Car Shopping.... YUCK!

Today I made it to one car dealership and drove one car. The Acura MDX is my top pick and unfortunately it is also the most expensive of the three I am leaning towards.
Justin's and my goal today was to test drive all three of my interests, the highlander, the pathfinder, and the MDX. Due to the haggling salesmen we ended up stuck there for longer than what we wanted. We finally just got up and left.
I was very frustrated and exhausted. I just wanted to go home in my ready to die any day car, and I did.
Round 2 next weekend... if my car lasts that long.

A Quiet Yet Entertaining Afternoon in Starbucks

Today I stopped at Starbucks for about 30 minutes while I waited for Justin to get out of his dentist appointment so we could go test drive some cars.

I ordered, used the restroom, and then found a cozy couch seat by a window. I hadn't brought a book or a laptop or a newspaper, so I had to allow the scenery around me be my entertainment for the time being.

Directly in front of me was a homeless man sitting up against the wall with a bottle of water and nothing else. He kept dozing in and out of sleep or maybe even consciousness. During his dozing, he was talking to none other than himself. I kept looking around, most to find the staff and see if they were aware of what was going on. They either were ignoring the fact of his presence or just didn't notice. None of the other guests seemed to mind. He wasn't bothering anyone. I just found it funny for him to be taking a nap in Starbucks in Boca Park.

Then to my left in the other two couches sat a couple discussing what seemed to be moving into a new home and turning on all of the utilities necessary. I couldn't figure out if they were a couple or if one was a realistate agent and one was the client. I do know that the previous occupant never paid their $11.67 electric bill. I also heard the woman discussing how very disappointed she was in the dollar store. Apparently they had an item in their store for more than a dollar and she didn't understand why it was in the dollar store.

Off to my far right was a man in work out gear on a tiny laptop. He was either studying for school or looking for a job. He had many papers with him.

To the left of him was an older man with a target bag full of who knows what. At one point I saw him take out about 6 tall size Starbucks cups all stacked together. This intrigued me and I continued to watch him. He then pulled out a wadded up piece of saran wrap. At first I thought it was dope, but then why would he pull it out in front of everyone? There ended up to be nothing in it. Just a wadded up piece of saran wrap. He unwrapped it and straightened it out and then covered the top stacked cup, very neatly and very tightly. Not sure what was in the cup. Soon after this another man who had recently walked in, asked the man what he was doing with all the cups. "Are ya gonna build a house with those cups?", he asked. "NO! NO, I'm not!", the man seemed to be half way offended. Apparently he had been saving these cups every day of this week and planned to take them with him on his bus trip back to the East coast, which he was very ready for any minute.

At this point it was time for me to go and the first thought that came to mind was to blog about my Starbucks excitement.

Post Snowboarding

After the long day of snowboarding, Dana and I went and grabbed pizza, then picked Chi up from my moms, and then headed to her house to relax and let the kids play together.

Dana's lil girl Mia and Malachi had a great time playing together. They are only 6 months apart and get along very well.

Chi even got to experience what it would be like to be a little girl and have little girl toys.

SNOWBOARDING!!!

One of my long time friends arranged to take me up to Mt. Charleston yesterday to teach me how to snowboard. I have been dying to go for a few months now and I finally got the opportunity. We met at her house in Pahrump at 7am (I stayed at my moms the night before), and drove up. We got there around 830 with just enough time to rent equipment and gear up. The sloped open at 9am and we were ready to go. I least I thought so...

Dana first taught me the basics of keeping your balance on you heals or toes and the the majority of the movement was in your hips, like when you are dancing - she kept telling me.

The first time down the bunny hill was ok. That is until about half way when I totally ate it and did a face plant into the snow. It was like instant headache. Plus I landed on my left wrist pretty hard and that was now throbbing.

**Waiting in line at the lift**

**Eating Snow**

**Getting the hang of it... kind of**

**Givin Dana the thumbs up**

But I was determined. So, I jumped right up and over and over again I tried. We must have went down about 7 or 8 more times before noon and I was really starting to feel comfortable and have controll. I just had a little problem with getting on my toes. It's kind of hard to exlain so just bare with me.

I started to get a little frustrated and Dana decided we should take a break and get some lunch. After we ate, we we both thought we should take a shot to 'warm us up'. I also thought that maybe it would loosen me up a bit and help me not to think so much. So we both had a shot of Southern Comfort and a Captin and Coke.



