Cheersy, Jeersy

Cheers to Friday! Cheers to the Royal Wedding being on my DVR for when I get home from work. Cheers to the E! News coverage of the Royal Wedding also being on my DVR when I get home from work. Cheers for family fun day tomorrow. Cheers to our sunny, 70 degree forecasted day today. Cheers to my already planned lunch hour at the mall today. Cheers to payday. Cheers to my light traffic commute this morning. Cheers to the Diet Mountain Dew I am currently drinking. Cheers to tomorrow being a "non-alarm clock" day! Cheers to the weekend and time with my baby girl and my hubby! Jeers to the fact that I have to be inside for most of this beautiful day. Jeers to the amount of work I really need to get done today. Jeers to my brain functionality so far today. Jeers to the work HH that I attended last night and maybe having one too many vodka cocktails on a school night. Jeers to my alarm clock that was more annoying than normal this morning. What are you cheersin' and jeersin' about today? Happy Friday! Have an AWESOME weekend!!!!!

Dorothy, A Bunny, Some Smiles and Eggs

So much has happened in the last week in picture land. We've had terrible storms that dropped massive hail, winds and tornadoes in our area. There were some Wizard of Oz potential moments around here. We thankfully made it with no damage, however there aremany people in our area lost just about everything. The tornadoes missed our home by just miles and my work by just about the same. So thankful!

Front yard after the first round of "attacks."

Sky looking good huh?

Back yard on our deck. I could have shoveled it afterwards.

Of course this weekend was Easter and we had a great time with our families.

Starting on Good Friday, Mia and I went to the local Knights of Columbus to pick up some fried fish and sides, at Hubby's request. It brought back great memories of my childhood and the fish fries we would have at our church. I may or may not have picked up a few desserts on the way out the door. Those ladies know how to bake! Once we got home, we had a little fried fish dinner on the deck before the storms came in:

So big, she ate dinner on her patio chair instead of her high chair (small tear). My favorite flower this time of year. I like to keep fresh flowers in the house when I can. It makes me feel good.

The goods from the Easter Bunny:

Sunday morning Mia did this: And I made these: Brunch with my fam:

Yay for headbands and keeping them on long enough for pictures!

Papa with 2 of his girls.

Playing with GNan's pin.

Easter cuteness

Lovin' on her Aunt Shanny!

Cousin hug!

Time with Hubby's fam:

Mia and Graysen with Aunt Lou!

How fun is this and what a great room cousin Avery has!

All the kids (how cute are they) and look at Mia and Justin! She loves him!!

Who wouldn't be excited about getting a ton of presents on Christmas, oh wait, excuse me, I mean Easter.

Gabby!

Egg hunt time. Mia's first year of "real" participation!

Momma, I found an egg!!!!!!!!!

So excited! Can't you tell!

Hope you had a great Easter weekend as well!

Happy Thursday!

