Facing Facebook....

I am uncool. I have maintained a pronounced and emphatic aversion and avoidance of social networking sites like Tagged, MySpace, Facebook, etc. Why, you ask? Ghosts. Those people who I knew once but don't now...for a reason. Random people who suddenly want to be my "friend" in cyberspace, people I barely know, people I barely knew, people I don't care to connect with again. I am really selective of my friends. I'm picky about who I associate with on a regular basis, I am even pickier about who I make lasting associations with. You know, the people who move and for whom you way "aloha" instead of "goodbye." I like that control over who's in and who's out. Those random past ghosts----I want them out. I have not need or desire to suddenly reconnect. But...could I reject those ghosts? Would I? Would I accept their cyberfriendship just to be nice?

But, alas, I am at times am not diligent at keeping the contacts I want desperately to keep. Distance takes it's effect, and before you know it emails and phone numbers change and people are lost.

So......A good friend I from work was recently deployed to Iraq. It was quite sudden - about 4 weeks notice. He told us all that Facebook was the easiest way to stay connected to him. Facebook.....I shuddered. Not email? Blogging? No, Facebook. ... Shudder.......So, I give in. I sign up for Facebook.

Days later, "So and So Wants to be your friend." Hm....I want to be theirs, too. One long evening with a fussy baby and some one handed typing and I start to search for some of those possible "aloha" friends. Curious really. I found a few. At first, I didn't ask to be their friend. Was I one of their ghosts? What I their "goodbye" or their "aloha?" Would they ignore me, reject me for having lost contact? Would they accept my "cyberfriendship" but only to not "cyber-reject" me?

Then, I found her. ALOOOOOOHA!!!! I cried when she moved. I still secretly make plans for our children to marry. Why did I lose touch? A little while after she moved life took a flurried tailspin. I barely coped. I introverted. But there she was. Aloha!

I waited waited 24 hours then decided I had to do it. I asked to be her "Cyber-friend." She accepted....then she said aloha......

I am now starting to hear from those ghosts. The ones that I have to ask Jason who they are; the ones that I pretend I didn't hear from; the ones who were by goodbyes. But I can joyfully face Facebook now, because I found my aloha.

Family Planning

A little family planning advice, courtesy of Abrielle.....

"Mom, the next time there is a baby in your belly you should make sure it's a black one. You already have three white ones. You should try something different."


Hhhmmmmm......Not sure how Jason will feel about that....

Ahhhh Bliss....

Right now my two older kids are upstairs sleeping, my baby is draped across my lap drowsily waiting for me to carry her to her cradle, by husband is doing the dishes and Swiffering the kitchen floor, and I am happily blogging by the light of a Christmas tree lovingly decorated by my family. Bliss......

Gloriously Random....

Do you remember that commercial a couple of years ago with the little boy stuck in mid-cannonball above the swimming pool begging his mom to let him out of the digital camera? That's me. The whole downloading process has occasionally been a big pain in my derriere in the past, therefore I avoid it now and only seem to download when there is just no more room in my camera. (I usually discover this at very inopportune moments---like when I'm finally going to capture a picture of Alyssa smiling---didn't happen--"Memory Stick Full")

For this reason I present a delightful array of random pictures for your viewing pleasure.


Awww.....Look at my gorgeous family. No really, look at them. I am the luckiest, most blessed human being ever. Yes, ever!!!


Carsten's favorite way to watch the Science Channel. Seriously, the kid would rather watch the Science Channel than cartoons (unless we're talking Phineus and Ferb.) He is the sweetest big brother. His little sisters are so blessed.

Overheard just prior to taking this picture -- "When you're bigger, maybe you can have the purple cup, but the pink stuff is always mine." That's it Abrielle, tell her the rules while she's too young to argue.

Halloween 2008. Carsten wanted to be a fire-truck. Not a fireman. He was very clear on that. He wanted to be a fire truck. The lights of his fire truck actually work and flash red and blue. (I'm so cool!!) Abrielle wanted to be the "biggest prettiest pink flower." Alyssa has a matching costume, but it made her very, very angry. I guess she agrees with her dad and thinks you should be scary on Halloween, not cute --therefore she was a ghost, thanks to Aunt Marne'.