I felt good and was ready for round two. After 3 more times down the bunny hill and very minimal mishaps, Dana convinced me I was ready for the bigger slopes. I was scared out of my mind but I figured I had to push myself to get better. So up we went.

We chose one of the slopes that seemed to not be so steep. We got to the top and I nearly had an anxiety attack. The first little part down was very intimidating and I threatened Dana with just hopping back on the lift and taking it down. After a couple deep breaths and a lot of reassurence from Dana, I went. I didn't do to badly either. However, I did stay on my heals the entire time. Which by the way is hell of a quad work out.

**On the lift up to the bigger run**

The next time up we tried a different run. It was one with part of the skate park attached. They have little jumps and rails for more experienced skiers and boarder to use. I of course didn't go with in 20 feet of them. But I did get some video of Dana attempting the rails. She did good.

On our second time on this run I got the courage to try to carve on my toes. There was this perfect little area that was a borderline half pipe and it really helped.

**View from top of one of the runs**

**Dana taking a break**

I finally did it! I carved a few times on my toes and I didn't fall!! I was sooooo proud of myself! And Dana was really excited for me too.

We figured it best to end on a good note and decided to call it the day. I was coming down closer to the lodge with my head held high when all of a sudden, i hit ice right around the lift. BAM! My board slipped out from under me and on my butt I fell. Actually it was right on my tailbone and on the ice. I was in tears because it hurt so bad.

So much for ending on a positive note!

Oh well. I had a blast and I really think I have the concept down. I can't wait for the next time!!!

A special THANK YOU!!! to Dana for being a patient and helpful teacher. I LOVE YOU!!!

Parker Rollins

Friday morning I, along with the rest of the girls from work, made our way down to the hospital in excitement to see Clarice's new lil bundle of joy Parker.

He is the cutest lil man!!!

I couldn't believe how alert and responsive he was. He acted as a few day old baby.

Russ (Daddy) was holding him on his shoulder and lil Parker was holding himself up and taking in the scenery. Soooo strong! His eyes were wide open and he was well aware of his surroundings.

He has the cutest red hair and a full head of it too! It's possible that it will remain red, it runs in both Russ an Clarice's family. But it could very well turn blond. We just have to wait and see. I hope it stays red. It's just too cute!

He was such a big boy. I couldn't believe that he wasn't ready to come out yet. I mean exactly how big did he want to get in there. Poor Clarice! Good thing they got the ball rolling.


Of course I asked to hold him. He is so adorable. He likes to be bounced a bit when held, so I think that he will definitely like his bouncer.


Diane held him too. She was a little hesitant because it had been sooo long since her three boys were little ones. But it's like riding a bike, and she did well.



Yelena declined the invite and it killed Kristi not to be able to due to her still getting over her cold.

I'm so proud of Clarice. She definitely has her hands full, but she is a wonderful mother and will do just fine. What a handsome lil man she has brought into this world.

Home Improvements

Slowly but surely I have been adding the finishing touches to my house. A couple weekends ago I replaced the miror in my downstairs bathroom. I think that it looks a million times better. It's amazing what one little change can do.

CLARICE HAD HER BABY!!!

Yep it's true!

Clarice FINALLY had that lil boy!

His name is Parker and he was born at 3:45pm today!

He weighed 8 pounds 9 ounces and is 201/2 inches long.

I can't wait to see him!!! YAY!!!

***Picture courtesy of Clarice's mama***

More Presley!

Last night I was privledged to be in the company of Ms. Presley Monroe. I stopped by Candice's house for a hour to visit. She is the cutest!
I love to give her kisses on her cheek and feel her try to eat me face/ear when I do so.
I took lots of pictures and had to finally stop due to her being upset at the constant white flash.
I love her!!!

Presley watching E!

Taking a lil snooze

A lil activity goin on

Ready for a bottle

Out again....

Cute lil tooties

Beautiful Pictures

So got home tonight and was admiring my beautiful flowers that Justin gave to me on Valentine's Day and decided to take some photos. Here they are...

