Saturday, August 29, 2009

Today was a mess! (and it started yesterday!)

Today has just been insane! Saturday's are always roses, love and rainbows right? HA!

First, it was a million degrees outside and my various nieces had a million outdoor activities. (this from a girl who LOVES the hot weather.) I started at Z's cheer. Did I mention it was a million degrees in the "bowl of hell"? So hot that this poor little six year old football player barfed repeatedly right in front of us. Now, I am not a panicer (is that a word?) but I would have called 911 if it was my kid. He was so obviously in the middle of heat stroke. So after we baked in the melting sun for a couple of hours I had to run a couple of errands when loserface calls and tell me that I need to drive 20 minutes (each way) to pick up our children because he is otherwise occupied. And you ask? Of course he lied about the reason he couldn't bring them home - his one requirement every other Saturday afternoon. After I realized he was lying (stupidly - I mean with all his practice you'd think he would be a pro.) I couldn't exactly scream all the profanities at him I had saved in my head because the boys were now in the car. So I headed off to birthday lunch in a pissy huff. Lunch was fine and all. My sister found the yummiest Dora cupcakes...I brought home the leftovers. Now that we are adults our birthday cakes are usually the character of choice of one of our children - N loves hims so Dora. Then we go back out into the heat for K's soccer game and then off to my dad's. Dad's was nice, it always is. The kids and I swam for a little bit and then had dinner. My mom made my favorite - her New Orleans Shrimp Bisque...YUM! We then came home and it was still a little light out so I decided to hurry and get the yard work taken care of. As I am finishing I go back into the garage to grab something and what do I find. A SNAKE! OMG...... I try very hard not to ask other for help. It's my house, life, disaster, whatever and I should be able to take care of it all. (recalling the spider post) but after the day I had I could not deal with the snake so I called my brother-in-law. He came to kill the snake but from the time I screamed like a girl until I got the phone he slithered away...UGH! and we could not find him. :( Really, no where to be found. B was very nice and said I could call him if he came back. Thank you B!

I should add yesterday's unusual events to this post but I just can't muster the energy (for more typing or my laundry mountain!). Maybe tomorrow after E & N take me to the circus for my birthday...yes, I am turning 5 tomorrow thank you! My lovely sons thought the circus was a perfect way to spend the day and I agreed. Good thing I could buy tickets, drive, pay for parking, cotton candy and souvenirs for my birthday...I love those little monsters. :)

Wednesday, August 26, 2009

How is it not Friday?

Seriously, this has been the longest week EVER! We did dinner with Newco two nights in a row. Not really a big deal I guess..right? Well, you spend the day in random meetings (me less than D - sorry), to go to group lunches, stay in the office working until around 6 and then go to dinner until after 10:00 and then repeat the following day. I am sooo tired! Being "on" that long during they day is hard. D and I do not have meaningful conversations during lunch...we gossip! Dinners and lunches were really good and the players were all nice but I missed my babies, my dog, my house, my free time, my bed! Anything else? :) Not to mention email hell week! Inconsistent results, no "bounce back" notices, no idea if you did or didn't miss an email. Ever spent the day calling people just in case they sent you something? HA!

Dinner last night was the most interesting. These folks are all from the big city. One told the story of her experience of 9/11. Her husband worked on the 71st floor of the first tower. He was in the lobby in front of the elevator after having come down for a break. After the plane hit the elevator doors flew open with debris and all hell came raining down. I can only imagine! He spent the rest of the day in the area...where would you go? He watched his office, friends, life's work burn to the ground. Watched the firefighters run into the burning building knowing they could never put it out. He was also in the building in 1993 so the scale of this disaster was evident to him. She told of going to his mothers house since he is an only child and she didn't want her to be alone. Hours later she spoke to him for a couple of short minutes..he lived. He asked her to call a co-workers wife just to tell her they were together and trying to find a way out. I remember the feelings of terror watching it from my office TV just knowing we had business associates in the building. I couldn't imagine it being a loved one. Once the day was done life was far from normal. I was so intrigued by her first person account and all the parts the news the following days couldn't being to capture. I think it is fair to say that I am a news junkie. More than that, I was officially obsessed with 9/11. I remember everything from the first moment I heard, the person I saw first after hearing it on the radio, the first commercial I saw on TV days later, the start of the war. I watched it all endlessly, I read all the books, the commission report. The politics of it all are stupid to me. That day is and was about so much more.

