metallic), paint pens, super sticky post-its, and lots of little paper flags. Plus the new binders and dividers. Yes, I love freshly sharpened pencils and new crayons. And I orders some stampers that we needed. If I pretend just a little, it's like my own craft project!

So, 31 is here. I had a good day. Birthday celebrating started over the weekend. It wasn't intended to totally be like that though - but it was. I had TEC meetings Friday and Saturday (we are going to have such an awesome team for #37!!) and then got a phone call - Mom had 2 tickets to box seats for Carrie Underwood and Keith Urban! I called my birthday month buddy Stephanie and after we ate dinner with our DH's and kids, we went on over to the concert. It was good and nice to just be able to sit and watch. I love seats at concerts and I really like when I can just clap and don't have to stand up. I'm just too old, picky, spoiled, whatever, to have to beg for my own space. I like a seat. We left early after hearing our favorite Keith Urban songs so Stephanie could get home to Baby Emily. Apparently after Beca and Elijah (who is 5) cleared the Horman house of the inevitable bears (and maybe wolves), Steve asked them to do something in another room. Beca answered with a defeated "Come on Elijah" and probably an eye-roll. She's getting disturbingly good at eye-rolls. And sarcastic commentary. no idea where that comes from. Oh, and my cousin's hair twirling pattern. I only do it in the car but Beca will start twirling just like Stacy does - I think they've only seen each other 2 or 3 times in Beca's whole life.
Sunday meant Sunday School - we talked about sheep and how Jesus is our shepherd. Now we have the necessary Cotton ball sheep on the fridge. Beca spent the rest of the day with Oma. Steve and I finally cleaned up the cardboard in the garage - sad to say the cardboard castle had to make its exit, all in little cut up pieces and then tossed into the cardboard recycling bin at the dump. While I slept (desperately needed napping), Steve took advantage of the boost of energy from some meds and did a bunch of work on the cars and put the last 2 shutters on the house. It has never had shutters by the smallest window on the house and now I can't imagine it without them! For dinner, we headed to an Italian event hosted by the Senior High Youth Group at church. It was a good dinner but the coolest part was leaving the building to a dark sky with sunshine and a double rainbow! Then we had cupcakes at my mom's - she and Beca had blown up balloons, decorated cards, and the princess herself put the sprinkles on the cupcakes. It was quite a busy day.
Monday was first build day - we'll be doing this for 10 weeks and I already feel like a new pair of shoes is in order. There are no chairs on the floor. We managed to build some small things so there was some level of victory.
My birthday was fun - Beca called me first thing in the morning to sing Happy Birthday - she was so sad I had already left for work and had to call me to sing! Such a sweet girl! Cynthia brought cupcakes and I brought the cupcakes from my mom for work! Plus, I had lunch at Cheesecake Factory with the other engineers who celebrate April birthdays. It was great - especially the lovely take home bag with a cheesecake and whipped cream tucked in that darling cheesecake case. Dinner was at the Loop, watching the sky fall out. Steve had gotten me a chocolate and vanilla birthday cake - perfect for those with complete indecision. Most importantly, it was a Blue Moon cake. YUM!! Beca ate the icing but not the cake. And since she had gone poopy in the potty, she had called Steve and left him a message that she had done so - now we have that little tid-bit saved for the eventual embarrassment that will be a late teens celebration of some sort! But that also meant a dress today. Usually, I leave a little later than this morning so Beca had to make another phone call today and that was to call Mommy to say that she had gotten out of bed and gotten Daddy so she could go poopy all on her own. Gotta love the phone for that kind of announcement. Sadly, this morning had our entire team in the facility before 7am. Ugh! Today did bring another storm through and one of the brightest rainbows I have ever seen - of course only while driving where it was not safe enough to take a picture.
So, that just means my 40 hours is up tomorrow morning. Unfortunately, it doesn't mean I get to go home. It just means I get to find a new Sharpie color to love tomorrow.

