Blogging at naptime.

Two momentous occasions occurred today. #1.  National Coffee Day aka International Coffee Day.   While the origins of this glorious day remain unknown, we do know that Krispy Kreme and 7-11 offered free coffee this morning.  I did not however take either of these establishments up on their offers.  I instead let my mom buy me coffee at Starbucks.  And it was delicious.  #2. The Day of My Birth.   While we do know the origins of this day (my mom told me), what you may not know is that it was one of the best birthdays to date.  I woke up to a cute baby, cute husband and some delicious homemade pancakes!  I told Josh it was like we were camping, but I didn't cry...(I've been known to cry while hiking.  Not because of the beauty of nature, but because of my wimpiness..) The husband gave me my birthday card with the disclaimer that it was homemade, and that it may be entirely creepy. And yes, that is a tiny baby head on my body.  Hallmark can't market this stuff.

 First of all, the tiny human we live with is 5 months old today!  And I'm fairly certain she and I were both awake at the exact time of her birth (6:07am) as we were both up approximately every hour and a half to two hours last night.  We apparently can't get enough birthday fun... She was far too busy doing big kid things to bother looking at the camera for this picture.  We'll go let her run around the McDonalds Playland later. According to this story,  Coffee consumption may lower risk of depression in women  I have consumed one mug of anti-depressants today.  3 more and I'd be that much closer to happiness. My personal take on it is that after 4 cups of coffee per day, I would be so caffeinated as to have no real gauge of my emotional state.  And I'd likely type much faster. Speaking of typing faster, I decided at the gym the other day (where all of my major life decisions take place) that when I eventually go back to work, I would like to be em

"Our biggest blessings make terrible gods." - Liz Sawczuk We had our second Ladies Life Lite session today and although we've all agreed that the videos we watch are a tad on the cheesy side, the group of women I'm privileged to sit with have enough depth and vulnerability to easily balance it out :) I'm not sure if I'm giving an entirely accurate quote above of what Liz shared today, but her thoughts struck a chord with me.  She talked about the frustrations that come when other people don't fulfill our expectations of them, when our agenda overrides God's and we set ourself up ultimately for disappointment.  She mentioned that our biggest blessings in life, whether it be our spouses, children, friends, etc, when placed before the Lord will only cause disorder and heartache.  And we can actually love them better by not placing them where they were never meant to be. I found this so freeing and a great re-focusing point.  I've been memorizing

I must admit that this rainy Monday has been quite lovely so far.  There is just something about the combination of watching rain falling outside, a fresh mug of coffee nearby, a little tiny human contentedly napping, a lit candle, and jazz music playing in the background that makes the day feel so cozy and delightful. Or perhaps it's the fact that we vacuumed last night for the first time in a while.  It's hard to say really. As much as I try, we're still a no-go with the "binky."  Her facial expression, to me at least, conveys something along the lines of "Sick. Why do I keep falling for this?" I went to Fred Meyer today by myself for 30 minutes while the husband played with the tiny human.  It was invigorating.  Also invigorating was Emma and I dancing with Ellen DeGeneres on the TV today.  We are really quite good.  Her high quality dance skills are inevitable considering her parents.

The husband and I had been planning today as a pre-birthday-day-o-fun for a while now, planning to frolic about in Seattle, go to REI, have lunch at the Cheesecake Factory, and finish out the afternoon getting our game on at  Gameworks .  We're gamers at heart.  Everyone knows this about us.  Emma's delightful aunties had agreed to watch her while we ventured out, and we planned out our whole day which would of course culminate in a brief pre-birthday-parade along the streets of Everett (not terribly dissimilar to the Dean Martin Parade  in Steubenville). Sadly, the sweet tiny human we're responsible for had been extra sneezy yesterday and woke up today with a stuffy nose and what we quickly identified as a head cold.  Not ones to be deterred, the aunties offered to watch the teeny one while we had an abbreviated pre-birthday-day-o-fun.  The aunties are so good to us! Even when baby isn't with us, monkey mirror always is.. A picture Auntie Brenda sen

I'm utilizing the  "50 Creative Ways to Make Your Blog Popular" website once again because let's be honest, I've reached over 100 hits now (unheard of in the blogging world) and I have no choice but to attribute my success to this website.  And cute baby pictures.  People love cute baby pictures. Tip #2 says "Start a contest.  Make sure to end it too." Here's a contest.  Who can tell me why my baby is sneezing so much today?  She seems happy otherwise, and even makes a delightfully cute "wheee" coo at the end of her sneeze.  Adorable.  I will officially end this contest in 2 months.  Stay tuned.  The winner will receive free baby snuggles (whether real or virtual) and the potential for a tiny human to sneeze on you.  Tip #3 says, "Give away free goodies.  People love them." I'm giving away free baby snuggles.  Check. Tip #4 says, "Write about other bloggers to interest their visitors to read your blog.  Ke

Why is it that my conscience has no problem with watching this... while making these... Maybe it's because I'm far less fearful of having my face ripped off by Anna Kournikova than I was of Jillian Michaels.  In other news, does flour expire?  And do expired flour cookies cancel out the scone and coffee cake I had at Ladies Life today??  Here are some brief snippets of conversation I've had in the past few days: Nice older man at the grocery store:  "Here's how you make homemade applesauce..boil the apples, add a little butter and some brown sugar and there you go.  [pointing to Emma] He'll love it!" Nice lady registering me at Ladies Life today: "This is your first time to use the Hub?  Great! [pointing to Emma] I'll help you get him all checked in!" This is one of the main reasons I so quickly recanted in my strict "no-pink-policy" when I found out we were having a girl.  Yet even with countless outfits like th

Thought I'd add one of these "moving picture" things to enhance the Johnny Jumper experience.  