The other story was more light hearted. His son has always been musically gifted. He was recently offered the chance to study at a world renowned performance school in NY. He was actually offered two schools. The crazy part? He has only played his instrument for two years and started it on a whim! What an awesome kid! Oh, the talent.

Tonight we should have been at Back to School night but it got moved due to some teacher changes - N's included. We came home to some very sad news...our frogs are dying? :( I didn't spray and chemicals or pesticides. The lawn is watered regularly and WallE could care less about the frogs. Why would they die? What can I do to try and save the rest? One hopped in the garage and then couldn't get out. We have laid him to rest in the backyard, we even made him a little headstone and we said a few words. The others are in their "home" so I can't get to them. A couple are still left...I hope they make it.

The glasses appear to be working - no headaches all week. I guess I am glad to have found out I don't appear to have a tumor. And while it may not be today, Friday is still coming.

Sunday, August 23, 2009

Is it really Sunday already?

I can't believe this weekend skated by so quickly! Saturday we spent most of the day at the mall. My IPOD was given a clean bill of health after a quick fix and now works like its brand spankin' new! THANK YOU music gods. Did I mention the fix was F-R-E-E! AWESOME! Ran a couple other errands and had lunch.

Oh, and I am old! With a birthday around the corner I didn't really need another reminder but I got one anyways. I am now a wearer of glasses. My daily headaches have really intensified the last couple of weeks. The TV has been pretty hard to see at the end of the day. Reading still seemed to be mostly ok. Since I am nearsighted I guess that makes sense. I got some cute D&G frames. I have insurance and still wanted to cry when I saw my portion. If my head didn't hurt so bad at the end of the day I would have skipped it. I will hopefully make up the difference in slipping the mega bottles of Excedrin. We hit up the book store on the way home so I could get my book club read and the boys each got a book. So did my niece; she decided to spend another night with us too.

Today we just hung out at home and cleaned up. I straighted up the garage and finished some laundry. WallE got a bath...man, I wonder if he will ever stop acting like it is pure torture. My poor baby. My parents stopped by - I so love them! The boys and I just finished dinner and now they need baths and what not for school tomorrow and I need to figure out what to wear for our day with newco. Perhaps tonight calls for a glass of wine.

Friday, August 21, 2009

F-R-I-D-A-Y!

Well, work turned out to be interesting. Not in a good way but whatever....it's over now. I have a hard time relating to people that just don't get it. Maybe I am one of them and just don't know it either? I did get several fantastic Friday jokes in my somewhat limited email. I guess our email server doesn't like our newco email address...that's ok, I'm not a big fan of it either! I sadly want it to be just us again in our office with no "parent" company. I am not a fan of being the stepchildren of the organization. Monday they arrive in our office and we all have slots on the two day agenda. I don't have nearly as much as D. I feel so sorry for her. I already promised her Starbucks first thing Monday morning without asking. I really is the least I could do. I tried to help the situation the other day but I'm not sure I did.

Tonight was book club night at my house. With work, the gym and the kids back in school I didn't finish the book but no one did so that was ok. I also didn't get to cook the food so I hit Bel Air on the way home for some yummy snacks and desserts. T leaves for the big city on Monday so she will miss the next meeting. :( The other T picked the book so I need to run out and get it soon so I have lots of time to finish it. Mostly we sat around for three hours and just talked and laughed and stuffed our faces while the kids ran around. It was great. Planned a couple of extra "girls nights out" I hope we go! I loved having everyone over just hanging out and enjoying our time. We get to catch up and just relate to each other. Most are married, but not all. Most have children, but not all. Most have dogs, but not all. It was hard at the apartment with parking and I didn't live as close to everyone and we couldn't send our respective million children into the backyard. Baby J came - dang that kid is ADORABLE! I truly love the two T's too! :) I enjoy getting to know B and can't wait to see her new house.

My niece K called to spend the night so she and the boys ordered 17 Again and our watching it in the living room. Tomorrow we have some house cleaning and a trip to the Apple store and maybe LUSH if I am lucky. Well, I guess I better clean up the mess before WallE decides to do it for me and the kids are asking for popcorn. Sounds like a plan!

Thursday, August 20, 2009

Tonight is the night!