President's Day

Monday I had planned to go up to Mt. Charleston with Sandra to learn how to snowboard. Malachi and I got up, got ready, made lunch, and made our way to his school. I get Chi out of the car to walk into school. I buzz, no answer. I buzz again, still no answer. Then it hits me!! DUH!!! It's Presidents Day! No school!


So... back in the car we went. I made a call to Sandra and cancelled. She just laughed at me for my forgetfulness. ~I swear those girls at work are rubbing off on me~


So Chi sat patiently with me while I got my nails done and then I decided to take him out for breakfast.


There is a new 'dirty spoon' in my neighborhood that I've been wanting to try out and I figured now was the perfect time. Chi had pancakes and I had eggs and sausage. It was absolutely wonderful. It's a keeper.


Due to the rainy weather, Malachi and I spent the remainder of the day inside watching movies, playing with dinosaurs, and coloring. It was a fun mommy and son day.

Malachi coloring at the restaurant...

Malachi's Valentine's Day

This was the first year that Malachi somewhat understood Valentine's Day. He, of course, thought there would be presents involved. To him holidays and presents seem to run together. I explained that he would get valentines and would be able to hand out his, so yes, he was 'kind of' getting presents. I think the only word he heard was 'yes'.

So Thursday night Chi helped me fill out his valentines. He chose to give hologram transformer valentines. He got tired of writing his name over and over so I finished for him. We put them in a baggy and he was ready to go.

Friday he came home from school will all kinds of goodies. He received several valentines along with candy, a few toys, and a pair of cars socks from his teachers. I was fishing through his goody bag and saw that he got Fun Dip. Wow! I hadn't seen this candy in forever. I was excited to show him how it worked. He got the hang of it quickly.

It's amazing all the little things you forget about until your children revisit your experiences...

Criss Cross Apple Sauce!

Friday night for dinner Kaylie requested that we have shake-n-bake. I agreed. Before I got off the phone with her, she said, "Make sure you have apple sauce!"

My sister and I started our very own tradition years ago when we were just little girls. I don't recall exactly how it came about but we are huge fans of dipping out shake-n-bake (pork or chicken) in apple sauce.

I could not believe that I hadn't introduced Malachi to this yet. A matter of fact, I couldn't even remember the last time I did this my self. As we sat around the table Kaylie and I dished huge portions of apple sauce right next to our s-n-b, I then included Chi in the dishing. I also encouraged Herb and Heather to try it.

I watched Malachi every second as he stabbed the chicken with his fork, dipped, and in the mouth it went. I couldn't wait for his reaction. He had to LOVE it!

YYUUUUUMMMMMMMMMMMMMM!!!!! Was his response! YAY!! He loved it and couldn't get enough.

Herb and Heather even enjoyed it!

PS...

I had wonderful pictures of this entire process but they somehow got erased off of my camera. I was so sad and discouraged that it took me 5 days to finally write this blog. Figured I had fallen too far behind and the memory was worth the writing.

Friday the 13th

Friday started out with GREAT potential. Again, all kinds of plans and yet again, all kinds of plans destroyed. Ok, not destroyed, just disrupted a little bit.

Friday's at work are usually very laid back, chill, and a tad on the social side. However, we apparently have been too laid back and whole lot social this week. So much, that we had a talkin' with 'dad'. Well that just put a huge damper on the day. But wait! There's more!

So then at lunch a few of us decided to head over the the mall with the priority mission of getting Clarice to walk as much as possible. Two days until her due date and nada! Well our mission was accomplished but apparently it took to long to complete. I take full responsibility. Sorry, but I've been brain washed by the Army to train and accomplish missions to standard not to time. So then we got lectured AGAIN and were told that we had to work a full work day. WAIT WAIT WAIT! WHAT? SAY AGAIN? In our office you will find some of the most intelligent, creative, hard working time managers possible! 90% of the time we work through our lunches! 90% of the time! Each of us probably deserve a month long vacation for all of the 'over time' we put in! Now, because we were gone an extra hour we're being punished? WOW!

Anyways we sucked it up and drove on, as we usually do. However, I had made plans with some of my family to make dinner at my house tonight. I now had to call them and tell them that everything would be a hour later due to my reprimand. They were understanding and even offered to pick up some of the supplies.

I ended up stopping at the store to grab a few items anyways. Once I got home, I realized that the one main thing I needed I forgot. I had 5 people to feed and only 3 Chicken breasts. Since I live out in the 'boon-docks' I didn't want to drive to go get more and decided that we would all just have to share.

