Baby Malone #2...

at 03/14/10 3:55PM
Due at the end of October!
  • ceoltoir
    Yaaaaaaaaaaay!!!!!!
    by ceoltoir at 03/14/10 6:37PM
  • sunshinebear
    Exciting!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! So happy for you and Adam!!!
    by sunshinebear at 03/14/10 10:28PM
  • yoda
    Congrats!
    by yoda at 03/14/10 11:53PM
  • leslianne
    Congrats! :-)
    by leslianne at 03/15/10 2:16AM
  • elizabethk
    Congrats!!
    by elizabethk at 03/15/10 9:45AM
  • lindseymarie
    Congratulations!! So happy for you all! :)
    by lindseymarie at 03/15/10 10:01AM
  • denisemccaskill
    Congrats!! So excited for you both!!
    by denisemccaskill at 03/15/10 2:24PM
  • s_laughter
    Congrats!
    by s_laughter at 03/16/10 9:37PM

Spring Fever...

at 03/08/10 1:35PM
didn't have much time to settle in my house! As soon as the sun popped out, Chloe and I RAN outside! Sunlight is absolutely spendid after a frigid, dark winter! It has been sunny here ALL weekend, so this morning Chloe and I went out and dug around in the front "flower" bed. Then we went to Home Depot and purchased some dirt and some seeds. We came home and brought up my HOMEMADE compost from the backyard and got all that good stuff mixed into the bed. The "flower" bed is now a cold-crop vegetable bed! We planted leaf lettuce, head lettuce, broccoli, brussel sprouts, and radishes. I've not done seeds much before, so we'll see how much of a crop we actually get. If I can just remember to water...

I have great plans for a home-grown vegetable crop this year! We have a bed on the side of our house that is the only place that gets plenty of sun in the summer to grow anything. So, I am going to plant tomatoes and peppers there. The cold-crop bed will be turned into an herb bed. I'm thinking of planting squash or cucumbers out by our mailbox. The bush and vine I planted there last year may have been a little neglected, so I need to do something different there anyway.

It's SO exciting that Chloe is old enough to go outside and play this year and she can dig in the dirt with me. She even used her mini shovel a bit today :)

To all of you still hibernating...get off your duff and get outside, it's good for the soul!
  • ceoltoir
    The boys are frolicking in the back yard right now! We just got back from taking a walk WITHOUT JACKETS! Yay!
    by ceoltoir at 03/08/10 2:27PM
  • lindseymarie
    Wow, so impressed! I want to grow some veges, but think I'm going to wait till next year to start that
    by lindseymarie at 03/08/10 6:04PM
  • wifelet
    Matt's anxious to plant our peas for this year - everything else, he has to wait a couple more months, but the peas can go in now! :)
    by wifelet at 03/08/10 7:25PM
  • gallatinrealtor
    You amaze me!
    by gallatinrealtor at 03/08/10 8:17PM
  • mayflower
    Spring is coming!!!!
    by mayflower at 03/09/10 8:41AM
  • praguer
    We still have snow. :( VERY ready for Spring! We have to wait until May to plant tomatoes, but we have a couple in pots on the balcony every year. I very much miss my garden and digging in the dirt!
    by praguer at 03/11/10 9:09AM
  • candesmama
    this makes me SMILE! I have waited 27 years to hear something like this. xxoo
    by candesmama at 03/12/10 10:11AM

Pebbles

at 02/27/10 7:21PM
For those of you who knew her...

My beloved "pet" friend has returned to the dust :(

  • ceoltoir
    I'm so sorry, Crystal. She was your friend for many years. I remember when she was a puppy.
    by ceoltoir at 02/27/10 7:40PM
  • candesmama
    Oh I dreaded this day... I have so many happy memories of her though. I remember the Christmas that you got her. You and EL sneaked into the living room to see, but you couldn't get away without her following you. El had to stay and shut the door while you crept back to bed.
    Those windows in the victorian house went all the way to the floor and when Pebbles heard the school bus, she would run to the dinning room and push aside the curtains with her non-nose with her tail wagging as hard as she could while she watched you get off the bus... then when you disappeared around the corner of the house, she ran to the kitchen door to greet you as you came through.
    And then when she stayed with me while you went to college, how she looked at me strangely when I accused her of shaking the bed during our one and only earthquake....
    She was the BEST dog ever. Seriously. xxoo
    by candesmama at 02/27/10 7:46PM
  • beckdobbins
    I'm so sorry Cyrstal!
    by beckdobbins at 02/27/10 8:15PM
  • s_laughter
    Sorry to hear that!
    by s_laughter at 02/27/10 10:12PM
  • gallatinrealtor
    Oh, Crystal, I am so sorry. I know you loved her so much. She was such a beautiful dog.
    by gallatinrealtor at 02/27/10 10:27PM
  • lindseymarie
    Oh, I'm so sorry. I know it is so hard to lose a special companion like that.
    by lindseymarie at 02/28/10 7:46AM
  • denisemccaskill
    Aww..I'm so sorry! :(
    by denisemccaskill at 02/28/10 11:27AM
  • rdb18
    I'm so sorry. She was a great friend to you
    by rdb18 at 02/28/10 5:21PM
  • lynny
    I'm so sorry. :(
    by lynny at 02/28/10 7:35PM
  • candesmama
    I don't know if MOM will gets on here very much, so I wanted to add her comment to me.... "I MISS PEBLES...I KNOW YOU DO...SHE WAS A SPECIAL SWEET COMPANION...AS LONG AS I LIVE, I HOPE I REMEMBER HER, THAT WHITE LITTLE BALL OF FUR, CHASING THAT BIG DOG AT THE RIVER...AND HE RAN FROM HER..."
    by candesmama at 03/01/10 1:01PM

