My Cross Stitches

I needed to upload these somewhere so I put them here.

A Lesson For Life

It reminds me of when we would let Hyrum "play" with us. "Here Hyrum! You can be the Bad Guys!"

I can just see him saying "Now Meghan, don't fall in the hole like Mommy always does"

Sometimes I wonder if I am corrupting my child...

Does Bed Head Get Any Better?

Dad's Guitar Buddy

Happy Halloween!... Or Not...

Here is the cute outfit Meghan's Nana sent for her to wear on Halloween. Only she didn't wear it on Halloween (silly forgetful mommy). So she wore it in November! Hurrah!

No, We're NOT Dead

But here is the culprit for why some of you may not have heard from us in a while. Our power supply went KAPUT!!! For a few days, I was smelling a funny burning smell. Then Kyle realized it was the computer and opened it up to vacuum out the dust. Well, a bright flash of arcing electricity later our power supply was dead. So it fell to me, who hates calling people, to call Dell. After half an hour of wandering the confusing automated phone directory that never listed who I wanted to call in the first place and then another half hour of convincing the sales guy that I really didn't want to buy extra memory or start a Dell debt account and that I really REALLY only wanted to buy the stupid power supply, no not with a Dell account but with my OWN CARD, thank you very much, I managed to get the thing ordered. It should have arrived on that Friday. But it didn't arrive until the Tuesday after because while the guy correctly spelled our address on for the billing (after all, they want their money) he couldn't respell it correctly on the shipping (Kings Whars Pl). So I had to call the shipping company on Monday since they attempted to delivered Friday, failed, called, left a message and then closed for the weekend because heaven forbid they work on a weekend. So I called Monday and corrected the address. It was delivered Tuesday at which time I discovered that they had once again misspelled our address (Kings Whalf Pl) but at least that misspelling wasn't as confusing as the other misspelling. But we got the power supply and put the computer back together. And that makes us Happy.

Untitled #1

Here is my finished cross stitch project. I haven't decided what to call it yet. I started it in September and just finished it today. Oops. I forgot to sign it.... Oh well. Anyways, this is my first finished original piece. As in, I designed the cross stitch. Admittedly, some software on the internet transformed the picture into cross stitch symbols and threads but I had to crop the picture and adjust the colors AND I did reselect the thread colors because the computer was too stupid to do a better black and white scale. And this is where I'm thinking of putting it (so you can get a sense of the size of it). Although, I still need to frame it.

*Update: Corinna has named my project for me. I shall call it "The Beginning of Forever." Maybe I'll get a little golden plaque for the frame or something.

Reading With Daddy

Meghan really loves books. She reads her board books to herself most of the time, but she really loves big people books. That is probably because we don't let her get her hands on them very often. So, here is Meghan enjoying some reading time with Daddy from a big people book.

Working

Meghan received this keyboard from her Floridian Grandparents. She loves to work at the computer, so its easier to just put the Daddy keyboard out of the way and give her the Meghan keyboard to play with. Here is Meghan working hard at making the pictures on the computer screen change (the screensaver is a big hit in this house). By the way, check out the awesome sideburns Daddy sports!

Pippi Longstockings in Training

Meghan's hair is quite fun to play with. If I don't get it washed and combed nicely in the morning, its nearly impossible to fix later. But it does result in funny styles. On this day, she had somehow managed to achieve a junior Pippi Longstockings look. I find myself wondering if that comb she is carrying had anything to do with it.

At the Beach

Here are pictures from Meghan's trip to the beach in Florida! When we first sat down in the sand, Meghan wasn't quite sure what to make of it. She got it on her hands and looked and looked and waved and waved, trying to get it off, then began to whine. So we went to the water to rinse it off. She wasn't sure she liked that either. I could tell by the death grip on my leg. But she didn't scream too much so we sat and played in the water. The sea foam proved to be the biggest hit. Time and time again Meghan plucked and picked at it, trying to pick it up. There was only one troublesome wave that smashed both of us, drenching Meghan. But she didn't even cry then. Just looked at me with a bewildered expression. Before long, she licked the salt from her lips and then began sucking on her arm, enjoying the flavor.

Lounge Lizard

No, Meghan hasn't been out drinking. But she will sit and lounge in our office chair if we set her there. She sat still for a good 15 minutes while I played DDR. That was helpful because she also likes to play, but she doesn't understand what it means to take turns. I don't like to step on her, so this is a good alternative, especially when she's lethargic enough to stay put for a while. We captured photographic evidence of the phenomenon. Enjoy.