Meanwhile I had been anticipating my friend of 21 years to arrive in Vegas and give me a phone call. I haven't seen her in close to 7 years and was so excited to finally catch up. We were going to go out to Stoney's, have a few drinks and get some dancing in. I got my phone call, but unfortunately it was to tell me that she never made it into town due to the bad weather. Great! Another thing wrong.

I decided to call Christina and go have a few drinks with her to help whined down.

Nothing else seemed to go wrong for the evening. Thank goodness.

AND there's another Friday the 13th in March!! I'm calling in sick!

He Likes to Move it Move it!

Malachi LOVES to dance! Especially to the music in his favorite movies. On friday he received the new Madagascar movie for his good behavior all week. We have watched it several times since. This morning it was one of the first things on his agenda. I couldn't help recording some of his moves:

Chi's Fetish

You see I have a huge fetish and weakness for shoes. I have all kinds. Pumps, wedges, sandals, boots, 4 inch heals, 1 inch heals, and I'm pretty sure every color in the rainbow and then some.

Malachi thinks that my shoes are just absolute fascinating. He likes to pick out pairs and suggest them to me for my outfit. He especially likes to to try them on himself.

So, this is probably a father's worst nightmare, but I just find in imaginative and cute! I have told Chi's dad about his fetish and he just laughs and shakes his head in disbelief. I'm sure he has thoughts of, 'what are you doing to my son?' in the back of his head.

Presley Monroe Pearce

Yesterday morning Candice (My best friend since like 5th grade) and Derek were to report to the Sunrise Hospital at 7am for the scheduled c-section at 9am.

Now, this whole c-section thing really bugs me. I completely understand that sometimes things happen and the baby can't come out the most natural way and doctors have invented miraculous ways to save them, such as the c-section. However, I really feel that some doctors now a days are suggesting and pushing this procedure because it benefits them more. Think about it, no phone calls in the middle of the night. No waiting around for hours and hours waiting for the moment of arrival. They make the appointment accustom to them, they go in, cut, take out baby, and wallah! Done.

In Candice's case the doctor told her that the baby was too big to fit through the birth canal. If this was indeed the case then she wouldn't have had an option. It would have been set in stone. You NEED a c-section because of blah blah blah. But it wasn't like that. I was more the doctor selling her on the idea. He even pitched her ideas of no pain, baby will look untouched, it'll be short and sweet, not having to deal with the problems 'down there' that some with vaginal delivery. I would have been like, "LISTEN Doc! Yeah, you with a penis! What the hell do you know about 'problems down there'!"

So I'll now move on to the beautiful part of the story. I just think doctors are getting lazy these days and it really gets to me.

Candice's c-section was scheduled at 9 and lil Presley Monroe was brought into this world at 1043am. She weighed 8 pounds 4 ounces and is 19 inches long. She appears to have blond hair although Derek is in denial and thinks she has brown hair. Her eyes are light as most babies are when first born but I have a feeling that she will have blue eyes like her mother and father do.

She looks to have Dereks face but definitely Candice's nose. She is absolutely precious.

I saw her after only being about 7 hours old and she had already been eating very well. She even managed to pass a few poops and according to Candice had been farting up a storm. I laughed when she was telling me about this and reassured her that this was such a great thing.

When you hold lil Presley, she likes to coo and make other sweet noises. She was very sensitive to deep loud noises such as the door closing. It would make her jump a bit.



I got to witness Derek change his first poopy diaper while I was there. For the last month he has been rambling about how he can't and wont change the poopy diapers, that he would loose his lunch if so. Yet the complete opposite was happening before me. He was almost excited and very motivated to do so. Then after he saw that she had a very small amount of spit up on her shirt, he insisted on changing her completely. New shirt, new diaper, new hat, new blankets. I am convinced that he will be a very natural nurturing and protective father.



Candice had expressed over the last several months about how scarred she was to be a new mommy. I told her that there is just something in a mother's heart that allows motherhood to come so naturally and once she looked into her baby girls eyes she would feel comfort. I couldn't help but ask Candice if she was scarred. She looked me dead in the eye and said no. "I told ya!", I said.


They are such a beautiful family and I love all of them deeply.