Tagged

OK, My cousin (in-law, whatever), the lovely Blair McLeod, has tagged me in a fun and easy little game.

The Rules:

1) Choose the 4th folder where you store your pictures on your computer

2) Select the 4th picture in the folder

3) Explain the picture

4) Tag 4 people to do the same. No cheating (cropping, editing, etc.)

Welp, there it is. Grover, from Sesame Street, hanging on a clothes line. I did this pen drawing when I was a Sophomore at UAB taking Art. We had to pick a subject and draw it in pen, ink, pastels, oil, and watercolor in various different perspectives and settings (mine was a stuffed Grover toy that I loved dearly). I added the water droplet for effect. My teacher rolled his eyes, but I still got an "A" on the project.

I tag:

1. My sweet, and very pregnant, sister-in-law, Tammy.

2. One of my bestest friends ever, Meredith.

3. One of the funniest and craziest people I know, Emily...um, I mean, Micah.

and 4. My wonderful, beautiful, supportive sister, Jennifer.

(Maybe this will make you update your blog, Jen.)

And there you have it.

YAY! The Office is back!

Oh my goodness. Ok. I do not watch much t.v. at all. When I say that, I don't mean that I watch three shows and follow E.R., Heroes, or House. No. What I mean is that I will occassionally and randomly turn the t.v. on and catch the last 10 minutes of Merv Griffin's Crossword or I will stumble across the Antique Road Show and be dumbfounded that a wooden vase shaped like a duck can be worth over $10,000. I don't even know when these shows air...I just happen upon them. That's how I watch t.v. And we don't have cable, DIRECTV, TiVo (I wish) or a HD t.v.

I'm not bragging here. I really like t.v. I'm no tree-hugger (not that I have anything against hippies) and I don't shun television. I LOVE LOVE all the Discovery Channels and could sit and watch Baby Story every day (I used to do that before Ham came along). I don't like commercials, though.

However, let's get back to the reason I am blogging about t.v. in the first place.

I DO know when The Office comes on...NBC, 8PM Central Time on Thursday nights. The new season starts this Thursday and I have asked my husband to promise me that he will be home in time to help me put Ham down to sleep so that we can watch The Office together. That's how important it is to me. To us, really.

I'm serious when I say that this show makes me laugh like no other show I've ever seen. It's stupid. It's ridiculous. There is nothing like it out there. And I love it.

Sometimes I am like Michael Scott...and that scares me, but also makes me laugh. Sometimes I am like Pam or Angela....or...ugh...yes, even Kelly (but not often).

Michael Scott says the dumbest, sometimes the most politically incorrect (OK, he ALWAYS says the most politically incorrect thing) a person can say. Yet, somehow, everyone feels bad for him. He always comes out being supported by his employees. Like when he 'outted' Oscar. Or his stupid reason to get back together with Jan and then you actually feel sorry for him when Jan uses him. (Insert 'foliage' here.)

And then of course, there is Jam. Pam and Jim.

I've gone on way too long about this, but it's the only show I have been excited about in a long time. FRIENDS doesn't even compare...and I still have fond memories of Rachel, Ross, Pheobe, Joey, Chandler and Monica.

So, my husband liked this show first...and for that reason, I gave it a shot...that and the copious amounts of pain medicine I was on, trying to recover from surgery.

Back when I thought it was another reality show (I really did thing it was a documentary), he liked it. Back when I shunned its stupidity, he encouraged me to give it a chance. He's the reason I am obsessed with it now. Thanks. No, really. Thank you. :)

It got me through 6+ months of the most excruciating pain I've ever felt (besides labor) after Ham was born. It kept me laughing when I feared the words Necrotizing Fasciitis, surgery, and more surgery. It helped me nurse Ham just one more time than I though I could bare. And now...Ham loves the intro music. She can literally sit through an entire episode of The Office and I'm in the process of weaning her. Hurray!

I don't know how I feel about that...either of those things...her liking The Office or me weaning her.

I'm telling you now...do not call on Thursday nights between 7:45 and 9:15. We will not be available to anyone...unless you are from Dunder Mifflin, The Scranton Branch.

Ham is 11 months old!

YAY! Wow, Ham is almost a year old.

She has grown so much and then again, she's still just a baby.

I could have never imagined what a joy my own child would bring. I have fiercely loved my nieces and nephew with all of my heart. I would do anything for them. I would lay down my life for them. I have also loved the kids I baby-sat for in the last 10 years. I have become so attached to other people's children that I cried when I had to say good-bye.

When I look into Ham's eyes, I see my heart. I am so in love. She is the funniest, wittiest (yeah, yeah, she can't even talk, I know), most brilliant, sweetest baby ever. I love everything she does...even when she is crying or whining, I love her. Even like her a lot. I love her voice. I love everything about her squatty (my sister's coined word for Ham), chubby, silky-soft body. I love her open-mouth, a-little-too-wet-kisses. I love it when she pats me on the back while I cradle her in my arms. I love it (and it breaks my heart) when she cries out, "Ma ma ma ma," if she doesn't want to go in her crib. I love watching her discover EVERYTHING. I love discovering things all over again through her eyes.

If we have another baby, I can't even imagine loving them as much as I love her. But I know I will. My sister told me so. And she's really, really smart. She had the same thoughts, the same fear, "How can I love anyone as much as I love my first?" Then she had her little boy and she fell in love with him, too...and with her second little girl after that.

I know each parent feels the same way that I do about their children. I know that every aunt and uncle love their nieces and nephews as their own children. To all of us, however, the love for our own flesh and blood is unmatched. It is what it is.

So, anyway, we don't know what we're doing for Ham's 1st Birthday, but I'm sure it will involve family, friends, cake and ice cream, NO PRESENTS (I hope, but know she'll get some), and lots of pictures and laughs.

Here's what Ham learned to do for the first time on September 8th...her 11 month 'birthday.' (What DO you call that, anyway?)