2008 Books I've Read

I read fifty-three books this past year. My goal was to try and read 100. I didn't make it. I got just over halfway there. I won't try to make any excuse (like I did have a baby in April). I'll just try again this year.

American Wife: A Novel (12/31)
Because of Winn-Dixie (12/16)
The Boleyn Inheritance (11/27)
The Secret Life of Bees (11/14)
The Last Lecture (11/7)
Breaking Dawn (10/8)
Eclipse (10/3)
New Moon (9/24)
Twilight (9/17)
Audition (8/31)
The Good Earth (7/22)
The Remnant (7/11)
Stori Telling (7/1)
Desecration (6/28)
Jumper (6/18)
The Mark (6/14)
The Indwelling (6/11)
Runaway Jury (6/9)
Bungalow 2 (6/6)
A Most Uncommon Degree of Popularity (6/5)
The Appeal (6/3)
Princess of Park Avenue (5/24)
Assassins (5/18)
Apollyon (5/1)
Soul Harvest (4/20)
Princess: A True Story Of Life Behind The Veil In Saudi Arabia (4/14)
The Mayflower Madam (4/13)
Hypocrite in a Pouffy White Dress (4/12)
Tribulation Force (4/4)
Valley of the Dolls (3/30)
Elizabeth Edwards: Saving Grace (3/26)
Three Little Words (3/22)
In the Deep Heart's Core (3/20)
Singing Songs (3/17)
Drop Dead Beautiful (3/16)
My Sister's Keeper (3/13)
Ana's Story (3/11)
Looking for Alaska (3/11)
The Constant Princess Audiobook (3/9)
The Other Boleyn Girl (3/6)
The Giver (3/5)
Becoming Naomi Leon (3/5)
Middlesex (3/1)
An Abundance of Katherines (2/20)
Chloe Does Yale (2/17)
When the Heart Cries (2/15)
Prep (2/13)
Midwives (2/10)
Esperanza Rising (1/14)
How to Teach Filthy Rich Girls (1/12)
Trans-Sister Radio (1/8)
Posh (1/6)
The Devil in the Junior League (1/4)

I think I found Goob's calling.

He's going to be a race car driver!

"Okay, maybe if I let Mom take one picture of me, she'll put the camera down and push me."


"Fine, take a close up. Then put the darn camera down and push me. I want to feel the wind in my curls!"


"Jeez. What is my mother doing? Push me. QUIT TAKING PICTURES!"


"HAHA! My grandpa came to my rescue. Push me higher!!"

"I'm too fast for you, Mommy. No pictures, please. I've got to concentrate!"

A Trip to the SA Zoo Last Month

At the beginning of last month, we went to visit my inlaws in San Antonio. We decided to visit the zoo. Here's a few pics.

Not Me Monday

For some reason the above picture isn't linking back to MckMama's site, so here's the link. Sorry about that.


Let's see....

I did not call in sick to work on Thursday because I didn't trust J to take Goob to the doctor's office and report back to me EVERYTHING that was said. I am not a weirdo who likes my husband to repeat verbatim entire conversations that I've missed. I did not consider going to work and making him video tape his conversation.

I did not go to Goob's day care on Thursday and throw a minor hissy fit. I did not demand/request that I not have to pay for day care next week since they failed to notify all parents when a child was diagnosed with RSV and then give it to my son. I then did not feel bad after I left for being so crazy. My husband and I did not do a small happy dance for saving $105.

I did not dread going to work on Friday because we had a stupid school carnival. I did not complain the whole time. Me complain? Never. I did not eat a bag of too salty popcorn. I did not bolt out the door as soon as we had cleaned up. I did not forget to say goodbye to anyone.

I did not slip and slide on a muddy patch on the way to my car. And I most certainly did not cuss as I was falling. And I did not drive home covered in mud. And my husband did not take one look at me and laugh when I got home.

A Huge Thank You!

Thank you a million times over to Christa for the new amazing header! Isn't it fabulous?

Have You Ever?