Sunday afternoon. Similar scenes play out upstairs. I love Sunday afternoon.

Thank you Melanie!!!! I love holiday stuff (I have socks for almost every holiday) and due to Jason's nagging I had resisted buying her anything for Thanksgiving. I was so excited when you sent this. (Jason just rolled his eyes.)

When in Rome......Texan Santa wears a ten-gallon. Where is Abrielle you ask? Running as far away from this dude as possible. Carsten asked Santa if that put her on the naughty list.

Blessing Day!!! Or as Carsten put it "Official Alyssa Day" Yes, I know the bonnet is a bit old-fashioned, but it came with the dress was had this really intricate ruffling and beading and was so cute. The place Grandma bought the dress from threw in matching fancy, lacy, beaded socks. Hand-Wash only socks. Seriously, the tag said "Hand-Wash Only" is large bold letters. Have you ever seen hand wash only socks before?

The Fam......I am so blessed!!!!


Did I mentioned blessed? (Blessed that occasionally they all look in roughly the same direction for a picture.)

Jason's birthday cake. Eight Layer Chocolate Mousse Cake with 4 layers of milk chocolate cake brushed with chocolate laced simple syrup, 2 layers of bittersweet chocolate mousse, 1 layer of white chocolate mousse, topped with dark chocolate ganache and garnished with white chocolate shavings. I love my husband!!!

He was very, very happy with the cake!!!!! I love you handsome!!!!!


There you have it, folks, a conglomeration of random pictures now allowed to escape from the confines of my camera and float out into the great web abyss. Enjoy!!!

'Ere you leave your bed.....

Special request to all my blog readers....Please pray hard for me Tuesday!!! I am taking my board recertification exam. It is a nasty little thing that I have to do every 6 years...this is my first recert. I am praying for a baby that sleeps well tonight, doesn't mind the bottle tomorrow, and enough pumped milk to meet her needs. (Bad mommy didn't start pumping until last week. After all the pumping I did while working with the first two, I just couldn't bring myself to pump sooner that I had to....One week of strep throat later and the freezer isn't exactly full...)

At this point I just want to take the test and call it done. I don't even care if I pass, I just want to be done. OK, so that's a lie, but something about saying it makes me feel more in control.

Here's to multiple choice!!!

Fluorescent Musings.....

Have you ever wondered how somethings that go in one end of a tube a beautiful, pure, soft white, can come out the other end fluorescent yellow? I mean really, imagine the physical and biochemical principles that must be taking place here. I'm not talking about some hideous huge machine either. I'm talking about my sweet, tiny, little daughter who is right now sleeping oh so sweetly on my lap, smiling those sleeping little dopey smiles. However, an hour ago, she was a demonstration of magical biochemical phenomenon as she took 3-4 ounces of white, pure breast milk and turned them in to glow-in-the-dark fluorescent poop. I won't even get into the physic of the explosive emptying of her colon (in the diaper, up the back, down the leg, ... in her hair!?!?) NASA should study how infants accomplish this transformation of matter....we could probably use the same principle in reverse and turn nuclear waste into gasoline....

Time keeps on tickin'...

So I have blown my goal of blogging at least twice a week. Perhaps I will make that one of those on-going goals.....

We took some pro-pics of Alyssa a couple of weeks ago and they are gorgeous (of course!!!) Our package luckily came with a disk with ALL the pics they took. And I do mean ALL.


First, some out-takes.....Goofy...

Goofy ... (and yes, I am too lazy tonight to go back and rotate the image)

Goofy, yet teetering on the edge of cute (yet again, too lazy to rotate)


Just cute...I love pics like this.


And now, the gorgeous.....

This is just her personality...Just hanging out in whatever location or position she finds herself in with an attitude of "I'll just make the best of it." She is the most easy-going, contented baby ever.

Jason's personal favorite. He loves how sweet and peaceful she looks. He had it made into a black and white for his office. (Yea, she already has her dad wrapped around her finger..)


First pic of the shoot. She's here, she's warmed up, she's reading for her close-up...



The close up!!! This was the day after she started giving some real smiles...I so glad we caught a little one.


That's that.....More later......