I have visions of tonight looking like a bad game of Twister. I just don't picture myself as a yoga star. I can, without hesitation, picture myself falling over during the downward dog. I'd wish me good luck but instead I will wish good luck to the person standing next to me. Hope it's J instead of a stranger. Always better to wound a friend than a stranger right? :) I bet I will truly miss the elliptical machine after tonight.

After UPDATE!:
Oh, we are so yoga masters! We actually liked it. I was really kind of surprised. We decided to add the class into our weekly rotation. I didn't hurt me or anyone around me. Some of it was a little tricky but I managed. We decided if we really stick with it we will reward ourselves with our own yoga mat. Luckily, the gym as ones available so we have time to figure it out.

We did determine that the hardest part of the gym is the car ride with three fighting monsters. It's ok, we aren't above threats. J if you read this I am so glad we got back on the wagon. It's nice having a workout pal that is willing to do it even if we whine most of the time. One of the good parts of yoga...no talking for an hour! Yep, I did not speak a single word for an ENTIRE HOUR! I know, most of you don't really believe it.

Tomorrow is Friday and maintenance weekend at work so I don't have to be compelled to work. The book club meeting is at my house tomorrow night so I better plan my quick menu and finish the book. (Umm...about that last part?) :)

Tuesday, August 18, 2009

We did it!

J and I actually made it to the gym tonight...and for our normal workout - no quitting! While some would think our workout is lame I love it. We rocked! (HA! You would think that I wasn't posting about day 1. Hey, I take it where I can.) Thursday we are going to try a yoga class. I am bendy but not at all coordinated. J is not bendy but coordinated...if only we could be one person. :) That's ok, I am totally alright being laughed at. Bring it on!

We were laughing at the kids enthusiasm at being together tonight. They see each other every day at school, Wednesday morning and we hang out together from time to time and yet you would think they hadn't seen each other in ages. It was kind of funny but then we decided that J and I needed to feel the same enthusiasm..HA! Seriously? On the way home Little Miss S told an interesting joke in the car (not to be repeated) and she clearly didn't understand the punch line and because of that I laughed so hard I cried! She is adorable.

Soon it will be time for me to fight with my beloved WallE. He determined yesterday that the foot of the bed is not for him. He now lays his adorable little head on the pillow and waits for me to cover him up with the blanket. It reminded me so much of Sammy. It really made me miss him. :( Sammy loved to be covered up and snuggled at night. It was the best on cold nights. He was my own personal (stinky) heater. Walle apparently does too, except he is three times the size of Sammy but that's ok. WallE is a great dog and I don't mind sharing my pillows and blankets with him and his big head. He is also forced to bath regularly, much to his dismay so he isn't all that stinky. Sammie will always be my baby and nothing will replace him but I love WallE like crazy. He is one of the best dogs ever! Stubborn but awesome. :)

N's class is collecting shoe boxes for a project. We brought in four earlier and I thought that would be good. Yesterday he had a note that the class still needed 9 more so this morning I cleared the closet and gave him 8. His teacher was so sweet when we dropped them off at school. She thought I had "collected" them. I owned it and told her the all came from my own closet. My confession for the day!

Monday, August 17, 2009

Weekend Wrap-Up (a day late!)

Friday night I got to hang out with A & N for a little bit. We did some shopping and errand running for the evening. It was fun! I hadn't actually been inside the mall in a LONG time. I succumbed to the usually buy one - get one gimmicks but that was ok. We hit up Starbucks (my gift from DD). I found the most lovely pair of red heels at Target - and they were on clearance for $8.00! ARE YOU KIDDING ME! :) Finally made it to Crown Books - cool store. Mostly it was just nice for us to hang out together on a Friday night...it had been too long.

Saturday morning I took my car over to J so he could look at my brakes, I will be forever grateful to him. I walked home from their house and just hung around until the kids got home. They gave me some sad insite to the night with PTD - Seriously dude, you spend such a short amount of time with them do you have to be such a loser? Oh well, they were home safe and sound so that is what mattered. My car took a little longer than expected so I had to cancel my plans with DC :( I was sad but thankfully she understood. We ended up ordering pizza since I hadn't planned on eating at home and hadn't taken anything out. It's crazy how not having a car makes you want to leave.

