My favorite sound

We finally got a pony

I took yesterday off to celebrate Zoe's birthday. We woke up late, cuddled and played most of the day. It was perfect. Even the Disney Channel must've known it was her birthday because they played her favorite Mickey Mouse episode. When she realized it, she squealed and started dancing.

We went to dinner at Grandma's house. Of course she made Zoe's favorite. Chicken nuggets, green beans and rice. Then she even got a HUGE piece of chocolate cake. To say it was a perfect day is putting it mildly!

It was a perfect day for me too. For months I've been trying to get her hair into a ponytail. Her hair has a mind all its own. There is even a large cowlick in the back that make any kind of style difficult.

However yesterday I was successful. She looked adorable.

And more like a toddler than I have ever noticed.

She is TWOrific

Today we are celebrating a milestone. Zoe turns 2. On one hand I cannot believe this day is here. On the other its an age we've been waiting for since the day she was born.

When you have a preemie, most of the developmental or physical delays go away when the child reaches the age of 2. Zoe, true to form, follows this rule.

She is the same size as her peers, talks and plays like them. She even can climb and run like they do. It's a milestone that creeped up on me, but still amazes me daily.

Zoe,

When I first saw you on the ultrasound, I knew we would have a special bond. At the time I had no idea what God had in store for us, but I'm so glad we are both here to celebrate you.

You were so small, yet so alert and sweet. I know we didn't officially meet until you were 2 days old, but that moment of touching your soft skin and singing to you was one of the best days of my life.


The I got to hold you and I really felt like I was your mommy. I sang "Jesus Loves Me" to you while you searched to see my face. You knew my voice.

Now I get to sing to you every night. I love that you are beginning to sing with me.

I love that you will dance, twirl and even help me type x gfffv zsAFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFF GMKWEQIJHY XSXSXSXSXSXSXSXSXSXSXSXSXSXSXSXSXSXSXSXSXSXSXSXSXSXSXSXSXSXSXSXSXSX4

on the blog.

You have the sweetest heart. You share all your toys, your food and you freely give kisses and hugs.

I love to watch you discover. You say almost 2 new words a day. You can now draw circles and you're better at working the television remotes than I am.

You love to put on pretend make-up, brush your own hair and teeth. You are getting more independent every day. Yet you still want me or daddy to put you to bed and give you lovies.

Your are funny and easy to smile. You often make your daddy and me laugh out loud during the day.

We have been blessed beyond anything we thought possible these last two years.

Thank you for being our baby girl, now our toddler. We thank God for the 2 pound miracle of you. It has been a blessing to be your mommy and daddy.

Some are born great

Some achieve greatness

and some have greatness thrust upon them.

~Twelfth Night

Zoe, you are made of TWOrific greatness. I love you too the moon and back Doodlebug.

Just for smiles

Does this mean we'll be having a kegger?

We got a letter in the mail from N's school. Usually when we get letters from them it's about his course not having enough people in it and they're evaluating if the night program will continue, etc. It's never good.

Until this week.

The letter commended N on his grades (he finished the first quarter with a 3.9). It's the first time I've totally agreed with the letter. Because of his grades, not only is he potentially on the Dean's List, he's also invited to join a fraternity.

I can't remember the name of it, but I think it has a Kappa, a Gamma and some other equally confusing Greek letter. Perhaps a Chi, Phi or Delta.

Anyway he can rush next month.

He totally got invited to join the academic fraternity. At the age of 31.

I think he's still deciding whether or not to pledge. The frat didn't mention anything about free Harleys or Mt. Dew keggers, so it's debatable if he'll join.

Friday Five Faves - vol. 2

So I've cooled down a bit about the whole IRS thing. By cooled down I mean I'm not shaking my fist in the air and I'm not dwelling on it. I truly believe what goes around comes around. That actually makes me feel sorry for the IRS.

It's not like we don't get a refund, it's just not what I was expecting. Then again, to think I could retire to the beaches of O'ahu at 32 isn't exactly realistic either. Thank you IRS for giving me a reality check.

This week has actually been good, minus the IRS fist fight I was in. Here's why:

1) Date nights. N and I are going on a date tonight. We are doing the whole dinner and a movie thing. I'm beyond excited. Our dates nights provide us with an opportunity to reconnect. When we start to miscommunicate or get irritated with each other, we know it's time for a date. I think we're going to see Valkyrie. Although I'm not positive it's still playing. If it's not, I'm sure we'll go see the new Underworld movie.

2) The History Channel. We've had an on-again/off-again relationship over the years. Right now, we're on-again. I watched a documentary on MLK that was awesome. I cannot even fathom segregation or feeling superior to someone because of skin color. What he did for civil rights was impressive and totally humbling.

I also watched a documentary on Valkyrie. I saw Tom Cruise on some morning show talking about how dramatic the actual story was and it intrigued me. What I loved about the documentary on The History Channel (not Tom) is the only WWII memorial in Berlin is dedicated to the 5 men who lost their lives trying to eliminate Hitler. Kinda makes me want to see the movie.

3) Roaster Ovens. For Christmas my sister-in-law got me a roaster oven. At first I was unsure how I would use it because it seemed a little like large crock pot. Then I did a little research and I can cook anything in it. Like whole chickens, a small turkey, veggies, brownies. It's in less time than a crock pot. Then I can take it somewhere to share the food. How cool is that?

4) Make-up brushes. Yesterday I spent a gift card I got for Christmas on some new make up. I've been having terrible break-outs and decided to go back to mineral make-up. Because it's all powder, it goes on with a brush. Last night I was at the table, getting all my make-up sorted and packed for the gym this morning. Zoe was up at the table with me, totally into the brushes. I showed her what to do with them. For the rest of the evening, she insisted on applying some pretend blush on her cheeks and mine. It was a moment that I realized how much fun having a girl is. We're entering the dress-up, play make-up stage. I cannot wait. It was one of the things I loved about growing up. I think she will too.

5) The scale. That's right, it was another good week for me. A 2.6 pound loss. That's a total of 4 pounds in the last two weeks. A 2.6 loss is really setting the bar high for next week, but I'm in the groove. I've got my meal plan down. I've got my working out down. I'm already starting to see the benefits of those. I have more energy at night with Zoe. My attitude is better. My eyes are a little red, but I've got new make-up to take care of that!

I hope your week has been as great as mine. Sans any kind of government rule that makes no sense!

Have a fabulous Friday.

I'm all kinds of fired up today

Each year about this time I sit down to do our taxes. While I don't have all our tax information yet, I've started with the preliminary stuff.

I've actually been itching to get our taxes done since November 21st. That was the day the house in Puyallup closed and we had MUCHO losses to report.

Only one problem.

You don't report losses on residential home sales. Only on investment property. If we had a renter in there for even just one month, we could claim this loss.

However, our HOA wouldn't allow that to happen, so this house sat empty for the entire part of 2008 that it was in our name. When we sold it, we had to come up with the difference.

A difference almost equal to my salary. My annual salary.

Now the IRS is telling me, sorry, that sucks, but we don't want to hear about it.

If I had sold it for a gain, the IRS would be all up in my business wondering where their cut of the money was.

They'll take, but they won't give.

What else is sad with this story? We would've been better off going into foreclosure in 2007 when we moved.

Our credit wouldn't have been better off nor would our conscience, but our financial situation would've been. Our tax return would've been the same.

Tell me how that makes sense?

I'm so mad I could just...could just...raise my fist, grit my teeth and say "IRS" like it's a bad word.