Inevitably Keely

Instead of reading a bedtime story last night with Zoe, I sat with her in her bed with a pen and notebook and asked her what she was thankful for. * Note: Everyone in Zoe's life is very special, but I think it really says something if you were listed individually because it's really hard for a three year old to not want to list every single toy instead of actual people. I know... because I had to suggest after baby dolls that maybe we think of some other things. The following is the list (with some extra commentary) as she told me: "I'm thankful for.... Mommy. Snow White. Daddy. Kitty cats. Cameras. My baby dolls. And I'm thankful for my panda., and... "Let's not just list toys, OK?" Alright. I'm thankful for water. And Max and Bailey Butterflies. And Grammy. Aunt Sadie. My Grandpa. Nana & Baba. Daddy's friend, Sam... he's nice. (She just met him yesterday) Cheryl and Chuck-Chuck. Ellie. Eleanor. MaryEllen. Chelsea. NIki. Noe...write ...

I posted this on facebook Saturday night and as of Sunday morning, I had people committing to give 13 turkeys* (or their equivalent) to shelters in their area. I thought I'd go ahead and post this for you all to participate as well. Daniel had only known me a week or so and he was giving me all the money I needed to pay for a (full course load) semesters tuition at Bakersfield Community College plus money for books. He saw that I wanted to go and he went to his parents for help so that I could. In the nearly eight years we have been together I have watched him hand over spare change all the way up to a twenty dollar bill (because that was all he had) to people who asked him. There was a time when this completely caught me off guard. Twenty dollars, to a stranger, who might end up using it for something silly. He has always treated the people he is handing the money over to with a dignity that I think they are not given often enough. He is always humble to their exclamations of ...

It's a little late, but this is a short list of things I am thankful for: Having a husband who I can't wait to see every day. He's everything I thought I would never find in one person and such a blessing in my life. My beautiful, funny little girl, Zoe. I knew I wanted to be a mom, but I feel like I hit the parental jackpot with her. Every day is a learning experience and an adventure. A healthy/happy pregnancy. It's hard to believe that in twenty-nine days or less our little boy will be here. The roof over our head. Friends and family, near and far. Supportive parents on both sides... who get along splendidly. I cannot stress enough how nice this is. Having people nearby who we can depend on and who treat us like family and vice versa. Good health. Somewhat well behaved dogs. Creative outlets like photography and blogging. They keep me sane. Cocoa Krispies, jalapenos, cheddar cheese and pie. Not all at once though. Although, cheddar cheese on apple pie is awesome. Bac...

Daniel and I loaded up the dog children and Zoe and got on the road at 1pm today. In years passed, we've always stayed until Sunday morning, but decided that we needed to try to avoid the traffic and make sure we had a day of rest before we got into the week and it's demands. It turns out there was a decent amount of traffic today, so we spent a lot of our time at a snails pace. Zoe was restless and a little cranky - she had a hard time napping. I was feeling especially anxious when my contractions got more painful and frequent - I knew they were just Braxton Hicks, but they can be absolutely unnerving when stuck in traffic with no clear path in sight. Let's face it, I have an active imagination and it tends to imagine worst case scenarios. Somewhere around Inglewood, traffic came to a complete standstill on the 405. The two left lanes were closed, and eventually only the far right was open. Everyone was merging at once, trying to get ahead. I rolled my window down and trie...

I could be doing a real post right now, but that would take away time from the Thanksgiving Day Parade and the National Dog Show on television, the snacking, the playing with Zoe and the hanging out with my Dad and Daniel. Happy Thanksgiving, everyone. I hope you're all having a wonderful day with your friends and family.

Well, we're in San Diego! Daniel and I dragged ourselves out of bed at 5am, and Zoe at 5:30. We'd loaded up our car last night with everything we think we might possibly need over the next few days (and more). We were on the road by my goal of 6am and I was quite impressed with all of us. It was no small feat - normally it's hard for us to get on our way by 10. My family, we enjoy our sleep. So, we got to my parents house around 11:30am, ate lunch, and then the three of us (and the dog children) all laid down for a nap. Kind of makes me laugh that we rushed to get here only to nap, but like I said - we value sleep. We also value turkey. Man, I cannot wait to gobble up dinner tomorrow! But for now, I'm going to get myself ask Daniel to get me some peach pie a la mode. Between the Braxton Hicks and my sciatic nerve, I SERIOUSLY deserve it.

Daniel, Zoe and I braved "Black Friday" yesterday. I figure after years of being in retail, I might as well see what the day after Thanksgiving shopping is like on the other end of the register. In my opinion, it's a lot better than being the person stuck behind a register or being all cheerful to crazed, maniacal shoppers who are usually not so nice. We went to Babies R Us and got a couple Baby Einstein DVD's since I'm getting tired of watching the same four over and over again. They were $5 off, but the rest of their sales seemed pretty unremarkable. We walked into Old Navy, did a circle and walked right back out the door. The line was too long and too many people for our tastes. Then we had a leisurely lunch to prepare for the rest of our shopping. We checked out Bombay since they are going out of business. Nothing. Great sales, but the store isn't really our style and well, it sort of freaked me out being in there after that company being my livelihood for...

Todays roster is full. We've got shopping, shopping, leftovers and relaxing to do. Oh, and we're going to decorate my parents house for the holidays. So blogging, isn't really going to happen in abundance today. But consider this a place holder for my letter to the monkey. Our baby is six months old today, time has moved so quickly. I looked at pics of her from her first week all the way up to yesterday and she has grown so much. She'll be a teenager before we know it. AACK!!!

Since today is Thanksgiving, I'm going to keep this short. I've got a baby to gobble on, a parade to watch and family to spend time with. I am thankful for so many things this year: Daniel, Zoe, well adjusted dog children, family, friends, our health and happiness, a good friend just finished her first trimester and her and baby are doing well, getting to be in a show again soon, Daniel's parents coming for Christmas, our new house, etc. I could go on and on... but I won't. Happy Thanksgiving everyone. "Gobble, Gobble!" Oh... and I should also say I'm thankful for blogging and all the friends I've made by doing this. Some of you I have "known" for quite a while. We've followed each others lives: wedding planning, weddings, pregnancies, baby's, illness, travels. It's been fun and I'm looking forward to the next year and all it's possibilities.

I’d blame the hormones, but I’m pretty much always this way…I thought today would be a good day to share some things I am thankful for. I’m thankful for…. Daniel. He is an amazing husband, and my best friend. The first time I saw him and he smiled at me, I knew I wanted to know him. The first chance I had to actually sit and talk to him, I knew that he was someone I would always want to be a part of my life. His smile is my favorite sight. His support is unwavering and complete. He is my partner in every sense. We’re lucky to have found each other. Mom & Dad. Not many people can say that their parents are also their friends. They raised me to be strong and to have a sense of humor. They’ve encouraged me in whatever endeavor I have chosen to give my time to. They’re fun people, and I admire them immensely. It’s nice to know that they are always just a phone call away. Nana. Even though she’s been gone for almost a year now (on November 30th) she is with me every single day. I’m tha...