I get to push the pram-a-lot...

An early birthday present to myself was tickets to see Spam-a-lot - it was so much fun! Steve and I went to see it Tuesday night, knowing that my work life is quickly taking over everything else. It was so hilarious! Makes a "Monty Python" watching night seem like a great idea! We had a good dinner too!

Beca has spent a lot of time on her playground and I am actually quite enjoying swinging on it with her. The green trees and blue sky are so pretty to watch while you fly back and forth! And when you can land that jump like you did when you were 8 - that's livin'! We love our backyard. Zoe's still thinking the mulch is like some sort of large dog litter box. And my butt is just a little too big for the slide - thankfully it is fast!!

Another birthday present request was fulfilled last Sunday - we got new shutters on the house!! Figured out the old ones were painted green and then they just faded over the years with the afternoon sun. Gotta love the latest technology in colored plastics though! The dark blue shutters make the house look so different (and the flower beds look sooooo bad). Dad came over to help and they actually tag teamed the shutters - Dad took down, Steve put up and I failed to take a picture of the final result yet.
Here's one of the only tulips to survive the weed killer. And Beca has gone around and opened all the good ones up so she can see the middle so we won't have the tulips very long...

I am finally exhausted so it is off to bed. I hope everyone is able to get outside during these beautiful spring days and just enjoy some sunshine and fresh air, if only for a few moments. And if you get a chance, maybe you can do something like you used to when you were little. I like the swing!

Movin' On Up (in the playhouse world)

OK, the cardboard box palace is no longer the favored hiding place! I had seen Heritage Playsets on my way to Youngsville during a couple of work projects last year. I loved checking out what they were doing every morning on my way past. Paul and his team are great and had the entire unit installed in one day! It was also a great deal - mulch and everything! Steve can even stand up inside the playhouse (but only in the very center). The best part of watching them put it up is that the team brought a microwave and cooked their lunch on their work surface. It was so cool! And watching the whole structure go up with 7 guys crawling all over the place was amazing! They were like a well choreographed dance group - but with power tools and lots of boards, then stain and mulch. Our only problem is that Zoe thinks it's a great place to leave her outside presents. View from the house

Beca and Pop-pop found you!

"Hey - I have my doors!"

2 swings, 1 super fast slide, 1 house, and a trapeze = a very happy Beca
(happy Mommy & Daddy, too)

Traci & Carl's wedding

Angela (wedding director), Beca (little princess), & Steve (videographer)

Yesterday was such a fun day at Traci and Carl's wedding! Yes, it rained off and on all day but it was still fun. At least for the Cottle family. Beca spent Friday night and most of the day on Saturday with Cynthia and Jason - they made princess jewelery. Except Jason - Beca said he wasn't a princess and therefore couldn't help with the crowns, necklace and bracelet! But she did rid their house of pirates so at least Jason won't have to do that now! She fell asleep 15 minutes before getting to the church, of course. But after she woke up and got on her pretty wedding dress, she went looking for Traci and Nici and was ready to party!
The wedding party was great and everyone looked wonderful! The 6 kids in the wedding did so good too! I didn't get a whole lot of good shots but I did get some. Beca had fun dancing around with her Oma, Pop-pop, Nici, Richie, and Traci. She was also was entertained by Whitney and Allie and a basket of fun stuff from Nici! She also amused the photographers quite a bit!

Richie, Beca, and Pop-pop

Beca & Oma - twirling

Traci & Beca

Traci & her "brother" Steve

Beca & Whitney (Traci's cousin) Carl & Traci Huffman

Zodiacs

I was amused by an email from my cousin with descriptions of Zodiac signs so I decided to post. It of course came with weird forwarding = amount of luck instructions which I removed. I added our names in.