Stolen from Maria's blog

1. Started your own blog
2. Slept under the stars
3. Played in a band
4. Visited Hawaii
5. Watched a meteor shower
6. Given more than you can afford to charity
9. Held a praying mantis
10. Sang a solo
11. Bungee jumped
12. Visited Paris
13. Watched a lightning storm at sea
14. Taught yourself an art from scratch
15. Adopted a child
16. Had food poisoning
17. Walked to the top of the Statue of Liberty
18. Grown your own vegetables
19. Seen the Mona Lisa in France
20. Slept on an overnight train
21. Had a pillow fight
22. Hitch hiked
23. Taken a sick day when you’re not ill
24. Built a snow fort
25. Held a lamb
26. Gone skinny dipping
27. Run a Marathon
28. Ridden in a gondola in Venice
29. Seen a total eclipse
30. Watched a sunrise or sunset
31. Hit a home run
32. Been on a cruise
33. Seen Niagara Falls in person
34. Visited the birthplace of your ancestors
35. Seen an Amish community
36. Taught yourself a new language
37. Had enough money to be truly satisfied
38. Seen the Leaning Tower of Pisa in person
39. Gone rock climbing
40. Seen Michelangelo’s David
41. Sung karaoke
42. Seen Old Faithful geyser erupt
43. Bought a stranger a meal at a restaurant
44. Visited Africa
45. Walked on a beach by moonlight
46. Been transported in an ambulance
47. Had your portrait painted
48. Gone deep sea fishing
49. Seen the Sistine Chapel in person
50. Been to the top of the Eiffel Tower in Paris
51. Gone scuba diving or snorkeling
52. Kissed in the rain
53. Played in the mud
54. Gone to a drive-in theater
55. Been in a movie
56. Visited the Great Wall of China
57. Started a business
58. Taken a martial arts class
59. Visited Russia
60. Served at a soup kitchen
61. Sold Girl Scout Cookies
62. Gone whale watching
63. Gotten flowers for no reason
64. Donated blood, platelets or plasma
65. Gone sky diving
66. Visited a Nazi Concentration Camp
67. Bounced a check
68. Flown in a helicopter
69. Saved a favorite childhood toy
70. Visited the Lincoln Memorial
71. Eaten Caviar
72. Pieced a quilt
73. Stood in Times Square
74. Toured the Everglades
75. Been fired from a job
76. Seen the Changing of the Guards in London
77. Broken a bone
78. Been on a speeding motorcycle
79. Seen the Grand Canyon in person
80. Published a book
81. Visited the Vatican
82. Bought a brand new car
83. Walked in Jerusalem
84. Had your picture in the newspaper
85. Read the entire Bible
86. Visited the White House
87. Killed and prepared an animal for eating
88. Had chickenpox
89. Saved someone’s life
90. Sat on a jury
91. Met someone famous
92. Joined a book club
93. Lost a loved one
94. Had a baby
95. Seen the Alamo in person
96. Swam in the Great Salt Lake
97. Been involved in a law suit
98. Owned a cell phone
99. Been stung by a bee

Not Me Monday!

I did not make my husband wake up and drive me to work on Friday morning just so he'd have to pick me up and bring my son. I did not want to show off my beautiful baby.

I did not purposely drive badly on the way to the inlaws so J would insist that I not be allowed to drive.

I did not hand off my baby every chance I got this weekend so I could have a break.

I did not use the baby as an excuse to go to bed super early.

I did not call in sick for work on Friday so we could take an extra long vacation.

I did not insist that we go to the zoo and then complain that it was too hot. It was.

I did not watch The Happening right before bed and freak out and have nightmares.

I did not tell J the wrong directions to the portrait studio and we weren't 20 minutes late.

Voting, Part 1

This morning Goob and I left the house at 7 drove a quarter mile to our polling place. As I pulled in, I saw a line of about 50 people already. I needed to be on my way to work at 7:30 to not be late. So we got in line, Goob was just content to people watch. The line moved slowly. At around 7:20, Goob decided he was tired of standing in line and spit up all over my shirt. Seriously. So we left. I was able to salvage my shirt with baby wipes and a jacket. I dropped Goob off at 7:30 and made it to work just in time.

We'll try again when J gets home. We decided we'll walk to our polling place. It'll be fun.

Wish us luck.

Not Me Monday

I did not only buy one bag of candy so I wouldn't have to answer the door all night.

