She Walks

Margaret is walking about 85% of the time now! Last Tuesday, she just started letting go and walking across the room. Although she still falls down a little, she gets better and better everyday. It's definitely her favorite new mode of transportation! :)

Hair Cuts

I finally got my hair cut again, and this time I went ahead and got it straightened, too. I LOVE it! It's so cool to get out of the shower with wet hair and still have it be straight, not curly. It takes me about 15 minutes to dry and style it the way I want it to look, whereas last time it took me an hour-and-a-half b/c I also had to flat-iron my hair to get it to look right. I am loving my hair right now, and that doesn't happen very often.

Steven also got a major haircut; I finally buzzed him for the summer, which has been an annual thing. It's just much more noticable this year b/c I was really letting his hair get long... I loved running my fingers through it and I liked having something to syle. Now its just short and fuzzy or short and spikey, depending on whether or not we put gel in it. He likes it, so that's good. John also got a haircut, but I didn't do anything different for him, so no pics. Sorry hon! :)

Song of the Week

"Stompin' at the Savoy" by Ella Fitzgerald and Louis Armstrong
I chose "Stompin" this week because I've been thinking alot about my love for good, classic jazz music and you can't get much better than Ella Fitzgerald. I had dabbled in jazz for awhile, but not very serious about it, until I heard Ella sing! While I realize that she doesn't have the most powerful voice in the world, there's just something irresistable about it. The way she's always right-on with her pitch (back in the day before they dubbed stuff like that and then get to a live concert and find out that they really can't sing) is amazing. Her pronunciation is always so clean and proper; a very stark contrast to Louis' voice. Louis, well, he's not the best singer in the world, and I don't always like to hear him sing solo... but I love to hear he and Ella sing together. The sounds that he makes while singing sound much like the sounds that he makes with his trumpet... he's like a singing trumpet. It really is very cool to listen for... especially with his vibrato. Put the two together, Ella's clean diction and precise pitch with Louis' disregard for lyrics and brass coloring, and you get something absolutely magical.
Let me know what you think after you hear the song... I'm interested.

A Heart-Attack Waiting to Happen

Last Sunday I made chili and cornbread for dinner. We ate sort of late and John had to rush off for a rehearsal, so it was just me and the kids. I told Steven that I would be right back to finish our dinner together, if he would just let me go put Margaret down for bed. While putting on her pajamas, I hear Steven from the dining room say "Mmmmm, I really like butter." Oh great, I think. When I come out to see what he is talking about, his face is buried in the tub of butter and he's (very noisily) slurping it up! When I say "Steven! What are you doing!?!", he looks up and has runny, melted butter all around his face and running down his chin! I really wanted to take a picture so that I could post it on here, but somehow I didn't think that would send the right message across. Fortunately, we had another thing of butter in the fridge, so I just threw it away. I couldn't believe that my son did that! I've heard stories of kids eating butter before, in fact my oldest niece used to when she was younger. But it was always with their fingers, not their faces! Leave it to my son to eat a year's worth of butter in one sitting.

Song of the Week

"Bohemian Rhapsody" by Queen

I have alot of different and fond memories of this song. I think we all remember the scene in Wayne's World when the guys try to sing this song but don't really know the words (hey, who hasn't done that in there own car, right!?!) I also remember this song from Stake Youth Conference a long time ago. We were all split up into small groups or "families" and each family had to perform a karaoke song up on the stage in the gym for everyone else. Well, my family picked this song (why, I have no idea!) I wanted to rehearse and figure out who would be singing what parts, etc, but no one else in my group was really on board with that. When the time came for us to sing and we were all standing up on the stage, everyone else suddenly developed stage fright and refused to sing. Being the very wild and crazy youth that I was, I couldn't just let one of the best songs of Rock 'n Roll go by without doing something. So.... I ended up singing the ENTIRE song all by myself (you can imagine what that might have sounded like.) I got so worked up and into it, that I even started throwing my props into the crowd. I'd like to think that it was highly entertaining for everyone who watched me make a total fool of myself, but I still look back on that moment, shaking my head and wondering "What was I thinking!?!?"