Sunday the boys and I had breakfast and cleaned up around the house waiting for J. He came later in the afternoon with good news (not $500 news!) and we had transportation again. :) We had a million errands to run, groceries, Home Depot, Petsmart, and so on. Spent too much $$$ but all on things we needed. We did stop for Chipotle too (I know D you are so jealous!). Once we got home and unloaded the car I did yard work while the boys rode bikes. WHY did I wait until 4:00 to do yard work...IT WAS HOT! I finished in a couple of hours and then in the house to make dinner and fill out paperwork for school. F-U-N! I was so tired at 8:00 when the kids went to bed I thought I would just pass out. Nope, up until after 11 - I just couldn't sleep. Found some new blogs, checked my work email, watched a movie. A 2:00 WallE got in a fight with a pillow - seriously! That dog is nuts. :)

Today was Monday and not half bad. I wasn't in NY so I'm not complaining. :) Tomorrow J and I start the gym again...WOOHOO...BLAH! We will whine together and try to be motivational....yep, sure, that's us! Starbucks will be calling to me in a few short hours. Both the kids had homework tonight. I guess school truly is back in session! Tomorrow is a new day!

UPDATE:
Man...blogging can be super vicious! I am suddenly glad to be so boring and read only by people who know me and/or people who aren't prone to calling me names. I need a drink....this is better than any soap opera I have ever seen. The sad part? This is someones life, real or fake, honest or truthful, these are really people. Messed up or otherwise. Seriously, like I would make up such outlandish stories as shopping on a Friday night! I am so wild and crazy...WOOHOO! I guess D and I have talked about some crazy stuff during Margarita Madness...does that count? :)

Thursday, August 13, 2009

Fall?

Can summer really be on it's way out the door? I waited and waited for summer to come and now it is almost over! I love flip flops, open-toe shoes, frozen margarita's, chilled white wine, patio dining, reading by the pool, summer fruits and veggies - all these things aren't as wonderful (or wonderful at all) when it is cold outside. I guess it will be ok since summer will be back around before I know it (this year is flying by!).

So why be happy for fall? Cooler weather? Not really my thing. I am excited because I have a fireplace this year. Beautiful changes in the leaves? Lovely, but not so much. Baggy clothes to hide my skip the gym for any reason I can come up with body? A plus but whatever. So why? FOOTBALL! :) WOOHOO! Exhibition games have already started. My team played tonight. Not my man, but my team. He was there of course and they even flashed him on the screen a couple of times. Soon my Sunday's will be filled with afternoons at home watching the game and hanging out with my boys. It really makes it ok to have Monday's again! Sunday can be a little busy for us so I tend to miss parts or most of the Sunday afternoon games (Sunday night is usually good) but knowing a good game will be on at the end of a long Monday makes it a little better. I even have NFL Network so I get Thursday games too! :) No, I am not crazy and I do not spend the extra $$$ to buy any of the pay-per-view package deals. I am ok with regular games on TV (I do pay a small monthly fee for the package that includes NFL Network). I just love knowing something I want to watch (not just watch because the TV is on) will be on. Ironically, during the off season I do love catching a Lifetime movie or two. It's almost like I am two different people. :) My other favorite fall viewing pleasure? DEXTER - seriously, I love that show! No, TV isn't the only reasons I can find to like fall but they are sadly pretty high on my list. Baking seems to be more enjoyable in the fall, reading in a good book in bed or a hot bath, Apple Hill, not having as much yard work (I live in a newer neighborhood so not a lot of mature trees to worry about falling leaves), it makes it easier to want to just stay home and hang out. I am sure there are lots of other good reasons that I am just not thinking of at the moment.

Winter...don't even get me started. :)

Wednesday, August 12, 2009

First Day of School!

Today is the first day of school for my little monsters. I decided to take the day off since they are having late-start (I hate) Wednesday. Seriously? Do you think parents are free until 9:10 in the middle of the week? Anyways, I thought it would be fun to have a back to school breakfast so I invited over A and fam and J and her daughter S for a big yummy breakfast followed by a photo shoot. I for one had a great time! Anyone else? I made waffle-pancakes, sausage, eggs and bacon. We all ate and played and then went out for a million first day of school pictures. After, we caravaned (is caravaned a real word?) around the corner to school. All the kids looked adorable! :) N cried a little when he thought I left without saying good bye and then stayed a little emotional - good thing he has Mrs. R as a teacher - we love her. E has a sub for the first week since his teacher's wife just had a baby. After everyone was happily in class A and N went off to work (sorry ladies) and J and I hit the movies. I thought The Ugly Truth was so funny! I didn't know it was set in Sacramento and it was funny to see some familiar places in the movie. I laughed out loud A LOT - not a problem since there was only one other person in the whole theater besides us. HA! We walked to Starbucks after the movie and just chatted for a little while. Soon I will leave to get my rock stars from school. I hope they had a great day! :)