I did not get lost on a walk with Goob on Saturday morning. And I did not call my husband to try to figure out how to get home.

I did not go and spend $30 on a gift for a party on Saturday night and then not go to party.

I did not drag my husband shopping and out to dinner on Saturday night. I did not have a wonderful drink at Joe's Crab Shack and leave my hubby to take care of the boy.

I did not wake up early on Sunday morning to go shopping at Target. It was pure bliss, no one was there.

I did not make my husband go on a walk last night and I did not make up take the long way.

I did not get McDonald's for breakfast this morning.

I did not make my husband pick up Goob from day care early since he was getting off work early.

I did not come home from work and make my husband help me clean.

Not Me Monday!

I'm finally jumping on the "Not Me Mondays" bandwagon.

I did not order a strawberry margarita on Friday night and just throw it away.

I did not drag my boys 20 miles to visit a pumpking patch just to take pictures.

I did not embarass my husband by harassing another family to take our picture at said pumpkin patch.

I did not beg my husband to get up with Goob two nights in a row because I was "sick."

I did not have a hissy fit when my husband came home 30 minutes late for work.

I did not tell my coworker that she couldn't borrow my Twilight book because I had promised it to someone else when really I just wanted to read it again.

And I most certainly did not do a little dance this evening when I realized that it's my husband's turn to wake up with the boy.

Look what happens when Mommy and Daddy have too much time on their hands...

J and I were both off this weekend, so we got around to do those chores we've been putting off. At the top of the list was going through Goob's closet and putting away anything that doesn't fit our Goob. We're not getting rid of anything. They're just being put away from #2 (who is not on his way anytime soon!) Anyways we had fun.


Goob wanted to know what the heck we were doing to all his clothes!

Once we told him, he pretended to be asleep so he wouldn't have to help. Sneaky, little Goob!

A few minutes later he decided to join in on the fun. He likes to try on hats!

His daddy thought he looked cool his this. Ha!

We had more pics, but I felt/looked like crap that day so I'm definitely not putting those up here.

We started solids on Saturday!

We're working on rice cereal now. It was fun....

....and messy.

He's just getting rice cereal for the next two weeks. Then we'll start adding a new fruit or vegetable every 5 days. Yum!

Goob says "Look what I can do!"

Hola!

"I'm bored. What should I do?"

"Let me try this"

"Hey, this is neat!"

"Ta-da! Look what I can do! Haha. Mommy and Daddy are in trouble now!"

A Fun, New Toy!

Goob is loving his exersaucer. He's figured out how make all the noises and songs play. Once you put him in there, he has no time for you anymore. He's too busy.

Goob's day at the beach!

Last weekend, Goob's grandparents were in town (J's parents). On Saturday evening, we went down to the island to meet some of their friends. It's a real shame that we live 30 minutes from the beach and we haven't been in forever. Anyways, it was Goob's first trip to the beach. Too bad we didn't go a bit earlier to enjoy more daylight.

Here are some pictures:

Goob getting his toes wet.


Goob with Mommy and Daddy.


Goob with his grandparents.

How to make your husband mad...

Stop him from watching his favorite show and relaxing on his day off and make him put together a high chair.




But look how cute this little guy is! It makes it worth it. Right, J?

A survey cause I'm bored

I stole this from Laura's blog. And I'm doing it for the same reason she did. Goob's asleep for a long nap. And I've learned not to wake a sleeping baby.

YOU CAN ONLY TYPE ONE WORD! Not as easy as you might think. Now copy or forward, change the answers to suit you and pass it on. It’s really hard to only use one word answers.


1. Where is your cell phone? here

2. Your significant other? working

3. Your hair? falling

4. Your mother? amazing

5. Your father? strong

6. Your favorite thing? nachos

7. Your dream last night? none

8. Your favorite drink? soda

9. Your dream/goal? sahm

10. The room you’re in? living

11. Your hobby? reading

12. Your fear? daycare

13. Where do you want to be in 6 years? sahm

14. Where were you last night? date

15. What you’re not? confident

16. Muffins? blueberry

17. One of your wish list items? purse

18. Where you grew up? richmond

19. The last thing you did? laundry

20. What are you wearing? sweats

21. Your TV? muted

22. Your pets? sleeping

23. Your computer? desk

24. Your life? beautiful

25. Your mood? calm

26. Missing someone? sure

27. Your car? big

28. Something you’re not wearing? rings

29. Favorite store? target

30. Your summer? short!!!!

31. Like someone? mens

32. Your favorite color? pink

33. When is the last time you laughed? yesterday

34. Last time you cried? dunno

What is going on in the crib during nap time?

