Busy night...

We had a busy evening... when we got home, Addi was pretty adament about playing in the snow, so we bundled up and ran outside. First, she wanted to swing in the hammock...
And then we walked all around the yard until finally Mommy was way too cold!

Finally, we went to swim lessons and she turned into Aqua-girl... she is doing a great job!

Who Wouldn't Want to Be Me???

So, today's title may seem a bit tongue-in-cheek, but I am being 100% serious! I went to bed last night, feeling very ho-hum. Woke up this morning and had a very typical start (recapped numerically here), and within an hour was once again reminded of how great life is. Mostly due to my amazing daughter. Thanks, Addi, for keeping me in check!

45 - the number of minutes I overslept
-1 - the number of showers I had this morning
4 - the number of times Smokey barked at me to be let out to potty
15 - the number of times Smokey barked to be let back IN (sorry neighbors!)
2 - the number of outfit choices Addi had (thank goodness for Kitty-cat socks)
6 - the number of times I explained to Addi that her stuffed kitty did not need a coat (imagine me holding the cat and Addi's arm side-by-side and explaining that they cat already had on a coat, unlike Addi), and was therefore warm enough
2 - the number of "friends" she insisted on bringing with her
3 - the number of friends she actually had (rogue Elmo in the car)
1 - the number of tries it took to buckle her in (she was extremely cooperative today!)
4 - the approximate inches of snow on our driveway
0 - the number of snow plows I saw driving to work
1 - the number of cars I almost hit coming to work (due to aforementioned snow)
3 - the number of times I totally cracked up at Addi during the car ride... She was feeding Elmo a pretzel and it was pretty darn funny
7 - the number of times have thought this morning just HOW DARN LUCKY I AM.

I complain, I feel down, I whine... but something as simple as Addi cracking up because she figured out how to stick pretzels in Elmo's mouth and my perspective totally changes. I have an amazing husband, daughter, and daughter-to-be, and nothing serious to complain about. I really am the luckiest person alive and am so blessed to have been reminded of it today.

Feeling... uninspired....

So, I am still bad at updating this thing! But, life around the Ralph house has been kinda of... uninspiring. Actually, I would say it's been downright pukey!

That's right.... we managed to all get the flu this past week. Well, Addi got it earlier this week (threw up at swim class, yuck!) and I stayed home from work on Thursday because I was feeling so icky. Saturday, Jay and I woke up and were miserable, apparently we had the stomach flu. So, we spent the weekend, as a family, laying around the house feeling 'ucky' (as Addi calls it). Addi spent a lot of time this weekend chasing the dog around and around (and around) the house, but luckily he is fairly patient with her! She really likes to help feed him and for the most part stopped eating his food, so we are making progress.

Anyway, we had lots of plans for this past weekend to start getting stuff ready for baby number two. Guess there is always next weekend!

Pink Slip Time, Paci!

So far, 2008 has been a BIG year for Addison! In January she started sleeping in her own bed, and I am happy to report that she has only slept with us twice and both of those times were this past weekend when she was sick. Last night she was back in her own bed and all was well.

Even MORE impressive is the newest pink slip given... to the PACI. We have been attempting to find the right time to fire it since she turned one and I am VERY happy to report that we have gone 24 hours without one! Yesterday, I had Jay cut the tip off of one (we tried this about 6 months ago and Addi totally didn't care, used it just like that) so I had doubts anything would be different this time. I handed Addi the paci and she looked at it and said "paci broken?" I said yes, it looked broken and she said "OK" and took it to the trash and threw it away. Then she grabbed the other two she had sitting there and threw them away too, saying they were broken too!

She walked away and I grabbed the last two out of the trash and stashed them somewhere safe. She didn't ask for one the rest of the day until bed time, and we told her "remember they were broken?" and she cried for a few minutes, then went to sleep. Today she asked a few times for them in the car, then tonight after we got home she never asked once, even at bed time.

She amazes me!!! She has successfully broken two bad habits and barely flinched. Jay and I, however, have been freaking about both for months. Maybe she really is in charge!

Happy Birthday, Addison! (and Jay)

This weekend we celebrated Addi's 2nd birthday and Jay's 30th birthday. Addi's definitely got more fanfare, as Jay said his was "just another day". Despite the weather we drove to Indy, I attended a baby shower on Saturday, then we went to dinner with some friends. Sunday, we had a pizza party for Addi and she got to hang out with family and friends. All in all, a great weekend!

The second picture is Addi trying to update the blog. She felt bad that no pics of her bday were up yet. :)