Natalie's first hair-cut

So, any of you who know Natty remember that she was bald for .... well, for a long time. Then, she had the mullet. John and I have always been very hesitant to get her hair cut because each strand was so hard to come by. Well, on 3/13 we were up home and took her to Cathy's to get her first cut. John was adamant that it was only a trim and said "I'm going to be there" (to be sure I didn't let the professional get out of hand, I guess.) Natalie started to get hesitant about it saying, "Daddy doesn't want me to get it cut." Whining and struggling, we strapped her into her car seat.

I went into the shop first. Although I never looked back, I knew she and daddy were far behind. I could sense the struggling forces; him intent on bringing her in without a scene and her just dying to head in the other direction but KNOWING she'd better not make a scene. Once in the door, she sponged onto John like a little sea urchin. The usually curious three year old sat still on his lap holding the hood to her coat up over her head.

Finally it was her turn. Daddy peeled the coat off and she decided to sit on mommy's lap for the actual deed. Daddy would be the official photographer. (Great says mom, I LOVE to be in pictures). How did she do? Well, in action she did well. She never cried and held pretty still (I think because she was constantly trying to bury her head in mom's chest). In spirit... well, I think these photos tell the whole story.... =)

Gene Simmons' Love Child

Jules LOVES to have her tongue out. She not only loves to stick it out, but she can twist it and turn it and perform all sorts of various tricks with it. No one should worry though, she gets this trait honestly from her mother and there were no Kiss concerts in Pgh in the Fall of 2006 =)

The Mid-Life Crisis

So it's true. I'm turning 30 this year. Ever since I turned 29 I've been telling everyone that all I want for my 30th birthday is botox, restalane, and my vericose veins done. Sometime in the Fall, I realized that as my birthday got closer, my "to do" list got longer and longer =) Just a couple months ago I signed up to receive a "free" trial of anti-wrinkle cream. All I had to pay was S&H. Of course, when I got it, I was automatically enrolled in the "club" and would receive a new one every 2 months and would only be charged $59.99 per bottle. I even had John take an up-close picture of my face so I could tell if the cream was making a difference. I asked him if he could see the wrinkles on the photo when zoomed. I took it out his hand, looked at the screen and said, "eoouuuw. Sick. You can!" That's when it hit me, "I'm really having a hard time with this 30 thing." I mean, I can remember when my mom was in her 30's. Seriously!

Last night John told me "you've got to get it together hun!" and "you weren't this concerned when I was having my mid-life crisis a couple years ago!" {Ooops! That's what that was? I just thought his many jobs were driving him crazy (driving him to move to MT!)}

But I know. The logical side of me knows that "(I'm) goin'a miss this." That I'm going to look back on 30 and think, oh, that was such a wonderful time...my kids were so cute... they still thought I was cool... my husband was so cute... and I still thought HE was cool =)... and my hair was soooo NOT gray... and where are those wrinkles I was worried about!?!

So, I've decided. THIRTY IS GOING TO BE GREAT. I've talked myself into things much more difficult to believe than this. =)

Before and After

After the holidays... and eating junk like we were Augustus Gloop (you know, the really portly kid from Willie Wonka and the Chocolate Factory that gorges himself almost immediately upon entering the factory?)... we decided to eat healthy. So after the cake and ice cream for Nat's birthday, I vowed to go "birthday to birthday" (from Nat's b-day to Jules b-day) eating healthy. I'm not getting any younger (and my mid-life crisis about that will be another post) and I need to actively try to live a healthier life. I'm going to the gym now and with the exception of a few bad days here and there, have been eating better too. John and I even took "before" pictures of ourselves. Wait a minute. Haven't I done this before? John and I both take "before" pictures and he's the only one that ever takes an "after" picture. I'm never an after, always still just a "before." hahaha. And no, although it would be funny, I'm definitely not posting our results.

So maybe I'm NOT blogging

Ok, so maybe I'm not blogging. I began this thing in early March and now its the 31st. We went home that next weekend and then I've been too busy... and a little bit intimidated to come back to my blog. I should have had a bunch of things posted on here by now. Oh well. Lets see if I can get started for real here.

Am I really blogging?

Ok, so I stink at tech, but "everyone is doing it." I figured I should give it a try. At first, I was thinking about how nice it would be to allow my friends and family all over the country to be able to keep track of how my girls are growing. Those were the only blogs I had been on; ones made by my friends who update everyone on family junk. Its really great for that ... but the more I thought about it, the more I thought about using this as a personal soap box ... but then who would I allow to read it? I would have to censor myself so much that it would be pointless. So, you'll all have to just come along for the ride as I allow this thing to morph into what it was born to be.