Not only did Emma experience her first time in the Johnny Jumper, but also finally mastered the "salute" we've been trying to teach her. 

Now that I am back in the blogging game, I decided to use this thing called "Google" to help me spice up my space.  My search landed on a page entitled "50 Creative Ways to Make Your Blog Popular."  Perfect.  I plan to utilize that list to ensure that I reach 100,000,000 readers by Tuesday.  Tip #1 suggests "Start a controversy.  Just remember not to cross the line." Here we go people.  Prepare to be offended.  I contend that these.. ...should not be sold at Target.  Countless times now Jaime or I have gone up to the clearance rack excitedly examining the cute "shirt" we have stumbled upon, only to lower our soon-to-be disappointed glance to the built in shorts.. That's right.  A romper.  Admittedly, I have purchased the classic "tank top sewn into the actual top" look, so I am not immune to these sorts of multi-purpose outfits.  I just cannot support the romper.  I'm sorry.  If I really wanted to "

I love family birthday night... :)

Emma caught sight of her very first fish at the doctor's office the other day and it's all she's been talking about since(we assume).  So today I headed to Bridges Pets (free plug) with Jaime (who is currently on a steady diet of saltines), Briell, Marli, and Jude (who went home with a new pet Betta fish named Whiskers that he tried to drink as we exited the building.  Not his fault, Whiskers looks delicious). ** In all reality, Emma was far more enamored by the bright lights of the store than she was by the animals, but with some silly faces from us, prolonged time in front of each glass casing, and the right camera angles, she had the time of her life..  In the words of Jaime Broxson, "You are sickin' me out big headed fish..." (my paraphrase) ** It should be noted that the Hansen family did not in the end take my "Whiskers" suggestion but went with the more clever name of Alpha the Betta.  Welcome home Alpha. 

Just because you require seven individual blankets to prop you up to play in the exersaucer doesn't mean you're not a big kid. 

If we ever become avid hunter-gatherer types, I would happily employ this man's services.  Because he is just that convincing, per the link below. "Nope!"   In other news, the "Pick City" on the Today Show this morning (which I like to assume Matt Lauer chooses himself) was none other than Steubenville, OH .  Never wanting to miss an opportunity to promote tourism to Steubenville, here are a few reasons to not overlook this town (which incidentally is cloudy and 63 today).   Reason number one is their vast array of murals, including "Female Seminary" featured above. Next, is the annual Dean Martin Parade  where for a mere $10 fee those 6 years and older, along with their horses (provided their sponsors arrange for clean-up maintenance to follow behind), can walk the streets of Steubenville or ride in a flame retardant float waving to spectators (no candy allowed) and singing "That's Amore."  ** You can explore the  Local S

Josh and I sat together and laughed as we watched portions of our current life being played out on national TV last night.  Not only did we see Emma's diaper warmer (which we eventually gave up on), teething ring, and green Bumbo, but also recognized many similar characteristics in the TV baby version of our baby.  #1. You can't set her on the couch without her quickly tipping over. #2. She never seems to quite understand that we really are only trying to help her! #3. She is physically stronger than me much of the time when she starts kicking. #4. She largely determines my nighttime schedule, much to the detriment of my innate love of quality sleep. #5. I also bank on the fact of her caring for me in my old age. So minus the bleeped out swearing, their former party lifestyle, and the career roles they chose (she works, he stays home), Christina Applegate and Will Arnett are living our life.  Also, I think Maya Rudolph and I could be really good friends if sh

Today, with its 62 degree drizzle, officially felt like Fall in Seattle.  I sadly retired my favorite flip flops in favor of whole shoes. I did however still get an iced coffee when I was out.  I can't jump too quickly into every aspect of Fall... 

Emma is currently enamored with a stuffed giraffe hanging from her playmat, so I'm taking a moment to sit down with a long lost friend. This blog.  I changed the look of it to see if that would entice me here more often.  I've been a mom for 4.5 months now, so it's probably time I have some sort of public forum to offer the countless bits of wisdom and insight I've gleaned from the process.  Countless. I'll start by saying that I'm pretty excited to watch the first episode of Up All Night  tomorrow courtesy of Jaime's DVR.  I feel like this version of Christina Applegate will resonate with me far more than the Kelly Bundy  version. In other news, I've developed a love of putting links in my blog updates.  If this doesn't keep people coming back, I don't know what will.  Aside from, perhaps, an excessive use of commas. The giraffe has lost its appeal.  Time to make silly faces for 15 minutes and watch the tiny human giggle.