CAPRICORN - The Go-Getter (Dec 22 - Jan 19) Patient and wise. Practical and rigid. Ambitious. Tends to be good-looking. Humorous and funny. Can be a bit shy and reserved. Often pessimistic. Capricorns tend to act before they think and can be unfriendly at times. Hold grudges. Like competition. Get what they want.

AQUARIUS - The Sweetheart (Jan 20 - Feb 18 - Steve) Optimistic and honest. Sweet personality. Very independent. Inventive and intelligent. Friendly and loyal. Can seem unemotional. Can be a bit rebellious. Very stubborn, but original and unique. Attractive on the inside and out. Eccentric personality.

PISCES - The Dreamer (Feb 19 - Mar 20) Generous, kind, and thoughtful. Very creative and imaginative. May become secretive and vague. Sensitive. Don't like details. Dreamy and unrealistic. Sympathetic and loving. Kind. Unselfish. Good kisser. Beautiful.

ARIES - The Daredevil (Mar 21 - April 19) Energetic. Adventurous and spontaneous. Confident and enthusiastic. Fun. Loves a challenge. EXTREMELY impatient. Sometimes selfish. Short fuse. Easily angered. Lively, passionate, and sharp wit. Outgoing. Lose interest quickly - easily bored. Egotistical. Courageous and assertive. Tends to be physical and athletic.

TAURUS - The Enduring One (April 20 - May 20 - Angela) Charming but aggressive. Can come off as boring, but they are not. Hard workers. Warm-hearted. Strong, has endurance. Solid beings that are stable and secure in their ways. Not looking for shortcuts. Take pride in their beauty. Patient and reliable. Make great friends and give good advice. Loving and kind. Loves hard - passionate. Express themselves emotionally. Prone to ferocious temper-tantrums. Determined. Indulge themselves often. Very generous.

GEMINI - The Chatterbox (May 21 - June 20 - Beca) Smart and witty. Outgoing, very chatty. Lively, energetic. Adaptable but needs to express themselves. Argumentative and outspoken. Like change. Versatile. Busy, sometimes nervous and tense. Gossips. May seem superficial or inconsistent. Beautiful physically and mentally.

CANCER - The Protector (June 21 - July 22) Moody, emotional. May be shy. Very loving and caring. Pretty/handsome. Excellent partners for life. Protective. Inventive and imaginative. Cautious. Touchy-feely kind of person. Needs love from others. Easily hurt, but sympathetic.

LEO - The Boss (July 23 - Aug 22) Very organized. Need order in their lives - like being in control. Like boundaries. Tend to take over everything. Bossy. Like to help Others. Social and Outgoing. Extroverted. Generous, warm-hearted. Sensitive. Creative energy. Full of themselves. Loving. Doing the right thing is important to Leos. Attractive.

VIRGO - The Perfectionist (Aug 23 - Sept 22 - Dawn & Keith) Dominant In relationships. Conservative. Always wants the last word. Argumentative. Worries. Very smart. Dislikes noise and chaos. Eager. Hardworking. Loyal. Beautiful. Easy to talk to. Hard to please. Harsh. Practical and very fussy. Often shy. Pessimistic.

LIBRA - The Harmonizer (Sept 23 - Oct 22) Nice to everyone they meet. Can't make up their mind. Have own unique appeal. Creative, energetic, and very social. Hates to be alone. Peaceful, generous. Very loving and beautiful. Flirtatious. Give in too easily. Procrastinators. Very gullible.

SCORPIO - The Intense One (Oct 23 - Nov 21) Very energetic. Intelligent. Can be jealous and/or possessive. Hardworking. Great kisser. Can become obsessive or secretive. Holds grudges. Attractive. Determined. Loves being in long Relationships. Talkative. Romantic. Can be self-centered at times. Passionate and Emotional.