Toddling...

at 02/26/10 9:59AM
I am always looking for good books on raising children (Yes, I believe all child rearing should be based on the Bible, but it doesn't tell you things like how to introduce solids!) and sometimes I need a little humor to lighten up the awesome responsibility I have for this little soul.

Chloe hasn't started walking consistently yet, but she takes a few steps here and there, when no one is paying attention to her.

So, I am preparing myself for toddlerhood. The book I am reading now is called The Girlfriends' Guide to Toddlers. My favorite excerpt so far is this

"It was so much simpler when you could put the baby down in one general area and expect him to pretty much stay there safe and sound. Sure, you had to allow for the occasional rollover, and then there was that way-too-brief period when he crawled on all fours, but there was no movement so significant that it made blinking your eyes or turning your head an invitation to disaster. Now, he's streaking from one peril-fraught room to another like a lunatic with a death wish and you would give anything for him just to be still. I'm beginning to find the humor in the situation now, but there were times when I felt like a fool trying to put a collar on a bumblebee."

  • ceoltoir
    "like a lunatic with a death wish" and "trying to put a collar on a bumblebee" - those are hilarious, and accurate, descriptive phrases! But seriously, this is one of the absolute BEST times of life. Enjoy it!
    by ceoltoir at 02/26/10 10:22AM
  • candesmama
    Toddlers are so much FUN!! I would have had 2 or 3 more if I could have afforded them. Taking them outside to swing and play in the leaves.... just all kinds of new adventures. :) xxoo to our toddler and her parents!
    by candesmama at 02/26/10 2:07PM
  • leslianne
    FOR REAL! I like the quote!
    by leslianne at 03/01/10 8:36PM

A not-so-baby post...

at 02/11/10 9:19PM
It's amazing how quickly the kitchen can look like a hurricane came through! One day without washing dishes and ALL the counters are full, there's food everywhere, and there's no where to work. A couple weeks without ironing and the mountain of shirts is quite intimidating. So much so, that I don't want to start. How bout all the stuff you need to do, but not quite so often? Like changing the sheets, cleaning the bathrooms, washing the baseboards, etc... How do you ever get all that done? The flylady needs to come see me! I'm not looking forward to my initiation into "spring cleaning". Never had a house in which to do it or the time at home to even attempt it. Looks as if this is the year!

I've gotten to make some visits to Bowling Green lately. It's been nice. I got to take Chloe to West End again. First time I've been back there since she was 4 weeks old! It was good to see "old" friends! Much quality time spent with Daddy and Judy. Got to get to know Evie (their babysitee during the day) and play with Hunter some.

I started taking a vitamin today that is supposed to give me energy and be a "mood lifter"...I think I like it.

I'm anxious for the sun to come see us again! It makes me happy! Snow is fun once or twice, but staying in the house for a month...not so much!

We made a visit to the White's house in AL a few weeks ago. We enjoyed getting to play with all their boys and catching up with S and G. I learned how to play a new game there. Settlers of Cataan. I like it...kind of addicting.

Adam and I started one of our resolutions last month...going on a date once a month! It was easy to forget how enjoyable alone time out somewhere can be. Looking forward to February's.

Most of the SAHMs from our congregation got together today for some adult conversation and playmates for the wee ones. It was fun!
  • frogkisser
    Hmmm, what is this vitamin? I think I need some.
    And it is AMAZING how quickly the house can go downhill if you just let up cleaning for a day...ugh.
    by frogkisser at 02/14/10 2:38PM
  • praguer
    Yes, please fill me in, too. I definitely need a shipment of that pill!
    We have the Czech version of Settlers. Much fun is had on game night!
    As for cleaning . . . squint when you look around. Dirt hides easier that way. :)
    Dates are great. We had one last week, and it was wonderful! Must do it again sometime soon.
    by praguer at 02/17/10 10:18AM
  • lilsis
    We have Settlers! You'l have to come over and play it with us!

    Thanks for the Nana saver! :)
    by lilsis at 02/25/10 2:25PM
  • mayflower
    Yeah, I know that parlyzed feeling when there are mountains of things to do. I think that's sometimes when I end up on pleo... avoiding having to face an impossible mountain...
    by mayflower at 02/26/10 8:58AM