The Birthday Month Cometh

I can't believe it's already July! Where did the first half of the year go? Well, August will be here before you know it and with that comes all the birthdays. Natalie on the 1st, David on the 14th, Krista on the 18th, and Erin on the 24th, and that is just the immediate family! I need to decide what we will do for Natty's 2nd birthday. I guess a little party would be in order, but I really haven't had time to plan anything. (Maybe I'll decide tomorrow...) The family is going to camp out at Clinton Lake for Erin's birthday. I think she's been planning that since her 4th birthday! So, Erin and I were having a little conversation about her birthday and it went something like this...

Aunt Michelle: "Erin, I am planning a real neat surprise for you birthday!"
Erin: "For my birthday present?"
Aunt Michelle: "No, something different."
Erin: "Well... Are you still going to get me a present?"
Aunt Michelle: "Of course!"
Erin (with relief in her voice): "Oh, good! And will Natalie get me a present too?"
Aunt Michelle: "How about if you get one gift from Me, Uncle John, and Natalie."
(Erin pauses with great thought.)
Erin: "Well... I think it would be okay if Natalie gave me her own gift."

I have a feeling birthdays are going to start getting more and more expensive!

Natalie is starting to talk a lot more lately! We don't have any "Nattyisms" yet, but we are working on some 2-3 word sentences! Some of my favorites are... "I hear Daddy!", "Papa is fun!", and of course, "I poo poo!"

I've included a picture of the little girls just for fun! (Erin has a drink mustache!)

Sam's Club

We had a fun girls day out on Saturday. Mom, Sarah, and I, along with the three little girls, all piled in the Crown Vic for a shopping adventure. Sarah needed to get some items from Sam's, so we all went to stock up on things in bulk. The carts (or buggies as John calls them) were extra wide with seats for two children, so I pushed Erin and Natalie around. Normally Natalie won't sit still and tries to climb out of the cart, but this time she was very well behaved since she was sitting next to Erin. Natalie loves to emulate her elder cousin! As we were walking through the grocery section I stopped and picked up a pack of cans of cream of mushroom and cream of chicken soup. Another family was next to us and the man pointed out the mushroom soup to his wife. Erin suddenly spun around, gave him a very stern look and exclaimed, "I AM NOT A MUSHROOM!" I about died laughing and told Erin I didn't think he was calling her a mushroom, but she reinforced it shouting, "Yes, He DID call me a mushroom!" Needless to say, he was laughing pretty hard by this point too! Luckily we were able to regain our composure and finish the shopping. We did run into the same gentleman once more before we left, but he reassured Erin that he no longer thought of her as a mushroom.

I can't wait until we have some great Natty-isms on a regular basis!

Good Old Days

Well, the Good Old Days are over! For those of you who suspect we do nothing at work, you may have been right. It seems that our IT department has been tracking internet usage lately (likely by command of our Acting Executive Director.) Apparently the first report was not a good one! The whole office received a "warning" email yesterday that inappropriate internet usage will not be tolerated and starting very soon, supervisors will be given monthly reports of our internet usage. Some of the inappropriate activities included, dating sites, eBay, downloading music, and playing games. I don't know that I have been all that bad, but I do have a habit of checking my personal email, reading blogs, and playing the occasional game (see blog about Sudoku). Needless to say, I am writing this blog from home...

Four and One-Half Day Weekend

Happy New Year... a few days early! It has become a bit of tradition to release employees early on the workday preceding a holiday. Today, KHRC employees were sent home at 1PM to begin their New Years' celebrations. Obviously everyone has the first off, but they announced today that the office would be closed on the second as well. It seems that we will be observing a day of mourning for the loss of our dear former President, Gerald Ford. If anyone needs me Tuesday, I will be at home, very sad I'm sure, remembering the good old days under President Ford's leadership. (I love being a state employee!)

Thursday

I have a theory gaining popularity at work. It always seems that when I come back to the office after being on the road, I am completely worthless for a period of time. It's not that I intend not to accomplish anything, it just inevitably happens. I have started tracking my uselessness and there seems to be a direct correlation between number of days on the road and number of "screw around" days at the office. Since I was in Wichita and Harper on business Monday and Tuesday, I automatically get to screw around Wednesday and Thursday, hence why I am blogging instead of working. I have shared my findings with other Compliance Officers and though they may not agree on the 1:1 ratio, they definitely have the same results after being out on the road. Interesting... I wonder if this phenomenon affects all businesses or just state employees.

Sudoku

Is this the new craze or am I just now catching on? That's how it always was growing up. Something would be very "in" and finally we would convince Mom to let us join the bandwagon, only to find out that it had just gone "out" which was especially uncool!

Well, when John and I were visiting Krista over the July 4th weekend, she offered me a puzzle. Hmmm... Intriguing. I had seen others play this numbers game, but really, what was the fascination? Now, after having conquered half a dozen puzzles, I'm hooked!

My good friend and cube-buddy, Tim, prefers the USA Today Sudoku. It gets progressively more difficult during the week. Yesterday we raced. He finished in 16 minutes to my 31 minutes. Today I shaved off 6 minutes, but he still came in ahead at 11. Considering I have done probably hundreds fewer puzzles than he, I think I'm doing alright!

One controversial tidbit is that you are allowed to take "notes" in the boxes to help you along. However, some people consider this cheating, so we refrain from note-taking.

I have heard that I have other friends who are becoming masters at Sudoku. When you are ready for a challenge, give me a call!!!

Natalie's First

Can you believe it??? Natalie's first birthday is this Tuesday!!! I am in shock! Where did the last 12 months go? John and I are amazed every day by how much our little girl is growing and changing. She is so close to walking! She pulls up on everything and when she gets distracted by the object she is holding, she will let go and stand on her own for 10 - 20 seconds at a time! She is also quite the climber! Now that she has mastered the stairs she is scaling everything! There is a Rubbermaid tub against the wall in Natalie's bedroom. It is covered with a blanket and on top is a CD player so Natalie can listen to her lullaby music when she goes to bed. Yesterday I was sitting on the floor next to the tub. Natalie proceeded to climb up on the tub using my leg as a step. She hung on to the CD player as she worked her way around the top of the tub. If only I had the camera with me! I can just imagine the future and walking into the next room where she had been playing on the floor and finding her on top of the entertainment center or hanging from the ceiling fan!!! People keep reminding us that when she starts walking, we will be chasing her all over. I have a feeling that we had better get some rest, because she's gonna wear us out!!!