SAGITTARIUS - The Happy-Go-Lucky One (Nov 22 - Dec 21) Good-natured optimist. Doesn't want to grow up (Peter Pan Syndrome) Indulges self . Boastful. Likes luxuries and gambling. Social and outgoing. Doesn't like responsibilities. Often fantasizes. Impatient. Fun to be around. Having lots of friends. Flirtatious. Doesn't like rules. Sometimes hypocritical. Dislikes being confined - tight spaces or even tight clothes. Doesn't like being doubted. Beautiful inside and out.

Big week

The week went by so quick and so much happened at work, I'm just amazed I got anything done. I was stuck in my class again this week and I have vetoed any more as they will simply be a waste of my time. I was also told this week that I will be working "a lot of extended days and probably weekends" for the spring and summer - launching 3 major products at the same time is hell! Tried to think of a better word but there's not one. Where's the winning lottery numbers when you really need them?

Several exciting parts to our week - met with folks from a local company that builds playsets and they can put one in for Beca on April 10th! I'm so excited it will be in so quickly! Happy Birthday to me!

Beca put her poopy in the potty every day except today, which meant she wore a dress almost every day this week! She distinguished her Hanna Andersson dresses from her regular dresses quite well! The picture is one of my very favorite new ones (not Hanna)! We also figured out several of the older dresses no longer fit.

And I got to help put some more things together for Traci's wedding - programs are done! I have a few more framing projects to finish and I have to figure out which dress I am wearing yet (ugh!). I guess the weather might just help me decide! Will it be 80 or 50 - who knows!?!? there's only 8 days to go so we'll see if the 75 and sunny holds for that day!

Easter fun

We had a very interesting Easter weekend. The Cottles dropped the poodle off at her hotel (she got a suite because Mommy forgot to call more than a 10 days out) and headed to Wrightsville Beach! After a long fight over whether or not to take a nap, we decided to give in to Beca and went to dinner, walked on the beach and played in the pool - she bounced up and down in front of the mirror and kept yelling "I a frog... ribbitt, ribbitt." Beca was having a great time shrieking and ended up scaring a little boy who didn't like loud noises (there was a big echo in the indoor pool area). There was a pretty good bed fight but Beca was too tired to really continue so she eventually drifted off in her tent.

Saturday, we didn't wake up until almost 10AM, which is very unusual for me and Beca! So we tried to get a little shopping done but never found what we were looking for, ate lunch and headed back for beach time and some more pool time. yeah, no pictures the whole day. We made Beca walk in the soft sand so she would get tired! Which by the time we got out of the pool and upstairs for a snack, she was exhausted and took a good nap. I had to retrieve a wedding dress for my little sis Traci (and learn the bustle) so I had to wake the sleeping beauty and her jester. Then dinner with Steve's parents and brother and Traci joined us too! Beca was silly and funny and loved being with her Ema, per-Frank and Uncle Bobby! She loves to chase him and he came down to the beach with us and she tired herself out by chasing him in the sand!
Easter morning we did not make it to church. I think we would have slept in again had I not set an alarm. We had our own little service and read the Easter story from 2 of Beca's children's bibles. Beca quickly spotted the Easter basket I had put together in the car when I was the only one awake about an hour earlier - mostly toys but it took her a while to figure out the eggs had M'n'M's in them. She wore a traveling dress and put on her pretty Easter dress when we got to Ema's house - the crinoline never would have made it in the the car seat. It fit better than I wanted it to since it was a 4T. Baby Sara (who was my doll and likely had a different name that no one can remember) also had the same dress, just in her size. Beca played some musical instruments throughout the day with Ema but none as amusing as her "carmonica". She is actually quite good at it and has some sort of song in her head that it goes with. As family members came in, she received an additional 5 or 6 baskets/bags of Easter goodies and a Cinderella pillow book (that's almost 2 feet tall). We kept the candy rationed pretty well so lunch could be eaten.Unfortunately, a poopy accident occurred and a melt down ensued when she wasn't allowed to wear her dress any more. The promise of an Easter egg hunt finally melted that away. Since there were only 2 kids (Aidan is Steve's cousin Tracy's son and he is 6), it was a lot of fun. I think Beca liked the eggs with the money in the because the noise it made when you made it a shaker was neat. Beca did pretty well but occasionally needed help from Corey! The exhaustion finally caught up with her and when we said it was time to go, she said a quick "bye" and headed for the car. The ride home was filled with a tantrum, about 45 minutes of sleep and then another tantrum.
Our dinner was amusing too. We picked up McDonald's because we were tired and not really that hungry after the yummy pork chops and ham at lunch. Beca got the orange drink and gave us her usual "mmmmm, that's gut" (pronounced "goo-oot"). About halfway through dinner, she asked us "What kind of drink is this?" reply - "It's orange, baby." follow-up question - "Is it orange pumpkin or orange mango?" I about fell out laughing about this question but composed myself long enough to answer "I think it is orange with a hint of pineapple." It was just too funny. The orange mango came from her shampoo. It was overall a very Happy Easter (especially when we got back in our own beds)!