Rock stars? Did I forget to tell you? My boys have formed a band and plan to be the youngest group to win America's Got Talent. "You know mom, no one five years old has ever won it!" The have a name - Welcome "The Sledge"! E will play guitar, N will be the drummer, their friend J is the lead singer and another friend T will play base. Seriously? He even asked me to shred some of his pants "not the new ones you just got me from school, of course" he informed me. When MK came to visit E asked me if we could stay at her house since she lives in LV and that is one of the places they will get to go and "oh yeah, is Hollywood next to Las Vegas mom - cause we have to go to both?" They aren't going to be a cover band either - they are working on their own material and I can't see it until they are done. I can't wait!

It was great to see MK earlier in the week too - I miss her and even if we talk everyday it sucks that we don't get to hang out and our kids don't really get to know each other. I am thankful for technology otherwise we wouldn't get to talk/email/txt five times a day! :)

Wonder how many millions of forms I will fill out tonight with our new address and phone number. It's good to be me today....woohoo! :)

UPDATE: School was a hit - all eleventeen kids said it was a great first day! 2 in K, 1 in 1st, 1 in 2nd, 3 in 3rd and 1 in 4th.

Sunday, August 9, 2009

Weekend Wrap-up

Well Friday night was not the night to finish reading Black Heels to Tractor Wheels but that was ok. I had lots of fun chatting with the girls at T's house. Got home later than I expected and hung out with my new man for a little while and then crashed. Saturday morning I got up and drove up to get my babies. They left on Thursday to go camping with Grandma and Grandpa and by Saturday morning I needed them home! We stayed up for a bit and then headed home. Both boys fell asleep in the car on the way home. We actually got home pretty early and just hung out the rest of the evening. It was later that night when I decided to read a couple more chapters of the story. Well, that turned into a very long couple of chapters - I read the WHOLE thing and so loved it! I wish she would continue writing and make it a book for those of us that don't love our desk area as much as a comfy bed or couch. :)

Today was not my favorite day. Today I missed something very important and it breaks my heart. :( I missed it because I am not able. I missed it because it would make me sad to go. I missed it because I would say something completely inappropriate. I missed it because it wasn't supposed to be about me and I didn't want to make those I love uncomfortable. All those reasons SUCK! At the end of the day...I still missed it! It was something I never thought I would miss, something I haven't missed in six years, something that was always going to be mine to attend. So much for always. I know it was best for me and the boys to miss it (they don't actually know that we missed anything...thank GOD!) but it still didn't stop me from thinking about it all day or from randomly crying about it and the unfairness of it all. I mean, didn't we all read in the handbook that life was always fair and everyone got exactly what they deserved? No...well suddenly it all make sense! It isn't the first thing I missed in the last year and I would love to say it will be the last but I doubt it. The "big" thing that I AM NOT going to miss has been postponed another year and I will be ready whenever it happens. I AM in no way making light of what I missed today and I know that I SUCK for it but it just is what it is. BLAH!

The highlight of my day? I killed a GIANT brown recluse in my backyard! How you ask? Well, I first tried to drown him and that didn't work. My fear was he would get away again so when he got back out on the patio I threw a large cookie sheet over him and danced around on it. I am sure that was a completely ridiculous way to accomplish a small task but it worked and he is dead. HOORAY!

Tomorrow MK comes and I can't wait. School starts in a couple of days - I can't believe summer is over. Both the boys got the teachers they were hoping for so that is great news. Did I mention MK comes tomorrow?

Friday, August 7, 2009

Work? But there are blogs to read!

