Contest

No, I am not having a contest myself but a website for moms that I just stumbled across is giving away a flat screen TV on August 17 and one condition for entering is that you link to their site on your own blog. I don't think I have ever done a link before so hopefully this will take you to the right place!

www.5minutesformom.com

The TV is from Best Buy. www.bestbuy.com

Welcome to my new niece!

Most of you who read this blog already know the exciting news...we have a new family member!  My niece, Olivia Claire Guinan, daughter of my sister Heidi and her husband, Jeph, was born this afternoon.  We have been waiting for her since Thanksgiving Day and she is finally here.  :) Now, we are anxiously awaiting a few pictures to be emailed to us as soon as SOMEONE can get home to download them!!! :)  We are really excited about being able to see her in person and hold her in about 15 days when we go there on our vacation.

She was due to be born tomorrow which would have made her "birthday buddies" with Liam, my son who turns 6 tomorrow but she decided she would rather have her own birthday and came today!  It turns out that she was born in the room right next door to the room where Liam was born in the same hospital 6 years ago!  So, I guess they can be "birthday neighbors" instead!

We love you, Olivia!

Love,

Aunt Tara, Uncle Michael and your very excited cousins Alley, Liam and Dresden

Happy Birthday to Michael!

  As usual, I posted the pictures in reverse order of what I intended...Oh well.   The first picture is Michael helping to construct an arch at Science City, the next is Michael and the kids in a "newsroom", the next is them touching a display, and the others are from our dinner out.

Monday, July 16th, was Michael's 32nd birthday. He worked Sunday night and got home around 7 am Monday so he spent most of the daytime sleeping. After he got up, we all got ready and we went to eat a quick dinner at Culver's, a hamburger place just across the Missouri state line. It has become a favorite of ours over the last few months because they have these meals called Snak Packs which include a hamburger, crinkle fries and a drink for only $2.99. It seems to be just the right amount of food for us and the price is right! Since it was Michael's birthday and he loves ice cream more than cake, we got a 4 scoop dish of their wonderful frozen custard and Michael and the kids chose the topping...chunks of cookie dough! They gave us 5 spoons and we all shared. Next time we will know to only get 2 0r 3 scoops because 4 was more than enough after eating a meal. After that, we headed to downtown Kansas City to Union Station. Science City is inside of Union Station and we had never been there before. We decided to make this part of the birthday celebration because they were having a free family night. It was a little more crowded for that reason but the kids still had a blast. I would love to go back on a weekday when most other kids are in school and be able to experience it more fully without all the chaos!

A Good Find

Sometimes I am amazed at the way God provides things I didn't even know I really wanted or needed and definitely didn't pray for. A little more than a week ago, the family in the apartment 2 floors below us moved out and left several items on their patio. I didn't think much of it at first, thinking they might be back to get them but when the next weekend passed and they were still there, I noticed that among the things was an organizing cart on wheels. It was white with black tubs stacked 6 high with each tub making a drawer. I immediately thought of all my rubber stamping and craft supplies that were taking 2 whole drawers in my filing cabinet as well as a couple of boxes in the corner of the room. I first asked one of the girls in the office if it was going to be thrown away. She said she didn't know after being gone on vacation all week and that I should check back on Monday. So, on Monday I called the office and got the assistant manager. She said they are supposed to store things left for 30 days before disposing of them but she would check with the manager for me. I went to check our mailbox shortly before the office closed so I popped in there and asked her. She said the manager said to take it if I wanted it. So, I carried it up 2 flights of stairs and then washed all 6 tubs in the bathtub and then scrubbed the outside part in the shower. I took the whole thing out to our balcony to air dry. This morning I filled it up-paper in one drawer, ink pads, markers, pastels and colored pencils in another, dry embossing and wax supplies in another, 2 drawers for stamp sets and the top tub is open so I put things I need to get to more often in there, like my paper cutter, a small amount of white paper, envelopes, and all my little tools like scissors and adhesives. The best part is that it fits nicely in the same corner and I can find everything quickly and easily! It even rolls so I can roll it to the table and have everything in arms reach!

Dresden

I have been meaning to write more about Dresden since she seems to change by the minute sometimes and I don't want to forget all the cute things she is doing! But as usual, I am behind in what I want to get done!

* She likes to talk on the phone and has started saying " ello!" first thing..she sounds very British!

* She now says "Awrigh" when I ask her to do something. It sounds much more grown up than her former "O-tay" and I am sure that is why she switched!

* She likes to try to eat those famous summer-time popsicles in a plastic sleeve but can't quite figure out how to push it up as she eats it. She handed one to me one day last week and I pushed it up and then took a little bite and she frowned and said, "He-ey...don' eat!" One of her first complete sentences.

* She is very determined to do things herself, like buckle her carseat, put on her shirt, and even change her own diaper even though she is usually unsuccessful in her attempts. She is always saying, "I twy! I twy!" I usually let her give it a shot, unless I am in a big hurry!

* She loves the water at the pool and doesn't seem to be a bit afraid

* She is figuring out the Sit N Spin.

* She is speaking in more and more 3 word sentences, even if they aren't all completely understandable.

* She is learning to count and almost has the first 10 numbers down. She also tries to sing the ABC song, more by inflecting her voice with the song than saying the actual letters.

* If we ask her how old she is, she holds up two fingers and says, "I FWEE!" She knows she is really two and gets a big kick out of our reaction when she pronounces herself a year older! I guess that universal childhood desire to be older starts earlier than I realized!

Overall, she is a joy to our lives. She is always doing something new that we all find incredibly cute and funny. She loves to dance and jump and gallop across the room and she has lately started holding her thumb and pointer fingers on each hand in a sideways V near her eyes and "snapping" pictures of all of us!