He made it!

Even with all the crazy weather, Steve made it home! His flight was slightly delayed and a little bumpy on the descent because of the wind.

I have a lot of respect for single parents. I don't know how they do it without a light at the end of the tunnel. I was trying to get a room cleaned out today but several times I just had to sit down and rest. Having to think of and do everything for Beca, Zoe and myself was just exhausting for a week (and I had big time help from Pop-pop over the weekend!). My hats off to Mary who has to do it regularly (hubby is in the Air Force). I can't believe my Mom did this with 2 of us. And my grandmother did it with 6! My grandfather was in the Navy in submarines so it was months at a time! And Steve really does quite a bit every day with Beca. So I am completely a spoiled working mother when it comes to Beca!

We're off to the beach so I'll try to post some picts of that and Easter! Beca is so excited about her hat and gloves and dress and new shoes! It's too cute!

The rest of Day 7 (and Daddy's home tomorrow)

From my side, the training class was a bust today. Did not live up to expectations. And I snapped at one of my closest friends. So sorry Jenny!! I wanted to be captivated by this class but when you think you are going to be doing an activity and you get a lecture for almost 4 hours, it kind of takes the wind out your sails. Especially when you are trying to behave because you said you would. It's all talk and no real practice. By the time we do something, I'm so bored and listless that it reminds me of my early days of 4th grade before my teacher started giving me extra work to keep me busy. Thankfully, there's a mini break starting when I wake up tomorrow. The best part of the work day was that I demolished a plate of Sushi at lunch and LOVED all of it (my 3rd trip for sushi - thanks to Jenny)!

Beca had a fun day, although it apparently started with pooping during her early care session almost right after I dropped her off. Every girl in the classroom was dubbed one of the princesses (and I think by Beca) - Kate had her princess shirt on and she was Cinderella (and looks it), Taylor Grace was Belle (and looks it), her teacher Megan was crowned Ariel (red wig and she could be), teacher Beth (aka Jeffy) was Jasmine, and Beca starred as Sleeping Beauty. I think there were others as Aurora/Sleeping Beauty too.

And after we got home, she watched some Mickey Mouse Clubhouse and for bed, I introduced some brand-new PJ's featuring Mickey and Pluto, along with the clubhouse, the Handy Helpers, and a bunch of the gears!! She was so happy about them, we had to take pictures (her "girls" are with her)! Can't wait until she sees the rest of the PJ collection! I asked her to hold still so I could put her diaper back on when she went potty tonight and she said "Yes, Your Highness". I wonder if she can give lessons to those at work who have yet to realize my royalty status!

The best part is that my DH comes home tomorrow just before it is time to pick up Beca from school! Now if only I can get the house cleaned up from trying to straighten out my office (which meant emptying the office into other areas but not Beca's room) and starting to wash the spring/summer wardrobe for Beca. Thankfully her shoe collection is not as big as mine (yet)! Hopefully, I found everything...