Drama For Your Mama

Today is typically Wordless (kinda) Wednesday for me, but because I am a slacker and still have yet to download pictures from Easter, I will just write to my heart's content today instead. Grab a cup of coffee, a glass a vino and sit back. I'm not brief today. Feeling word vomit coming on and it's overdue. Sorry in advance. Having a tough go of things this week. Emotionally my head is a little busy and it's so draining. I can't believe I haven't even written anything on here since last week. I've struggled for words and topics this week, which is so hard for me to comprehend. I'm typically not at a loss for words. My head has been preoccupied. Got some family stuff going on, I won't bore you with the details, but when is enough enough and when can the selfish pity party paaaaaalease come to an end. OK, just a few details...I struggle with understanding humans and their emotions, especially when it comes to my family and specifically grown adults. I feel my fam is pretty "normal," we have our moments, but overall if there is something going on, we'll talk it out and it's over, we move on. SO NOT THE CASE FOR HUBBY'S SIDE (that is me yelling by the way, just in case you were wondering...aaaahhhhhh, that feels better). I shouldn't say the entire family, but a select few. I received a "not so nice or appropriate" email from my MIL the day after Mia's birthday (#1 mind you) again apologizing for having to leave early, as she had to work in order to buy Mia "things." WTF? My MIL is over the top on her gift giving. Appreciated, yes, however necessary, no. We've told her this several times. And this is how it started....this was last November. Did you just count the months? Yeah, it's been that long and yeah we are still not speaking. Due to the fact that my MIL works on Saturdays, typically all family functions occur on Sundays. Hubs and I are not a fan, Sundays are typically our only day home as a family when someone is not working, but we do it and are happy to accommodate. But it is in my opinion that kid's birthday parties are on Saturday's not Sundays and to be very honest, my MIL's schedule was the least of my concerns when planning her FIRST (yep, yelling) birthday! No offense to my MIL, but I had enough to consider and everyones' schedule was not on that list. So anyway, the party was great, everyone had fun, Mia loved the cake: Scene: (Note this is not accurate word for word) Hubby and I in playroom with Mia Sunday morning, day after party Email from MIL comes in Me: (After reading) Seriously? (I read out loud to hubby, bawling like a baby.) Hubby: Forward that to me. Me: OK, why? Hubby: I'm going to send my Mom a response. (begins typing) (Reading aloud) Mom, Please stop sending your passive aggressive emails to my wife and making her cry. Now hubby and I both realize this was probably not the best response, however, in the moment he was reacting on how we both were feeling at that time. This was not the first time that she had brought up my choosing to have this on a Saturday and having to leave early. But I didn't think it would be that much to consider taking that day off. I felt like she was trying to jab at me one more time and make sure that I truly understood why this is all about her. It's your grandchild and her FIRST birthday for crying out loud. Hubby decided to call and apologize for the harshness of his response and over the phone, she was fine, seemed happy he called, everything seemed to be over, squashed, done. This was a major moment. They are not communicators and this was huge! Yay grown ups! But within days, she stated to another family member that he supposedly never apologized or it wasn't good enough or something to that extent. In addition, it was said that the only reason he called to apologize was because we needed a babysitter. Seriously? Is this really happening? So since then, things have not been the same or right between us. It has affected our relationships with her, my FIL, my SIL, our cousin and aunt. Christmas was horribly awkward and uncomfortable. I almost didn't go. It was at her house and I didn't really feel like she wanted me to be there and supposedly it was stated that if Hubby or I made any comments about the 102 gifts she bought for Mia, we would be asked to leave? Warm and fuzzy way to approach Christmas huh? They were supposed to come to Easter, but decided two days before they were no longer coming. The had an Easter breakfast with my SIL, her husband and our their two children (our nieces), but no invite for us. No mention of it the day before either when we saw my SIL at my BIL birthday party. Another warm and fuzzy holiday huh? The bottomline is this. This situation became what it is because of her. Had the email never been sent this issue would not still be what it is today. She needs to take some accountability for what she did. I did not overreact to the email and this is not my hubby's fault. We all make mistakes, we will sometimes say the wrong things, but as adults we should be able to apologize, communicate and move forward. The blame game is not effective, taking sides doesn't help and feeling sorry for yourself does not get any of us anywhere. If not for ourselves, this should be resolved for the kids that are a part of our families. They should not be affected by the selfishness and childish behavior. In my mind, I cannot comprehend how a grandparent could ever have a reason to not want to see their grandchild. For Mia, that has been 4 months. They live 30 minutes from us. I cannot change what is done and I cannot change another person, but I can decide what is best for my family. My husband carries a heavy guilt about this subject and we talk about it almost weekly. It hurts him that she doesn't want to have anything to do with us. I can somewhat remove myself from this, but she's not my mother, however she is my husband's. He wants so badly for things to be back to the way they were. I'm a mother and I have a daughter and it is my #1 responsibility and priority to put her in the best environment. I will continue to surround myself with those that care for us, love us and have our best interest's at their heart. I am very blessed that I have many of those people in my life. I'm sad that potentially this problem could never be fixed with my MIL, but in 32 years I do know that life is entirely too short. "God, grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change, the courage to change the things I can, and the wisdom to know the difference.”

Aaaaaahhhhh feels so good to get that down in writing. Hubby may not be real thrilled with me sharing this, but blogging is very therapeutic for me. It's nice to feel like I'm sharing my story with other people who don't necessarily know me. Sometimes outside opinions are the best and this is way cheaper than a therapist.

Thanks for listening! Next post, I promise will be much happier.

