Noses

Ok, so I got my new kitchenaid mixer and had to try it out and had some whipping cream that needed whipped so I made some whipped cream. Didn't have anything to put it on so I made a pumpkin pie. And Emily's daddy thought that she could have a small bite. I'm not sure there was actually hardly any got in her but she thinks its great whenever she gets her daddy to do exactly what she wants. (Which is about whenever she wants).

Emily doesnt like wearing socks...her own socks that is. As soon as I put them on her those little toes get busy getting them off. But when her daddy put his socks on her it caused a lot of giggles and big smiles and she didnt try to get them off at all.

And Emily isnt the only one in our house that gets stuff stuck on her nose. It has rained a lot this week and I've also tried starting to make a garden creating extra mud and so I had a very wet puppy come in last night....a wet puppy with a bit of mud on her nose!

Emily and I played dress up yesterday. Actually we were trying on the dress to see if it will fit for her baby dedication in a couple weeks. And she was so cute we had to get some pictures too!

Customer Service

Ok, so it seems like I've been trying out the customer service of many companies lately. When I got my stroller before Emily was born, it was missing the toy steering wheel. Now, the stroller would work just fine without it, as a matter of fact it isnt even on it yet, but the fact was that it was supposed to have been there. This wasnt a cheap stroller. So I contacted Kolcraft and in less than a week, a toy steering wheel arrived on my doorstep. A gold star for Kolcraft, can buy from them again. (If I get pathetic response I will not buy from a company again!) Ok, so fast forward to about three months ago. I got Emily's high chair. Its a really cool one that I had to order site to store from Walmart because no where actually had them in stock. So I get it, poor walmart guy had to carry it out for me because it wouldnt fit in teh cart, and it barely fit in the trunk (he worked a while to get it in there). So I get it home and the leg went MOST of the way on but not all the way. I had just paid (well my mother in law had just paid) over $100 for this high chair, I wanted the leg to go all the way on, so I called Summer Infant up. They said they would send a replacement. Silly me. I assumed they would send me out a replacement leg...nope, got a whole high chair, with correctly fitting legs. Star for them, even though just sending a leg would have been easier.

And then, the next one starts a little before Christmas 2007. I had a cheapo handheld mixer from Walmart that went kaput. Ok, so I had used this for 6 years, how much can you really expect from a $10 mixer. Anyway it was the only one I had, and it clanked and banged and then started spitting metal shavings into my bowl on its way to death. Whatever I was going to bake then ended up in the trash, along with the mixer. I'd got my use out of it, but I really didnt want to spend money on a new one. When out of the blue, a brand new KitchenAid stand mixer appeared on my doorstep. A little mixer fairy had sent it (without asking my permission, but eventually I came to love it). Anyway, so for a little over a year now I've had a nice Kitchenaid stand mixer, making it very quick and easy to whip up a batch of cookies, brownies, whatever, and I can even hold a baby while using it. Was very happy with my mixer. Until last week. Neal wanted brownies so I put all the stuff in the bowl and flipped the switch and nothing happened. No moaning, whining, gurgling noises, absolutely nothing. So I hit the reset switch on the outlet. Still nothing. Tried another outlet, and another and another. It still didnt work. I mixed up the brownies by hand and then pouted. Then I sent Kitchenaid an email (once I got flash properly installed on my computer and could get the email). I calmly and politely expressed my displeasure with my mixer dying and within 24 hours they have informed me that my new mixer should be arriving via fed ex very soon. Just ship the defective one to them with their prepaid mailing label and all is well. So Kitchenaid gets a gold star too.

So all in all I have been having frustration with products not living up to their potential but good customer service. Now I think I'll go have a rice krispie treat. (The marshmallows were free with the purchase of the rice krispies that were on sale...my kind of deal and easy to make with no mixer:)

Outside

It was really really nice out today so Emily and I went outside and played a while with the camera. We were supposed to be having a fire marshall come and inspect our basement so we can use that instead of our living room for daycare...he was supposed to be here late morning, still not here (3pm). Maybe he'll show up. I'm having some difficulty posting the pics, hopefully it will work!

She wasn't really asleep, I think the sun was in her eyes

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Cute Picture

Last night, I got a cute picture of Emily talking to her daddy. Then before I even got it to the computer I accidently deleted it. Then I spent the next 2 hours figuring out how to recover it. Thankfully I was successful because it was cute:) At least I thought so.

This is the one I deleted

As of right now I only have kids on Thursday and Friday this week, but the mom of the boys I was watching has an interview on Thursday so hopefully she'll get the job and then I'll have them back. I have a little boy regularly on Thursdays and Fridays now, so it is slowly picking up, and it won't be too long before I will have another infant that signed up a long time ago but isn't due until mid-May. So I have plans for my week including mowing my yard, making a garden and flower bed, grocery shopping (less fun), planting trees, and who knows what else. that's as far as I've gotten in my list so far. Emily and I may even go to Burr Oak and take a hike, havent decided yet.