Queen of the Mountain!

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Meghan has discovered the joys of climbing the stairs. There is nothing she likes better than going up them, then shouting her victory to the world. The only problem is getting her to come down them again...

From the Mouth of Babes

Meghan is starting to say things that sound an awful lot like words. We were at the pond on our way to the doctor's office today and saw some ducks. Meghan started calling at them "Duk!" or maybe it was "Duh!" Either way, it sounded convincing.
But this morning was the best. Meghan is the early riser in our family. She gets up at 6:30 or 7:00 regularly while Kyle and I continue to try to sleep. This leaves Meghan to play by herself. Determined to remedy this, she crawled over me and sat by Kyle's head. She then bopped him in the face and shouted "DA! Geupp!" which sounds for all the world like "Dad! Get Up!" As I was laughing she crawled over to me, smacked ME in the head and shouted "MA! Geupp!" Needless to say, we weren't in bed for much longer.

Reading Is Fun

More Meghan

Our New Cat

OK, we don't really have a cat. We think this fella's family must have gone on vacation this weekend and threw him outside to do some camping of his own. Our house must look like his because he came to visit us every night from Friday until Sunday. We gave him a bit of tuna-juice and bread since we don't have cat food. He seemed to think that was an invitation to come in because he tried his best to bolt inside whenever the door was open.

She's Just So Cute

Here is Meghan all dressed for Church. She's just as cute as can be. But she doesn't like headbands - this one came off barely twenty seconds after the photo shoot.

Kitchen Helper

Meghan has recently discovered how to open the cabinet doors. The result? My pots and pans all over the kitchen floor. Sometimes she scares herself when she pulls them out and they clatter on the ground. The mess isn't too much of a hassle, but it does mean I need to baby proof the cabinets with the cleaning supplies.

Hot Water Blues

Imagine waking up one morning, feeling that sleepy oiliness that only one thing can cure: a nice hot shower. So, you climb into the shower, shivering a bit in the morning air. You turn on the water and then - BAM! Cold Water! Cold Freezing Cold Alaska Cold Mountain Lake Cold Water! Cold! But don't worry, it'll warm up in a minute, right? WRONG! Because your hot water heater has busted and there is no hot water. There won't be hot water for five days - three days before the plumber guy comes to even look at it. Horrible story. Even more terrible because its true.

Last Friday our water heater gave up the ghost. You can't see it in this picture but there are soot marks on the wall where it left evidence of its death throws. Later, I learned the reason of its death - it was because it was 25 years old. It had been installed in 1982. So we had to tough it out for five days until it was replaced by this brand new beauty that in no way could last 25 years (they don't make 'em like they used to). But cold showers are not fun. Heating water on the stove wasn't all that fun either since I don't have very many big pots. Like Corinna said "Party like its 1809."

New Features

Well, not really new features. Just some new links on the left - to my new blog! I've made a blog to review the books I read instead of sending out book review emails. So, if you care, the link is to the left "To Read or Not To Read." I'm sure Kyle will be adding a new blog someday as well.

Sunday Morning Sleepies

Church is such a tiring experience that we take naps before we even go!

Shhh... I have a secret.

Do the Do-Rag

Good looks are genetic.

How Much is That Squirrel in the Window?

I always wanted a pet squirrel. I mean, come one. They're cute, funny, jump twice as high as cats, and climb trees like their tail is on fire. So, I set out to get me one. This is my pet squirrel. Since I don't like fur on my furniture, he lives outdoors. But Meghan likes to talk to him anyways. We haven't decided on a name yet, but Meghan likes the ideas of "Gum!" "Dum!" "Mum!" and anything else with a um sound shouted in an excited manner. I think I just might be the traditional artist that I am and call him Unnamed.

The best way to catch a squirrel of your very own is to leave the lid off your trash can. They're about as bad as raccoons when it comes to raiding, but they're small so they don't make a real big mess. They also respond well to leftover bread chunks lying by a window. Out here in Maryland, they're as bold as a really bold thing so they'll come right up to it. Meghan delights in making our squirrel jump and bolt by banging on the window and shouting at him. We're working on adjusting him to living with a baby on the other side of the window.