Friday Morning Nothing Of Valueness-ness

1. I have not bought one single thing for Mia's Easter basket, nor have I even got the super cute Pottery Barn Kids pink and white one out of her closet. 2. I wish I wasn't working today because it is quite apparent that not many other people are. 3. I need a vacation, like seriously. 4. I think husband is a little peeved at me this week since my lack of cleaning/naggy wife/panic attack last Friday night. However communication is key right? Maybe I need to work on my form of communication. Bitch fest at night time is probably not best. 5. I really want something good for lunch, like full of carbs good. I'm thinking Chik-fil-a or something greasy and yummy, but I'll just eat my "good for you lunch" instead like a good girl. 6. My MIL confuses me. She has not seen Mia since Christmas and she decided last night, she nor my FIL are coming to Easter this year. She lives 30 minutes from us. I don't understand how someone could go that long without seeing their grandchild. 7. In relation to the above, I need to read this/post this/remember this more often : "God, grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change, the courage to change the things I can, and the wisdom to know the difference.” 8. Back to Easter, I really wanted to get Mia a bean bag from Pottery Barn Kids (borderline obsessed with that place) but due to procrastination issues I never ordered it. 9. I'm going to attempt to make Easter cake pops tomorrow courtesy of a recipe and how to from Stillettos and Diapers. I so didn't get the mom bake/cook thing, but I'm trying to be better. Thank goodness the hubby likes to cook, or so he says?? 10. I found a pretty awesome blog last week. The Shine Project is inspiring. You should take a moment to check it out. I ordered the shine necklace and can't wait to get it! 11. It's so dark outside right now it's confusing my body. It is in fact not time for bed. These April showers are taking reign of the Lou this week. Enough already. 12. I often wonder if I could survive a full 24 hours without my phone, Facebook, Twitter and blogs. I think I could if I was on a beach, but not in my normal day to day routine. 13. Speaking of Twitter, I really just wish they had a Like button like they do on Facebook. Sometimes that's all I want to say. 14. I'm still pi$$ed Pia got kicked off American Idol. I really liked her, but the whole thing with her dating Mark Ballas from DWTS is a bit much. Go Lauren (however she did not do well this week) and James and goodbye already Scotty! 15. I need to catch up on the DVR. Haven't watched much the past two weeks. 16. The workout regimen is going ok, but I have totally cheated on my no alcohol challenge. I mean seriously, who am I kidding? 17. It's Friday and that's AWESOME! Why, however, is the first thing I think of is the fact that I am super excited I do not have to wake up to an alarm tomorrow morning? OK, I think I'm done. Have a wonderful weekend and a very happy Easter!

Help Me Bloggers, Help, Help Me Bloggers

Dear All You Wonderful People That Read My Blog or Those That Just Happen To Read It Today, I need some advice from all you fancy bloggers and blog designers out there. There are a couple of things I would like to look into doing to my current format: 1. I would like to "spruce" it up a bit, so if you have designer's that you've used that you like working with (and were cheap, of course), please share. Especially my header, I love my giraffe, but so not necessary for her to take up half of the first page. I like the Blogger format, most days, so would really like to stick with that for now. 2. I would like to watermark my pictures, but don't know how. 3. I would like to right-click protect, so no creepy creepersons steal my pictures or other people's pictures that I post. In advance, I would like to apologize for the booooooooring topic today. I'll be back later with something at least some what entertaining to read. TallBlondeBlog needs a face lift and I need your help. Thanks guys! Happy Thursday, Melissa

Wordless Wednesday - A Whole Lotta Love and Squishiness

The photo shoot was a success (well kinda, she was a bit of a wild child in all that free space) and Lori (ahem....Loowi) brought the CD to me this weekend! I love each and every one of them, she is such a good photographer and so in love with my daughter, which makes it even better. I wish I could share all 80 something with you, but instead I just picked a few of my favs. Enjoy and have an awesome day!

If you want information about Lori's photography, feel free to email me at tallblondeblog@gmail.com and I'd be happy to share more information! She's wonderful!

I Like It, The Fancy Stuff

With all the hype of the upcoming Royal Wedding, I am curious who cares and who doesn't? It seems to be pretty heavily divided. I am super excited...one that is a sucker for a fairytale and a story of a prince and princess.