I am a huge Queen fan (in case you haven't already figured that out) so I've included my top favorites for you to browse in my playlist at the bottom. If you're not a Queen fan, you should be! :)

Love After All

I've been thinking alot lately since I mentioned that Margaret doesn't really snuggle with me... and paying closer attention, too. I have to admit that John is right (as usual) about her smiles. Margaret has the biggest, most happiest, brightest smiles that I have ever seen on anyone's face... even bigger than Ewan McGreggor's. (And that's saying something!) Just this morning, I was in my room getting dressed when I heard Margaret crawling down the hall, so I decided to hide. When she came around the corner and spotted me, her whole face lit up... and it completely melted my heart. I know that my daughter loves me through very small and simple things that she does daily. When her brother slams her dollhouse into her head (happened this morning) and I rush over to see what happened, she immediately throws her arms up to me to save and comfort her. When Steven gets up in the middle of the night and we have to take him back to his bed, if Margaret happens to wake up she stands up and cries until you come and snuggle her (even if it's just for a second) just so that she can be tucked back in, too. And just yesterday she wanted to walk back and forth from me to the couch and from the couch to me. Everytime she would reach the couch, she would turn around and give me a huge smile, as if to say "I did it, mama!" Then when she would turn around and walk back to me (all the while with the same big grin on her face), she would throw herself into my arms and give me a quick hug before she was off again. I'm so happy that I have made these very simple and pleasant discoveries...

Song of the Week

Okay, so if you haven't been able to tell by the constant blaring of music on my blog, I LOVE music. Lots and lots of music. Since most people will never stay on my blog long enough to ever hear my entire playlist of favorites (of which I have several), I decided to come up with something new. From now on I will be posting a song of the week, in which that song will be playing when you enter my blog, along with an explanation as to why I chose that particular song. It could be a new song or artist that I just discovered, a hot new single or just a good old classic that brings back alot of great memories. So without further ado, the song for this week is...

"Extraordinary Machine" by Fiona Apple.

Let me just say that I LOVE this song. I've been an "in the closet" Fiona fan since high school. I always loved "Criminal" (you know, "'Cause I'm feelin' like a criminal!), but felt a little guilty for liking it, so never really bought the CD or anything. Well, I lost track of her when I got to college and started listening to ska and 311 (another guilty little pleasure), so that was the end of my Fiona phase. I was on playlist.com last night, looking for some new tunes to add to my playlist, when for good old times, I typed in Fiona Apple. Man... she's been busy! This album, "Extraordinary Machine" came out in 2005, which is her most recent work right now. I listened to all of the tracks on the CD and really liked her new artsy/carnivalesque sound. Some of the songs are a little too oppressive, but for the most part they were a pleasure to listen to. The title song, "Extraordinary Machine" was my favorite, by far. I loved the chimes in the intro and the arrangements of the brass, woodwinds and strings throughout. But the thing that got me the most was her voice! It was still the same old Fiona, but it sounded so different with such a different sound backing her up. Anyway, I hope that you all enjoy listening to this song as much as I do, even if it's just for the sake of listening to something a little different.

Longing for Affection

I've been struggling alot lately with the fact that my little girl is not a snuggler. When she wakes up and I go to get her out of her crib, she's immediately ready for action (or food), but heaven forbid you try to give her hugs and kisses. This happened to me the other day. I was wanting to give her a hug so badly, but try as I might, every attempt that I made was met with a rough shove to the face. I try not to let it get to me too much, but its very hard. Especially after Steven, who LOVES to snuggle. If he wakes up in the middle of the night he'll come to me and say "Snuggle me a little bit." And everyday when he wakes up, he runs into my arms and stays there until he's completely awake. I don't mean to compare the two, but it's just hard. It seems to be really wearing on me lately. I have found myself getting mad at her when she won't let me hug her, even though I know that its not her fault. I even, just in the last few days, have found myself feeling withdrawn and a little distant from her because of it. Don't get me wrong, I absolutely love and adore my daughter. I just wish that she would let me express my love for her in the best way that I know how.

Easter Pictures

I know that Easter was a while ago and that my posts are out of order, but these pictures just turned out so cute that I had to include some on my blog. Enjoy!

Random Pics

I know that I haven't posted anything for awhile, so here are a few random pics from the last couple of weeks.

Margaret's crazy hair, post-Pebbles style

Steven's huge smile after a nap

Steven was tickling Margaret and they were both laughing so hard!

My baby girl's first pair of pig-tails... so cute!

Playing in Mommy and Daddy's bed after naptime

The extent of my artistic creativity... and Steven's

"Mom, is it just me, or is the room spinning?"

"No mom, I'll tell you the story of Goldilocks and the Three Bears."

Yes, that is a purse and she is putting on her "lipstick"