I have been at work all day today and have done NONE of the things I set out to do (I have done work - several things in fact. Just nothing from my list). My big, long, black to-do list is still sitting on the side of my desk silently screaming at me to get to work! Sadly, I am a terrible employee today and even with my guilt over the long list of things to do, I still can't seem to stop. I am obsessed, crazed, fully immersed in a totally non-work related blog today...and I LOVE IT! :)

I recently started checking out The Pioneer Woman's blog (link on the sidebar) and really like the stories and recipes she posts. I have visited the site a few times and became a "follower". And then it happened - I found the love story! I am hooked! I am happy to see it has so many installments. AND, since I am a late bloomer I don't have to wait days for new posts. I have some errands to run after work and then going over to T's house for a little while. After, I fully intend to go home, crack open a bottle of wine and read as much of the story as I can. (Oh how I wish I had a laptop instead of a desktop!) I know that sounds like a pretty lame Friday night to most, especially considering I don't have my babies tonight, but it sounds oh so divine to me! I can't wait. :) I have a ton of cleaning to do before I go get the boys from their camping trip with Grandma & Grandpa but it can all wait! WallE will curl up on my feet and snore happily while I read into the wee hours of the night. Heaven! No interruptions, no demands from anyone in the house. WallE may need to go outside a couple of times and I will certainly need to refill my glass a time or two but other than that I am free to read until my eyes are burning or I have finished it. I heart her, her family and the awesome story she wrote! :)

Wednesday, August 5, 2009

Another Concert?

Tuesday night was the pinnacle of our summer concert series! 10 of us gather together with our various children and hit the sold out JoBro concert @ Arco Arena. It was crazy! I have never had to wait in line to get into the arena - we waited 30 minutes. This was E & N's first real concert so they were really excited! I bought them each a $35 t-shirt. Yep, even a small kids shirt was $35! It seemed nuts but it was a part of the experience and I do love my concert shirts (also know as a new quilt...hello?) :) We had sodas and popcorn and settled in for the show. My wonderful little boys did not understand why all those girls kept screaming. "Mom, why do the keep screaming - I can't hear!" It was hilarious. I have never heard of the opening band - Honor Society? They were ok - perfect for the screaming 12 year old girls. Next was Jordin Sparks - she was pretty good. Once the JoBros came on stage the boys screamed a couple of times too. My niece K screamed ALOT! My poor sister probably had permanent hearing loss. I was a little disappointed in the performance. Both Coldplay and No Doubt interacted with the audience a lot but these boys not so much. Maybe it is just because they are so young? None of the kids seemed to notice so I guess it doesn't matter. We had pretty good seats and they had quite the stage set up. I wish now that I had brought my camera. Not for pictures of our group - my sisters got those but for pictures of all the crazies! Mothers appeared to weep at the sight of these young boys. (That creeped me out - seriously!) Cars in the parking lot indicated one group of girls had driven 1920 miles to get to the show, another had seen two shows in two days. Everyone had JoBro attire on - homemade and store bought. LOTS of signage going on! Oh, the pictures I could have come back with. As we were leaving we watched a large group of "fans" chasing the buses out of the arena parking lot. I could not imagine being the driver and praying that you don't run over some over zealous 10 year old trying to get one last look.

The boys left on a camping trip with Grandma and Grandpa in the "big van" as Noah likes to call it. They will be gone the rest of the week and I will go up on Saturday or Sunday and bring them home so we can get things settled before school starts next week. Not to mention the fact that they have to be home by Monday night so they can hang out with MK. I can't wait for her to get here. We talk everyday but I haven't seen her since I flew to LV for her birthday in February.

My turn to pick the book for our club - I still haven't decided between three books? Better get crackin'! :)

D if you are reading this - GOOD LUCK Thursday and Friday! I will offer you Starbucks as soon as possible!

Monday, August 3, 2009

Discovery Weekend

Things I discovered this weekend.

1. I love margaritas! I hope that D and I never have to live without them.
2. My lawn mower hates me! Why? I have no idea, I never did anything to it!
3. I never want to know what life would be like without my babies..EVER!
4. I hate my inability to be the bigger person. SUCKS!
5. I can go days without a Starbucks...but I see why I shouldn't have to.
6. I am too lame to understand others willingness to be self-centered weirdos.
7. I love a lot of people that I don't get to spend enough time with.
8. Some people are willing to help you as much as you are willing to help them in return! :)

The JoBro's countdown is over! This time tomorrow the boys and I will be rockin' out! AND it will be HAPPY BIRTHDAY to little A...LOVE YOU BABY GIRL (even if she doesn't read this!)