So I usually put Goob down for nap time like this:



Today after naptime, when he started to whine, I found this in the crib. What happened?

This is his sleep positioner and blanket. His head was up there when I put him in the crib.

I can't find the other sock.

The culprit.

Sweetheart Siggy

I love it! Thanks Julia!!

I survived the weekend!

We arrived to San Antonio on Friday morning around 11. We were the first out of towners so Goob's grandparents had him all to themselves. Once everyone else arrived and cooed over my gorgeous baby, we pigged out on barbeque then headed to J's grandparents (Goob's great grandparents) house to introduce everyone to my baby. (For some reason, I don' have any pictures of Goob meeting his aunts and uncles. My ILs have them so I'll put them up when I can.)

Goob enjoyed meeting his great grandparents.


Here's J, Goob, and the great grandparents.


Then I got the 4 generations pic that I bugged J about.


Then grandma scooped him up and wouldn't put him down again.


Finally after we got back from the great grandparents and had more barbeque, it was time for Goob's bath, especially since he was passed around and around and around and he now smelled like everyone else's perfume. Ugh. After his bath, Goob went right to sleep and slept for 8 hours. It was AMAZING!


The next morning Goob was again passed around and around and around from aunt to uncle to grandma to aunt to grandpa to dad to uncle, etc, etc. All that passing around makes a little boy exhausted. So while J and I got dressed for J's dad's retirement party, my baby passed out.



Then it as off to the retirement party. 100 people showed up. And again my baby was oohed and aahed over (of course!) and passed around and around and around. I really wantedd to bust out my hand sanitizer, but then I worried that the ILs, et al, would think I'm a nut case. As the dinner was wrapping up, my BIL managed to take a nice picture of my little family. It's one of the few that we have since usually one of us is taking the pictures. (forgive the cleavage, oh the joys of breastfeeding!)


The next morning, we trekked a hundred miles to see MY family (YAY!) at "the River." Every year my grandparents and aunts and uncles "camp" at the Frio River for 3 weeks. I've been going every year since I was born (I think I missed one year). They "camp" with the same group of people every year (my grandparents have been "camping" here for 30+ years. Everyone is really good friends with everyone else. So my Meme was dying for me to come out so she could show off her great grandson. (I say "camp" because it's not like tent campings with no running water. Everyone usually has a big 5th wheel trailer with personal restrooms/showers. It's not exactly "roughing it.") Anyway, here's my Papa with Goob.


Me and Goob




This is Goob and my Meme (my hero!). And look we are in her big ole trailer! It's definitely not "roughing it"!


Then we had to take a picture overlooking the River. It's a tradition. Every year everyone takes pictures here. (In fact, J and I took our engagement pictures about 50 feet from here! Wow, that was 2 years ago.)


Here's our beautiful River.


Another tradition we have is the "River Dunking." Every family I have that was born after my grandparents started coming to the river has been "River Dunked": my uncle, Mike, me (at 3 mos), my cousin Caitlyn (14 mos), my cousin Chandler (2 mos), my cousin Mason (11 mos), my cousin Rylee (9 mos). Now it was Goob's turn. Here's Daddy preparing to River Dunk Goob. A River Dunk is just putting your feet in the water!


And here's the dunk! As soon as Goob's feet touched the water, the crying began. He didn't like. I think it's cause the water was a little chilly or maybe we just surprised him. The tears didn't last long cause as soon as I got to him, he was fine.


A few hours later, he was happily playing in his new bouncy seat at the ILs.


Then J went off to hang out with his brother and left Goob and I to play by ourselves.


Monday afternoon we headed home. As soon as we got home, I realized that I left my beloved bottle brush at my ILs and had to go get another. J had a little too much fun with it.