I captured the 20/20 segment last night and I'm just enamored by all that is with this event. The story behind their romance, how she didn't put up with his shenanigans during their dating and how after breaking up and getting back together three times they are now to be married one week from Friday. It's cute. I like it. The modern fairy tale. The story of the commoner marrying a prince(and let's use this term of commoner very loosely here people, she didn't come from the slums of England, her family is wealthy and she went to the same college as William). She is wearing the same ring as his mother and I love that. They're adorable together and appear to truly be in love, but what do I know it may just be their accent throwing me off and making me think they are truly meant for each other. Nevertheless, I am looking forward to the spectacle and the 1,004 programs that will be on between now and then that will cover the same information and tell the same story. Many of them that I am sure will make it to my DVR. I've been lucky enough to visit London, England and all that is royal. For my college graduation gift, my parents and I vacationed to all the sites including Buckingham Palace and Westminister Abbey. Maybe that makes it more exciting for me. I stood next to one of the guards at the palace and was tempted to do a little dance and try to make him make a face or let out a giggle, but I didn't. I didn't want to embarass my parents. There is so much history. As I grow older, I have a much more profound respect for our history and everyone elses. It's incredible to learn.

I was a bit young to remember Charles and Diana's wedding, however I do very much remember her funeral. I was in college and we were out of town for a volleyball tournament. All of the girls huddled into one room in our hotel as we watched the celebration of such a phenomenal woman. Such a sad ending to her legacy, but I will be forever attached to her story and her giving spirit. If you do not get goosebumps when you hear Elton John sing "Candle In The Wind," you are not human.

Where as I eat this stuff up, my husband, on the other hand, could care less. The only comment he made last night was "they'll be divorced in 10 years." Bah hum bug hubby! So for me, this is exciting and I'm looking forward to watching. Now let me make this very clear, I will not be getting up at 4:00 am. That's crazy town, but I will be watching. What about you? All images courtesy of Google

Let's Hear It For The Boy

"A city boy comes to a small town where rock music and dancing have been banned." Also known as one of my most "favoritest" movies ever!!!!! As I was getting ready for work this morning (the house is quiet, everyone is sleeping but me so it's my quiet time with my thoughts, assuming I'm awake enough to think, and often this is where some of my blog topics will kick in) I thought of Ren McCormack. Why? I'm not sure why he crossed my mind so early in the morning, but however it did and it brought back some memories of my obsession with Kevin Bacon and this movie back in '84. He was the coolest and such a bad ass (I'm laughing out loud at myself as I write this). Ren McCormack, I would like to thank you for all your coolness, your tight jeans, your yellow VW Beetle and this movie, especially the dancing scene under the train tracks. Thank you for the "chicken" scene with Chuck and pushing his dumb a&$ into the water. You made my heart go pitter patter during that moment. I loved it when you and Ariel finally were this: Ariel Moore, I would like to thank you for your red cowboy boots.

I really wanted a pair after I saw this movie. See, I have always been a fan of cowboy boots and as a "youngster" I'm not sure I knew red was an option before this movie. I would often rock my more traditional cowboy boots (aka brown) during our dance extravaganzas in our basement with my PJ top and Smurfette underwear. Dad would put on the record, set up the video camera and my sisters, friends and I would go to town...a lot in thanks to you. I would also like to thank you for your shirt at the "Town Hall Meeting:"

Reverend Shaw Moore, you scared me. Every time I watched this movie, I thought you were so mean and your poor daughter was just trying to be a "normal" high school kid and not the preacher's daughter. The scene at the diner where she had the radio blaring on the hood of Chuck's truck and you came and shut if off...I.thought.I.was.going.to.die. Speaking of Chuck, Chuck Cranston, you were a d*&k and don't you know you aren't supposed to hit girls? Willard Hewitt, I mostly love you for your name, but also enjoyed your quirky ways throughout the movie, the blank stares and facial expressions were priceless! One of the best scenes in the entire movie is when Ren tries to teach you how to dance. It.was.awesome. Sarah Jessica Parker (Rusty)...who would ever think you would become this 15 years later:

Are you a fan of Footloose? What are some of your favorite moments? Characters? What is your staple childhood movie favorite?

I need to fit a viewing of this into my near future. But in the meantime, Let's Dance...

All Images provided by Google.