Now, I think I"ll work on something to eat. I'm hungry:)

Happy Birthday GG!

Happy Birthday GG! We've been busy and haven't had time to get much up, but wanted to say Happy Birthday.

UPdate

I have actually had kids to watch this week...the same little girl that I've had before and a new baby (one month older than Emily) today. My dear daughter who is a perfect angel much of the time, was having a fit of jealousy. She would share her toys, wiggle on the floor with him (that's about all they can do) and gab with him, but there was one thing she did NOT like sharing, her mommy. She'll get used to it I'm sure.

Ok, here's a link to all our pics from the weekend if this works. I need to fix dinner and wash diapers and maybe mow the yard if Emily sleeps long enough (she couldnt nap when her mommy might hold someone else!) You may have noticed I put a couter back up after accidently deleting the one I'd had up there earlier so I know someone is reading this! :) Maybe just one person that checks it a lot--who knows! Anyway, feel free to let me know you are reading. And one last funny kid story...actually posted by a friend on facebook. They were driving the other day and her six year old asked if his Mr. Potato head fell out the window and got ran over, would he be mashed potatoes? I really need to write a book of these!

http://www1.snapfish.com/thumbnailshare/AlbumID=347366016/a=5355026_5355026/otsc=SHR/otsi=SALBlink/COBRAND_NAME=snapfish

A Wonderful Easter Break

Three years ago, I left my interpreter position at Petit Jean State Park to embark on a new era of life, a life being married to the most wonderful man on earth. This weekend, we spent four days travelling and at Petit Jean, with his parents, sister and her family. It was great! I know things are never the same when you go back, but sometimes things are better. We pulled out of our driveway in the rain on about 9 am on Thursday morning, a little later than I wanted to start, but earlier than I realistically thought we would. It stopped raining somewhere south of Fayetteville. Emily was a great little traveler, that is, until we got to Russellville. 7 hours in the carseat in one day was starting to get to her, and she started screaming. Her daddy was pulling a trailer through town with narrow lanes, then on up the mountain, so needless to say by the time we actually got to the park, our nerves were shot. She was happy once she got out of the seat though. We fixed dinner once we arrived, made a quick trip to the falls overlook, and then ate dinner, finishing up just minutes before the torrential downpour and hail started. Everyone else was worried about the weather...I was in a trailer, thinking...it must be gonna be a good trip, because don't all good camping trips involve torrential downpours?? Anyway, the weatherman promised it would clear off and be in the upper 60s or lower 70s Friday and Saturday. The weatherman lied. Friday we did shorter hikes, overlooks (although I forgot to go on Red Bluff drive, and didnt realize until it was time to leave!), and exploring. If we kept Emily out too long she started getting cold, so I had to take her to the truck to warm her up a few times, but that was ok...I was a little chilly myself. By Saturday we were all geared up for the hike to the foot of the waterfall, one of my favorites. It was wonderful, you couldnt ask for better weather, the only thing I would have wanted different were fewer people. Of course, it was perfect weather on a Saturday in the spring, with dogwoods in full bloom...I'm glad to see people taking advantage of it. Anyway, we really enjoyed our hike. I wanted to go to Bear Cave, too, but with a five month old and 7 other people to get going, we never did make it. I got to see a few of my friends and show off my daughter a little. Sunday, we loaded up, and I had just fastened Emily in her carseat when the rain returned. Of course, before we had even pulled out of the campsite she filled up her diaper so I had to take her out of her seat and then refasten her in. She was awake, a little fussy when we pulled out of the campsite, but by the time we reached the visitor center, she was sound asleep. She was awake for maybe 1-2 hours the entire drive home and what she was awake she was happy, not fussy. Although camping must have made her tired because she woke up and ate and went back to sleep this morning and is still sleeping (9am)...which is how I'm able to type this much;) Ok, I'm going to attempt to insert pictures and maybe video, if I dont get much in this post, stay tuned, I'll try to get it on soon!

Peek A Boo!

Peek a Boo, I see you! That's Emily's new favorite game. You can pretend to play it with her in this video.

or maybe this one

New pics and video

Here's a few pictures from the last few days of Emily. I caught her playing with her blanket and being goofy.

Not sure why her eyes got so wide. She was covering and uncovering her face by herself. Maybe that is the caught in the act look:)

But after all was done, it was funny.

I went to go get the cookies out of the oven and laid her down for a few minutes last night and she fell asleep. It was really cute, but she started waking up when the camera flashed so I only got one try.

After days of the weatherman not being able to make up their mind, including once the snow started, we ended up with around 7 inches of snow. Kendall thought it was great! Besides, I thought you might like to see that the puppy is still getting attention even with the baby. And I have a feeling she might get more attention than she wants in a couple months whenever Emily gets mobile! She did roll from her back to her tummy today. Unless there is somethign she wants out of reach she doesnt try very hard to roll over. I think Kendall was what she was going for although I was in the other room at the time.

Emily was laughing a lot...until I got out the camera. She likes to play with her butterfly and bug.