The First Day of the Rest of My Life

When I was nineteen years old I made the decision to begin taking prerequisites to enter the Dental Hygiene program. Years of hard work and long hours studying and attending classes paid off. I began the Hygiene program today.

I have been so anxious and nervous about today, my big day. I have spent so much time wishing to be in this program and today my dream became a reality. I woke up this morning with a spring in my step as I was getting ready to begin this journey.

When I arrived at school all of the other Hygiene students were as confused as I. Nobody knew where to go or what to do. Eventually, we found the correct class room. Although we were in the correct class room, the lecture that I had prepared for was not being given. There was so much confusion and chaos to the first day of school.

The college hired a new program director for the Hygiene program and it seems to me that she let us down, as none of us knew where to go or what to do.

I was polite, despite the confusion. All of the students blindly lead themselves through their first day and will do the same tomorrow. I really am so excited to be doing this!

First Hair Cut

 
 
 
He surely didn't love having his hair cut, infact it really pissed him off. All of Grandma's hard work paid off. He looks so cute with his new do! 

Mr. Moose

 
 
 
This is one of the most beautiful creatures I have ever seen. He is huge and nearly black in color. These pictures are not zoomed in. I was actually standing this close to Mr. Moose. 

Cabin

 
 
 
 
What a wonderful afternoon at the cabin. Munchkin and Markie, you sure are loved! 

Double the Trouble, Double the Fun!

 
 
 
 
Having completed the summer semester, my parents decided to enjoy their hiatus from babysitting Munchkin and drive to Yellowstone. Babysitting Munchkin, however, is not their only responsibility. My nephew, Markie, also depends on their babysitting abilities. Being the best babysitters in town has earned them the official title of "Worlds Best and Most Loving Babysitter/Grandparents".

Emily and I know that our parents are instrumental in raising these boys. We also know that they are making a huge time consuming and life altering commitment. Without them everything we strive to accomplish wouldn't be possible.

Their leaving town earned me the official title of "Will Die Trying to Pull Off the Work of Grandma AND Grandpa". I had two boys, both about 15 months old. Munchkin won't eat and can't synchronize nap times with Markie. Markie is teething and running a fever which makes him super sad and uncomfortable.

Markie didn't feel ill until the second day into my babysitting duty. On Tuesday we were all still bright-eyed and bushy-tailed, ready to face the world. My only problem was nap time. I couldn't leave Markie alone for 15-20 minutes while putting Munchkin down for a nap. I realized that the only chance Munchkin had for napping was in his car seat. I loaded two car-seats in my little, two-door Civic and strapped both boys down. I started driving and Munchkin's lights went out. He slept for 45 minutes. When he woke up we were at Brighton. I decided that since I had my baby back-pack with me we would take a leisurly stroll around the lake. We walked by carying one baby in the pack and the other in my arms.

The other two days of my babysitting experience were spent close to home to ensure a comfortable atmosphere for both boys. Both babies ate at the same time and had diaper changes at the same time. Munchkin even helped me give Markie a bath, which was cute beyond belief. Munchkin washed Markie's back while I scrubbed his knees and feet.

We had a lot of fun despite the difficult task at hand. Munchkin and Markie enjoyed their time together, they love each other very much. I was proud of myself having completed a job that initially frightened me. Yea Me! 

Gothic Mama

Every once in a while my camera will accentuate shadows with a solid black spot. Look on the faces in these photos. Infact, I am not wearing black lipstick and I have not put black dots in Munchkin's nose. The camera did this to my pictures. Have any of you seen this before? What can be done to prevent this from happening again?

Eyes Wide Shut

Munchkin is so generous. He offers everyone in the room a taste of what ever he is munching on. He doesn't, however, want to see you take the tasty treat. He bends his head back, closes his eyes and reaches toward you with a cracker or cheerio as if to say "Hurry, nobody is looking. Take the treat...quick!"

Photography

Monument, Colorado

My New Friends

Please click on images to enlarge.

Although some of the people who were in Colorado this weekend weren't complete strangers to Munchkin, he hadn't ever bonded with them like he did here. He finally took down his wall of reservation and got to know his aunt's and uncle's like never before.
He also made new friends, some of which may never be seen again. That is too bad because there is nothing more valuable than love. Cristina, the little girl in the pictures, immediately became a big sister to Munchkin, showing him around the party and looking out for him. She loved him and he loved her.

I'm Too Sexy

Karen sure knows how to party. All day long people came to wish her a happy birthday, in reward they got to partake in endless amounts of delicious food and drink. The party didn't end at sundown, however. The festivities which began earlier that day were getting more interesting as the day became night. It may have had something to do with the amount of alcohol consumed by the late hours.
Bob and Bryan let loose and performed a dance to the hit Black-Eyed-Peas song "Where is the Love". We all took turns, two at a time, strutting down the cat-walk trying our hardest to immitate runway models (you had to be there). And Karen had her moment in the spotlight by dancing a wild and crazy birthday dance to The Red Hot Chilli Peppers song "Cabarone". It truly was a sight to see.

Colorado

Jeremy alerted me to the fact that I always fall in love with our vacation destinations to the point of wanting to relocate. Again, Colorado did not let me down. Colorado has breathtaking beauty that is sure to make even the locals feel as though they are on vacation.
The state is full of rolling, green hills and pine forests. The weather was more than I could ask for, providing temperatures in the seventies as a high.
Taking Munchkin on walks through the neighborhood was a delight that I look forward to experiencing again some time. There was wild life to see, fresh air to breath and wild-flowers to pick. What fun!

Leaving on a Jet Plane

Jeremy, Munchkin and I are leaving for Colorado tomorrow to experience the Rocky Mountain High. We are attending a birthday party for Jeremy's aunt Karen. She is turning 50! WOWEEE!
We are being treated to pumpkin soup and a fresh salad for dinner which I am super excited for. Doesn't that sound scrumptious?
It will be a short visit, just the weekend. This party is providing us with an excuse to visit Jerry and Karen's new home and show off Munchkin. They have been deprived of his charm until now and we are going to remedy that.
I might, however, be taking a monster on vacation. He is cutting all four molars right now, he had a shot today and is running a low-grade fever. I hope that they can see through his pain and get to know the beautiful boy that I do.

Woops!

Who would have thought that following my most recent post entitled "Blankie", I would absent mindedly leave the coveted blankie at my parents house.
Munchkin was well aware tonight that we were performing the sacred bed-time ritual without "blankie". Fortunately, he fell for my faux blankie, calming his freak-out episode long enough to fall asleep. Wheew...

Blankie

Although I have never encouraged the dependancy upon a blankie, Munchkin has developed one.
I noticed this for the first time when he began crying in the night. I picked him up and held him which is usually enough to fix any problem, but he was dissatisfied with my affection. He pointed to the opposite side of the room toward the rocking chair which had a baby's blanket draped over it. I reached for the blanket and gave it to him. In that moment he was as content as he had ever been. Taking the blanket from my hands and wrapping it in both arms, holding it tightly to his body as if to never let it go. He was quite literally absorbing the blanket and the comfort that it offered. Ever since then he has craved the blankets company on a regular basis. It is adorable to see him offering affection, but I don't know if it is healthy to love a blankie.
Perhaps he will have difficulty ridding himself of this dependancy. What if he is at college, about to take a chemistry test and can't find his blankie? He will be a nervous wreck. What ever will we do? I realize that the future of the world as we know it hinges on the survival of this blankie. That is a huge responsibility! I'd better find a back-up blankie.